Need to know
- Ninja is one of the most popular air fryer brands, with models at a range of sizes, styles and prices
- Before you decide on an air fryer, consider what will work best for you in terms of functionality and features
- Our experts review 41 popular air fryers from Ninja, Philips, Kmart, Tefal and more, to help you find the appliance that best suits your needs
Australia's love for air fryers is showing no sign of wavering.
The market continues to grow, with new and innovative designs being released every year. We'd even go as far to say it's become the most popular small kitchen appliance.
If you've succumbed to the hype and are looking to invest in one of these appliances (dubbed 'life changing' by many in our CHOICE community), the Ninja brand and its collection of air fryers has probably popped up in your search.
We run multiple air fryer tests each year, and Ninja products make a regular appearance in the line-up
It's one of the most popular brands in the air fryer market, and has made quite a name for itself in the small kitchen appliance category as a whole.
We run multiple air fryer tests each year, and Ninja products make a regular appearance in the line-up.
Our home economist Fiona Mair puts air fryers through their paces in our dedicated kitchen lab, and we get her expert opinion on the Ninja brand and whether it lives up to the hype.
What appliances does Ninja sell?
The Ninja brand has become known for its innovative air fryers. When many people think air fryers, they think Ninja.
But it's also become a household name for plenty of other small kitchen appliances: grills, benchtop ovens, multi-cookers, blenders, food processors and ice cream makers among them.
Ninja has also entered the realm of kitchenware, offering products including cookware, drinkware, knives and coolers.
Another thing we've been impressed with is that they sell many accessories and parts
Our experts have put many Ninja products to the test, and Fiona says she's seen improvements in both performance and ease of use since she's been testing the brand's appliances.
Another thing we've been impressed with is that they sell many accessories and parts. This can mean that an entire appliance doesn't need to be destined for landfill if a part breaks or you need a replacement rack, jug or blade.
Ninja's range of air fryers
The Ninja range is quite extensive and currently includes 12 dedicated air fryers, six of which we've put to the test in our labs.
- Ninja Air Fryer 4.7L AF141: $150
- Ninja Air Fryer Pro XL 6.2L AF181: $180
- Ninja Air Fryer Max AF160ANZ: $200
- Ninja FlexDrawer Air Fryer with 6.6L MegaZone DZ071: $250
- Ninja Foodi Dual Zone Air Fryer AF300: $250
- Ninja Foodi Max XXXL Dual Zone Air Fryer AF400: $300
- Ninja Air Fryer AF100: $300
- Ninja DoubleStack XXL 7.6L 2 Drawer Air Fryer SL300: $400
- Ninja XXXL FlexDrawer Air Fryer AF500: $400
- Ninja DoubleStack XXXL 9.5L 2 Drawer Air Fryer SL400: $450
- Ninja DoubleStack XXXL Smart 9.5L Drawer Air Fryer SL451: $480
- Ninja Foodi Max XXXL Smart Dual Zone 9.5L Air Fryer AF450: $500
Ninja also sells the Foodi Smart XL Grill and Air Fryer ($350), which offers six functions to grill, roast, bake, broil, dehydrate as well as air fry.
Other Ninja products include two benchtop ovens with air-frying functionality, and four multi-cookers, two of which we've tested with their air fryer setting.
Are Ninja air fryers worth it?
Ninja is a brand worth considering if you're in the market for an air fryer and the price range is within your budget.
Fiona has been impressed with the Ninja models, saying "they've improved greatly in performance and ease of use since we started testing them".
The products we've tested generally perform well across the range of cooking tests, with our experts rating their performance from 'good' to 'excellent'.
They have digital displays that are clear, bright and fairly easy to understand
CHOICE home economist Fiona Mair
We also find that Ninja air fryers are designed to be easy to use.
"They have digital displays that are clear, bright and fairly easy to understand," says Fiona.
"They also come with comprehensive instructions and recipes to help you make the most of their functionality."
As with most air fryers, cleaning can be a chore depending on the type of foods you're cooking. Ninja claims its accessories are dishwasher-safe, which helps. However, our experts have found that cleaning around exposed elements and metal linings can be difficult.
Storing the air fryers can be an issue – all the Ninja models we've tested are quite large and bulky to store in a cupboard
Storing the air fryers can be another issue – all the Ninja models we've tested are quite large and bulky to store in a cupboard. They also take up a considerable amount of space on your kitchen benchtop, so keep this in mind.
To see how Ninja air fryers compare against the other brands we've tested, take a look at our air fryer reviews.
Ninja air fryers have clear digital displays and come with comprehensive instructions and recipes.
Which Ninja air fryer should you buy?
Whether you're looking for a small air fryer to whip up afternoon snacks in a flash, or a large air fryer to cook an entire meal for your family, Ninja has lots of options to suit various needs with prices ranging from $150 to $500.
Here's a snapshot of the air fryers we've tested.
Single-basket air fryer:
Ninja Air Fryer Max AF160ANZ
- Price: $200
- Claimed capacity: 5.2L
This single-basket air fryer comes with six preset functions to air fry, crisp, roast, bake, reheat and dehydrate. The temperature ranges from 40°C to 240°C and it has a clear digital display. It comes with comprehensive instructions as well as a handy quick reference guide on the side of the unit for recommended temperatures and cooking times for some meal types.
Read the full Ninja Air Fryer Max AF160ANZ review.
Twin-basket air fryers:
Ninja Foodi Dual Zone Air Fryer AF300ANZ
- Price: $250
- Claimed capacity: 3.8L per basket
This twin-drawer option lets you cook two foods at once, which you can either match to use the same time and temperature settings or sync up so that they use different settings but finish cooking at the same time.
It comes with six functions: crisp, air fry, roast, bake, reheat and dehydrate, and a temperature range of 40°C to 240°C.
Keep in mind that if you're cooking for a family, the capacity of each drawer might not be enough for the quantity of food you're cooking. You might find that you need both baskets to cook only one type of food.
Weigh up if you're better off with a large-capacity single-basket air fryer or one that comes with a divider, such as the Ninja XXXL FlexDrawer Air Fryer AF500.
Read the full Ninja Foodi Dual Zone Air Fryer AF300ANZ review.
Ninja Foodi Max XXXL Dual Zone Air Fryer AF400
- Price: $300
- Claimed capacity: 4.75L per basket
This air fryer is much like the AF300ANZ, only bigger. It comes with the same six functions, temperature range and sync and match settings, but you'll be able to cook more in this model as it has two larger 4.75L cooking baskets.
If you still like the idea of a twin drawer but need more cooking space, this one is your best bet.
Read the full Ninja Foodi Max XXXL Dual Zone Air Fryer AF400 review.
Ninja DoubleStack XXXL 9.5L 2 Drawer Air Fryer SL400
- Price: $450
- Claimed capacity: 4.75L per basket
This air fryer boasts Ninja's latest innovation, offering the same versatility as a twin drawer air fryer but with a space saving twist – the cooking drawers are stacked on top of each other.
You'll usually find the fan and element at the top of an air fryer but the DoubleStack has its fan and element at the back, so hot air can enter and circulate evenly across the stacked cooking baskets.
Each drawer has a medium-sized 4.75L capacity with sync and match functions so you can cook different foods and set them to finish cooking at the same time.
Keep in mind that this model is best kept on your kitchen bench. If you're planning to store it in a cupboard its tall height might make that difficult.
Read the full Ninja DoubleStack XXXL 9.5L 2 Drawer Air Fryer SL400 review.
The best of both worlds:
Ninja FlexDrawer Air Fryer with 6.6L MegaZone DZ071ANZ
- Price: $250
- Claimed capacity: 6.6L (or two 3.3L)
Ninja's range of FlexDrawer Air Fryers provide cooking versatility. They have what Ninja calls a MegaZone – one large cooking area that can accommodate two whole chickens, enough food to feed the whole family.
And if you want to cook two separate food items at the same time, you can simply insert the divider to use two separate drawers.
This FlexDrawer model comes with six cooking functions to air fry, grill, roast, bake, reheat and dehydrate.
If you're using the two separate cooking zones, you can activate the Smart Finish function to cook the foods with different settings, but have them finish at the same time, or the Match Cook function to sync the settings across both zones.
Read the full Ninja FlexDrawer Air Fryer with 6.6L MegaZone DZ071ANZ review.
Ninja XXXL FlexDrawer Air Fryer AF500
- Price: $400
- Claimed capacity: 10.4L (or two 5.2L)
If you're looking for more cooking space, the AF500 has a 10.4L mega capacity or can be separated into two 5.2L drawers, using the divider.
It comes with the same Smart Finish and Match Cook functions to time and sync meals when using the divider.
It has seven preset functions to air fry, bake, roast, proof, reheat, keep warm and dehydrate, and the temperature ranges from 30°C to 200°C.
Read the full Ninja XXL FlexDrawer Air Fryer AF500 review.
Ninja multi-cookers with air-frying
Kitchen appliance manufacturers are always trying to make their products more versatile, and our kitchen experts are constantly seeing what was once a single-function appliance being jam-packed with new features.
The same can be said for multi-cookers: an appliance that traditionally combined the functionality of slow cookers, rice cookers, pressure cookers and more into one space-saving unit. Now with the hype surrounding air fryers, it's no surprise air-frying functionality has been thrown into the mix too.
Our kitchen experts have tested two of Ninja's multi-cookers that have air-frying functions:
Their air fryer functionality is impressive, and they performed well across our range of tests, though the OL650 scored better in terms of ease of use.
"A multi-cooker with air frying functionality can really be a game changer for your kitchen and food preparation," says Fiona.
"Regular multi-cookers are great for wet forms of cooking, like slow cooking, but don't have the ability to crisp or brown foods like a roast. If it has an air fryer function you can get the best of both worlds."
To see how these multi-cookers perform for slow cooking, pressure cooking and rice cooking, take a look at our multi-cooker reviews.
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Stock images: Getty, unless otherwise stated.
