Key takeaways
- The Energy Saving Trust costs a 600g chicken breast at £0.14 in an air fryer against £0.20 in an electric oven in Great Britain.
- Ofgem’s cap sets electricity at 26.11p per kWh from 1 July to 30 September 2026, so a 1.5kW air fryer run for 20 minutes costs about 13p.
- Dual-basket models cook two things at two different settings. Single baskets cost less and are quicker to wash up.
- Prices here run from about £40 for the Tower Vortx to about £200 for the Breville Halo Flexi.
Air fryers stopped being a fad in Britain a while ago. They’re now the default weeknight appliance in a lot of kitchens, and the run-up to autumn is when people replace the cheap one they bought three years ago. Ofgem’s price cap went up 13% on 1 July to £1,862 a year, kids are back at school next week, and a small appliance that heats up in a minute instead of fifteen starts to look sensible. The catch is that the market is now enormous and most of it is unbranded. Here are six that are worth your money, from a £40 single basket to a £200 machine that will do a full family dinner.
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How we picked these
We started from what actually matters day to day rather than the preset count on the box.
- Capacity that matches the household. A 4L basket does chips for two. Feeding four properly wants 7L or more, or two drawers.
- Single or dual. Dual baskets solve the real problem, which is that chips and chicken want different times. They also cost more and take up more worktop.
- Running cost. We used Ofgem’s capped electricity rate of 26.11p per kWh for the sums, and the Energy Saving Trust’s figures for the oven comparison.
- Cleaning. Removable, dishwasher-safe baskets and crisper plates. Fixed non-stick coatings that you have to scrub in the sink get old fast.
- Footprint and height. Vertical stacked models fit under wall cupboards where a wide dual drawer won’t.
- Price on the day. Every price below was read off Amazon UK on 25 August 2026 and will move.
At a glance
| Model | Capacity | Type | Around |
|---|---|---|---|
| Tower T17147 Vortx | 4.2L | Single basket | £40 |
| Instant Vortex Dual | 8L (2 x 4L) | Dual drawer | £65 |
| Tefal Easy Fry Mega | 7.5L | Single basket | £70 |
| Ninja Foodi Dual Zone AF300UK | 7.6L (2 x 3.8L) | Dual drawer | £160 |
| Ninja Double Stack XL SL400UK | 9.5L | Vertical dual drawer | £190 |
| Breville Halo Flexi | 11L | Dual air fryer oven | £200 |
The six air fryers worth buying
Tower T17147 Vortx 4.2L
Best budget buyThe one to get if you’re testing whether you’ll use an air fryer at all. It’s a plain single basket with eight presets, a dial-free digital panel and enough room for chips for two people or a couple of chicken thighs. Tower has been making these longer than most and the basket comes out for the dishwasher.
The catch: 4.2L sounds bigger than it eats. Put a full bag of oven chips in and you’ll be shaking it halfway through to stop the bottom layer steaming.
1400W · 8 presets · 60 minute timer · around £40
Instant Vortex Dual 8L
Best value dual basketTwo 4L drawers for well under half what Ninja charges for the same idea. You get the sync finish trick, so both drawers stop at the same moment even if one needs longer, plus a dehydrate setting that’s genuinely useful for apple crisps and jerky. For most families this is the sensible amount of money to spend.
The catch: The panel is fiddlier than Ninja’s and the fan note is noticeably louder, which you’ll notice in an open-plan kitchen.
8-in-1 · two 4L baskets · sync finish · around £65
Tefal Easy Fry Mega 7.5L
Best big single basketIf you’d rather cook one big thing than two small things, a wide single basket beats a dual every time. A whole chicken fits. So does a tray of roast potatoes in one layer, which is the bit dual drawers can’t do. Tefal’s non-stick holds up better than the budget brands and there’s only one basket to wash.
The catch: No second zone at all, so if you want chips and fish ready together you’re doing it in stages.
7.5L · 8 programs · single basket · around £70
Ninja Foodi Dual Zone AF300UK
Best all-rounderThis is the model that made dual-zone air fryers normal in Britain and it’s still the one most people end up keeping. Two 3.8L drawers, Match Cook to copy one drawer’s settings to the other, and Smart Finish to land both at once. Build quality is a clear step up from the cheap end and the drawers slide without the wobble you get on copies.
The catch: It’s wide. Measure your worktop before you order, because 38cm across is more than people expect.
7.6L total · 6-in-1 · Smart Finish · around £160
Ninja Double Stack XL SL400UK
Best for a small worktopSame 9.5L of capacity as a big side-by-side dual, stacked vertically so it takes up roughly the footprint of a kettle and a half. Four levels if you use the racks. This is the answer for a galley kitchen where a wide Ninja simply won’t fit between the hob and the wall.
The catch: It’s tall, so check the gap under your wall cupboards. And stacked drawers mean you’re bending to see the bottom one.
9.5L · vertical dual drawer · 4 cooking levels · around £190
Breville Halo Flexi 11L
Best for feeding a crowdCloser to a countertop oven than a drawer air fryer. The divider comes out, so you can run it as two zones for a normal dinner or as one 11L cavity when there are ten of you. The glass door means you can watch food brown instead of pulling a drawer and losing the heat, which is the single most annoying thing about basket models.
The catch: It’s the priciest here and the biggest by some way. If you only ever cook for two it’s a lot of empty metal to heat.
11L · serves 10+ · removable divider · around £200
Frequently asked questions
Do air fryers really cost less to run than an oven?
For a small meal, yes. The Energy Saving Trust puts a 600g chicken breast at £0.14 in an air fryer and £0.20 in an electric oven in Great Britain. The gap comes from size rather than clever technology, because there’s much less air to heat. Once you’re cooking enough to fill an oven shelf properly the maths flips back the other way and the oven wins.
What size air fryer do I need?
Roughly 2L per person is a fair rule for a single basket. One or two people are fine with 4L. A family of four wants 7L or more, or a dual with two 4L drawers. Bear in mind that stated capacity is the whole basket volume, and food only crisps properly when it’s spread out.
Does an air fryer need preheating?
Usually not. Most reach temperature in two or three minutes from cold, which is why they’re cheap to run. Preheating helps for steak and anything you want a hard sear on, but for chips and frozen food you can load it cold and add a couple of minutes.
Can you put foil or baking paper in an air fryer?
Foil is fine as long as it’s weighed down by food and doesn’t touch the heating element. Loose paper liners can lift into the fan, so only put them in with the food already on top. Check your manual first, because a few manufacturers void the warranty over it.
Single basket or dual basket?
Dual if you regularly cook two components that need different times, which for most households means chips and a protein. Single if you cook one large thing, want the lowest price, or have limited worktop. A wide single basket also handles a whole chicken or a full tray of roasties in one layer, which no dual drawer can manage.
Sources
- Ofgem, Energy price cap unit rates and standing charges (26.11p per kWh electricity, cap £1,862, 1 July to 30 September 2026)
- Energy Saving Trust, Air fryer vs oven: which cooking appliance is cheaper to run?
Prices checked on Amazon UK on 25 August 2026 and change often. Look Into earns a commission on qualifying purchases made through the links above, at no extra cost to you.