Chill Out With These Expert-Recommended Ice Machines

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Ice machines are like drink butlers, providing cubes for cocktails, carafes, or crunching, in mere minutes. These handy appliances let you ditch manual ice trays (along with the anxiety-inducing walk between the sink and the freezer) and opt for a portable design (provided you have power) for chilling drinks out on the patio or a compact style that sits at your home coffee bar.

If you want cool ice (pun intended), go for nugget ice. Sometimes this is called pebble ice or Sonic ice (so-named for the Midwest fast food drive-up chain). The crunchy, airy little nuggets are pleasant to chew, slightly softer than the traditional bullet-shaped ice released by your fridge dispenser.

If you’re adding a few cubes to a glass of lemonade or to a pitcher of iced tea—or better yet, an Arnold Palmer—there are a host of countertop and undercounter ice machines that produce batches of ice every few minutes. If you regularly make cocktails, you might be interested in trying an ice maker that produces clear ice. Not only does it add panache to the look of your drink, but clear ice also melts slower than cloudier ice because it is denser, so it can ultimately contribute to better taste. For instance, clear ice would be preferred in an Old Fashioned, when you want your whiskey to stay chilled without being diluted too quickly.

Ice, believe it or not, can help make a meal or a moment. What could be more tempting than a frosty soda with pizza before a movie night with the family, a handful of cubes blended into a smoothie after a tough workout, or a small pour of Scotch in a tumbler with a cube or two of ice to gently ease you into your evening?

Best Ice Makers

• Best Overall: Frigidaire EFIC189 Ice Maker

• Most Affordable: Orgo Products The Retro Ice Maker

• Best Pellet: GE Profile Opal 2.0 Ice Maker

• Most Portable: Igloo Automatic Self-Cleaning Ice Maker

• Best Value: Magic Chef Ice Maker

Types of Ice Makers and How They Work

Ice machines are adept at making ice, but they are not freezers. Ice inside will melt eventually. The good news, however, is the melt water is returned to the tank and made into ice again. A tip here: To get the most out of your ice machine and cut down on mineral build-up, use bottled, distilled, or filtered water.

Countertop ice makers are built for small spaces, perfect for a pantry or an RV. The average countertop machine makes nine to 24 cubes—enough for two or three glasses of iced tea—every 6 to 20 minutes. But if you’re throwing a party, you’ll need an undercounter or freestanding model depending on how much of the neighborhood is invited.

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Freestanding and undercounter ice makers typically have a dedicated water line and drain line (you might need a plumber or licensed contractor for the installation), whereas their countertop counterparts have a tank to hold water and a plug to drain it.

If you want features beyond sensors that know when an ice tray is full, you’ll likely have to spend more money. Self-cleaning cycles, timers, the ability to adjust ice thickness (thinner ice melts faster but is quicker to produce), and a larger capacity are more common on expensive models.

Just as you would with diamonds, consider the shape and clarity of your ice before buying an ice maker. Bullet ice (cone-shaped with a hole in the middle) is made by cooled metal rods dipping into a pool of water. Clear cubes, like the kinds you see in craft cocktail bars, are produced in layers with water continuously flowing over a chilled rack. Pebble ice (often called Sonic ice or pellet ice) is made of flakes of ice that have been compressed together. Crescent ice is the half-moon shape you typically see in a freezer.

How We Evaluated Ice Machines

While I write about food and kitchen tools professionally, I also have relied on a countertop ice maker for several months during a kitchen renovation when our refrigerator was a mini fridge. To recommend the best ice makers, I compared the daily ice output, size, durability, and price of machines, as well as the type of ice produced. I looked at expert sites, like Wirecutter, Good Housekeeping, Epicurious, and Liquor.com, customer reviews from Amazon and Williams-Sonoma, and online videos of the machines in action. The 10 machines below are the best ice machines for a variety of needs and situations.

EFIC189 Clear Ice Maker

With its modern style, countertop friendly size, and easy-to-use interface, the Frigidaire is a solid choice for an everyday ice machine that is affordably priced. This machine makes two sizes of bullet ice cubes—each 6 minute cycle delivers nine ice cubes—and produces up to 26 pounds per day.

The flip-up, transparent lid lets you check on your ice supply. As unused ice melts, the machine recycles the water to make fresh ice, saving you from repeatedly draining the appliance.

Profile Opal 2.0 Ice Maker

Bells, meet whistles. You’ve probably heard about “good ice” and this machine delivers it with little ice pellets that promise the satisfying crunch you might crave.

Technophiles will be satisfied, too, as the W-Fi-enabled Opal has the SmartHQ app so you can use your smartphone to schedule when you want your next batch of ice. Prefer to speak your instructions? This machine can handle voice commands through Alexa and Google.

The Opal is costly, but it has other key features like a self-cleaning system, which means fresher tasting ice. The sleek design in black or stainless steel looks impressive on countertops and the optional side tank (for $70 more) means fewer refills.

Automatic Self-Cleaning Portable Countertop Ice Maker

For picnics, tailgates, and camping, this Igloo Automatic ice maker is convenient to take along with its top carry handle. It isn't lightweight, though, as it clocks in at 20 pounds.

The Igloo gets plenty of points for style (check out the aqua color, one of four shades available) and large window on the lid that lets you keep a check on ice cube capacity.

Ice makers, like humidifiers, can build up scale if you’re using them infrequently, but this machine has a convenient self-cleaning mode to manage this.

Portable Ice Maker

This compact ice maker is well-suited for apartment kitchens where counter space is limited. It’s small but mighty, with a slightly larger basket than similar models and can make nine cubes in 7 minutes, and up to 27 pounds of ice a day. Enjoy bullet ice at two sizes: small cubes for crunching and larger cubes for drinks.

Like some of the other picks in this roundup, the water from melted ice is recycled through the machine to refreeze into fresh ice. The clear window at the top lets you see how much ice you've got at your disposal at any given time.

The Retro Countertop Ice Maker

Simple and stunning, Orgo’s Retro countertop ice maker exudes a mid-century modern aesthetic. This trimmed down ice maker—available in black, white, sage, or blue—is like a bread machine’s little brother.

It rapidly produces two sizes of bullet-shaped ice (the smaller size can be crunched like pellet ice), but it is not designed to store ice. The brand claims that ice can be made in 6 to 8 minutes. The small bin means you’ll need to deal with your ice promptly by either making drinks shortly after you start up the machine or storing any fresh ice in the freezer.

Commercial Ice Machine

You don’t have to worry about running to the store in the middle of a party when you own the Vevor Commercial Ice Maker. It can produce 121 pounds of ice every 24 hours, with each cycle taking 11- to 15 minutes for about 50 ice cubes.

This stainless steel ice machine has a jazzy blue interior light and produces three different thicknesses of ice and can store—not make— up to 29 pounds of ice (that’s bigger than the big bag at your gas station). It comes with a water filter, and needs to be attached to a water source.

Undercounter Clear Ice Maker

The best part of waking up when you own this professional looking appliance: 25 pounds of crystal clear ice waiting for your pool drinks. The NewAir Undercounter Ice Maker can be programmed up to 24 hours in advance and functions as either a built-in or standalone ice maker.

It does require a dedicated water line, and the non-reversible door only opens to the right if you’re thinking about where to install the machine.

V2.0 Countertop Nugget Ice Machine

Flip open the lid, slide the basket out, and then scoop out crunchy little barrels of ice. Even with its large bucket, the streamlined Gevi ice maker still fits under standard cabinets.

Available in black (with stainless steel accents), white (with rose gold accents), or with a viewing window (so you can see how much ice you have left), this machine has a muted exhaust fan to minimize any distracting noise. There’s no storage for the scoop that's included, so you’ll have to improvise a solution or keep it handy in a nearby drawer.

KBice Self-Dispensing Countertop Nugget Ice Maker

There’s no need for opening the top and digging around in the bin with the KBice nugget ice maker. It has a built-in dispenser so you can grab a glass, push a button, and nibble on nugget ice whenever you want.

While this machine does have a slower start-up compared to other models, ice is still available in 30 minutes. You’ll appreciate the self-cleaning cycle to make sure there are no off flavors in your pebble ice. Keep in mind you’ll want to use distilled water for the best results.

Expert Jonathan Bender on Ice Machines Versus Freezers, Managing Noise Expectations, and Where to Keep Your Ice Maker.

For how long will my ice maker keep ice frozen?

While ice makers have insulation, they are not freezers. You can expect your ice maker to hold ice for a few hours with the door closed, but eventually the ice will melt back into water and return to the reservoir or will need to be drained.

Are these machines noisy?

Ice machines hum and thrum and clank like a mildly insistent robot while they’re working to make ice. They’re likely as loud as your coffee maker, making the most noise at the start of an ice cycle and when cubes start clanging into an empty bin.

Where is the best place to keep an ice maker? Counter? Bar cart?

Keep your ice machine close to where you’ll be making your drinks. Remember, you’ll need an outlet close by and possibly a water line. If you’re tucking it away on a shelf, make sure you can easily get the ice out and have enough space to lift the lid.

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