Comparing Basket vs Oven-style Air Fryers: 6 Categories

Decisions, decisions, decisions!

You know you want an air fryer, but you’re not sure which is the best type for you. There are the super popular basket-style that seem to be what most people have, but you can see the benefits of the oven type. 

Which is better? 

Here’s our quick answer:

Buy an oven-style air fryer if:

• You want to cook large items like chickens or roasts
• You want to cook larger quantities of food at the same time
• You have lots of counter space

Basket air fryers would be a better choice if:

• You have a tighter budget
• You typically only cook for a few people
• You have limited counter space

One air fryer style isn’t necessarily better than the other quality-wise, but one may be better for you and your family in terms of what you cook and how much of it you cook—oh, and how much room you have on your counter. 

If you have the budget and the room, instead of comparing basket and oven-styles, get both. If not, you need to consider things like the cost to purchase and run. Also, depending on what you cook, having racks where you spread out several layers of food may be better than dumping everything into a basket. 

Need more info? Keep on reading!

Basket vs Oven-style Air Fryers : Detailed Comparison

Not sure if you want to invest in a basket or oven-style air fryer? First up, let me tell you that one isn’t “better” than the other. They’re each unique and offer different features, so one may be better in your situation, but that’s it. 

If you’re looking to replace your traditional oven with something smaller and more energy-efficient, the oven-style, which will often allow you to cook larger foods—larger chickens and roasts, for example—then your choice is clear. The oven-style is better for your household. 

If you’re looking to cook smaller quantities in something that would complement your existing oven and may want to cook a few different foods using different methods at the same time, a single or dual basket air fryer could be right for you. 

But there’s more, so let’s address all comparisons. 

1. Price

Given the many different styles and sizes of air fryers in general, it’s not surprising there’s a fair range of prices.

Basket-style Air Fryer

These air fryers range in price from about $50 up to $300 depending on size and features.

Oven-style Air Fryer 

While you can find some cheaper, typically these start at around $100 and can go up to about $500 for something like the Breville Smart Oven Air Fryer Pro.

Price Winner – No Clear Winner

Given the range in pricing, there is no clear winner. If you have a set budget, you can find something in your price range with either a basket-style air fryer or oven-style.

Having said that, the biggest oven-style is much more expensive than the biggest basket-style, but it’s also nearly twice the size in terms of capacity.

2. Capacity 

If you’re a household of one or two compared with the household of five or six, clearly, capacity is a big issue.

Basket-style Air Fryer

This type of air fryer comes in a huge range of sizes. So it really doesn’t matter if you are single or a couple or all the way up to a large family, you can find basket-style air fryers — either single or dual basket — that will suit your family. However, they typically max out at about 10-quart capacity.

Oven-style Air Fryer 

While most basket-style air fryers top out at around 10-quart capacity, and oven-style will nearly double that. As an example, the Instant Pot Omni Plus will hold 19 quarts.

That means you have enough room for a 12-inch pizza, a large chicken, or you could even toast six slices of bread.

Capacity Winner – Oven-style

At nearly double the size, the oven-style air fryer is the clear winner in the capacity category. 

3. Cooking Functions 

When you get past the cheaper, $50 basket models, many air fryers come with a large variety of alternative cooking methods.

Basket-style Air Fryer

Many basket-style models come with the following functions in addition to air frying:

• Broil
• Reheat
• Dehydrate
• Roasted
• Bake

Oven-style Air Fryer

This style of air fryer comes with the above-mentioned cooking functions plus several others. Here are a few common functions:

• Toast
• Bagel
• Warm
• Pizza
• Slow cook
• Cookies

Cooking Functions Winner – Oven-style 

With several additional cooking functions not available on basket-style air fryers, the oven-style is the clear winner.

4. Power Consumption 

Trying to cook on a budget? Then the amount of electricity your air fryer will use is something to consider.

Basket-style Air Fryer

These typically have a lower wattage when compared to oven-style fryers. Their power ranges from 800 to 1500 watts, depending on the temperature you’re cooking at, making them extremely efficient for cooking smaller portions.

Oven-style Air Fryer

Since this style has more cooking capacity, they usually come with a higher wattage, typically ranging from 1500 to 1800 watts, but this enables them to cook larger quantities of food.

Power Consumption Winner – Basket-style

From a pure math standpoint, the basket-style does use less power. However, given the range of wattage in each style, it is possible to choose something from each category that uses comparable wattage.

5. Noise

Since air fryers — regardless of basket or oven-style — use fans, they produce noise.

Basket-style Air Fryer

Since, with a few exceptions, most basket-style air fryers are smaller, they tend to produce less noise during operation. However, the larger, more powerful units will produce higher amounts of noise.

Oven-style Air Fryer

The larger convection fans in the bigger, oven-style units may lead to slightly higher noise levels than what you’d find in the basket-style models. However, they’re not excessively loud.

Noise winner — No Clear Winner

Regardless of the style, your air fryer will make noise. The deciding factor on noise level often has nothing to do with the style, but more to do with the size and capacity of the unit, since the larger the unit, the more powerful, and the louder.

6. Cleaning 

It doesn’t matter what style of air fryer you have, it’s important to keep it clean. But is one more difficult to maintain than the other?

Basket-style Air Fryer

This style of air fryer typically has less parts, meaning less clean up. Additionally, many of the parts are dishwasher safe.

Oven-style Air Fryer

Since they often have more parts, these take a bit more to clean. It’s not necessarily more difficult, just a bit more work. 

Cleaning Winner – Basket-style 

The only reason why this style wins is because there are typically less parts to clean. But it’s not a harder task.  

Comparing Basket & Oven Air Fryers 

Many people may wonder which is better, a basket-style or oven-style air fryer. Ultimately, is going to depend on your cooking needs — how many people you cook for and what you cook.

Buy an oven-style air fryer if:

• You want to cook large items like chickens or roasts
• You want to cook larger quantities of food at the same time
• You have lots of counter space

Basket air fryers would be a better choice if:

• You have a tighter budget
• You typically only cook for a few people
• You have limited counter space

Hopefully, this information will help you make an informed decision. While you’re here why not check out some of our related posts below? Perhaps we can help you with something else.