Air fryers inspire the sort of feelings that microwaves did in the 1980s. I vividly remember those new-fangled boxes being spoken about often, either dismissively or with delight. A rash of cookbooks followed, and dinner changed across the land. Fast-forward a few decades, and air fryers have become the same kind of kitchen “disruptors”, offering time-saving convenience and healthier cooking, but with the added allure of easily achieved, mouth-watering crispiness.
Since launching with a single-drawer design, air fryers have evolved. Sizes range from compact to XL, while drawer configurations can be double, split or stacked. Alongside air frying, many will grill, roast and bake, and some will dip to lower temperatures for dehydrating, fermenting and proving dough. One we tested features steam cooking, allowing you to whip up dim sum as easily as a roast dinner, while another included racks for cooking on four levels.
Given that the air fryer market is so crowded, it’s worth seeking out the best style for your needs – whether that’s for the simple pleasures of homemade chips or to really shake up your meals.
At a glance
Why you should trust me
While air fryers have made the transition from novelty to must-have in recent years, there’s been one in my kitchen for well over a decade, and it’s in daily use. I’ve been a consumer journalist for decades, and as well as air fryers, I’ve tested air-frying health grills and ovens, multi-cookers that can air fry, and everything in between. Anything I can make chips with is welcome in my kitchen. Hang around me long enough and I’ll fill you in on what air fryers can do, how they work, common issues, and how many I’ve tested over the years (about 50).
How I tested
By now, you must have worked out that I take testing air fryers very seriously. My commitment to the cause has seen me peel and chip more than 7kg of potatoes – which was just as tedious as it sounds. The internet is awash with hacks for peeling potatoes, including everything from worktop gadgets to peeling hot pre-boiled potatoes with your hands – and even (and I’m not making this up) power drills and toilet brushes in a bucket. I decided a sharp peeler was the best choice.
Each air fryer was run empty from cold for one hour at 200C to rate its power use. Where available, I followed the manufacturer’s instructions for cooking chips. This is because the guidance is often based on the air fryer’s capabilities. Where there was none, I defaulted to 24 minutes at 200C. The same was true for onion rings – if there was a similar frozen food, I followed the suggested times and temperatures; if not, I chose 18 minutes at 200C.
Any food that looked at risk of burning was removed before it did so, meaning one or two cycles were ended early. Finished food was assessed on appearance (colour and texture), crisp and crunch, and the consistency of the batch (such as whether some items were less brown than others).
The 12 machines I tested for this article are either recognisably an air fryer or an air fryer grill. I haven’t tested compact ovens or multi-cookers that air fry because they don’t offer the same experience, such as the ability to shake or turn the contents quickly, and they often don’t have removable parts that are easy to clean.
The best air fryers in 2025
Best air fryer overall:
Tefal Easy Fry Dual XXL EY942BG0
Tefal
Easy Fry Dual XXL EY942BG0
from £119.99
What we love
A stellar performance coupled with cooking flexibility
What we don’t love
It’s a bit of a worktop hog, so make some room
Given that Tefal is behind the pioneering Actifry, it comes as no surprise that the Easy Fry Dual XXL is a fantastic all-rounder, excelling at both making chips and handling frozen food. It’s also Tefal’s largest double-drawer air fryer, providing a generous capacity for families and entertaining, and it has the company’s 15-year repairability commitment to cut waste.
Why we love it
While I remain unconvinced of Tefal’s claim that this air fryer’s 11-litre capacity will cater for eight to 10 people – perhaps if they’re not very hungry – it ticks almost every box, making it my choice for the best air fryer overall. There’s a good temperature range of 40-200C, programs for common foods, and the drawers and plates are dishwasher-safe and feel robust.
More importantly, it performed excellently during testing, with the only head-scratcher being its recommendation for chips at 180C for 45 minutes, which was too long. After only 35 minutes, some chips were already slightly overdone, but the overall result was lovely and crisp. Onion rings emerged beautifully browned – they were the best of the lot.
It’s a shame that … most buttons are icons – my pet hate – making it a challenge to program without the instructions to hand.
Size: 38.5 x 45.8cm x 33 (WDH)
Capacity: 11 litres
Power draw: 1.154kWh = 30p an hour
Dishwasher safe: yes
Programs: fries, chicken, vegetables, fish, dessert, dehydration and manual
Tefal
Easy Fry Dual XXL EY942BG0
from £119.99
What we love
A stellar performance coupled with cooking flexibility
What we don’t love
It’s a bit of a worktop hog, so make some room
Best budget air fryer:
Tower AirX AI Digital Air Fryer
Tower
AirX AI Digital Air Fryer
from £55
What we love
Its colour screen and presets make it easier to program
What we don’t love
Outside of the presets, there isn’t much guidance
The prices below reflect current Black Friday offers
Choosing a more affordable air fryer doesn’t mean compromising on features. Tower’s AirX comes with an easy-to-read colour screen; a deep drawer with enough flat space for a fish or steak; and six presets that use sensors and a bit of tech to take the guesswork out of cooking different foods.
Why we love it
Rather than being a jack of all trades, this pocket-friendly air fryer specialises in fuss-free lunches and dinners more than general cooking. So if you love marinated chicken wings or a medium steak, this is the air fryer for you. The presets can be constrictive – for example, the fries preset is designed only for frozen chips – but there is a manual mode for more confident cooks.
In testing, onion rings emerged perfectly crisp after only 12 minutes, the deep drawer accommodating 11 of them, and fresh chips were near perfect with consistent browning, crunch and bubbling. My only issue was that the touchscreen wasn’t always responsive with a light touch – but this might be a plus for those who dislike oversensitive screens.
It’s a shame that … the drawer isn’t dishwasher safe, so some of the time you save with presets will be spent cleaning.
Size: 22.8 x 39.9 x 28.2cm (WDH)
Capacity: 5 litres
Power draw: 0.606kWh = 16p an hour
Dishwasher safe: no
Programs: chicken, fries, fish, prawns, cupcake, steak, manual
Tower
AirX AI Digital Air Fryer
from £55
What we love
Its colour screen and presets make it easier to program
What we don’t love
Outside of the presets, there isn’t much guidance
Best single-drawer air fryer:
Lakeland Slimline air fryer
Lakeland
Slimline air fryer
from £69.99
What we love
It provides plenty of cooking space at a great value price
What we don’t love
Parts aren’t dishwasher safe, so you’ll have to clean by hand
The prices below reflect current Black Friday offers
If you don’t have much counter space and don’t want to compromise on capacity, Lakeland’s slimline model is a good choice. There’s adequate flat space inside for family-size meals, or up to 1.3kg of chips, plus an internal light and a clear window to check on dinner.
Why we love it
I felt this air fryer was great value for money, with a good cooking capacity for its price, and it was economical to run. Its slimline shape meant food could be spread out, and I was pleased with the results of testing. Chips were golden brown, crisp at the ends and fluffy in the middle, and the batch was consistent overall, while onion rings were pleasingly crunchy. I found the window redundant once it became greasy, but it could be useful for less oily foods. I also wasn’t keen on the button that needed to be depressed to open the drawer – but it might keep curious fingers away from harm.
It’s a shame that … its lowest temperature is 80C, so you won’t be dehydrating or proving dough.
Size: 27.7 x 42 x 29cm (WDH)
Capacity: 8 litres
Power draw: 0.674kWh = 18p an hour
Dishwasher safe: no, hand-wash only
Programs: fries, seafood, steak, fish, chicken wings, pizza, bake
Lakeland
Slimline air fryer
from £69.99
What we love
It provides plenty of cooking space at a great value price
What we don’t love
Parts aren’t dishwasher safe, so you’ll have to clean by hand
Best air fryer for chips:
Philips 5000 Series NA555/09 dual basket steam air fryer
Philips
5000 Series NA555/09 dual basket steam air fryer
from £169
What we love
Steam provides more cooking options than a standard model
What we don’t love
It’s big: not one for those with compact kitchens
The prices below reflect current Black Friday offers
One of only a few air fryers that can also steam your food, the 5000 Series is particularly suitable if you want to trim fat from your diet – or if you dislike the dry textures that result from overcooking. Introducing steam into the mix means it’s possible to air fry, steam or use a combination of both for moist meats, bakes and reheated leftovers.
Why we love it
This double air fryer offers a lot of versatility, and I felt it was the best air fryer for chips. It’s well built, feels robust and is easy to keep clean even without a dishwasher, thanks to the self-clean mode that uses steam to loosen debris. Programming can be puzzling at first – especially as you’ll need to download its manual rather than getting one in the box – but the food it cooked made up for it: crisp, perfectly browned onion rings and chips with a moreish crunch, fluffy interior and pretty consistent browning throughout. It’s frustrating that only the six-litre drawer steams, the three-litre one being limited to air frying, but you’re sure to get plenty of use out of both.
It’s a shame that … if you live in a hard-water area, you’ll need to descale this air fryer to keep it in tip-top condition.
Size: 49 x 39 x 40cm (WDH)
Capacity: 9 litres
Power draw: 0.79kWh = 21p an hour
Dishwasher safe: yes
Programs: fresh fries, frozen fries, chicken, meat, veggies, fish, cake, reheat
Philips
5000 Series NA555/09 dual basket steam air fryer
from £169
What we love
Steam provides more cooking options than a standard model
What we don’t love
It’s big: not one for those with compact kitchens
Best two-in-one air fryer:
Caso Design AirFry DuoChef
Caso Design
AirFry DuoChef
from £129.99
What we love
The ability to become an oven makes it handy for entertaining
What we don’t love
You might have to experiment a bit to get the best results
Prices below reflect current Black Friday offers
Short on countertop space? Caso Design’s DuoChef is a twin-drawer air fryer that can turn into a small oven. Think of it like a robot-to-car Transformer: slide out the divider that sits between the two drawers, attach an oven door, and you have another appliance altogether.
As well as performing double duty, the DuoChef is packed with handy features. There’s an interior light, windows on each air fryer drawer for checking progress, a shake reminder, and a hold function so that both drawers finish cooking at the same time.
Why we love it
Beyond its transforming capabilities, the best thing about the DuoChef is how easy it is to program. While some dual-drawer models can leave you scratching your head, here there are just three buttons for selecting the left or right drawer or both.
However, while it crisped up onion rings nicely in the allotted time, fresh fries were another matter entirely. After 25 minutes, the potato was still quite pale, with only light browning, and required another five minutes’ cooking time to reach any kind of crispiness.
It’s a shame that … it’s pretty slow at whipping up chips compared with the other models on test.
Size: 43.5 x 38.5x 33.5cm (WDH)
Capacity: 11 litres (14 litres as an oven)
Power draw: 0.971kWh = 26p an hour
Dishwasher safe: yes
Programs: fries, steak, chicken, bacon, fish, vegetables, pizza, cakes, root vegetables, reheat
Caso Design
AirFry DuoChef
from £129.99
What we love
The ability to become an oven makes it handy for entertaining
What we don’t love
You might have to experiment a bit to get the best results
Best air fryer grill:
ProCook air fryer health grill
ProCook
Air fryer health grill
£129
What we love
The flat space lends itself well to steaks, fish and kebabs
What we don’t love
Lots of accessories = more stuff to store
The price below reflects current Black Friday offers
If you find the flat cooking space of some air fryers restrictive, you can spread your (chicken) wings with ProCook’s air fryer health grill. It comes with a 4.5-litre cooking pot and basket for air frying, as well as accessories to turn it into a slow-cooking and steaming kitchen helper.
Why we love it
Air fryer grills aren’t always the most convenient for making chips from scratch, because you can’t quickly shake a drawer for even results. However, with the toss of a spatula, the ProCook ensured great consistency throughout its batch of chips. They emerged crisp at the ends and golden overall, with no pieces that overcooked and only one or two paler chips. Onion rings were crunchy and nothing stuck to the basket. My only niggle was that the settings could be confusing for a first-time user: once you’ve altered them to suit and hit start, the display shows the program’s default settings instead while it preheats.
It’s a shame that … I found cleaning the basket and cooking pot a chore: it comes with its own brush for tackling greasy residue, and you will need to use it.
Size: 40 x 40 x 28cm (WDH)
Capacity: 4.5 litres
Power draw: 0.83kWh = 22p an hour
Dishwasher safe: no (basket and pot)
Programs: air fry, roast, broil, bake, dehydrate, slow cook, grill, griddle, stew, steam, keep warm, manual
ProCook
Air fryer health grill
£129
What we love
The flat space lends itself well to steaks, fish and kebabs
What we don’t love
Lots of accessories = more stuff to store
Best compact air fryer:
Ninja Double Stack XL SL400UK air fryer
Ninja
Double Stack XL SL400UK air fryer
from £188
What we love
There’s great capacity in a compact footprint
What we don’t love
It could be too tall to tuck it below units when not in use
Prices below reflect current Black Friday offers
No article about air fryers would be complete without Ninja, which has given the world models in all shapes and sizes – most notably its stacked designs. The Double Stack XL offers capacity without a huge worktop footprint, thanks to its twin 4.75-litre drawers and a pair of racks that double its flat area, allowing you to cook four layers of food. Ideal for families, newbies and those struggling to squeeze in an air fryer.
Why we love it
Ninja’s air fryers always come packed with guidance and recipes, and the Double Stack XL is no exception. These serve to underline how versatile it is: you could cook two whole chickens at the same time, for example – great if your barbecue’s rained off. It’s incredibly easy to program and adjust as it cooks – and the top temperature of 240C is perfect for crisping food from the freezer. That said, some of its recommended times and temperatures might be a bit off. After 26 minutes at 200C, some chips were still pale and soft, which suggests they’d need longer. There were similar results from the onion rings, which after 18 minutes didn’t have the crisp and crunch produced by the other machines.
It’s a shame that … its results didn’t impress me as much as Ninja’s other air fryers have – you may need to tweak settings.
Size: 28 x 47 x 38.5cm (WDH)
Capacity: 9.5 litres
Power draw: 1.049kWh = 28p an hour
Dishwasher safe: yes – but hand-washing recommended to extend lifespan
Programs: air fry, max crisp, roast, bake, dehydrate, reheat
Ninja
Double Stack XL SL400UK air fryer
from £188
What we love
There’s great capacity in a compact footprint
What we don’t love
It could be too tall to tuck it below units when not in use
The best of the rest
Fritaire the self-cleaning glass bowl air fryer
Fritaire
The self-cleaning glass bowl air fryer
from £152.15
What we love
It’s seriously stylish and looks fab lit up
What we don’t love
It’s not nearly as convenient as a standard model
Prices below reflect current Black Friday offers
Best for: avoiding nonstick coatings
Hate the boxy look of air fryers? Or perhaps you crave crispy chips but have doubts about BPA, Teflon or Pfas? If so, there’s the Fritaire. Equipped with a stainless-steel grill stand, rotating tumbler for fries and a rotisserie for chicken, it looks as if a halogen cooker and an air fryer got together and had a baby. Plus, there’s a choice of bright colours for those who can’t stand black.
There’s much here to like – a “self-cleaning” function that keeps the glass bowl from becoming greasy, good visibility to check progress, and if you’re using the tumbler, no need to shake fries – but there are downsides. I found the display hard to read in bright light, and the tumbler capacity is only 500g: loading it with chips was awkward compared with tossing them in a drawer. Plus, while onion rings emerged crisp and brown from the stand, the chips were anything but. While the batch was consistent, the chips were mostly soft and slightly chewy.
It didn’t make the final cut because … the exterior grows extremely hot during cooking, and stays hot for some time after.
Size: 34 x 26 x 33cm (WDH)
Capacity: 4.7 litres (0.5kg max capacity of food using stand/tumbler)
Power draw: 0.65kWh = 17p an hour
Dishwasher safe: yes, accessories only
Programs: french fries, steak, chicken, seafood, bake, dehydrate
Fritaire
The self-cleaning glass bowl air fryer
from £152.15
What we love
It’s seriously stylish and looks fab lit up
What we don’t love
It’s not nearly as convenient as a standard model
Salter Fuzion dual air fryer
Salter
Fuzion dual air fryer
£99
What we love
Lots of capacity and cooking flexibility for the price
What we don’t love
You might need to test and adjust for the best results
Best for: families on a budget
If you’re feeding many mouths, you’ll need a big air fryer. Salter’s Fuzion offers a lot of space at an affordable price – and thanks to the eight-litre drawer’s divider, you can air fry two foods at the same time. Alternatively, with the divider in place, you can just use half the air fryer: perfect for snacks. However, like other air fryers with dividers, it has issues with shaking: both types of food will be tossed around, and larger drawers are harder to shake.
I was disappointed with the level of browning on the chips and found that the onion rings weren’t quite as crisp as they should be. Keeping its clear window grease-free may be a challenge, too.
It didn’t make the final cut because … the drawer doesn’t feel as durable as it should be for this type of air fryer: its metal is thin enough to flex.
Size: 36.4 x 38 x 32cm (WDH); capacity: 8 litres; power draw: 0.912kWh = 24p an hour; dishwasher safe: no; programs: manual, chips, shellfish, steak, pork, bake, chicken, vegetables
Salter
Fuzion dual air fryer
£99
What we love
Lots of capacity and cooking flexibility for the price
What we don’t love
You might need to test and adjust for the best results
Instant Pot Vortex Plus ClearCook VersaZone air fryer
Instant Pot
Vortex Plus ClearCook VersaZone air fryer
from £85.49
What we love
It’s great at turning out crisp and crunch
What we don’t love
Programming an air fryer should be easier than this
The prices below reflect current Black Friday offers
Best for: confident air fryer cooks
I’m afraid Instant Pot commits one of my air fryer cardinal sins with its Vortex Plus VersaZone: there’s no instructions or guidance in the box, but simply a QR code that directs you to videos – I’m not a fan of forcing tech into the kitchen. The Instant Pot was also one of the trickiest to program (for example, you have to switch from single drawer to dual by holding its control knob), so it’s probably not a good choice for air fryer newbies.
There are some good things here, though: two 4.2-litre compartments with a divider, the ability to switch to fahrenheit, and the option to turn off the beeps if they annoy. It also produced great results, and perhaps that’s the most important thing: plenty of crispy chips – though not consistently so – and crunchy, well-browned onion rings.
It didn’t make the final cut because … the display is busy and hard to read in bright light.
Size: 31.4 x 38.4 x 40.4cm (WDH); capacity: 8.5 litres; power draw: 1.187kWh = 31p an hour; dishwasher safe: yes; programs: air fry, roast, bake, grill, dehydrate, reheat
Instant Pot
Vortex Plus ClearCook VersaZone air fryer
from £85.49
What we love
It’s great at turning out crisp and crunch
What we don’t love
Programming an air fryer should be easier than this
Russell Hobbs SatisFry air fryer & grill multi-cooker
Russell Hobbs
SatisFry air fryer & grill multi-cooker
from £82.99
What we love
The pot is dishwasher safe – a rarity for an affordable appliance
What we don’t love
You might need to air fry in batches
Best for: small households
If you’re unsure about how much you might use an air fryer and so want an appliance that does more to earn its place on the worktop, the compact SatisFry could suit. It may stretch the definition of a multi-cooker somewhat, lacking some of the functions you might associate with one, but its spacious pot can be used for air frying and other tasks, including slow cooking and searing.
There’s not much guidance, however, and the results were mixed: chips were browned but soft and not very crisp, while onion rings were doughy with some singeing. I suspect both could have benefited from different times and temperatures. The other downside is that it recommends no more than 800g at a time for air frying, so you won’t be able to use all its space for this function.
It didn’t make the final cut because … it’s not the easiest to program: for example, there are no separate up and down buttons for time and temperature.
Size: 37.8 x 32 x 28.2cm (WDH); capacity: 5.5 litres; power draw: 0.550kWh = 14p an hour; dishwasher safe: yes; programs: air fry, bake, grill, keep warm, roast, sear, slow cook high/low
Russell Hobbs
SatisFry air fryer & grill multi-cooker
from £82.99
What we love
The pot is dishwasher safe – a rarity for an affordable appliance
What we don’t love
You might need to air fry in batches
What you need to know
What can I cook in an air fryer?
While air fryers have gained a reputation for turning out perfect homemade chips and crispy food from the freezer, they’re capable of far more. Not only can you “boil” eggs, prove dough and make yoghurt (if your model offers lower temperatures), you should be able to cook almost anything your oven can. As a rough guide, for oven recipes, set your air fryer temperature 20C lower (so if a recipe states 200C fan, set your air fryer to 180C). Air fryers also cook more quickly than an oven. The time can be reduced by as much as a quarter, so check food often to prevent burning.
You can press your air fryer into service for every meal of the day. Try sesame and pine nut air fryer granola for breakfast, a light lunch of crisp chickpea, courgette and tomato salad, followed by prepare-ahead lamb koftas with tahini sauce for dinner and a dessert of apple and cinnamon “pan” cake. Busy day? Curl up with air fryer chicken wings with baby potatoes for a tasty supper or a sweet treat snack of glazed chouxnuts.
What features should my air fryer have?
A good-quality air fryer is an investment, so check its programs, ease of cleaning and temperature/time range before you buy. There’s no need for the lower temperatures and long durations (usually up to 12 hours) for dehydrating fruit and fermenting yoghurt if you’ll mostly be using it for air frying, for example. Similarly, if you’re a keen cook, look for one with plenty of space – a small air fryer may soon limit your horizons.
For those with a dishwasher, check that drawers and crisping plates are safe to clean this way, while if you’re cleaning by hand, robust nonstick coatings will make degreasing easier.
How do air fryers work?
Air fryers are best thought of as smaller, modified convection ovens with a fast fan. Rather than having the fan and element at the rear, these are above, producing powerful fanned heat that’s circulated around the drawer.
Food sits on a perforated crisper plate, allowing heat to reach the underside, while a thin layer of oil on the surface “fries” the exterior to create browning and crunch. Shaking the contents in the drawer roughens up the surface, creating more area for crisping.
Are air fryers healthier than regular frying?
Yes, both because you need a lower amount of oil – a tablespoon should be enough to coat a 500g batch of chipped potato, while other foods require no oil at all – but also because the way food is “fried” is different.
Conventional frying uses the oil in the pan to seal the exterior. This prevents moisture from escaping, which is then heated, steaming the inside. To do this, oil penetrates the food’s surface, meaning that more fat is retained than when air frying.
Are air fryers ‘toxic’?
Linger on social media long enough and you’ll find worries about air fryer toxicity. It’s usually centred on plastic parts growing hot (which, as it’s limited to the exterior of air fryers, rather than the parts that come into contact with food, shouldn’t present a problem) and nonstick coatings containing Pfas/PFOA.
Most manufacturers have phased out PFOA (since 2013, all Teflon products have been PFOA-free), while potential deterioration of nonstick (which may use Pfas as this is a term for a large group of chemicals) tends to happen at temperatures of 260C and above. Most air fryers have a limit of 200C, with the top temperatures on others 240C.
If you’re concerned about the safety of nonstick, choose an air fryer with a ceramic-coated pan and plates, or clean yours carefully: damaged coatings are more likely to release chemicals.
Another concern linked to air fryers is about cooking starchy food, which produces acrylamide (a potential carcinogen). However, the same risks apply when oven-cooking food.
Cooking oil at high temperatures can also produce potentially harmful compounds. Air fryers don’t use much oil, but if you’re concerned about this, choose an oil with a high smoke point (the temperature at which oil starts to smoke and break down), such as vegetable, peanut, sunflower or rapeseed.
Do air fryers use less energy than an oven?
Air fryers have gained a reputation for being economical, and while this is true for the most part, it won’t always be the case. For small amounts of food, air fryers use less energy, heating up quickly and only circulating hot air within a small space. An example, a A+-rated 72-litre oven might use 1.395kWh to cook a roast chicken over 90 minutes, while an air fryer could do the same job in less than an hour and use only 0.782kWh – almost half the energy and cost.
However, if you were cooking large amounts, such as a whole roast dinner – chicken, roast potatoes, yorkshire pudding, roast veggies and so on – running several cycles of air frying would cost more, making an oven the more energy-efficient choice.
Rachel Ogden has worked as a consumer journalist for decades, becoming an expert unboxer before it was a thing, although she is much less successful at repacking. Her home has hosted hundreds of small appliances from blenders and air fryers to robot vacuums, while outside, you’ll find her messing about with pizza ovens, barbecues and heaters. Unsurprisingly, it takes a lot to impress her – many have tried and failed
This article was originally published on 2 March 2025. Reviews published in the Filter may be periodically updated to reflect new products and at the editor’s discretion. The date of an article’s most recent update can be found in the timestamp at the top of the page. This article was amended on 21 November 2025; three new air fryers were added after testing, and prices were updated throughout.
