The Best Air Fryers Under $100

An air fryer earns its counter space fast: crispier leftovers, quicker weeknight dinners, and far less oil than a real fryer, with almost no cleanup. The trick is picking one that’s the right size and genuinely easy to use.

Happily, you don’t need to spend a fortune. Under $100 covers everything from compact single-servers to family-sized baskets from the brands that actually do this well. Here are the five we’d buy.

How we picked

We stuck to established brands — Cosori, Ninja, and Instant — that build in real safety features and stand behind their products. We weighed capacity, ease of use, cleanup, and how consistently each one crisps, and we favored models with strong, high-volume owner reviews.

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Best overall

1. Cosori TurboBlaze 6-Qt (9-in-1)

Best for: most households that want one do-everything air fryer.

The TurboBlaze pairs a roomy 6-quart basket with genuinely useful controls — five fan speeds, a wide temperature range, and precise adjustments — plus a PFAS-free ceramic coating that’s easy to clean. It earns top marks from independent testers and tens of thousands of owners alike, and it’s the one we’d recommend to almost anyone.

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Best for families

2. Ninja Foodi 7-Qt (MegaZone, DZ071)

Best for: cooking for a family or batch-prepping meals.

Ninja’s reputation for reliable, even crisping shows up here in a bigger 7-quart basket that handles a full bag of fries or a tray of wings in one go. The controls are dead simple, the basket is nonstick and dishwasher-safe, and it’s a trusted name built to last.

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Best for beginners

3. Instant Vortex Plus 6QT

Best for: first-time air-fryer owners who want simple and foolproof.

From the makers of the Instant Pot, the Vortex Plus keeps things approachable: clear one-touch programs, reliable results, and Odor Erase tech so your kitchen doesn’t smell like last night’s salmon. It’s the easy on-ramp if you’ve never owned an air fryer.

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Best for small kitchens

4. Instant Vortex Slim 6QT

Best for: full capacity without hogging the counter.

The Vortex Slim fits a full 6-quart basket into a narrower footprint, so you get family-sized capacity that still tucks into a tight kitchen. It’s quiet, quick to preheat, and a smart pick for apartments and smaller counters.

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Best compact & portable

5. Ninja Crispi 4-in-1 (glass)

Best for: small households, dorms, or cooking and storing in one dish.

The Crispi is a clever, compact take: glass containers that go from freezer to air fryer to table, with a powerful crisping lid on top. It’s perfect for one or two people, and the cook-and-store-in-one design means fewer dishes.

Keep in mind: Its containers are smaller than a standard basket — great for singles and couples, less so for a crowd.

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What to look for

Capacity. 3–4 quarts suits 1–2 people; 6 quarts is the family sweet spot; 7+ quarts handles big batches. Bigger baskets need more counter and cabinet space.

Ease of use & cleanup. Look for simple presets, a dishwasher-safe basket, and a nonstick or ceramic coating. PFAS-free coatings are increasingly common and worth having.

Footprint. Air fryers are countertop hogs. Measure your space — and the clearance above it, since they vent hot air — before buying.

Brand & safety. Stick with names like Cosori, Ninja, and Instant. They include auto-shutoff and overheat protection as standard, unlike sketchy sub-$30 listings.

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The bottom line

For most kitchens, the Cosori TurboBlaze is the best all-rounder. Big families should size up to the Ninja 7-quart, beginners will love the Instant Vortex Plus, and tight kitchens should look at the Vortex Slim or the compact Ninja Crispi.

Check the current price before you buy — these go on sale often.