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In the ever-expanding world of countertop kitchen appliances, few things have been as buzzy as the air fryer. And perhaps the talk of how it will revolutionize your cooking has officially pushed you over the edge and you’re in the market for one of these gadgets.
Now that these machines have been on the market for a few years, there are so many models it can feel overwhelming to choose one—single basket air fryers, double basket air fryers, mini air fryers, oven-style air fryers with smart cooking features. Each type serves a different purpose and is best for different people. Below, we break down the types of air fryers you can buy and which ones we recommend.
But before that, let’s start at 30,000 feet…
What is an air fryer; do you need one?
An air fryer is basically a small convection oven. It works by circulating hot air that stems from a heating element throughout the machine using an internal fan. Keeping that hot air moving cooks and, importantly, crisps your food with less oil. The most you have to do is give a basket the occasional shaking to ensure even cooking.
The appeal of using an air fryer over the convection setting on a wall oven or range mostly lies in the ease of cooking smaller portions and the speed with which they heat up. Because they’re so compact, it takes just a few minutes to reach cooking temperatures, whereas a full-size oven can take some time. So when it comes to the question of whether you need one, it depends. If you’ve been totally satisfied with the convection cooking on your current oven, you might find an air fryer to be a superfluous kitchen gadget taking up space on your counter. But if, as you’re reading this, you are just now realizing your oven, in fact, has a convection setting, getting an air fryer could actually improve your day-to-day cooking experience. They make heating or reheating foods and lots of other cooking tasks easier and quicker, so if you’re someone constantly strapped for time around lunch or dinner, then it might suit your lifestyle.
What features should you look for in an air fryer?
The first thing to determine when purchasing an air fryer is whether or not you want a basket-style or oven-style. The basket-style features a tub you slide from the air fryer to put your food in. Most just have one basket, but there are some large capacity models out there with two. These removable baskets are also often dishwasher-safe, making cleanup just a bit easier. In terms of size, the basket-style air fryers tend to range from around 2-quarts to as much as over 5-quarts.
The oven-style air fryers, also known as multi-ovens, are essentially toaster ovens with an increasingly robust set of extra features for different foods. Cooking space for these air fryers can be quite large. For instance, some can fit a whole chicken or 14-pound turkey in case you have dreams of using an air fryer–toaster oven for Thanksgiving this year.
Like any other kitchen appliance, air fryers—regardless of type—also often have specific cooking functions like roast, bake, or dehydrating as well as smart programs to make frozen french fries, or pizza, or chicken wings, or shrimp. Even the most basic air fryer can still cook all those things so the number of cooking functions and smart features is really a matter of how much you like to play with extra buttons and dials on a touchscreen.
So which type of air fryer should I buy?
In terms of performance, we don’t favor one air fryer model over another. Picking between basket-style and oven-style air fryers is really about personal preference. The basket air fryers are a bit more basic and oftentimes affordable, but they also stick out on the counter because they’re shaped like little robots. Though they often resemble basic toaster ovens of yore, the multi-ovens tend to be a bit more high-tech, come with more functions, and cost more. Really, it just depends on your own personal budget, style, and what you want to cook with it.
Basket-Style Air Fryers
In terms of basket air fryers, we don’t think you can get much better than the Philips Premium Digital Airfryer. It’s certainly pricier and heftier (at 15 pounds) than a lot of others, but it’s easy to use, especially efficient, and cooks super evenly—all qualities that earned the Philips its top spot in our best air fryer testing. According to our testing, the Philips features a two-piece draining plate in the base and swirls the air throughout the machine to allow for that even cook.
Capacity: 3 quarts
Cooking functions: air-fry, bake, grill, roast, reheat, dehydrate, and toast
Best for: If you want the best of the best when it comes to basket air fryers.
From the brilliant minds behind the iconic Instant Pot, we liked the square shape of Instant Vortex Plus so much in our testing, it actually ended up usurping our previous pick for the best affordable air fryer. Compared to the previous winner, the Ninja AF101, the design of 4-quart air fryer makes it better suited to arrange nuggets and veggies in a neat layer for cooking. Plus, it quickly cooks and gives notifications for when you need to flip food—a step often forgotten when air-frying.
Capacity: 4 quarts
Cooking functions: air fry, broil, roast, dehydrate, bake and reheat
Best for: You want a large basket-style air fryer that’s more cost effective.
Despite its smaller size, the Cosori does a remarkable job at evenly and perfectly cooking anything you put in it to crispy perfection—in fact, we found in our testing it performed nearly as well as the Instant Vortex Plus. It air fries pretty quietly and features a smart detection that’ll pause when you take the frying basket out and automatically restart once you put it back in.
Capacity: 2.1 quarts
Cooking functions: air-fry, roast, bake, and reheat
Best for: If you’re looking for an inexpensive basket-style air fryer and are only looking to serve one or two at a time.
Oven-Style Air Fryers
In our toaster oven testing, we called the Breville Joule an “upgrade” from the Breville Smart Oven Compact Convection (BOV670) and an “update” to the Smart Oven Air Fryer Pro (BOV900). On top of a variety of other capacities, the Joule has an adjustable air-fry preset that features two convection speeds (“convection” and “super convection”). What really stuck out to our reviews editor about the Breville Joule oven was its Autopilot feature. “This function manages not only how much heat is blasted at whatever you’re cooking, but also where that heat comes from,” writes Epicurious review editor Noah Kaufman in his love letter to the Breville. The oven also has an app that makes cooking and using the oven even more of a breeze.
Capacity: Can fit a 13" pizza or a 14-lb. turkey
Cooking functions: toast, bagel, bake, air-fry, broil, roast, pizza, cookies, proof, reheat, slow-cook, keep warm, and dehydrate
Best for: You’re looking for a toaster oven that takes some of the guesswork out of the equation for you (and you’ve got a bigger budget to work with).
Though it didn’t place in any top spots in our toaster oven testing, the Ninja Foodi XL Pro proved a quality air fryer despite of its difficult baking on shorter cook times. It has a slightly smaller capacity than the Breville, but still features some of the same customizing options as the other brand—making it a worthy contender.
Capacity: Can fit a 12" pizza and 12-lb. turkey
Cooking functions: air-fry, air-roast, bake, whole roast, broil, toast, bagel, dehydrate, reheat, and pizza
Best for: If you’re shopping for a toaster oven–air fryer combo on a budget, and are willing to compromise a little on the quality of the “oven” bit.
