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We compare products from their published specs and features; the verdicts below are our independent editorial opinions.
Updated: 2026-09-22 · 8 min read · Independent comparison
My top pick is the Cosori Air Fryer Pro, because it is the only all-in-one unit here that pairs a true dehydrate mode with a wide 95°F–450°F range, a 5-quart basket and dishwasher-safe parts — so it air fries dinner and dries fruit in the same appliance.
• Cosori Air Fryer Pro — best for all-in-one air frying and dehydrating in one machine; pick this if you want a single 5-quart appliance with a dehydrate mode, a 95°F–450°F range and dishwasher-safe parts.
• SharkNinja Air Fryer XL — best for big-batch dehydrating and family meals; pick this if you need the largest basket here, a 5.5-quart nonstick one, plus a built-in dehydrate function down to 105°F.
• Goldlion Dehydrator Rack — best for Ninja Foodi and Instant Pot Duo Crisp owners; pick this if you already own a 6.5 or 8-quart pressure cooker with an air-crisp lid and want five stackable dehydrating layers.
The Cosori Air Fryer Pro LE is the closest thing here to a genuine two-in-one. It lists seven cooking modes — Air Fry, Roast, Bake, Dehydrate, Broil, Frozen and Reheat — so dehydrating is a dedicated function sitting alongside the usual air fryer jobs, not a workaround you have to figure out yourself. The temperature range runs from 95°F to 450°F, and that spread matters: 95°F is low and gentle enough for drying herbs and thin fruit slices, while 450°F is high enough to crisp and broil. The 1500-watt heating element and 360° rapid heat circulation do the actual work, and Cosori claims up to 85% less oil than traditional frying.
In daily use, the 5-quart capacity is the sweet spot for two to four people. It fits a decent batch of wings or fries, and it's equally happy holding a few trays' worth of banana chips or apple rings. The ceramic-coated basket and crisper plate are dishwasher safe, and the box includes 20 air fryer liners, which is a small thing that saves real time on messy cooks. The touch controls are programmable, and three reminders — shake, preheat and keep warm — quietly cover the mistakes people usually make: uneven batches, cold starts and food going limp while the rest of dinner finishes. At roughly 14.4 by 10.8 by 12 inches, it needs a defined counter spot rather than a squeeze into a crowded corner.
The trade-off is capacity and drying volume. This is a 5-quart single-basket machine, so dehydrating happens in whatever fits in that one basket — you are not stacking five trays of jerky at once. If your main goal is preserving large harvests, a dedicated dehydrator will out-work it. But if you want one appliance that crisps dinner and dries snacks, in my opinion this is the most balanced pick of the four.
SharkNinja Air Fryer XL
The dehydrate function is the reason it belongs on this list. It is a real, named mode rather than a "keep it warm and hope" trick, and 105°F is a sensible floor for drying without cooking the food. The nonstick basket and crisper plate are dishwasher safe, and the machine ships with a 20-recipe cookbook, which is genuinely useful if you have never dehydrated anything before and want a starting point rather than a blank page. The ceramic-coated interior is BPA-free, and Ninja cites up to 75% less fat than deep frying.
Where it gives ground is temperature ceiling and footprint. It tops out at 400°F, below the Cosori's 450°F, so very high-heat crisping has slightly less headroom. It is also the larger unit on the counter at roughly 11 by 14 by 14.75 inches. And like the Cosori, it dehydrates in a single basket — a 5.5-quart one, but still one — so it is not a replacement for a multi-tray dryer. I'd point family cooks and wing night hosts here.
The Magic Mill is the odd one out, and that's the point. It doesn't air fry at all. It is a dedicated dehydrator with five stackable stainless steel trays and a 240-watt drying system, and if dehydrating is your actual priority rather than a bonus feature, this is the tool built for it. The trays are adjustable: standard spacing is 0.6 inches, and each tray can be raised to 1.1 inches for thick-cut items like jerky strips or chunky vegetable slices. Five trays running at once is simply more drying volume than any single air fryer basket can offer.
The controls are the other reason it stands apart. You get a digital panel with a timer and temperature adjustment, running from 95°F up to 167°F for as long as 48 hours. That long timer is the part air fryers can't match — proper jerky and dried herbs often want many hours of low, steady heat, and a 48-hour ceiling means you can set it and walk away instead of restarting cycles. The body is BPA-free plastic with a stainless steel base, the trays are food-grade stainless, and they lift out to be washed by hand or in the dishwasher. The footprint is compact at roughly 8.5 by 11.8 by 11 inches, which is friendlier than you'd expect for five trays.
Goldlion Dehydrator Rack
The Goldlion rack is the cheapest way onto this list — not because it costs little, but because it assumes you already own the expensive part. It's an accessory, not an appliance. It measures 8.5 inches in diameter and 4.7 inches tall, and it's designed to drop into Ninja Foodi 6.5 and 8-quart models (including OL501, OL601 and OL701) and Instant Pot Duo Crisp 6.5 and 8-quart units. Note the limits: it does not fit Instant Pot 6-quart cookers, and the fit is specific to those pressure-cooker-plus-air-crisp-lid systems.
What you get is five stackable layers of food-grade 304 (18/8) stainless steel. If you already own a compatible Foodi or Duo Crisp, that turns the dehydrate setting you may never have used into a five-tier drying stack — a much better use of the machine than one flat basket. The roll-hemmed edges are burr-free, which matters when you're pulling hot trays in and out, and the toughened diamond mesh is built to resist denting. It stacks down to save counter space and is dishwasher safe.
The honest trade-off is that it's useless on its own, and the capacity per layer is small — fine for herbs, fruit leather and small batches of jerky, not a big harvest. If you own a compatible Ninja Foodi or Instant Pot Duo Crisp, though, I think this is the smartest add-on here: it unlocks dehydrating you've already paid for.
How We Picked
We compared published specs and features — cooking modes, temperature ranges, capacity, tray count, materials and cleaning — rather than hands-on testing. The ranking is our independent editorial opinion, shaped by how each product's design would play out in a real kitchen. No brand paid for placement, and no product was included because of anything other than what its spec sheet says it does.
how to use dehydrator in air fryer
On a machine with a dehydrate mode, you select that function, set a low temperature — the Cosori goes down to 95°F, the Ninja to 105°F — and run it for the time your food needs. Arrange slices in a single layer in the basket so air can circulate, and check periodically.
how to use your air fryer as a dehydrator
Pick the dehydrate setting if your model has one, then set low heat and low fan speed. Both the Cosori and the Ninja list dehydrate as a named function, which is what makes them workable for this; air fryers without that mode give you far less control over low, steady temperatures.
what is the best air fryer dehydrator
In my opinion the Cosori Air Fryer Pro is the best all-rounder, because it combines a dehydrate mode with a 95°F–450°F range, a 5-quart basket and dishwasher-safe parts. If you want maximum drying volume instead, a dedicated five-tray machine like the Magic Mill does that job better.
can you use an air fryer as a dehydrator
Yes, if it has a dehydrate function and reaches low enough temperatures. The Cosori goes to 95°F and the Ninja to 105°F, both suitable for drying fruit and vegetables. What you can't do is match a multi-tray dehydrator's volume, since you're limited to one basket.
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See also: Cosori Air Fryer Accessories vs Glazeal Three Stackable Dehydrator, AODPWEN 2 vs Onader Air Fryer Basket, HEISENLIN Air Fryer Replacement vs AKS Magnets Air Fryer Cheat