Are an air fryer and a convection oven the same thing?
Did you know an air fryer is essentially a small convection oven? It’s kind of like how baby carrots are just regular carrots with a different label and better marketing. Both convection ovens and air fryers use a fan to circulate hot air around food, encouraging faster, more even cooking and better browning than oven air that stays still.
In practice, though, they aren’t exactly interchangeable. A range convection oven has a much larger cavity designed to hold multiple racks that can fit casserole dishes and sheet pans. An air fryer, on the other hand, concentrates all that heat and airflow inside a much smaller cooking chamber, often surrounding food in a perforated basket that exposes more of its surface to the moving hot air.
That means both appliances can bake, roast and crisp food. But a range oven is better for making a large dinner or full sheets of cookies, while an air fryer can be faster and more efficient when you just want to crisp up a few chicken tenders or some leftover fries.
And how do toaster ovens fit into the conversation? The term “toaster oven” actually describes an appliance’s size and general format, not necessarily its heating method. Some toaster ovens have fans and qualify as convection ovens, while basic models that rely only on heating elements don’t.
Want to learn more about each appliance type and when it’s best to use them? Read on for all the details.
What is an air fryer?
An air fryer is a compact countertop convection appliance. It has a heating element that produces high heat and a powerful fan that moves the heat rapidly through a small cooking chamber. Food generally sits in a basket or on a perforated crisper plate, allowing hot air to reach its top, bottom and sides.
Despite the name, an air fryer does not fry food in the traditional sense. Deep frying submerges ingredients in hot oil, while air frying uses circulating hot air to brown and dehydrate the surface of food. A small amount of oil can improve flavor and crispness when you air fry food, but it’s not necessary.
What is a convection oven?
A range convection oven looks and operates similar to a conventional oven, with one important addition: A fan circulates heated air throughout the inside. Some models use a separate heating element around the fan.
The airflow reduces hot and cool pockets, helping food brown and cook more evenly. This is especially useful for roasting meat and vegetables.
What are the biggest differences between an air fryer and a convection oven?
While air fryers and convection ovens use the same cooking method, they have quite a few differences:
- Capacity: A traditional convection oven is much larger and can accommodate multiple racks, large dishes and full meals.
- Preheating: An air fryer’s small chamber heats up quickly and typically needs only a few minutes to preheat.
- Cooking speed: The basket on an air fryer exposes the food to concentrated airflow, so it often cooks it more quickly.
- Crisping: The concentrated airflow in an air fryer also allows it to crisp food more than a conventional convection oven can.
- Versatility: Convection ovens are also considerably more versatile than air fryers — they can accommodate standard bakeware, Dutch ovens, sheet pans, pizza stones and other large dishes.
- Energy: Heating a small air fryer typically requires less energy than heating a full range oven (plus, it doesn’t heat up your whole kitchen on hot days).
- Cleanup: Many air fryers have removable baskets and other cooking elements, and many of them are dishwasher-safe.
So which one is better?
It depends on what you need. A traditional convection oven is great if you often make large meals or need to fit bigger cookware. An air fryer is a good choice if you value speed and convenience or typically cook small portions.
Editors’ picks for air fryers
Our editors loved the intuitive buttons and ease of use of this 4-quart air fryer. Its glass basket has a window at the top that allows you to see the food you’re cooking from all angles, which was another plus for our testers (even though they noted that glass requires more careful lifting and handling.
The wildly popular Ninja Crispi offers a 1,500-watt heating pod with PFAS-free glass cooking containers that come in both 6-cup and 4-quart sizes. It’s easy to use and comes in fun colors that add charm to any kitchen. Plus, the cooking containers are dishwasher-safe, nest for easy storage and can be used for serving and stashing leftovers.
This air fryer was named the Best Bang for Your Buck by our testers. It offers simple controls to choose between four touchscreen presets, adjustable heat and a Hi-Fry setting that reaches 450 degrees for additional browning. Its compact 6-quart basket serves roughly three to five people, and both the nonstick basket and rack are dishwasher-safe
Ninja DZ201 Foodi 8-Quart 6-in-1 DualZone 2-Basket Air Fryer
The Ninja Foodi has two separate baskets side-by-side, so you can prepare a main and side with different temperatures and timings, using SmartFinish to coordinate their completion times. Our testers named it the best dual air fryer because it’s feature-packed and easy to use, with the dishwasher-safe baskets and high capacity adding a ton of convenience.
