Comparison
Two of the most popular kitchen appliances on Amazon. Here is how to decide which one you actually need.
This is one of the most common questions in kitchen gear: should I buy an Instant Pot or an air fryer first? They are both wildly popular, both claim to revolutionize your cooking, and both sit around the same $90 price point. But they do completely different things, and the right choice depends entirely on how you cook and what you eat. Here is the honest breakdown.
You eat a lot of frozen foods. Frozen fries, chicken nuggets, fish sticks, mozzarella sticks, and similar items come out dramatically better in an air fryer than in a conventional oven. Crispier, faster, and with no preheating.
You want crispy food without deep frying. Air fryers use 70 to 95% less oil than traditional frying while producing surprisingly similar results. If you love crispy textures, this is the appliance for you.
You reheat leftovers often. Reheated pizza, fried chicken, fries, and similar foods taste dramatically better from an air fryer than from a microwave. This alone justifies the purchase for many people.
You cook quick meals for 1 to 4 people. Air fryers excel at fast, small-batch cooking. Most dishes are done in 10 to 20 minutes.
Our pick: The COSORI TurboBlaze 6-Qt (~$90) is the best air fryer for most people. See our full air fryer guide for more options.
You cook soups, stews, chili, or beans regularly. The pressure cooker function turns hours of stovetop simmering into 30 to 45 minutes of hands-off cooking. A pot of chili that would take 3 hours on the stove takes about 25 minutes under pressure.
You meal prep large batches. The Instant Pot excels at cooking big portions of rice, grains, shredded chicken, and similar bulk-prep staples. It is the backbone of many meal prep routines.
You want to replace multiple appliances. A single Instant Pot handles pressure cooking, slow cooking, sauteing, rice cooking, steaming, yogurt making, and more. If counter space is limited, this versatility is valuable.
You cook tougher, cheaper cuts of meat. Pressure cooking transforms inexpensive cuts like chuck roast, pork shoulder, and bone-in chicken into fall-apart-tender meals in a fraction of the usual time.
Our pick: The Instant Pot Duo Plus 6-Qt (~$90) is the best model for most homes. See our kitchen gadgets guide for a full review.
Buy the air fryer first if you eat a lot of frozen food, want crispy results, and cook quick weeknight meals for a small household.
Buy the Instant Pot first if you cook soups, stews, beans, and large-batch meals, or if you want one appliance that replaces several.
Eventually, get both. They complement each other perfectly. The Instant Pot handles the slow, hands-off cooking while the air fryer handles the fast, crispy stuff. Together they cover about 80% of most people's weeknight cooking needs.
No. An air fryer cannot pressure cook, slow cook, or steam. They serve completely different purposes. An air fryer crisps and browns food quickly, while an Instant Pot braises, stews, and tenderizes.
Some Instant Pot models include an air fryer lid attachment. These work, but they do not perform as well as a dedicated air fryer. The basket design of standalone air fryers produces better airflow and crispier results. If you have to choose just one appliance, a dedicated unit will outperform a hybrid.
Yes. The air fryer reduces oil usage by up to 95%. The Instant Pot makes it easy to cook whole foods like beans, grains, and lean proteins quickly. Both appliances support healthy cooking in different ways.
Affiliate Disclosure: This site contains affiliate links to Amazon. When you purchase through these links, we may earn a small commission at no additional cost to you. We only recommend products we believe deliver genuine value.