The 6 best air fryers of 2023, tested by our expert

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

Different types of air fryers

The two main air fryer types are basket and toaster oven. Basket air fryers feature a drawer in the bottom half for the food; the controls are on top, and an internal fan blows hot air down onto the food to cook it. The best air fryer toaster ovens look just like traditional toaster ovens with a transparent door that you open to insert your food. Air fryer toaster ovens have a fan on the side or top that blows hot air to "air fry" your food.

A third type is the pressure-cooking air fryer. These appliances look like Instant Pot pressure cookers, but have air frying functionality. Check out our Instant Pot vs. Ninja Foodi article for more on these units.

From the makers of the wildly popular Instant Pot, the Instant Vortex Plus Air Fryer Oven with ClearCook combines the best features of an air fryer and a toaster oven. It has a window in the front like a toaster oven, but it cooks quickly like a basket air fryer.

Even factoring in the time it takes to preheat, the Instant Vortex Plus cooked food the fastest in all of our tests, including producing evenly cooked hand-cut fries in just 14 minutes. Best of all, it did a good job of making moist and evenly cooked broccoli and frozen fries.

The oven is also easy to use. Select one of the six presets, use the temp/time button to adjust how long and hot the air fryer cooks, and press start. I did find it mildly annoying that the cook time countdown only starts once the unit preheats. You can't just have it countdown from when you press the start button, but that was a minor nuisance.

The Vortex Plus has an air filter to prevent odors from escaping. While I didn't systematically test this feature, it did a good job of containing smells. It also has a light to see your food through the window easily.

The basket and crisping plate are both dishwasher-safe. I much preferred cleaning the basket by hand because it takes up a lot of space in the dishwasher, and the nonstick surface makes clean-up effortless.

Read our full review of the Instant Vortex Plus Air Fryer Oven.

We're always a little skeptical about products sporting a celebrity's name. However, we'd recommend the Beautiful 6 Quart Touchscreen Air Fryer by Drew Barrymore, even without the endorsement of the "Donnie Darko" star.

The controls are intuitive, with only the relevant buttons illuminated. First, you press the power button, which illuminates the presets. Once you select a preset, you can adjust the time and temp, and the flashing start button begins the cook. The unit is attractive and comes in seven colors: white icing, cornflower blue, black sesame, and more.

The $79 Beautiful air fryer was one of only two units to cook hand-cut fries in 15 minutes, and the results were evenly cooked and delicious. It was also among the fastest at cooking broccoli and frozen fries. The frozen fries were a little dry, but the broccoli was just right.

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

We tested 18 contenders for our guide to the best air fryer toaster ovens. Due to their size and popular uses, air fryer toaster ovens underwent different tests from traditional basket air fryers. You can find more details here.

While none of the air fryer toaster ovens produced perfectly even food, the Oster Digital Air Fryer Oven did the best on average. A juicy, delicious whole chicken only took an hour and seven minutes. The pizza was ready in nine minutes, and crispy, evenly cooked fries came out in 12 minutes. Plus, the oven preheated faster than most. The flavor was terrific in all three tests, though the chicken and pizza could have been cooked more evenly.

Using an oven thermometer, we found the Oster ran hotter than the temperature we set it at, but the temperature stayed consistent, only varying by plus or minus three degrees from its average.

Only the basics are included with the $190 Oster Digital Air Fryer Oven. Yet, there are several useful presets, like baking and dehydration. Cleaning is a snap thanks to the easy-to-remove crumb tray and dishwasher-safe accessories.

Overall, the Oster was the best air fryer toaster oven for cooking food evenly, deliciously, and quickly. It doesn't have the features or extras of pricier appliances, but it's a solid workhorse for producing quality food in minimal time.

Read our full Oster Digital Air Fryer Toaster Oven review. Check out our guide to the best air fryer toaster ovens.

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

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

With so many functions, we assumed this $230 air fryer would have a steep learning curve, but the controls are intuitive. We had it up and running without referencing the instructions. Clean-up is also a snap since the baskets and crisper plates are dishwasher-safe. We like that the baskets are smaller than the traditional 6-quart models, so fitting them in the dishwasher is easier.

We considered 11 compact air fryers for our guide to the best small air fryers. Due to size constraints, we used different tests from the full-size units. We used half as much fries and broccoli and added a chicken wings test. You can read more about our testing here.

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

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

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

The $88 Dreo Aircrisp Pro used space efficiently. It had the best exterior-size-to-food-capacity ratio of the small basket air fryers I tested. The air fryer is flat on top, so you could store items on top of it, though you'll need to remove the items to use it. Its 3.6-quart capacity makes it ideal for two people.

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

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

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

The $185 air fryer function excelled in my tests, producing tender broccoli and crisp frozen fries, though the tall cylindrical basket presented some small downsides. The basket allows you to stack two layers of food to compensate for the lack of horizontal space, but because the heat comes from above, the food on the bottom layer is often less crisp than the top. The air fryer basket also lacks a handle, which makes agitating the food difficult.

The lid's heating coil is exposed when you remove it, which is a burn hazard. The unit has a special plate for safely setting the lid down on your counter, but you must still be careful. If you own an Instant Pot, you can purchase an air fryer lid separately for a 6-quart model.

The Ninja Speedi Rapid Cooker & Air Fryer was also one of the best air fryers for multitasking, which does sous vide and slow cooking. However, it doesn't pressure cook and costs more than the Duo Crisp.

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

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

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

Price: The air fryers in our guide range from $50 to $400. Higher prices generally equate to more functions and a larger capacity. If you don't need fancy functions and only cook for one or two people, you can save a few dollars with a cheaper model.

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

The main factors we considered when testing air fryers were cooking capabilities, ease of use, and ease of cleaning.

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

To choose the best air fryers, here are the cooking tests we put each unit through:

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

Cleaning: We tracked how many parts there were to disassemble and clean. A unit with dishwasher-safe accessories got big bonus points in our test for best air fryer.

Are air fryers worth it?

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

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

What can you make in an air fryer?

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

What cannot be cooked in an air fryer?

Liquid foods, including soups and wet batters, should not go in an air fryer. Fresh greens and other loose items should not go in an air fryer as they will fly around and potentially catch fire on the heating element.

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

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

For more details, check out our article on how to clean an air fryer. Look at the best silicone air fryer liners if you want easy cleaning and grease-free cooking.

How much does an air fryer cost?

The cheapest air fryer we recommend in our best small air fryer guide costs $50, but they can cost up to $700. Expect to spend between $130 and $160 for the best air fryers. However, during Black Friday and other big sales events, they're deeply discounted.

What size air fryer do you need?

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