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The Best Air Fryer

Air fryers are all the rage, and you are finally ready to pull the trigger and get one yourself, but which air fryer is right for you? With so many to choose from, we bought 10 of the best we could find and put them through our rigorous tests to find out which one is the best. Beware! Not all air fryers are equal, and some might actually be a bit dangerous. Read on to see which one will be your new best friend in the kitchen.

Ninja Foodi Dual Zone

Ninja Foodi Dual Zone

TestHut's Top Choice

The dual zone is almost the perfect air fryer. It is big enough to prepare food for the whole family, is easy to use, and gives you fantastic cooking results.

4.3
4.2
5.0
4.0
4.3
4.1

Pros

  • Large capacity (6l)
  • Crispy delicious fries
  • Versatile: 2 baskets = 2 meals at once
  • Easy to use
  • Fast cooking

Cons

  • Expensive
  • Big footprint
  • Standard accessories do not fit
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The Philips XXL is a high-quality air fryer with a large basket, easy to use controls, and an automated cooking setting. We got great results in all of our tests from this premium air fryer.

4.2
4.7
4.0
3.0
4.7
4.3

Pros

  • Great cooking results every time
  • Easy to use
  • Smart sensing technology
  • Large capacity (3.75l)
  • Very safe
  • Fast cooking

Cons

  • Expensive
  • Hard to clean; lots of parts
  • Bulky and heavy
  • Delicate nonstick coating
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Ninja Foodi MAX Grill

Ninja Foodi MAX Grill

Most Versatile Air Fryer

This combination grill and air fryer gave some of the best cooking results in our tests. If you want crispy, tasty chicken wings with the option to grill burgers, then this is the perfect choice.

4.0
4.8
4.0
3.0
3.6
3.7

Pros

  • Very versatile; includes a grill
  • Best cooking results; crisps food very well
  • Large capacity
  • Meat thermometer included

Cons

  • Exterior gets uncomfortably warm
  • Bulky
  • Hard to clean
  • Not as easy to use as basket fryers
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Uten 5.5L

Uten 5.5L

Best Budget Air Fryer

The budget Uten 5.5L gave us terrific cooking results with incredibly simple controls. Its analogue controls and large capacity make it a good choice.

3.9
3.8
4.5
4.0
3.1
3.9

Pros

  • Good cooking results
  • Stainless steel exterior
  • Large capacity (4.35l)
  • Simple: 2 analogue dials

Cons

  • No presets
  • Basket can be hard to open
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COSORI 5.5L Smart

COSORI 5.5L Smart

Best Smart Air Fryer

The Cosori Smart allows you to control your air fryer with an app that not only lets you program the air fryer, but also gives you access to recipes. We like its large basket and the way it cooks.

3.8
3.4
4.5
4.0
3.9
4.2

Pros

  • Large capacity (4.35l)
  • Can control using app
  • Easy to use
  • Well designed
  • Comes with extensive recipe book

Cons

  • Inconsistent cooking results
  • Control panel is not intuitive
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The Princess is another budget-conscious air fryer with a large capacity that cooks well. However, the control dial and button combination was confusing to use.

3.4
3.2
3.5
3.5
3.0
4.0

Pros

  • Decent capacity (3l)
  • Very durable nonstick coating
  • Comes with baking pan
  • Accurate temperature control

Cons

  • Hard to set time and temp
  • Basket needs 2 hands to open
  • Food quality was mediocre
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Philips Essential

Philips Essential

Best for one person

This small air fryer from Philips is a nice choice for a single person. It is light, easy to use, and gives decent cooking results all in an attractive, high-quality package.

3.3
2.8
2.0
5.0
3.6
4.1

Pros

  • Small and portable
  • Easy to clean
  • Low power consumption
  • Quality construction

Cons

  • Doesn’t hold much food
  • Controls are hard to use
  • Mediocre cooking results
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Severin Hot Air Fryer

Severin Hot Air Fryer

Fast and durable

The Severin is another low-cost air fryer that is small in size, but it gave nice cooking results in most of our tests. The exterior does get uncomfortably hot, but if you are careful, this is a decent choice.

3.2
2.9
2.0
4.5
3.7
3.3

Pros

  • Small and portable
  • Easy to clean
  • Inexpensive
  • Heats fast
  • Quiet operation

Cons

  • Gets uncomfortably hot
  • Mediocre cooking results
  • Doesn’t hold much food
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TestHut’s Top Choice: Ninja Foodi Dual Zone

Air Fryer Ninja Foodi Dual Zone

4.3
4.2
5.0
4.0
4.3
4.1

Ninja Dual Features & Specs

  • Air Fryer Type: Dual basket
  • Capacity (to Max line): 3l x 2l = 6l (no max line)
  • Surface capacity: 310 cm² x 2 (620cm²)
  • Dimensions (HxWxD): 31.1 x 39 x 37 cm
  • Weight: 8.4 kg
  • Presets/Cooking Settings: 6 settings
  • Nonstick Coating: Ceramic
  • Dishwasher safe: Yes (Hand wash recommended)
  • Wattage: 1125 x 2 (2250W)
  • Temperature Range: 40 – 240°C
  • Timer: 1 min – 10 hours
  • Loudness during operation (Max as tested): 62 dB

If you are looking for the perfect family-sized air fryer, then look no further than the Ninja Dual (AF300UK). Equipped with two baskets, it is a versatile machine that gave us great cooking results time and time again.

Throughout our tests we were impressed with the Ninja Dual’s cooking ability and its ease of use. It cooked terrific chicken wings and french fries along with lots of other delicious recipes.

With both baskets adding up to a whopping 6.2l of cooking volume, it was the largest air fryer in our test, and is easily large enough for a family of 4.

Ninja has done a great job with making the controls simple. Even for cooking 2 things at once, the setup is as simple as pushing which basket(s) you want to use, which mode you want, and then setting the time and temperature. It does not come with any presets, but this was not an issue.

Air fryer Ninja Dual controls

We love the build quality of the Ninja. It is safe to use, the baskets and pans are lined with a durable, high-quality ceramic nonstick coating making cleanup a breeze.

One little snag is that the two baskets are smaller than standard air fryers, so our accessories did not fit, but this is not a huge issue.

For most uses and for most people, we think the Ninja Dual is a great air fryer that will give you wonderful results time and time again. It is big enough to feed a whole family, and easy enough for almost anyone to use.

Premium Choice: Philips Premium Airfryer XXL

Air Fryer Philips Premium Airfryer XXL

4.2
4.7
4.0
3.0
4.7
4.3

Philips XXL Features & Specs

  • Air Fryer Type: Basket
  • Capacity (to Max line): 3.75l
  • Surface capacity: 506 cm²
  • Dimensions (HxWxD): 31 x 32 x 42 cm
  • Weight: 8.3 kg
  • Presets/Cooking Settings: 5 presets w/ Smart Sensing
  • Nonstick Coating: Teflon
  • Dishwasher safe: Yes
  • Wattage: 2000W
  • Temperature Range: 40 – 200°C
  • Timer: 1 – 60 min
  • Loudness during operation (Max as tested): 64 dB

Philips invented the air fryer, and hence, theirs are named “airfryers” (without the space). The Premium XXL (HD9860/90) model that we tested performed incredibly well, but it does come at a premium price.

The feature that sets the XXL apart from any other air fryer in our test is its “Smart Sensing” technology—the Philips actually adjusts the time according to how much food you add. It cooked more evenly across the surface and from top to bottom than any other air fryer in our test resulting in crispy fries and a beautiful sponge cake.

Air fryer Philips Premium XXL sponge cake test

As an XXL model, it also has a large capacity (3.75l). It doesn’t hold quite as much as the dual Ninja, but it still can cook a lot of food.

Cleaning is one area that the Philips XXL lost points in. While all of the components are dishwasher compatible, washing by hand proved to be a chore because it has so many pieces to clean.

Air fryer Philips Premium XXL parts

The Philips XXL had our favourite control setup and was super easy to operate. It is the only air fryer that has an actual hanging drawer on rails which allows you to open the air fryer and remove the basket without taking out the pan making it easy and safe to shake food.

The controls are simple and intuitive with 5 presets for the most common foods and a clicky dial in the center allowing you to precisely set the time and temperature.

Air fryer Philips Premium XXL controls

This powerful air fryer was one of the fastest in our test, crisping up our nuggets and vegetables in just 10 minutes. Even with that much power, it is relatively quiet running at just 64 dB, which is about as loud as a normal conversation.

Philips provides an excellent instruction manual with abundant information about using the air fryer as well as a book of recipes. In addition, you can access hundreds of recipes via the app.

This is also a good-looking air fryer with a glossy black surface and copper accents.

However, It is not very portable weighing over 8kg. It was also one of the few pod-shaped air fryers in our test without built-in handles.

The Philips XXL takes air frying to the next level with its Smart Sensing technology and smooth drawer-like basket design. You will not be disappointed if you opt for this premium air fryer.

Most Versatile Air Fryer: Ninja Foodi Max Health Grill & Air Fryer

Air Fryer Ninja Foodi Max Health Grill

4.0
4.8
4.0
3.0
3.6
3.7

Ninja Foodi Max Grill Features & Specs

  • Air Fryer Type: Top loader
  • Capacity (to Max line): 3.8l (no max line)
  • Surface capacity: 548 cm²
  • Dimensions (HxWxD): 28 x 55 x 42.5 cm
  • Weight: 9.2 kg
  • Presets/Cooking Settings: 6 cooking settings
  • Nonstick Coating: Ceramic
  • Dishwasher safe: Yes
  • Wattage: 2250W
  • Temperature Range: 40 – 240°C
  • Timer: 1 – 60 min
  • Loudness during operation (Max as tested): 66 dB

We brought in the Ninja Foodi MAX Grill to test because so many people recommend Ninjas and they make all kinds of air fryer combos—the grill seemed like a great choice.

Time and time again, we found that the best food came from this countertop grill/air fryer, and we were only tapping into its potential as a kitchen device.

The Ninja Grill has both an air fryer function with an insertable basket, and a grill function with a nonstick grill insert.

Air fryer Ninja Foodi Max cooking

The high-powered heating unit and large ceramic-coated air fryer tray combine to cook fast and evenly. This was the only air fryer that gave us truly crispy chicken wings and french fries that compared most closely to using an actual fryer with oil.

With 6 cooking modes (Air Fry, Roast, Grill, Bake, Reheat, and Dehydrate) and a preheat setting, it allows you to cook a variety of foods to perfection. It also comes with a built-in meat thermometer!

The Ninja Grill has a large basket that is 3.8l which is equal to the Philips XXL fitting a kilo of fries in our test.

Air Fryer Ninja Foodi Max Health Grill capacity

The durable ceramic-coated nonstick pan and basket of the Ninja Grill are extremely easy to clean, but they are a bit larger than the baskets of traditional air fryers.

Because it is a top-loading air fryer, it is harder to access food and to turn it while cooking. It takes more time and exposes you to the heat of the air fryer which can be uncomfortable.

We liked the controls—the buttons are easy to understand and intuitive. The screen is large and easy to read.

Air Fryer Ninja Grill controls

At 66dB it isn’t extremely loud, but it is noticeably louder than the quietest air fryers.

The fit and finish of the Ninja is excellent. It looks and feels like a premium device with a stainless steel surface. However, this is a big, heavy device and therefore, it is not very portable. It weighs 9.2 kg, and does not have handles for carrying.

If you are looking for something a bit more versatile than a typical air fryer, then The Ninja Foodi MAX Grill is a great option for your kitchen. We can see this replacing both your oven and stove top for most meals.

Best Budget Air Fryer: Uten 5.5L

Air Fryer Uten

3.9
3.8
4.5
4.0
3.1
3.9

Uten Features & Specs

  • Air Fryer Type: Basket
  • Capacity (to Max line): 4.35l
  • Surface capacity: 506 cm²
  • Dimensions (HxWxD): 32.2 x 29 x 35.5 cm
  • Weight: 5.8 kg
  • Presets/Cooking Settings: None
  • Nonstick Coating: Teflon
  • Dishwasher safe: Yes (hand wash recommended)
  • Wattage: 1500W
  • Temperature Range: 80 – 200°C
  • Timer: 1 – 60 min
  • Loudness during operation (Max as tested): 74 dB

If you are looking for a decent air fryer for under 100 pounds, then look no further than the Uten 5.5l (1700).

We were happily surprised in test after test to see quality cooking results from the simple, inexpensive Uten air fryer. It doesn’t have any bells and whistles, but french fries came out evenly cooked and crispy, while it made the best chicken nuggets in our test!

Air fryer Uten cooking

This Uten has a big basket, holding up to 4.35l to the MAX line, enough for 3-4 people.

Cleaning the Uten is relatively easy, and it has the simplest controls of any air fryer we tested. Like a traditional oven, you just use a dial to set the temperature and then turn the timer on, and it goes to work. However, the dots on the dials are not incredibly accurate, so getting the right time and temperature is a little tricky.

Air fryer Uten controls

The basket is also a bit clunky; We had to use both hands, one to hold the machine down, while we pulled the drawer open with our other hand.

The Uten is pretty powerful and will cook your food quickly. It performed in the top 5 in our bacon speed test, producing crispy, delicious bacon strips in just 7 minutes.

One drawback to all that power is that it is loud. We measured 74dB during cooking which is about as loud as a quiet vacuum cleaner or busy traffic.

Air Fryer Uten TestHut measuring loudness

When it comes to build quality, the Uten is a budget model, so it doesn’t have the sleek finish of a Ninja or Philips, but we found that it is safe. We really liked the simplicity of the design, and it earned our highest marks for overall aesthetics.

The Uten is well balanced and easy to move with built-in handles. It weighs about 5.8 kg, so it is heavy, but not hard for one person to lift and move for storage or travel.

All in all, if you just want a simple, no-nonsense air fryer that will give you good cooking results without emptying your bank account, then the Uten is a solid choice.

Best Smart Air Fryer: COSORI Smart 5.5L

Air Fryer Cosori Smart

3.8
3.4
4.5
4.0
3.9
4.2

COSORI Smart 5.5L Features & Specs

  • Air Fryer Type: Basket
  • Capacity (to Max line): 4.35l
  • Surface capacity: 506 cm²
  • Dimensions (HxWxD): 32 x 30 x 36 cm
  • Weight: 5.4 kg
  • Presets/Cooking Settings: 11 presets + preheat + keep warm
  • Nonstick Coating: Teflon
  • Dishwasher safe: Yes
  • Wattage: 1500W
  • Temperature Range: 75 – 205°C
  • Timer: 1 – 60 min
  • Loudness during operation (Max as tested): 71 dB

If you do a little internet research on air fryers, you will see that people absolutely love their Cosoris, and after testing it wasn’t hard to see why. We opted to test the Smart version, and we were not disappointed.
What is a “smart” air fryer? Well in this case, it is one that is connected to your phone via an app, so you can control it remotely. As long as you are on the same network, controlling your Cosori air fryer is as easy as pushing a few buttons.

The app includes almost 100 recipes in 5 categories to choose from. You just click on a food like Barbeque Chicken, and then it tells you how to make it and has a “Cook This Dish” button which will start the air fryer and cook it for the selected time and temp.

Overall, the Cosori was in the middle of the pack when it came to cooking results. It made great chicken nuggets, but the vegetables were not as done as we would have liked. You won’t be disappointed with the food it prepares.

The Cosori had one of the largest baskets of any air fryer that we tested of 4.35 liters up to the MAX line. It has a large surface area and can hold up to 17 chicken nuggets at one time.

Air Fryer Cosori capacity

The nonstick basket and pan clean up quite easily; although it is a little large with some rough surfaces.

The Cosori is an easy air fryer to use. We found that the drawer opens more smoothly than some air fryers, but it is a little clunky compared to the top performers.

The controls are clear with several presets and buttons to push. We think that 11 presets is a bit of overkill, and they give the control panel a more complicated appearance than necessary.

Air fryer Cosori controls

It cooks quickly, but is a bit on the loud side, reaching 71 dB in our test, which is almost as loud as a vacuum cleaner.

This air fryer was one of the safest we tested with no exterior hotspots. The overall fit and finish is great. All the pieces and parts fit together well. The buttons and control panel are quality.

This is also a good-looking air fryer with a textured black matte finish. It is fairly light and has handles making it easy to move around.

The Cosori 5.5 Smart air fryer is a good buy, especially if you are in the market for an app-controlled device in your home that looks great and cooks very well.

Also good air fryers

Two of our air fryers scored well, but nothing set them apart as test winners. These are also good buys if you are looking for a decent air fryer.

Princess Aerofryer XXL

Air Fryer Princess Aerofryer XXL

3.4
3.2
3.5
3.5
3.0
4.0

Princess Aerofryer XXL Features & Specs

  • Air Fryer Type: Basket
  • Capacity (to Max line): 3l
  • Surface capacity: 576 cm²
  • Dimensions (HxWxD): 36 x 40.5 x 31 cm
  • Weight: 5.1 kg
  • Presets/Cooking Settings: 8 presets + preheat
  • Nonstick Coating: Teflon
  • Dishwasher safe: No
  • Wattage: 1500W
  • Temperature Range: 80 – 200°C
  • Timer: 1 – 60 min
  • Loudness during operation (Max as tested): 71 dB

The Princess is a decent air fryer with a large capacity basket and good cooking results. It was right up there with the Uten and Cosori in most cooking tests. It also has an incredibly durable nonstick basket. However, we do not like the control panel with its combination of several buttons and a single dial. Whereas the Philips XXL executed this setup to perfection, the Princess is confusing. The company did suggest that we should test their newest model, and we look forward to seeing if the controls are better.

Philips Essential Airfryer

Air Fryer Philips Essential Airfryer

3.3
2.8
2.0
5.0
3.6
4.1

Philips Essential Features & Specs

  • Air Fryer Type: Basket
  • Capacity (to Max line): 2.4l
  • Surface capacity: 324 cm²
  • Dimensions (HxWxD): 29.5 x 25 x 35.5 cm
  • Weight: 4.5kg
  • Presets/Cooking Settings: 7 presets
  • Nonstick Coating: Teflon
  • Dishwasher safe: Yes
  • Wattage: 1200W
  • Temperature Range: 60 – 200°C
  • Timer: 1 – 30 min
  • Loudness during operation (Max as tested): 60 dB

The Philips Essential is a little air fryer that is good for someone just cooking for 1-2 people. However, you can get a small air fryer at a lower price point that will do the job as well. We liked the fit and finish of this air fryer, but the controls were not very well executed with a confusing menu button. It cooked well, but is nowhere near the Philips XXL. The weaker heating element did not get foods as crisp or cook as fast as the larger, more powerful XXL. We do like portability of the Essential, and it was very easy to clean after cooking even the messiest meals.

Severin Hot Air Fryer

Air Fryer Severin

3.2
2.9
2.0
4.5
3.7
3.3

Severin Features & Specs

  • Air Fryer Type: Basket
  • Capacity (to Max line): 2.6l
  • Surface capacity: 314 cm²
  • Dimensions (HxWxD): 32.4 x 27 x 33 cm
  • Weight: 4.5 kg
  • Presets/Cooking Settings: 6 presets
  • Nonstick Coating: Ceramic
  • Dishwasher safe: No
  • Wattage: 1400W
  • Temperature Range: 80 – 200°C
  • Timer: 1 – 60 min
  • Loudness during operation (Max as tested): 61 dB

The Severin is a small, budget-level air fryer that will cook your food and do a decent job of it, but be warned that the exterior gets unsafely hot when compared to other air fryers in our test. The front panel reached 52°C which is hot enough to burn you. Even the thumb spot on the handle was 44°C which is uncomfortably hot. To be fair, Severin did name this their “Hot” Air Fryer. With that said, it cooked crispy bacon in just 7 minutes, it is easy to use and portable, and sells at a lower price point than the Philips Essential.

Air fryers we don’t recommend

Three of our tested air fryers had issues with safety or quality that put them on our not recommended list.

Sage Smart Oven™ Air Fryer

Air Fryer Sage Smart Oven

It is important to note that the Sage Smart Oven is a quality product and we would likely use it as a toaster oven. However, as an air fryer, it falls short. It is way too slow and inconvenient to be a replacement for the standard basket-style air fryers in our test. The oven is well-made and it offers great versatility, but don’t be fooled into thinking that a glorified toaster oven is the same as a “real” air fryer.

Tefal Actifry Genius XL 2-in-1

Air Fryer Tefal Actifry Genius XL 2-in-1

We wanted to try the Tefal Actifry because we have tested other Tefal products in the past and found them to be quality. We also wanted to see how another type of air fryer could work—we were intrigued by the top-loading 2-in-1 concept. However, this air fryer was just a disappointment time and time again.

To be fair, we think that there is a niche audience who would like an air fryer that stirs your food as you cook. It might be great for people who make curries or stews, but as an air fryer, it fails. The number one issue is that it gets dangerously hot when cooking. It was over 90° on the exterior surface, so if you touch the top plate, you will get burned.

The control panel is a disaster. Even after a month of testing, we still couldn’t get it right, and if you choose the wrong preset, good luck trying to change it once you start. In desperation we unplugged it, and that didn’t even reset the controls. And ultimately, it isn’t really an air fryer because any oil or grease in your food stays in the pan as it cooks, while “real” air fryers all have baskets that allow oil to drain away from the food.

Air Fryer Tefal Actifry Genius with parts

The 2-in-1 idea is okay, but it is gimmicky. While the Ninja Dual cooks your food in two different baskets and can sync the two to finish at the same time, the Tefal cooks one thing on the bottom, and then you have to load up the top plate, and cook that separately while the first dish stays warm (dries out) underneath. You cannot cook two dishes at once.

Cleaning was also a bit of a nightmare. After cooking chicken wings, we had to scrape and scrub every plastic surface to get the residue off. It has so many pieces and parts that we don’t think you would use it more than once. It feels like the type of appliance you buy or get as a gift because it seems like a good idea, then it spends the rest of its natural life on a shelf in the pantry or garage.

How we chose which air fryers to test

Our TestHut team began the hunt for the best air fryer by ordering a highly reviewed model—the Philips Smart XXL. Since we had never used an air fryer before, we wanted to cut our teeth by exploring all the options and features. Each of our testers took it home for a week to become accustomed to using an air fryer and getting to know the ins and outs of air frying.

We then turned our attention to other test sites and user reviews looking for the highest rated air fryers. We kept track of which makes and models were making lists time and time again—which ones were winning tests and why.

Air Fryer Testing process

We then had a list with several makes and dozens of models. To help understand what people most want in their air fryer, we created online polls using social media sites and collecting information from current and prospective air fryer owners. We received over 900 responses from air fryer owners with lots of helpful comments.

Using this criteria, we carefully researched, analysing thousands of online reviews to see which ones were the highest quality and highly recommended by other test sites and users, and narrowed our list down.

AIr Fryers stacked

In the end, we narrowed down the list using the following criteria:

  • Type: We chose one of each type including the typical basket-style, along with a toaster oven air fryer, and a top-loading one.
  • Price: We wanted to get air fryers in a range of prices from about 64 pound, all the way up to 340 pound.
  • Size: This was a very popular criteria, so we purchased air fryers small enough for 1-2 people all the way up to family-sized air fryers that can fit entire chickens.

The goal was to try air fryers with a full-range of functions and features that people are looking for so we could really understand which air fryers are the best ones on the market.

In the end, we chose 10 air fryers from 8 different manufacturers to test in our TestHut laboratory.

Air fryer testing process

Because air fryers are a relatively new kitchen appliance, we spent a lot of time reading online forums and discussion boards finding out what people want in an air fryer. We used surveys to find out what features are most important. These included:

  • Cooking quality
  • Size
  • Ease of cleaning
  • Ease of use
  • Safety
  • Versatility
  • Price

With this in mind, we developed a testing strategy to find out which air fryer was the best. We wanted to try cooking the most popular dishes along with a few unexpected ones to see which air fryer will perform best in your kitchen. We made frozen french fries along with home-cut fries, hand-breaded chicken strips, roasted vegetables, chicken wings, bacon, and even sponge cake.

Making breaded chicken for TestHut Air Fryer Cooking test

We started by following all the manufacturers’ recommendations prior to cooking. One complaint many people have about their new air fryer is that their food tastes like plastic. But by thoroughly cleaning each one, and running some of them with no food, we were mostly able to avoid the chemical smell issue (Hint: read the instructions before you start cooking!).

After each cooking test, we tasted the results and made notes about flavour and texture. We compared evenness and doneness side-by-side to see which air fryers were giving us the most consistent cooking results. Spoiler: not all air fryers prepare food equally.

We wanted to find out which air fryers ultimately cook food the most consistently, giving you the results you expect while being easy to use and safe. We found that some get really hot while cooking, and are even too hot to touch, while others remain relatively cool.

All sponge cakes comparison after TestHut test

After each cooking test, we carefully cleaned baskets and other parts taking notes so you know which air fryers are the easiest to maintain. Believe us when we say that there are big differences when it comes to keeping these air fryers clean!

We also spent weeks using our professional tools to measure heating accuracy, electrical use, and loudness. We inspected every nook and cranny of our machines to determine the overall build quality of each one.
We went further than any other test site to not only see which air fryers cook well, but to find out how they work and why one make and model is superior to another. We looked at heat maps for evenness, we tested all the functions and features—including a smart air fryer. Putting these appliances through such rigorous testing means that we can confidently tell you which one you should buy.

How we scored air fryers

Comparing and scoring all these different types of air fryers was a challenge. We wanted to make sure to test all the features that users found important as well as understand which air fryers were the highest quality and best value.

Air Fryers all together

We scored the air fryers using six main criteria giving weights to each one.

  • Cooking performance (40%): This is the most important category because above all else, you want your air fryer to produce delicious food.
  • Basket size (20%): Size was the most popular category in our online survey. People want to cook a lot of food.
  • Cleaning (20%): Another major concern is how hard it is to keep the air fryer clean.
  • Ease of use (10%): People want the air fryer to be easy and simple to operate.
  • Build quality and design (10%): How well made and safe the air fryer is.
Air Fryer OVERALL SCORE Cooking performance (40%) Basket size (20%) Cleaning (20%) Ease of use (10%) Build quality and design (10%)
Ninja Foodi Dual Zone (AF300EU) 4.3 4.2 5.0 4.0 4.3 4.1
Philips XXL (HD9860/90) 4.2 4.7 4.0 3.0 4.7 4.3
Ninja Foodi MAX Grill (AG551EU) 4.0 4.8 4.0 3.0 3.6 3.7
Uten 5.5L (1700) 3.9 3.8 4.5 4.0 3.1 3.9
COSORI 5.5L Smart 3.8 3.4 4.5 4.0 3.9 4.2
Princess (182055) 3.4 3.2 3.5 3.5 3.0 4.0
Philips Essential (HD9252/90) 3.3 2.8 2.0 5.0 3.6 4.1
Severin Hot Air Fryer (FR 2430) 3.2 2.9 2.0 4.5 3.7 3.3
Sage Smart Oven Air Fryer (SOV860) 2.7 2.2 3.5 2.0 2.8 4.0
Tefal Actifry Genius XL 2-in-1 (YV970800) 2.5 2.5 3.0 1.5 2.7 3.3

Table Notes

Overall score: We consider 3.0 the lowest score for any air fryer we would recommend. Anything below that doesn’t make the cut.

Cooking performance: We were happily surprised to see major differences between the best air fryers and worst when it came to cooking performance. We think that you can coax any air fryer to cook your food, but some just do it better than others. The Foodi MAX Grill was our favourite when it came to cooking results giving us crispy, well-cooked food every time, while the Sage toaster oven was at the bottom of the list because it was slow and uneven.

Basket size: We gave the highest marks to the air fryers that could fit the most food in our real tests. We found that you have to take the manufacturer’s claimed volume with a grain of salt. Here the Dual Ninja with two baskets was at the top with 6l, while the tiny Severin and Philips Essential models were at the bottom at less than 3l each.

Cleaning: Basically, the fewer pieces and parts, the easier the air fryer is to clean. The Philips XXL and Tefal models with lots of pieces and parts were much harder to clean than the super simple Philips Essential with the small basket and pan.

Ease of Use: Air fryers that make the whole cooking process simple like the Philips XXL and Ninja models earn high marks here because they were a pleasure to use. The baskets were easy to open and the control panels were intuitive and simple. Others, like the Tefal with its confusing control panel and the Uten with its sticking drawer and loudness were more difficult to use for various reasons and lost points.

Build quality and design: We value build quality, and we found that some air fryer drawers didn’t quite close right, others had sharp edges, or got very hot while cooking. Safety issues like the hot glass panel on the Tefal or a hot spot on the Severin lost these air fryers points.

How we tested: Cooking performance

The one job an air fryer has is to make us delicious food without using much oil. We feel that this is the most important criteria of a good air fryer, and so most of our tests focused on cooking various foods and then comparing the final results side by side to see which air fryers did the best job.

Putting food in Air Fryers for cooking test

To rate cooking performance we used 3 subcriteria:

  • Cooking quality tests (70%): In actual side-by-side tests, which air fryers consistently produced the best results?
  • Temperature evenness (20%): Which air fryers cooked most evenly both across the surface and from top to bottom?
  • Temperature accuracy (10%): How did the actual internal temperature compare to the set temperature?

Cooking performance results

Air fryer Cooking performance overall score (100%) Cooking quality tests (70%) Temperature evenness (20%) Temperature accuracy (10%)
Ninja Foodi MAX Grill (AG551EU) 4.8 5 4 5
Philips XXL (HD9860/90) 4.7 5 4 4
Ninja Foodi Dual Zone (AF300EU) 4.2 4.5 3.5 3
Uten 5.5L (1700) 3.8 4 3 4
COSORI 5.5L Smart 3.4 3.5 3 3
Princess (182055) 3.2 3 3 5
Severin (FR 2430) 2.9 3 2.5 3
Philips Essential (HD9252/90) 2.8 2.5 3 4
Tefal Actifry Genius XL 2-in-1 (YV970800) 2.5 2.5 2.5 2
Sage (SOV860) 2.2 2 2 4

Cooking quality tests (70%)

The good news about cooking quality is that all of the air fryers can produce decent results, but we definitely saw better results from some air fryers than others.

We cooked several different dishes in each air fryer, and after every test, we ranked the final results. To score the cooking quality, we tasted samples from each air fryer, and carefully examined the final products. We organized them on plates and determined which dishes were superior to others. By doing this, we saw patterns emerge where the best cooking air fryers were giving us good results in every test, and the bad ones were near the bottom every time.

TestHut Air Fryer Cooking test

What we cooked:

  • Frozen french fries: following manufacturer’s recommendation and using the frozen preset if available. Some gave us crispy delicious fries, while others turned out soggy and uneven.
  • Chicken wings: following manufacturer’s recommendation and using the chicken preset if available. Most air fryers struggled to get the wings crispy, and we saw lots of unevenness.
  • Hand-cut potato fries: cooked in a single layer for 13 minutes at 190°C. We saw a big difference in how evenly different air fryers managed to cook the fries.
  • Chicken nuggets and vegetables: cooked using our accessory pan to divide when it worked at 190°C for 10 minutes. We saw a variety of differences in crispiness, texture, and doneness.
  • Sponge cake: cooked at 165° (or 160°) until a toothpick inserted in the center came out clean using our accessory pan when it fit. Most baked better than we anticipated, but some clearly cooked more evenly giving us nice moist cake with a crispy surface.
  • Bacon strips: cooked at 200° for 7 minutes to compare relative doneness and speed of each air fryer. Most cooked bacon very well, but some were able to get it crispier than others.

Our top rated air fryer for overall cooking performance was the Ninja Foodi MAX Grill, which is a combination grill and air fryer. With its powerful heating system (2460W) and fan, it produced wonderfully crispy french fries, chicken wings, delicious hand cut fries, and even a nicely done sponge cake. In test after test, it was at or near the top every time.

Air Fryer Ninja Foodi Max Health Grill cooking food

Another solid performer was the Philips XXL which also gave us great results. Again, it has a high-powered heating unit (2225W) and a unique mesh basket that seems to allow air to flow evenly while cooking to give great results from top to bottom. It produced the best sponge cake of all with a crispy top and moist center.

The lowest performing air fryer was the Sage toaster oven which gave us uneven and often under-cooked foods that needed more time and stirring to give decent results.

The Tefal Actifry also underperformed. With its stirring paddle, we expected foods to cook more evenly, but with chicken wings, they were undercooked and soggy. The problem is that unlike other air fryers, the juice has nowhere to go in the sealed pan, so food just sits in it.

The Philips Essential was also underpowered giving mixed results in our cooking tests. It gave us soggy, limp fries and undercooked wings.

The other air fryers were somewhere in the middle giving mixed results with the Uten and Cosori being the “best of the rest.”

Temperature evenness (20%)

We noticed that evenness had a lot to do with overall quality, so we tested it as a separate category. We wanted to see how evenly foods cooked on the surface and how well they cooked from top to bottom.

For the surface evenness test, we focused on hand-cut fries. The fries were placed in a single layer. After time was up, we checked the results to see how evenly the fries were cooked, and compared overall taste and textures. Again, we saw a big difference in how evenly different air fryers managed to cook the fries.

Air Fyer Handcut fries evenness test Testhut

We noticed that no air fryer could cook perfectly evenly, but top marks went to the Philips XXL and Ninja Grill, as both did a nice job of giving us crisp potatoes all the way across, but we still saw hotspots here and there.

To check the evenness from top to bottom, we cooked chicken wings using the manufacturers recommended amounts, times, and temperatures. We then checked evenness from top to bottom and saw that, predictably, air fryers cook faster on the top where the heating unit is, and without stirring or shaking, most did not get the bottoms of our chicken wings crispy.

Air Fryer Chicken wings test TestHut

The Philips XXL did the best job of cooking evenly with its mesh basket design, but you will always get better results by shaking or stirring layered foods.

Surprisingly the Sage was the most uneven air fryer in our test. In every test, the front right cooked much faster than the rear left, and we could see a clear pattern time and time again.

The Severin also scored low showing hotspots and unevenness in our cooking tests. And the Tefal cooks much hotter in the center than on the outside. It is easy to see exactly where the hot air is blowing.

Again, most air fryers scored somewhere in the middle showing hot spots on the surface of the potatoes and undercooking the wings on the bottom of the basket. The Ninja Dual was a close contender here, but the deeper baskets gave us super crispy wings on top with soggier ones on the bottom.

Temperature accuracy (10%)

The final measurement of cooking quality was to know that the temperature you set is the temperature you get. While we feel that once you own an air fryer, you will adjust the cooking temperature and speed based on a few trials, so the weighting is low. However, we think that credit should be given to those air fryers which were most accurate.

Air Fryer TestHut temperature test

For this test, we set each air fryer temperature to 160° or 165°C (if it had 5 degree increments) for 10 minutes and checked the internal temperature using our professional thermometer.

TestHut Air Fryer temperature accuracy test results

Top marks here again went to the Ninja Grill which, when set to 160°C, only fluctuated 5° during our tests. It stayed between 155-165°C and this was the best-in-test.

Other air fryers fluctuated much more with most being off from 16-25°C with higher scores given to those that could stay between 6-15° from the set temperature.

The lowest scoring air fryer was the Tefal which we saw drop from 180°C to 119°C in just a matter of seconds. These fluctuations surely affect overall cooking quality.

How we tested: Capacity

Most people seem to want a big air fryer that can fit enough food for a whole family. It was one of the highest rated categories in our online survey.

Our goal was to learn how much food each air fryer could actually cook. This is trickier than it sounds. You see, each air fryer has a size that the manufacturer uses like the Cosori 5.5L, meaning it is a 5.5 liter air fryer. But what does that mean? When we measured the basket of the Cosori, we found that it was not 5.5L, but instead found that the basket can only hold up to 4.8 liters. Many of the baskets have “Max” lines, so this further inhibits the amount of food you can cook, and further restrictions are listed in the instruction manuals about not overloading and how cooking too much of any one food at the same time may give you worse cooking results.

Air Fryer capacity measured with corn

In addition, many air fryer recipes call for cooking food in a single layer, so you can’t just fill up the basket with things like hamburger patties or bacon strips and expect good results. So we measured the surface cooking area to find out how much food would fit in a single layer as well.

We discovered that none of the air fryers are as big as advertised, and that some will hold a lot more food than others!

Capacity results

Air fryer Basket size (100%)
Ninja Foodi Dual Zone (AF300EU) 5.0
COSORI 5.5L Smart 4.5
Uten 5.5L (1700) 4.5
Ninja Foodi MAX Grill (AG551EU) 4.0
Philips XXL (HD9860/90) 4.0
Princess (182055) 3.5
Sage (SOV860) 3.5
Tefal Actifry Genius XL 2-in-1 (YV970800) 3.0
Philips Essential (HD9252/90) 2.0
Severin (FR 2430) 2.0

Basket size (100%):

To test the volume of each basket we performed 2 measures. We filled them with chocolate cereal and then measured the volume of the cereal. Then we compared this to the mathematical volume to confirm our results.

TestHut Air Fryer basket size test results

We also tested surface area by seeing how many chicken nuggets would fit on the surface of the basket and how many corn cobs the air fryer could hold at once.

Obviously the bigger the basket, the more food it could fit, but we also calculated the surface area and took into account recommended maximum amounts from the instruction guides.

TestHut Air Fryer cooking surface size

The dual basket Ninja is the most spacious (6.2l), while, not surprisingly, the smaller Philips Essential (2.4l) and Severin (2.6l) air fryers scored the lowest.

How we tested: Cleaning

We were surprised by our polling data that many people feel that cleaning is as important or more important than either cooking quality or ease of use. It didn’t take us long to find out why. Cleaning some air fryers can be a real pain, while others are relatively easy.

Cleaning results

Air fryer Cleaning (100%)
Philips Essential (HD9252/90) 5.0
Severin (FR 2430) 4.5
Ninja Foodi Dual Zone (AF300EU) 4.0
COSORI 5.5L Smart 4.0
Uten 5.5L (1700) 4.0
Princess (182055) 3.5
Ninja Foodi MAX Grill (AG551EU) 3.0
Philips XXL (HD9860/90) 3.0
Sage (SOV860) 2.0
Tefal Actifry Genius XL 2-in-1 (YV970800) 1.5

Cleaning (100%)

To test this, we made notes after each cooking test about how easy all the pieces and parts were to clean. We paid attention to the inside and outside of each air fryer noting how many bits there were and how much room all of them took up when cleaning and drying.

Most air fryers claim to be dishwasher safe, but as with any nonstick coated cookware, we prefer hand washing to protect the coating. We appreciated the nonstick coatings on air fryer baskets that made cleaning up even baked-on messes fairly easy.

Air fryers with smaller baskets and fewer parts were generally much easier to clean than big bulky ones with lots of bits and pieces.

The easiest air fryer to clean was the Philips Essential with the small basket and pan that easily fit in the sink and didn’t have any rough surfaces. It was followed closely by the almost equally small and easy-to-clean Severin.

Air Fryer Philips Essential with parts

Other air fryers lost points for rough surfaces that threatened to shred our sponge (Cosori, Uten, Princess). The Ninja Dual was easy to clean, but because there are 2 baskets, it takes up more space when drying.

The Ninja Foodi Grill has a relatively easy to clean pan, but the inside tended to get dirty, especially after our breaded chicken nugget test, and this was hard to get clean.

The Philips XXL has a lot of extra parts with the Fat Removal System, and it is large and hard to clean all of the pieces by hand.

The Sage comes with a stainless steel mesh pan for air frying and a grate for grilling. Neither of these are nonstick and take a lot of scrubbing to get clean.

The hardest to clean is the Tefal. It has many plastic parts and two pans that need scrubbing. The stirring paddle gets coated with charred remnants of whatever you cook, and it is really difficult to get clean again. Not only that, but like the Ninja Grill, food gets inside the machine and is very hard to remove.

Cleaning Air Fryer before and after

How we tested: Ease of use

One of the biggest selling points of air fryers is their ease of use. When you buy a kitchen appliance like this, you want it to make your life simpler and easier, not more complicated. We found that this category really showed us major differences between our test models.

To score ease of use, we broke it down into 5 categories thinking about all the things that make an air fryer pleasant (or unpleasant) to own:

  • Operation (30%): This includes all the basic processes of cooking like adding food, shaking food, and removing food.
  • Controls (25%): Each air fryer had a unique way of setting the time and temperature, so we rated how easy they were to set. We also scored the presets if they were included.
  • Cooking speed (20%): We rated faster air fryers higher than slower air fryers.
  • Loudness (15%): We used a decibel metre to see how loud each air fryer was while cooking.
  • Instructions (10%): We rated the instruction guides for clarity and for including recipes.

Ease of use results

Air fryer Ease of use overall score (100%) Operation (30%) Controls (25%) Cooking speed (20%) Loudness (15%) Instructions (10%)
Philips XXL (HD9860/90) 4.9 5 5 5 4 5
Ninja Foodi Dual Zone (AF300EU) 4.5 4.5 4 5 4 5
COSORI 5.5L Smart 3.7 3.5 4.5 3.5 2 5
Philips Essential (HD9252/90) 3.7 4 4 4 5 3
Severin (FR 2430) 3.5 3 4 3.5 4 3
Ninja Foodi MAX Grill (AG551EU) 3.4 2.5 3.5 4 3 5
Uten 5.5L (1700) 3.1 2.5 3 4.5 2 4
Tefal Actifry Genius XL 2-in-1 (YV970800) 3.0 3 2.5 3.5 3 3
Sage (SOV860) 3.0 2 4 2 5 2
Princess (182055) 2.9 2.5 3 4 2 3

Operation (30%)

To test how easy each air fryer was to operate, we cooked in each one making notes about how simple it was to add, turn or shake, and remove food. Most of this involved opening and closing the unit again and again. This is the most common thing you will do with your air fryer, so you want this to be a smooth and simple process.

[videopack id=”1797″]https://www.testhut.com/uk/wp-content/uploads/sites/9/2021/09/Ninja_dual_closing-1.mp4[/videopack]

Our top air fryer in this category was the Philips XXL model because it was the only one we tested that had a drawer on rails that slid smoothly in and out. Shaking with this air fryer was also easier than the others because of the light and easily accessible basket design. Most other air fryers have a button that needs to be pressed to release the basket adding one more step in the process. Only the Philips and Ninja Dual Zone allow you to shake your food in the baskets without pressing a release button.

The lowest scoring model was the Sage. Because it is a toaster oven, adding, turning, and removing food always required two hands and an oven mitt. You have to open the oven, expose yourself to the hot air and hot pan, and this feels not only inconvenient, but unsafe.

The Uten and Princess models earned low scores because the sticky locking mechanisms of the basket meant that we had to use two hands to open the unit. One hand to hold the air fryer steady, while the other hand pulled hard to release the basket.

The Ninja Grill is a top-loading air fryer, and so we could not shake the basket to stir food. Instead, we had to open the top, and turn the food manually which was inconvenient and felt a bit unsafe.

Controls (25%)

Another important subcriteria in the Ease of use category is Controls. Here we tested how easy the air fryers were to set using time, temperature, and preset buttons.

Air Fryer controls

Again, the Philips XXL earned high marks for its super intuitive and well-constructed combination of preset buttons and a single wheel that allowed for precise time and temperature control. We liked the feedback of the buttons and the wheel, and the screen was easy to read. You can start using this air fryer right away without much explanation.

The Cosori was also highly rated for its many presets, and it earned extra points for having an app that is easy to use and allows you to control your air fryer from another room. The app also comes with recipes and instructions for cooking different foods.

On the other hand, the Tefal Actifry gave us fits when trying to figure out how to set it. It has a top and a bottom basket, and it comes with 9 presets that are not well-defined. To set the unit, you have to push a menu button that moves you through the presets. The best air fryers allow you to push the actual preset buttons, but a few have a menu button instead (likely a cheap way out). The Tefal was so hard to set that we weren’t sure if we were cooking on the top or bottom basket at times, and once it is running, you cannot simply change the settings. You have to shut it off, wait, and then start over.

Cooking speed (20%)

One of the great things about air fryers is that they are supposed to be fast, so we tested to see how fast they were by cooking several foods and comparing relative doneness. We measured how fast they heated from room temperature to 100° and cooked bacon for 7 minutes in each air fryer to see which ones could get it the crispiest.

Air Fryer TestHut bacon speed test

The Ninja Grill proved to be the fastest when it came to getting the bacon crispy. It was clearly on another level than all the other fryers in our test. It was in the middle of the pack when it came to getting up to 100°C at 1:28.

Other top contenders were the Uten, Severin, Princess and Cosori, all making crispy, delicious bacon.

The Philips XXL and Dual Ninja cooked the bacon well, but it was not as crisp.

The Philips Essential did an okay job, but we found that the texture was a bit spongy.

The Tefal heated up to 100° faster than any other fryer, taking just 40 seconds, but after 100° we noticed that the heating speed slowed down, and then fluctuated wildly. As a result, the bacon came out soggy.

The slowest air fryer, by far, was the Sage. It literally took twice as long to cook just about everything in every test. After our 7 minute bacon test, the slices were still raw. We had to keep resetting the time until the food was done.

Loudness (10%)

We found that loud air fryers made using them less enjoyable, so we tested how loud each one was and gave high marks to the quietest units. We used our decibel meter and performed multiple tests, taking the overall average.

TestHut Air Fryer loudness test

The Philips Essential was whisper quiet maxing out at about 59 dB—it was the quietest basket air fryer in our test. The Sage was even quieter at just 57 dB.

Most air fryers rated somewhere in the 60s to mid-60s which is about as loud as a conversation.

The lowest ratings here were given to the Uten, Cosori, and Princess models which all reached over 70 dB and were as loud as busy traffic or a vacuum cleaner. We could see these becoming annoying to some people, especially those sensitive to loud noises.

Instructions (10%)

When we first got our air fryers, we unpacked them and carefully read through the instruction manuals. We quickly found that some manufacturers work harder than others to give you good information from the start.

Air Fryer instructions

The best instructions were included with the Cosori which came with not only a well-documented user manual, but a full recipe book with colour pictures. We felt that they really put time in to give us everything we would need to enjoy using their product right away.

Both the Ninjas and the Philips XXL also came with excellent user manuals with lots of recipes. Surprisingly, however, the Philips Essential only came with a single sheet of information, and not much else. Luckily, it did come with an app, so we could access recipes that way.

The lowest rated instruction manual came with the Sage which included no recipes and was actually confusing and difficult to use.

How we tested: Build quality and design

Finally, we wanted to answer the question, “Which one is the highest quality?” During our research, we read stories about the nonstick coating on the baskets peeling off, or of air fryers that quit working after a few months. We also wanted to know how safe each air fryer was.

Air Fryer design

Build quality and design included 6 subcategories to determine the overall quality of each air fryer:

  • Safety (30%): We used a professional thermometer to check the external temperature of the air fryers and made notes about any issues they had with safety.
  • Fit and finish (30%): We closely examined each air fryer to determine how well it is put together and how much detail was put into the design.
  • Nonstick durability (20%): We performed scratch and scrape tests on the baskets to see which coatings were the most durable.
  • Aesthetics (10%): How good will these air fryers look in your kitchen?
  • Portability (5%): How easy is it to move the air fryer for storage or to take on a trip?
  • Power consumption (5%): How much power does it use both when running and in standby mode?

Build quality and design results

Air fryer Build quality and design overall score (100%) Safety (30%) Fit and finish (30%) Nonstick durability (20%) Aesthetics (10%) Portability (5%) Power consumption (5%)
Philips XXL (HD9860/90) 4.3 5 5 3 4 3 3
COSORI 5.5L Smart 4.2 4 5 3 5 4 3.5
Ninja Foodi Dual Zone (AF300EU) 4.1 4 4 4 5 3 4.5
Philips Essential (HD9252/90) 4.1 4 4.5 3 4 5 5
Sage (SOV860) 4.0 2.5 5 5 5 1.5 4
Princess (182055) 4.0 4 3.5 4.5 4 4 4
Uten 5.5L (1700) 3.9 4 4 3 5 4 4
Ninja Foodi MAX Grill (AG551EU) 3.7 2.5 5 4 4 1.5 3
Severin (FR 2430) 3.3 2 3.5 4.5 3 5 3.5
Tefal Actifry Genius XL 2-in-1 (YV970800) 3.3 2 4 4.5 3 1.5 4

Safety (30%)

We felt that safety was the most important subcategory because we want to make sure we recommend air fryers that will do no harm.

To test this, we used our professional thermometer to test all the surfaces while cooking, and we found that some got way too hot.

TestHut Air Fryer surface temperature test results

Most air fryers were quite safe, with the Philips XXL getting the highest marks for its pan and basket construction that make shaking food safer than any other air fryer.

Other air fryers that remained relatively cool while cooking still had that unsafe moment when we had to pull the pan out and dislodge the basket to shake food. These pans are quite hot, and there is always a chance that you could get burned during the process.

Lower scoring pans had other problems. The Sage is a toaster oven, so it requires using an oven mitt to access food, and the heating element stays on while you are performing turning manoeuvres.

The Ninja Foodi MAX Grill gets hot on the outside, and to access the food, you have to open the lid and expose yourself to the blazing interior to turn food. It also requires some kind of oven mitt to hold the pan.

The lowest scoring air fryers got unexpectedly hot on the outer surfaces while cooking. The front panel of the Severin reached over 53°C in our test, and it was way too easy to rub this with your knuckles while pulling the drawer out. The button to release the basket was also over 40° which is uncomfortably warm.

The Tefal reached almost 100°C on the top surface, and hot air poured out of the gap between the lid and base. The handle is fine, but if you touch anything else while cooking, you could easily get burned.

Fit and finish (30%)

When the air fryers arrived at our TestHut office, we took time to carefully inspect each one taking notes of the overall quality of the fit and finish of each product. Then, throughout the testing regime, we continually updated our notes.

We were happy, overall, with the quality of the models we ordered. Most of them were finished cleanly and all the parts and pieces fit together well. These earned 5s in this category. We were especially impressed with the Ninja models and the Philips XXL.

The one difference in quality between the top scorers and lower scorers was the way the drawer of the pan fit into the body of the fryer. The lower-quality machines (Princess, Severin, Uten) use friction locks that make the drawers stick. The higher quality ones used spring locking mechanisms which are much more smooth and predictable.

Nonstick durability (20%)

In our research, we found many people complaining that the nonstick coating was wearing off on their air fryers, so we performed several tests to gauge the relative strengths of our models’ coatings.

  • Steel wool: Rubbed 10 times at 1kg of force on the surface of the basket.
  • Metal tongs: Simulated picking up food with metal tongs, scraping the nonstick coating.
  • Meat thermometer: We dropped a meat thermometer with the sharp point down on the surface of the baskets 5 times.
  • Knife scratch: We scratched the surface using 500g of force followed by a second scratch using 1kg of force to see if the tip of the knife would penetrate.

No air fryer was completely immune to scratches in all the tests, but the Teflon-coated Princess came the closest. Only the 1kg knife scratch left a mark on the surface.

Most other air fryers were chipped during the meat thermometer test and almost all of them suffered from the knife, save the Tefal which had an incredibly durable ceramic coating.

Air Fryer TestHut Durability test

The Ninjas also have a thick ceramic coating that chips, but does not scratch. The Severin joined the top contenders showing hardly any wear on its ceramic during the test.

The Philips both showed signs of scraping closer to a typical Teflon pan. The XXL also showed signs of wear on the mesh basket with Teflon flaking off the wires.

We gave the Sage the highest mark because the cooking surfaces (grill and air fry pans) are made of stainless steel, so we do not expect them to scratch or wear at all.

Aesthetics (10%)

We know that some people value style and want an air fryer that complements their kitchen. To figure out which of our 10 air fryers was the best looking, we had an online beauty pageant, inviting other air fryer owners to vote for their favourites. We combined these scores with our own opinion to rank them.

The Cosori got the most online votes, and we agree that the clean lines and matte-black finish are a nice complement to any kitchen.

Air Fryer Cosori Design

Other high scorers were the Ninja Dual and Sage. We were a bit surprised at how many votes the Uten got. It is basically the same shape as the Cosori, but coated in stainless steel. Many people commented that it looks like a face.

The middle of the pack was made up of the Philips air fryers, the Ninja Grill and Princess.

None of the air fryers were especially unattractive, but the ones that earned 3s were the rather bland Severin and odd-shaped Tefal.

Portability (5%)

It came as a surprise to us that many people like to be able to move their air fryers. Some like to store them in cupboards or pantries, and others even like to take their air fryer on vacations for a convenient cooking option in hotel rooms or at camping sites.

Air fryers on a table

We found that many air fryers have built-in handles making them easy to carry. Combine this with low weight, and you get the highest scores: Philips Essential and Severin.

The others in the middle were relatively easy to move, but were a bit heavier.

The Ninja Dual Zone and Philips XXL are both a bit bigger and harder to move than the other basket-style air fryers.

The lowest scores went to the non-basket style air fryers. The Tefal is awkward and the lid opens easily. It also has a lot of parts that you have to store somewhere. The Ninja Grill is quite heavy, and the lid tends to open when you move it. The heaviest in our test was the Sage which is a machine that we advise finding a nice spot for and then leaving it.

Power consumption (5%)

The last subcategory in our Fit and finish category is power consumption. For this we tested both the standby power use, using special outlet watt meters, along with the actual power use during cooking. Top marks went to those with the lowest total usage.

The Philips Essential has the lowest usage at 0W during standby mode and just 1200 when cooking.

We also liked the NInja Dual which only uses 1125W when you use one basket. This means that you only use as much power as you need.

Other air fryers used over 1200 but less than 2000 watts.

The lowest scorers were the Ninja Grill and Philips XXL using both standby power and over 2000 watts whilst cooking.

Conclusion

We went into the air fryer niche as skeptics and came out the other end as true believers. After testing some of the best air fryers you can buy, we think that these are a fantastic kitchen appliance that can replace much of what you use both your stove and regular oven for. We find ourselves using these air fryers every day, and seeking new uses for them. They are versatile, convenient, and great for hot summer days when you want to eat something hot and fresh, but don’t want to stand over a hot stove or suffer with a scorching oven.

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