Several trusted magazines rate air fryers, and their recent top picks often cluster around Ninja, Cosori, Instant, Philips and Tefal models.
If you type “which magazine rated the best air fryer?” into a search bar, you probably hope for a clear name and model, not a wall of ads and links. The catch is that every big test kitchen crowns a slightly different star, because each one cooks different recipes, uses different scoring and writes for a different reader.
This article lines those ratings up, shows where the lists agree, and then turns that picture into simple steps so you can pick an air fryer that actually suits your home.
Which Magazine Rated Best Air Fryer Brands This Year
Several well known food and home titles publish best air fryer lists every year. Good Housekeeping, BBC Good Food, Bon Appétit, Serious Eats, Which?, The Guardian and Ideal Home all run hands on tests, then name an overall winner or a small group of standouts. The comparison table below gathers their current headline picks.
| Magazine Or Site | Latest Test Year | “Best Overall” Style Pick |
|---|---|---|
| Good Housekeeping (US) | 2025 | Ninja Air Fryer Max XL |
| BBC Good Food (UK) | 2025 | Ninja Double Stack XL SL400UK |
| Serious Eats | 2025 | Instant Vortex Plus XL 6 Quart |
| Bon Appétit | 2025 | Cosori Turboblaze 6 Quart Smart Air Fryer |
| Which? Magazine (UK) | 2025 | Several “Best Buy” models, often Ninja, Tefal and Cosori |
| The Guardian | 2025 | Tefal Dual Easy |
| Ideal Home | 2025 | Ninja Foodi FlexDrawer Dual Air Fryer 10.4L |
Even a quick glance shows a pattern. Each magazine has its own favourite, yet the same names repeat. Ninja appears again and again. Cosori, Instant, Tefal and Philips also earn regular praise. That repeat pattern is your first clue that a small group of brands tend to deliver steady results across many kitchens.
Which Magazine Rated The Best Air Fryer? Overview
So, which magazine rated the best air fryer? In practice, several of them did, each in a slightly different way. Good Housekeeping calls the Ninja Air Fryer Max XL its best overall basket style pick after years of lab testing wings, fries and frozen snacks. BBC Good Food crowns the Ninja Double Stack XL SL400UK as its best air fryer, thanks to space saving stacked drawers and reliable browning across trays.
Serious Eats leans toward the Instant Vortex Plus XL after running dozens of machines through repeated fry and wing tests and tracking how easy they are to use and clean. Bon Appétit’s kitchen staff give top spot to the Cosori Turboblaze 6 quart model, praising the mix of price, power and straightforward controls. The Guardian, working with UK readers and energy bills in mind, names the Tefal Dual Easy as its best overall pick.
Which? magazine sits in a slightly different place. It scores a long list of machines and hands out “Best Buy” labels across sizes instead of pushing one winner. While full ratings sit behind a paywall, the brands that earn those labels look very similar to the list above.
The real lesson is simple. There is no single best air fryer across every magazine, yet there is clear overlap. If you stay inside that cluster of repeat winners and then match size, shape and features to your own kitchen, you stand a far better chance of buying a fryer you enjoy using every week.
How These Magazines Test Air Fryers
Lab Testing Methods And Criteria
To read a magazine rated best air fryer list with confidence, you need a sense of what those tests look like. The Good Housekeeping Institute has tested dozens of air fryers, cooking chicken wings and frozen fries while timing speed, checking browning and rating user friendly controls. BBC Good Food follows a similar pattern with extra focus on energy use and how evenly large batches cook across baskets or trays.
Serious Eats describes cooking thirty five pounds of fries across air fryers, along with wings and homemade fries, to see which machines deliver crisp, even results. Bon Appétit’s writers spend time on flavour and real weeknight use, noting how each fryer handles vegetables, snacks and mains, and how fast and tidy cleanup feels once dinner is on the table.
Common Lab Checks
Across these tests you see the same checks repeat:
- Identical foods cooked in every air fryer so scores are fair.
- Multiple batches to confirm that first impressions hold up.
- Clear notes on texture, colour, moisture and timing.
- Ratings for controls, basket design, noise and cleaning.
Which? follows the same general lab style, then adds data on reliability and owner satisfaction to decide which models earn a Best Buy label. When you look at a “best overall” badge from any of these magazines, you are looking at many test runs, not one quick meal.
Biases And Limits Of Magazine Ratings
Magazine tests give you a strong starting point, yet they also have limits. Each title works with its own budget, sample size and usual reader. A UK based list leans toward models stocked in British shops. A US list might rate the same Ninja or Cosori unit under a slightly different product code or basket capacity.
Food choices shape results as well. One outlet mostly cooks wings and fries, another includes tray bakes and roasts, and a third throws in batch meals for children. A fryer that shines with frozen nuggets is not always the same machine you want for whole chicken, baked desserts or loaded nachos.
Affiliate links add more noise. Many magazines earn commission on sales, and they usually say so in their fine print. Reputable brands still share detailed methods, yet you should read how they test before you fully trust a headline. Cross checking a “best air fryer” pick against two or three other sources and a page of buyer reviews keeps your choice grounded.
Time also matters. A “best air fryers 2023” article can sit high in search long after stock has changed. Use older lists to learn which features reviewers liked, then confirm that the same or updated models still appear in newer guides before you spend any money.
Translating Ratings Into Real Kitchen Choices
Basket Air Fryer Or Oven Style Model
Most magazines split winners into two broad groups: basket style air fryers and air fryer toaster ovens. Basket models, such as the Ninja Air Fryer Max XL or many Cosori designs, suit people who mostly cook fries, vegetables, wings and small protein portions. You pull a drawer, shake halfway through and pour food straight onto the plate.
Oven style air fryers look more like compact countertop ovens. Serious Eats and Bon Appétit both praise models such as the Breville Smart Oven Air Fryer Pro for cooks who bake, roast and toast in one box. These machines usually cost more and take more counter width, yet they hold a tray of chicken pieces, pizza or toast without crowding and can replace a basic toaster oven.
Ask what you cook three evenings a week, not just what looks tempting in recipe videos. If the answer is mostly frozen snacks and quick sides, a mid size basket air fryer from a brand that appears across multiple magazine lists is the safer and cheaper route. If you want a flexible oven replacement for roasting trays of vegetables and baking, a tested air fryer toaster oven may be worth the extra spend.
Capacity, Features And Counter Space
Once you have a small pool of models that magazines rate highly, the next question is fit. Capacity lines up with household size. A 3 to 4 quart basket suits one or two people. A 5 to 6 quart model works better for a small family. Dual drawer machines, such as the Ninja Foodi Dual Zone or FlexDrawer units, let you cook protein and sides at once, which helps when dinner needs to land on the table fast.
Features matter too, though they sit behind cooking performance. Many magazine rated best air fryer picks include presets for roast, bake, reheat and dehydrate. Some add glass windows, Wi Fi control or dishwasher safe baskets. These extras can make daily cooking smoother, yet an honest, stable temperature range and even airflow always come first.
Counter space rounds out the shortlist. Tall, narrow basket models tuck under cupboards. Wide toaster ovens and flex drawer units claim more depth and rib height and need extra breathing room around vents. Before you copy any magazine winner straight from a list, measure the spot where you plan to keep it and compare that with the product dimensions.
| Use Case | Magazine Style Pick | Why It Fits |
|---|---|---|
| Solo cook or couple | Compact Ninja or Cosori basket fryer | Small footprint with enough room for two portions |
| Family of four | Ninja Air Fryer Max XL or similar 5–6 quart model | Handles full batches of wings, fries or vegetables |
| Sheet pan style meals | Breville Smart Oven style air fryer toaster oven | Tray layout for chops, traybakes and pizza |
| Cook two foods at once | Ninja Dual Zone or FlexDrawer air fryer | Independent drawers for mains and sides |
| Budget basket model | Instant Vortex series | Magazine praise for price and strong crisping |
| Small kitchen, tiny counter | Cosori Lite or other mini fryer | Compact body while still browning small batches well |
| Glass basket and easy viewing | Ninja Crispi or similar glass fryer | See through bowl so you can track browning progress |
This second table is not a strict ranking. It works as a conversion tool, turning the way magazines rate the best air fryer into a short list of real life needs: who you cook for, what you cook most often and how much room you have to spare.
So Which Magazine Should You Trust?
By now, the pattern behind all these charts and tables should feel plain. One magazine rates a Ninja top, another leans toward Instant or Cosori, yet they are all answering the same question for slightly different kinds of cooks.
If you like long lab history and detailed scoring, Good Housekeeping and Which? make strong starting points. If you care more about recipe style and flavour, BBC Good Food, Bon Appétit and Serious Eats speak your language. Cross check a few of them, stay with repeat winners from brands with steady records, and then match that shortlist to your budget, counter space and mealtime routine.
A quick notepad list of needs, matched with two or three cross checked winners, turns pages of scores into one fryer choice that feels calm, clear and easy to live with in daily cooking.
Do that, and the big question at the top of this page stops feeling like a puzzle and becomes a clear plan for finding an air fryer that fits your home, your favourite recipes and your weekday cooking routine.