Top five best air fryers for 2021

If you're after perfectly-cooked low-fat chips that are crispy and golden on the outside, and soft and fluffy on the inside, make sure you pick an air fryer from our selection of the best models on test.

Whether you’re on a budget, want a speedy dinner, or have lots of hungry mouths to feed, we've picked out the best air fryer for you.

Some air fryers look the part, but will leave you with a bad taste in your mouth. We've found air fryers that are slow, noisy, tricky to use, and make unforgivably terrible chips. Check further down the page for three air fryers to  avoid. 

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Table last updated: March 2021

Not found the product for you? Browse all of our air fryer reviews.

Three air fryers to avoid

Not all air fryers make delicious chips. The worst we’ve tested made a mix of burnt and undercooked fries, were awkward to use and took ages to heat up and cook. You’d be better off making oven chips than buying one of these disappointing models.

Table last updated: March 2021

Choosing the right air fryer for you

The main things to consider when buying an air fryer are:

• What type of chips do you want? Bear in mind that air fried chips are more akin to oven chips than proper fried chips, so if you're expecting a proper chip-shop crunch you may be disappointed.
• Capacity Most air fryers can cook around 800g (approx four portions) of chips. Some can manage up to twice as much. If you've got lots of people to cater for opt for a larger capacity, or a model with double-level cooking.
• Worktop space Air fryer designs differ, and some have a smaller footprint, or are easier to fold down into a cupboard. If you're short on space, it's worth looking at more compact models.
• Digital or manual controls Digital models can make it easier to see how much cooking time is left. Some even come with smartphone control via an app.
• Dishwasher-proof parts This can help save on cleaning time.

For more advice on features, check our air fryer buying guide.

How we uncover the best air fryers

We leave no stone unturned in finding the air fryers that will cook to perfection and be simple to use when you get them home. Here's a quick summary of our tests:

Quality of cooking

We challenge air fryers to cook batches of chips and a chicken, to ensure they can turn out tasty fried treats and keep meat succulent and tender. Our expert tasters rate the chips on taste, and we also scrutinise them to assess how evenly cooked they are. Some models will leave you with poorly cooked, even raw chips, or burnt ends. 

Machine performance

As well as cooking performance, we check each air fryer heats and cooks quickly, so you aren't left waiting an age for your dinner. We also check if the surfaces are cool to touch - some models get very hot during cooking. Finally, we rate how noisy each model is, to catch any particularly noisy or annoying ones.

Overall ease of use

Air frying should be a simple way to prepare food, but some models can trip you up with confusing instructions and awkward food containers. If you hate clearing up after dinner time, make sure to choose one that’s easy to clean and fits tidily into your cupboards.

To find our more, see our guide to how we test air fryers.