Best Air Fryer on Any Budget (Advantages and Disadvantages)

Sharing is caring!

Are you looking to buy an Air Fryer, but overwhelmed by all the options? I surveyed my Instagram friends, and researched the most popular answers, as well as advantages and disadvantages of each and shared them here with you!

• Save

I have used the NUWAVE Brio 7-in-1 Air Fryer Oven Combo for just under a year now, until it unexpectedly died on me while I was roasting up some delicious sweet potatoes!

Before my NUWAVE went kaput, I had no complaints! It was a pretty good size, and got the job done (the job being chicken nuggets and fish sticks).

Recently though, I’ve been experimenting with more air fryer recipes and that’s when I began to want something a little bit larger.

We do a lot of meal prep for the week ahead, so I wanted something that could hold a couple of different food items at a time.

My favorite thing about cooking in an air fryer is that there’s no need to turn on the oven in the middle of the hot Texas summer! Once I figured that out, I was ALL ABOARD the air fryer train.

If you’re not sure if an air fryer is a good purchase for your family, I’ve provided you with several different options in every category. I surveyed the pros (other air fryer users on Instagram), and researched the most popular answers!

• Save

Let me know which one you decide to buy!

Best Air Fryer for Large Family

Ninja Foodi 6-in-1 8 qt. 2 Basket Air Fryer

The Ninja Foodi seems to be the most popular air fryer, when asking for recommendations from other families.

It’s easy to see why, with it’s large capacity cooking baskets, and ability to perform so many different functions. However, the Ninja Foodi does come with a hefty price tag compared to some of the others on the market.

• Save

• Save

Functions: Air fry, air broil, roast, bake, reheat, and dehydrate

Capacity: 8 qt (Also a 10 qt available)

Advantages:

• This air fryer has over 13,000 reviews on Amazon with an overall 5 star average.
• The baskets and crisper plates are dishwasher safe for easy cleanup!
• Dual baskets, cook 2 different foods at different temperatures at the same time.
• Has “Smart Finish” which syncs the two baskets so that everything finishes cooking at the same time.

Disadvantages:

• Expensive
• No pre heat option

Best Air Fryer under $150

Instant Vortex Plus 6 Quart 6-in 1 Air Fryer with ClearCook™

The Instant Pot Vortex is a great option for a large 6 qt air fryer at a fantastic price. It has a clear window in front so you can watch your food as it cooks (fun for kids), and perfect if you are new to your air fryer and like to check in on the food without opening it up.

• Save

• Save

Functions: Air fry, roast, bake, broil, re-heat

Capacity: 6 qt

Advantages:

• ClearCook window with a light so you can check your food as it cooks without having to open the air fryer.

Disadvantages:

• When cleaning the basket, water and moisture gets trapped between the glass of the ClearCook window, making it foggy.

Best Air Fryer under $100

Beautiful 6 Quart Touchscreen Air Fryer by Drew Barrymore

If you like your kitchen to have a certain “aesthetic”, this air fryer is it! Coming in at just under $100 for a large 6 qt air fryer, you’ll. have a stunning new kitchen appliance for a budget friendly price.

• Save

Functions: Air fry, roast, reheat, dehydrate

Capacity: 6 qt (9 qt option also available)

Advantages:

• Comes in a variety of gorgeous colors, which is great if you don’t have anywhere to store your air fryer and it will be out on the counter all the time.

Disadvantages:

• This air fryer (and all the kitchen appliances and tools from Drew Barrymore’s new Walmart line) is so new that there aren’t many tried and true reviews online just yet.

Need to accommodate a larger family? You can’t go wrong with the 9 qt option which is almost half the price of the aforementioned Ninja Foodi of similar size.

We don’t have a lot of storage in our tiny kitchen, so our air fryer has to stay out on the counter at all times. Because of the gorgeous, sleek look of this air fryer, I totally wouldn’t mind when it’s hanging out on the counter 24/7.

Another good option under $100 is the Insignia 5 qt digital air fryer. Make sure to check Best Buy because an Instagram friend said she was able to find it as low as $40 on sale!

• Save

• Save

Best Small Air Fryer

COSORI Air Fryer Oven Compact 3.7 Qt

The basket on the Cosori Air Fryer is only 3.7 qt, which is suitable for a family of 1-3 people, or good for small spaces as it won’t be quite as large as some of the other monstrous air fryers previously mentioned.

• Save

• Save

Functions: 13 different functions, including “preheat” and “keep warm”

Capacity: 3.7 qt

Advantages:

• This air fryer comes with a cookbook that includes 100 recipes to get you started.
• Easy to clean, and dishwasher safe.
• Includes a “shake” reminder, to let you know when to open the air fryer and stir around or shake the basket while cooking.

Disadvantages:

• Small size for the price, 3.7 qt will work well for 1-3 person families.

Best Overall Value Air Fryer

PowerXL Air Fryer 7 QT Maxx Classic

The PowerXL was mentioned several times when I surveyed my Instagram friends, and I think it definitely deserves a spot as a great value air fryer!

It’s a great price for a large 7 quart air fryer, and has many rave reviews.

• Save

• Save

Functions: Extra Hot Air Fry, Cook, Crisp, Broil, Roast, Bake

Capacity: 7 qt

Advantages:

• Easy to clean, has a crisper tray insert to catch crumbs and drips.
• Sleek design, fits well on small countertops.

Disadvantages:

• Air fryer gets hot quickly, and cooks food fast, so it may take some adjustment and getting used to if you are new to this method of cooking so you don’t burn your food.
• The reviews state that the preset buttons are difficult to use (and don’t stay visible on the display for very long), which can be tricky for beginner air fryer users.

Gourmia 7 Quart Digital Air Fryer

The Gourmia Air Fryer is going on this list, mostly because you can get it at Costco, and an Instagram friend told me that she had hers for 2 years, and once it died she was able to return it for a new one! I was super impressed by that! You gotta love Costco and their generous return policy.

• Save

Functions: Roast, bake, broil, grill and fry

Capacity: 7 qt

Advantages:

• Even if you don’t have a Costco membership, you can grab this at Walmart for a really good price considering this is a 7 qt air fryer.

Disadvantages

• There are several reviews stating that it stopped working anywhere from 1-2 years after purchasing. I had this experience with my NUWAVE, so I’m starting to wonder if air fryers just don’t hold up for very long?!

Overall Favorite Value Air Fryer for Large Families

After all my research, I simply could not resist the Cornflower Blue 9 qt. Air Fryer from Beautiful by Drew Barrymore. As I said earlier in this article, my air fryer will need to stay out on my counter all the time, because we have zero storage. I think I will really enjoy staring at this beauty all day!

• Save

I almost went all in for the Ninja Foodi 10 qt, but I just couldn’t justify the price on my budget! You know I love a good deal, and the new line from Drew Barrymore at Walmart is beautiful and very affordable. I already have my eye on a few other products from the “Beautiful” line that I’ll definitely need to update my kitchen with this spring.

Do you have any air fryer advantages and disadvantages that need to be added to this list?! Let me know in the comments so I can keep this list updated for future reference!

• Save