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. 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.
Quick Look
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Best Small Air Fryer
Size8.0Cooking Capacity7.4Air Frying8.0Measured Capacity6.5 qt (6.2 L)Nonstick Coating TypeCeramicSee all our test resultsDual Cooking ChambersNoThe best small air fryer we've tested is the Ninja Air Fryer Pro XL AF181. This 6.5-quart model is a great option if you're short on counter space but still want enough capacity to cook for a few people. It's significantly smaller than other 6.5-quart air fryers, so it doesn't take up too much space on your counter, and it fits into cupboards easily. There's a decent amount of surface area in its basket, so it's pretty easy to arrange food in a single layer. Compared to other Ninja air fryers, it has a taller basket, so it's especially handy if you often run out of vertical real estate when cooking something like a whole chicken.
When it comes to performance, this air fryer stands out for its cooking speed. It cooks faster than most other air fryers, so your fries, wings, or veggies will be ready in no time. Unfortunately, this model doesn't cook as evenly as other air fryers from the brand, leaving a significant portion undercooked. This difference likely comes down to its slower fan speed on air fry mode, however, so its 'Max Crisp' setting might be a better fit for air fryer staples if you like your meals and snacks extra crispy. Beyond these settings, it offers a lot of versatility. There's a wide range of temperature and fan speed settings, along with six preset modes, so this air fryer is also a great choice for roasting, baking, or dehydrating. Ultimately, it offers a lot of functionality in a very compact package.
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Best Upper Mid-Range Small Air Fryer
Size7.5Cooking Capacity7.7Air Frying8.0Measured Capacity6.3 qt (6.0 L)Nonstick Coating TypePTFESee all our test resultsDual Cooking ChambersNoIf you have a bit more space to work with and want something a little cheaper, the COSORI TurboBlaze is a great option. It's slightly wider than the Ninja, with a smaller 6.3-quart capacity, but it has significantly more surface area in its shallow basket. This makes it easier to spread food out in a single layer for crispier food, as we saw in our testing results. This air fryer makes very good-quality fried food, outperforming the other options on this list. By the time your food is finished, just a small portion is undercooked or burnt. And although it can't cook as quickly as the Ninja Air Fryer Pro XL AF181, it still cooks faster than most other air fryers.
What really makes this air fryer stand out, however, is its versatility. Thanks to a wide range of fan speed and temperature settings, you can use this compact air fryer to proof dough, bake, dehydrate, broil, and more. It's worth noting that its maximum fan speed is actually a little too high for optimal results, so you may want to experiment to find the right settings for your recipes. While you can't change the fan speed manually, the manual includes information about which fan speed corresponds to each setting. While this might be a bit of a hassle, if you want an air fryer that's compact yet versatile, the TurboBlaze is a fantastic option.
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Best Mid-Range Small Air Fryer
Size7.5Cooking Capacity6.8Air Frying7.7Measured Capacity4.2 qt (4.0 L)Nonstick Coating TypeCeramicSee all our test resultsDual Cooking ChambersNoThe Ninja AF101 is one of the brand's earliest models, but despite being released nearly a decade ago, it remains the best option if you're looking for a compact air fryer at a mid-range price. It's a little taller than the COSORI TurboBlaze, but it takes up less counter space, so it's easy to find a spot for this air fryer. That said, at 4.2 quarts, it also has less capacity and a smaller basket surface area, so it's best suited to small portions. It offers decent frying quality, cooking most of your food to a crispy golden brown, though a pretty large portion also under- or overcooks. Thanks to its impressive cooking speed, you don't have to wait for your food to finish cooking.
With just four preset cooking modes, this model doesn't offer the versatility of our top picks, but you can still do a lot with this diminutive air fryer. It doesn't get as hot as the models above, but it can reach a low enough fan speed and temperature for dehydrating, and its maximum fan speed helps it finish cooking quickly. If you're not set on the newest air fryer on the market, this classic model is still a good option.
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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 bigger than the Ninja AF101, but it doesn't take up much more counter space. The basket has a larger 6-quart capacity to match, as well as additional surface area, allowing you to make larger batches of fries, onion rings, or veggies. 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.
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Best Cheap Small Air Fryer
Size7.9Cooking Capacity6.8Air Frying6.9Measured Capacity2.7 qt (2.6 L)Nonstick Coating TypePTFESee all our test resultsDual Cooking ChambersNoIf you want to spend as little as possible on a small air fryer, the Gotham Steel Air Fryer is worth a look. This 'As Seen On TV' air fryer has a tiny 2.7-quart capacity with an extremely compact design to match. As you might expect, this pint-sized air fryer can't compete with the pricier options above, including the Beautiful 6qt Digital. However, for less than $40, it offers a lot of value, outperforming options with a similar capacity, especially those in a similar price range.
It makes decent-quality fries, leaving more than half of each batch crispy, but also undercooking and burning a pretty large proportion. It preheats quickly, but cooks fairly slowly, resulting in a cooking speed that is just alright. This performance makes it a reasonable option for crispy snacks if you have limited space. And while it doesn't offer much functionality beyond basic air frying, if you want a simple, compact option for making fries or frozen hash browns in a cramped kitchen or dorm room, it delivers satisfactory performance, and the price is certainly right.
Notable Mentions
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Ninja Pro AF141:
The Ninja Pro AF141 is a bit smaller than the COSORI TurboBlaze, with a small capacity to match. It's not as versatile as the COSORI, but it preheats and cooks faster. Plus, it maintains a more stable temperature throughout the process.
See our review -
Ninja Crispi Pro AS101:
The Ninja Crispi Pro AS101 is a glass air fryer with a unique design; it has swappable cooking chambers that double as storage. It offers better frying quality and more versatility than the Ninja Air Fryer Pro XL AF181, but it cooks more slowly.
See our review -
Dash Compact:
The Dash Compact has a tiny 2-quart capacity and is even smaller than the Gotham Steel Air Fryer. It stands out for its size, but 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
Jan 26, 2026:
We changed this article to list our recommendations by price. All picks have been updated accordingly.
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.
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.