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HUB 05 · Running Costs & Power

Does an Air Fryer Oven Use a Lot of Electricity?

No. At 1,800 watts an air fryer oven costs a few cents an hour, and because it heats a small cavity it beats the full-size oven for the same food. Here is the sum.

By Stephen V.Updated How we rank
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The answer

No, it does not. An air fryer oven draws about 1,800 watts, the same as any full-size countertop oven, which at 18.83¢ per kWh is roughly 33.9¢ an hour at full draw. Most air-fry jobs run 15–25 minutes, so the actual cost of a batch is a couple of cents. It is one of the cheaper things you can do with electricity in a kitchen.

A typical air-fry batch:
1800 ÷ 1000 × 0.33 h × 18.83¢ = 11.3¢ for 20 minutes
Rate: 18.83¢ per kWh. Full method on the toaster-oven page.

Why it beats the big oven

Because it heats far less air. A wall oven has to warm roughly five cubic feet before it cooks; an air fryer oven warms about one and does it in a few minutes. For anything that fits on its rack, the air fryer oven is the cheaper appliance to run — we costed that comparison out in full. The fan draws only a few extra watts and, by cooking faster, often lowers the total energy for a batch rather than raising it.

The one caveat is the same as everywhere on this site: these are full-draw ceilings. Real consumption is lower once the thermostat starts cycling the elements, and your own electricity rate — not the oven — is what moves the number most. Substitute your rate here.

The hardware

The ovens this page is about

The ovens referred to above, with prices pulled live from Amazon and dated on every card. Full rankings live in the roundups linked from this page.

  • Ninja Ninja Foodi 10-in-1 XL Pro Air Fry Oven (DT201)

    1,800 W

    Ninja Foodi 10-in-1 XL Pro Air Fry Oven (DT201)

    The value pick, and it is not close. Same 1,800 W as ovens costing two and a half times more, two full cooking levels, and a published capacity claim — two 12-inch pizzas — that is specific enough to be checkable rather than a vibe.

    $159.95on Amazon
  • Breville Breville Smart Oven Air Fryer Pro (BOV900BSS)

    1,800 W

    Breville Smart Oven Air Fryer Pro (BOV900BSS)

    The most completely documented oven in the category, and the only one at any price whose manufacturer publishes a rated wattage, an interior volume and a full element layout in the same place. You pay roughly four times the category floor for that, and about a third of the premium is the documentation itself.

    $399.95on Amazon

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Questions

Frequently asked

Does an air fryer oven use a lot of electricity?
No. It draws about 1,800 watts, the same as a full-size countertop oven, which costs roughly 33.9¢ an hour at the US average rate. A typical 20-minute batch costs a couple of cents. It uses less than a full-size oven for the same food because it heats a much smaller cavity.
Is it cheaper to air fry or use the oven?
Air frying is cheaper for anything that fits in the air fryer, because it heats far less air than a full-size oven and the fan makes it cook faster. The comparison is here.

Keep reading

Related

Receipts

Sources

We have not cooked in these ovens and we do not pretend to have. Specifications come from the manufacturer's own published documents; electricity rates come from the US Energy Information Administration; prices come from the live Amazon API. Where a figure is not published, the page says “not published” rather than guessing. Read the full method.