Compared to the rest of the market, and to other models offered by both Instant and Ninja, these two air fryers are expensive. The premium you pay for dual-drawer functionality means they’re almost double the cost of some single-basket models.

The Ninja air fryer is also the best model for those who need to regularly cook larger quantities of food, as in our testing it turned out 1lb / 450g of fries that were evenly browned and cooked, whereas the Instant air fryer could only manage this with 10.5 oz / 300g of fries.The litre volume information provided by many airfryer manufacturers is not a fair reflection of cooking capacity, as this accounts for the inside space without the basket or drawer. What matters more is the cooking area at the bottom of the basket. To get the best results, you should cook items in a single layer, so focus on the base, not just the height or volume. verifyErrors }}{{ message }}{{ /verifyErrors }}{{ Both air fryers have twin baskets, which can be used to cook separate foods, and they have the same 8-quart / 7.6-liter capacity, which is split equally between the two baskets. The baskets feature a crisper plate, which has a number of small holes that allow the hot air to reach every inch of the food’s surface, and the baskets and plate are dishwasher-safe for easy cleaning. We also found that despite the two air fryers having the same maximum capacities, the Ninja coped better with larger quantities. We were able to cook a 1lb / 450g batch of homemade fries in the Ninja air fryer, and enjoyed evenly browned, crisp, crunchy results. However, when we placed the same quantity of fries in the Instant air fryer we found they were unevenly browned, with some fries uncooked. We achieved the best results when we reduced the quantity to 10.5oz / 300g. Both kitchen appliances can roast, bake, reheat and dehydrate as well as air-fry. However, the Instant Vortex Plus Dual Air Fryer has an additional broil function, which is great for cooking burgers for example, whereas the Ninja Foodi 2 Basket Air Fryer has a Crisp Max function, which uses the highest temperature possible to crisp and brown frozen foods.

A tilted touchscreen with an intuitive message bar provides step-by-step instructions and a cooking progress indicator for each drawer While the SyncFinish feature automatically starts the different cooking programs at different times, so the zones finish togetherHowever, with no frozen food program on the Instant Vortex Plus Dual Air Fryer and a maximum cooking temperature of 400F / 205C, we had to spend some time experimenting to get the perfect cooking temperature and duration. After several attempts, we found that a 22 minute cooking time at the maximum cooking temperature achieved the best results for frozen steak-cut fries. When it comes to design, the Instant Vortex Plus Dual Air Fryer and the Ninja Foodi 2 Basket Air Fryer look slightly different. Both have a larger footprint than a single-basket air fryer, with the Instant air fryer measuring the smaller of the two at 12.5 x 15.9 x 15.11 inches. Although the Ninja model is only slightly larger at 13.9 x 12.8 x 17.1 inches. However, if you plan to regularly cook frozen foods in the air fryer, we’d recommend choosing the Ninja Foodi 2 Basket Air Fryer, as the Crisp Max functions means you can ensure that frozen foods are crisped and browned to perfection, without the degree of guesswork required by the Instant air fryer. We found that the Crisp Max function excelled when it came to cooking frozen steak-cut fries, and we were able to turn out a crisp, crunchy batch in 15 minutes in the Ninja air fryer, thanks in part to its ability to cook at temperatures up to 464F / 240-C.