We've tested 30+ air fryers to find the best air fryer for every kitchen

With so many air fryers to choose from, finding the right one isn’t straightforward. Our team has tested more than 30 models in real family kitchens, cooking everything from chips and chicken to full meals, and compared our findings with feedback from Mumsnet’s 8+ million users.

The best air fryer we’ve tested is the Ninja Foodi Max Dual AF400UK. Its 9.5-litre capacity, independent drawers and consistently crisp results make it our best family air fryer. For less, the Cosori 5.5L is our best budget air fryer, while the Lakeland Dual Basket offers two cooking zones without the Ninja price tag.

For smaller households, a single drawer is cheaper, more compact and often enough if you need an air fryer for one or two people. A dual-basket air fryer gives you more flexibility for family meals. As a rule of thumb, look for around 4 to 5.5 litres for smaller households and 7 to 10 litres for families - and measure your worktop before you buy.

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How we test and choose the best air fryers

We shortlist air fryers using Mumsnet user recommendations, expert reviews and verified retailer feedback, looking for recurring strengths and complaints rather than relying on star ratings alone.

Every air fryer in this guide has been tested in a real home by Mumsnet product testers, including Senior Content Editor Rebecca Roberts. We cooked everyday foods including chips, chicken, vegetables, fish and family meals, assessing cooking performance, ease of use and cleaning, capacity, speed, noise, build quality and value for money.

These are real-home rather than laboratory tests, so recipes, households and testing periods vary. We judge each air fryer according to what it’s designed to do and check our findings against longer-term feedback from Mumsnet users. Brands can’t pay for a better rating or position.

The Ninja Foodi Max Dual AF400UK delivered the best balance of capacity, flexibility and everyday ease. Its 9.5-litre dual drawers are genuinely useful for family meals, while testing produced consistently crisp results. It’s expensive and lacks viewing windows, but it remains the strongest all-rounder we tested.

What's the best air fryer for you?

How do air fryers work?

An air fryer heats air, usually to around 200°C, and circulates it rapidly around a compact cooking chamber. It works much like a fan oven, but the smaller space heats faster and can crisp food efficiently with little oil.

Most models offer air fry, roast, reheat and bake modes. Mini-oven versions add shelves and sometimes a rotisserie. Some Ninja models reach 240°C on Max Crisp, but for most households capacity, basket shape and ease of cleaning matter more than the highest possible temperature.

What kind of air fryer should I buy?

Choose the basket style around what you actually cook, not the number of buttons on the box.

• Single drawer: cheaper and usually narrower. Best for one or two people who tend to cook one main item at a time.

• Dual drawer: two baskets can run independently, so you can cook a main and side, or meals for different tastes, at separate temperatures. Look for sync if you want both sides to finish together.

• Stacked dual drawer: saves width by putting one basket above the other, although these models can still be deep.

• Flexible zone: a removable divider converts two smaller zones into one large space. Useful if you alternate between split meals and larger items.

• Air-fryer oven: uses shelves or trays rather than deep baskets. Better for larger items and multi-level cooking, but bulkier and often slower to clean.

What features matter most?

• Capacity and usable basket shape: litres are useful, but a broad basket can fit food in a single layer more easily than a narrow, deep one.

• Footprint: measure the height, width and depth of the clear worktop space, allowing room for ventilation and for the drawers to open.

• Cleaning: dishwasher-safe baskets and crisper plates matter more than novelty programmes if you use the air fryer most days.

• Controls: presets can help beginners, but clear manual time and temperature controls are more important.

• Sync and match: sync brings two foods to the finish together; match copies the same settings to both baskets. Don’t confuse the two.

• Viewing windows: useful for checking browning without opening a drawer, although they can add another crevice to clean.

• Noise and alerts: a quieter fan is welcome in open-plan spaces. Check that the end alert is audible but not absurdly shrill.

Do air fryers save energy?

Air fryers can use less electricity than a full-sized oven for smaller portions because they heat a much smaller space and often cook more quickly. They aren’t automatically cheaper for every meal. Cost depends on the appliance’s wattage, how long it runs, your electricity tariff and whether you have to cook several batches.

For a rough calculation, multiply the appliance’s power in kilowatts by the cooking time in hours, then multiply that figure by your electricity unit rate. A 2kW air fryer running for 20 minutes uses roughly 0.67kWh. That’s a comparison tool, not a promise: thermostats cycle and real consumption varies.

Are air fryers healthy?

Air fryers use far less oil than deep-fat fryers, so they can reduce the fat in fried-style foods. That doesn’t make every meal automatically healthy. The NHS advice is still the unglamorous but reliable stuff: eat a balanced diet, include plenty of fruit and vegetables and limit foods high in fat, salt and sugar.

In other words, an air fryer can help with lighter cooking. It can’t turn a beige freezer dinner into a wellness plan.

What are the best things to cook in an air fryer?

Air fryers excel at foods that benefit from fast, dry heat: chips and wedges, roast potatoes, breaded chicken and fish, chicken wings, vegetables, salmon, steaks, bacon and reheated leftovers. They can also produce crisp toasties and small bakes without heating a full oven.

Leave room for air to circulate. A crowded basket steams food instead of crisping it, and chips or nuggets usually benefit from a shake or turn halfway through.

What shouldn’t I cook in an air fryer?

Avoid foods with lots of loose liquid, such as soups and stews, unless you’re using a compatible multi-cooker pot. Rice dishes that rely on water absorption are also a poor fit. Very light ingredients, including loose leafy greens and delicate pastry, can blow around in the fast-moving air.

How do I convert oven recipes for an air fryer?

As a starting point, reduce a fan-oven temperature by 10 to 20°C and cut the cooking time by about 20%. That turns 20 minutes into roughly 16. Check early the first few times because models and portion sizes vary.

If food browns too quickly, lower the temperature. If it’s cooked but still pale, add two to four hotter minutes at the end. Don’t overcrowd the basket, and turn or shake piled food halfway through.

How do I recycle an air fryer in the UK?

Check the warranty and repair options first. Replacement baskets, trays and crisper plates can be much cheaper than a new appliance, and a working air fryer can be donated or passed on.

Air fryers count as waste electrical and electronic equipment, so they shouldn’t go in household recycling. Use Recycle Your Electricals or Recycle Now to find local collection points, check your council’s small-electricals service or ask the retailer about take-back when buying a replacement. Give the appliance a clean and remove loose accessories before it goes.

How we assess and rate cordless vacuum cleaners

We rate each air fryer on cooking performance, ease of use and cleaning, capacity, features, design and build quality, and value for money. Our overall rating reflects how well it performs in everyday use, not simply how many functions it has.

We also assess each model in context. A compact air fryer isn’t marked down for having a smaller capacity, while larger dual- and multi-zone models need to justify their extra cost and worktop space with useful flexibility and consistently good results.

Our star ratings are editorially independent and based on first-hand testing. Brands can’t pay for a higher score or position in this guide.

About the authors

Lucy Cotterill is a mum of two and a Content Writer at Mumsnet, specialising in baby/child and home product reviews and round-ups. Having written reviews on her own blog Real Mum Reviews since 2012, Lucy loves to research and explore the pros and cons of products, scrutinising expert opinions and consumer feedback to help parents make confident purchases that benefit their families.

First introduced to air fryers during lockdown, Lucy is also prone to rustling up some quick midweek meals in her Ninja, with some major successes and a few unsuccessful trials along the way. She’s also written several Mumsnet guides on air fryers.

Rebecca Roberts is a Senior Content Editor at Mumsnet, specialising in product reviews and buyer’s guides. She tests kitchen appliances in her own home and reviewed the Ninja Foodi Max Dual AF400UK for this guide, using it for everything from chips and chicken to vegetables and family meals.

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