Counter-top cheat
The best air fryer to buy in South Africa right now
The Philips 2000 Series Digital 6.2L from The Culinarium gives you the biggest basket and digital control for a mid-range price. If you want to spend less, the analog version of the same size is the cheapest thing here.
16 October 2026
Air fryers took over South African kitchens fast, and the shelf now reflects that: nearly everything here is a Philips, in roughly three sizes, at prices that stretch from under a thousand rand to four times that. The differences that matter are basket size, whether the controls are digital or a pair of dials, and whether you are paying extra for an app.
Our view is that size and controls are worth money. App connectivity is not, for most people. A 6.2L basket feeds a family without two rounds of cooking, and a digital panel with presets saves the fiddling. Everything beyond that is comfort.
Three stores supply this category, and they overlap. Where the same kind of machine shows up twice at very different prices, we have said which one to take. We have also kept room for the kettle-and-coffee side of the counter, because that is where the rest of the money goes.
Our pick
The Culinarium
Philips 2000 Series Digital 6.2L Airfryer Black
For most households: a full-size 6.2L basket with digital presets and a viewing window, at a price closer to the small models than the big ones.
The listing gives you the two things that actually change daily cooking. The basket is 6.2L, which is the larger of the common sizes and means fewer batches. The controls are digital with 13 preset functions, so you are not guessing at dial positions every time.
Against the rest of this shelf, the maths is plain. Other 6.2L Philips models here sit at well over this price, and the ones that cost more are mostly paying for app pairing or a second basket. This one sits mid-range and gives up neither size nor digital control.
The cooking window is a small thing that stops you yanking the drawer out to check on chips. Worth having.
The catch. The listing is mostly marketing copy and does not state wattage, and there are no shopper ratings to lean on.
Budget pick
The Culinarium
Philips 1000 Series Analog 6.2L Airfryer Black
The cheapest air fryer here, and still a full 6.2L basket, for anyone who does not mind turning a dial.
Same capacity as our top pick, several hundred rand less, with analog time and temperature control instead of a screen. The listing claims 12 cooking methods, which in practice means you set the dials yourself rather than tapping a preset.
If your household is one or two people who mostly reheat and crisp, this does the same job as the digital model. Analog dials also mean fewer things to fail.
The catch. No presets, no window, and the listing is thin on detail beyond capacity and item code.
Runner-up
New World
Philips NA331/00 6.2L Airfryer
A 6.2L Philips with 16 functions and a cooking window, from a second store, for when the top pick is gone.
This is the same basket size as our top pick with a longer function list and the same viewing window, including one-pot cooking the cheaper models do not mention. The listing describes RapidAir Plus with faster airflow, which is the maker's language rather than a measured claim, so take it as a step up in their own range and not more.
It stocks at New World, which matters if The Culinarium runs dry.
The catch. It costs substantially more than our top pick for a basket the same size, so buy it on availability or on the extra functions, not as a default.
Upgrade pick
The Culinarium
Philips 9Lt Dual Airfryer Black
For families who cook a main and a side at once: two baskets, 9L in total, at the top of this shelf's price range.
The dual-basket design is the one genuine jump in usefulness here. A large drawer for the bulk of the meal, a smaller one for sides, running at the same time. Single-basket fryers make you cook in sequence and reheat the first thing.
At 9L it is also the largest capacity on the shelf by a wide margin.
The catch. The most expensive pick by far, roughly three times the top pick, and only 8 presets to the top pick's 13. It will also take up serious counter space.
Also great
Binuns
Mellerware Seattle Digital Drip Coffee Maker
The small appliance to put next to the fryer: a programmable drip coffee maker with a timer, for people who want coffee waiting when they wake up.
The listing is unusually specific for this shelf: 1.5 litre, 1000W, 8 to 10 cups, a programmable timer, auto shut-off, and a permanent washable filter so you are not buying paper. That last point saves money month after month.
Binuns also lists a simpler Treviso model for less. The Seattle costs more and earns it on the timer and the auto shut-off alone. A 2 year warranty is stated, which is more than most listings here commit to.
The catch. The listing quotes capacity two ways, as 8 to 10 cups and as 1.5 litres, so judge it on the litres.
What to look for
Start with basket size, because it is the one thing you cannot fix later. Around 4L suits one or two people and fits on a crowded counter. Around 6L is the sensible family size. Dual baskets near 9L only make sense if you regularly cook a main and a side together, and they are large objects to house.
Digital controls with presets are worth a modest premium over dials, mostly because you stop guessing. App connectivity is a different matter. Several listings here lead with recipe apps and phone monitoring, and that is the feature doing the most work in the price. If you are not going to sit on the couch watching your chips from your phone, skip it and put the money into size.
Check what the listing actually states rather than what it promises. Wattage, capacity in litres, number of presets and warranty length are facts. Percentages about fat and claims about being the world's number one are marketing. Where a listing gives you no numbers at all, treat that as a gap.
For the rest of the counter, favour the appliance that reduces ongoing cost and daily effort: a permanent washable filter over paper, a stated warranty over none, an auto shut-off over nothing. Cheap small appliances are cheap for a reason, usually a shorter feature list rather than worse build.
Also considered
Philips Essential Airfryer 4.1L - Black · The Culinarium · R 1 199,00
Philips Essential 4.1L at The Culinarium. A sound small-household fryer, but it costs the same as our 6.2L top pick for a third less capacity.
Philips Essential Connect XL Air Fryer 6.2L - Black · The Culinarium · R 1 999,00
Philips Essential Connect XL 6.2L. Same size as the top pick with a touch screen, 7 presets and Alexa support, for considerably more. You are paying for connectivity.
Philips HD9255/90 AirFryer · New World · R 1 999,00
Philips HD9255/90 at New World. Only 4.1L yet priced with the XL models, because of the app pairing. Hard to justify on size.
Philips HD9280/91 Essential Airfryer XL · New World · R 1 999,00
Philips HD9280/91 Essential Airfryer XL. The listing is almost entirely about the NutriU app and never states capacity or wattage, which makes it difficult to compare.
Philips HD9252/21 Airfryer · New World · R 1 499,00
Philips HD9252/21 at New World. Mid-priced, but the listing gives no capacity or power figures at all, so you cannot tell what you are buying.
Mellerware Treviso Filter Coffee Maker · Binuns · R 479,00
Mellerware Treviso filter coffee maker at Binuns. The cheaper Binuns coffee option, with no timer, and the listing contradicts itself on capacity between 12 and 14 cups.
Mellerware 46004 Capri Induction Cooker And Pot Set · New World · R 1 789,00
Mellerware Capri induction cooker and 5-piece pot set. Interesting if you want a portable cooking plate with pans included, but it is a different purchase from an air fryer and the pots dominate the price.
Mellerware Battery Operated Milk Frother · Binuns · R 199,00
Mellerware battery operated milk frother at Binuns. The cheapest item here and a reasonable add-on, though batteries are not included and the job it does is narrow.