admin Basket style: This option refers to an attached basket that pulls in and out of the unit like a drawer. They tend to be large enough to load up even more than a single serving of food. This style of air fryer also tends to be more compact and portable than an air-fryer toaster oven so it’s great for people who are lacking in countertop space.
Dual-basket style: Take a basket-style air fryer, add a second basket, and voilà: You’ve got a dual-basket air fryer. This doubles the utility of any model, and you can simultaneously cook two types of food at different temperatures and for different lengths of time. They are larger in size than a single-basket but that extra usefulness can make or break which model you purchase.
Air fryer toaster ovens: These are essentially shrunken-down ovens for use on your kitchen counter. They are infinitely transportable and can do everything from bake, roast, dehydrate, and broil.
How we tested
The best air fryers consistently cook food quickly and evenly (after all, if your fries don’t have that crunchy outer crust then what’s the point?), and should be functional enough to without . So, in our testing process, we sought to find out how efficiently each model works (i.e. if it evenly cooks, browns, and crisps food), how easy each one was to use and program using preset temperature settings, plus how quick and easy the cleanup process was. To test efficiency, we looked at how each of the air fryers did with frozen, store-bought French fries, homemade taquitos, and bone-in chicken wings. We also tested a whole and portioned chicken for the rotisserie model. Other factors we considered were how noisy the model was to operate and how many settings each one offered.
Below, the best air fryers for crisping up all kinds of foods, at a range of price points.
The Best Air Fryer, Overall: Philips Premium Air Fryer XXL
The Phillips Premium XL has enough room to easily cook up to four portions of food like its previous iterations but in a more space-saving unit. The air fryer comes with four cooking presets and an easy-to-read digital interface. The one downside to air fryers in general may be cleaning out the gathered oils but Philips’ proprietary technology separates and removes excess fat and makes it easier to clean. Best of all? Air fryers don’t need to be preheated—simply press power and you’re ready to start cooking—and this model gets up to temp in almost no time at all. It’s also designed for optimal airflow so food ends up crispier than you could ever hope for.
The Best Air Fryer for Large Families: Zavor America Crunch
When you’re an ambitious cook but don’t have quite enough counter space for that full-sized air fryer toaster, the Zavor Crunch is the one to buy. While most models offer some added bells and whistles, this one boasts up to seven added features which includes, of course, an air fryer mode, but also a grill function, rotisserie, toaster oven, dehydrator, and classic convection features. The 12.7-quart capacity is one of the larger on offer and resulted in excellent results when roasting chicken. Unfortunately, the rotisserie feature is limited to the size of the air fryer, but makes up for it with great results otherwise. It’s hard to resist any model with a French fry presetting, especially when the larger capacity means more crispy bites to go around. The LED display was easy to read and simple enough to operate.
The Best Basket-Style Air Fryer: Galanz Retro Electric
If a cute and compact air fryer is what you’re in the market for then look no further. This retro designed model has a non-stick and removable 4.8-quart air fry basket and crisper tray that are both dishwasher safe. The temperature controls are easy to adjust and customize to any specifications. Testers found that presets were remarkably accurate and produced consistent results. The model also was easy to clean and did not retain smells the following day.
The Best Designed Air Fryer: Crux X Marshmello 8 Qt
Way more than just a smart gimmick, the Crux brand is known for combining form and function into one turbo-charged unit. This Marshmello model (yes, the music producer helped design this air fryer) has a sleek design that reflects the artist and producer’s own aesthetic combined with Crux’s proprietary TurboCrisp function that cuts cooking time. The digital touchscreen and presets were especially easy to use and produced consistent results with some of the crispiest fries of all the models tested. The viewing window operates as a special added feature not often found in basket style fryers. It even comes with its own PFOA-free non-stick cooking basket and baking pan.
The Best Air Fryer Toaster Oven: Ninja
The best of both worlds, a single layer air fryer and toaster oven brings precision temperature control, minute changes in heat source and optimum airflow for the best of roasting abilities with minimal oil. It has a grand total of eight functions including air fry, roasting, broiling, baking, toasting, and dehydrating. Our tester loved that this appliance had a traditional hinged glass door to keep an eye on things. Preheating takes about sixty seconds, but once it’s up and running, food is ready in about 20 minutes. The best part about the toaster oven version is that it’s got an extra-large area for any pan and a family-sized portion of roasted veggies and meat all in one. Also, if you flip it on its back when not in use, the air fryer takes up 50% less space.
The Best Feature-Packed Air Fryer: Breville Smart Oven
The Breville Smart Oven Air Fryer Pro is a feature-packed juggernaut of a toaster oven, with more functions than one might actually want. It’s way more advanced than the Ninja, but it also comes in at a much higher price point: $400. But since we’re talking about air fryers here, we’ll focus on its air-frying function. Despite its single layer, you can cook a couple of different food items in there given they cook at the same temperature. The smart oven excels at re-crisping food that’s already been fried—think any frozen fried food—though there’s somewhat of an uneven cook depending on how close the food is to the front or back (food closer to the door is cooked faster and hotter than things toward the back of the oven). The air fryer is also simple to use, and once you get a hang of the air fryer function, you can mess around with the other settings like dehydrate, broil, and slow cook.
The Best Dual-Basket Air Fryer: Ninja Foodi 2-Basket
With double the baskets, you get double the air-fried fun. Ninja’s dual-basket air fryer has a massive eight-quart capacity, and with its two baskets, you can cook two things (or the same thing) at different times and temperatures. The Foodi has a Smart Finish feature that lets you add the different foods at the same time, but will make sure they both end at the same time so you don’t end up with a hot side and a cold entree. It’s a bulky countertop appliance, but if you’re using it in lieu of your oven, you can stand to sacrifice some precious countertop real estate.
Plus, 2 Other Air Fryers We Like
Though we haven’t had the pleasure of testing these other runner-ups below, there are a couple newer air fryers on the market that are worth your consideration (and have the reviews to back them up).
Since the release of its Always Pan, Our Place has been slowly releasing a steady stream of similarly Instagram-ready cookware products, from dinnerware sets to drinking glasses. One of its newer launches is the Wonder Oven, the brand’s first countertop appliance. Like a lot of toaster ovens these days, this bad boy has an air fryer option—which, again, simply means that there’s a fan in there that circulates air to help crisp things up. It’s dead simple to use, featuring three knobs: one for selecting a temperature, one for choosing a function, and another for setting a timer. The whole thing is a tad small, only able to accommodate a 4.5-pound chicken, but its multi-level design means you can have a couple of dishes going at once (like if you’re roasting vegetables on one shelf and making shrimp tempura on another).
We haven’t had a chance to test out Cosori’s Pro LE air fryer, but over 30,000 Amazon reviewers have given this countertop appliance a five-star review. This air fryer can get up to 450 degrees Fahrenheit, which is exceptional in this product category, which finds most machines maxing out around 400 degrees. As one reviewer writes: “This is a really good air fryer that we are using to cook about everything (…) We have been super pleased with the performance on this air fryer and have cooked everything from vegetables to chicken and pork chops. We also took it on a camping trip recently and it outperformed anyone else’s cooking implements.” The Cosori cooks food quickly, and because the accessories are dishwasher-safe, you can clean up super fast, too.
