Best Countertop Ice Makers 2026: 6 Compared (8 Sources)

What are the best countertop ice makers in 2026?

Summary

The testers do not agree on one best machine. Reviewed's best overall is the GE Profile Opal 2.0 XL [src1]. CNN Underscored, in its October 2026 update, names the Costway Nugget Countertop Ice Maker best overall, the Igloo Premium its best bullet ice maker and the GoveeLife Smart Nugget Ice Maker Pro its best large-capacity machine, the award the Opal 2.0 XL used to hold [src3]. Wirecutter's top picks are two bullet machines, the Magic Chef MCIM22/HNIM27 and the Igloo IGLICEBSC26 [src4]; Food Network's best overall is the Iceman by Chefman Dual-Size [src5]; America's Test Kitchen's best for most people is the Igloo Premium Self-Cleaning [src6].

Where they do agree is nugget ice. Wirecutter, Food Network and America's Test Kitchen all tested the GE Profile Opal 2.0 with its standard 0.75-gallon side tank; Wirecutter and ATK make it their nugget pick and Food Network its splurge pick. Wirecutter found it made "the highest-quality nugget ice of the models we tested," at about 1.5 lb an hour, and ATK measured just over 1.5 lb of "crisp, clean-tasting nugget ice per hour" [src4, src5, src6]. The Opal 2.0 XL is that machine with a 1-gallon side tank, and it is the version Reviewed and CNN Underscored tested [src1, src3, src7]. We rank the XL first because the Opal 2.0 is a pick at four of the five testing outlets we read, more than any other machine; the Igloo Premium, our budget pick, is a pick at three [src1, src4, src5, src6, src3]. The Opal is expensive: Wirecutter puts it at typically almost five times the price of the bullet machines it recommends [src4]. Stock does not change the order; the table at the top of the page shows today's price and stock for every pick.

Whatever you buy, none of these machines is a freezer. The ice sits in an insulated but unrefrigerated basket; as it melts, the water drains back into the reservoir and is made into ice again, so the machine has to keep running, and you empty the basket into a real freezer if you want to bank ice for a party [src1]. Reviewed advises cleaning at least once a month with regular use and every 1-2 weeks under heavy daily use or for nugget machines; America's Test Kitchen's realistic answer is about once a month [src1, src6].

Top 6 Models Compared

Rated outputs are the makers' figures as GE and Reviewed report them; a dash in a spec column means no source we read gives the figure. A price is the Amazon price from our US price check for the listing we link, updated daily; a dash in the price column means our check has no current Amazon offer to show, or has not yet checked a link new to this card.

Best for Each Use Case

Top Pick: GE Profile Opal 2.0 XL — Check price

Reviewed's best overall countertop ice maker, still its favourite in its June 2026 update. In Reviewed's test it "quickly produced loads of chewable nugget ice that came out crisp and clean-tasting"; it holds about 3 lb of ice, the detachable 1-gallon side tank means fewer trips to the tap, and GE's SmartHQ app handles scheduling and cleaning reminders. Reviewed's only complaint is that it costs more than most [src1]. CNN Underscored tested the XL too: it took 25 to 30 minutes to make solid nuggets (anything earlier came out as shards), then filled its 1,360 g bucket in a little over two hours, faster than CNN's overall winner; it is "not extremely quiet" but not particularly loud, and a hose drain lets you empty it without carrying it to the sink. CNN has since moved its large-capacity award to the GoveeLife Smart Nugget Ice Maker Pro, which starts sooner and has a bigger tank and bucket [src3]. GE rates the XL at 38 lb a day at 70°F with 60°F water and 30.9 lb a day at 90°F, with a first batch in 10 minutes or less [src7].

Availability: the Amazon listing we link had no purchasable offer in our last three daily checks, through 2026-10-11. GE's own store listed the XL at $469 against a $549 list price when we checked on 2026-10-12, with delivery checked by ZIP code [src7]. Best you can buy today, if GE cannot deliver to you: the GoveeLife Smart Nugget Ice Maker Pro below, which a marketplace seller had in stock on Amazon at $499.99 when we checked on 2026-10-11.

Best Budget: Igloo Premium Self-Cleaning Countertop Ice Maker — Check price

America's Test Kitchen's best ice maker for most people, rated highly recommended: just under 1 lb of ice an hour, a first batch within 8 minutes, a cooler-style handle that made it the most portable machine ATK tested, and the only compact model with an efficient self-cleaning cycle. ATK tested model IGLICEB26HNBK [src6]. CNN Underscored's best bullet ice maker and the smallest machine in its test: 4.5 cups of water, about 380 g of ice in the basket, nine cubes a batch in two sizes, a large batch in about eight minutes and 58 dB, with an arm that pushes the ice into the basket so the machine keeps going until the basket is full. CNN found the plastic build cheap-feeling and the indicator lights hard to see [src3]. Reviewed names the aqua version, IGLICEB26HNAQ, its best for portability, rated at 26 lb a day with a 1.25 lb basket. Bullet ice from budget machines is often cloudy and melts a bit faster than ice from pricier ones, but Reviewed calls it "perfectly fine for sodas, water, or filling a cooler occasionally" [src1]. Igloo also sells the IGLICEBSC26, a different model at about the same price; CNN tested both and says the Premium is "a much better value" [src3].

Best High-Capacity Nugget Ice Maker: GoveeLife Smart Nugget Ice Maker Pro — Check price

CNN Underscored's best large-capacity countertop ice maker, which took the Opal 2.0 XL's place there: it made solid nuggets in just under 15 minutes against the XL's 25 to 30, and it holds more water (a 2.2-liter built-in tank plus a 4.9-liter side tank) and more ice (a little over 1,500 g), with RGB lighting, a touch panel, voice control and an app for scheduling [src3]. Reviewed picks it for smart features: rated at up to 60 lb a day, it filled its 3.5 lb bucket in just over 90 minutes in Reviewed's review, which calls it "very, very quiet" at around 40 dB; Reviewed's roundup, which also tested the Opal, found it "a bit louder under operation than the GE Opal." It weighs nearly 50 lb, about 15 lb more than the Opal, so it is not a machine you move around [src1, src2]. Availability: a marketplace seller, GoveeLife US Direct, listed it on Amazon at $499.99, in stock, when we checked on 2026-10-11.

Best Clear Ice: Frigidaire EFIC452 — Check price

Reviewed's best for clear ice: "In testing, it reliably produced beautiful transparent ice cubes," 24 thick cubes in under 15 minutes, rated at up to 40 lb a day into a 2.4 lb basket, with no special water preparation; a stray cube can block the ice shut-off sensor. Reviewed listed it at $159 at Walmart [src1]. Wirecutter's clear-ice pick is the Luma Comfort IM200, but it calls the EFIC452 a fine option: it "made clear ice very well" and lost points for less intuitive controls and for the minute or two its ice needed before it was soft enough to break apart [src4]. Wirecutter's soda test is the reason to want clear ice at all: with the Luma's clear cubes a soda stayed bubbly, where cloudier bullet ice let it go flat [src4].

CNN Underscored's Best Overall: Costway Nugget Countertop Ice Maker — Check price

CNN Underscored's best countertop ice maker, "an unexpected winner" that edged out the others on performance, ice quality and price. Its 8-cup water tank sits above the ice bucket, so you refill it without removing the bucket; it made solid nugget ice after about 12 minutes and a bucketful, about 915 g, in under two hours. It runs at 61 dB and seems to lack an audible alert for a full bucket or an empty tank. CNN found it beat the Gevi Household V2.0 at half that machine's price, though the Opal 2.0 XL produces ice faster [src3]. No other outlet we read has tested it, which is why it is an alternative here rather than a named pick.

Reviewed's Best Value: Frigidaire Gallery EFIC255 — Check price

Reviewed's best value nugget ice maker. Reviewed found its ice "tastes clean and fresh, on par with higher-end machines—a good sign that its internal water filter is doing the job," and measured roughly 1.5 lb of ice an hour; it is rated at up to 44 lb a day into a 3 lb basket, has a handle on the back and no smart features, and is "a bit noisy when running" [src1]. Reviewed is the only outlet we read that tested it. Availability: Amazon.com listed the navy model we link at $220.15, in stock, when we checked on 2026-10-11.

What the Other Testers Picked

Five testing outlets, five different first choices. Wirecutter's top picks are bullet machines, the Magic Chef MCIM22/HNIM27 and the Igloo IGLICEBSC26, with the Luma Comfort IM200 for clear ice and the Opal 2.0 with side tank for nugget ice [src4]. Food Network's best overall is the Iceman by Chefman Dual-Size, which dropped its first cubes in six minutes, and its best nugget machine is an ecozy rated at 33 lb a day [src5]. Not every pick survives a second test: CNN Underscored found the Igloo IGLICEBSC26 a worse buy than the Igloo Premium [src3], and America's Test Kitchen did not recommend the Luma Comfort IM200 [src6]. None of these has a second outlet recommending it in our reading, so none is a pick here.

Key Market Trends (2026)

• No consensus best machine: Reviewed, CNN Underscored, Wirecutter, Food Network and America's Test Kitchen name five different first choices, from the GE Profile Opal 2.0 XL to the Costway Nugget, the Magic Chef MCIM22, the Iceman by Chefman Dual-Size and the Igloo Premium. [src1, src3, src4, src5, src6]
• The Opal 2.0 is still the nugget benchmark, but no longer unchallenged: four of those five outlets make an Opal 2.0 a pick, while CNN Underscored replaced the XL with the GoveeLife Smart Nugget Ice Maker Pro for big batches. [src1, src3, src4, src5, src6]
• More testing is coming: in its May 2026 update Wirecutter said it planned to test new machines over the summer, including Frigidaire's EFIC242 spherical-ice maker and nugget machines such as the Iceman. [src4]
• Nugget ice is moving into refrigerators: Whirlpool announced in February 2026 a 36-inch counter-depth French-door refrigerator with a built-in nugget ice maker alongside a cubed-ice maker. [src8]
• Cleaning is the real running cost: Reviewed advises cleaning every 1-2 weeks for heavy use or nugget machines; America's Test Kitchen favoured machines whose self-cleaning cycles do most of the work. [src1, src6]

Important Caveats

• The storage bin is not a freezer. Ice sits in an insulated but unrefrigerated basket and slowly melts back into the reservoir to be made into ice again, so the machine has to keep running. Move ice to a freezer if you need to bank it. [src1]
• Rated output is a lab figure. GE rates the Opal 2.0 XL at 38 lb a day at 70°F with 60°F water but 30.9 lb a day at 90°F; Reviewed's guide gives the same machine 24 lb a day. [src7, src1]
• First ice is not usable ice. GE quotes a first batch in 10 minutes or less, but CNN Underscored got only shards and crushed ice from the XL for the first 25 to 30 minutes. [src7, src3]
• Weight varies a lot. The GoveeLife Pro weighs nearly 50 lb; America's Test Kitchen found the Igloo Premium the most portable machine it tested. [src2, src6]
• Availability changes daily. The availability notes above carry the date we checked; the table at the top of the page shows today's price and stock.
• Testers' prices are not ours. Prices quoted from Reviewed, CNN Underscored or America's Test Kitchen are what those outlets listed; the prices in our tables are from our own US price check.