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Best Air Fryer 2024: Top choices for healthier frying reviewed and tested

Healthier, crispy fried food the easy way with our round-up of the best air fryers

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
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Pros

  • Two separate drawers
  • Clever timing options
  • Large capacity
  • Excellent 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
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Pros

  • Easy to use
  • Excellent results
  • Huge 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
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Pros

  • Max complicated meals fast
  • Versatile range of cooking options
  • Steam air frying is incredible

Cons

  • Crisper plate fiddly to remove
  • Lower 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

Proscenic T22

The best budget air fryer for families
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Pros

  • Looks neat and stylish
  • Smart features including voice control
  • Good cooking

Cons

  • 205℃ max temperature
  • Slightly clunky food tray

As with the other Proscenic products that we’ve reviewed, the Proscenic T22 is a smart product. It can connect to your Wi-Fi giving you control via the app or even Alexa. The app gives remote control, plus a load of recipes: you still have to do the prep and cooking, but you get step-by-step instructions and the air fryer will be set to the correct settings.

For starters, this can be useful, but once we were used to the air fryer, we found it easier to skip the app and use the controls on the front.

We have to say that the manual controls are a little confusing with lots of buttons for dedicated cooking modes, such as seafood, chips, fish and meat. A simpler layout would help, although once you’re used to the T22, it’s often easier to set a temperature and time manually.

Persevere and this air fryer can deliver some quality results: crispy chips and nicely browned sausages, not to mention faster cooking times and better results for frozen essentials. With a single 5-litre drawer, there’s a good amount of space for cooking for families, too.

Reviewer: Simon Handby

Full review: Proscenic T21

Sage the Smart Oven Air Fry

The best oven and air fryer
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Pros

  • Air fries, bakes and grills quickly
  • 10 preset functions
  • 22-litre capacity

Cons

  • Hard to clean by hand
  • Larger footprint than an air fryer
  • Pricey

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
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Pros

  • Excellent selection of accessories
  • Easy to operate
  • Automatic programmes

Cons

  • Some accessories are fiddly
  • Maximum temperature 200ºC
  • Takes 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
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Pros

  • Very flexible
  • Steam cooking adds extra depth
  • Probe helps automate cooking

Cons

  • Bulky

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
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Pros

  • Air fryer and grill with large six-litre capacity
  • Good cooking performance with high maximum temperature
  • Surprisingly low power use

Cons

  • Temperature probe a bit confusing
  • Cooking 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

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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