The 7 best air fryers of 2025, tested by our experts

The best air fryers provide a revolutionary way to cook, circulating hot air to make meals quickly with minimal oil. These versatile appliances excel at everything from reinvigorating leftovers to creating low-maintenance dinners and crispy frozen foods. My comprehensive evaluation process included expert consultations with three culinary professionals and rigorous testing of over 60 air fryers. The best air fryers cook efficiently, brown evenly, and are user-friendly.

The Instant Vortex Plus Air Fryer Oven is our top pick. Its standout features include rapid heating, consistent cooking performance, and practical design elements, like a viewing window for easy monitoring. For those seeking a more budget-friendly alternative, the Beautiful Touchscreen Air Fryer delivers exceptional performance for $70 less. This model also offers aesthetic versatility with multiple colors to complement your kitchen design.

Learn more abouthow Business Insider Reviews tests and researches kitchen products.

Our top-ranked air fryers of 2025

Best overall: Instant Vortex Plus Air Fryer Oven — See at Amazon

Best large-capacity: Ninja Foodi DualZone XL Air Fryer — See at Amazon

Best value: Beautiful Touchscreen Air Fryer — See at Walmart

Best toaster oven: Ninja Foodi XL Pro Air Fry Oven— See at Amazon

Best dual-basket: Midea Two-Zone Air Fryer Oven — See at Walmart

Most versatile: Instant Pot Duo Crisp + Air Fryer — See at Amazon

Best small: Dreo Aircrisp Pro Air Fryer — See at Amazon

Best overall

From the makers of the popular Instant Pot, the Instant Vortex Plus is the best air fryer I've tested because it combines the best features of an air fryer and a toaster oven. It has a window in the front like a toaster oven, but it cooks quickly like a basket air fryer. Even factoring in preheating, the Instant Vortex Plus cooked food the fastest in our tests, including evenly cooked hand-cut fries in just 14 minutes. Best of all, it made moist and evenly cooked broccoli.

The air fryer oven is also easy to use. Select one of the six presets, use the temp/time button to adjust how long and hot the air fryer cooks, and press start. It was mildly annoying how the cook time countdown only starts once the unit preheats. You can't just have it count down once you press the start button.

The Vortex Plus has an air filter to prevent odors from escaping. While I didn't systematically test this feature, it did a good job of containing smells. If removing odors isn't important, you can often find the model without the air filter at a lower price. Both models featurea light to see your food through the window easily.

The basket and crisping plate are both dishwasher-safe. However, I much preferred cleaning the basket by hand because it takes up a lot of dishwasher space, and the nonstick surface makes clean-up effortless. After countless rounds of testing, this is still the best air fryer on the market.

Read our full Instant Vortex Plus Air Fryer Oven review.

Best large-capacity

The Ninja Foodi DualZone is our pick for the best large-capacity air fryer because it's like having two full-size basket air fryers in your kitchen. It features two 5-quart air fryer baskets that you can program to heat independently or for the same time and temperature. A "smart finish" function ensures that both baskets finish cooking simultaneously if you're cooking two different types of food.

Most importantly, the Ninja Foodi DualZone cooks food evenly without drying out the food. While it was one of the slowest units preparing frozen fries, it quickly produced delicious broccoli and hand-cut fries.

With so many functions, we assumed this $200 air fryer would have a steep learning curve, but the controls are intuitive. We had it up and running without referencing the instructions. Clean-up is also a snap since the baskets and crisper plates are dishwasher-safe. We like that the baskets are smaller than the traditional 6-quart models, so fitting them in the dishwasher is easier.

Another high-capacity option is the Ninja Foodi FlexBasket Air Fryer with MegaZone. It works similarly to the DualZone model, only instead of having two baskets, there's a divider splitting the 7-quart basket so you can cook larger items more easily. It's more affordable but has a smaller capacity.

The Ninja DualZone is also one of the best air fryers on Reddit, where users appreciate its versatility.

Read our full Ninja Foodi DualZone Air Fryer review.

Best value

We're always a little skeptical about products sporting a celebrity's name. However, we wholeheartedly recommend the Beautiful 6 Quart Touchscreen Air Fryer by Drew Barrymore as the best budget air fryer. It might be one of the cheapest air fryers we tested, but it delivered a top-notch performance.

The controls are intuitive. First, you press the power button, which illuminates the presets. Once you select a preset, you can adjust the time and temp, and the flashing start button begins the cook. The unit is attractive and comes in 10 colors: white icing, cornflower blue, black sesame, and more. It's also available in 3-quart and 9-quart options.

The $59 Beautiful air fryer was one of only two units to cook hand-cut fries in 15 minutes, and the results were evenly cooked and delicious. It was also among the fastest at cooking broccoli and frozen fries. The frozen fries were a little dry, but the broccoli was just right.

The basket and crisper plate are dishwasher-safe, though the basket, with its jutting-out handle, will take up significant space in your dishwasher. Thanks to the nonstick coating, hand washing is an effortless alternative.

Read our full Beautiful Air Fryer review.

Best toaster oven

I tested over 20 units for my best air fryer toaster ovens guide, and the Ninja Foodi XL Pro Air Fry Oven (DT201) came out on top. The intuitive controls are built into the handle, freeing up more room for the massive front window. Thanks to this window and the interior light, it's easy to monitor your meal as it cooks.

In my temperature variance test, the Ninja Foodi outperformed the pack. The average temperature during the two-hour test was only half a degree off the 350-degree target. It ranged from 349 to 352, varying by two degrees from the goal temperature.This air fryer oven was among the fastest at cooking chicken, producing a perfectly cooked bird in an hour and 10 minutes. The pizza and french fry cooking times were average, though the fries were crispy and evenly cooked.

The $300 Ninja Foodi XL Pro has a spacious interior. Thanks to the included second wire rack, it can fit two pizzas or other dishes. It also dehydrates and features other useful presets. The main negative is that it takes longer to preheat than most air fryer toaster ovens, taking eight minutes to reach 350 degrees and nine minutes to reach 400.

The Ninja Foodi XL Pro is also available with a built-in probe thermometer. I haven't tested it, but it may be worth the extra $30 if you like to cook meat and don't already have a good meat thermometer.

Best dual-basket

I've tested a few two-drawer air fryers that allow you to cook two items independently, and they tend to cook slower overall than if you used two separate air fryers. Thanks to a unique design, that wasn't the case with the Midea Two-Zone Air Fryer Oven. The upper cooking chamber is your classic basket air fryer; the lower is like a tiny toaster oven. Both sections have windows and interior lights for monitoring your food.

The cooking speeds were average for a basket air fryer, which is much better than the other two-basket air fryers we tested. More impressively, the food items came out virtually perfect. The wings were as crispy and even as it gets, and the frozen fries were the same: crispy, not too dry, and restaurant-quality. The broccoli came out as well as you can expect from an air fryer: close to even, though the florets were more done than the stems.

I tried the dehydration function and loved it. The two-drawer design made it easy to dehydrate larger quantities of food without crowding. In two hours, it turned cherry tomatoes into deliciously tangy sun-dried tomatoes.

Unfortunately, the Midea Two-Zone Air Fryer Oven is harder to use than most air fryers. Since I refuse to read user manuals, it took some trial and error to figure out how to program it. You must select which drawer you want to heat and press the knob once you've chosen your cooking function before you can adjust the time and temperature. Setting the unit with the SmartHome app (iOS and Android) was easier, though you can't start it with the app.

None of the components are dishwasher-safe. Fortunately, the nonstick coating makes clean-up a breeze. Overall, the Midea is the best two-drawer air fryer for large families wanting to air-fry multiple dishes simultaneously.

Most versatile

Air fryers often get a bad rap for being uni-taskers. Still, Instant Pot has bucked the trend by adding air fryer functionality to its already versatile multicookers, making it the best multitasking air fryer. The $170 Duo Crisp comes with two separate lids — a traditional Instant Pot lid for pressure and slow cooking and another lid equipped with an electric heating coil and fan that you'll use for air frying, broiling, dehydrating, and more.

If you've used an Instant Pot, you're already familiar with the Duo Crisp's pressure cooking. In our guides to the best pressure cookers and best sous vide cookers, we rated it the best multitasking unit.

The air fryer function excelled in my tests, producing tender broccoli and crisp frozen fries, though the tall cylindrical basket had some downsides. The basket allows you to stack two layers of food to compensate for the lack of horizontal space, but because the heat comes from above, the food on the bottom layer is often less crisp than the top. The air fryer basket also lacks a handle, which makes agitating the food difficult.

When you remove the lid, the heating coil is exposed, a burn hazard. The unit has a special plate for safely setting the lid down on your counter, but you must still be careful.

We tested the eight-quart Duo Crisp, but it's also available in a six-quart size, which may appeal to individuals who only cook for one or two people and have limited kitchen space.

Check out our Instant Pots vs. Air Fryers review and our full Instant Pot Duo Crisp review.

Best small

For our guide to the best small air fryers, we considered 11 compact air fryers. Due to size constraints, we used different tests from the full-size units. We used half as much fries, broccoli, and chicken wings.

No matter the test, the Dreo Aircrisp Pro Air Fryer was among the best in quality and speed. While broccoli is a challenge for air fryers, the Dreo did the best at balancing tender stems and crispy-yet-not-burnt florets. The fries and wings were evenly cooked and perfectly crispy.

Lights illuminate the buttons for time and temperature adjustments. However, the presets are confusing as they rely on ambiguous symbols, like an orange representing the dehydration mode. Still, we were happy to see a dehydration function since most air fryers don't have one.

You can wash the tray and basket in a dishwasher. If you wash them by hand, the debris slides right off. However, the rubber feet that hold the tray in place and protect the nonstick basket from scratching kept falling off during washing.

The $90 Dreo Aircrisp Pro used space efficiently and had the best exterior size-to-food-capacity ratio of the small basket air fryers I tested. The air fryer is flat, so you could store items on top, though you'll need to remove them to cook. Its 3.6-quart capacity makes it ideal for two people.

Read our full Dreo Aircrisp Pro Air Fryer review. Check out our guide to the best small air fryers.

What else we tested

We tested over 60 air fryers for this guide. Here are some that didn't make the cut, but we still recommend them.

Cosori Max XL Air Fryer: The Cosori produced some of the best broccoli during our testing, but it dried out fresh-cut fries. It also takes a full five minutes to preheat. That said, it's packed with presets for everything from root vegetables to steak to bacon, so if you're looking for a user-friendly air fryer, this is still a good buy.

Emeril Lagasse Air Fryer 360 Oven: This air fryer toaster oven has a nice rotisserie spit feature, though we found traditional roasting pans work better for chicken. While the unit preheats rapidly and handles chicken, pizza, and cookies well, its toasting performance is inconsistent and slow. It also showed poor temperature control in our testing.

Cuisinart 6-qt Basket Air Fryer: This was a strong contender for the best air fryer with thoughtful design features. Its large viewing window and interior light make monitoring food easy, while intuitive controls ensure hassle-free operation. The unit delivers consistently crispy frozen fries faster than most competitors. Its even cooking and quick performance make it a solid choice, even though it didn't quite edge out our category winners.

Chefman Small Compact Air Fryer: Among the $50 or less models, the Chefman Small Compact Air Fryer stands out. It excels at chicken wings — delivering crispy, flavorful results — though fries came out uneven. With simple temperature and time dials, it's effortless to operate. The dishwasher-safe components feature nonstick surfaces for easy cleaning. While its compact footprint is perfect for tight spaces, the small capacity best suits solo diners.

Breville Joule Air Fryer Pro Smart Oven: This air fryer toaster oven is a good splurge option. It excelled at maintaining consistent temperatures and cooking evenly. Yet, it preheated and cooked slower than most units. Also, the $500 price is a lot for an air fryer.

What to look for in the best air fryers

Size: Choose a 4- to 6-quart unit if you're only cooking for yourself or another person, says Laurie Fleming, creator of Fork to Spoon. For larger families, use air fryers that are 6 quarts and up. She recommends larger air fryers when possible because they give you more flexibility in what you can make.

Type: There are two main types of air fryers: traditional basket units and air fryer toaster ovens. Air fryer toaster ovens are more versatile and perform several tasks, including non-convection baking. Basket air fryers are usually smaller and cook food faster but have limited functionality.

Price: The air fryers in my guide range from $59 to $200. Higher prices generally equate to more functions and a larger capacity. If you don't need fancy functions and only cook for one or two people, you can save a few dollars with an affordable air fryer.

Functions: Manufacturers continually introduce new functions. Some common ones are dehydration, dual-zone cooking, and WiFi connectivity. More and more appliances offer air fryer cooking, including some toaster ovens and pressure cookers, like the Instant Pot Duo Crisp. However, more functions usually lead to a higher price tag.

Accessories:Air fryer accessories range from a wire rack for stacking items to rotisserie kits for roasting chicken. Most accessories I've tested haven't been very useful and are not worth the markup they add to the price of the air fryer. Plenty ofaccessories are available onlineif you need a specific item.

How we test air fryers

Cooking: Early in my testing, I discovered that even the best air fryers varied wildly in cook times. One unit charred broccoli to an undesirable crisp in 6 minutes, while another took 13 minutes to reach al dente. So, I cooked three recipes in each machine and evaluated how quickly and evenly they cooked.

Setup and ease of use: I tried to set up and use each unit without referring to the user manual. Each air fryer was easy to set up and featured intuitive controls, especially if you have experience with air fryers. If you are new to air fryers, get acclimated by reading the user manual.

Cleaning: I tracked how many parts there were to disassemble and clean. A unit with dishwasher-safe accessories got bonus points. Read our full guide on how to clean an air fryer. If you want to speed up the cleaning process, use aluminum foil, parchment paper, or a silicone air fryer liner. Check the user manual for guidelines on how to use liners safely.

For more details, check out our guide on how we test air fryers.

Air fryer cooking tips

What can you cook in an air fryer?

Since they rely on the same technology, air fryers can make anything a convection oven can make, including baking, convection baking, air frying, roasting, and toasting items. Some models can also broil and dehydrate your food. Consider purchasing one of the best air fryer egg molds to make a quick and easy breakfast.

What cannot be cooked in an air fryer?

Liquid foods, including soups and wet batters, should not be cooked in an air fryer. Fresh greens and other loose items should also not be cooked in an air fryer, as they will fly around and potentially catch fire on the heating element. This article covers the best and worst things to make in an air fryer.

Best air fryer recipes

• Air fryer bacon: Add a little water or a slice of bread to the basket and cook at a lower temperature to prevent smoking and to ensure you don't overcook your bacon.
• Air fryer french fries: For crispier fries, wash and soak the hand-cut potatoes to remove excess starch.
• Air-fryer baked potato: For a crispier skin, lightly oil the potato; there is no need to pierce it.
• Air fryer hot dogs: Remember to add the hot dog bun to the basket at the end of the cook to toast it.

Air fryer FAQs

Are air fryers worth it?

If you have the counter space, an air fryer is worth it for its versatility and efficiency in roasting and baking. However, it won't trick anyone into believing your food is deep-fried. The best air fryers take very little time to preheat, saving time and electricity.

An air fryer is one of the quickest cooking appliances besides the best microwaves, making it a real time-saver, especially for weeknight meals. Plus, it's more versatile and produces crisper results than a microwave. Air fryers cook almost anything you'd typically roast in an oven: vegetables, fish, whole chicken, and more.

How do air fryers work?

Air fryers work like convection ovens, using a fan to circulate hot air. This browns the food and makes it crispy, similar to deep-frying. Air-fried food's texture and taste won't be the same as something deep-fried, but it's as close as you can get without a tub of oil. One benefit of using an air fryer is you don't have to monitor food too closely or cook it for that long. To learn more, check out our article on how air fryers work.

What's the best way to clean an air fryer?

It depends on your air fryer model, so consult the user manual. Generally, you should clean the fryer basket and grease catcher with hot, soapy water and a soft sponge after each use. You can simplify cleanup by air frying your food on aluminum foil or parchment paper.

For more details, check out our article on how to clean an air fryer.Look at thebest silicone air fryer liners for easy cleaning and grease-free cooking.

What size air fryer do you need?

Fleming recommends buying the biggest air fryer you can afford and have space for because it gives you flexibility in what you can make. She advises against anything smaller than four quarts, even if you just cook for yourself. Big families might consider air fryer toaster ovens, which have more capacity than basket air fryers.

What are the downsides of air fryers?

As with any kitchen appliance, air fryers have downsides. One complaint is that you must clean the crisping tray and basket after every use. However, as we covered above, you can circumvent this by using an air fryer liner, foil, or parchment paper.

Another complaint is that air fryers take up valuable counter space while having a relatively small capacity. If this is a concern, consider an air fryer toaster oven instead, as they tend to hold more food without costing too much.