Is this air fryer really the quietest? We put it to the test

I almost forgot Tefal's Easy Fry Silence Essential Air Fryer was on. A couple of times.

Whether from my lack of object permanence and forgetfulness that I owned an air fryer, or that the air fryer was so quiet, here is my honest review of this 'essential' kitchen appliance.

NOTE: Prices are accurate at time of publishing.

Tefal Easy Fry Silence Essential Air Fryer 5L

$179.95 from Tefal$143 on Amazon

The specs

This air fryer isn't particularly huge, but it isn't that small either. It measures 39.5cm (D) x 28cm (W) x 35cm (H) and weighs 4.8kg with a 5L basket.

It also uses around 1400-1670 watts of electricity, and the basket itself and accessories are dishwasher safe.

What are the features?

The air fryer features a variety of settings for its 5L basket that are adjustable through the intuitive touchscreen interface.

There are ten preset programs ranging from French fries, nuggets, bacon, shrimp, roast chicken, pizza, steak, vegetables and cakes with adjustable temperatures ranging from 40°C to 220°C.

Finally, there's also an "extra crispy" button when using the fries preset.

Is it easy to use?

Yes. You plug it in, and it works.

How quiet is it?

I did some testing with a decibel reader, and it was averaging around the 40dB mark. The only time I found it a little loud (and not even) was when you turn it on and it heats up.

When you're standing right on top of it, checking if the food's ready, obviously, you'll hear the humming. But when you're a couple of metres away, even across the kitchen, you can hardly hear it.

The sound usually gets drowned out by people talking, dishes clinking, dogs barking, you name it.

When I took the screenshot of the decibel reader, it kept accidentally capturing the sound of my phone taking said screenshot. More than that, I could also hear my clock ticking from across the room, over the sound of the air fryer, too.

So it's safe to say, yes, this air fryer is quite quiet.

Where can I find air fryer recipes?

The first thing that I did when I got the air fryer was purchase this book. It covers all the essential recipes for air fryers and has plenty for me to experiment with. Already I've cooked fish, chicken, chips and desserts.

Women's Weekly Air Fryer Complete Collection

$25 on Amazon$29 from Big W

The air fryer is also compatible with the MyTefal app,– which offers a range of recipes to choose from if you're new to cooking with an air fryer.

How many people can it feed?

On the box, it says it's for six people. But if you ask me, I'd say that depends.

Are you trying to cook a main course meal in your air fryer and feed a house of five? I tried to cook chicken for five and found the basket a little snug. To get to the end result, I had to keep turning the chicken and add a second batch of chicken separately. Although Tefal claims "it's faster than an oven", I didn't find that much of a difference. However, cooking fish yielded better results.

But for snacks, chips, vegetables, desserts and side dishes? It kept up pretty well. I cooked chips, made some crispy cauliflower. When I had guests over, I put party pies and sausage rolls in and let the air fryer silently cook in the background.

So my final verdict on this is...

Main meal: I'd say up to four to five, max.

Sides: Up to six is a reasonable maximum for something like chips and vegetables. For a few friends, snacks work fine too.

Is it energy efficient?

Tefal's silent air fryer uses around 1400-1670 watts of electricity, or on average 1.5kWh.

Tefal also claims this air fryer "consumes up to 70 per cent less energy versus traditional ovens", which they tested in 2024 against energy class A ovens that typically use between 2000-5000 watts of electricity. The air fryer seems energy-efficient comparatively.

My final thoughts

The addition of an air fryer to my kitchen wasn't as revolutionary as people say, although it was definitely a nice addition.

The only real issue faced was that there wasn't much room to add the new appliance to the bench, but that's more of a personal issue.

Other than that, I had fun with the air fryer, and it absolutely lives up to the name. It's genuinely almost silent when it's cooking, so if you're after your first air fryer or something quiet, then this is worth the money.

It was also intuitive to use and super easy to clean; in fact, there was minimal mess after every meal thanks to the basket liners.

I'd recommend it for smaller households and anyone who likes fuss-free meals and perfectly crispy chips.

READ MORE: The best at-home pizza ovens to rival any restaurant