The 3 Best Small Air Fryers - Winter 2025

The best small air fryer we've tested is the Ninja Pro AF141. This 5-quart air fryer is among the smallest we've tested, and it's a good option if you don't have a lot of free counter space. Despite its small overall size, the basket has a good amount of surface area, so you can arrange more food in a single layer compared with some other 5-qt air fryers. It makes good quality air-fried food, so French fries, chicken wings, and vegetables come out evenly browned and crispy, with a relatively small proportion being under or overcooked. It also preheats and cooks quickly, making it a good option for quick snacks.

While it has fewer modes than some air fryers, it still has great versatility. The four presets (Air Fry, Roast, Reheat, and Dehydrate) give you access to a wide range of temperatures and fan speeds for different recipes and cooking methods. Its crisper tray has a ceramic non-stick coating, which isn't as easy to clean by hand, but you might prefer it if you try to avoid PTFE coatings.

If you want a small air fryer with a price tag to match, the BELLA 6qt Pro 90165 is a good small option. It has a taller but narrower design than the Ninja Pro AF141, so it can squeeze into a tight corner a little more easily. While it has a bigger 6-qt capacity, the basket has about the same surface area as the Ninja's, meaning it has the same effective capacity. However, you can often find it for about half the price, and it makes similarly good-quality air-fried food, so it's a good option for preparing quick, crispy snacks or side dishes.

It preheats and cooks quickly, but doesn't maintain as stable a temperature as the Ninja, which makes it harder to follow recipes accurately and properly cook for delicate foods. It's also less versatile since it only has a single fan speed, making it less suitable for methods other than air frying, like dehydrating. With all that said, it's an inexpensive, simple option if you're looking for a compact air fryer.

If something even smaller would suit you better, consider the Chefman TurboFry RJ38-5-T, whose smaller footprint takes up less of the valuable real estate on your counter. This basic model also only has a single fan speed, so it's best suited for air frying and is not ideal for other methods like baking. However, it does a decent job of evenly cooking and crisping air-fried foods like fries, chicken wings, and Brussels sprouts.

The Ninja Foodi DZ071 isn't exactly small, but it has a compact design for its capacity and may be a better option if you regularly cook for the whole family. This 7-quart air fryer is smaller than some similar dual-basket options like the Ninja Foodi DZ550 (our best air fryer overall), as it has a shorter design and smaller footprint. However, it still has an impressive amount of surface area in its basket, so you can prepare food for several people and get good results.

It does a very good job of evenly air-frying food, so a relatively small proportion ends up under or over-done. It's also very versatile, with a wide range of temperatures and fan speeds for different cooking methods, such as dehydrating and baking. Unlike the other air fryers recommended here, you can use it as a single or dual-basket fryer with its removable basket divider. This design means its baskets aren't as well-isolated as dual-basket models with two completely separate drawers. However, it gives you the option of either cooking larger amounts of one food or dividing the basket and using different settings on either side when preparing a full meal.