We love air frying around here, relying on it for everything from air fryer pizza to kale chips. But if you haven’t tried out air frying before, it may still seem shrouded in mystery. How does air frying work? And which air fryer is best? Well search no more! We researched dozens of air fryers on the market and landed on these 7 best air fryers of 2024. Reviews are based on both personal experience as well as extensively nerding out on hundreds of buyer reviews. I personally own (and love) the Instant Pot Airfryer, which I use to create all the air fryer recipes here on the blog. This post contains affiliate links, and purchases via these links may benefit Live Eat Learn.
So what the heck is an air fryer?
An air fryer is an electric kitchen appliance that blows hot air quickly around food to create a crispy exterior. It’s similar to a convection oven, but with much faster, circular air movement that cooks the food more evenly and quickly.
Is air frying healthy?
Not only does deep frying add a ton of extra calories to your food, but the hot oil damages fat-soluble vitamins. Air frying fixes that, requiring very little (or even no) oil to produce a similarly crispy outside, while cooking the food in less time.
Types of air fryers
While there are many air fryers on the market, they generally fall into two categories: basket air fryers and convection oven air fryers. The basket air fryers are the most popular, with a basket similar to a deep fryer to hold the food. Convection oven air fryers are similar to toaster or convection ovens, with racks to place food on and added air frying functionality.
7 Best Air Fryers Review
We dug into every element of the air fryers on the market and found the 7 best air fryers based on budget, functionality, look, and buyer reviews (click read more to jump around this guide!): Latecomer Bonus: Instant Vortex Air Fryer – read more
Philips Airfryer
Size: Philips has a small air fryer (2.75 quarts) as well as an XXL version (4 quarts). In both versions, buyers loved the roomy basket, which could fit two layers of food.
Price: $$$ Cookbook: 200 recipes included Warranty: 1 year Accessories: not included
Look: The Philips AirFryer comes in black. Its compact design makes it easy to store, though it makes a slick addition to your countertop appliances. Function: This air fryer produces some of the crispiest results due to the way air can flow through the basket. Its intuitive controls are easy to use, and there are many presets to make cooking even quicker. People say: Most buyers love the Philips AirFryer, with the biggest complaints being the smaller capacity (compared to the air fryer oven combos) and the premium price.
GoWISE Air Fryer
Size: While the GoWISE Retro Collection (with the fun colors) holds 2.75 quarts, they have larger lines with models that hold 3.7 and 5.8 quarts.
Price: $ Cookbook: 50 recipes included Warranty: 30 days Accessories: Racks and pans included
Look: The Retro Collection comes in many colors, like mustard yellow, blush pink, and mint green, and teal, while the larger models come in black, white, red, and purple. It’s compact enough to store yet pretty enough to keep on your counter. Function: While not quite as intuitive as the Philips AirFryer, GoWise has a bunch of presets to make cooking easy. People say: While many buyers loved the GoWISE Air Fryer (especially its more affordable price point), some had issues with the durability of the nonstick coating.
Breville Smart Oven Air
Size: The Breville Smart Oven Air holds 5.8 quarts, making it large enough to bake a 12-cup muffin tin or cook a 13-inch pizza.
Price: $$$$ Cookbook: not included Warranty: 2 years (limited) Accessories: pans included
Look: This model comes in brushed stainless steel. Function: With 13 smart cooking functions, from roasting to dehydrating (to air frying!), this appliance can be used for so much more than just air frying. Great for serving a crowd! People say: Buyers loved the multi-functionality of the Breville Smart Oven Air, but it comes with a higher price tag. Some also reported it taking longer to preheat than a smaller air fryer.
Cuisinart Air Fryer Convection Toaster Oven
Size: Cuisinart has a few models of air fryer convection ovens coming in a range of sizes, from the larger air fryer convection oven (Cuisinart TOA-60), to the smaller air fryer (Cuisinart AFR-25). All are smaller than the Breville oven.
Price: $$ Cookbook: a few recipes included Warranty: 3 years (limited) Accessories: pans included
Look: All models come in stainless steel. Function: The Cuisinart Air Fryer Convection Toaster Oven has seven functions: air fry, convection bake, convection broil, bake, broil, warm, toast. Air frying space in this model is limited to the top rack, so you can’t air fry as much as in most other air fryers. People say: Many buyers love this appliance and how quiet it is, though some have trouble controlling the temperature and with durability of the knobs.
Black + Decker Purify Air Fryer
Size: The Black + Decker Purify Air Fryer holds 2 quarts, making it slightly smaller than the other basket air fryers.
Price: $ Cookbook: a few recipes included Warranty: 2 years (limited) Accessories: 2 baskets included
Look: This model comes in black and white, with a sleek design that would look nice on your countertop. Function: The Black + Decker has basic air fryer functionality and temperature control, with indicator lights that display when the unit is on and preheated. People say: People love the affordability of this air fryer, though some found the lettering too small and difficult to read.
Cosori Air Fryer
Size: The Cosori Air Fryer comes in two roomy sizes, 3.7 quarts and 5.8 quarts.
Price: $ Cookbook: 100 recipes included Warranty: 1 year warranty (can extend to 2 years) Accessories: not included
Look: With a modern design and LED display, this air fryer is one of the best looking models, coming in black, white, and red. Function: The Cosori has 11 presets which you can navigate to on the intuitive control panel. Its large size means you can feed the whole family with one batch of cooking.
Bonus: Instant Vortex Plus
Size: The Instant Vortex Plus holds 10 quarts, though you can downsize to the 6 quart option (though it has slightly less functionality). Look: Though large compared to most air fryers, its slick design make it worthy of the countertop. Function: The Instant Vortex has 7 functions, including baking, roasting, toasting, broiling, dehydrating, rotisserie (and rotisserie basket!) and air frying. Its large size means you can feed the whole family with one batch of cooking. People say: While buyers are already loving this new air fryer on the market, some are disappointed by the lack of instructions in the manual.
