We rated four air fryers from Ninja to Instant – it was close, but running a popular brand will cost you more

THE holiday season is the perfect time to buy a new kitchen appliance, but it’s easy to get overwhelmed by the sheer number of options.

One of the most popular kitchen appliances that people love to rave about is the air fryer.

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Air fryers have exploded in popularity over the last five years, and everyone from seasoned chefs to kitchen novices has touted them as a lifesaver in the kitchen.

Whether you’re cooking chicken, french fries, or an assortment of leftovers, air fryers are the healthier and cheaper appliance for heating your food evenly and quickly.

Air fryers are also generally more energy efficient and cheaper than the average oven.

It is estimated that they use about 50 percent less energyand they also usually take less time to cook food than in the oven.

An average air fryer can cost as little as 20 cents for an hour, while ovens regularly cost 30 to 40 cents for the same period of time.

But with most air fryers costing $100+ and so many options available, we wanted to know which air fryer really is the best bang for your buck.

To find out, we tested four of the most popular versions of the device: Gourmia, Ninja Speedi, Instant Vortex, and Cosori.

To ensure consistency in ranking, we cooked a chicken breast in each and rated each air fryer for ease of use, taste, and price.

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The results

1. Instant Vortex

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I have to say that I had never before tasted the delicious bliss of an air fryer – chicken or anything for that matter.

I started the taste test with the Instant Vortex Air Fried Chicken.

Priced at just $89.95 for a six-liter size, this was by far the most affordable of the line.

All of my chicken breasts have been seasoned with salt and pepper and an array of my favorite spices, and that’s probably the secret to making each and every chicken flavorful and enticing.

But let me say I wasn’t expecting the sheer wonder of air fried chicken on my first taste.

It was one of the tastiest chicken dishes I’ve eaten outside of a restaurant, compared to the traditionally bland oven-baked chicken dishes.

The Instant Vortex Air Roasted Chicken wasn’t very crispy, but I haven’t compared it to the others on first taste.

The taste was fresh and delicious and reminded me more of the types of chicken I get when I order at restaurants.

I was surprised how valuable an air fryer can be to up your cooking game.

The Instant Vortex has received a plus in affordability compared to the other hot air fryers.

When it came to flavor, while it did a phenomenal job of introducing you to the beauty of the air fryer, it lacked a crispiness that I preferred in the other air fryers.

It was generally easy to use as you could preheat it to a specific temperature and set a specific cooking time.

For these reasons, I would give the Instant Vortex a six for taste, a nine for price, and an eight for ease of use.

2. Ninja Speedi

• total energy: 1,760 watts
• Price: $159.99
• Total score: 23 out of 30

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Next I tried the most expensive air fryer in the range: the Ninja Speedi.

It’s available on Amazon for $159.99, which could be a prohibitive investment for many Americans compared to the Instant Vortex’s sub-$100 price point.

Similarly, I cooked a chicken breast in this 6 quart air fryer.

When I saw the finished cooked product, I could immediately tell a big difference between this and the Instant Vortex.

This chicken was crispy.

It had a nice flaky rim on its outside that reminded me of actually eating fried chicken—but because it’s an air fryer, it doesn’t have as many of the health concerns of glorious fried foods.

The flavor was a little less succulent, but I think if I had played around with the cooking times a bit I could have prevented that.

The Ninja Speedi also doesn’t require you to wait for it to preheat. Instead, it instantly cooks your dish for you.

However, at the highest wattage of air fryers (at 1,760 instead of 1,700), it will cost you more to run.

For these reasons, it scored a six for affordability, a seven for taste, and a ten for ease of use.

3. Kosori

• total energy: 1,700 watts
• Price: $115.43
• Total score: 24 out of 30

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The Cosori’s exterior was more akin to the Instant Vortex and Gourmia air fryers, but I was curious if it would do the Ninja justice.

Preheating was relatively easy, but I couldn’t just cook my food right away like I did with the Ninja Speedi.

I wasn’t disappointed because when the chicken breast came out I saw that it was flaky, perfectly browned and crispy, just like the ninja on the outside.

As I took a bite, I found myself similarly in awe of how much an air fryer can transform what often feels like boring, dry oven-baked chicken into something juicy, crispy, and delicious.

I envisioned all the recipes this easy chicken air roast could improve on and the flavor was even better than the last two.

Also, the Cosori was far cheaper than the Ninja Speedi, priced at just $115.43 on Amazon.

All in all, the Cosori earned an Eight for price, an Eight for taste, and an Eight for usability.

4. Gourmia – the ultimate winner

• total energy: 1,700 watts
• Price: $106.87
• Total score: 25 out of 30

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Last we had Gourmia.

Like all other air fryers besides the Instant Vortex, the chicken came out crispy, perfectly browned and smelled great.

Preheating was minimal, only taking a few minutes to set my air fryer to 375 degrees.

The Gourmia is a relatively mid-range option in terms of cost, with the six-quart version selling for $106.87 on Amazon.

Biting into the gourmia chicken, I was even more impressed by the succulence of the meat surrounded by that perfect crunch I crave when I think of fried chicken.

There was no denying it; The more Air Fryer Chicken I ate, the more I fell in love.

At the end of the day, apart from the Instant Vortex, the flavor variations were minor (which might be understandable given the much cheaper option).

I still found the Gourmia Air Fryer Chicken to be the best of all, scoring a 9 for taste, an 8 for price, and an 8 for ease of use.

Overall I loved my experience trying these air fryers and I can’t wait to see the impact one will have on my cooking life in my kitchen.

After all, chicken is just the beginning of what an air fryer is capable of – homemade fries, roasted vegetables, frozen foods and reheated leftovers are also said to be great air fryer options.

The sun previously covered the biggest air frying mistake that could ruin your entire cooking.

We also reviewed four different holiday-scented candles from stores like Aldi and Trader Joe’s, and the winner might not be what you’re expecting either.