Ninja Foodi 6-in-1 10-Quart XL 2-Basket Air Fryer with DualZone (DZ401)

The DZ401 is for a household of four or more that wants a whole meal out of one appliance: chicken thighs in one basket and potatoes in the other, or salmon beside fries, each at its own temperature and finished at the same moment. It is the family and dual-zone pick on our air fryer list.

It is too big and too loud to make sense for one or two people, and it is the wrong format if you want a single wide basket for pizza or a large roast.

Two independent zones. Each 5-quart basket has its own heater and fan, so the two sides really are separate ovens. Smart Finish lets you set different foods, temperatures and times and then delays the shorter one so both end together; Match Cook copies one side's settings to the other when you want 10 quarts of the same thing. Homes & Gardens tested the UK twin of this model, sold there as the AF400UK with the same power, dimensions and capacity and the sync mode under a different name.

Capacity. Ninja rates the machine for a 6-pound whole chicken with sides or an 8-pound batch of wings, and a 5-quart basket is deep enough for a bird in a way that the shallow Typhur Dome 2 is not. Tom's Guide, which named the DZ401 its best dual-zone Ninja, singled it out as excellent at roasting a chicken.

Cooking results. In Homes & Gardens' tests, breaded chicken strips were very crisp after just nine minutes at the maximum setting, a mixed tray of vegetables roasted evenly in 15 minutes at 370°F, and bacon came out evenly rendered without turning. Homemade fries were pale at 18 minutes at 360°F and well browned and even at 25, which the reviewer notes was typical across the group.

Cleanup. Homes & Gardens put the baskets and crisper plates through the dishwasher and called the machine a dream to clean. The drawers slide in and out smoothly and click into place. Physical buttons and a dial also avoid the smudged touchscreen the same reviewer disliked on an Instant model.

Current and widely sold. Ninja's own store lists the DZ401 in grey and a stone finish (DZ401SD), alongside the newer DZ901, which has not yet had enough independent US testing for us to recommend it over this one.

Noise. Homes & Gardens measured the DZ401 at over 80 dB and called it quite noisy. That is well above the figures reported for the Cosori TurboBlaze and the Typhur. Measurement methods differ between sites, so treat the number as a relative signal, but plan on hearing it across an open-plan room.

Footprint. At roughly 17 by 14 inches and close to 20 pounds, it needs a permanent spot on the counter with space behind for the exhaust.

No combined space. The two drawers cannot be joined into one large basket, a point Tom's Guide lists among its reasons to avoid, so a large pizza, a rack of ribs or a big flat fish will not fit. Tom's Guide also found switching modes fiddly at first.

Small frustrations. Temperatures move in 10-degree steps, there is no preheat function and no shake reminder, and Homes & Gardens found bacon blown around by the fan. Ninja's warranty is one year.

Against the Cosori TurboBlaze, the Cosori is quieter, smaller and has a two-year warranty, but it is one 6-quart basket. If you rarely cook two foods at once, the Cosori is the better buy.

Against the Ninja DZ201, the older 8-quart dual-zone model, the DZ401 has larger 5-quart baskets. TechGearLab found the DZ201 held temperatures well even with the two sides set differently but rated its cooking average, and Ninja's store now redirects the DZ201 page to the DZ901.

Against the Typhur Dome 2, the Typhur gives one wide, quiet zone with top and bottom heat; the Ninja gives two deep, loud ones.

The DZ401 is the dual-zone air fryer to buy for a family: two real 5-quart ovens, a finish-together mode that works, easy dishwasher cleanup and room for a whole chicken. The costs are noise, counter space and baskets that cannot be combined. If cooking for four is your daily reality, those are worth accepting. Browse more in the kitchen category.