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If you’re really into ice (welcome to the club) you’ve probably already guessed that we recommend the GE Profile Opal 2.0 as the best countertop ice maker to use at home. Most other product reviewers do too, because the Opal is a sleek machine from a trusted brand that produces a constant supply of perfectly chewy ice pellets (a.k.a. “the good ice”).
But the Opal is pricey, and over three years of testing portable countertop ice makers, we’ve discovered that it isn’t the only good ice maker on the market. In fact, it’s not even the only good nugget ice maker you can buy. So this year, we’re also recommending a more affordable alternative to the Opal along with a machine that churns out crystal-clear ice cubes.
Find our three top picks below, and keep reading for more information on how these machines work, why you might want one even if your freezer has a built-in ice maker, and what we looked for when testing.
The best countertop ice maker overall: GE Profile Opal 2.0 Nugget Ice Maker with Side Tank
The GE Profile Opal 2.0 Nugget Ice Maker is the Tesla Model S (that’s the fancy one for non-car folks) of countertop ice makers both in terms of luxury and tech. But what really makes this the best countertop ice maker is the type of ice it produces. The Opal 2.0 makes GE’s coveted Opal Nuggets—a.k.a. the brand’s self-proclaimed “good ice.”
The Opal can make up to 24 pounds of ice a day. Its see-thru ice bin holds up to 48 ounces (three pounds) at a time and for a better look at how much is inside, you can turn on the LED light. A drip tray helps to protect your counter, and you get a basic ice scoop, too. This machine connects to Wi-Fi and works with a companion app should you want to schedule a fresh batch of ice while you’re away from home—or use voice control while you’re there. Connecting to the app also allows for software updates.
Of all the machines we tested, the Opal 2.0 produced the most ice, and thanks to the side tank, produced it consistently. While you could save a few inches and a few bucks by opting for a model without the side tank, we don’t recommend going that route. The tank functions as an additional water supply and triples the Opal’s water storage capacity. Without the tank attachment, you’d have to fill the water reservoir much more often, and considering how quickly this ice can go, we’d recommend the side tank if you’ve already decided to splurge on the Opal 2.0.
Even with the tank attachment, the machine itself is sleek and fairly slim, and though its footprint is slightly larger than the other ice makers we tested, it’s worth every inch of counter space it takes up, and it’s just short enough to tuck under a cabinet.
Width: 13.43”
Depth: 17.5”
Height: 16.5”
Weight: 38 lbs.
The initial set up for the Opal 2.0 takes a little extra time because you have to run the self-cleaning cycle four times before the first use—but after that making ice takes 15 to 20 minutes. The manual recommends cleaning the machine once a week with a solution of diluted bleach and water.
Filling both the water reservoir and the side tank takes some getting used to—the drain tubes were a little awkward to work with at first and we spilled. Also, some customer reviews rightly highlight that the machine is fairly noisy when working and, sure, it does sometimes sound like it's birthing a demon spawn. But rest assured, it’s just your Opal doing its thing. Plus, it’s perfectly quiet when not actively making nuggets, and we wouldn’t expect a machine that magically produces Sonic-quality ice to do so silently.
A more affordable alternative to the GE Opal: Newair 44-Pound Nugget Ice Maker
If you dream of a constant supply of nugget ice but aren’t quite ready to shell out an upward of $600 for the GE Profile Opal, Newair’s 44-pound nugget ice maker is a close second. This size and model (NIM044BS00) is one of three Newair countertop nugget ice machines, but it’s the only one that resembles the Opal; the other two open on top and look more like the lower-end bullet ice makers we tested.
Performance-wise, it’s freakishly fast; once set up, it churned out the first ice nuggets in less than five minutes. So if output is a concern, keep in mind that this machine can produce nearly twice as much ice as the Opal in one day.
Because it works so quickly, we were surprised by the texture and clarity of the ice. It’s certainly not bad, but the Newair’s ice nuggets are neither as clear nor as soft as the pellets the Opal produces; think more crunchy than chewy. They’re also more nugget shaped than pellet shaped. All of that said, if you’ve never chomped on ice from the Opal, you’ll likely be thrilled with this machine.
This machine doesn’t have a side tank, but that honestly makes it much less of a pain to fill—and about three inches narrower than the Opal nugget ice maker.
Width: 9.84”
Depth: 15.4”
Height: 16.54”
Weight: 34.17 lbs.
Like anything with a compressor, the Newair nugget ice maker should sit for at least an hour after you’ve moved it to its home on your counter. After that, setup is a breeze. The manual recommends washing the removable parts and wiping the interior with a solution of diluted dish detergent, then running the self-cleaning cycle. The self-cleaning cycle is incredibly similar to the Opal’s, though a single cycle on this machine takes about 15 minutes, only needs to be run once before use, and doesn’t call for bleach. The manual doesn’t specify a cleaning frequency, but recommends draining old water and adding fresh water daily.
Aside from the fact that the Newair’s ice nuggets aren’t quite as chewy as the Opal’s, there’s not much to complain about here. The blue interior light feels a little night-clubby, but luckily, it can be turned off. Like the Opal, this machine makes some noise as it produces ice, but you should expect that from any ice maker, and the Newair’s noises are more mechanical than demonic.
The best countertop ice maker for clear ice: Newair Countertop Clear Ice Maker
If it’s clear ice cubes you’re after, we recommend the Newair Countertop Clear Ice Maker. As countertop ice makers go, it’s compact and nondescript, and it’s the only machine we tested that produced ice in a shape actually resembling a cube.
It can make up to 40 pounds of clear ice a day and the control panel is simple and intuitive. A single button turns the unit on and off, and for thicker ice cubes, you can turn off the machine then hold down the power button for five seconds. There are indicators for both a minimum and maximum water level and alert lights indicating an empty water reservoir or full ice basket.
Filling the water tank is easy via a dedicated opening on the top of the machine and within as little as seven minutes (depending on ambient room temperature) you’ll have your first tray of connected clear ice cubes.
Though it looks pretty big in the product image, the ice maker is about the size of a bread maker.
Width: 11.40"
Depth: 14.50" (15.25" with drain plug)
Height: 13.75"
Weight: 25.30 lbs.
According to the manual, the inside only needs to be wiped down with a warm, damp cloth before it's ready to start making ice. After that cleaning instructions are simply to clean with a diluted detergent solution as needed, which is easy to do thanks to the drainage port on the back; simply rinse the interior with the suggested solution, drain, and dry. Unlike the pellet ice makers we recommend, this machine doesn’t have a self-cleaning function.
As countertop ice makers go, this one is relatively lightweight, which might give you the impression that you can just move it from place to place, but because it has a compressor, it shouldn’t be transported on its side. If it does end up horizontal, it should rest upright for at least an hour to ensure optimal performance.
NOTE: Newair previously manufactured a nearly identical machine under the name Luma Comfort. At the time of publishing, the older model is still available from some retailers, including Amazon, but the Newair-branded update is capable of producing 40 pounds of ice a day, compared to the Luma’s 28.
Why buy a countertop ice maker?
If you’re not yet really into ice, you might be wondering why you should buy a countertop ice maker when you could just use ice cube trays or the built-in ice maker in your freezer. For starters, countertop ice makers work much more quickly than either of those options, so you’ll always have enough ice for dinner parties and cocktails. These machines also plug right into any grounded outlet—just like your blender or coffee maker—and they don’t have to be hooked up to a water line so you can use them just about anywhere.
Types of countertop ice makers
Ice is, obviously, just frozen water, so it’s easy to think that ice is ice is ice is ice. But for people who are serious about their ice—whether for cocktails, chomping, or some other reason—the type of ice a countertop ice maker produces is actually really important. We tested the three most popular types.
Nugget ice makers are generally the most expensive countertop ice makers you can buy and they make the kind of ice that comes from a dwindling number of fast food soda fountain dispensers. This type of ice is known as “nugget ice” or “pellet ice” (see also: “the good ice” and “Sonic-style ice”). And while it’s sometimes mistakenly called “crushed ice,” it’s definitely not crushed—it’s compressed. Nugget ice makers work by creating ice flakes then compressing them into perfectly chewy little nuggets.
Making perfectly clear ice is a whole thing unless you have a countertop ice maker to do it for you. Now, countertop clear ice makers aren’t going to give you giant blocks of clear ice like you might get from a service that makes specialty cocktail ice or the Clinebell machines that some fancy cocktail bars rely on, and you can’t get fun shapes like you’d get from ice molds, either. Think of this ice more like the kind you get at a restaurant—small cubes of clear ice that look really nice in any kind of drink. These machines build ice in layers to eliminate the air bubbles that make other ice cloudy and opaque.
Bullet ice makers are the most affordable and least sexy countertop ice machines you can buy. But if you just need ice and you need it quickly, they get the job done. After the initial set-up, you can expect to hear the first cubes drop into the included ice basket within about 10 minutes. These machines work by freezing water around metal prongs, which is why they come out in a shape that resembles a bullet. The ice produced by bullet ice makers is opaque, and pretty chewy since it’s made quickly and not frozen solid. And most make two (marginally) different sizes.
What do the pounds mean on an ice maker product description?
Unless you’re running a speakeasy out of your basement, the listed output of a countertop ice maker shouldn’t really factor into your decision when comparing machines. That’s because when a product description boasts a 24- or 26-pound production, all it really means is that over the course of 24 hours, the ice maker could produce that much ice if you completely emptied the ice basket the second it was full, and also constantly replenished the water reservoir. So to get a full 26 pounds of ice in one day, you’d have to hover over the machine and stockpile lots of ice in your freezer. But even if you’re hosting a party it’s unlikely you’d need anything even close to that much ice in one day.
How we tested ice makers
After unboxing we let the ice makers sit on the counter undisturbed for two hours. Like refrigerators, new ice makers should remain upright for an hour or two before being plugged in to make sure any jostling of the compressor and other parts that occurred during shipping settles out.
When it was time to make ice, we cleaned each ice maker according to the manual, then filled the reservoirs to their max capacity with filtered water and watched each machine do its thing. We made note of how long each machine took to start making ice and complete a full batch, we scooped and chewed a ridiculous amount of ice, and we refilled each machine when necessary. Finally, we cleaned each ice maker again. \
Factors we evaluated
An ice maker has one job and that is to make ice. So above all else we focused on how quickly and how well the machines produced ice, paying little attention to the listed output for each. Instead of hovering over an ice machine and worrying about which one could theoretically make the most ice under very specific and unrealistic conditions (emptying each batch as its made), we looked at how much ice was continuously and readily available in the ice basket or bin under normal residential conditions (getting ice as needed).
Of course, there’s more to ice than quantity so we also looked at the ice cube size, shape, clarity, and texture. Some machines produced bullet-shaped ice cubes and had settings for making small and large ice cubes while others produced just one size. Though we used the same filtered water in each machine, some produced clear ice while others made cloudy ice.
An ice maker’s ice receptacle isn’t a true freezer, but we looked at how well the ice maintained its structural integrity after a few hours in the bin or basket. (Eventually the ice melts and the water goes back into the reservoir to make new cubes.)
Perhaps more important than ice size is machine size. Because any appliance that’s going to take up semi-permanent residence on the kitchen counter has to be worth it. Even the smallest ice makers are pretty bulky, though none of the machines we tested were unreasonably large either.
Anything that lives on the counter should look nice enough. We’re partial to clean lines and sleek designs, but understanding that everyone has different preferences, we favored machines that offered more than one color or finish option.
How long did it take to set up the ice maker? Was it a plug-and-play situation or did we have to do a lengthy cleaning cycle first? Is the control panel intuitive? How often is cleaning required and how easy is it to clean? Is there a drain plug on the back that makes it easy to empty?
While we expect any machine to make some noise, we paid attention to the noise level of each while actively making ice and resting.
Did the ice makers with higher price points feel as if they were worth the investment?
Other countertop ice makers we tested
Save for the smaller 26-pound Newair nugget ice maker, the countertop ice makers below are all bullet ice makers. And we discovered something very interesting when researching and testing these machines: while they have slightly different exterior housing, they’re all nearly identical in terms of performance, capacity, size, and price. Some even have the exact same control panels. And this was true no matter the brand (we looked at bullet ice makers from Frigidaire, Igloo, Newair, and even some of those random Amazon brands like Silonn, Euhomy, and Aglucky). So if you just want a lot of ice quickly, aren’t particular about the type of ice you’ll get, and you want to spend less than $200, you can choose any of the following machines based on aesthetics and personal preference (or sale price, if you’re lucky) and be satisfied.
This is the smallest nugget ice maker that Newair makes and it produces the same nearly-clear ice nuggets that the 44-pound model does. But instead of the sleek body and front-facing ice drawer with a window, this machine opens on top where you get access to a small-ish plastic basket. At first glance, it would be easy to confuse this with one of the cheaper bullet ice makers below (the body is nearly identical and very similar in size) but instead of bullet-shaped ice, it churns out that crunchy Newair nugget ice. If you just want nugget ice at a low price—and if looks and daily ice output don’t matter much to you—this is the way to go.
Though it looks much smaller than the Opal, this compact ice maker by Frigidaire is just about the same depth and only two inches narrower (17.8” D x 11” W x 14.9" H) and comes in four finishes, including stainless steel. It can produce (theoretically) up to 26 pounds of bullet ice in 24 hours and after the initial setup, the first batch will drop down from the Evaporator Fingers (yes, that’s what they’re called) into the ice basket within about 10 minutes. Once the basket is full, the machine will stop automatically but will start again once you empty the ice basket—unless the water level is too low, at which point an Add Water indicator illuminates. You can check the ice basket via a viewing window on top of the machine. Cleaning is easy, too; just remove the plug on the front underside of the machine to drain and rinse.
This portable ice maker from Newair does everything the Frigidaire does with all the same features, but it’s more compact. In fact, it’s the smallest ice maker we tested. It has a footprint of 8.74” x 12.32” and stands just over a foot tall. You can choose a stainless steel or matte black body and purchase an extended warranty if you buy directly from Newair. Like the other machines in this style, the lid has a viewing window into the ice basket and a drain plug on the front underside makes it easy to empty and clean.
Igloo is perhaps best known for its portable coolers, so a portable ice maker isn’t really a stretch. Like the Frigidaire and Newair, this affordable compact countertop ice maker makes two sizes of ice (albeit cloudy ice) in a bullet shape. It has (just barely) the biggest footprint of the three lower-priced ice makers we tested, at 12.25'' wide, 17.25" deep, and 14.75 inches tall, and it’s packaged in a retro-inspired metallic red body. The included ice basket can hold up to two pounds of ice at a time and there’s a drain plug on the front underside of the machine for easy draining and cleaning.
The takeaway
If you have the counter space and the cash, we recommend splurging for the GE Profile Opal 2.0 Nugget Ice Maker with Side Tank because it provides a constant supply of perfectly chewable ice nuggets. For a more budget-friendly alternative, consider New Air’s 44-Pound Nugget Ice Maker; it’s nearly as sleek as the Opal but its ice nuggets are more crunchy than chewy. If you prefer restaurant-quality clear ice, opt for the Newair Countertop Clear Ice Maker; it produces crystal-clear ice in the shape of an actual cube.
