If you're not versed in air fryer lingo, the phrase Ninja Double Stack vs Ninja Dual Zone likely seems nonsensical. But if you are a member of the cult of Ninja, which has fast risen to become one of the UK's biggest (if not the biggest) appliance brands, you'll know it's a question that distinguishes between the brand's two bestselling air fryers thus far.
The latter of the pair held the title of best air fryer in our rankings for many a year, and as detailed in our Ninja Foodi MAX Dual Zone Air Fryer review, sold out for months on end back in 2022.
Then, more recently, as we covered in our Ninja Double Stack Air Fryer review, the brand redesigned the classic side-by-side configuration to bring us an air fryer with drawers stacked on each other instead.
Both of these air fryers are sell out succeses. So you can establish which design is best for your kitchen, we'll compare these two air fryers at every level, after testing them both for ourselves.
With drawers stacked to save space and 2 included wire racks to create different zones inside the drawers, it's hard to deny that this is Ninja's most innovative air fryer yet.
The two drawer design with the Ninja Foodi gives it the versatility needed to cater to a family kitchen. With unparalleled cooking power, it's no wonder it still tops bestseller lists years after it was first released.
Ninja Double Stack vs Dual Zone - the basics
The Ninja Double Stack is only available in one size, and has a total capacity across two drawers of 9.5 litres. The Dual Zone comes in two different sizes: 7.6 litres and 9.5 litres, with an additional model (the AF451UK) which also comes with a temperature probe.
While the Dual Zone in its smallest size (the AF300) has an RRP of £219.99, you can easily find it on sale for less, especially during sales events like Amazon Prime Day. The RRP of the newer, slightly flashier Double Stack is quite a bit more, coming in at £269.99, but you can shop it right now with 20% off on the Ninja website right now with the code STACKED20.
Ninja's air fryers share the same six functions: Air Fry, Max Crisp, Roast, Bake, Dehydrate, Reheat. The 'Max Crisp' program is specific to the best Ninja air fryers, and allows you to cook frozen food (like fish and chips) in quick time, and with impressive crisp results.
In terms of accessories, the Double Stack comes with two included 'Stacked Meal racks' which allow you to create four cooking spaces within your two drawers. You don't get this with the AF400UK or AF300UK model of the Dual Zone.
Footprint-wise, the biggest Dual Zone (the AF400UK) is 41.5cm wide, while the Stacked is just 28cm wide. This is likely to be a clincher for those with kitchens with limited worktop space, and one of the things that makes the Stacked model so innovative.
Cooking
The reason that the Foodi MAX Dual Zone gained such notoriety (in the air fryer world, that is) is thanks to its phenomenal cooking power. Lots of air fryers claim to be able to shave off a huge amount of cooking time compared to instructions, but the Foodi MAX is the air fryer that we found this is most true with when we tried it at our test centre.
Air fryer newbies who start off with the Dual Zone often report a few charred chips when they first start out, thanks to just how powerful it is. It is superb for achieving a really even cook, and at our test centre, where we have a wealth of air fryers to choose from it's always the Dual Zone we reach for to cook our lunches or as a benchmark for newer models.
The Double Stack is packed full of features to make cooking easier, like those wire racks and a souped-up control panel. But it's cooking performance ultimately struggled to match up with that of the original Dual Zone.
In our tests, our expert reviewer found that cooking foods, such as fishcakes took slightly longer than her normal air fryer, and the 'Roast' function fell down slightly compared to our reviewer's high expectations of Ninja air fryers. .
The browning of certain foods she cooked was more uneven than compared to the phenomenal performance of the Dual Zone, meaning that there's a clear and obvious winner when it comes to cooking performance alone
Cleaning
The drawers and crisper plates of all Ninja air fryers are dishwasher-safe, so if it's an easy way to clean your Ninja air fryer you're after, both these air fryers pass the test.
There is one difference between the Double Stack and the Dual Zone which becomes important when it comes to hand washing, as the Double Stack drawers have perforated back walls. This means that you can't leave the drawers to soak away any grime in your sink, as the water simply flows out of the back. If you're a 'leave it to soak' person, then it's something to consider.
Ninja Double Stack vs Ninja Dual Zone - verdict
Both of these air fryers will serve you well if you're looking to cut down on cooking times and find a more convenient way to cook on your worktop. Performance wise, the Ninja Dual Zone is the best option for you if the thing you care about most is even cooking across a range of foods.
That isn't to say that the Double Stack isn't worth considering. If you need an appliance with a smaller footprint and will make use of the 4 zones available to you, then this newer release could suit you well.
Ultimately, with a Ninja air fryer, you'll be bagging yourself an appliance that has a huge amount of user-friendly features and quite remarkable cooking power. Whether you pick out the Dual Zone or the Double Stack, you've got nothing to lose.
