Air fryers surround food with hot air so you can cook with little or no oil. The result should be food that’s crisp on the outside without the added kilojoules of deep-frying. We put air fryers to the test cooking thick-cut fries and crumbed chicken.
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Lifetime score
Our overall score combines test performance (how well the appliance works) with predicted reliability (how likely models from the brand are to remain free of faults) and brand satisfaction (how likely owners of the brand are to be very satisfied).
We’ll only recommend appliances you’ll love to own, that work well and keep working well for a long time.
Test performance
It’s no good if a product lasts for several decades if it doesn’t work well in the first place. A disappointing product will soon become unloved and unwanted. For this reason, our independent lab testing still forms an important part of our overall lifetime score.
Our test performance score is comprised of two sub scores:
Performance: We assign a performance score, weighted equally on cooking crumbed chicken breast nuggets and thick-cut frozen chips. We also test new models on how well they cook chicken wings and roast pork. These assessments didn't form part of our earlier test so don’t contribute to our performance or overall scores.
Ease of use: We assess how easy it is to assemble the air fryer and use the controls. This includes how helpful the instructions are. We also consider how easy it is to clean and store the air fryer.
If a model also functions as a benchtop oven, we perform 3 additional tests: roasting a whole chicken, cooking a pizza and grilling toast. These tests do not contribute to the overall score but the scores are useful if you are considering a model for the roasting and grilling functions.
Other: We also calculate annual running costs based on 30 minutes’ use 3 times a week at the current electricity price.
Predicted reliability
It’s reasonable to expect a new appliance to remain fault-free for at least the first five years. Our predicted reliability won’t tell you when your air fryer might stop frying, but it does show which brands make models that are less likely to fail.
Brand satisfaction
Satisfaction is important – no appliance should be a source of buyer-regret. Appliances with very satisfied owners are more likely to get cleaned regularly and maintained well. Their owners are more likely to seek repair for faults than look for a quick replacement.
Survey data
In our regular reliability and satisfaction surveys, consumers tell us about faults that have left an appliance they own unusable or mean they’ve had to change how they use it. We also ask them how satisfied they are with the appliance. We use their data to produce our predicted reliability and brand satisfaction scores.
We use a statistical test to rate the relative performance of each brand. Compared to data we have for all products of the same type in the survey, we rate each brand with highest, high, average, low or lowest for reliability and satisfaction, respectively.
You can compare the rating of different brands for the same product type (for example, the reliability rating for Breville and Ninja air fryers), but you can’t compare the results for different product types (for example, satisfaction of Philips air fryers and Russell Hobbs toasters).
We analyse brands that get at least 30 responses in our survey. That means there are some brands for which we can’t assign predicted reliability or satisfaction ratings because we don’t have enough data. For those brands, we assume they have average predicted reliability and satisfaction.
Our data is based on responses for 3,576 air fryers in our 2025 survey. Our next survey for air fryers is in 2027.
