First, let’s talk about how these small kitchen appliances are the same. Both air fryers and convection ovens blow hot air to cook food. In other words, the general mechanism used to cook food is the same, and you can prepare foods in both an air fryer and a convection oven with little to no oil. But an air fryer is smaller, and the hot air inside it moves at a faster speed than that in a convection oven. As such, it takes less time to prepare food in an air fryer.Air fryers also tend to take up less space on your counter, and because of their compact size, they’re easier to clean.