Compact air fryers for one or two people: four models that fit a small UK kitchen

This is the machine to look at if the question is not “which air fryer” but “where would it even go”. The body is about 20.5 cm wide — narrower than most kettles are long — and just under 30 cm tall, so it sits at the end of a worktop or on a shelf where nothing else fits.

The basket is 1.6 litres. Tefal rates it for two portions, and its own support page puts the food quantity at 0.4 kg per batch, which in practice is one main portion of chips or a couple of chicken thighs. Cooking for two means two rounds, and that is the honest trade-off for the footprint. If you are one person, or two people who use an air fryer mainly for sides, snacks and reheating, the small basket stops being a limitation and becomes the point: less to heat, less to clean.

Despite the size it keeps the digital conveniences: a touch display, six preset programmes, an adjustable thermostat from 80 °C to 200 °C, and a 30-minute timer that switches the unit off. The removable parts are dishwasher-safe according to the manual.

Two things to check before buying. Tefal’s own pages disagree on capacity — the support page says 0.4 kg, the accessories page and some retailers say 0.6 kg — so treat the figure as roughly half a kilogram. And the power and weight figures (about 1500 W and 2.7 kg) come from retailer listings rather than a Tefal document; neither changes the decision, but we flag them until confirmed.

The Tower is the opposite philosophy to a touchscreen: a temperature dial and a 30-minute timer dial with a bell. There is nothing to learn and nothing to update, which suits a second home, a student kitchen or anyone who finds preset menus more annoying than useful.

The 900 W element is the least demanding on an older kitchen circuit that already has a kettle and a microwave on it, and the body — about 29 cm wide, 22 cm deep and 30 cm tall by the listing’s figures — is the shallowest of the four. The 1.5-litre basket is the smallest here: one portion of chips or a couple of chicken thighs, and Tower itself pitches it at one or two people who cook in turns.

The limitation is maintenance, and Tower’s manual is unusually direct about it: the pan and basket are hand-wash only, and no part of the appliance goes in the dishwasher. If you rely on the dishwasher for everything, this is the wrong model regardless of its other merits. The manual also asks for at least 10 cm of free space at the back, sides and above, so the small footprint needs a slightly larger clear area than the body suggests.

Tower’s standard guarantee is 12 months, extended to three years in total if you register the appliance within 28 days — worth the two minutes. Tower’s manual gives no dimensions or weight, so the size we quote comes from the listing and is marked as pending.

The Ninja is the point where a compact air fryer stops being a one-portion appliance. The 3.8-litre basket takes, by Ninja’s own description, a 1.35 kg chicken or 900 g of chips — dinner for two in a single round, with room for a shared side.

That capacity costs space: the manual gives 28 cm wide, 34 cm deep and 35 cm tall, and 4.4 kg — though Ninja’s own product page put it at 5.2 kg, so plan for the heavier figure. It is the tallest of the four, so check the gap under your wall cupboard with clearance in mind. The 1550 W element is the most powerful here, which is what a basket this size needs rather than a bonus.

Controls are digital buttons for time and temperature with four functions — air fry, roast, reheat and dehydrate — but no food presets. The basket and crisper plate are dishwasher-safe, and the 0.8 m cord is on the short side for a socket at the far end of a worktop.

One thing to know: Ninja’s own website no longer has a page for the AF100UK and redirects to the newer AF150UK Max. The model is still sold on Amazon at the time of writing, but it is an older design, so check the listing is current before you buy, and expect Ninja’s attention to be on the successor.

The Philips has the most complete feature list of the group and the figures to back it from the manufacturer’s leaflet: a 4.1-litre basket rated for four portions, 13 cooking functions from fry and bake to defrost and toast, seven one-touch presets, and a keep-warm mode that holds food for up to 30 minutes — useful when two people are not eating at the same moment.

It is also, at 29.5 cm, the lower of the two larger machines, so it fits under a wall cupboard more comfortably than the Ninja. The trade-off is in the other two dimensions: 36 cm deep and 26.4 cm wide, on a worktop that needs to be at least 40 cm deep to leave any clearance, and 4.55 kg — the heaviest here, which matters only if it will not have a permanent place.

The 1400 W rating is lower than the Ninja’s for a slightly bigger basket, so on paper it is the slower of the two large models to bring up to temperature; in a domestic kitchen the difference is minutes, not a reason to choose. All removable parts are dishwasher-safe, the cord is 0.8 m, and the guarantee is two years.

The 0.8 kg food figure on the listing is Philips’ number but not on the leaflet, so we treat it as approximate.