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I Tested and Ranked the Best Air Fryers in 2024
For most home cooks, a good air fryer should consistently produce the familiar crunch of deep-fried foods, while still being very easy to maintain and use, compared to the traditional deep fryer.
We’ve tested dozens of models, and we recommend the Philips Premium Airfryer HD9741. It crisps food quickly and evenly, and its interface is straightforward and minimal. However, the most recommended and bestselling air fryer in 2024, according to consumers report is Instant Vortex Plus 6-in-1 Air Fryer. It air fries, bakes, broils, and grills. Food comes out crunchy and delicious with little or no oil.
1. Philips Premium Airfryer HD9741 – Best overall
Top-rated: 804 ratings
If you’re in the market for a good air fryer that actually cooks well, without all the bells and whistles, and price isnt a major decision factor for you, Philips Premium is a great best buy air cooker for you.
The 3-quart Philips Premium Airfryer HD9741 is one of the best pod-shaped air fryers out in the market. It cooked the crispiest french fries, roasted vegetables using very little oil and the most evenly golden chicken nuggets. We were impressed with how well it delivers excellent hot air cooking, resulting in delicious fried food that is crispy. The settings on this airfryer is simple, we like that it has only four preprogrammed settings: frozen fries, chicken, fish, and meat, you can access all settings through a single dial on the control panel.
In our tests, more settings on other appliances felt like an overkill compared to this air cooker, since we ended up just using the manual settings. We noticed the basket of this cooking appliance is very heavy.
Philips Premium Airfryer HD9741 is great if you truly need the speed and convenience of a deluxe pod. Otherwise, you could get more savings with a similarly priced convection toaster oven.
Helpful review: “I purchased this because I saw it on Americas Test Kitchen and was recommended by them. They were right. This thing is EXCELLENT!! So far I cooked chicken, fish, french fries and onion rings and they have never tasted better.
I put a whole chicken in it and it came out juicy and crispy skin, without the fat. Frozen onion rings & french fries were crispy on the outside and soft & fluffy inside. Fish, I cooked Cod, it was fantastic. Cleanup is pretty easy. It all just wipes off clean. I have not tried to put it into dishwasher even though it says you can. I recommend this to everyone.” — Jaxmike
Get it from Amazon now: $259.95 & FREE Returns.
2. Instant Vortex Plus 6-in-1 Air Fryer – most recommended air fryer
Top-rated: 65,463 ratings
If you’re looking for a good air fryer that’s good for most home cooks, and can perform cooking tasts like air fry, broil, roast, dehydrate, bake and reheat food, the Instant Vortex Plus might be a good choice for you.
We recently purchased this Instant Pot Vortex 6-Quart Air Fryer and have been using it for a few weeks now. We were instantly impressed with the cooking results, and it’s been our most recommended air fryer ever since. Instant Brands has over the years moved beyond the famous rice cooker, and its air fryers are truly formidable in the world of kitchen appliances.
The Vortex’s 6-quart capacity is perfect for preparing meals for the whole family or a family of 4. This air cooking appliance strikes a balance between accommodating large portions of food to satisfy everyone’s appetite and fitting comfortably on the kitchen countertop.
The air circulation and power provided the best cooking results, and it performed all of our cooking tasks excellently churning out crispy fries, juicy chicken and a well-baked cake, including tricky coconut shrimp and Brussels sprouts. It’s no surprise this is also one of the best-rated air fryers recommended by thousands of shoppers.
The one downside of the model is the broil function, which is preset at 400 degrees F for 2 minutes. We tested out broiling mac and cheese topped with extra cheese and breadcrumbs and found that neither browned particularly well. Says Food Network Shopping Experts.
Helpful review: “This was recommended by America’s Test Kitchen so we bought it and we love it. It air fries, bakes, broils, and grills and we’ve used all the functions. However our favorite is air fry. Food comes out crunchy and delicious with little or no oil. We did a comparison of the same roast chicken recipe on the same day. One was done in the regular oven, the other in the air fryer. The air fryer gave us perfectly cooked chicken with delicious crispy skin in a fraction of the time. And since we didn’t have to heat the whole oven, it was more energy efficient too.
It is terrific with left over fried foods like fish and chips. When we reheat them in the air fryer, I confirm they are better than when we first made them. Hamburgers come out great. But my favorite is using the air fryer to make the best hardboiled eggs without the water or the pan. They are PERFECT.
Further you can adjust the time if you like the yolks hard, medium, or jammy. It also does a first class job of poaching eggs. This is a fantastic device” — Chantal Despoir
Overall, our tests confirmed it’s a great option for most kitchen needs.
Get it from Amazon now: $129.95 & FREE Returns
3. Breville Smart Oven Air Fryer – Best Air Fryer Toaster Oven
Top-rated: 1,820 ratings
We highly recommend the Breville Smart Oven Air Fryer for families who are serious about purchasing a multi-use appliance that can handle dozens of functions and be on permanent display on the countertop.
We recently had the chance to test out the Breville Smart Oven Air Fryer Toaster Oven and were impressed with its multi-tasking capability and performance amongst the tight competition in the toaster oven category. This equipment did every task perfectly and in a short amount of time.
Air fryer cooks evenly and doesn’t leave outside overdone, inside rare. We had the BERST cheeseburgers in the world cooked by air fryer on this machine. The digital interface makes it an intuitive appliance with 13 preset functions including air fry, slow cook, roast, broil, bake, cookies, pizza, toast, bagel, reheat, proof, dehydrate and warm.
We like how well it took on complicated convection needs like chicken wings or French fries just as easily as simple tasks like toast. One thing we loved about this appliance is its viewing window, which many basket-style air fryers lack. So you can check on doneness and watch an intelligent machine go to work for breakfast, lunch, or dinner.
Helpful review: “I bought this as a gift for my wife and she has used it each day since receiving it over the holidays. We roasted a full chicken, followed by fresh beets, roasted carrots, and morning toast and it performed flawlessly. We replaced our stand-alone air fryer and small Balmuda toaster oven and now have one appliance that does it all and does it all exceptionally well.
I know the Breville brand quite well, having owned various appliances from toasters to espresso makers and this is the best Breville product to date and the reviews across the internet say the same. Breville has been a strong player in the toaster oven space for years and they have really nailed it with the Smart Oven Pro.
You will pay more for this oven than many but I feel it is worth it based on the performance and quality. It is fully wrapped in stainless steel where others tend to use it on the front and then wrap the sides in painted metal or plastic. It’s commercial in build quality, looks and finish. You will be impressed when you take it out of the box.
In the event you are looking for a second oven or want one less appliance to drag out when needed then consider the Breville Smart Oven Pro – Oven, Air Fryer, Toaster all in one!” — mpower
Get it from Amazon now: $349.95 & FREE Returns
4. Ninja Max XL – Best air cooker, non-toxic
Top-rated: 18,060 ratings
If you’re looking for a good air fryer that is sturdy and versatile, ideal for cooking enough food for two or three people, we recommend the Ninja Max XL.
We have been using the Ninja Max XL air fryer for a few weeks now, and we are impressed with its cooking ability. This 5.5-quart basket-style Ninja Air Fryer Max XL was the top performer in our test kitchen. It was a top performer in our traditional, basket-style air fryer test, and cooked all the foods we tested to a beautiful golden brown and with crisp texture.
Ninja Max XL is a compact sized air fryer with great cooking ability. It boasts of six cooking functions including Air fry, Bake, Max Crisp, Reheat and dehydrate – to suit most of your cooking needs.
It scored the highest marks across the board for ease of use, all thanks to its handy, multi-function display which has easy-to-read and understand buttons. During our air fryer tests, the air fryer basket on this model slid in and out easily and made handling a breeze.
Helpful review: “There are so many reasons to buy this airfryer! I’ve never had an airfryer before but me and my boyfriend have been trying to get healthier so we decided to get one a few months ago.
First, I love that it’s super easy to use. The food comes out PERFECT every time AND we save so much on dishes.
This is super easy to clean up, you can just wipe it out or put it in the dishwasher. There are so many different functions and this has actually REPLACED many of our other kitchen appliances. I recently discovered it makes perfect toast so I was able to toss are toaster which made me so happy because I hated the toaster crumbs! Well worth the money and definitely the only appliance I need!” — Maria Michelle Nuriel
Get it from Amazon now: $129.99 & FREE Returns
5. Cosori Pro LE Air Fryer – Best budget, inexpensive air fryer
Top-rated: 23,309 ratings
At the top of our budget picks is the Cosori Pro LE Air Fryer. This 5-quart Cosori air fryer ranks at the top of our as the best inexpensive air fryer pick, thanks to its excellent results in our test kitchen for performance at a lower price than any 4- to 6-quart models we tested.
We were impressed by the cooking space, which fits enough food for 1-4 people, it had for a 5-quart basket air fryer. It has a pre-heat cycle and rapid heat circulation technology which can make it more efficient at quickly crisping foods (the fries, wings, and shrimp fared well) to give you crispy textures, same as traditional deep frying.
Its easy-to-use, has a bright display and comes clean with no extra effort. The temperature and time are also easily adjustable down to the minute, which other air fryers lack in precision. For a machine that looks nice and fits neatly on the countertop, the Cosori Pro is the perfect size for most households.
Helpful review: “This is a powerful fryer. Be prepared to dial down the preset temp settings and watch your food during first round of cooking. The preheat and shake features are very nice, – you can choose to use them or not. Shake reminder feature is great when you are multitasking and dont want to forget to flip the food.
Cleaning the fryer is easier than even a nonstick pan – just soak with soapy water for few minutes – everything will come off. It is not too heavy for the size.
I like that the basket locks in the body and you have to press release button to pull it out – you have to be intentional to interrupt the cooking. I can adjust the timer and temperature during the cooking cycle. Loved my crispy bacon and sausages. Great appliance.” — L. Myers
Get it from Amazon now: $84.96 & FREE Returns
6. Dash Compact – Smallest air fryer
Top-rated: 16,600 ratings
If you are looking for the smallest air fryer best suited for one person portions that cooks well and halfs the weight of a standard fryer, the Dash Air Fryer is a great option for people who cook for one or for someone who’s new to air frying and wants to try it out. Especially if you have a smaller kitchen, college dorm, camper/rv traveling.
Helpful review: “I purchased it for my office at work, as I used to cook my sweet potato fries in a convection oven where I would have to go into the break room multiple times to flip my fries and reset the timer for additional cooking.
This air fryer has made my life so much simpler and has eliminated all of that! My frozen sweet potato fries now only take 15 min to cook, I can keep the fryer in my office, and after about 5 uses, I can say it cooks very well and gives my fries (and tots) a delicious crisp fried taste.
I have already encouraged several of my co-workers to purchase one, and I’ll probably buy a larger one for my house down the road. This size is ideal for one or two servings, so if you are feeding more people, I would recommend a larger air fryer. Clean-up also couldn’t be easier! It’s adorable and a simple tool, I am very happy with my purchase!” — Michelle My Bell
Get it from Amazon now: $49 & FREE Returns
How Do Air Fryers Work?
An air fryer cooks food with hot air instead of oil, essentially replacing the conventional deep oil fryer and ovens with a healthy alternative. Air frying is a cooking method that uses convection to cook foods as air moves the heat inside the cooker.
It combines several different cooking methods in one convenient appliance.
- An electric coil placed above the food provides radiant heating, much like a broiler element or stove top burner. This dry heat penetrates the food and warms it internally.
- A fan positioned above the coil creates a current of super-heated air that flows around and under the food. This is convection heating, a cooking method often found in commercial ovens.
- The convection action converts the small amount of oil you use into a fine mist that coats the food as it circulates. This action mimics the effect traditional deep frying has on foods submerged in hot cooking oil.
- As the hot air flows, the food’s own moisture creates the steam needed to finish the cooking process.
How we tested and picked the highest rated air fryers
“The most important factor when testing and reviewing these air fryers was how effective they were at cooking chicken wings and French fries. I also looked at features such as capacity/size, price, cooking settings and wattage. Other key decision-making factors I checked include ease of use, ease of cleaning and aesthetics (typically the design, noise level, and counter space.” Says Maria Hines, an experienced Chef.
To help you make a guided decision when shopping for air fryers, we took real consumer reviews and examined consumer’s report, critics and ratings before bringing in the top 10 airfryers for hands on testing and trial. We air fried chicken, chips, cake and fries to test and compare different airfryer models and find the best air fryers you can buy, including top rated small, large capacity and affordable models from popular brands such as Ninja, Philips, Cuisinart, GoWISE USA and Breville.
