Quizience is supported by you the audience. When you purchase through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission.
We love air fryers at Serious Eats. They’re staples in our test and home kitchens. I’ve been an air fryer fan for years, using mine to make easy breaded chicken cutlets, crisp up Brussels sprouts or potatoes, and heat various frozen foods.
All this to say, we think an air fryer is absolutely worth it. It cooks efficiently, works faster than an oven (or toaster oven), and actually minimizes cleanup. Don’t just take it from me, though. As editorial director Daniel Gritzer says, “They roast small amounts of food very, very well, and quickly. If you have the space to store yet another device in your kitchen, it’s arguably worth buying one.” Senior culinary editor Genevieve Yam adds that she loves her air fryer and that it’s “handy for warming up leftovers,” like pizza. “Really, I mostly use it for air fryer broccoli, which we make at least three times a week!” Genevieve says.
To find the best air fryers, we’ve spent years testing 34 of them, searching for which ones crisped food the best, and were the easiest to use and clean.
THE BEST AIR FRYER – Instant Vortex Plus 6-Quart 6-in-1 Air Fryer
Key Specs
- Stated capacity: 6 quarts
- Dimensions: 12.4 x 14.9 x 12.8 inches
- Temperature range: 95 to 400℉
- Time range: 1 to 60 minutes
- Settings/presets: Air fry, roast, broil, bake, reheat, dehydrate
- Type: Basket-style
- Warranty: 1 year
What we liked: With intuitive, clearly labeled touchscreen controls that featured a knob for easy temperature and time toggling, this air fryer was a standout. It has a wide, square basket, a comfortable handle, and a perforated insert that stays put when tilting and removing food. It consistently produced the most well-browned food in the least amount of time. It also allows you to set the temperature in five-degree increments, and it saves the last temperature and time setting used.
What we didn’t like: It had a built-in preheat function that averaged four minutes, and while this wasn’t a huge deal (we just added food straightaway, let the machine preheat, and waited the 30 seconds it took in between the “add food” notification and when the machine automatically began the cycle) if you want to add a couple of extra minutes after the machine’s completed cooking, it will have to preheat again. In this case, the preheat time is noticeably shorter, but still present. This air fyrer is moderately noisy, too.
ANOTHER GREAT AIR FRYER – Ninja AF101 4 Quart Air Fryer
Key Specs
- Stated capacity: 4 quarts
- Dimensions: 8.5 x 12.1 x 11 inches
- Temperature range: 105 to 400℉
- Time range: 1 to 60 minutes
- Settings/presets: Air fry, roast, reheat, dehydrate
- Type: Basket-style
- Warranty: 1 year
What we liked: This is one of the only smaller air fryers that could keep up with its larger counterparts, in part due to its more spacious basket. It consistently produced well-cooked food. While we didn’t find the all-analog controls to be as easy to use as digital controls (lots of button pressing), for those who are averse to touchscreens, we can see why they would be appealing. We also appreciated how streamlined its interface was, that it was fairly silent, and that its timer counts down at the one-minute mark.
What we didn’t like: If you’re feeding a family, the four-quart basket may be too small. (We’d suggest the Instant instead.) It vents a lot of hot air out the back and, again, its button controls are tedious.
THE BEST AIR FRYER WITH A SEE-THROUGH WINDOW – Instant Pot Vortex Plus 6-Quart ClearCook Air Fryer
Key Specs
- Stated capacity: 6 quarts
- Dimensions: 14.9 x 11.8 x 13 inches
- Temperature range: 95℉ to 400℉
- Time range: 1 to 60 minutes
- Presets: Air fry, roast, broil, bake, reheat, dehydrate
- Type: Basket-style
- Warranty: 1 year
What we liked: Like our overall top pick from Instant, this model has touchscreen digital controls and a knob for easily (and quickly) toggling the time and temp, and the latter can be adjusted in five-degree increments. The roomy basket cooked fries and wings exceptionally well and its see-through front allows you to check food mid-cooking without opening the air fryer. Its price is excellent, too. Its beeps sound like that of a video game.
What we didn’t like: The handle was set at an angle, which felt more awkward to hold.
AN AIR FRYER WE LIKE WITH A HIGHER TEMPERATURE RANGE – Cosori Pro LE 5-Quart Air Fryer
Key Specs
- Stated capacity: 5 quarts
- Dimensions: 10.8 x 12 x 14.4 inches
- Temperature range: 170 to 450℉
- Time range: 1 to 60 minutes
- Settings/presets: Air fryer, keep warm, preheat, chicken, fries, frozen, steak, seafood, veggies, bacon
- Type: Basket-style
- Warranty: 2 years
What we liked: This slightly smaller Cosori crisped food nicely, had a quiet fan, and had a responsive touchscreen located on the top—rather than the front—of the air fryer. Going up to 450℉, this Cosori has the highest upper-temperature limit we’ve seen. (Most air fryers max out at 400℉.) We appreciated its “shake food” reminder, which emitted a nice, audible noise. At $100, it’s fairly inexpensive, too.
What we didn’t like: The touchscreen-only control panel took more tap-tap-tapping to adjust the time and temperature. While we didn’t hate the fact that the touchscreen is located at the top of the air fryer, some users may find this less of an intuitive placement.
THE BEST SMALL AIR FRYER – Instant Pot Vortex 4-in-1 2-quart Mini Air Fryer Oven Combo
Key Specs
- Stated capacity: 2 quarts
- Dimensions: 11.26 x 9.02 x 11.73 inches
- Temperature range: 120 to 400°F
- Time range: 1 to 60 minutes
- Settings/presets: Air fry, bake, roast, reheat
- Type: Basket-style
- Warranty: 2 years
What we liked: As the little sibling of our full-size winner, it’s no surprise that this mini Instant Vortex came out on top when we tested it alongside a curated lineup of other small air fryers. It cooked evenly and quickly (fries took 14 minutes, wings took 30), plus it had an easy-to-use digital control panel. Despite its compact stature, it also had a wide basket compared to the other models we tested it against.
What we didn’t like: Like the larger Instant Vortex, it had a preheat function that added time to the cooking process. While it might be tempting to get a smaller air fryer for easier storage, we’d only really recommend it for cooking for one or two people at a time.
THE BEST AIR FRYER TOASTER OVEN – Breville Smart Oven Air Fryer Pro
Key Specs
- Stated capacity: N/A
- Dimensions: 21.5 x 17.5 x 12.7 inches
- Temperature range: 80 to 480°F
- Time range: 1 to 60 minutes
- Settings/presets: Toast, bagel, broil, bake, roast, warm, pizza, proof, air fry, reheat, cookies, slow cook, and dehydrate
- Type: Air fryer toaster oven
- Warranty: 2 years
What we liked: Sleek, intuitive, and incredibly great at air frying: This is the best air fryer toaster oven money can buy. Fries and wings emerged golden brown and the perforated insert easily slid into the brackets on the toaster oven’s walls. The bright digital control panel and knobs made toggling between settings, temperature, and time intuitive.
What we didn’t like: This air fryer toaster oven doesn’t toast as well as a standalone toaster. While this isn’t surprising (it was true for many of the models we tested), it’s worth noting.
A LESS EXPENSIVE AIR FRYER TOASTER OVEN WE RECOMMEND – KitchenAid Dual Convection Countertop Oven
Key Specs
- Stated capacity: N/A
- Dimensions: 18.5 x 1.5 x 13.5 inches
- Temperature range: 150 to 450°F
- Time range: 1 to 60 minutes
- Setting/presets: Toast, bagel, bake, broil, air fry, dehydrate, meat probe, convection bake, roast, keep warm, reheat, and proof
- Type: Air fryer toaster oven
- Warranty: 1 year
What we liked: Are we saying $280 (at the time of writing) is cheap? No, but this is the least expensive air fryer toaster oven we like. It’s sleek and produced crispy fries in our tests. The digital control panel is bright and easy to read, too. At $120 less than the Breville, the KitchenAid pairs performance and price well.
What we didn’t like: The exterior of the oven gets rather hot to the touch. The temperature is only adjustable in five-degree increments.
THE BEST DUAL BASKET AIR FRYER (IF YOU MUST) – Instant Vortex Plus XL 8 Qt Clearcook Air Fryer
Key Specs
- Stated capacity: 8 quarts
- Dimensions: 17.8 x 17.8 x 15.4 inches
- Temperature range: 95 to 400℉
- Time range: 1 to 60 minutes
- Settings/presets: Air fry, roast, broil, bake, reheat, dehydrate, SyncCook, and SyncFinish
- Type: Dual basket air fryer
- Warranty: 1 year
What we liked: We liked that the machine’s beeps sounded like a video game and found its “sync” cook (which duplicated the temperature/time of the first basket) helpful. Its digital touchscreen control panel was clearly labeled and easy to use. And its knobs made it quick to toggle the temperature and time. For cooking foods at separate temperatures (like chicken thighs and cauliflower, for example), this air fryer will do the trick.
What we didn’t like: Its small baskets couldn’t hold that much food—a pound of fries in each was too much.