The 6 Best Ice Cream Makers of 2024, According to Testing

Best Overall

Ninja Creami Deluxe XL Ice Cream Maker

View On Amazon $220 View On Target $200 View On Wayfair $230

Our Ratings

• Ease of Use
  5/5
• Design
  5/5
• Performance
  5/5

We found the Ninja to be a high-quality, multi-functional device with a sleek, modern aesthetic. It’s about the same size as a countertop coffee maker, and it was easy to use thanks to the user-friendly buttons and countdown screen. It even helped us troubleshoot, with lights that indicated when the bowl base wasn’t in place correctly.

There are 10 settings designed for different desserts, as well as re-spin and mix-in buttons to help fine-tune frozen creations. And even better, it can also be used to make other frozen concoctions, like Italian ice and frozen drinks. 

It took about five minutes to blend the ice cream, plus four to five minutes of adding in the mix-ins. After blending, the fat was fully incorporated, which gave our ice cream a firm, glossy consistency without any ice grit or separation.

The mix-ins stayed firm, though they did get broken up a bit, and didn’t impact the color or texture of the base. Because it runs on a timer, it doesn’t need to be continuously monitored to make sure it’s finished. 

Ultimately, the ice cream was both dense and creamy, with perfectly suspended mix-ins and fluffy texture, scoopability, and color. It performed equally well when we made sorbet, taking about five and a half minutes to make a firm sorbet with consistent smooth texture.

The mixing process was very clean, and most of the removable parts are dishwasher-safe, though we found them easy enough to wash by hand. We also appreciated that the buttons of the control panel didn’t have any crevices that could potentially collect melted ice cream. 

It did get a little loud during use, similar in volume and pitch to a coffee grinder, and the base does need to be frozen beforehand. However, these were minor inconveniences in the overall scale of our tests. This machine yields 2 pints of ice cream per batch, so it’s perfect for making ice cream with your family this summer. 

Product Details: Batch Size: 2 pints | Dimensions: 12.01 x 8.42 x 16.69 inches | Warranty: One year

Best Splurge

Breville The Smart Scoop Ice Cream Maker

View On Amazon $484 View On Walmart $466 View On Williams-Sonoma $500

Our Ratings

• Ease of Use
  5/5
• Design
  4.8/5
• Taste
  5/5
• Performance
  4.5/5
• Ease of Cleaning
  4.5/5

A compressor model is the closest you can get to professionally made ice cream at home, but it won’t come cheap. However, the intuitive design of this top ice cream maker will basically do everything for you.

Users can choose the firmness level (which will set the matching timer automatically) as well as whether they’ve frozen the bowl beforehand or pre-cooling, and the display shows the firmness, degrees as it spins, and the total time. It also will keep cool automatically for 15 minutes, all done with the turn of a dial or push of a button. 

During our testing, it took 44 minutes to completely churn the ice cream with mix-ins, and the final consistency was a soft serve texture, but it was dense enough that it held its shape on the spatula when being transferred to containers.

There was a small amount of grittiness from ice in the final product, but it was still one of the best tasting ice creams during our testing. After adding the mix-ins to the ice cream, the texture was still the same and it only took about two minutes for the ingredients to mix together. 

When we made sorbet using the sorbet setting, it took 54 minutes, though we felt it could have used a slightly shorter spin. It came out a little on the dense side and felt a bit overspun, with a lot of gritty ice crystals. However, the flavor was noticeable and not muted, unlike some other sorbets we tested. We think if the spin time was shortened by about five minutes, it would produce a perfect sorbet.

We also found it mostly easy to clean, aside from some small grooves around the edge where the lid locks in. Because of all this and all of the easy-to-use preset functions, this is the best ice cream maker for those who are able to splurge. 

Product Details: Batch Size: 1.1 quarts | Dimensions: 15.75 x 11 x 11 inches | Warranty: One year

Best Small

Cuisinart Frozen Yogurt, Ice Cream, & Sorbet Maker

View On Amazon View On Walmart $70 View On Lowe's $70

Our Ratings

• Ease of Use
  4.9/5
• Design
  5/5
• Performance
  5/5

If you have limited counter space in your kitchen, this small appliance is the best ice cream maker for you. At just 9.5 inches long and 9 inches tall, it will make flavorful ice cream without taking up too much space.

Most of the design features were very simple and easy to use, with intuitive inclusions like an ingredient spout for adding mix-ins and an easy-lock lid. We also loved that the manual was very clear and made the process easy to follow.

It took about 20 minutes to churn ice cream with mix-ins, and the result was an easy-to-scoop ice cream that held its shape well, with mix-ins incorporated well into the base. During the process, it was quiet enough not to disturb anyone trying to work on other tasks nearby.

After sitting overnight, it still tasted smooth, without any wateriness or iciness, and was still firm to scoop with an ice cream scoop. It also aced our sorbet test, easily making a smooth, luscious sorbet with vibrant flavor in 20 minutes.

The process also ran cleanly, with any risk of overflow contained by the locking lid. However, once we were done, there was some minor mess while trying to remove the mixing paddle. Ice cream got stuck in some of the grooves of the paddle, and when we removed the bowl, some ice cream overflowed onto the sides as well.

The mixing paddle and lid are dishwasher-safe, but the bowl needs to be hand-washed, which was a little tricky until the frozen ice cream remnants melted under warm water. 

Product Details: Batch Size: 1.5 quarts | Dimensions: 9.5 x 9 x 11.25 inches | Warranty: Three years

Best Manuel

Donvier Manual Ice Cream Maker

View On Amazon $99

Our Ratings

• Ease of Use
  4.5/5
• Design
  4/5
• Performance
  4.8/5

If you’d like to get the whole family in on the churning action, you may want a manual ice cream maker. While this petite round ice cream maker was challenging to set up, it should provide a good time for all once it’s ready to use.

It has a few main parts: the frozen canister that sits inside the base, a plastic seal ring that goes over the lip of the canister, a clear dome lid, and a crank and churning blade. Getting the plastic seal to lock in between the canister and base was awkward and frustrating.

To make ice cream, users simply turn the crank about three or four times every two to three minutes until it reaches the desired consistency. We found it to be an easy process, though it became somewhat tedious to pay attention to. But the churning action itself was easy and didn’t require a lot of strength or effort.

It ultimately took us 57 minutes to get the ice cream to our desired level, which held its shape but was still on the softer side, and the mix-ins incorporated very well. After two hours, it was more firm and creamy, but also on the denser side and fairly icy. 

In our sorbet test, it required a lot of babysitting. While during the ice cream test, it only needed to be turned every two to three minutes, we had to turn it about once per minute since the sorbet froze so much faster.

If we didn’t keep churning, the blade would freeze to the sides. Overall, it took about 26 mins to fully churn the sorbet, which is a lot of time to pay that much attention to the machine. It produced a fluffy sorbet thanks to all the churning, which was easy to scoop and held its shape, ultimately turning out to be one of the best-textured sorbets in our tests.

It made no mess during the process and was very easy to clean. The only slight messiness came from taking the churning blade out and setting it aside on our table to be able to access the ice cream, which was easily wiped up. Otherwise, there was no mess on the base of the machine, and the canister base, blade, and lid all cleaned up smoothly with warm, soapy water.

Product Details: Batch Size: 1 quart | Dimensions: 9.2 x 8.8 x 9.04 inches | Warranty: One year

Best Vintage

Nostalgia Wood Bucket Ice Cream Maker

View On Amazon $45 View On Wayfair $50 View On Walmart $50

Our Ratings

• Ease of Use
  4.5/5
• Design
  4.5/5
• Performance
  4.9/5

If you’re looking for an old-fashioned ice cream maker, this is the best ice cream maker for you. Though its footprint isn’t too large, it is fairly tall at 16 inches high (the second-tallest in our tests), so may not fit on a counter with cabinets above it.

Setup was easy, but we did note that the freezer canister wouldn’t sit steadily on the base of the churn bucket until the motor was attached. This made it a bit tricky to mount the motor while holding the filled freezer canister. However, this may be easier if you have two people involved. 

It was easy to add ice and salt while the machine was running, though a little messy. Once we were ready to make the ice cream, we found that the electric motor provided a notable upgrade over a purely manual churner, and the paddle grates churned evenly without requiring any stopping and stirring of the ice cream. 

During our testing, the ice cream took 38 minutes to fully churn, plus an additional three to four minutes to add in the mix-ins. Initially, the resulting ice cream was on the softer side, and did not maintain its shape. The texture was also a little inconsistent, similar to a thick milkshake with some ice mixed in.

However, after setting for two hours the consistency improved, and it got even better after freezing overnight, resulting in a smooth texture that was easy to scoop and even in consistency with a good balance of sugar and fat.

Our sorbet also turned out with a delicious, concentrated flavor, and still had a smooth texture after sitting in the freezer for two hours, with only a small amount of ice and nice sheen and clarity. The cleaning process was easy, which was fortunate because it did make a mess during the churning process, but it’s a great interactive machine for a family and user-friendly for beginners.

Product Details: Batch Size: 4 or 6 quarts | Dimensions: 12 x 12 x 16 inches | Warranty: None listed