Our verdict: The best air fryer in 2026 is the Ninja Foodi Dual Zone AF300UK. It tops our ranking with 8.6 out of 10.
Ninja Foodi Dual Zone AF300UK
8.6/10Best Choice
A 7.6L air fryer made of two separate 3.8L drawers, each with its own settings, so a main and a side can finish at the same time. It suits a household that often cooks two things at once and has a wide stretch of worktop to give it.
Each bar shows where it places among the 10 air fryers in this guide, so a full bar is 1st of 10. What the review sites say counts for most of the score.
What review sites say1st of 10
How happy owners are1st of 10
How new it is10th of 10
Why No. 1 beats No. 2
The Ninja Foodi Dual Zone AF300UK (8.6) beats the Ninja Max Pro Air Fryer 6.2L AF180UK (8.4) because it does a little better with the review sites and leaves owners a little happier. No. 2 is the newer design, but not by enough to close the gap.
About the Ninja Foodi Dual Zone AF300UK
The AF300UK has two pull-out drawers side by side, 3.8L each and 7.6L in all. Ninja's information sheet says each fits 1kg of food. Zone 1 is the left drawer and Zone 2 the right, and each has its own heating element and fan, so the two can run different functions, temperatures and times. You can also fill one drawer and leave the other empty.
There are six functions. Max Crisp is for frozen food such as chips and nuggets, and takes a time only, up to 30 minutes. Air Fry and Reheat run for up to an hour, and Roast and Bake for up to four hours. Dehydrate runs from one to twelve hours, with food in two layers: one on the drawer floor, one on the crisper plate above it. Temperatures run from 40°C to 240°C. The manual says no preheating is needed.
Sync is for two different foods. Set each zone, press Sync, and the zone with the shorter time shows Hold, then starts itself with a beep so both finish together. Match copies Zone 1's settings to Zone 2 for a double batch of one food. You can end one zone early and let the other carry on. Pulling a drawer out pauses that zone, and in Sync or Match the other one pauses too. Leave a drawer out for more than a minute or two and the unit switches off.
The box holds the unit, two non-stick drawers, a non-stick crisper plate for each and a quick start guide with cooking charts and recipes. Drawers and plates are dishwasher safe, though Ninja recommends hand-washing the drawers to make them last. The main unit takes a damp cloth. Spare parts are sold by Ninja.
What owners report about the Ninja Foodi Dual Zone AF300UK
Owners and reviewers like the cooking: crisp chips and chicken, and Sync that finishes both drawers together. The controls need only a few button presses. Expert Reviews found Max Crisp quick on frozen chips and nuggets. One Mumsnet reviewer, who has owned it for over two years and uses it about four times a week, reaches for it before the oven for most meals.
Size is the main complaint: Expert Reviews calls it very big and unusually wide. Inside, the drawers are small for the machine. The Mumsnet reviewer put each tray at about 20 by 15cm and uses the oven for anything bulky. There is no stirring paddle, so chips need a shake about every five minutes. On noise, the same reviewer hears some but rates it below a cooker-hood fan, and the manual warns that the fan can blow light food about.
Reports from months of use are mixed. The Mumsnet reviewer mentions one chore after two years: scraping out the oil that collects under the crisper plates. In a Mumsnet forum thread about a Ninja dual-zone fryer, some owners say the plates lost their non-stick within a year and blame aerosol oil sprays and heavy grease, while others find theirs unchanged after one or two years.
Who the Ninja Foodi Dual Zone AF300UK suits
It suits a household that wants a main and a side ready together, or cooks a lot of frozen food. It needs plenty of worktop space, and the drawers need a shake partway through.
Look elsewhere if space is tight: the Ninja Air Fryer PRO 4.7L AF140UK is a compact single drawer for one or two people. For a bigger household, the Tefal Easy Fry Dual XXL EY942 splits 11L into a 6.5L and a 4.5L drawer, and the Ninja Max Pro Air Fryer 6.2L AF180UK has one large square drawer for a single big batch.
Questions about the Ninja Foodi Dual Zone AF300UK
Is the Ninja DZ300UK the same as the AF300UK?
Nearly. Both are listed at 7.6L (two 3.8L drawers) with the same six functions, Sync and Match, and a weight of 8.2kg. The only difference the listings show is the finish: John Lewis has the DZ300UK in grey, Euronics has the AF300UK in black.
What's the difference between the Ninja AF300UK and AF400UK?
Mostly size: the AF400UK has two 4.75L drawers (9.5L in all) where the AF300UK has two 3.8L drawers (7.6L). It is heavier too: John Lewis lists 8.8kg, against 8.2kg for the AF300UK. The six functions, Sync and Match are the same on both.
What's the difference between the Ninja AF200UK and AF300UK?
The AF200UK has four functions: Air Fry, Max Crisp, Roast and Reheat. The AF300UK has those plus Bake and Dehydrate. Both have two 3.8L drawers (7.6L in all) with Sync and Match.
How big is the Ninja AF300UK?
About 31.5cm high, 37.5cm wide and 35cm deep, as Appliances Direct lists it. Euronics gives 32.5cm high, 41.5cm wide and the same 35cm depth. Ninja's manual asks for space above and on all sides for airflow.
What can't you cook in the Ninja AF300UK air fryer?
Ninja's manual lists no banned foods. It says not to use the unit for deep-frying or to overfill the drawers, and that wet, battered food needs flour, then egg, then breadcrumbs pressed on firmly so the fan doesn't blow them off.
How do you start the Ninja AF300UK?
Wash the drawers and crisper plates before the first use, then plug it in and press the power button. Put the crisper plate in a drawer for crisp results, add food, slide it in, choose a function such as Air Fry, set the temperature and time with the arrows and press START/STOP. Zone 1 is selected by default; press Zone 2 first to use the other drawer.
Other air fryer picks
The other badge winners in our air fryers ranking.
Every score here comes from our ranking model; no editor sets the order. Most of each score is what the review sites say: the scores their own reviews give each model, and whether their best-of lists name it. For this guide we read BBC Good Food, Expert Reviews, Good Housekeeping UK, T3, TechRadar and Trusted Reviews. The rest is how happy owners are, held back where few owners have rated a product, and how new it is. Value for money earns its own badge rather than a higher place. We compared 19 models for this guide before settling on these ten.
Brands can't pay to be included or to move up. We last checked these picks in October 2026.
