Ice Makers: Countertop, Nugget and Undercounter Ice Machines

One of our strongest picks is the GE Profile Opal 2.0 Nugget Ice Maker, a standout in our Best Countertop Ice Makers for Entertaining and Parties list. The Frigidaire Countertop Ice Maker is another excellent choice.

Start with your main use and budget, then compare our shortlists: Best Countertop Ice Makers for Entertaining and Parties, Best Countertop Nugget Ice Makers, Best Countertop Ice Makers for RV and Camping.

Bullet ice is hollow and quick to make. Nugget ice is soft and chewable but the machines cost more. Clear-cube models make dense ice that melts slowly.

A reasonable planning number is 1 to 1.5 pounds of ice per guest for a few hours of drinks, more if you're also chilling bottles or cans in a tub. For 15 to 20 guests over an afternoon, that's roughly 20 to 30 pounds, which a 34 to 40-pound-per-day machine can keep up with as long as it's been running for a few hours before the party starts, since the ice bin only holds a few pounds at a time and the rest comes from continuous production.

Yes, and this matters more than the machine's daily rating suggests. The storage bin on most countertop ice makers holds only 2 to 3.5 pounds of ice at once, the daily total is a cumulative figure, not a standing reserve. Start the machine 3 to 4 hours before a party so it has a full bin plus a couple of completed cycles banked before guests start scooping.

Nugget ice is generally the better party choice. It packs more densely in a bucket or cooler, chills drinks fast without diluting them as quickly as it melts, and most guests find it more pleasant to chew or drink through a straw. Bullet or cube ice works fine for straightforward pours (soda, water, most cocktails) and is usually available in a higher-output, lower-cost machine, which matters if raw volume is the priority over ice texture.

Every machine in this list continues producing ice on a cycle regardless of how much has been removed from the bin, as long as the reservoir has water. For a party, check the water reservoir every hour or two and top it off, since a machine that runs dry stops producing until refilled.

Nugget ice, sometimes called pellet ice, pebble ice, or 'Sonic ice' after the restaurant chain that popularized it, is made by compacting thin flakes of ice into a soft, porous chunk rather than freezing a solid cube. The result is easy to chew, absorbs flavor well, and chills a drink quickly because the porous surface area is much larger than a solid cube's. The tradeoff is that it melts faster than solid ice, which matters for how long a drink stays cold versus how quickly it gets diluted.