Is a toaster oven with air fry mode worth it over a dedicated air fryer?

For most households, yes. Combo units handle toast, bake, broil and air fry in one footprint, and across the reviewers we read, the air fry results on premium combo ovens are close to dedicated baskets. Specialist communities note that dedicated air fryers still crisp slightly better at small portions, but lose to combo ovens on capacity and versatility.