The Best And Worst Air Fryers To Buy, According To Reviews

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Air fryers have become an essential addition to any modern kitchen. The ability to perfectly roast or fry food without using heaps of oil has made it a cheaper and healthier cooking method compared to other forms of cooking. With the rise in demand for air fryers has come a rise in brands wanting your business. This has led to some brilliant air fryers on the market, but also others that fail to live up to expectations. The problem is that wading through thousands of online reviews can be tiresome and time-consuming. That's where we can help.

We've examined the highest and lowest-rated air fryers across major retailers. We've taken a deep dive into these reviews to find out what actually matters. This includes verifying common issues, cooking performance, and usability. Whether you are looking for your first air fryer or upgrading your old one, this will help you avoid making an expensive mistake. Not only will we be analyzing those reviews, but we will also be explaining key features to ensure any given air fryer is the right model for you. By the end, you'll have a clear idea of which air fryer to buy, and which ones you should stay well clear of.

We wanted to stick to one air fryer per brand for this list. However, Ninja had a few strong candidates to be included, such as the compact Ninja CRISPi Pro. The brand has been at the forefront of air fryers since they boomed in popularity, and for good reason. This model is excellent for families or anyone who does a large volume of cooking. With a 10-quart capacity and two independent frying baskets, it provides a high level of versatility. This "DualZone" technology allows you to cook two different foods in completely different ways, diversifying the number of great air fryer recipes you can make. Conversely, its "Match Cook" allows you to copy settings for those foods that have the same requirements.

As for the reviews, they are overwhelmingly positive. Many praise the features we showcased above, with plenty of others praising its usability. With a lot of useful gadgets and appliances, the results can be good, but cleaning them can be a mess. That is praised here too, with users not only mentioning how easy it is to clean but also how quiet it is. It seems that poor reviews are due to bad luck rather than anything that suggests an overall trend. In contrast, one reviewer called it the most reliable product they'd ever had. If you have the counter space and want to get a larger air fryer, you'll love the convenience and flexibility of this Ninja model.

Purchase the Ninja DZ401 Foodi 10 Quart DualZone Air Fryer on Amazon for $129.95.

Here we have another air fryer that promises many of the same features we saw with the Ninja above. It has a large 11-quart basket, two separate zones, and smart cook features. Even with all of these features, it has some significant failings. It seems to work quite well when it's actually working; it's the durability that seems to be a major issue. Many users have complained about how it stopped working after only a month or two, and they've had problems with the warranty being respected. One person even reported that their air fryer died after just four uses. They had it replaced, only for the new model to break down after five uses.

As for usability, there are also a few issues. Instead of having to separate baskets like the Ninja, it has one basket that has a divider. This may work out for some people, but it means there is more to clean and more energy is used for smaller cooks. It also means different foods are more likely to interact with each other. There are plenty of positive reviews with customers praising how intuitive it is to use and its modern design. However, with so many reviews complaining about reliability, it feels like this air fryer is too much of a gamble.

Purchase the Sur La Table Digital Double Basket Air Fryer at Amazon for $49.99.

One of the biggest advantages of air fryers is their ability to combine several cooking methods in one. The Instant Pot Vortex Plus is another great example of that, as it also has bake, broil, roast, reheat, and dehydrate functions. Yet as with many of these air fryers, it's not necessarily how much it does, but how well it can do it. With its user-friendly operation and large capacity, it's able to meet all of your cooking needs. Perhaps the most glowing review came from a user who stated that they had several name-brand air fryers in their home, and this one was their favorite. They use it every day and get perfect results every time.

Those sentiments are echoed in many other reviews. People love air fryers because of their ability to cook food quickly, perfectly, and with almost no oil. It's that core quality this Instant Pot excels in. However, it gets constantly praised in other areas, especially for the cleaning. It's simple to either handwash or put it in the dishwasher. The complaints mainly seem to focus on the smell. Even if this is a problem, it's fairly common in new appliances and will go away over time. With different size options and a sleek design, it's an air fryer that will seamlessly fit into any modern kitchen.

Purchase the Instant Pot Vortex Plus Air Fryer on Amazon for $74.99.

One aspect of air fryers that some people don't like is that you can't see your food cooking, so you have to open it to check on things. On the face of it, this air fryer overcomes that with some clever design. It doesn't just have a window you can look into; the cooking is done entirely inside a glass bowl. Sadly, every other aspect of this air fryer is a big disappointment. Many of the worst reviews complain about a lack of reliability. However, the reviews aren't all about how it seemingly breaks down easily, as they also complain about other aspects as well.

One user lamented the complete lack of instructions that come with the air fryer, whereas another complained that it doesn't cook at the temperature you set it to. Even if the whole unit didn't break down, there have been reported issues with stuck buttons and broken bulbs. At first glance, it appears to be a unique product, but upon closer examination, it quickly falls apart. There are a lot of parts here that take away from the convenience of standard air fryers and would undoubtedly make cleaning more difficult. The result seems to be a good idea with poor execution.

Purchase the APSARAS USA 10-in-1 Glass Air Fryer on Amazon for $59.77.

We just looked at an air fryer that tried to do things a little differently. In contrast, this Cosori TurboBlaze Air Fryer has the classical design that you have come to expect from these modern devices. That is indicative of this product, as it lacks fancy features; instead, it excels at the basics. It features a nicely sized 6-quart basket that can come to temperature extremely quickly and deliver consistent results. If you don't like noisy appliances, you may well be sold by the quiet design here. At a maximum volume of just 53 decibels, it's one of the quietest air fryers on the market.

Importantly, the vast majority of reviews back up these headline features. One of the biggest advantages of air fryers is their ease of use. This Cosori model is a perfect example of that, with users praising not only its ease of use but also its cookbook, cleaning, and control panel, which are all excellent. All the while, it excels in the most important aspect of perfectly cooking food every time. Not only is the performance excellent, but it also gets a lot of love when it comes to value for money. If you've never used an air fryer before and want to know what all the fuss is about, with this Cosori TurboBlaze, you'll soon find out the answer.

Purchase the Cosori 9-in-1 TurboBlaze Air Fryer at Amazon for $88.93.

Many of the worst air fryers on the market seem to like incorporating glass into the design. It's understandable why some people may like that idea, but there are a few key reasons why air fryers generally don't need glass. Firstly, cooking times with quality air fryers are consistent and precise. Once you get comfortable with using a good air fryer, you grow to trust it. Secondly, as air fryers heat up almost instantly, there's not much to lose if you check progress by pulling the basket out. It means that cooking in a glass bowl, such as with this Vexon model, feels more like a gimmick rather than a genuinely useful feature.

That's backed up by the reviews here. The biggest complaint appears to be the long cooking times with inconsistent results, and an inability to get food crispy. There are a fair number of good reviews, with many of them focusing on the glass bowl as a positive feature. The glass bowl also gets praise for how easy it is to clean. However, it seems that far too many people are unhappy with this air fryer for it to be recommended. Unless you had your heart set on getting an air fryer with a glass bowl, this is one to avoid.

Purchase the Vexon 6-IN-1 4.5QT Glass Air Fryer at Amazon for $89.09.

For those looking for a more compact air fryer, this is an excellent choice. The 4-quart capacity still gives you plenty of room to cook your meals, but without taking up too much space on your countertop, especially given that you should leave a little space around your air fryer. For everyday users, one of the most common pieces of praise here is the durability and overall build quality. It makes it ideal for heavy use, especially as its ease of cleaning has also been admired. With perfect results every time, this Chefman model ticks all the boxes on what makes a great air fryer.

That's also helped by its intuitive interface, which has a minimal learning curve. The negative reviews mainly focus on some build quality and durability issues. However, with a product that has received such a high number of reviews, those reviews only account for a minuscule percentage. Most love its quality and find the results fantastic. For those wanting to observe their food, there is also a slightly more expensive version that includes a glass window. Overall, this is a brilliant air fryer for smaller households that don't need the huge capacity of larger models.

Purchase the Chefman 4 QT Compact Airfryer on Amazon for $49.99.

Many love air fryers as they are better than traditional ovens when it comes to cooking times, convenience, and crispy results. This Osamko air fryer seems to try to combine the best qualities of both of these devices. Instead, you get a product that combines the worst parts of both. It doesn't have the capacity of a large oven or the convenience of an air fryer. Added to this, a few customers have complained about it being too loud.

There is praise here for it being used as a toaster oven. But as an air fryer, it doesn't seem to hit the mark. If you want an air fryer, you should instead get one that is more suited to giving you those perfectly fried results. If you just want a toaster oven, there are better options on the market. As a combo appliance, it doesn't really work. When you combine a few reliability issues, it's probably best to look elsewhere.

Purchase the Osamko 8.5 QT Toaster Oven Air Fryer Combo on Amazon for $79.99.

We mentioned before why air fryers generally don't need a glass component. However, Cuisinart has demonstrated that it's still possible to create a great air fryer that incorporates a large glass window. What's impressive here is how Cuisinart has been able to employ this design into a wide range of different sizes, with four models ranging from just 2.6 quarts all the way up to 9. We're focusing on the 6-quart model here, which is more than big enough to cook a wide range of foods. An impressive feature is the display, which is incredibly intuitive and allows you to use any function with only a few presses.

Due to all these qualities, one customer praised it as the best purchase they'd made in years. Along with the food results, the controls and the ease of cleaning were much-loved features. One 77-year-old reviewer also praised how easy it was to use, all the way from following the instructions to cleaning it up. On top of this, its quietness and internal light have also received love from reviewers. When it comes to all the possible advantages of an air fryer, Cuisinart excels in all of them. If you've read up to this point and have lamented the lack of a high-quality windowed air fryer, Cuisinart has come to the rescue.

Purchase the Cuisinart 6-Quart Basket Large Air Fryer at Amazon for $99.95.

At Tasting Table, we have immense pride in the quality and authenticity of our recommendations. For this article, we have scoured a huge number of online reviews to dig into air fryers that either tick all the right boxes or simply can't be recommended. While all of these products are available on Amazon, we also cross-checked them with other review sources to ensure that what users were saying was consistent on all platforms. The result is an article that you can rely on when it comes to choosing your next air fryer.