The Ninja AF101 is a 4-quart, 1550-watt air fryer with a dial and four functions, aimed at one or two people. Its reviews split hard: Skillet Guy at 4.8 out of 5 and Top10Scout at 8.7 out of 10 against Kitchen Wink's 3.18. What everyone agrees on is that it crisps well and cleans easily; what separates them is whether 4 quarts and no viewing window is enough. Small households cooking small batches are the fit.
Full review
A 4-quart basket that holds about two pounds
Capacity is the constraint everything else follows from. The 4-quart nonstick basket takes roughly two pounds of food, which No Fuss Deal found workable for one or two people and inadequate for a family meal without cooking in batches. Skillet Guy reaches the same place from the other side, recommending it for small kitchens and small households. The unit measures 14 by 12.5 by 14 inches, so it takes real counter space for the amount of food it produces.
Dial control, four functions, no presets
Controls are deliberately simple: a dial and indicator lights covering air fry, roast, bake and reheat, with temperature running from 105°F to 450°F in five-degree steps. No Fuss Deal notes there are no smart presets and no shake reminder, so timing and temperature are the cook's job, and there is no app or connectivity of any kind. Skillet Guy treats the plainness as the selling point, with nothing to learn before the first batch of fries.
No window, so you open it to look
There is no viewing window, which means checking food requires pulling the drawer out, and several foods need a shake halfway through for even crisping anyway. No Fuss Deal also flags the absence of a rack for multi-level cooking, which caps the unit at a single layer. The fan is moderately loud in use and the exterior gets warm, so it wants clearance on the counter rather than a spot tucked under a cabinet.
Ceramic-coated basket that goes in the dishwasher
The basket and crisper plate are ceramic-coated and dishwasher safe, which is the main reason cleanup gets praised across all four reviews. The coating is the part to watch over time, since it scratches if metal utensils get near it, and a scratched nonstick surface is what eventually ends an air fryer's useful life. Skillet Guy's reservation about the build is broader: much of the housing is plastic, and it feels like a unit built to a price.
Sits under a Philips Essential on price
No Fuss Deal's comparison against five competitors is the most useful thing in the record. The AF101 undercuts the Philips Essential by 17% while matching most of its cooking performance, and 45 hours of testing recorded 85% evenness on two-pound chicken batches. Against a Cosori or an Instant Vortex of similar size the Ninja gives up presets and gains simplicity; against Ninja's own dual-basket models it gives up capacity and gains counter space.
Kitchen Wink is the dissenting review
Not every review is enthusiastic. Kitchen Wink rated it 3.18 out of 5, well below the 4.8 from Skillet Guy and the 8.7 out of 10 from Top10Scout, and that spread is worth taking seriously on a product this cheap. The ceiling is set by a small basket, manual controls and a plastic body, and the buyers who end up disappointed are the ones expecting an air fryer to replace an oven rather than supplement one.
Strengths
- +Compact 4-quart capacity ideal for 1-2 people or small kitchens
- +Easy-to-use dial control and indicator lights with straightforward preset functions
- +Consistent crisping results with less oil compared to traditional frying
- +Fast preheat and shorter cook times than conventional ovens
Watch-outs
- −Smaller capacity limits use for larger families or whole roasts
- −Exterior gets warm during use and requires adequate counter space
- −Basket coating can show wear over time if scratched
How it compares
The Ninja AF101 4-Qt Air Fryer is more compact than the Ninja Foodi DZ201 dual-zone model and offers faster preheat times than the Kalorik Vivid, but it lacks the 8-quart capacity and dual-basket flexibility of the Ninja Foodi. Compared to the Gourmia's glass basket visibility, the Ninja AF101's dial controls are less intuitive, and unlike the COSORI TurboBlaze, it doesn't offer touchscreen presets or a nonstick coating that makes cleaning easier.
Rating sources
Our 4.2 score is the average of these published ratings. More about methodology.
