Is an air fryer cheaper to run than an oven?

For one or two portions, yes — usually by more than half — despite drawing similar wattage.

At the default usage on each page, electric oven costs about 2.3× as much to run as air fryer — $80.33 against $35.14 a year.

Why air fryer wins, and when it does not

• An air fryer heats a cavity a fraction the size of an oven, so it reaches temperature in a couple of minutes rather than ten.
• Preheating is the most expensive part of a short bake, and an air fryer barely needs one.
• For anything that fills a full-size oven, the oven wins — the air fryer would simply have to run several batches.

What the difference is worth where you live

The 2.3× above holds at any price: both an air fryer and an electric oven scale with whatever you pay per kilowatt-hour. The money does not. Choosing air fryer over electric oven saves about $45.19 a year at the U.S. average, and $130 a year in Hawaii at 52.72¢ — against $32.30 in Nevada, the cheapest jurisdiction in the country. Swapping electric oven for air fryer is worth 4.0× as much in Hawaii as in Nevada, so what you pay per kilowatt-hour decides this more than the wattage on either label.

Both figures use each appliance’s typical wattage and default usage at the U.S. average of 18.34¢ per kilowatt-hour, and exclude fixed charges, taxes and time-of-use rates. Change the wattage, usage or state on either appliance’s own page to compare them on your terms, or read how to check a running-cost figure before trusting any of them.