Ninja Combi SFP701ANZ Verdict

Who it fits

The Ninja Combi SFP701ANZ belongs on the shortlist when you want a front-opening complete-meal system built around steam, air frying and oven-style cooking — and you do not need pressure cooking.

That final condition is decisive. Despite sitting in the Multicooker category and carrying 14 functions, the SFP701 is not a pressure multicooker. Its HyperSteam + Air Fry architecture is built around coordinated meals, baking, grilling, steaming and crisping in a front-opening tray-and-pan format.

What changes the decision

Pressure cooking is the first switching rule

The governed SFP701 function set does not include pressure cooking. If pressure is essential, the Combi should leave the shortlist before any other feature is compared.

If pressure cooking is optional, its different architecture becomes a strength rather than a compromise. The Combi can then be judged on the jobs it is actually designed to do: complete meals, steam, air frying and oven-style cooking.

The Combi workflow matters more than the 14-mode headline

The governed function list includes Combi Meals, Combi Crisp, Combi Bake, Rice/Pasta, Steam, Prove, Grill, Air Fry, Bake, Reheat, Slow Cook, Sear/Sauté, Pizza and Toast.

The meaningful difference is the Combi Cooker Technology combining HyperSteam and Air Fry. If that coordinated steam-plus-dry-air workflow can replace separate pots, trays or appliances in your routine, the system has a clear purpose. If you mainly need one simple cooking mode, 14 functions become complexity rather than value.

Front-opening access changes the kind of meals it suits

The SFP701 uses a front-opening slide-in/shelf format rather than a deep, top-opening pressure-cooker pot. That makes it easier to think of as a benchtop oven/steamer/air-fryer hybrid than as a litre-for-litre substitute for the Instant Pot or Foodi pressure cookers.

It is also why a generic capacity ranking would be misleading. Ninja Australia says the system feeds up to eight people, while Australian sources conflict on a litre-capacity figure. The canonical record therefore leaves capacityLitres unresolved and uses the supplied Combi Pan, Bake Tray and Crisper Plate — plus the manufacturer's meal guidance — as the more honest sizing context.

“Feeds up to eight” is still manufacturer positioning, not a guarantee that every recipe or tray configuration serves eight.

Slow cooking is a genuine caution

Slow Cook appears in the 14-function list, but CHOICE's Australian assessment reported disappointing slow-cooking performance while being more positive about the Combi/air-fry side.

That makes slow cooking a weak primary reason to choose this model. If the purchase thesis is complete meals, air frying and steaming, the independent result points attention back toward the parts of the platform that better support that use case.

The appliance needs a deliberate bench position

The governed dimensions are 39cm wide × 37cm deep × 33.2cm high, with a recorded weight of 9.98kg. That makes repeated cupboard-to-bench movement a less convincing ownership plan, particularly because the product record itself flags very small kitchens without a permanent bench position as unsuitable.

The governed 1780W figure describes electrical load; it is not evidence that the Combi cooks faster than the OL650, OP350 or another appliance. Actual cooking time depends on mode, food load, steam generation, airflow and control logic.

The buyer-feedback card below adds ownership context without changing the permanent fit around pressure, meal format and slow-cooking expectations.

Who should choose something else

Choose the Ninja Foodi SmartLid OL650 when pressure cooking is required but you still want built-in air frying and SteamCrisp under one lid. Compare Ninja Combi vs SmartLid OL650.

Choose the Ninja Foodi OP350ANZ when pressure plus crisping matters and a 6L, two-lid Foodi workflow is acceptable.

Choose the Instant Pot Duo Plus 8L when large-batch pressure cooking matters more than front-opening complete-meal flexibility.

Choose a dedicated air fryer when crisping and reheating are the main jobs and the Combi's steam, tray-and-pan meal coordination and broader oven-style functions would mostly go unused.

PIQSY conclusion

Choose the SFP701 when pressure cooking is not required and the front-opening Combi-meal workflow would genuinely replace several separate cooking steps. Steam + air fry, family meal coordination and oven-style access are its reasons to buy — not the 14-mode count by itself.

Skip it when pressure cooking is essential, slow cooking is the primary use case, or you cannot justify its bench space with recurring Combi/air-fry/steam use. Those conditions directly weaken the architecture's reason to exist.