QUICK LIST
Find the best dual-zone air fryer for your kitchen with this tried and tested guide, which is complete with favourites from Ninja, Instant, and more. Our findings? This is the air fryer type that busy families or keen cooks need to really make the most of their kitchen space.
After reviewing a host of these larger, two-basket versions of the best air fryers, we're sold on just how revolutionary these appliances are. Their popularity has simply been soaring in the last few years, with new releases with clever designs detailed below too.
With a low cost to run due to their energy-efficient designs, investing in one of these dual-basket air fryers is a decision that will pay for itself in the long run, with hundreds of pounds worth of energy likely saved from ditching your oven.
Thanks to the usefulness of these appliances, we suspect the air fryer hype isn't going anywhere fast. But if you're not sure whether you want a single or double-drawer model but know you need to cook for a crowd, then be sure to check out our guide to the best air fryers for a family of 4.
The best dual zone air fryers - The quick list
Not much time to spare on your hunt for the best dual zone air fryer? That's where our quick guide comes in. Click the text at the bottom of the listing if you do want to find out more before you buy.
Best overall
RRP: £179.00
This is the best dual-zone air fryer on the market. Two equal-sized drawers, supreme cooking power, easy-to-use controls, 6 functions (!) and a sleek design that goes further than any other we've tried. Overall we think that the newer Ninja FlexDrawer (at #3) is the best air fryer ever, but this is the best if you want to keep it simple with just separate 2 drawers.
Buy it if: you want the best air fryer with 2 separate drawers.
Don't buy it if: you want to swap between 1 and 2 drawers - check out #3 instead.
Best easy view
RRP: £169.99
Our favourite feature with this air fryer is the two windows located on the front panels so that you can monitor the cooking progress without letting any heat out. This Instant model isn't quite as powerful as the Ninja at #1 and lacks the same huge temperature range, but it's great to use and the results are almost as impressive.
Buy it if: you want a save a few pennies compared to buying a Ninja.
Don't buy it if: you want the added power and temperature range of a Ninja.
Best flexible
RRP: £219.00
This can act as both a dual-zone model and a single-compartment air fryer depending on how you place the divider. It's a little different to the classic Ninja Foodi, but we think it's even better overall, and essentially makes your oven redundant thanks to its huge capacity. You can't open each drawer individually, however, as you can with the #1 on this list.
Buy it if: you want the most versatile air fryer out there.
Don't buy it if: you want to use two drawers separately.
Best Ninja alternative
RRP: £199.00
If you feel like you're seeing double, that's because this is very similar to our air fryer at #3, but is more affordable. Its capacity isn't as big as the Ninja, but it's equally as easy to use, and the cooking times will beat your oven easily. With an 8.5 litre capacity, however, it'll be too big for single persons to use.
Buy it if: you like the multi-zone design but want to save some money.
Don't buy it if: you want the largest capacity possible - pick #3 instead.
Our favourite from Tefal
RRP: £179.99
The design of this air fryer is a bit quirky, as it has one drawer that's much larger than the other so that the split is more 2/3 to 1/3 across the drawers. Our reviewer was skeptical at first, but eventually won over by the fact that she could use the bigger draw for a chicken. It's definitely faster than your oven at cooking whatever you'd like, too.
Buy it if: you like the idea of one bigger and one smaller drawer.
Don't buy it if: you'd rather have equal spacing.
Best affordable
RRP: £99.99
Lakeland air fryers are a great affordable alternative to Ninja and Instant, and for your money, you get two cooking zones here and viewing windows just as with #2 on this list. The drawbacks? It's not dishwasher safe, and it's a little less time efficient than other more expensive options here.
Buy it if: you're looking to save. Even better, wait for it to feature on our round-up of air fryer deals.
Don't buy it if: you care about getting the top-rated model.
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Best smaller dual-zone
RRP: £199.99
This is another affordable option and we love that it's a smaller dual-zone option, as not every home will need litres and litres of space. It's designed to work similarly to the Ninja FlexDrawer and Instant VersaZone, and our tester loved the added feature of the shake reminder when testing too. It's less slick than other options here, and you can't control each cooking zone independently, but if it's on sale for a good price, it'll serve you well.
Buy it if: you'd prefer to save space with a taller air fryer rather than a wide one.
Don't buy it if: you want to get the best out there for your money.
Best dual zone air fryer overall
The Ninja Foodi MAX Dual Zone air fryer has a huge fan following - and it's easy to see why once you get your hands on one. Ninja is one of - if not THE leading air fryer brand on the market, and they've crystallized what is so great about this type of cooking with this dual basket invention, which we also voted as our pick of the best Ninja appliances out there.
In short, you can cook two different foods in two different ways (pick from six functions including the ability to bake) at the same time, and then sync them up to finish at the exact right moment so that everything will arrive at the table still hot. What that allows you to do in reality is to experiment with a range of different food types at home that you might not have even imagined just yet, such as dehydrated fruit snacks or a lemon drizzle cake.
This air fryer was tested by our Head of Reviews Millie Fender, who called it 'one of the best ever'. She loved just how high the temperature could be set - up to 240 degrees, a feature which makes it so versatile due to the type of things you can cook up. She also found that it was a standout winner for crisping up potato wedges and other fried favourites.
While it might be too hefty for smaller kitchens, this is the air fryer you should opt for if you can stretch your budget, and if you're cooking for more than one. If the budget is your only concern, then do take a look through our Ninja Kitchen discount codes to make sure that you're getting the best deal possible.
Our full Ninja Foodi MAX Dual Zone AF400UK air fryer review has the full details.
Best dual zone air fryer with windows
We're not afraid to say that we think the Instant Vortex Plus Dual Drawer air fryer deserves more hype than it currently has. This pick is a real contender to the Ninja for the crowning glory of being the best dual basket air fryer out there, with a design that is understated, clever and better looking than the Ninja (or so we think).
The front of both baskets has those magical ClearCook see-through windows that allow you to check on the progress of whatever is inside without losing any heat at all, a feature that no Ninja has. The interface is a dream to work with - and during testing, we've loved how easy it is to set up.
Like the Ninja, this air fryer has five other functions, and all of them are perfect for everyday cooking. The bake function is ideal for bread, the reheat function works for leftovers and you can even dehydrate oranges inside with the ability to set the temperature low for a long period (up to 12 hours).
This is the air fryer that our Ecommerce Editor Molly now uses every single day, saying that it is a miracle for midweek meals. User reviews agree that this air fryer is a genius buy too, with many saying that they are impressed with the high quality of the appliance, as well as the range of different foods they can experiment with cooking inside.
Our full Instant Vortex Dual Zone air fryer review has the full details.
Best flexible dual zone air fryer
If you know you want a dual-zone air fryer but don't necessarily need to use two sections all of the time, then the Ninja Foodi FlexDrawer Air Fryer is the one for you. Instead of dithering, why not get both, with this model offering ultimate versatility? You can insert a divider when you want to use the two drawers separately or keep the mammoth single drawer for cuts of meat and larger portions.
Our reviewer Helen was impressed with everything she cooked in this air fryer, the crowning glory being the leg of lamb that fit spaciously inside. She also made a cake and several easy lunches, like a toastie, proving that anything your oven can do, a Ninja can do better.
This will be too large for single-person households, and you'll need to reserve a lot of space for it on your worktop or in a cupboard if you do invest. Once you've done that though, you'll find this air fryer is wholly worth it, even though it's the most expensive Ninja air fryer out there at the minute.
Our Ninja Foodi FlexDrawer Air Fryer review has the full details.
Best Ninja alternative
Our expert reviewer Helen said she 'couldn't think of many reasons not to buy this air fryer', which is high praise indeed from our hard-to-please expert.
The premise of the VersaZone is very similar to Ninja's FlexDrawer, with the choice of either one mega compartment or two smaller zones when air frying. After testing, Helen concluded that this is a top-notch air fryer with a capacity that’ll be ample for most families.
The flexibility to use it in either single or dual zone mode immediately solves the dilemma of whether to buy a single or double drawer air fryer and gives you the best of both worlds.
Another thing we love about this air fryer is its affordability. Though it has an RRP of £199.99, it's often reduced to far less, which really is excellent value for money. The only downsides Helen could find are that it might be a tad big for 1-2 person households and that in our review process, it couldn’t fit a chicken in it whole. But all-in-all it cooks well and is easy to use, with a quality that's Ninja-eqsue without the price tag.
Our Instant Vortex Plus VersaZone Air Fryer review has the full details.
Best dual zone air fryer from Tefal
Tefal is a reliably good cookware and appliance brand, and in this vein, it's no surprise. that this is a reliably good air fryer. It's got a quirky USP too, with one larger drawer with a capacity of 5.2 litres and one smaller drawer of 3.1 litres.
At first, our reviewer Helen was skeptical as to the point of this split, but quickly found that it was very useful for cooking large cuts of meat and a side of veg in one fell swoop. She showed that by cooking a whole chicken in the large drawer with ease, alongside some veggies. It certainly gives a different edge to normally split two dr