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Air fryers have surged in popularity in recent years as more and more people have opted for this healthier method to create delicious fried food.
An air fryer is a countertop kitchen appliance that makes it possible to achieve similar results to a pan or fryer without submerging food in oil. Instead, air fryers only require a small about of oil to circulate hot air around the drawer and crisp up food in a short amount of time.
However, with so many air fryers available to buy right now, where do you start? We’ve rounded up the best air fryers we’ve tested to help you narrow down your search to only our top picks.
Every air fryer on this list has been rigorously tested in real-world settings. Our reviewers measure the performance of an air fryer by examining how well the appliance cooks a range of foods, from chips and frozen hash browns to meat and more.
We also look at other important factors like ease of use and key features. The number of drawers and how much they can hold are crucial details for those cooking for large households, as is the physical size of the appliance for anyone frying with limited counter space.
There are also additional features you’ll want to consider when picking up a new air fryer, such as grill functions and temperature probes.
Keep reading to discover our favourite air fryers for different use cases, along with pros, cons and links to our in-depth reviews with photos of the fryers in action.
If you’re moving to a new home or in the process of upgrading your kitchen with the latest appliances, you might be interested in our other best lists. These include the best microwaves and combi ovens, the best toasters, the best kettles and the best coffee machines.
Best air fryers at a glance
How We Test
Learn more about how we test air fryers We use standard tests with air fryers, so that we can compare performance between different models. We always test by cooking home-made chips, sausages and frozen convenience food, such as fish fingers. Depending on the model, we’ll also test additional features including reheating pizza and drying out herbs.
Ninja Foodi Dual Zone 7.6L Air Fryer
The best overall air fryer
Pros
Two separate drawersClever timing optionsLarge capacityExcellent cooking programmes
Cons
Can’t fit in very large ingredients
Air fryers are brilliant but one of the biggest issues with them is that you can usually only cook at one temperature or setting at a time. Not so with the Ninja Foodi Dual Zone 7.6L Air Fryer, which brings you two individually controlled cooking zones, with their own pull out drawer.
You can cook individually, use the same setting on both drawers or, cleverly, use different settings on each drawer but have them synchronise to finish at the same time. There are options to air fry, max crisp (a 240C turbo setting), roast, reheat, dehydrate or bake.
Performance is excellent across the board, delivering crispy chips, succulent burgers and perfectly cooked corn. The only minor complaint is that while capacity is large, each drawer is the same size as a regular air fryer, so you can’t fit in larger ingredients, such as a whole chicken. This is a beast of an air fryer, but if you want the ultimate flexibility, it’s the best.
Reviewer: David Ludlow
Full review: Ninja Foodi Dual Zone 7.6L Air Fryer review
Ninja Foodi FlexDrawer Air Fryer 10.4L AF500UK
The best large air fryer
Pros
Easy to useExcellent resultsHuge amount of cooking space
Cons
Entire drawer has to be washed, even if you use half
The Ninja Foodi FlexDrawer Air Fryer 10.4L AF500UK is a huge air fryer perfect for when you need to cook a lot of food at one time.
Unlike a conventional dual-drawer air fryer, the FlexDrawer features one massive container with an optional divider that effectively turns the appliance into a dual-basket cooker when needed.
This means that you can cook large amounts of one food using the full drawer or separate it into two zones using the divider to cook multiple items with different settings and timings. There’s even a Sync mode that ensures the two zones finish cooking at the same time, allowing you to have a complete meal ready for when you need it.
The machine is equipped with an array of cooking modes, each with their own temperature settings and timers. The list includes Air Fry, Roast, Bake, Reheat, Dehydrate and Prove. There’s also a Max Crisp mode which produces super crispy results by cooking at 240°C.
We found that hash browns came out perfectly crispy using the Max Crisp mode, while the roast setting produced moist chicken breast. We also tested the air fryer’s Dehydrate mode on some fresh herbs to keep them usable throughout the winter.
The AF500UK’s large capacity is both a huge perk and the biggest drawback to this air fryer. If you’re in need of a larger appliance to cook large portions and complete meals, the AF500UK is powerful enough to produce excellent results and features a versatile two-in-one design.
However, if you’re looking to cook smaller portions and don’t want to clean both drawers when you’ve only used one, a traditional two-drawer air fryer such as the Ninja Foodi MAX Dual Zone Air Fryer AF400UK may be a better choice.
Reviewer: David Ludlow
Full Review: Ninja Foodi FlexDrawer Air Fryer 10.4L AF500UK
Ninja Speedi 10-in-1 Rapid Cooker and Air Fryer ON400UK
The best air fryer for complete meals
Pros
Max complicated meals fastVersatile range of cooking optionsSteam air frying is incredible
Cons
Crisper plate fiddly to removeLower max temperature than some air fryers
Not just an air fryer, but a complete cooker, the Ninja Speedi 10-in-1 Rapid Cooker and Air Fryer ON400UK is built to deliver nutritious food in as little as 15 minutes. It does this with its two layer cooking: base on the bottom (pasta, grains, rice, potatoes and so on), and protein on top (meat and veg) that is crisped up by the grill.
It works brilliantly, too. Mid-week we made halloumi kebabs and rice in one pot, in just 15 minutes. That’s good going, and there’s very little mess at the end.
What makes this product so good is its versatility. As well as Speedi meals, it can also act as a slow cooker, and it can sear food with the lid open. That’s handy for starting ingredients off before slow cooking, or for finishing meals: I cooked rice, and then added some pre-cooked beef strips, onions and peppers, sautéing the food to get it piping hot.
This is a proper air fryer, too, although topping out at 210°C it can’t quite get the crispiest of results that air fryers with a higher temperature can reach. I do really like the steam air fry option: this creates perfect chips that are crispy on the outside and fluffy on the inside.
My only minor issues are that the pot is hard to remove to shake ingredients (I used tongues instead), and that the crisper plate is fiddly to remove when using two-layer cooking. Those issues aside, this is a fantastically adaptable kitchen gadget, whether you want fast food or more traditional cooking.
Reviewer: David Ludlow
Full review: Ninja Speedi 10-in-1 Rapid Cooker and Air Fryer ON400UK
Cosori 8.5L XL Dual Zone Air Fryer
The best air fryer for families
Pros
Sleek looksRather easy to useCooks a variety of food rather well
Cons
Larger than its capacity may suggestQuite expensive
Perfect for large families, the Cosori Dual Zone XL boasts an impressive 8.5L cooking capacity which is evenly split between two 4.25 litre baskets, allowing entire meals to be cooked simultaneously.
With six pre-set cooking functions including air fry, reheat, bake, grill and dehydrate, the Dual Zone XL is a versatile appliance and can cope with everything from a Sunday roast to cupcakes.
Selecting one of the cooking modes is easy thanks to the intuitive on-device control panel. Each mode provides a preset time and temperature however this can be easily adjusted based on your recipe to offer you precise control over your cooking.
To help you stay on top of everything, the Dual Zone XL will even audibly remind you to shake your food halfway through its timer. There are also useful windows on the device so you can keep an eye on your food, aided by lights inside which can also be adjusted via the control panel.
It’s worth noting that unlike some air fryers, the Dual Zone XL doesn’t have an internal wall to divide the two 4.25L baskets. This means you can only use the grill function on one side at a time and using both zones simultaneously will require you to cook food for slightly longer. Even so, you’ll still find that the air fryer results in faster cooking than conventional ovens.
Once you’ve finished cooking, enjoy hassle-free clean-up as both the crisper plate and baskets are dishwasher safe.
For a multi-functional air fryer that’s large enough to cater for the whole family and offers consistent and fast performance, the Cosori Dual Zone is a great choice.
Reviewer: Reece Bithrey
Full review: Cosori 8.5L XL Dual Zone Air Fryer
Sage the Smart Oven Air Fry
The best oven and air fryer
Pros
Air fries, bakes and grills quickly10 preset functions22-litre capacity
Cons
Hard to clean by handLarger footprint than an air fryerPricey
Most air fryers tend to look a lot like deep fat fryers, but the Sage the Smart Oven Air Fry looks a lot like a microwave oven. This design lets you spread out food, so that it’s evenly cooked, rather than having to shake food as you do in an air fryer.
The oven can also employ its Element iQ tech to direct power where it’s needed to eliminate cold spots in food. In practice, it worked perfectly, leaving us with evenly cooked home chips that had a crispy outside and fluffy inside.
And, the size the oven means that you can use it for larger items, including chicken legs or even an entire pizza. Just be careful with the preset options, as we found that our pizza began to burn after 15 minutes, although the programme was set for 20 minutes.
With a higher-than-average temperature option of 230C, rather than the usual 200C, the Sage the Smart Oven Air Fry can cook food faster than many other air fryers, although it does take a bit longer to heat up.
Comparatively expensive, this model won’t be for everyone, but its unique design lends itself to foods that other air fryers can’t even think about.
Reviewer: Rachel Ogden
Full review: Sage the Smart Oven Air Fryer review
Tower T17076 10-in-1 Digital Air Fryer
The best air fryer for grilling
Pros
Excellent selection of accessoriesEasy to operateAutomatic programmes
Cons
Some accessories are fiddlyMaximum temperature 200ºCTakes up space/storage issues
The Tower T17076 Xpress Pro Combo 10-in-1 Digital Air Fryer can tackle an impressive range of cooking tasks, assisted by plenty of accessories. These enable the appliance to work as a grill, griddle, toaster or mini-rotisserie. It’s straightforward to operate, has an impressive 11-litre capacity and features a selection of automatic programmes for grilling, roasting and baking, as well as a function for dehydrating fruit.
The rotisserie oven-style window sets the Tower T17076 10-in-1 apart from other air fryers. Being able to view food while it’s cooking is a boon, even if you’re not grilling a whole chicken. Accessories include three air-flow racks (which allow you to cook food on three levels at the same time), a rotisserie fork with handle, 10 skewers with rotating wheels, a wire rack, a reversible grill plate (functions as a hotplate and a griddle), two heat-proof silicone mitts and a drip tray.
Performance was on the whole good: chips were nicely browned and crispy on the outside and fluffy on the inside. We also had great success cooking slightly oiled corn on the cob using the grill plate on top of the wire rack. To try out the rotisserie function, we put halloumi, courgette and pepper pieces onto the skewers fitted into the rotating wheels. The griddle also produced excellent results, making the Tower T17076 10-in-1 a fine all-rounder.
Reviewer: Helen Harjak
Full review: Tower T17076 10-in-1 Digital Air Fryer review
Ninja Foodi MAX OL750UK
The best multi-coioker
Pros
Very flexibleSteam cooking adds extra depthProbe helps automate cooking
Everything from an air fryer to a slower cooker and pressure cooker, the Ninja Foodi Max OL750UK is an all-round brilliant multi-cooker. Thanks to its clever design, there’s no need to change lids for different modes, while the temperature probe adds a new level of precision cooking.
This sizeable cooker can air fry, grill, pressure cook, steam and more. Results across the board are fantastic, but you’ll need to ask yourself whether you realistically need this much cooking space and number of functions before you buy it.
Each mode offers different cooking options and is exceptionally easy to use via the simple controls. A temperature probe is included; stick this into your food and choose from the preset options (chicken, pork, lamb and beef, plus, where appropriate, target levels from rare to well done), and the OL750UK will automatically stop when your food is perfectly cooked. This helps take the guesswork out of cooking and got us perfectly-cooked steak.
Cooking for 20 minutes at 200ºC, with 125ml of water in the bowl, chips were evenly cooked and had a nice crispy texture to the outside, while the inside remained soft and moist. Quite possibly, this is the best that we’ve seen any air fryer perform. Frozen hash browns and grilling rump steak were also cooked to perfection. Pressure cooking works well, too, reducing the amount of time it takes to cook a lot of food.
The Ninja OL750UK is a bit of a monster, taking up a lot of space. However, it isn’t wasted space since this is a jack-of-all-trades multi-cooker.
Reviewer: David Ludlow
Full review: Ninja Foodi Max OL750UK
Salter Aerogrill
The best budget air fryer and grill
Pros
Air fryer and grill with large six-litre capacityGood cooking performance with high maximum temperatureSurprisingly low power use
Cons
Temperature probe a bit confusingCooking can be a little uneven
Combining and air fryer and grill in one appliance makes a lot of sense: it doubles up of the number of uses and, for the grill in particular, keeps smoke and smells inside the appliance. Mostly, products like this are very expensive, but the Salter Aerogrill is cheaper than a lot of air-fryer only cookers.
Inside, there’s space for a 6-litre air fry basket, which is enough space to cook for large families. For grilling, there’s a grill plate that drops into place, which is big enough to take large skewers of food, plus whole steaks and portions of fish.
Salter provides default programmes for common foods, such as chicken and meat, which set the Aerogrill to the correct temperature; you just have to select the cooking time. Alternatively, there are two options: you can set the Aerogrill manually, or you can use the provided temperature probe to shut the device down automatically when your food is at the right temperature.
General air fryer foods (chips, hash browns, burgers and the like) were cooked exceptionally well, although we did have to add a bit of cooking time beyond the recommend to some food types. Using the grill, we found that its heat was slightly uneven, but moving food around manually when turning it was enough to overcome this problem.
More expensive air fryers can cook faster and more evenly, but for the price, the Salter Aerogrill is hard to beat, adding versatility with its grill.
Reviewer: Simon Handby
Full Review: Salter Aerogrill
Beko ExpertFry Dual Zone Air Fryer FRL5388
Best large budget air fryer
Pros
Large capacityUseful bundled extrasGood results
Cons
Controls slightly overwhelmingMaximum temperature is 200°C
The Beko Expert Fry Dual Zone is a truly versatile air fryer that boasts dual drawers, a grill, multiple cooking modes and comes equipped with a variety of accessories.
Its 8.5-litre capacity, spread across its two drawers, is big enough to cook meals for the entire family. You can choose to either match the cooking mode across both drawers, which is useful if you’re making a lot of the same dish, or with Smart Finish mode you can cook two different dishes simultaneously to streamline the process.
Each drawer includes a crisper plate and a skewer holder for grilling which is equipped with five skewers. There’s also a multi-tier rack so you can place food for grilling or dehydrating on different levels accordingly.
There are nine pre-set cooking modes on the Expert Fry including manual mode, oven mode for baking, grill, reheat and dehydrate. All modes are also adjustable if necessary, so you have total control over the temperature and timer.
It’s worth noting that isn’t particularly intuitive to use at first, due to the slightly unclear control panel on the device. Make sure you read the manual before use.
Unlike other air fryers, the Expert Fry has a fairly low maximum temperature of 200°C yet we still found it to perform well in all our cooking tests.
Once you’ve finished cooking, the drawers and crisper plates can also be placed in the dishwasher for a quick and easy clean-up.
Reviewer: David Ludlow
Full review: Beko ExpertFry Dual Zone Air Fryer FRL5388
Dualit Air Fryer
Best single-drawer air fryer
Pros
Seven preset programmesGood-sized cooking areaDishwasher safe
Cons
Not suitable for large householdsSubstantial worktop footprint
Perfect for couples or smaller families, the Dualit Air Fryer has a decent 5.5L single-drawer capacity. Its squat shape means it not only promises to cook food evenly, thanks to its flat bottom, but it’s short enough to tuck underneath kitchen wall units. If you aren’t blessed with space then this is a nifty option.
A wonderfully uncomplicated device, using the air fryer is simple thanks to its on-device touchscreen panel which allows you to select a cooking mode and adjust the settings therein without hassle.
There are seven cooking modes found on the Dualit Air Fryer which include a french fry mode, vegetables, meat on the bone, frozen food, meat, bakery and fish. There’s also a manual mode that allows you to set your own time and temperature between 50˚C to 200˚C, which is perfect for reheating and dehydrating.
We found that the Dualit Air Fryer handled each of our cooking tasks brilliantly, which included steak, fries and hash browns, and offered crispy and perfectly cooked meals.
The design isn’t perfect, as we found that the drawer doesn’t always pull in or out easily and required a bit of extra pushing to click it into place but despite this, the Dualit air fryer is a wonderfully simple yet perfectly capable and efficient device that’s perfect for smaller spaces.
Reviewer: Rachel Ogden
Full review: Dualit Air Fryer
FAQs
How important are temperature settings? Most air fryers work at a standard temperature of 200C, which is required to crisp the outside of your food. If you find air fryers with higher temperature settings, they can cook food faster, which can be handy when dealing with frozen foods. Can an air fryer do everything a deep fat fryer can do? Not quite. While you’ll get similar results for most food, air fryers aren’t very good when it comes to wet batters, such as for fish and chips. Here, you’ll find that the batter drips off and you won’t get even results.Most air fryers require you to remove the food and regularly shake it, too, in order to evenly coat food in oil. Some models have clever features and layouts to reduce this, but it’s something to be aware of. What accessories do I need? Accessories vary by device. Some air fryers have optional basket separators, which let you cook different foods at the same time. Grill pans can help you cook other types of food. Some models even have muffin or cake trays, although you’ll probably find it easier to just use a regular oven. Is size important? Make sure that you buy an air fryer large enough for your needs. If you’ve got a large family, then you’ll want a model that can cook enough chips for you all. Most budget models suffer from small baskets that are good for one or two people, so you may need to up your budget to get a larger model. A larger basket also upgrades what you can cook, with some models even managing an entire chicken.
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UK RRP
USA RRP
EU RRP
CA RRP
AUD RRP
Manufacturer
Quiet Mark Accredited
Size (Dimensions)
Weight
ASIN
Release Date
First Reviewed Date
Model Number
Accessories
Stated Power
Number of compartments
Cooking modes
Total food capacity
Special features
Ninja Foodi Dual Zone 7.6L Air Fryer
£179.99
–
–
–
–
Ninja
–
315 x 375 x 350 MM
10.5 KG
B08CN3G4N9
2020
09/11/2020
–
–
2400 W
2
Air Fry, Max Crisp, Bake, Roast, Dehydrate, Reheat
7.6 litres
–
Ninja Foodi MAX 7.5L Multi-Cooker OP500UK
£229.99
–
–
–
–
Bionaire
–
420 x 380 x 350 MM
10 KG
B07YF9Y74S
2020
17/11/2020
–
–
1780 W
–
Pressure cook, steam, slow cook / yoghurt , sear, air crisp , grill, bake/roast and dehydrate
7.5 litres
–
Ninja Speedi 10-in-1 Rapid Cooker and Air Fryer ON400UK
£248.99
–
–
–
–
Ninja
–
330 x 350 x 310 MM
5.5 KG
B0BQCL5GVQ
2023
23/03/2023
Ninja Speedi 10-in-1 Rapid Cooker and Air Fryer ON400UK
5.7-litre cooking pot, crisper plate
1760 W
1
Speedi Meals, Steam Air Fry, Steam Bake, Steam, Grill, Air Fry, Bake / Roast, Dehydrate, Sear / Sauté and Slow Cook
5.7 litres
–
Cosori 8.5L XL Dual Zone Air Fryer
£199.99
–
–
–
–
–
–
440 x 391 x 301 MM
9 KG
–
2024
27/01/2024
–
Toast rack, skewer rack, skewers
1750 W
2
Air Fry, Roast, Reheat, Grill, Bake Dry
8.5 litres
Sync Cook, Sync Finish
Sage the Smart Oven Air Fry
£329.95
–
–
–
–
Sage
–
470 x 410 x 288 MM
13 KG
B07YSZ8V9K
2019
04/10/2019
–
–
2400 W
1
–
22 litres
–
Tower T17076 10-in-1 Digital Air Fryer
£139.99
–
–
–
–
Tower
–
324 x 339 x 382 MM
–
B09CDT23ZV
2022
23/03/2022
Tower T17076 10 in 1 Digital Air Fryer
Rotisserie fork and handle, chargrill plate, 3 x air-flow racks, 10 x rotating kebab skewers, non-stick oil tray, multi-function wire wrack, heatproof finger mitts
2000 W
1
Rotisserie, pizza, chargrill, kebabs, air frying, toast, bake, dehydrate, grill and roast
11 litres
–
Ninja Foodi MAX OL750UK
£269.99
–
–
–
–
Ninja
–
350 x 360 x 360 MM
11.3 KG
B09C873WR9
2022
12/05/2022
OL750UK
4.7-litre crisper basket, 2 x grill shelf, temperature probe
1760 W
1
Pressure, steam, steam air fry, steam bake, steam bread, air fry, grill, bake, dehydrate, prove, sear/saute, slow cook, yoghurt, keep warm
7.5 litres
Temperature probe cooking
Salter Aerogrill
£90
Unavailable
Unavailable
Unavailable
Unavailable
–
No
305 x 390 x 280 MM
6.1 KG
B09CYZQXGP
2021
15/08/2022
EK4549
Temperature probe
1760 W
1
Bake, roast, grill, dehydrate, air fry
6 litres
–
Beko ExpertFry Dual Zone Air Fryer FRL5388
£129
–
–
–
–
Beko
–
389 x 410 x 317 MM
8.7 KG
–
2023
08/12/2023
Beko ExpertFry Dual Zone Air Fryer FRL5388
Skewers, multi-tier rack
2400 W
2
Air fry, grill, bake, dehydrate
8.5 litres
–
Dualit Air Fryer
£129.99
–
–
–
–
Dualit
–
379 x 326 x 314 MM
5.1 KG
–
2023
04/12/2023
Dualit Air Fryer
Crisper plate
1700 W
1
Air fry
5.5 litres
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