My kids nodded enthusiastically when I said I was going to be churning out lots of ice cream and sorbet while testing the best ice cream makers on market. (Amazon)(Amazon)
There's nothing like the dog days of summer to encourage indulging in ice cream cravings. However, I think we can agree that there's no season for everyone's frozen treat. According to the International Dairy Foods Association, the average American eats roughly 19 pounds of ice cream each year, or about four gallons! If you could create the perfect homemade ice cream, exactly how you want it, wouldn't that be an incredible treat? Enter the best ice cream makers for 2025.
As a culinary school graduate, kitchen gear expert, and mom of two, I was excited to test the most popular ice cream makers on the market. I had lots of questions: Would they be giant machines? Would they be too loud? Would they make more than just straight-up dairy ice cream? Could they handle mix-ins? Would any of them offer instant gratification when a craving strikes?
After researching nearly 100 home ice cream makers, I narrowed down the testing pool to eight popular picks. I ruled out manual models in favor of electric models because they do not require tedious hand-cranking. These machines feature a canister (or insulated bowl) that you must freeze before installing on a base and churning, or a compressor, which freezes the ice cream base and churns it in one go. In all the models, I looked for ease of use, a variety of functions and value. My picks for the best ice cream makers are a lot of fun to use and produce excellent homemade frozen treats.
Related: More cooking must-haves, including Ina Garten's go-to kitchen gadgets, the best cookware sets and the best chef's knives.
Update, July 8, 2025: We checked all product prices and availability. Our No. 1 pick for best nonstick pan remains unchanged.
Capacity: 1.5 quart | Dimensions: 9.5"L x 9"W x 11.25"H | Weight: 11 lbs.
With the caveat that you must freeze the canister 16 to 24 hours in advance and that this Cuisinart machine is not ideal when taking work calls (it's quite noisy!), it's the easiest and most foolproof ice cream maker we tried. And the price is very reasonable: $100, but often on sale for far less.
Once you pop the dasher (aka paddle) into the bowl and place the cover on top, you simply turn on the machine and pour in your ice cream base. There's nothing to program or decide on. Just 20 minutes later, you've got creamy, delicious ice cream or sorbet. You can eat it right away, but you'll probably want to pop it in the freezer for a few hours to reach peak texture. There's no timer on this model, so you'll need to set your own and check the texture as you go. I had no issue with this.
As with most ice cream makers, you need to hand-wash the parts and dry them thoroughly before putting them away. This takes two minutes.
Capacity: 2.1 quart | Dimensions: 14.25"L x 12.5"W x 14.25"H | Weight: 24 lbs.
If you enjoy making frozen treats at home regularly and you want instant gratification, the Whynter compressor machine is the answer. What does a compressor do? It automatically chills the liquid you pour into the bowl to exactly the right temperature. Compressor machines are more expensive and heavier than canister ice cream makers (like the Cuisinart above) for that reason.
That said, this model from Whynter is at the lower end of the price range for compressor machines, which can run upwards of $1,000. I liked that it was easy to program, with just three modes: ice cream (freezes and churns), cooling only (if your ice cream timer has gone off but you're not ready to transfer it to a container, you can use this mode to keep the ice cream from melting) and mixing only (which is perfect for adding mix-ins).
It was pretty easy to program and has a built-in timer. I like that the compressor in the machine is under the inner bowl, as it makes more compact and easy to store. The processing sounded a bit like a white noise machine and likely wouldn't disturb anyone. I wish the lid had a window through which you could add mix-ins, but taking off the lid is not a big deal. The ice cream tastes better than anything I've bought in a store.
Capacity: 1 pint | Dimensions: 15"L x 10"W x 17.5"H | Weight: 21 lbs.
The Ninja Swirl by Creami delivers ice cream that's rich, creamy and as good as anything you can buy in a scoop shop. And it doesn't just make scoopable ice cream, it also churns out soft serve, fruit whip, frozen custard, sorbet, gelato, milkshakes and more. It's a recent entry into the ice cream maker market, and its technology is pretty revolutionary. It works much like a popular (and very pricey) machine that restaurants and commercial kitchens use.
The machine comes with a recipe book and directions, but I also watched a few videos about how to operate it. You must make and freeze the ice cream base in the canister for at least 24 hours before you can process it, which it does with a turbo-charged blade that breaks up the frozen base into ice crystals and eventually into smooth ice cream. I inserted the paddle and popped the frozen pint into the outer bowl. Each piece has helpful arrows and lock and unlock symbols to guide you. Next, I slid the outer bowl onto the base and turned it to lock it in place and raised the platform.
The processing time is very fast for some of the modes — two minutes for scoopable ice cream — but the machine is very loud. Good thing it delivers luxuriously creamy ice cream and sorbet right away. No need to cure it in the freezer like with traditional canister ice cream makers.
Capacity: 2 quart | Dimensions: 8.5"D x 11"W x 7"H | Weight: 6 lbs.
If you have a KitchenAid stand mixer (I've been using the one in the photo for 19 years!) and you'd prefer not to buy a stand-alone ice cream machine, this is an easy pick.
It comes with a dasher (aka paddle), a drive assembly (which acts as a converter) and a freezer bowl. You must freeze the bowl at least 16 hours in advance. Once it's ready, you install the drive assembly, then fit the bowl onto the base and pop the dasher inside.
After locking the motor head and turning the machine on to the "stir" setting, you pour in your homemade ice cream or sorbet base and let it process. This takes about 25 minutes. Then you transfer the result, which is soft-serve consistency, to an airtight container in the freezer for two to four hours. The results are excellent sorbet and ice cream with a consistent, pleasant texture.
My time spent testing ice cream makers yielded these considerations to keep in mind when you're shopping.
Churn time: This factor depends on whether the machine features a canister or a compressor, and if you have the mindset and the space to keep a bowl in the freezer at all times. Canister machines can churn out ice cream in as little as 20 minutes and Ninja machines in as little as two (but with both, you have to pre-freeze the bowl; for Ninja, you must freeze the inner bowl with the ice cream base inside). Compressor machines may take up to 60 minutes.
Dimensions and weight: Limited storage space means some models may not work for you. You should consider whether or not you'll use an ice cream machine often and if you have room for it in a cabinet or on a shelf — always check the height and weight of the model before you commit. Note that some machines weigh over 25 pounds.
Value: These machines hit a huge range of price points. For $22, you can own a home ice cream machine, but I wouldn't recommend it. If you know you'll use a machine three to four times a month, about $50 to $100 will get you a quality canister model. For the ice cream-obsessed, compressor models start at $250 and can cost thousands of dollars at the top end.
Taste and texture: This is where the ice cream scoop meets the pint. You want deliciously smooth and creamy ice cream that's dense and does not have ice crystals.
After opening each box, I noted if there was any setup required and how easy these appliances were to program. I gave each freezer bowl, dasher (aka paddle) and lid a quick wash with soap and water. According to the manufacturers' instructions, I froze the bowls overnight as needed.
I made a basic egg-free vanilla ice cream and strawberry sorbet base that I chilled in the fridge before processing in each ice cream maker. Note that machines with a compressor do not require you to freeze anything in advance, while canister machines require you to freeze the empty canister and the Ninja machines require you to freeze the ice cream base in the canister overnight before processing.
To rank on our list, the gadgets had to excel in the following tests:
"Smooth operator" test: This was all about texture. I noted whether the ice cream and sorbet tasted creamy and airy and if there were ice crystals. Basically, I looked for the perfect mouthfeel.
"Mix-in madness" test: I added crushed chocolate sandwich cookies a few minutes before the vanilla ice cream was done processing to see how the machine handled mix-ins. Were they easy to add? Did they incorporate well into the base?
"Zoom" test: Could you let the ice cream process while making a work call? Some machines were far too loud for this, and others operated at a low hum.
Cuisinart ICE-100 1.5-Quart Ice Cream Maker ($380): Cuisinart's entry into the compressor category was not as impressive as the Whynter model that made it into our top picks. It comes with a removable inner bowl and two dashers — one for ice cream and one for gelato. It processed the chilled ice cream and sorbet base in about 60 minutes, and the results were good, but not great.
Hamilton Beach 1.5-Quart Electric Ice Cream Maker 68880 ($63): This budget-friendly canister ice cream maker sadly missed the mark. Like most traditional ice cream makers, you must freeze the inner bowl for 24 hours before using it. It's very noisy, takes at least 40 minutes to process ice cream and the ice cream tasted just ok after curing in the freezer.
Ninja Creami Deluxe Ice Cream and Frozen Treat Maker ($250): Like with its souped-up cousin, the Ninja Swirl by Creami, you must make and freeze the ice cream base in the appropriate canister at least 24 hours in advance. But once it's frozen, the processing time is super quick (thankfully, as this machine is noisy). I made ice cream in two minutes and sorbet in four! However, I think if you're going to splurge on one of these machines, the Ninja Swirl by Creami offers more variety than any other machine with its many modes and features.
Dash My Pint Ice Cream Maker ($22): This mini ice cream maker churns out one cup of ice cream at a time, which could be fun if you could use it on a whim, but you must freeze the canister for 24 hours before you use it. After 30 minutes of churning, the ice cream was at a soft-serve texture. I transferred it to a container and put it in the freezer. I had high hopes that this might turn into a spontaneous rainy-day activity, but that wasn't the case.
There are so many ice cream and sorbet recipes available that you should easily be able to find one that satisfies cravings and dietary needs — think keto, non-dairy, low-fat, protein-infused, frozen yogurt and more. I used a simple vanilla ice cream recipe that called for milk, cream, sugar and vanilla extract, and a strawberry sorbet recipe that called for strawberries (I used frozen), sugar, fresh lemon juice and water.
What's the difference between canister and compressor ice cream makers?
Ice cream makers generally either feature a canister (or insulated freezer bowl) that you must freeze for about 24 hours before installing on a base and churning or a compressor, which means it has built-in refrigeration and coolant that simultaneously freezes the liquid you've added to the inner bowl while churning it into the consistency of ice cream. Compressor models tend to be much more expensive than canister models.
We received complimentary samples of some products and purchased others ourselves, but we reviewed all products using the same objective criteria.