Finally in the Market for an Air Fryer? These are the 7 Best to Buy

Chances are pretty good you’ve heard of an air fryer by now, but in case you haven’t, we’re going to catch you up. Air fryers speed up your cook time and achieve crispier results, which has garnered them a large fan base. The models range from compact pods with fry baskets to ovens with additional features, the latter of which is multifunctional and great for saving time in the kitchen. Before selecting an air fryer you’ll want to consider how often you’ll use the fryer, how much space you have to store it and how often you’ll utilize it.

What Is an Air Fryer?

An air fryer is a kitchen appliance that air fries food by circulating hot air in a small oven or basket. Air fryers use far less oil than methods like deep frying but still provide a crispy, delicious finished product. Air fryers often have additional settings like bake, roast and reheat so they can be used even if you don’t fry food often. Due to their various functions and compact size, air fryers have become popular, especially among small-apartment dwellers and people with busy schedules.

How Does an Air Fryer Work?

Air fryers work by heating the basket or oven area and moving air around to cook food. They have a quick preheat time — usually 5 minutes or less — and tend to cook foods way faster than an oven would. Inside the air fryer is a heating mechanism and a fan system that helps move the heat around the appliance evenly. Some air fryers have additional features that are similar to a toaster oven.

Types of Air Fryers

There are several types of air fryers: some look like Eve from the Disney movie Wall-E, and others look like a mini-oven. Both typically have a range of features for cooking different foods, though the overall prices differ. The two main air fryer models are basket air fryers and oven air fryers.

Basket Air Fryer: Basket air fryers are upright appliances with a basket that slides in and out of the front like a drawer. These baskets typically have a two- to six-quart capacity, though you’ll want a flat layer of food for even cooking. These basket air fryers are compact, somewhat portable and convenient. They tend to preheat in only a few minutes and cook faster than a typical oven, though they can also be loud when they are heating and cooking and you cannot see within the basket to check on food.

Oven Air Fryer: An oven air fryer is practically a mini-oven and often has an extensive features list, including settings like toast, bake, broil, roast, air fry and grill. The oven is wider than an upright basket fryer, making it well-suited for larger foods and larger quantities. These models take up more counter space, but they also fit more food and allow you to cook everything in one batch or even cook several types of food at once. The oven air fryers also allow you to see through the glass door to check on food.

What to Look for in an Air Fryer

Size

When searching for an air fryer you’ll want to consider how much space you have and what features you’ll need. If you have a microwave and oven in your home, you’ll probably be fine with an upright air fryer because it’ll give you another option for cooking foods without taking up much space. If you’re looking to cook larger quantities of food, you’ll be better off with an air fryer oven. The types of food you want to cook is also relevant. Because air is moving around your food while cooking, you’ll want to lay food flat in the basket or on the tray and flip halfway through for an even cook. Some air fryers, like the ones that use baskets, may not be wide enough for all your food to fit evenly, especially pizza, chicken breasts, potato skins and the like. In these cases, you might want an oven-style air fryer to avoid having to cook foods in batches.

Features

Different air fryers will have different settings, which may be a factor in your decision. If you plan to use your air fryer for cooking meals throughout the day, you may look for models that can also toast, grill, reheat and bake in addition to air fry. If you already have appliances that serve these purposes you may only be looking for a model that air fries. While testing, the models with extensive settings were great for cooking multiple types of food, but some models felt redundant because I already had a toaster, microwave and oven in my kitchen.

New and Upcoming Releases

Our recommendations are based on real-world testing. Here’s a snapshot of new and unreleased air fryers our testers are considering for future updates to this guide.

Ninja Speedi Rapid Cooker & Air Fryer: Make one-pot meals without even dirtying a pot with this new countertop appliance from Ninja. The inside of the cooker is layered so you can make rice or pasta along with vegetables and protein all at the same time. It has 12 functions (including air frying) that allow you to make a meal for up to 4 people in as little as 15 minutes.

The Joule Oven Air Fryer Pro: From roasting a chicken to air frying the perfect crispy fry, this smart toaster and air fryer combo looks like it can do it all. It’s voice-activated and pairs with an app to guide you through your recipe.

Neevo 720 Plus Smart Grill with Air Fryer: This smart grill has everything you could probably want — plus a built-in 13.8-quart air fryer. Heat up your appetizers while you grill the entree without ever having to leave your post.

How We Tested

Amazon

Best Overall Air Fryer

Instant Vortex Plus Air Fryer

• $124.00 at Amazon
  $170.00 (27% off)

• Settings: Air Fry, Bake, Broil, Dehydrate, Reheat, Roast
• Capacity: 6 quarts

The Instant Pot Vortex Plus Air Fryer was one of the quieter ones we tested, and it had an easy-to-navigate digital menu for its six settings: Air Fry, Bake, Broil, Dehydrate, Reheat, and Roast. Instant’s fryer is a basket-style air fryer, but the basket also has a clear front so you can see into the basket, which is really helpful when you need to monitor the cook time or crispiness progress. I also liked that this model had a visual preheat progress bar and a charming alarm halfway through the cook time to remind you to flip your food. The basket is slightly rectangular, so you can fit more food in a flat layer than the other six-quart fryers we tried, and it’s just as easy to clean after use. The Vortex Plus also has “OdorErase” which claims to keep the fry smells within the basket and out of your kitchen.

Williams Sonoma

Best Splurge Air Fryer

Breville Smart Oven Air Fryer Pro

• $400.00 at Williams Sonoma

• Settings: Toast, Bagel, Broil, Bake, Roast, Warm, Pizza, Proof, Air Fry, Reheat, Cookies, Slow Cook and Dehydrate
• Capacity: 1 cubic foot

The Breville Air Fryer was pretty incredible, though it was also on the large end. I had to clear my countertop to make room for it, and its heat worried me at times because it was under wooden cabinets. However, the settings and performance delivered. The digital screen and multiple knobs allow for customizing the cook experience for whatever you’re looking to eat.

I cooked veggie chick’n nuggets and a pizza in the air fryer at the same time, which saved time and energy. The air fryer is essentially a mini-oven with over a dozen settings and rearrangeable interior racks. I did notice the pizza was darker on the half nearest the door, but the nuggets were cooked evenly. This model would be perfect for a dorm room (if they’re allowed?) as well as a large family or someone looking to cook large portions quickly with minimal cleanup required.

Home Depot

Best Budget Air Fryer

Emerald 4.2-Quart Air Fryer

• $45.00 at Home Depot
  $59.00 (24% off)

• Settings: Time and temperature only
• Capacity: 4.2 quarts

If you’re shopping on a budget but still want an air fryer that can fit a whole meal, then this Emerald one is probably the best you can find. Regularly priced at $59 (but often on sale), it has a 4.2-quart capacity, which is pretty substantial considering its price point. I’ve had this air fryer for over a year, and it’s held up quite nicely with very few signs of wear. It doesn’t look or feel terribly expensive — because it’s not — but it still spends a fair amount of time on my countertop. I will say it takes up a bit of counter space and is rather bulky to store, but it gets the job done and has plenty of room to make a meal for one or two.

Walmart

Best Multi-Functional Air Fryer

Gourmia 7 Quart Digital Air Fryer

• $79.00 at Walmart
  $130.00 (39% off)

• Settings: Bake, broil, roast, dehydrate, keep warm, bacon, fries, wings, reheat and air fry
• Capacity: 7 quarts

As someone whose last air fryer only cost a little bit less than this one, this air fryer feels and looks a lot more expensive than it is. For under $100 (and only $60 if you have a Costco membership), you get 10 different single-button functions, including roast, bake, dehydrate and even a bacon-specific mode — in addition to air frying, of course. You can also control the temperature and time, which can go as high as 400 degrees and as long as 24 hours. There’s even a preheat function, which takes time but is helpful as air frying can tend to feel like a guessing game.

After testing this air fryer for a few weeks, my only qualm is that it requires a little bit of a learning curve. While more basic air fryers have just a dial and/or button, this one has a lot of options to contend with and it’s not immediately clear when to do what. For example, after preheating, the air fryer will give you a reminder to add your food to the basket, which I would often forget and add my food before preheating. But overall, it’s a really versatile, useful kitchen appliance that heats evenly and effectively no matter what setting you’re using.

Amazon

Best Compact Air Fryer

Dash Tasti-Crisp Digital Air Fryer

• $50.00 at Amazon
  $60.00 (17% off)

• Settings: Time and temperature only
• Capacity: 2.6 quarts

The Dash air fryer is cute and compact, perfect for those with a small space or a less intense desire to air fry. The Tasti-Crisp Digi model has a 2.6-quart basket, which is pretty small compared to other models we tested. Because laying food flat and trying not to overlap food is important to an even, crispy cook, you’ll only want to use this fryer for items like french fries, mozzarella sticks, and tater tots. Larger foods may not fit as well and cook unevenly or stick together. While the basket is a bit small and the air fryer only air fries (no bake, grill or reheat settings) it’s still a great option. The digital interface was easy to use, and you can save your most used settings as presets, like 350 degrees for 10 minutes. I’d say this air fryer makes a great gift for grads moving into their first apartment as well as a great appliance for someone who already has everything but an air fryer.

Amazon

Best Air Fryer for Large Families

Ninja DZ201 Foodi Air Fryer

• $180.00 at Amazon
  $200.00 (10% off)

• Settings: Air Fry, Air Broil, Roast, Bake, Reheat and Dehydrate
• Capacity: 8 quarts/4 quarts per basket

With double the fry baskets, Ninja’s Foodi Air Fryer brings double the fun. The independently controlled baskets mean you can cook one food at one temperature on one side and cooking another food at a different temperature in the other (or, of course, take advantage of the total 8-quart capacity and cook a large batch for a large crowd). With its Smart Finish mode, you can prep both food baskets to cook, and the air fryer will make sure they finish cooking at the same time, so you don’t end up with one steaming-hot dish and one lukewarm meal.

Target

Best Air Fryer for Beginners

Cuisinart TOA-70 Air Fryer Toaster Oven

• $230.00 at Target

• Settings: Air Fry, Convection Bake, Convection Broil, Bake, Broil, Warm, Toast and Grill
• Capacity: 18 quarts

Like many of Cusinart’s appliances, this air fryer has a handful of functions that work well. The fryer is very straightforward with four knobs: one for cook time, one for oven temperature, one for cook setting and one for toast levels. This fryer is great for beginners or someone who prefers analog settings. Other nice features include multiple oven racks that can be rearranged, an auto shut-off feature, and an oven light. The air fryer is boxy, but it’ll fit most types of food within the 12-inch by 13-inch by 15-inch range, so no large pizzas or full turkeys here.

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