Most people enjoy fried foods but I know how the extra oil or fat can be dangerous to your health. An air fryer lets you cook healthier foods with at least 80% removal of cooking fat from your food.
Buying the best air fryer under $100 gives you exceptional value for your money by saving some extra coins and getting a quality performance.
An air fryer basically cooks food with hot air instead of hot oil making it a healthy appliance to have in your kitchen which is the best alternative to regular fryers.
Make sure to have the right air fryer which is easy to manage and control the heat to give you the best results. There are too many kitchen technologies available in the market and it’s a great investment to conduct thorough research before buying your first air fryer or upgrade.
For a guide to buying an air fryer with quality, manageability, health in mind, and quickest cook times, check out my top ten options for best air fryer under $100, below.
Contents
Top 6 Best Air Fryers Under $100
1. GoWISE USA GW22956 7-Quart Electric Air Fryer
This GoWISE USA GW22956 7-Quart Electric air fryer has the most attractive, cool, and unique features to make you love it at first sight. The most interesting about GoWISE products they never duplicate the same features as each air fryer model is unique from the others.
It features seven presets that can cook chicken, fish, meat, steak, shrimp, cake, and chips. The temperatures can also manually be changed if you like it that way.
When cooking in the air fryer is done, a beep will sound off and the unit will switch to standby mode. The food sits in a detachable, non-stick Calphalon coated cooking basket.
The smart design means that when you pull out the drawer, you can then detach the basket via a button guard which prevents the draw from dropping off. The cooking basket and the drawer are dishwasher safe making the job super easy.
The pre-sets make the job all too easy and the included 14 recipe booklet is great for beginners. It has 3.7QT or 5.8QT variety so I can pick which one suits you.
2. BLACK + DECKER HF 110SBD
This BLACK + DECKER HF 110SBD air fryer is absolutely not the cheapest but it is the best-priced air fryer on the market. If you are looking for a brand name that you can trust and enjoy the quality it provides, then this is your device. The Black +Decker has a 2-liter basket which can be ideal for small families or singles to cook food, reheat leftovers and prepare frozen snacks.
Black + Decker is equipped with dual convection fans to powerfully move the hot air around. This allows you to make crispy foods quickly and without the use of unhealthy oils. The basket is equipped with a cool-touch handle, ensuring that you don’t burn yourself when removing food.
The handle will stay cool throughout the entire process, so you can touch and move it with ease. Both the basket and separator are dishwasher safe, making clean up easy. The surfaces are also non-stick, so no need to line or spray before use.
3. Power Air Fryer XL 5.3 QT Deluxe
The Power Air fryer is the most powerful model available at 1700 Watts that can perform a lot of cooking. The description on the machines states that it can steam, bake, saute grill, and roast your food.
The air fryer comes with a basket divider, which like the Black and Decker Air Fryer, is used to split the cooking basket in two so you can effectively cook two food items.
If you’re cooking for a family (3-4 people) then the larger size is a clear choice, though it is slightly more expensive.
This device automatically shuts down when opened and resumes cooking when closed. It also features an adjustable temperature control button that allows choosing the desired temperature with a limit of 400 degrees F. You can choose between a black and a red finish, thanks to the attractive and modern design, it will surely complement your kitchen.
4. Big Boss Oil-less Air Fryer, 16 Quart, 1300W
The Big Boss air fryer, as the name suggests its a large kitchen appliance with a 16 quart (15L) capacity to cook two dishes on top of each other. The big boss is a game-changer that combines the use of convection, halogen, and infrared heat.
You can just cook two batches of food at the same time as an effective result. It comes with an adjustable temperature of up to 450 F and a timer.
The large capacity and two cooking racks give this air fryer the ability to be on this list.
5. NutriChef Electric Air Fryer
The NutriChef Electric Air Fryer provides you oil-free and healthy food. This air fryer machine is quite simple to use and cost-effective product.
You just have to place your food inside the appliance and the rest will be done by the machine. You can air dry, roast, bake, BBQ, or grill in the appliance.
The heating component of the machine will help to attain a maximum temperature of 400 degrees F.
The coated basket of Teflon conserves the heat for making food with stress-free cleaning ability.
This air fryer possesses a very sleek design and is mainly designed to provide healthy oil-free food toy you and your family. The temperature of the air fryer also gets adjusted as per the requirement of the food placed inside.
Thirty minutes timer is given that automatically shuts down the appliance when the food gets ready. The basket in the fryer is made up of non-stick coating that is very easy to clean.
6. Ninja AF101 Air Fryer, 4 Qt, Black/gray
This Ninja AF101 air fryer aims to make you live a healthy life by using little or no oil at all to fry foods which are made possible by Rapid Circulation Technology.
The 4-quart capacity will give you enough space to cook batches of food while retaining the crispiness that you desire.
The appliance is made from 100% BPA free plastic, so you do not need to worry about chemicals leaking into your foods while you cook. Using a clear digital display, you can set both the timer and the temperature to whatever you desire. The internal components are non-stick, and there are included accessories to help you cook different types of foods.
The fryer basket is detachable, allowing you to move the food from the Air Fryer straight to plates. The large-sized handle helps to keep the basket firmly in place while cooking and then gives you a good-sized area to grip on to while transferring.
Best Air Fryer Under $100 – Buying Guide
Before you dive into these budget-friendly air fryers, you’ll want to make sure you know what you’re looking at in terms of comparing features. Here are some things to consider:
Comparison Table
Product | Color | Capacity |
GoWISE USA GW22956 | Black/Silver | 7 Quarts |
BLACK + DECKER HF 110SBD | Black | 2.11 Quarts |
Power Air Fryer XL 5.3 QT Deluxe | Black | 5.30 Quarts |
Big Boss Oil-less | Grey | 16 Quarts |
NutriChef Electric | Black | 2.71 Quarts |
Ninja AF101 | Black High Gloss Finish | 4 Quarts |
Control System
Is it a digital readout? Does it have buttons or a dial to control the settings? Are there any presets?
The more straightforward the controls are, and the more fine-tuned (i.e. digital control vs. a poorly marked dial), the better your results will be. This also helps your consistency since you can be absolutely sure you set it up exactly the same for every batch of your recipe.
Cooking Capacity
While capacity may not be much of an issue for some households, cooking for a lot of people at once or not wanting to take up a lot of countertop or storage space may be a very high priority issue for some people.
Obviously the higher the cooking capacity you need to have, the larger the appliance will have to be to accommodate. If you can’t fit a large appliance in your kitchen, you may need to be a bit more particular about which model you choose.
Cooking Speed
Capacity may not be much of an issue if you’re working with a super-speedy cook time in one model over another. If you can find an air fryer that fits your budget but cooks your fries just as well in half the time as a more expensive, larger model, then you may have a solid solution for your needs!
The speed at which your air fryer cooks will depend on the heating power, which depends on the wattage. So a higher wattage air fryer will often be able to cook your foods faster than lower wattage.
Watts
The average wattage of an air fryer hovers somewhere around 1500 watts, give or take. Higher watts will cook at higher temps and faster, versus less powerful models, but double-check WHY you want higher wattage first.
If you know you’re only going to be using your air fryer once a month for a basket of fries, don’t both buying the highest wattage available since your cost isn’t worth it.
If you’re going to be cooking many dinners per week for a larger family with your air fryer, then cooking speed/power (and therefore higher wattage) will likely be a higher priority for you and worth a higher price tag.
Cleaning Methods
Can you put any of the parts of your air fryer in the dishwasher? For busy families, this is an almost life-saving convenience. Read about the recommended cleaning and maintenance for the unit you’re eyeing before buying, to make sure you’ve got the time to keep it in clean, hygienic condition!
Best Air Fryer Under $100 FAQ
Which Air Fryer Is Easiest to Clean?
While some options are going to have a few more bells and whistles that make the cleaning an absolute dream, such as the Cosori 5.8 qt air fryer, you likely won’t find these sorts of things in any of these budget-friendly air fryer options.
That said, one of the best ways to make any air fryer easy to clean is to clean it as soon as possible after use. You should also consider using aluminum foil in your air fryer for messier meals, and make it a point to follow the user guide for your specific model, in case there are any nuances that will help you avoid burnt-on food and similar cleaning irritations.
What Can You Not Cook in an Air Fryer?
This is definitely a more succinct question to answer than asking what CAN you cook in an air fryer since there’s almost no limit to what can or can’t go into an air fryer!
You’ll do best to avoid wetter foods, though, like soups and really wet batters. Overly seasoned items can make a headache for cleaning up, and cheese can sometimes run amok when you’re not careful.
Is There Anything Bad About Air Fryers?
Air fryers cook with high heat, much like an oven or grill. As a result, the most commonly cited possible issue with air fryer cooking is high-heat cooking of meat, which has the potential to create some potentially troublesome or harmful byproducts in the meat during cooking transformations.
But since this happens with almost all methods of high-heat meat cooking, this is not something that inherently makes the air fryer the bad guy.
What Are the Disadvantages of Air Fryers?
To expand on the question above, let’s talk about the few disadvantages of air fryers, so you are sure you’re making an informed decision.
Some of these negatives are much more commonly found on the cheaper options, because high prices typically mean higher quality and better experience, whereas the options above are obviously not overly expensive.
Some things people don’t like about air fryers are:
-can be difficult to clean
-may cost more than a deep fryer (investment cost)
-may have longer cook times than a deep fryer
-small batch sizes (not great for large families or large gatherings)
-can be bulky
-can be loud/noisy
-may need a heat-resistant pad to protect counter surfaces (Formica and butcher block are especially incompatible with direct contact to an air fryer)
What Are the Advantages of Air Fryers?
So you know what people don’t always like about air fryers, but yet clearly they buy them anyway.
But what DO people LOVE about their air fryers?
How about:
-cuts calories by 80% versus traditionally deep-fried foods
-considerably less fat versus fried foods, but with similar tastes
-much easier cleanup than a deep fryer
-some models can cook multiple dishes at once
-some models can be seriously multi-capable in the kitchen (check out the Ninja Foodi Air Fryer, for example!)
-faster cook time than deep fryers and ovens, for most recipes/foods
-often more compact than comparably functional toaster ovens
Conclusion
All the reviewed here are great to cook food with little oil or none with a price under 100. The price is lower than others because they have fewer features to perform basic air fryer functions.
They provide similar outcomes but the capacities may differ from each other. I have featured the top-rated brands for an air fryer to make sure the products are of great quality and reputable. Stay healthy with these best air fryers under 100 and get the oil-free food you require.
If you need more features and a larger capacity air fryer, they will come at a higher price. This category of affordable air fryers enables one to own a great air fryer on a budget and still enjoy the services of this appliance.
Richmond Howard started Meal Prepify in 2019 and has helped over a million people learn how to meal prep, get better at meal planning, and create a kitchen they love to use. He’s an avid home chef and loves to bbq, grill out, and make awesome food for family and friends. He’s been featured on MSN, Renaissance Periodization, and Good Financial Cents.