How to choose an air fryer in the UK
By Venkata Siva Ramakrishna Naidu. Published 2026-10-20. Updated 2026-10-20.
How we choose products: rows come from in-stock affiliate feeds that have a name, a price, and a photo when the shop sent one. We do not test the products, and a higher commission does not move a shop up the list.
An air fryer is a small fan oven. The useful differences are capacity, how the heat moves, and whether the price you see is one shop or several.
Start with how many people you actually cook for
Capacity is the spec that changes daily use. A basket around 3 to 4 litres suits one or two people reheating and cooking a side. A household that wants a full tray of roast potatoes or a family portion of chicken needs something closer to 5 litres and up, often a dual drawer. Litres on the box are the whole cavity. Food sits in a smaller usable volume once you leave room for air to circulate, so a ‘family size’ label without a litre figure is not a decision.
Dual drawers help when two foods want different times. They also cost more and take more worktop. If you only ever cook one thing, a single basket is the simpler machine and usually the cheaper one to compare. Write down the largest thing you expect to cook, then compare baskets that can hold it without stacking food into a solid block.
Wattage, preheat, and the cost of running it
Most countertop air fryers sold in the UK sit between about 1,400 and 2,400 watts. A higher wattage can recover temperature faster after you open the drawer. It does not automatically cook better. Check that the plug is a normal UK 13 amp plug and that the kitchen circuit you will use is not already shared with a kettle and a toaster at the same time.
A see-through window and an interior light are convenience, not cooking performance. A non-stick coating will wear if you use metal tools. Look for a basket you can put in the dishwasher, and for a shape you can actually reach into. Those details matter more after the first month than a long list of preset buttons.
What to compare on FindAProduct
Open the air fryer category and look for the same model at more than one shop before you treat a price as ‘the’ price. A page with a single offer is one retailer’s feed row. It can still be a fair price, but you have not compared anything yet. Visit retailer sends you to that shop through an affiliate link. The shop’s page is where postage, colour, and stock are confirmed.
Ignore a was-price badge unless the higher figure is only modestly above the current price. A discount that is the same huge percentage on every card is not evidence of a sale. Match the model number, the litre capacity, and whether the listing is a bundle of accessories. A cheaper row that is a different capacity is not the same product.
UK practicalities
Worktop depth matters in a small kitchen. Measure the space with the basket pulled out, not only the footprint of the body. Air fryers blow hot air; they need clearance at the back and they can trip a smoke alarm the first few times a coating cures. That is normal for a new non-stick surface and is not a sign the listing is fake.
Replacement parts are uneven. A well-known brand sold by a normal UK retailer is easier to get a new basket for than a marketplace name you cannot search twice. If the only offers are from a wholesale marketplace, or the title is a string of ‘5A’ and designer words, leave it. Those rows are hidden from the UK catalogue when we can see the pattern, and you should not go looking for them.
A sensible order of decisions
Decide capacity first, then whether you need two zones, then the highest price you will pay. Only then compare live shop prices for that size. Read the shop name. If you do not recognise it and the price is far below the others, open the shop and read the returns policy before you pay. Postage can erase a small headline saving.
We do not score air fryers from a lab and we do not publish a ‘best’ model. The catalogue shows what shops are offering today. Use this guide to decide which specs you care about, then use the category to see who has that machine in stock at a feed price you can check.
Worktop, cupboard, and the cable
Measure the worktop before you compare baskets. An air fryer needs space behind it for the plug and a gap above it so the hot air can leave. A tall dual-drawer model that looks fine in a product photo can block an overhead cupboard or sit too close to a splashback. Write down the width, depth, and height you can spare, including the door swing of the basket. If the feed does not list millimetres, treat that listing as incomplete and open the retailer’s page from Visit retailer before you decide.
The cable on most UK models is short. If the only socket is behind a toaster or a kettle, you will be unplugging something every time you cook. A normal 13 amp plug is what you want. Do not plan to run the air fryer, the kettle, and a microwave from one adapter. That is a kitchen-circuit problem, not a feature of the machine. If you live in a flat with a single ring of sockets along the worktop, a smaller single basket is often the one that actually gets used.
What the basket has to survive
Coatings wear. Metal tongs, a knife used as a turner, and a dishwasher cycle that is hotter than the manual allows will mark a non-stick basket in months. Look for a basket you can reach into with a sponge, not a narrow tube you cannot clean at the bottom. A removable tray that goes in the dishwasher is a practical advantage. A long list of preset buttons is not. Chips, chicken, and reheating cover most of what people actually cook, and those times are easy to set yourself.
Food that is wet, battered, or piled in a solid layer will steam instead of crisp. That is how these machines work, not a fault you can shop your way out of by paying more. Leave room for air. Shake or turn food halfway if the recipe you already trust says so. A window lets you look without opening the drawer and dumping the heat. It does not cook better. If two models are otherwise the same shape and capacity, prefer the one you can clean and the one more than one UK shop is listing, so you can compare the live price rather than a single offer.
Accessories, filters, and what is not in the box
Some machines are sold with a second grill plate, a baking tin, or a skewer set. Those extras change the price and they change the comparison. If one shop’s row is the bare basket and another shop’s row includes a tin, they are not the same offer even when the model name matches. Read the title for ‘bundle’, ‘with’, or a second part number. On FindAProduct, open the product and look at each shop’s name before you click Visit retailer. The lowest figure might be the smaller pack.
A few models have a grease filter or a charcoal filter you are expected to replace. If the manual is not linked from the retailer, you will not know the interval. That is a reason to read the shop page, not a reason to trust a was-price badge. We only show a discount when the higher figure looks like a plausible previous price. A basket that claims to have been five times the current price is not shown as a deal here.
Returns, plugs, and the first cook
Countertop appliances bought from a UK retailer are covered by the usual consumer rules on faulty goods. A change of mind depends on that shop’s returns policy, especially once the basket has been used with food. Check the shop page for who collects a heavy dual-drawer machine. Some retailers charge for a collection that the product photo never mentions. The comparison page cannot see that charge. Visit retailer is where you confirm it.
On the first cook, expect a hot plastic or coating smell. Run the empty basket for a short time with a window open, as the manual usually says, before you put food in. If the machine trips the socket, smells of burning electrics rather than new coating, or the basket does not sit flat, stop and use the retailer’s fault process. Do not ‘season’ it with oil and hope. And do not treat a single very low price from a shop you do not recognise as proof that the same model is cheaper everywhere. Open the category, see how many shops are actually listed, and only then decide.
Visit retailer links on the category pages are affiliate links. Read the affiliate disclosure.