September 2, 2026
The flagship roundup
Ranked on numbers the manufacturers publish themselves, with the arithmetic on the page and every gap in the data left visible instead of filled in.
Updated September 2026 · Scooter M.
#ad We earn a commission on purchases made through this link. How this is funded. Prices last checked September 2, 2026.
Guide
Two mechanisms, two products. What actually separates chewable ice from hollow cylinders.
Updated September 2026 · Scooter M.
Read it
Guide
Per-model monthly costs with the wattage sourced, the duty cycle stated and the arithmetic shown.
Updated September 2026 · Scooter M.
Read it01
No countertop machine keeps ice frozen. The bin is not refrigerated.
Do Countertop Ice Makers Keep Ice Frozen?02
The whole category costs between $2.59 and $7.78 a month to run.
What a Nugget Ice Maker Costs to Run03
The 24-versus-38 pounds a day argument is two different Opals.
GE Opal vs GE Profile Opal 2.004
Cleaning and descaling are different jobs. Most people only do one.
How to Clean a Nugget Ice Maker05
Bin capacity is 3 pounds everywhere, and it is what actually limits you.
How Much Ice Do You Actually Need?The top pick from each roundup, with the buy link on the card rather than buried three clicks in.
Best overall
Six machines ranked on published specs, each with a sourced monthly running-cost ceiling.
Updated September 2026 · Scooter M.
Best for nugget ice
The whole countertop category ranked by ice type, with sourced specs and running costs.
Updated September 2026 · Scooter M.
Best documented budget pick
The cheap end of the category, ranked by what their makers are willing to publish.
Updated September 2026 · Scooter M.
Best for volume
Portable machines ranked on published output and draw, with what portable really means.
Updated September 2026 · Scooter M.
#ad We earn a commission on purchases made through this link. How this is funded. Prices last checked September 2, 2026.
4 pages
Reviews, roundups and running costs for countertop nugget ice makers.
Updated September 2026 · Scooter M.
3 pages
The whole countertop category: nugget, bullet and clear cube, compared honestly.
Updated September 2026 · Scooter M.
8 pages
Ordered fault-finding for machines that stop behaving.
Updated September 2026 · Scooter M.
Every site in this category says it tested a dozen machines. We have not tested any, and we say so.
What we do instead: read the manufacturers' own manuals, compile every published specification, do the electricity arithmetic, and show the working so you can check it. Every number on this site links to the document it came from and the date we read it. Where a manufacturer publishes nothing, the page says Not published rather than filling the gap with a figure from a marketplace listing.
That is a smaller claim than a test lab and it is one you can verify. A reader with the same spec sheet and a calculator gets the same answer we did, which is the only authority a day-one publisher can honestly have. Here is the method in full.
When one earns its place and when it does not, with the cost computed rather than asserted.
Updated September 2026
The cheap end of the category, ranked by what their makers are willing to publish.
Updated September 2026
Cleaner or descaler? Work out which problem you have before you buy either.
Updated September 2026
Plug in versus install. Which class of ice maker actually solves your problem.
Updated September 2026
No. The bin is unrefrigerated and the meltwater recirculates. What to do instead.
Updated September 2026
No. What refilling actually involves, and what a side tank or plumbing buys you.
Updated September 2026
Constantly compared against the Opal, with no published specifications to compare.
Updated September 2026
GE publishes six specs, ecozy publishes none. What an honest comparison looks like.
Updated September 2026
Published current ratings, dedicated circuits, and what a nameplate figure really means.
Updated September 2026
A widely sold budget machine whose manufacturer publishes no specification table.
Updated September 2026