Choosing the best air fryer is difficult. Not because I have so many favorites that it's hard to narrow it down, and not because they're all so different that comparison is tricky. Quite the opposite — these aren't souped-up laptops I'm testing. Air fryers have one job, one function, and (more or less) one look.
Some air fryer companies would have you think otherwise. They'll add pre-set cooking modes for chicken, fish, even cupcakes. They'll use confusing vernacular like 'Max Crisp', 'Vortex Technology' and 'Super-Mega-Sizzling Mode' (ok, I made one of those up) to persuade you there's more under the hood than just a fan, an adjustable heating element, and a timer. But I'm here to tell you, with five years of hands-on testing under my belt, that 99% of air fryers perform broadly the same and will get the job done.
So, in narrowing down all the air fryers I've tested into one buying guide, I'm giving you three editor-approved options. One is the Ninja Air Fryer Pro 4-in-1. It's well-sized, well-priced, plenty powerful, and perfect for most people.
Two is the Philips Dual Zone 3000, which is a dual zone air fryer. This means it has two cooking baskets, ideal for prepping your whole meal in one machine, and the Philips has a 70/30 capacity split between these baskets that I find particularly useful. And if you want an air fryer that's actually smart, you should check out the Dreo Chefmaker, which impressed Helen, my toughest freelancer, with its certified smarts and helpful cooking assists.
Quick list
If testing air fryers wasn't my job, the Ninja Air Fryer Pro 4-in-1 is probably the air fryer I'd keep in my kitchen.
The Philips 3000 Dual Zone Air Fryer is brilliant for families or those who enjoy cooking their entire meal in one go.
The Dreo ChefMaker really is the savviest air fryer out there, allowing you to steam cook, use a thermometer to tell you when meat is perfectly cooked, and pre-program it using the smart display.
How to choose the best air fryer
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When choosing the best air fryer for you, it's easy to get distracted by fussy terminology and claims about cooking time and capacity. But choosing the right one for you should actually be pretty straightforward. Here's some mythbusting on the things that really don't matter when shopping for an air fryer, as well as the things you should actually be considering.
What to look for when buying a new air fryer
Basket shape
Some air fryers have round baskets, which makes them a bit neater but ultimately offers a lot less cooking space than squared-off baskets. My top pick, the Ninja, has a shallow but wide base of the basket which means that you can fit a lot more food than the capacity might suggest.
Depth does matter if you plan on cooking thick cuts of meat such as a whole chicken. If you want to cook narrow and long cuts of meat, you'll struggle with a round or small square basket.
Wattage
Wattage = power, and the bigger the better. If you want a hefty air fryer such as a dual-zone, you'll want a large wattage to match, If you skip this, I find you'll end up with a slower and less crispy finish, because the air fryer struggles to maintain those top temperatures.
Ninja air fryers typically deliver on super-powerful performance, but I find that anything on the cheaper end (sub-$50) struggles in the power department.
Type
The type of air fryer matters. Halogen ovens are, in my book, always a no. And for me, toaster ovens are also always a no. Have you ever tried to clean a toaster oven? Have you tried to insert and remove those tiny fiddly drawers? I simply can't get on board with them.
What not to worry about when looking for a new air fryer
Basket capacity
You shouldn't worry too much about an air fryer's claimed capacity. The total volume of the basket (typically in quarts) is fairly meaningless if the basket is round, narrow and tall. If you cram your 4-quarts of French fries in there, they won't cook evenly.
You'll get the best results when you lay your food flat in one layer, so the most important element of a basket is how wide it is. For the fryers in this guide, I've included notes about the total square inches of cooking surface, because I think that's a more useful metric.
Pre-heating settings
Pre-heating and remind-to-shake settings are nice-to-haves, but I wouldn't let them dictate your purchasing decision. I like the idea of pre-heating my air fryer for getting precise results, but if I'm being honest, most of the time I just throw my cold food into the cold basket and add an extra minute to my cooking time.
Pre-heating and then adding your food to the hot basket essentially doubles your work, and air fryers are meant to make life easier.
Pre-set cooking modes
Whether it's Ninja's 'Roast' setting or Philips' ambiguous fish icon, a pre-set button might look like your air fryer can do more, but it makes 0 difference to how it actually cooks. All it means is your machine will land on a pre-determined time and temperature setting, which will probably need to be adjusted anyway. After all, it doesn't know what you're roasting, or what fish you're cooking.
When these modes clutter up a control display, they tend to annoy me, but on machines where they don't make the controls that you actually need to use harder to access, I feel neutral at best about them.
Best air fryer for most people
The Ninja 4-in-1 Pro Air Fryer is an immensely capable option that wowed me when I put it to the test at home. It's got a five-quart basket, but I found that it was capable of meal-prepping for four without any trouble thanks to the improved shape and design of this air fryer when compared to Ninja's earlier models. And if you want a larger alternative, it also comes in an XL capacity 6.5-quart model, which could be a better choice for families.
When testing, this air fryer crisped up french fries in under 10 minutes, although it could use a 'remind to turn' alarm as I did note it cooks faster at the sides of the basket. When roasting vegetables, I was able to cook slow and low on the Roast setting and achieved some good charring on zucchini and peppers. And it did a great job of cooking tender chicken fillets, with the nonstick and dishwasher safe cleaning those dried-on juices like a total dream.
Another plus is the basket insert, which lifts out allowing you to cook directly on the base of the air fryer. I like doing this with saucier food that I can't be bothered to cook in the oven, and it also opens up some extra space at the base of the basket which could overcome the limitations of this air fryer's shorter stature.
I did note the shallower basket and overall lower profile of the Ninja Air Fryer Pro 4-in-1. It looks great without feeling limited in functionality. It will also slot easily under any cabinet and could be stowed in a cupboard easily if you're short on counter space.
Read our full Ninja Air Fryer Pro 4-in-1 review.
Best dual zone air fryer
When I tested the Philips 3000, I described it as an air fryer designed for foodies. Sure, any air fryer could probably crisp up some frozen fries, but this is an air fryer I'd trust with expensive cuts of meat. For a start, it's got extra-sensitive temperature controls. This means your food won't cook quite as fast as if you blasted it in the Ninja 4-in-1, but it does an excellent job of rendering fat from bacon and chicken wings, making your salmon tender and flaky, and evenly browning potato wedges.
All Philips air fryers have a vortex design on the base of the air fryer baskets to increase air circulation. I do think this works well, but it does mean you can't cook flat on the base of these baskets, which is something I occasionally like to do in the likes of the Ninja 4-in-1 Pro.
Then there's the dual zone design, which is pretty clever. It's split into a smaller drawer (I use this for single servings of things like bacon or fish) and a larger drawer that's akin in size to the likes of Ninja and Dreo air fryers, meaning you can cook for a family without having to compromise. Some air fryers like the Ninja FlexDrawer have a removable insert, which is a handy feature, but the uneven split is a good workaround.
Read our full Philips 3000 Series Dual Basket Air Fryer review.
Best smart air fryer
Known for creating some of our favorite tower fans, we didn't expect Dreo to create such an outstanding cooking appliance. And yet, the ChefMaker wowed us so much that, in 2024, we awarded it a Tom's Guide Award as the most exciting air fryer release of that year.
Some air fryers claim to be smart but can't actually deliver, but this air fryer interacts with whatever you cook inside it thanks to its temperature probe. My freelancer Helen reviewed this one, and she's not easily pleased! Helen has tested countless air fryers for me, and gave this one a very rare 4.5-star review. She used it to cook medium-rare steaks to an astonishing degree of accuracy, and even achieved some nice browning on the outside.
Her fries were crisp and golden, some of the best she's achieved in an air fryer, and when she cooked chicken thighs she simply told the machine what she was cooking, and it alerted her when they were finished according to its probe. Editing Helen's reviews always leaves my mouth watering because she's a phenomenal chef, but if you're less confident this machine can guarantee you perfectly cooked meat every time.
Another standout feature is the steam feature, which will infuse steam into the cooking chamber for relevant dishes that are at risk of drying out. This is great for baking and toasting. The only downside is that the basket is best suited to smaller households, and as you'd expect with an air fryer this savvy, it's an expensive option.
Read our full Dreo ChefMaker Combi Fryer review.
Product comparison
| Row 0 - Cell 0 | Ninja Pro 4-in-1 | Philips 3000 Dual Zone | Dreo ChefMaker |
Noise level | 72 dB | 65dB | 54dB |
Cooking surface | 72.25 square inches | 38.25 + 64 square inches | 68 square inches |
Minimum temperature | 100°F / 40°C | 100°F / 40°C | 100°F / 40°C |
Maximum temperature | 400°F / 210°C | 400°F / 210°C | 450°F / 230°C |
I also tested
I've tried countless air fryers, so if you're not happy with one of my top 3, I can definitely recommend some alternatives. I've added a brief description of each, with a link to the review, below.
How I test the best air fryers
I've spent at least 500 hours testing air fryers in my own home
Tom's Guide has tested nearly 30 air fryers over the years from a range of brands such as Dash, Instant, T-Fal, Ninja, Cosori, and more. I've also tested 32 (and counting) air fryers across a number of Tom's Guide's sister siters, such as Ideal Home and Homes and Gardens, in my 5 years of reviewing experience. There's not a day that passes when I don't use an air fryer, and I've calculated that I've spent at least 500 hours air frying in my own home — and that's before I start counting the many many hours I've spent in the test kitchen comparing some of the top performers, such as the ones pictured above.
When testing air fryers, I try to use them at home. That means I can observe those little quirks that could get annoying over time, and experience them the way you'll be using them in your own kitchen. To make comparison easier though, I tend to cook similar recipes in each machine.
I always cook bacon in the air fryer. It's super lightweight, which means it can fly around the cooking chamber if the air fryer's fan is particularly powerful, and as it cooks so fast it acts as a good test of how fast the air fryer pre-heats and how hot it can actually get.
I've cooked 192 slices of bacon as part of my air fryer reviews
I also cook chicken in every air fryer, usually in the form of a frozen breaded fillet. This allows me to see how well the air fryer can cook at medium temperatures and evaluate whether it's effective at crisping up breading. I also cook frozen fries, which help me evaluate how much an air fryer can really fit inside its cooking basket, and identify any hotspot areas.
And of course, to add some health, I'll roast veggies in each air fryer too. This is a great test of how well the air fryer can cook at lower temperatures and a useful reminder to our readers that I don't just eat bacon!
When testing, I also track sound level and measure the actual cooking surface. I look out for how well-made and durable the air fryer feels, how easy it is to clean and to keep clean, and whether the outside gets hot to touch.
Meet our testing team
I'm Millie, Senior Home Editor here at Tom's Guide. I live in London with my partner and, at any given time, 10+ cardboard boxes filled with appliances waiting to be reviewed.
Air fryers have been a huge part of my career. Remember when everyone starting buying them back in 2020? That was around the same time that I started reviewing them, which means they've dominated my career for, frankly, longer than I'd like to think about.
I'm Camryn, a freelance product reviewer based in Rhode Island.
I've tested more than a dozen different air fryers, as well as several countertop ovens. I frequently use an air fryer in my own kitchen to cook frozen foods and make recipes like chicken wings.
When testing, I look for models that are easy to operate (and clean) can evenly cook a variety of ingredients, and create a browned and crispy exterior.
I'm Helen, a home economist turned product reviewer with nearly 20 years of experience in testing the latest and greatest home gadgets. I started reviewing home and kitchen appliances at the Good Housekeeping Institute in 2007 and have never looked back.
I'm now a freelance product reviewer and test all sorts of appliances from my home in a pretty village in England.
What about air fryer toaster ovens?
Personally, I think toaster ovens pale in comparison to air fryers when it comes to air fryer settings. In my experience, they're just a less convenient, less powerful air fryer. With that being said, we do have a dedicated guide to the best toaster ovens, and I can admit that I might not be the target demographic. On account of their multiple shelves, they offer a higher cooking capacity than most air fryers per square inch. Plus, if you don't have a toaster, they act as a bit of a multi-tasker in your kitchen.
If your heart is set on a toaster oven air fryer, I'd recommend the Cuisinart Air Fryer Toaster Oven. I didn't write our review, but I have tested it. In fact, my parents picked it up after reading my review and deciding that it was the right choice for their kitchen.
Unlike a lot of air fryers, the Cuisinart isn’t housed in plastic but constructed from stainless steel. Not only will it fit neatly on your countertop, you might prefer the look. The controls aren’t digital, which means they’re very straightforward to operate — you simply set the well-marked dials. However, there are no pre-programmed settings so you have to refer to the manual for air frying temperatures and times.
