If you’re looking to make fried meals healthier, then an air fryer is the way to go. Instant and Ninja are two of the top brands in the market today. For those on a budget, GoWise is a great option, too. Instant, known best for its Instant Pot cookers, also offers innovative air fryers. Its Instant Vortex Plus, for instance, features a clear cook viewing window.
Ninja, on the other hand, boasts its best-selling Air Fryer Max XL. Equipped with a max crisp technology, the Ninja air fryer is a favorite for its speed. Meanwhile, the GoWise air fryer offers a 5.8-quart capacity and 8 cooking presets. Given its price and features, it’s a go-to affordable appliance that delivers. Between these three air fryers, which one should you buy?
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GoWise Air Fryer vs Instant Vortex vs Ninja Air Fryer Comparison Chart
Design
The Instant Vortex Plus has the largest basket, the GoWise the most accessories, and the Ninja air fryer the smallest capacity.
Instant’s Vortex Plus is the largest among the three air fryers. The unit boasts a 6-quart capacity and a roomy square basket. GoWise and Ninja’s air fryers, on the other hand, come in a barrel-shaped design. However, the GoWise unit is stouter and shorter, with a flushed air vent. With the Ninja air fryer, the vent protrudes, giving the unit added height.
In terms of aesthetics, the Instant Vortex Plus looks the most sophisticated of the three. The air fryer’s digital touch interface is large and seamless. And at its centerpiece is an intuitive control knob to adjust settings. To make monitoring easier, its basket even features a Clear Look viewing window.
GoWise’s digital air fryer is arguably the most seamless. There are no physical buttons or dials here. Instead, the unit opts for one-touch buttons surrounding the control display. The buttons also make use of icons to represent specific food presets. You get dedicated arrows and keys for temperature and time settings, too.
The Air Fryer Max XL from Ninja also has exclusive buttons for temperature and time. But unlike Instant and GoWise, Ninja uses physical keys. Their design is almost similar to Instant Pot slow cookers. One can make the argument physical buttons offer a tactile experience. But compared to the other air fryers, Ninja’s look a bit more dated. Plus, its air fryer has the smallest capacity.
Accessories
GoWise’s air fryer has the most accessories out of the box. Apart from the basket, you also get an 8-inch baking pan and an 8-inch pizza pan. GoWise includes an insert rack, an insert rack with skewers, and a warming rack, too. The air fryer also comes with a silicone pot holder. Lastly, you get a recipe book with 50 recipes.
Instant and Ninja are more modest when it comes to accessories. For the Instant Vortex Plus, you only get the frying basket and a cooking tray. On the other hand, the Ninja air fryer only includes its non-stick basket and a 100-recipe cookbook.
Features and Functions
These air fryers boast a range of cooking presets and functions.
While air fryers come in a variety of shapes and sizes, they all use convection cooking. Where the difference lies are in their cooking presets and how heat is circulated inside the chambers. Below, we tackle each air fryer’s features.
GoWise
To cook food, GoWise employs a Rapid Air Circulation Technology to circulate hot air in all directions. While the air fryer’s screen doesn’t display the progress of your cooking, there are indicator lights you can follow.
The 5.8-quart air fryer also offers the most cooking functions at 8. Its built-in programs include Pizza, Shrimp, Pork, Chicken, Steak, and even Cake. Users also get a dedicated button to set up a shake alarm. This comes in 5, 10, and 15-minute increments.
Instant
The Instant Vortex Plus, on the other hand, boasts what it calls EvenCrisp Technology. It’s an airflow technology designed to deliver crispy and tender food using up to 95% less oil. With the Vortex Plus, you can air fry, roast, bake, broil, reheat, and dehydrate. You can also customize the time and temperature for each program and save the settings for future use.
Instant’s air fryer makes it easy to check your meal. Aside from the viewing window, the Vortex Plus’s screen shows a progress bar and details the cooking stage.
Ninja
For the Air Fryer Max XL, Ninja uses Max Crisp Technology. The feature can deliver up to 450ºF of superheated food, so you can cook up to 30% faster than the Ninja Ninja AF100 model. It also translates to 75% less fat when cooking.
You get 7 programs on Ninja’s air fryer. These are Max Crisp, Air Fry, Air Roast, Air Broil, Bake, Reheat, and Dehydrate. However, there is no dedicated pre-heat function on the unit. To do so, you’ll have to choose a program and temperature, then set it for 3 minutes.
Ease of Use and Care
GoWise, Instant, and Ninja’s air fryers are easy to use and maintain.
Air fryers are designed for maximum convenience. This holds for GoWise, Instant, and Ninja’s units. In most cases, however, you’ll need to perform a test run before cooking anything. The accompanying guides also make the air frying experience straightforward. Each model’s manual includes details about the cooking presets and their default time and temperature.
Since they don’t need fat to fry, air fryers are easy to clean. There’s no need to set up a pan, add oil, and wipe splattered grease on your countertop. However, the baskets take the brunt of usage. Fortunately, Instant and Ninja’s air fryer baskets are dishwasher-safe. In the case of the Ninja air fryer, the basket is even non-stick for easy cleaning.
If you’re not comfortable placing the components in the dishwasher, you can manually wash them like GoWise’s. Warm water, dish soap, and non-abrasive sponges are the way the go.
Verdict
The Instant Vortex Plus is the best air fryer in this review. If you’re on a budget, the GoWise is a reasonable alternative. Lastly, opt for the Ninja air fryer if you want a smaller capacity.
Out of the three air fryers, the Instant Vortex Plus is the best model. The 6-quart unit offers a nice balance of design, power, and features. Ideal for large families, the Vortex Plus has the most intuitive interface among the units reviewed. Features like the Clear Cook window and user-friendly control dial also extend its lead over competitors.
The GoWise air fryer is our pick for customers on a budget. Retailing under $100, the unit is well-designed and features the most accessories and cooking functions on this list. The only downside is that its air fryer basket is not dishwasher-safe.
This makes the Ninja air fryer an excellent option for hassle-free cleaning. Its air fryer basket is not only dishwasher-safe but also non-stick. Moreover, Ninja is a tried-and-tested brand when it comes to cooking appliances. With its reputation, however, the Ninja air fryer is expensive given its inclusions and cooking capacity.
FAQs
Yes, GoWise is a reliable brand for air fryers. Its best-selling 5.8-quart digital air fryer, for instance, boasts a sleek design, comes with six accessories, and includes 8 cooking presets.
The 6-quart Instant Vortex Plus comes with a one-year limited warranty.
Yes. It’s recommended to pre-heat your Ninja air fryer for 3 minutes before adding the ingredients.
The speed of the Ninja air fryer depends on the temperature range set. At 105ºF, the Ninja Air Fryer Max XL operates at 1260 RPMs. Set to 450ºF, the unit’s speed range maxes out at 3100 RPMs.