Air fryers are a faster alternative to firing up your regular oven for crispy snacks like French fries, roasted side dishes like cauliflower, or even mains like burgers and salmon fillets. Even though a bigger air fryer is usually better at making evenly air-fried food, that doesn't mean you can't get good performance from a smaller model. The best compact air fryers still have a good amount of capacity, cook food evenly and quickly, and have enough versatility for various cooking methods and recipes.
We've tested more than 40 air fryers, and below you'll find our recommendations for smaller options, plus a larger-capacity model with a compact design that you might prefer if you usually cook for a crowd but don't have a lot of extra space. It's worth noting that you can find smaller air fryers with a capacity of 1–3 quarts. While they're a bit more compact, very small air fryers struggle to properly cook even small food portions. Therefore, we recommend opting for a bigger option, even if you usually only cook for one.
For more recommendations, see our overview of the best 4-quart air fryers, the best 6-quart air fryers, or the best air fryers for French fries. If you're shopping for other appliances, check out our list of the best small microwaves. Or, check out the best protein shake blenders and the best compact and small toasters for your breakfast needs.
Quick Look
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Best Small Air Fryer
Size7.7Cooking Capacity7.3Air Frying8.1Measured Capacity5.1 qt (4.9 L)Nonstick Coating TypeCeramicSee all our test resultsDual Cooking ChambersNoThe best small air fryer we've tested is the Ninja Pro AF141. This 5-quart model is a great option if you're short on counter space. Despite its diminutive design, its basket has a good amount of surface area, so you can arrange more food in a single layer compared with some other 5-quart air fryers. Along with a high maximum power draw and an efficient fan, the roomy basket helps this air fryer produce good-quality air-fried meals and snacks. French fries, chicken wings, and vegetables come out evenly browned and crispy, with a relatively small proportion being under- or overcooked. It also preheats and cooks very quickly, making it an excellent option when you need a snack in a hurry.
While it has fewer functions than some air fryers, it still offers great versatility. The four presets (Air Fry, Roast, Reheat, and Dehydrate) give you access to a wide range of temperatures and fan speeds for different recipes and cooking methods. Its crisper tray has a ceramic non-stick coating, which isn't as easy to clean by hand as traditional non-stick coatings, but you might prefer it if you try to avoid PTFE coatings.
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Best Budget Small Air Fryer
Size7.1Cooking Capacity7.5Air Frying7.7Measured Capacity5.9 qt (5.6 L)Nonstick Coating TypePTFESee all our test resultsDual Cooking ChambersNoIf you want a small air fryer with a price tag to match, the Beautiful 6qt Digital is the best compact air fryer we've tested for shoppers on a budget. It's a little taller than the Ninja Pro AF141, so it's a bit harder to fit under a cupboard, but it doesn't take up much more counter space. The basket has a larger 6-quart capacity to match, as well as a bit more surface area, allowing you to make slightly larger batches of fries, wings, or veggies compared to our top pick. By the time your food finishes cooking, most of it is crispy and golden brown, with even fewer mushy or burnt pieces in the mix than the Ninja. It doesn't work quite as fast, but it still offers an impressive cooking speed, so you don't have to wait long for results.
The biggest trade-off for this model is its limited versatility, particularly its disappointing maximum fan speed. This limitation affects how quickly it can cook and makes it less effective at tasks like roasting or broiling, where stronger airflow is required to remove moisture and achieve a crispy, well-browned surface. Its temperature fluctuates throughout the cooking process, too, making it harder to follow recipes accurately and affecting how evenly it cooks. That said, it's still a good choice for dehydrating, proofing dough, and baking, thanks to its impressive temperature range and minimum fan speed. Plus, it's a very affordable option, and it comes in various colors, making it a good choice if you want a simple option that matches your decor.
If you want something even more compact, consider the Chefman TurboFry RJ38-5-T. This basic model features only a single fan speed, making it best suited for air frying rather than other methods like baking. However, it does a decent job of evenly cooking and crisping air-fried foods, like fries, chicken wings, and Brussels sprouts.
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Best Small Dual-Basket Air Fryer
Size7.2Cooking Capacity8.2Air Frying8.0Measured Capacity7.1 qt (6.7 L)Nonstick Coating TypeCeramicSee all our test resultsDual Cooking ChambersYesThe Ninja Foodi DZ071 isn't exactly small, but it has a compact design considering its overall capacity, and may be a better option if you regularly cook for the whole family. This 7-quart air fryer is smaller than some similar dual-basket options like the Ninja Foodi DZ550, as it has a shorter design and smaller footprint. However, it still has an impressive amount of surface area in its basket, so you can prepare food for several people and get good results.
It does a very good job of evenly air-frying food, so a relatively small proportion ends up under- or overdone. It's also very versatile, with a wide range of temperatures and fan speeds for different cooking methods, such as dehydrating and baking. Unlike the other air fryers recommended here, you can also use it as a single or dual-basket fryer with its removable basket divider. This design, with one large basket that can be divided, means the sides won't be as well-insulated as in models with completely separate baskets. However, it's not a huge issue as long as your recipes don't call for vastly different settings on each side, and you can still prepare your main and side dishes separately.
Notable Mentions
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COSORI TurboBlaze:
The COSORI TurboBlaze is a bit larger than the Ninja Pro AF141, with a slightly larger capacity to match. While it offers more versatility than the Ninja and produces good-quality fried food, it struggles with temperature stability. Nonetheless, it offers an impressive performance and remains a great buy if you have a bit of extra counter space.
See our review -
Gotham Steel Air Fryer:
The Gotham Steel Air Fryer has a slightly smaller footprint than the Ninja Pro AF141. It produces decent-quality air-fried food but isn't as fast and has a smaller overall capacity of four quarts. The Ninja is better for most people, but the Gotham has an okay performance and could be worth considering if you need to save a little more space.
See our review -
Dash Compact:
The Dash Compact has a tiny 2-quart capacity and is much smaller than the Ninja Pro AF141. It stands out for its size, but it doesn't cook food very evenly. Because of its small cooking surface area, its air-frying performance is sub-par, so it's not recommended unless you want something really small and don't mind uneven results.
See our review
Recent Updates
Dec 16, 2025:
We replaced the BELLA 6qt Pro 90165 with the Beautiful 6qt Digital as our 'Best Budget Small Air Fryer,' since the former has been discontinued. We also made small edits for clarity.
Nov 11, 2025:
We've added the COSORI TurboBlaze as a Notable Mention for users looking for more versatility and made small edits to the text for clarity.
Apr 24, 2025:
We've made minor updates to the text and checked that the products are in stock.
Mar 26, 2025:
We've checked the text for accuracy and clarity, but our product recommendations haven't changed.
Mar 21, 2025:
Added some links to other recommendation articles.
All Reviews
Our recommendations above are what we think are currently the top small air fryers for most people. We factor in the price, feedback from our visitors, and availability.
If you'd like to do the work of choosing yourself, here's the list of all air fryer reviews sorted by size. Be careful not to get too caught up in the details. While no air fryer is perfect, many are good enough to please almost everyone, and some differences are not noticeable unless you look for them.