Our top air fryer recommendations for 2024

If you haven’t tried a dual-zone air fryer, you should know that they are well worth the investment – as long as you have the counter space to stand one, as they are big appliances.

Ninja’s last dual-zone model – called the called the Foodi 6-in-1 Smart 10-qt. 2-Basket Air Fryer (DZ550) in the US and the Foodi MAX Dual Zone Air Fryer (AF451UK) in the UK – has every feature you could possibly want, including a cooking probe, for perfect meat and fish.

Each basket has a 5QT/ 4.75L capacity and you can programme them independently, match them, or even set them in sync mode – to finish cooking at the same time, for hassle free meals.

It has six cooking modes: air fry, max crisp air fry, bake, roast, dehydrate, and reheat. There’s no grill function, however. It works beautifully and looks pretty good as well. We were slightly disappointed by its build quality as it’s almost entirely plastic, whereas Ninja’s Speedi and its health grill have steel sections in their construction.

Cosori is a fairly new brand and certainly not one of the best known. But if you’re looking for a medium sized air fryer, the 6QT/6L TurboBlaze is definitely one to consider. It has an easy to use and easy to read digital display and touchscreen controls and a single drawer cooking space.

One of the things we liked best about it is that its cooking functions aren’t defined by food types (fries, chicken) but by cooking methods. It has nine functions in all: including proving dough, yogurt making, warming food, dehydrating, plus four Turbo modes with a fast fan for much faster air frying, cooking from frozen, roasting and grilling. This means it’s a far more useful kitchen assistant than some of its competitors and can be used for more cooking tasks. It doesn’t have a manual mode, however, but you can adjust any cooking setting by time and temperature. Its temperature settings are wide as well: from 90°F/30°C to 450°F/230°C, which adds to its versatility.

It gives good results and it’s easy to clean as well. Its crisper plate and drawer and drawer are dishwasher-safe. Still, we didn’t love the fact that the pull-out drawer is button-operated – if you forget to push it, you’ll just drag the whole appliance towards you.

The best thing about this combination cooker is its versatility. It has 12 cooking functions: air fry, roast, broil, bake, dehydrate, slow cook, griddle, stew, steam, keep warm, grill and preheat. It’s fairly rare to get an air fryer that also steams and stews but this does both to a high standard.

There’s not enough space to cook an entire dinner for a larger family. However, it would be perfect for singles, couples or young families. You could cook a different type of meal in it every night and never have to resort to your oven.

It has a high-quality build, is easy to use and easy to clean afterwards. Altogether, it’s an impressive appliance. But the accompanying instructions are flimsy and you’ll need to spend a little time figuring out the best times and temperatures for your favourite dishes.

If you’re in the US, you can buy this appliance under the Breville brand name. In the UK, it’s Sage.

It’s a microwave-sized and shaped countertop air fryer oven with ten separate cooking functions: toast (6 slices), crumpet, grill, bake, roast, warm, pizza, air fry, reheat and slow cook. We tested a bright, brushed stainless-steel silver model, but there are plenty of other colour options: there’s a choice of eleven in the US. The oven is well made and and will look great on your kitchen counter, unlike many plasticky rivals.

It has an LCD display and button and dial controls. Inside the oven are three shelf height options. Along with the oven, you’ll get a set of high quality accessories: a 30cm/12in pizza pan, a wire shelf, a grilling rack, a roasting pan, an air-frying basket, and crumb tray.

But it’s when cooking that this appliance really shines, producing crispy and flavourful food. This may be down to the ElementIQ system, which uses a smart algorithm and sensors to control the temperature perfectly and evenly. You’re paying more for its high quality build and performance but we think it’s well worth it.

The Ninja Speedi is a huge appliance but if you invest in one, you can say goodbye to all your other countertop cookers. Its ten cooking functions mean it can do almost anything – and often at the same time, such as steam cooking and air frying. Its USP is its ‘Speedi Meals’ setting, which allows you to cook rice or pasta and vegetables on the bottom while air frying above. It genuinely means you can cook an entire meal in 15 minutes flat and its 6QT/ 5.7 litre capacity means that’s a meal for an entire family. People use the phrase game-changer too often – but in this case it’s true.

Still, as it’s 1,760W, you’ll find that it’s not as cheap to cook certain foods that take a bit longer, like baked potatoes, as it is in a more compact air fryer. It’s much more economical to use for quick cooking. Plus, you’ll want to discourage kids from touching it as its heavy lid does not lock in place in its open setting.

This compact air fryer has a 4 quart/ 3.8 litre capacity, making it ideal for couples, singles and smaller families. It’s simply designed and shiny, with LED touchscreen controls on top. It has eight cooking presets (fries, steak, chicken, fish, bread, vegetables, plus it can dehydrate and reheat). Or you can adjust the cooking time and temperature yourself. There’s also a pre-heat function.

The air fryer switches off when it’s finished, so there’s no chance of overcooking, but there’s no keep warm function.

It’s a 1500 watt appliance, so it’s not very power hungry. It would be a good option for people new to air frying as not only is it solidly made and easy to use, but it comes with a 50-recipe cookbook that’ll give you plenty of ideas beyond beige frozen food.

This is a traditional air fryer, with a deep, pull-out cooking drawer. It’s capacious too, at 5.7 litres/6 QT. It’s not particularly heavy, but it is still designed to have a permanent space on your countertop. It’s controlled via a digital touchscreen on top of the appliance.

There are six programmes to choose from: air fry, bake, grill, dehydrate, reheat and roast. But there are no pre-sets, so there’s no guidance as to the time and temperature you should use when cooking. This won’t be a problem for people accustomed to air fryer cooking but novices might have to do a bit of online research and be prepared to experiment at first.

There are some excellent features to recommend it over rival products: there’s a window to allow you to see how your cooking is getting on without opening the door, and the OdourErase technology really works. But if you’re buying specifically for these features, make sure you get the right model as Instant makes a number of similar models, with none, one, or both of them.

This air fryer oven is the largest we’ve tested, with a whopping 26QT/ 24-litre capacity. It’s also one of the rare air fryers made from stainless steel (along with other food-grade metals), which means it looks a lot better on your kitchen counter than many of its rivals. But you will need plenty of room to house it.

But if more cooking space is what you’re after, this HySapientia model delivers. And it’s cheaper to run than you may think, especially if you’re cooking for a larger group. You can cook an entire family meal in it, and it’ll cost much less than in a traditional oven. It produces very crispy food as well – perhaps because there’s plenty of room for hot air to circulate. It comes with plenty of cooking accessories, including a rotisserie spit, making it a versatile option.

However, its huge size means you’re heating up much more space than you need to if you just want to cook a couple of fish fingers for the kids. And we didn’t love its control panel. It’s largely dial-operated, where a touchscreen would be preferable, and makes a lot of annoying beeps as you choose your settings.

This Ninja Foodi grill has a slightly different name depending on where you are in the world but it’s the same great appliance. It has six cooking functions (air frying, grilling, baking, roasting, dehydrating, reheating) and it does each one brilliantly – hence the premium price tag. But what makes it stand out is the “Smart Cook” system which, when used with the included digital probe, will help you cook steaks to perfection.

Bear in mind that this is a really bulky appliance with a comparatively small internal capacity (4 quarts/ 3.8 litres) and at 2460 watts, it is more expensive to run than many of its rivals.

Also, Ninja products tend to sell out quickly, so if you want it and you see it in stock, grab one while you can.

This Xiaomi air fryer has a really attractive, minimalist design that would look good in most kitchens. Still, it doesn’t have the most robust build (the drawer can get stuck when you’re putting it back in). And, as it’s on the small side (3.5 litres), it’s really only suitable for a household of 1-2 people.

The sole control beyond an On/Off switch is an innovative dial which houses a digital screen. There’s a top level menu of food options, including the expected fries, chicken wings and fish, but also steak and cake. There are eight pre set programmes in all. You can also set the time and temperature yourself, using the dial – or perform any of these actions via the app.

Because clearly, one of the key reasons to buy this model is its app control. Download the Xiaomi Home app and you can create custom recipes, monitor your cooking and pause or end the cooking programme remotely. It’ll also alert you when your food is done or needs to be turned over. There’s also a database of recipes you can try, with automatic cooking programmes and step-by-step instructions.