Air Fryer vs Oven: Which is Cost-Effective?

Is it cost-saving to use an air fryer over a big oven? In plain terms, Yes! Air fryers use less energy and run for less time than big ovens, saving you more money. Two things that make this possible are energy consumption and cooking time. Big ovens take up more energy, which results in more utility costs, and have longer cooking periods.

Summarily, running an air fryer consumes only about half the cost of running a big oven. Wondering how we got this interesting conclusion? Reading the detailed breakdown below.

Oven vs. Air Fryer (Cost per Cooking hour)

We used estimated values in this calculation. We calculated the wattage per hour by the air fryer, electric, and gas oven.

The energy efficiency of the two ovens is different due to their energy source. Gas ovens do not consume the same amount of energy as electric ovens. More importantly, the electricity cost differs from that of natural gas.

Besides this, both ovens consume roughly the same amount of energy. Modern designs, however, are more energy efficient than older ones. Bear in mind that the price of electricity and natural gas may differ in your locality. Read below to find out how we arrived at these values.

Calculating the Gas Oven Cost

Determining the power rating of your gas oven is the first step in calculating the running cost. You can get the power rating in the user's manual or the product pack. If unavailable, use the model name and the product number to find the power rating online. Once you know the power rating, multiply the figure by the cost of natural gas per kWh and then by the number of hours the oven is used. Be sure that the power rating is in Watts or Kilo-Watts.

Suppose you have a 5.2 kW gas oven. Find the average price of domestic gas per kWh in your locality. In Australia, that is AUD 0.110 or 0.073 US dollars. Now, find the product of the average price, the oven power rating in kW, and the hours of usage. We assumed the oven was used for an hour. Thus, we have 5.2 kW x AUD 0.110 x 1 hour. This equals AUD 0.572.

Consequently, a 5.2 kW oven would cost me AUD 0.57 per hour. For a year, It would cost AUD 208.1 to run the oven for one hour per day. The gas price may be higher or lower, depending on the cost of natural gas in your locality.

Calculating the Electric Oven Cost

Most electric ovens have an average power rating of 3 kW—check to be sure before beginning your calculations. From here, find the wattage of your appliance either through the attached manual or online on the product listing page. For this calculation, we assume the electric oven works for one hour.

So, we have 3 kW multiplied by 1 hour to give us 3 kWh. If your wattage is displayed in W—for instance, 3,000W—divide it by 1,000 to get its equivalent kW value before multiplying by the hours to get the kWh value.

Now, get the average price per kWh of electricity in your location. In Australia, as of March 2022, the average electricity price was AUD 0.22. We now multiply the electricity price by the kWh calculated earlier to get the running cost of the oven. For an electricity price of AUD 0.22 per kWh in Australia, a 3 kW oven will cost AUD 0.66 per day if used for an hour, totalling about AUD 241 per year if used at this rate.

Calculating the Air Fryer Cost

Similar to the method we used for the electric and gas ovens, we first find the power rating of the air fryer. Note that larger air fryers usually consume more energy. Let us use a medium 4-quart fryer with a rating of about 1,500 Watts or 1.5 kW.

Since the power rating here is half the electric oven earlier considered, we can conclude that the energy cost for one hour will be half of the earlier value. That is 1.5 kWh x AUD 0.22 electricity cost x 1 hour of cooking. So, a 3.5-litre air fryer will cost around 0.33 to cook for one hour. And AUD 120.5 yearly of one-hour usage daily.

This calculation, like the electric oven, is based on the average per kWh electricity price in Australia. Comparing the cost with that of an electric and gas oven earlier computed, it's obvious that air fryers are more energy efficient. For the same period, it costs 50% less than an electric oven and around 20% less than a gas oven.

Why Are Air Fryers More Cost-Effective?

While these are estimates, they are a true reflection of the real figures. The values will vary depending on your state's energy costs, how much cooking you do in a year, what temperature you cook at, and the type and size of oven you use. Here's why air fryers are the more cost-effective option.

1. Faster Cooking

Air fryers cook foods faster than typical gas or electric oven due to the smaller frying chamber and super convection. They have a strong fan that forces heat into food to cook faster—using half the time required by big ovens. Thus, you will run an air fryer for less time and save more money.

The list below shows the temperature and cooking time of common foods that can be prepared in an oven or air fryer.

Air Fryer vs. Oven (Cooking times)

2. Very little preheating

Most air fryers do not need to preheat as ovens do. Preheating in a full-size oven takes at least 10 minutes whereas an air fryer is done in two minutes. In the table above, preheating time of 10 minutes was added to the oven cooking time. Note that preheating takes up the same amount of energy as cooking.

Given that an air fryer does the work of an oven in half the time or even faster, considering the preheating time, 300 hours of cooking in a typical oven over a year would most likely take less than 150 hours in an air fryer.

When to Choose Air Fryers

Because air fryers cook so quickly and at such high temperatures, foods such as chicken wings, french fries, and most frozen items are best in an air fryer. The short span of high heat keeps the inside from drying up while it gets crispy on the outside.

The other unique advantage of air fryers is the ease of operation; they are easy to use, clean, and maintain. Budget-wise, air fryers only cost a few hundred dollars; several amazing ones are way cheaper than that. For as low as $100, you can have a decent standard 4-quart air fryer.

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When to Choose an Oven

Air fryers don't replace ovens; some foods can only be cooked well in an oven. For instance, while some air fryer models with ample space can cook a whole small chicken, larger roasts, like turkey or lasagne, are best done in an oven. Ovens are also ideal for baking cakes and similar as you can just use the oven without the fan, they are also more convenient when cooking for large groups of people.

Over to Air Fryer Conversion

It is usually very simple to convert recipes and instructions from oven to air fryer. As a guide, the time and the temperature both need to be adjusted as follows:

• Reduce the temperature by around 35°F/ 20°C
• Reduce the cooking time by around 20%

Fryer to Air Fryer Conversion

Usually, cooking in an air fryer takes a little longer than in a deep fryer. You probably just need to add one or two additional minutes because many fried foods cook in just a few minutes. You should typically air fry items with shells or fried dough at 180 degrees Celsius.

The majority of breaded foods that need to crisp up (such as fried chicken) will cook in the air fryer for about the same amount of time as they would in hot oil, perhaps slightly longer. We suggest air frying these at 200 Celsius or more. A little cooking spray will aid in the crisping of breaded foods.