Consumer Reports' Highest-Rated Air Fryer Is Surprisingly Under $60

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If you don't yet have an air fryer, it's easy to feel like you're missing out. Anything that can deliver hot, crispy chicken wings to your dinner table without having to brave spatters from frying oil is a worthwhile addition to your kitchen, right? But how do you know which air fryer is right for you? Well, if you take the advice of Consumer Reports, you can buy the Dash Tasti-Crisp DCAF260, which it ranks as the best air fryer on the market — and for less than $60, too.

Using a rubric that scores products out of 100, the anonymous shoppers who work for Consumer Reports tested a whopping 85 air fryers and found the Dash Tasti-Crisp DCAF260 to be the best of the bunch. It got 78 points out of 100, scoring admirably in regards to controls (how easy they are to use, etc.), convenience (how many settings it has), and cleaning (how easy it is to clean). It also got a perfect score for noise, meaning you don't have to worry about your kitchen sounding like an airport tarmac. And to top it all off, you can buy it for just $59.99. It's proof that buying the most expensive air fryer you can find is a mistake that can cost you big.

While the Dash Tasti-Crisp is undeniably a good choice, it's not the only good one on the market. If you're looking for an air fryer with a greater capacity than Dash Tasti-Crisp's 2.6 quarts, for instance, you'd be better served looking at some of the other options. In fact, according to Consumer Reports, there isn't as much of a difference between scores as you might expect: 44 of the air fryers reviewed received a score of 70 or above. Some alternatives to the Dash Tasti-Crisp DCAF260 include the Chefman RJ38-2T (also a 78, earning a perfect score for cleaning but with a smaller capacity than the DCAF260) and the Instant Vortex Plus 140-3079-01 (which got a 77, a perfect score for controls and higher capacity, but with a higher price).

If you're looking for an air fryer to avoid, on the other hand, you might want to steer clear of the Instant Vortex 140-3001-01, which got the absolute lowest score of 48. Unlike its 140-3079-01 brethren, this one has low scores for ease of cleaning and noise, without much in the way of other functions to make up for it. (Then again, it does have a 4.6 out of 5 stars on Amazon, so maybe consumers disagree with Consumer Reports to an extent.) Go for one of the higher-scored options, and you'll be making zucchini fries and preparing frozen Costco foods perfectly.