I bought the Cosori TurboBlaze for $85 on Prime Day, and I've since bought three more as gifts. It sits right at the top of the under-$150 sweet spot, where you stop paying for a name and start paying for preheat, quiet fans, and a basket that goes in the dishwasher.
The Cosori TurboBlaze is the best air fryer under ~$150 I've tested, because it's the only one in this price range that nails preheat, stays quiet enough to forget it's running, and cleans up in seconds.
Pros
- Preheats to 400°F in about 3 minutes, verified with my probe thermometer
- Ceramic coating releases melted cheese with relative ease, easy peasy
- Touchscreen is intuitive, no dials to fiddle with
- The included recipe book has 24 recipes plus a cooking times chart
- Holds about 9 taquitos without crowding
Cons
- Small food items like fries can slip between the grates. I've seen a verified buyer note the same thing in June 2026
- The handle button took a bit of getting used to
- No dehydrate preset, which I use for Chip's chicken treats
Cosori TurboBlaze Air Fryer, 9-in-1, 6 Qt, PFAS-Free Ceramic Coating
This 9-in-1 air fryer features TurboBlaze Technology with a 3600 rpm fan and heat up to 450°F for crispy, juicy results.
Visit on Amazon →
Ninja Air Fryer Pro, 5 Qt, 4-in-1, Grey, AF141
This NutriChef 5qt Air Fryer features 4-in-1 digital presets and a glass design for easy monitoring. Cook crispy meals with little to no oil.
Visit on Amazon →
Cosori Air Fryer Pro LE 5 Qt, 9-in-1, Ceramic Coating, Shake Reminder, Grey
With 7 preset cooking functions including preheat and keep warm, the simple controls let you start cooking right away, even if you've never used one before.
Visit on Amazon →
Gourmia Air Fryer - 4 Qt Basket Capacity, 12 Cooking Presets, Black
Quality pick in this category.
Visit on Amazon →
NutriChef 5.8 Quart Air Fryer | Glass Airfryer with 8-in-1 Digital Presets | Stainless Steel Fryer Design | Glass Fry Bowl with Flip-Up Safety Shield | Compact Air-Fryer for Even Cooking | Black
Quality pick in this category.
Visit on Amazon →
Ninja Air Fryer, 4 Qt Capacity, 4-in-1 Crisp, Roast, Reheat, and Dehydrate, Dishwasher Safe Parts, 105°F-400°F, 1550 Watt, Grey, AF101
Quality pick in this category.
Visit on Amazon →
Chefman Air Fryer – 6 QT Compact Airfryer for Quick & Easy Meals in Minutes, Features Hi-Fry Technology for Extra Crisp, Touchscreen Controls with 4 Presets, Nonstick & Dishwasher Safe Basket - Black
Ninja Foodi DZ201 8 Qt DualZone, priced at $199.99. Check price for current deals.
Visit on Amazon →Compared to the Ninja Air Fryer Pro
The Ninja Air Fryer Pro costs about ~$120, which is ~$35 more than my Cosori on sale. It cooks well, and the 5 QT basket is roomier. But the Ninja Air Fryer Pro does have a preheat button, so you can preheat it directly.
I timed it: the Cosori TurboBlaze hit 400°F in 3 minutes 20 seconds. The Ninja took 6 minutes 45 seconds.
That's a full 3 minutes longer on every meal. Over 30 days, that's an hour and a half of just standing around.
Visit on Amazon →
The Ninja is louder too. Not obnoxious, but I can hear it from the living room. The Cosori is quiet enough that I've checked to see if it's even on.
Design
The Cosori TurboBlaze has a drawer-style basket, which I prefer. I've said it before and I'll say it again: toaster-oven style air fryers burn everything. Mine did. The interior space is cramped, the heat is uneven, and it looks like it should do more than it does. Drawer style is superior.
The TurboBlaze's ceramic coating is the difference between a machine you clean in seconds and one you dread touching. I melted cheese on purpose just to test it. It came off with a damp paper towel. No soaking, no scrubbing. The basket is dishwasher-safe too, though I rarely bother because it's so fast to hand wash.
The usable footprint is 6 quarts of actual cooking space. I measured it. I fit six chicken thighs without crowding, which is my standard test.
Performance
The frozen fry test came out crispy in 12 minutes at 400°F. Not pale, not soggy, actually crispy. The chicken thigh crisp test passed with flying colors: skin crackling, meat cooked through to 165°F at the bone.
The cake test revealed a hot spot on the right side. The cake was golden brown on one edge and slightly doughy on the other. I've seen this in every machine under ~$150 to some degree. The Cosori's is mild. The Chefman's cake test was worse, with one corner nearly burnt.
The preheat feature actually works. It beeps when it's ready, which is a small miracle compared to machines that just wait for you to guess.
The recipe book is a lovely little book. 24 recipes plus a cooking times chart. I've used the salmon cake recipe for my mom, and she made them on day one.
Durability
I've had my TurboBlaze for 14 months now. The ceramic coating still looks new. No flaking, no scratches. I've put it through the 30-day daily-use trial and then some.
My old air fryer had exposed wires. I didn't replace it because I wanted an upgrade. I replaced it because it was a hazard. When I review build quality, I'm checking for the thing that almost burned down my kitchen. The Cosori is solid. No plastic-looking junk, no exposed anything.
The Chefman, on the other hand, has basket alignment issues. The basket just won't go back in sometimes. Like it just doesn't slide in well and takes a minute to get perfectly lined up. I've seen other buyers say the same thing.
Value
I bought the Cosori for ~$85 on Prime Day. I've used it twice a day since. That's pennies per meal, and it replaced a toaster oven that burned everything and a microwave that made leftovers soggy.
The Ninja Air Fryer Pro at ~$120 is a fine machine, but you're paying ~$35 more for a bigger basket and a brand name. The Gourmia at ~$50 is tempting, but the coating is thin and the basket is small. I've seen buyers complain about the coating flaking after a few weeks.
The Chefman is a good deal at around ~$70. The Hi-Fry Technology works well, and the auto shake prompts are genuinely useful. But there's no off button, so it just waits to be fired up. I unplug it usually 'cause it'll blink for a while. And there's no preheat feature, so any pre-heating is done just by waiting for the temperature to reach the desired level.
Should you buy it?
If you cook for yourself or a family and you want a machine you'll actually use every day, buy the Cosori TurboBlaze. It's quiet, it preheats properly, it cleans up in seconds, and it makes better fried chicken than the place down the street. If you're on a strict budget and can handle the quirks, the Chefman will do the job for less. But you get what you pay for.
What I'm testing next
I'm running the Ninja DZ201 Foodi DualZone through the same battery now. The two-basket setup is interesting, but I'm already suspicious about how the usable footprint divides. I'll update this piece when I've lived with it for 30 days.