How do I choose an air fryer, and what size do I need?

An air fryer is a small fan oven with the element close to the food and the air moving fast. Everything good about it depends on air reaching every surface, which makes usable basket area the specification that matters and litres the one that misleads. The second question — where it will live — is what decides whether it gets used.

Step by step

1. Size on basket floor area, not litres.Litres includes height you cannot fill, because stacking food defeats the point. What matters is how much you can lay out in one layer. Compare the stated basket dimensions rather than the capacity figure, and if only litres are given, treat two models of the same litres as potentially very different.
2. Use the household rule as a starting point.One or two people: 3.5 to 4.5 litres. Three or four: 5 to 7 litres in a single basket. Five or more, or anyone cooking two components at once: dual drawers or an oven-style model. Undersizing is the mistake people regret; oversizing costs worktop.
3. Decide between single basket, dual drawer and oven-style.A single basket is simplest and cheapest. Dual drawers cook two things at different temperatures and finish together, which solves the real weakness of a single basket. Oven-style models with a door and shelves take more and let you see in, but lose some of the airflow advantage and take much more worktop.
4. Measure the worktop and the height under the wall units.Air fryers are tall and need clearance above and behind for the exhaust — usually stated in the manual, often around 10 to 12cm. An appliance that does not fit under the wall unit lives on the floor of a cupboard and is never used.
5. Check the temperature range and whether it goes low.Most reach 200 to 240°C, which is plenty. The more useful difference is whether it goes low — around 40 to 80°C for dehydrating, proving or keeping warm. Check the top end matches what you will roast at, and note the model's stated preheat behaviour.
6. Look at the basket coating and how it comes apart.A crisping plate that lifts out of the drawer is much easier to wash than a fixed one. Non-stick coatings on both are the norm and they scratch — check whether the parts are dishwasher-safe and whether replacements are available, because the coating is what wears out first.
7. Check the noise and the shake-reminder behaviour.They are all fairly loud — a small fan working hard. Some pause and prompt you to shake the basket, which is genuinely useful. Some resume automatically when the basket goes back in, which is the detail that makes it pleasant rather than fiddly.
8. Sanity-check against what you would otherwise buy.If you have a good fan oven and cook for four or more most nights, a large air fryer is a convenience rather than a saving. If you cook small portions frequently, it will cut both cooking time and running cost substantially against heating a full oven.

Tips

• Pull the drawer out and look at the basket before buying if you can. The floor area is immediately obvious in a way the litre figure never is.
• Dual-drawer models with a sync function are worth the premium for a household cooking a protein and a vegetable together — it removes the main practical limitation of the format.
• Silicone liners protect the coating and make washing up trivial, but they block the perforations and reduce airflow. Use them for wet or sticky food, not for chips.
• Check the manual's clearance requirement before deciding where it lives. Exhaust straight into the underside of a wall unit will mark it over time.

Common mistakes

• Buying on litres alone — Capacity includes unusable height. Two 5-litre models can have very different basket floor areas, and floor area is what determines how much food cooks properly in one go.
• Buying too small to save worktop — An undersized basket means batches, and batches mean the energy and time advantage disappears. It is the most common regret with this appliance.
• Not checking the height under the wall units — An air fryer that has to be pulled out from under a unit before every use gets used far less. Where it lives is a bigger determinant of value than the specification.

Alternatives

• Single-basket air fryer, 4 to 6 litres: The standard. Simplest, cheapest, smallest footprint, and adequate for one to four people cooking one thing at a time.
• Dual-drawer air fryer: Two independent baskets that can run at different settings and finish together. Solves the one-thing-at-a-time problem at the cost of considerable worktop.
• Oven-style air fryer with shelves: A door and shelves rather than a drawer. More capacity and visibility, slightly less airflow advantage, and the largest footprint.
• A fan oven you already own: For anything that fills a tray, the oven is the better and cheaper tool. The air fryer earns its place on small loads, not large ones.

Questions people ask