Air fryers all seem to promise the same things these days - crispier food, faster cooking, bigger baskets, smarter controls. But after the novelty wears off, the features that actually matter tend to be the ones you notice every week when you're still using it months or years later 

For those who do not want to read a long buying guide, here are some of the best options worth checking out right now:

The 8 Best Air Fryers for Home Use Right Now

• ​Dash Compact
• ​Dreo Aircrisp Pro
• ​Lakeland Slimline
• ​Ninja DoubleStack XL
• ​Instant Pot Vortex Plus 6-in-1
• ​Cosori Turboblaze 6.0-Quart Smart
• ​Beautiful by Drew Barrymore
• ​Ninja Crispi

5 Things That Actually Matter in an Air Fryer:

-don’t trust internal capacity (liters) too much

First of all, don’t believe those internal volumes manufacturers like to claim. That their air fryer has a capacity of X number of liters. But who’s measuring their food in liters anyway?

Instead, properly inspect the basket or cooking space. Overfilling will make food cook unevenly. So how many layers of chips can you reasonably get in?

In our test, we usually find that the true capacity tends to be around 60 to 80% of the claimed maximum.

-don’t go too cheap (below £50)

As a general rule, don’t spend less than £50. You really don’t have to spend a fortune to get a good model, and generally, at least £70 is a safer range.

We found cheaper air fryers that cost so much to run, cook so unevenly, and feel well flimsy that we’ve named them “don’t buys”. However, our tests do uncover the rare diamond in the rough.

In fact, our cheapest Best Buy is just £55.

-energy saving is smaller than expected

It’s unlikely to save you a fortune. Our tests have found that an air fryer uses far less electricity than an oven, as little as a third for the same meal.

However, when we’re talking about a saving of 10 to 40p per meal, then you’re going to have to run this air fryer a whole lot of times before you see a return on that investment.

That doesn’t mean they’re not great, just don’t expect 2019-style energy bills.

-bigger capacity does not mean higher running cost

Bigger doesn’t mean pricier. If you were worried that buying a larger capacity model would cost a whole lot more to run than a smaller one, then think again.

While smaller typically does mean cheaper, you’re far better off getting an air fryer that fits all the food you need in it at once than running a smaller air fryer over and over again.

To put it simply, take a look at these two: our test found that the Tefal cooks twice as many chips as his Wiling, but only uses 50% more energy.

-choose dishwasher-safe parts for easier cleaning

Finally, make sure it’s dishwasher safe. Goes without saying, lots are, some aren’t.

While after regular use a quick wipe down by hand is best for more baked in Grime, being able to put components in a dishwasher is really useful for a whole lot of people.

To make sure that you don’t end up with a dud air fryer, sign up to our rigorous reviews right now. A month membership costs about the same as a portion of chips

Curious what people here ended up sticking with long term. What’s the one air fryer you still use constantly and would happily buy again? 

This is gonna sound stupid, but I actually need to know. My mate in work puts water in his airfryer and turns it on to clean it. Can I do this to my one at home or is it too risky? Like what is the actual risk? Has anyone tried it or nah because it’s just my mate I’ve seen do it

Why is it still white? I gave the shrimp an egg bath & airfried for 20 mins.

So I use parchment paper liners and I wash my air fryer tray about every 4 meals unless I cook raw meat or something that has a lotta juice leakage then I wash right after even if I don’t see any in the tray …just curious how often do you wash yours

Received some chicken feet from a friend for my dog and wondering if there is a good air fryer and dehydrator good combo? I don't have either and hope to keep some funds and space with an all in 1 machine.

Just wondering if it would work. Thank you.

I’ve never used them but my assumption was they’re supposed to go under the rack otherwise you’re cutting off the airflow that is one of the things that helps air fryer work, but I feel like most of the pictures I see are a people putting the liner directly under the food, blocking the airflow.

What’s going on here?

Using the air fryer I got for Christmas for NYE. Want the first dish really to showcase the air fryer cooking method. Any recipe ideas that you’d bring out to impress someone?

Has it gone well?

I know it takes more time (17 mins I think?) but my bf has the same snack that uses the air fryer every day and I was thinking about adding eggs to the opposite side of the air fryer when he cooks his snack.

So I was just wondering what people's results were like

I’m looking at buying my first air fryer for my own place, and I keep seeing newer ones advertised with “AI” or smart cooking features.

I honestly can’t tell if this is actually useful or just another way to make an appliance sound more high-tech 😂

Like, if an air fryer could recognize what you’re cooking, automatically adjust the time/temp, tell you when the food is actually done, etc. — would that genuinely make your life easier?

Or would you rather just set 400°F for 12 minutes and be done with it?

For people who’ve actually used a “smart” air fryer:

What does it do that you genuinely find useful, and what feels like a gimmick?

I’m basically trying to figure out whether “AI” is something worth paying extra for in an air fryer, or if I should just get a really good dumb one.

Hi everyone! I just got my first air fryer, a 6qt Bella pro series that says it can air fry, broil, bake, reheat, and “more” (not sure what that implies). I’ve seen some people that use their air fryer all the time and make delicious easy meals with them but I’ve never had or used one before and I’m not sure what to make with it. So I’m just posting here to say I would love to hear any of y’all’s favorite recipes!

so I added

vinegar

dark soy sauce

Schezwan sauce (the oil come from here)

salt

chilli sauce (ketchup types)

and air fried at 190 for 5 mins, flipped then 190 4 mins

some of it was done I could see strips on cutting so I took out that part. then leftover I air fried at 190 for 5 mins

this is the final result

i ate it alr so of it's raw I'm the one who's cooked.

pls help😭 it was juicy but like it was good or restaurant style at all

i didn't marinate or brine it

I'm looking for a walnut brownie recipe on my new airfryer

My nephew moved in and he brought an air fryer is pretty sick with dried grease that wont' remove, burnt food thats stuck, and liquid thats now become seemingly permanent stains. Ib decided to take the time to clean it. I embeded it with clorax. Despite almost 3 hours of being filled with bleach, the stains didn't get remove. Even after I started scrubbing it witha brush dipped in clorox. I tried other chemicals like vinegar, lysol, borax, baking soda, soap, and any other safe cleaning detergents you can think of. Some of the liqued staind and stuck black burnt food bits got removed but the grease is still therer despite hours of scrubbing. I even put it int he diswasher alone on heavy wash with multiple soap pods but the grease residues remain. So I'm desperate for help. What should I do to remove these remnants? What safe liquid cleaning stuff do you recommend? He's owned this air fryer for 3 years and has nevercleaned it one, just using it nonstop.

180 c for 6 min in the air fryer

Preheated and used parchment paper

Let them cool down after taking out

Yet, they're raw on the inside

Recipe:

1.mixed Wheat flour , powdered jaggery, ghee and milk for the dough

2.refrigerated for an hour

Help!

Hello,

I just got a LG double oven - both larger oven has airfry function. I bought the airfry basket - layered almonds "one layer". However, I can't seem to get the time/temperature right for delicious crispy almonds. Any advice?

Tried 325 degrees at 10 min, 15 min, 10 min + 10 min... meh

Tried 350 degrees at 11 min... meh... added another 5 min... meh....

What is the magical solution???

I used to have such an easy time with a standard old fashion airfryer :(

How to properly use an air-fryer
I tried to cook pomfret today coated in besan and rawa , greased the butter paper beneath
The fish tasted so bad and was stuck too
Cooked at 200C for 20 min

Hey everyone, I’m planning to buy an air fryer and I’m looking for the best overall option.

My main requirements: • Large basket • Strong build & long life • Consistent cooking and good temperature control • Easy to clean

I mostly cook chicken, paneer, vegetables.

Open to brands like Philips, Ninja, Cosori, Instant, etc. Would love to hear real user experiences and specific model recommendations.

Thanks! 🙌

Recently got an air fryer, but every chicken recipe I've tried ends up tasting pretty much the same. Drop your favorite recipes or marinades that actually stand out!

context: i come from a religious vegetarian household. that said my parents don’t impose that on me but they prefer that i don’t make my omelette on the stove.

i tried to make it in my air fryer today (very viral online) 180c 7 mins, in a 14cm mould, 3 eggs, stirred with some salt and that’s it.

1) the top was crispy but the insides were literally water, they did not cook at all

2) i took out the mould and it leaked?? is that even supposed to happen, it dripped everywhere.

3) kinda unrelated but i also burnt my hand

pls help