The 4 Best Food Dehydrators, According to Our Tests

The Tests

To find the best dehydrators on the market, we tested six top-performing dehydrators, based on our previous tests. Following the instructions for each, we dried herbs, made beef jerky, and made fruit leather. For the herbs, we used fresh thyme springs; for the jerky, beef round steak with beer, sauces, and seasoning; and for the fruit leather, blueberries with lemon juice and sugar. During the testing process, we took note of the following.

• Performance: We looked for food dehydrators that could heat quickly and evenly. We recorded temperatures at three spots inside the dehydrators (to the left, at the center, and to the right), looking for accuracy and consistency during the dehydrating process. And, of course, the ultimate test was whether foods dehydrated properly.
• Ease of Use: If getting started with a dehydrator is difficult, you may not want to use it as often. We appreciated dehydrators we could use basically out of the box, with minimal setup and easy-to-follow instructions.
• Ease of Cleaning: Dishwasher-safe parts make a dehydrator much easier it is to clean, so we rated dishwasher-friendly models higher than those that required hand-washing.
• Design: We assessed various design elements, including the position of the fan, ventilation holes on the trays, the temperature dial and range, presets, safety features, and the overall capacity.
• Noise Level: Dehydrators can be noisy because of their built-in fans, so we rated the noise level by playing a song with the machine on. Could we still hear the song clearly with the dehydrator running or did it muffle the music? Was it loud enough to remind us of a noise machine?

Factors to Consider

Airflow

"Because airflow is key to success, look for dehydrators that allow enough space for the trays," says Ward. "What makes dehydration work is time, airflow, and heat. If you add extra layers or overcrowd the trays, you impede the airflow and overtax the heat capacity, resulting in uneven dehydrating and, in the worst case, bacterial activity before sufficient moisture is removed." This is something to bear in mind with the Nesco Gardenmaster: If you buy extra trays, make sure you aren't overcrowding your food.

Heating Elements

"A high-quality dehydrator must have a fan to ensure airflow throughout the machine,” Ward says. “People are often surprised to see that the heating element in many models is a lightbulb. Dehydrators work because circulated heat evaporates the moisture in the food. However, cheap models without a fan can still work much more slowly and inconsistently, and usually only once before the heating element burns out," she says.

Rear-mounted heating elements are ideal for even temperature and air distribution, according to Ward. If you decide to go with a model that has a top or bottom heating element, you'll want to rotate the trays occasionally for even drying, according to Ward, who would opt for a model with the heating element on top (if not at the back of the machine).

Size and Capacity

Of course, you’ll want to consider the footprint of a dehydrator and how it will fit in your kitchen. Even if you have the space for a larger model, do you need a large capacity? Smaller models would work for a one- or two-person household, but families may prefer a larger model, like the Magic Mill. 

Other Food Dehydrators We Tested

Strong Contenders

Cosori Food Dehydrator ($136 at Amazon)
This mid-sized food dehydrator is 12.25 inches tall and can fit in a cabinet or on a countertop with a shelf overhead. Like the Excalibur, it weighs 18 pounds and has handles for easy lifting, but it has a smaller capacity with 6.5 square feet of drying space. This Cosori gave us consistent results from tray to tray, but we were disappointed with the hard, dry texture of the jerky. It also doesn’t have presets, and we wish it let us change the time and temperature settings after it starts. 

Nesco Gardenmaster Food Dehydrator ($131 at Amazon)
Using the four included trays keeps the Gardenmaster more compact, but for bigger dehydrating projects, you can expand it up to 20 trays. It also remains cool to the touch during operation, and the machine is easily opened with a handle on the lid. While the Gardenmaster is great for produce, our jerky results were disappointing. Also, the round trays mean that longer stalks of herbs will need to be cut into pieces to dry efficiently. Though the plastic trays are said to be dishwasher-safe, we removed them before the drying cycle.

Presto Dehydro Digital Electric Food Dehydrator ($95 at Amazon)
The trays fit nicely together, and fingertip handles help give you a more confident grip as you add and remove them. Ultimately, it didn't make our list because it wasn't as effective at handling fruit leather as some other models. The leather itself had ridges in it because of the shape of the trays, and it stuck to the tray, making cleaning more difficult.

Gourmia Premium Electric Food Dehydrator Machine ($190 at Gourmia)
Though a small machine with a small footprint, the capacity felt better/larger than some of the other small models. It also dried fairly evenly, more so than many compact models we tested. In all, the controls are very basic, and we didn't like that the racks are not dishwasher safe.

L'Equip FilterPro 6 Tray Food Dehydrator ($149 at Amazon)
This medium-sized machine with a medium footprint has a larger capacity than some of the compact models we tested. Unlike some models, it is entirely opaque, so you can't check on your food without entirely opening the dehydrator to see inside. The trays are also not dishwasher-safe and would be hard to clean in a smaller sink, and we noted that this dehydrator also does not dry as evenly as some others.

Aroma Housewares Professional 6 Tray Food Dehydrator ($150 at Aroma Housewares)
This dehydrator is quieter than some other models, and we found its trays were easier to wash by hand than some models. The trays slide out nicely, and the holes in the trays are well-spaced. We did not include this model because it only has a temperature gauge and does not have a timer.

Tribest Sedona Digital Food Dehydrator ($550 at Amazon)
The Tribest is easy to use and efficient with a very quiet motor. It's significantly more expensive than others on our list, though. It has a large capacity, and we'd have no problem leaving it out on our countertops to display its streamlined design. It’s taller than it is wide, so it may not fit inside some cabinets if you do wish to store it. We loved it for fruit leather, which peeled off in one piece without any sticking or cracking. 

Samson "Silent" Dehydrator ($145 at Amazon)
We loved the Samson's design, ease of use, and quiet operation. Though it is a bit harder to clean than other models, we found it made delicious snacks from whatever fruit and vegetable we threw at it. It's not too tall, so it can fit easily into a cabinet. It's harder to clean than some of our other top picks, however, as the metal racks have some crevices and ridges and are not dishwasher-safe.

What Didn’t Make the List 

Testing 25 food dehydrators, some inevitably don’t make our list, including models from brands like Cuisinart and Hamilton Beach. With some dehydrators, we were unsatisfied with the control panel or design elements, while others took too long to dry or were too difficult to clean. A few were uneven in their drying, gave us safety concerns, or were simply too complicated or bulky to be considered top performers.

Our Expertise

• Julia Skinner, Ph.D., is a writer, culinary educator, avid gardener, and food preserver, and author of Our Fermented Lives. She writes about and teaches fermentation and food preservation through her business, Root, and through her newsletter.
• Mary Claire Lagroue is the Commerce Editor at Food & Wine. A former Associate Editor at Allrecipes, she joined Dotdash Meredith in 2019. She has written about food since 2017, covering product reviews, restaurants, and recipes.
• Christina Ward is an author, editor, and the Master Food Preserver for Wisconsin. She is the author of Preservation: The Art and Science of Canning, Fermentation, and Dehydration.