Thermomix vs Air Fryer: What Should You Actually Use Each Appliance For?

If you've spent any time looking at kitchen appliances recently, two names keep appearing: Thermomix and air fryer.

Air fryers have changed how many families cook. They're quick, convenient and brilliant when you want something crispy without turning on the oven. Thermomix has become a favourite for people who want more homemade food while spending less time chopping, stirring, measuring and washing up.

The question I hear again and again is: If I already have an air fryer, do I really need a Thermomix? Or the other way around — would an air fryer be a better investment?

Despite the comparisons you see online, Thermomix and an air fryer aren't really designed to do the same job. They can both get dinner on the table. They can both save you from using the oven for certain meals. But the way they help you cook is completely different.

Once you understand that, the Thermomix vs air fryer debate becomes much easier.

What is an air fryer actually good at?

Let's start with the appliance that seems to have taken over British kitchens. An air fryer circulates hot air around the food, creating that golden, crispy outside we associate with roasting or deep frying. That's exactly why people love them.

Imagine it's 5.30pm. The children are hungry, you've still got things to do, and waiting for the oven to heat up isn't appealing. You put chicken in the air fryer. A few minutes later, dinner is on its way.

Air fryers are particularly good at foods where texture matters: crispy chicken, chips, wedges, roasted vegetables, sausages, salmon, fish fingers — even yesterday's pizza. Many modern models can also roast, bake and reheat. Dual-zone models can cook two foods at different temperatures at the same time.

So if you're asking "What is the best appliance for crispy chicken?" I'm not going to pretend the answer is Thermomix. It's the air fryer. And that's perfectly okay.

But then what does the Thermomix do?

This is where the comparison gets interesting. Thermomix isn't really trying to compete with your air fryer. It approaches cooking from a completely different direction.

Instead of concentrating on how quickly you can crisp something up, Thermomix is designed to help with the preparation and cooking of food. You can weigh ingredients in the bowl, chop vegetables, mix, blend sauces and soups, knead dough, steam and cook meals.

And then there is guided cooking. Instead of standing in front of the fridge wondering what on earth you're going to cook tonight, you can follow recipes step by step on the screen via Cookidoo®. For a busy family, that can matter more than it sounds — because sometimes the hardest part of cooking isn't cooking. It's deciding what to cook.

The real difference between Thermomix and air fryer

Imagine homemade chicken burgers. Your air fryer is fantastic for cooking the chicken. But before that chicken gets anywhere near the basket, you might need a sauce, a marinade, breadcrumbs or another component of the meal. That's where Thermomix becomes useful.

The same thing happens with homemade pizza. The air fryer can cook a small pizza quickly. But if you want to make the dough yourself, that's a job for Thermomix. Make the dough, prepare the tomato sauce, get everything ready — then let the air fryer take over for the crispy, golden finish.

Suddenly you're not choosing between Thermomix and air fryer. You're using both. And honestly, that's probably the most useful way to think about them.

Thermomix vs air fryer for family dinners

If you're a busy parent, you don't need another person telling you that family dinner should be quick and healthy. You already know that. Real life doesn't always cooperate: school runs, homework, clubs, washing, and children who suddenly decide they don't like the dinner they've been eating happily for months.

An air fryer can make the cooking part of certain meals incredibly quick. Thermomix can simplify the preparation and cooking of many others. Think about a September week of school routines: tomato pasta sauce on Monday, chicken curry on Tuesday, vegetable soup and homemade bread on Wednesday, meatballs on Thursday, homemade pizza on Friday.

The value isn't that every meal is cooked entirely in the Thermomix. The value is that homemade food can feel more manageable. And if you also have an air fryer, you have another tool for the parts of dinner that benefit from high heat and crispy textures.

What can an air fryer do better than a Thermomix?

Quite a lot, actually. If you love crispy potatoes, an air fryer is difficult to beat. The same goes for chicken wings, crispy chicken, roasted vegetables and foods that need that golden exterior.

It's also fantastic for reheating. Leftover pizza from last night? The microwave will make it hot. The air fryer can make it hot and crispy again. That's a completely different result.

A Thermomix is incredibly versatile, but it isn't an air fryer. It isn't designed to circulate dry, high-speed hot air around food. So if crispy food is a big part of your family's meals, an air fryer is still incredibly useful. See also our honest Thermomix vs Ninja Foodi comparison if you're looking at multi-cookers that air fry.

And what can Thermomix do that an air fryer can't?

This is where the difference becomes even clearer. An air fryer isn't going to make you a smooth homemade tomato sauce. It isn't going to knead pizza dough, blend soup until it's silky, make hummus or pesto, weigh ingredients for you, or guide you through a recipe step by step. And it isn't designed to steam a whole meal using a Varoma.

That's why comparing the two purely on cooking speed doesn't really work. They're solving different problems. If your problem is "I need my chicken to cook quickly", an air fryer could be exactly what you need. If your problem is "I want to cook more homemade food but I don't have the time, energy or confidence to do everything from scratch", that's where Thermomix becomes much more interesting.

What about children?

This is another area where the two appliances can complement each other beautifully. Children tend to love crispy food: chicken goujons, potato wedges, sausages, mini pizzas, fish fingers. An air fryer can make these incredibly convenient.

But parents often want to know what's actually going into those foods. With Thermomix you can prepare your own sauces, dips, doughs and fillings — homemade hummus, pizza dough, tomato sauce, sausage-roll filling — then let the air fryer take care of the crispy part. It's not about making every single thing from scratch every day. It's about having the option. Our back-to-school lunch ideas use the same idea.

Can Thermomix replace an air fryer?

If you're hoping that having a Thermomix means you can throw the air fryer away, I'd say: not necessarily. If you regularly cook foods that need to be crispy, you'll probably still appreciate an air fryer. One of the biggest misconceptions is that you need to use Thermomix for absolutely everything. You don't. Let each appliance do what it does best.

If I'm making soup, I reach for Thermomix. If I'm making crispy chicken, I reach for the air fryer. If I'm making pizza dough, Thermomix. If I'm reheating pizza, air fryer. It's really that simple.

Can an air fryer replace a Thermomix?

This is also no — for a completely different reason. An air fryer can cook food beautifully, but it doesn't replace Thermomix food-preparation functions. It doesn't chop vegetables, blend soup, knead dough, make pesto, turn ingredients into a smooth sauce, or give you the same guided cooking experience.

So if you've been thinking "I already own an air fryer, so I don't need a Thermomix", ask a slightly different question: what do you wish your air fryer could do? If the answer is "make crispy food faster", you're probably already covered. If you're wishing it could help you prepare sauces, soups, dough, dips or complete recipes, you're looking for something different.

What about saving money and time?

An air fryer can be efficient for smaller quantities compared with heating a full-size oven — though the actual saving depends on the model, time, temperature and how much food you're cooking. Saving money isn't only about electricity, though. A jar of pesto, a tub of hummus, a loaf of bread, a pizza, a tomato sauce, a soup, a batch of muffins — buying these individually adds up. Making them at home gives you more control over ingredients and portions. That's one reason Thermomix is interesting for families: it changes how you prepare food, not just how you heat it.

Which one saves more time? It depends entirely on what you're making. A few sausages? Air fryer. Homemade soup? Thermomix. Reheating yesterday's pizza? Air fryer. Pizza dough from scratch? Thermomix. Roasting vegetables? Air fryer. A curry with a homemade sauce? Thermomix. There isn't one universal winner.

Small kitchen? Think about what you actually cook every week, not what everyone else has. Lots of crispy food? An air fryer makes sense. Soups, sauces, dough, family meals and baking? Thermomix may be more useful. Both styles regularly? Having both can make the kitchen more efficient, not more cluttered — because each one earns its space.

The best of both worlds

Homemade sausage rolls: Thermomix can help prepare the filling; the air fryer can cook them until golden. Homemade pizza: Thermomix makes the dough and sauce; the air fryer cooks the pizza. Family chicken dinner: Thermomix prepares the sauce and a side; the air fryer cooks the chicken until crisp. Neither appliance is doing everything. They're simply doing the job they're best at. That can make cooking feel much less complicated.

So, Thermomix or air fryer?

If you've read this far hoping I'll declare one the winner, I'm going to disappoint you. There isn't one. And that's actually good news.

An air fryer is fantastic at what it was designed to do: fast, convenient, crispy cooking. Thermomix is fantastic at something different: helping you prepare and cook homemade food with less hands-on work.

If you already own an air fryer, a Thermomix wouldn't give you another appliance that does exactly the same thing. It would give you another tool — one that can take care of the part of cooking that happens before the air fryer ever gets switched on.

The easiest way to remember it

When you're standing in the kitchen deciding which appliance to use, keep it simple. Crispy? Air fryer. Homemade dough? Thermomix. Roasted food? Air fryer. Soup? Thermomix. Reheat pizza? Air fryer. Make the pizza dough? Thermomix. Quick crispy dinner? Air fryer. Help preparing a homemade family meal? Thermomix.

Perhaps the better question isn't "Which one is better — Thermomix or air fryer?" Perhaps it's "Which one will make my life easier?" For some families, the answer will be an air fryer. For others, Thermomix. And for many busy families, it might just be both.

If you want to see Thermomix in action before you decide, book a free demo in Surrey, London or online. You can also read our TM7 review and how to get a Thermomix TM7 in the UK.

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