Trusted Reviews is supported by its audience. If you purchase through links on our site, we may earn a commission.Learn more.

Best Air Fryer 2024: The best for hassle free meals

In This Article

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 amount 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 thebest microwaves and combi ovens, thebest toasters, thebest kettlesand thebest coffee machines.

Best air fryers at a glance

How We Test

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 Double Stack XL 9.5L Air Fryer SL400UK

The best overall air fryer

TheNinja Double Stack XL 9.5L Air Fryer SL400UKis our current pick for the best overall air fryer. The Double Stack XL combines its large capacity with a space-saving vertical design, delivering excellent results without taking up an unnecessary chunk of your countertop.

The SL400UK has the same huge 9.5-litre capacity as theNinja Foodi MAX Dual Zone Air Fryer AF400UK, but takes up just half the counter space thanks to its vertically-stacked design. Even so, the SL400UK is just 6cm taller.

Draws can be used individually or together, and each drawer can also cook on two layers using the wire racks provided. This makes it possible to cook an entire meal in a single drawer or double up on capacity by using both drawers. That is, provided both layers need to be cooked at the same temperature for a similar amount of time.

There are loads of modes to choose from, including Air Fry, Roast, Max Crisp, Reheat, Bake and Dehydrate. Each mode can be customised with temperature and time, aside from Max Crisp which runs at 240°C and is designed to give foods a crispy finish.

We found the cooking results to be generally excellent, with foods cooking quickly and evenly with a crisp finish.

There are no grill or steam modes, but if you’re looking for a large-capacity air fryer that can produce complete meals and large portions without taking up too much counter space, the SL400UK is our best choice.

Reviewer:David Ludlow

Full review:Ninja Double Stack XL 9.5L Air Fryer SL400UK

Ninja Foodi FlexDrawer Air Fryer 10.4L AF500UK

The best large air fryer

TheNinja Foodi FlexDrawer Air Fryer 10.4L AF500UKis 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 theNinja Foodi MAX Dual Zone Air Fryer AF400UKmay 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

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

Salter Fuzion Dual Air Fryer

The best air fryer for families

At 36.4cm wide and 37.8cm deep, the Fuzion Dual air fryer is a substantial appliance that requires a decent amount of kitchen space. Even so, thanks to its glossy black exterior and stainless-steel handles, it has a modern and sleek finish.

With an eight-litre drawer, which can be separated into two four-litre compartments, the Fuzion Dial allows you to either cook one large serving or two different foods simultaneously.

You’ll find seven preset cooking modes all selectable via the touch screen digital display, including fries, seafood, steak, pork, bake, chicken and vegetables. Each mode can be adjusted for time and temperature too, or you can input your own manual settings if you’d prefer.

Unfortunately, there aren’t modes for cooking from frozen or reheating food.

Otherwise there’s a sync button to have both four-litre compartments finish cooking at the same time and a match option if you want both drawers to use the same cooking settings.

Although Salter does include plenty of cooking guidance with the Fuzion Dual, including suggested temperatures and cooking times for different foods plus recipe ideas, we did notice conflicting advice on how foods should actually be cooked. This resulted in uncertainty as to whether food is finished or not, especially as it’s difficult to see into the air fryer without opening it (and that’s in spite of the included see-through doors).

While overall performance is admirable, with foods such as chicken and steak cooked perfectly, we did find a slight issue when using the sync option. For example, when using the four-litre compartments to cook both fries and hash browns, we found neither portion cooked quite as perfectly as we would have liked.

Finally, the drawer itself isn’t dishwasher safe which might be an issue for some. Having said that, thanks to its non-stick coating, washing by hand wasn’t too difficult.

With an RRP of £134.99, the Salter Fuzion Dual air fryer is an affordable way to take the hassle out of meal time. However, for an easier to use appliance that’s also dishwasher safe, you might be better off with theNinja Foodi Dual Zone 7.6-litreair fryer.

Full review:Salter Fuzion Dual Air Fryer

Reviewer:Rachel Ogden

Sage the Smart Oven Air Fry

The best oven and air fryer

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

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-cooker

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

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

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

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

Dreo ChefMaker

Best for cooking meat

With multiple cooking modes, a 6-litre basket capacity and a magnetic probe for ultra-precise results, the Dreo ChefMaker air fryer is a brilliant option for medium-sized families.

The Dreo ChefMaker is one of the only air fryers available that includes a temperature probe, which perhaps explains why it’s a more expensive option. Using the dedicated Probe Cook mode is easy as the ChefMaker assists you with guidance on setting temperatures for food, based on weight and type.

Alongside the Probe Cook Mode, there’s the exclusive Chef Mode which automatically adjusts cooking time based on the food type. It’s worth mentioning that although this is undoubtedly a clever mode, and one we favoured in our review, it isn’t foolproof and can be too conservative in some instances and too aggressive in others.

For example when cooking two chicken breasts the ChefMaker estimated this would take 25 minutes, however we found that they weren’t quite cooked and needed an extra eight minutes of air frying to evenly cook.

Even so, we found most foods from a sirloin steak to a lean beef roasting joint, a crackling pork loin joint and even vegetables cooked almost perfectly.

There’s also pre-set modes available for less complicated meals including Air Fry, Grill and Roast, which you’d expect from most air fryers.

Regardless of which mode you choose, using the ChefMaker is simple thanks to its intuitive control panel which clearly displays all the available functions and cooking modes. Operated by buttons, rather than a touchscreen, the control panel offers everything you need to use and maintain the device.

For a hard-working air fryer that makes light work of difficult-to-master cooking methods and boasts a stylish, modern look, the Dreo ChefMaker is a great choice. Although, it’s worth remembering that this is quite an expensive option so should definitely be considered as an investment.

Reviewer:Reece Bithrey

Full review:Dreo ChefMaker

FAQs

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.

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.

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.

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.

We also considered…

The perfect air fryer for large families

A smart air fryer that can cook two dishes at once

Small and portable, this air fryer is perfect for those short on space

We’ve reviewed

147

Cooker

Spec Comparison

Starting life on the consumer PC press back in 1998, David has been at the forefront of technology for the past 20 years. He has edited Computer Shopper and Expert Reviews, and once wrote a book on ho…

Founded in 2003, Trusted Reviews exists to give our readers thorough, unbiased and independent advice on what to buy.

Today, we have millions of users a month from around the world, and assess more than 1,000 products a year.

Editorial independence means being able to give an unbiased verdict about a product or company, with the avoidance of conflicts of interest. To ensure this is possible, every member of the editorial staff follows a clear code of conduct.

We also expect our journalists to follow clear ethical standards in their work. Our staff members must strive for honesty and accuracy in everything they do. We follow the IPSO Editors’ code of practice to underpin these standards.

Why trust our journalism?

Founded in 2003, Trusted Reviews exists to give our readers thorough, unbiased and independent advice on what to buy.

Today, we have millions of users a month from around the world, and assess more than 1,000 products a year.

Editorial independence means being able to give an unbiased verdict about a product or company, with the avoidance of conflicts of interest. To ensure this is possible, every member of the editorial staff follows a clear code of conduct.

We also expect our journalists to follow clear ethical standards in their work. Our staff members must strive for honesty and accuracy in everything they do. We follow the IPSO Editors’ code of practice to underpin these standards.