Best air fryers: Ninja, Instant and more

This is a traditional air fryer, with a deep, pull-out cooking drawer. It’s capacious too, at 5.7 litres/6 QT. It’s not particularly heavy, but it is still designed to have a permanent space on your countertop. It’s controlled via a digital touchscreen on top of the appliance.

There are six programmes to choose from: air fry, bake, grill, dehydrate, reheat and roast. But there are no pre-sets, so there’s no guidance as to the time and temperature you should use when cooking. This won’t be a problem for people accustomed to air fryer cooking but novices might have to do a bit of online research and be prepared to experiment at first.

There are some excellent features to recommend it over rival products: there’s a window to allow you to see how your cooking is getting on without opening the door, and the OdourErase technology really works. But if you’re buying specifically for these features, make sure you get the right model as Instant makes a number of similar models, with none, one, or both of them.

The Ninja Speedi is a huge appliance but if you invest in one, you can say goodbye to all your other countertop cookers. Its ten cooking functions mean it can do almost anything – and often at the same time, such as steam cooking and air frying. Its USP is its ‘Speedi Meals’ setting, which allows you to cook rice or pasta and vegetables on the bottom while air frying above. It genuinely means you can cook an entire meal in 15 minutes flat and its 6QT/ 5.7 litre capacity means that’s a meal for an entire family. People use the phrase game-changer too often – but in this case it’s true.

Still, as it’s 1760W, you’ll find that it’s not as cheap to cook certain foods that take a bit longer, like baked potatoes, as it is in a more compact air fryer. It’s much more economical to use for quick cooking. Plus, you’ll want to discourage kids from touching it as its heavy lid does not lock in place in its open setting.

This compact air fryer has a 4 quart/ 3.8 litre capacity, making it ideal for couples, singles and smaller families. It’s simply designed and shiny, with LED touchscreen controls on top. It has eight cooking presets (fries, steak, chicken, fish, bread, vegetables, plus it can dehydrate and reheat). Or you can adjust the cooking time and temperature yourself. There’s also a pre-heat function.

The air fryer switches off when it’s finished, so there’s no chance of overcooking, but there’s no keep warm function.

It’s a 1500 watt appliance, so it’s not very power hungry. It would be a good option for people new to air frying as not only is it solidly made and easy to use, but it comes with a 50-recipe cookbook that’ll give you plenty of ideas beyond beige frozen food.

The Duo Crisp with Ultimate Lid is a serious multi cooker, with 13 functions: pressure cooking, air frying, slow cooking, steaming, sautéing, warming, roasting, mini oven, grilling, dehydrating, yoghurt making, sous vide and bread proofing. There are handy pre-sets for these, plus a keep warm function. One of the points in this appliance’s favour is that there’s a single lid you use for every function, so there’s much less to store. You will, however, have to remove the pressure plate for some uses.

It’s capacious too, with an air fryer basket that can take four medium-size chicken breasts and a couple of thighs and sits inside a 6.2 litre (6.5 quart) stainless steel cooking pot. It’s also a 1500W appliance, which isn’t too power-hungry, so you get a lot of cooking power for its energy usage.

There’s only one issue to note. During our testing, a part snapped off and an online search showed that we weren’t the only ones to experience this. Instant were able to replace the part but we’d suggest handling the pressure plate with care if you buy.

This Ninja Foodi grill has a slightly different name depending on where you are in the world but it’s the same great appliance. It has six cooking functions (air frying, grilling, baking, roasting, dehydrating, reheating) and it does each one brilliantly – hence the premium price tag. But what makes it stand out is the “Smart Cook” system which, when used with the included digital probe, will help you cook steaks to perfection.

Bear in mind that this is a really bulky appliance with a comparatively small internal capacity (4 quarts/ 3.8 litres) and at 2460 watts, it is more expensive to run than many of its rivals.

Also, Ninja products tend to sell out quickly, so if you want it and you see it in stock, grab one while you can.

The smart features aren’t the only reason to opt for the Proscenic T21 air fryer. It has a large, 5.5 litre capacity, it’s solidly built and it’s extremely easy to use. There’s a selection of pre-set cooking programmes – including fries, shrimp, bacon, chicken and cake – that you can choose from the touchscreen. You can also opt to set the time and temperature yourself.

But the smart features are well organised and a definite plus. The app contains over 100 recipes and if you select one, it’ll show you the ingredients you need, take you through the prep stages and automatically set the right cooking time and temperature for your food.

If you get held up while cooking, you can pause the cooking programme in the app. You’ll also get an alert to your phone when your food is done.

The Breville Halo Air Fryer Rotisserie Oven is designed less like an air fryer and more like a countertop toaster oven. Instead of the drawer you’d expect to see in an air fryer, this appliance comes with a mesh drum, for cooking food such as chips, as well as a rotisserie spit. It also has a huge, 10 litre capacity.

One of the reasons to opt for this and not a traditional air fryer is its versatility: it can do everything that an air fryer can, and then some. The rotisserie spit is good for a whole, 1.3kg chicken and the drum can hold 750g of chips.

It has touchscreen controls, and you can opt for one of the pre-set cooking programmes (chips, chicken, vegetables, and steak) or one of the manual options (air fry, bake and dehydrate).  

Another handy feature is that it’ll switch itself off after cooking, so your food won’t be burnt to a crisp if you get distracted during the cooking process.

Forget digital controls, pre sets and smart features. This Swan air fryer is a simple, straightforward appliance. It’s controlled by a manual temperature slider and a time dial, which gives a satisfying ding at the end of the programme as it switches itself off.

It has a large, 6 litre capacity, which makes it a good option for families. But what sets the Swan air fryer apart from rivals is its retro design. If you want something with a bit more character than your standard kitchen appliance, its chrome-effect trim, old-fashioned dial and curved exterior make it an attractive option.

Our only reservation is its slightly wobbly drawer, which can catch when you’re sliding it back in.

This Xiaomi air fryer has a really attractive, minimalist design that would look good in most kitchens. Still, it doesn’t have the most robust build (the drawer can get stuck when you’re putting it back in). And, as it’s on the small side (3.5 litres), it’s really only suitable for a household of 1-2 people.

The sole control beyond an On/Off switch is an innovative dial which houses a digital screen. There’s a top level menu of food options, including the expected fries, chicken wings and fish, but also steak and cake. There are eight pre set programmes in all. You can also set the time and temperature yourself, using the dial – or perform any of these actions via the app.

Because clearly, one of the key reasons to buy this model is its app control. Download the Xiaomi Home app and you can create custom recipes, monitor your cooking and pause or end the cooking programme remotely. It’ll also alert you when your food is done or needs to be turned over. There’s also a database of recipes you can try, with automatic cooking programmes and step-by-step instructions.