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Dual baskets and 9 litres now fit the budget. The three numbers that actually decide it
Soleback Team
Under £100 you no longer have to compromise. This bracket now holds genuine dual-basket machines, 9 litre capacities and 230 degree ceilings. The best value is the Tower 6L Vortx Digital at £49.99 if you want one big basket, or the Tower 8L Dual Basket at £69.99 if you want to cook two things at once. Running one costs between 9p and 30p a session at the current energy cap. Buying through the Soleback catalogue returns part of the price.
Most listings sell on the number of presets. That is the least important thing, because after a few weeks you set time and temperature by hand anyway. Three other numbers decide whether you like the machine.
Wattage. In this bracket single baskets run 1300 to 1800 W and dual-zone models need 2000 to 2700 W because they heat two chambers. Below roughly 1400 W on a basket of 4 litres or more, preheating and batch times become noticeable.
Maximum temperature. The least checked and most consequential spec. Most budget models stop at 200 degrees. A few reach 230. That gap is the difference between crisp chicken skin and merely dry chicken skin.
Dishwasher-safe parts. Check whether it is just the basket or the basket and the crisper plate. The plate is the part that collects burnt-on fat, and it is the one you will resent washing by hand.
2 litres: one person, and genuinely compact on the worktop
3.8 to 4.2 litres: one to two people
5 to 6 litres: a family of three to four. Ideal Home puts the family minimum at 5 litres, which it equates to roughly 800 g to 1 kg of chips
8 to 9 litres: four people and up, or batch cooking
One warning on dual-basket machines: an 8 litre dual is two 4 litre drawers, so it will not take a whole chicken. The headline figure is the total, not what fits in one go.
Tower Vortx Compact 2L Manual, £24.99
2 litres, 1000 W, up to 200 degrees
The cheapest credible entry point with a genuinely small footprint
Downsides: one person only, manual dials and no presets
Tower 6L Vortx Digital T17169, £49.99
6 litres, 1700 W, 80 to 200 degrees
The best capacity per pound here, with 8 presets
Downside: single basket, so no simultaneous two-dish cooking
Daewoo 4L Single Pot, £50.00
4 litres, 1500 W, up to 200 degrees
Solid wattage for the money
Downside: little independent review coverage next to Tower or Ninja
Tower 8L Digital Dual Basket, £69.99
8 litres as two independent 4 litre drawers, 2700 W
The cheapest credible dual-zone on the UK market
Downside: the highest power draw here, so the most expensive per minute to run
Russell Hobbs 27630 Satisfry 8.3L, £80.00
8.3 litres, 1800 W, 40 to 200 degrees
Confirmed dishwasher-safe basket and crisping plate, with an explicit temperature range rather than a vague claim
Downsides: single zone despite the size, and a tall 351 mm footprint
Daewoo 9L Digital Double Drawer, £80.00
9 litres dual drawer, 2000 W
The efficiency pick among dual-zones, since it does the same job on 700 W less than the Tower
Downside: budget brand with a thin review base
Tower T17177 Vortx Vizion 9L Dual, £84.99
9 litres dual basket, 2400 W, with viewing windows
The largest dual-zone comfortably under £90
Downside: bulky, and it needs real worktop depth
Cosori Air Fryer Lite 3.8L, £89.99
3.8 litres, up to 230 degrees
The highest temperature ceiling verified in this bracket, with dishwasher-safe basket and crisper plate
Downside: small for the money
Ninja AF100UK, £99.00
3.8 litres, 1550 W, four functions including dehydrate
The most reviewed budget air fryer in the country, with dishwasher-safe accessories
Downside: 3.8 litres at £99 is poor litres per pound, and it sits right on the ceiling
A note on where you buy: the Ninja AF100UK is £99.00 at one retailer and £100.00 at another, and Tower's own 9L Vizion is £84.99 through a retailer against £99.99 on Tower's own store. On this category, the shop matters as much as the model.
Ofgem's cap for 1 October to 31 December 2026 is 26.32p per kWh. At full draw that works out as:
1000 W compact for 20 minutes: about 8.8p
1550 W Ninja for 20 minutes: about 13.6p
1800 W Russell Hobbs for 30 minutes: about 23.7p
2700 W Tower dual for 25 minutes: about 29.6p
These are ceilings, because the thermostat cycles the element rather than running it flat out. The practical conclusion is worth stating plainly: a high wattage 9 litre dual-zone used for small portions is the worst value way to run an air fryer. Match the capacity to what you actually cook.
The saving against an oven comes from time rather than efficiency. Ideal Home notes air fryers usually cook in about 60 per cent of the time an oven takes, and that basket models tend to be more economical than countertop oven styles.
Dual-zone used to be a feature of machines costing £150 and up. It is now firmly under £100, with the Tower 8L at £69.99 and the Daewoo 9L at £80. That solves the real daily problem with an air fryer, which is cooking in sequence and letting the first dish go cold.
Anything under 1400 W with a large advertised capacity: a big chamber on a weak element is the worst of both worlds
Manual dials with no display: you cannot tell what temperature you are actually cooking at
Listings with no maximum temperature: a missing figure usually means 180 or 200 degrees
Buying the biggest thing that fits the budget: a 9 litre dual used for one portion wastes both energy and worktop
Joybuy: the European arm of JD.com, which has repeatedly undercut the high street on small appliances
Ebuyer: long established British technology retailer with a home appliance section
The current rebate rate for each store is in the Soleback catalogue, which is also where you click through so the rebate registers.
On a purchase around £80, 2 per cent returns £1.60, 3 per cent £2.40 and 5 per cent £4. It will not change your life, but on something you were buying anyway the activation takes seconds.
Small appliances usually carry higher rates than consumer electronics because the margins are thicker. If you would rather not remember every time, the Soleback extension prompts you to activate. New accounts also get the welcome bonus.
App versus browser: cashback registers on browser purchases, buying inside a retailer app usually will not track
Codes from elsewhere: a voucher found outside Soleback can zero the commission
Prices in this category move weekly: the figures here are as of early October 2026 and are worth confirming before you buy
Approval time: the rebate is released after the returns window closes
If you want one recommendation: the Tower 6L Vortx Digital at £49.99 gives you 6 litres and 1700 W for the price of a 3.8 litre from a bigger name, and that is the trade this bracket is really about. If you cook for a family and want two dishes at once, the Tower 8L Dual Basket at £69.99 is the cheapest honest route to it. Pay the Ninja premium only if brand reassurance and build quality matter more to you than litres.
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Soleback Team
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