How We Test Air Fryers

Transforming Data Into Objective Reviews

Product Selection

Unlike most products we review, we don't continuously buy and test new air fryers. Instead, we purchased 20 air fryers at once, choosing popular models, with the goal of reviewing a batch of products that are representative of the market. This is because, unlike some products, manufacturers don't always release new products yearly with major changes. We can still review new products, like if we need one for a recommendation article. You can still submit a suggestion if you're curious about a particular air fryer.

We also tested nine popular Canadian products. This differs from our regular process, which only includes models widely available in the U.S. These products underwent our standardized testing process, and the results were shared with Radio-Canada's L'épicerie program as part of a collaboration. While we don't include products unavailable in the U.S. in our recommendations, you can also check out the results on our website.

Philosophy

Buying Products

As with all of our reviews, we purchased all of the air fryers ourselves, just like you would. This means we won't get our reviews out as early as reviewers who receive early samples, but it ensures you don't have to worry about review units that may perform differently from what's available for an average buyer.

Standardized Tests

Each product undergoes the same testing process, so you can easily compare products. We have tools to help you find what you're looking for: you can use our comparison tool to compare two or more products side by side and the table tool to sort the results by any aspect you like, such as performance, size, or even specific features.

We always want to improve our testing methodology and update it periodically based on user feedback, new technology, or issues we've noticed. You can track any changes to the methodology in the changelog or check the updated history of any product review.

Testing

Once products are received and unpacked, they are sent to the photography team. Photographers take standardized photos of each product before testing begins.

Tests for air fryers fall into a couple of sections: design and performance.

Design

The design section of the review provides the basic stats for an air fryer, including its size, cooking chamber, and cooking versatility results.

Size

We measure the appliance's height, width, and depth and calculate its overall volume, which we use to give the air fryer a score for size. Smaller sizes get a higher score.

Cooking Capacity

The cooking capacity section is similar but focuses on the dimensions of the basket or cooking chamber. We measure the overall volume and list it along with the advertised volume. Rather than simply listing the dimensions of the basket, the results show its cooking surface area since that's the most important indication of an air fryer's effective capacity. This is because spreading food out in a single layer drastically improves results. Finally, the cooking chamber section of the review also lists the basket's non-stick coating type, whether it's PTFE, which is easiest to clean, or ceramic.

Cooking Versatility

Finally, this section features the cooking versatility test. These results give you an idea of how useful an air fryer is for different cooking methods besides air frying. The results include the number of cooking presets, such as 'Roast,' 'Bake,' or 'Dehydrate,' and note if the air fryer includes a built-in temperature probe. However, cooking presets don't necessarily mean the air fryer changes how it performs, so the number of cooking presets doesn't affect the overall score for versatility. Instead, that's based on the temperature range and fan speed range since different cooking methods, such as baking or dehydrating, call for lower fan speeds or temperatures. A dual basket design also gives an air fryer a score boost for versatility.

Performance

Setup

It's important that the results of our performance tests, including frying quality, preheating, temperature stability, and cooking speed, are comparable between air fryers. Since voltage from a regular outlet can vary, we use a variable transformer to keep the voltage at 120 (±0.2) VAC. The voltage is checked before each performance test to double-check that the power is consistent.

Performance Testing

While air fryers are marketed for and can be used for a variety of cooking methods, their undisputed main purpose is making deliciously crispy foods.

It's no surprise then that our performance testing involves the quintessential crispy food, the French fry. For the 'Frying Quality' performance test, we air fry a batch of French fries until they're done, which is defined as when they've reached 45% moisture loss. We determine the cooking time by placing the air fryer on a scale. We manually sort the fries into undercooked, crispy, and overcooked categories. The sorting is done subjectively by the feel and sound of the fries, and you can watch a video of the sorting process in each review. The 'Cooking Speed' test records the time it takes for the fries to reach 45% moisture loss.

We also measure the time it takes for the air fryer to preheat. Finally, the temperature stability test shows how long it takes to return to temperature after you open the basket to add food and the average variation of the temperature versus the set point of 400.

Peer Review

Once the testing is complete, another tester will peer-review the results. This step helps ensure the results are accurate and make sense, considering our expectations. Any discrepancies or unanswered questions can lead to retesting. Once the second tester approves the results, the review is sent to the writing team.

Review Writing

Before any writing begins, the writer also reviews the results. The writer researches the product and checks if our results line up with community expectations and if they address major questions users may have. If our results are surprising or don't match what the community has experienced, we may look again at a particular result just to double-check that we've got it right. Once the writer's review is finished, our results are published in early access, and writing on the review begins.

While we expect our results to stand on their own, writing in the review adds context, explanations for certain results, and additional information not covered by our standardized tests. We add relevant comparisons so you can easily find similar products and see how a model performs compared with its competition. Writers rely on the results and notes left by the testers, which can include explanations for certain results or details about a particular feature or design choice. Writers also research each product and attempt to address any questions or concerns you might have about a product in advance.

Let's look at each part of the review in more detail.

Intro and Verdicts

The review's introduction provides an overview of the air fryer's overall design, features, and place in the market without discussing specific results.

The 'Verdict' section is where we get into the results. This part of the review gives you a big-picture look at the results via performance and usage scores. You can see at a glance an air fryer's size, cooking capacity, and cooking speed.

The 'Air Frying' performance score is made up of a number of factors, including cooking speed and basket surface area, and gives you an idea of its performance for making crispy foods without accounting for versatility. The overall 'Air Frying' score is based on frying quality, speed, and versatility, so it's a good place to start for an overall idea of how an air fryer performs. The 'Large Batch Cooking' score is similar but also factors in the air fryer's capacity, with more capacity earning a higher score.

Test Results

The writing in the 'Test Results' section of the review explains and provides context for our results. While you can compare results yourself and understand an air fryer's performance, our written reviews are intended to make the results accessible for anyone, as well as provide additional context not included in the results, like details about specific features or an explanation for unusual behavior. Writers rely on the results as well as the tester's notes, which include further details about features, observations, and additional information about the product. We research the product to include relevant comparisons and attempt to answer questions you might have.

Differences Between Sizes And Variants

This section of the review includes details about the model we tested, including a photo of our unit's label. We also note any variants for which we expect our results to be valid, such as color variants or models with different accessories or slightly different features that don't affect our testing.

Compared To Other Air Fryers

This is where you can see how the air fryer fits into the market and how it performs compared with other models. If an air fryer doesn't perform very well, we'll point out good alternatives. If the air fryer is a great option in its category, we'll also point that out here.

Peer Review

After the writer completes the review, another peer review begins. The person who tested the product and a second writer read through the text, checking for accuracy, clarity, and anything the writer might have missed. Once the writer has made any changes and the tester and second writer have signed off on the review, it's sent to our editing team.

Editing

Before we publish anything on our website, it passes through our editors, who check for accuracy, clarity, and formatting. They work to ensure everything we publish is up to our standards and clear for readers, and they enforce style guidelines across the website.

Recommendations

With our air fryer recommendation articles, we sort and recommend air fryers based on criteria you'll care about. These recommendations are updated frequently—while we aren't regularly testing new air fryers, we check often to ensure the products we're recommending are still available.

Our recommendations aren't only based on scores—for example, you might find the air fryer with the best air frying performance isn't recommended as the best air fryer overall. When making recommendations, we consider test results, but also price, availability, and occasionally features not accounted for in our scores—for example, we recommend the best windowed air fryer because you might want an air fryer with a window, although having one doesn't affect any scores in the review. It's also important to note that just because we don't recommend an air fryer doesn't mean it's not good. Our recommendations are meant as a starting point for those unfamiliar with air fryers or who don't have the time or desire to delve into the data.

While we regularly ensure products are in stock from major online retailers and often change our picks if a product is discontinued or not available, we don't only recommend products available from our affiliates. If you can only get a product directly from a manufacturer or a retailer we don't work with, it won't prevent us from recommending it—we'll just mention where you can pick it up in the article and in the review.

Post-Review Process

We keep the products even after the review is published. This allows us to make updates and perform retests for specific products based on questions from our users or issues that are raised by testers, writers, or anyone else. The process is similar to the review process, with testing, peer review, writing, and editing steps before the update is published. These changes are logged, and for any product, you can see a list of changes made to the review since publication—so you'll never see our results change without explanation.

We keep products for as long as possible to have them available to answer user questions, perform retests, and help with test benches. However, we don't have the space to hang onto every product we test forever, so our testing, writing, and test development teams are regularly consulted about which products we'll sell. We generally decide to sell a product once it's discontinued, no longer available, and/or not recommended in any of our articles.

Videos And Further Reading

Before publishing any reviews or testing any products in a new category, we spend months developing the tests we'll perform. This process is led by test developers and involves collaboration with writers and testers as well. We build an understanding of the product and of users' priorities and concerns. If you're interested in the test development process for air fryers, check out 'A Bigger Basket Air Fryer Is Worth It, Even If You Aren't Cooking For A Crowd,' which explains what we learned about air fryers during this process. You can also read the changelog, which briefly discusses the philosophy behind our testing methodology.

Also, if you're interested in a broader look at our review process, here's a video providing a behind-the-scenes look at the process for one review.

Related Products

Our air fryer reviews focus on basket-style air fryers. However, we also review toaster ovens, including toaster oven/air fryer combos. We tested the toaster ovens' air frying performance using the same method we used for basket-style air fryers. This allows you to compare frying quality and cooking speed between basket- and oven-style air fryers. If you're interested in the difference between oven and basket air fryers, read about how an air fryer's design affects its performance, or check out our toaster oven reviews.

Conclusion

That's it for our quick overview of our review process! All of our reviews are the result of collaboration and effort from many passionate people, with the goal of helping you choose the best product for you.

We invite you to comment and ask questions about any part of the process. Feedback is always welcome and helps us improve. Send your comments, criticism, and questions to feedback@rtings.com or join us on the forums.