Cosori vs. Xiaomi vs. Philips vs. Cecofry – Which oil-free deep fryer is best?

With the pace of life that almost all of us lead today, it is almost impossible to maintain a healthy and balanced diet because we do not know where to find time to cook. Or, at least, this was the case until we discovered fryers without oil, an appliance that has undeniably become part of our daily lives. But, would you know which one to choose if you had to keep only one to make the right decision? In this comparison we want to help you by talking about four leading brands in the sector: Cosori vs Xiaomi vs Philips vs Cecofry. 

Although, first, let us tell you something important. Although we commonly know these devices as oil-free fryers, they are actually fryers that use hot air to cook. And, normally, it is always convenient to add a tablespoon of oil. Of course, with any of them we reduce the oil by more than 90%, which makes the meals much healthier. However, each one has its own technology, programs and functionalities.

Xiaomi, Cosori, and Cecofry stay in a lower price range, while Philips is an upper-middle-range oil-free fryer. However, keep in mind that each brand has several different models of different sizes and levels of technology. Therefore, the first thing we recommend is to think about important aspects that will condition your decision, such as the number of people you are at home or the type of food you usually cook.

From here, read on to find out which of the four brands might best suit your needs. Let’s go there!

Cosori vs Xiaomi vs Philips vs Cecofry – Comparison Table

We show you a table in which we collect the main characteristics of the four fryers without oil that we have taken as a reference in this comparison between brands:

(Slide the table to see all the content)

Several fryers of each brand

As we mentioned in the introduction, each brand has several models of oil-free fryers in its catalog, among which there are some differences, such as capacity or the number of predetermined programs. Xiaomi is the least prolific, because it only has two different models.

Cosori would be located later, since it adds about 7 different models, while Philips and Cecofry lead their competitors by far, with more than 30 models each. In fact, only Philips and Cecotec have their own ranges of fryers without oil, which are Air Fryer and Cecofry respectively. However, you must look carefully, because in some cases, the change is reduced only to the capacity, while in others there are more substantial modifications.

Heating technology and power

One of the aspects that most influences the performance of an oil-free fryer is the heating technology it uses. In this case, it should be noted that all the brands are committed to a convection system based on the circulation of air on the entire internal surface of the tray, which is why there are people who refer to them as “mini ovens”. However, there are some peculiarities to take into account.

For example, Philips has designed its own technology, Rapid Air, which is based on 360º air circulation, but it does not circulate in a circular way, but in the shape of a star. Although it seems that there is no difference, this way of circling makes the food cook much more evenly than the one that already achieves a circular movement. Above all, when we cook foods such as French fries, it can happen that those located in the center take longer to cook than the outer ones.

For its part, Cecotec has PerfectCook technology, although, in this case, it limits itself to changing its name to the same technology used by Cosori and Xiaomi. This, in general, is something very typical of Cecotec.

As far as power is concerned, these types of fryers are usually around 1500-2000 watts, and it is in this range that most models move. We have been surprised by the low power of the Cecofry fryer that stars in this review, especially considering that the bucket is 6 liters. In fact, the most frequent thing is that the power is directly related to the capacity; the larger the cooking surface, the more power will be required.

The capacity, according to diners

Another factor that can have great weight in the decision is the capacity of the bucket that each fryer has without oil. This, in reality, is conditioned by the number of diners for whom you want to cook. Philips and Cecotec have no problem in this regard, because their wide variety of models means that you can find smaller fryers, with a capacity of about 2 liters, and others up to 6 or more.

On the other hand, Xiaomi is the most limited, because it does not have large capacity fryers without oil (the maximum is 4 liters). For its part, Cosori moves more in medium-range oil fryers, between 4 and 6 diners, approximately. Our advice, in this regard, is not to get carried away by large fryers if you are few diners. The ideal is to cook the right amount that is going to be consumed to avoid waste.

Default functions and manual mode

Most oil-free fryers on the market allow you to adjust the time and temperature in a personalized and manual way, but, in addition, they have a series of predetermined functions. For example, they all have a cooking mode for French fries, because it is the star dish of this type of fryer. They also usually include a mode to cook chicken, fish, seafood, meat or vegetables. Some also have the option of cooking certain pastry or bread recipes.

Beyond the cooking functions as such, there is usually more disparity in the modes that are not directly food. For example, Cosori always includes a specific function to defrost, like Philips, but Xiaomi and Cecotec do not do so in almost any model. In fact, Cecotec does not usually include more functions than those that are merely food, while the rest of the brands do include some such as preheating or keeping warm.

Xiaomi deserves special mention in this regard , which, despite the fact that its fryers are among the simplest, include a dehydrating function, something less common in this market.

Fryers Control Type

Using an oil-free fryer should be intuitive and simple, so that anyone, regardless of their technological capabilities, can use it. That being said, the least intuitive of all the brands is Xiaomi, because instead of having a digital touch screen like its rivals, it has a wheel. However, it is a wheel from which you can access any parameter, without any visual guide to help you. In this sense, it is quite complex to understand at first, until you discover all the functions it has.

For their part, both Cosori and Cecofry and Philips have touch screens whose iconography is quite easy to guess, so, in this regard, the functionality is similar. In addition, in all of them it is possible to download an app to consult any questions and recipes. It should be noted that only models with the nickname “Connected”, “Smart” or similar can be linked to the app to be programmed and operated from the mobile. In this regard, Xiaomi is the only brand that does not have a smart fryer version.

Finally, another aspect that you can look at is whether or not the fryers have a window. The window is used so that we can control the state of the food without having to open it. In this case, Cosori and Philips have practically no models with a window, unlike Xiaomi and Cecotec, which do have some. However, it is true that the most common thing is to see fryers without oil without a window.

Which brand wins the battle of oil-free fryers?

It is difficult to determine which brand stands out above the rest, because it depends on the aspect that we are evaluating. In a generic way, Philips is the one with the most advanced and technological air fryers, but that affects its price. For this reason, they are the most expensive oil-free fryers of the four brands.

More evenly matched are Cosori and Cecofry, both in features and functionality as well as in price. In fact, we would say that they are the brands that are probably the most comparable in the entire market for fryers without oil. There are a few small issues that can help you decide which one to choose, such as additional defrost or reheat functionality, but overall they perform very similarly. In addition, from our point of view, they are the ones with the best value for money for everyday use, in which we do not need great innovations either.

Finally, Xiaomi is the brand with the simplest fryers. At least, for now, because given the diversification strategy followed by this brand, we do not rule out expanding its catalogue. However , the air fryer segment is not a priority for Xiaomi at the moment.