We tested 20 icemakers in our lab to find out which ones are the fastest and most efficient
Icemakers like these (clockwise from left) from GE, GoveeLife, and Ecozy make ice quickly and efficiently, but they aren’t freezers, so the ice should be used soon after it’s made.
By Ginger Cowles, Althea Chang-Cook
If chewing ice is your jam, nugget ice (or pebble ice) is likely your go-to. These small pellets of ice fit comfortably in your mouth, melt fairly quickly, and offer a satisfying crunch that you simply can’t get with larger, traditional ice cubes. (Yes, it’s true that chewing ice can damage teeth. So if this is your vice, you should probably stop if you value your pearly whites.)
For years, nugget ice was available only at some fast-food chains (hello, Chick-fil-A and Sonic) and far too few casual restaurants.
Enter the countertop icemaker. Breann Chai, the Consumer Reports engineer who leads our tests of these home appliances, says most perform similarly. They pump water across cold metal nubs. “As the water is pumped over those surfaces, it freezes into a thin layer of ice,” she says. “These thin layers of ice build up until they form the ice cubes.” Once the cubes have formed, the metal heats just long enough for the ice to detach and drop into a storage bin.
Types of Countertop Icemakers
Not all countertop icemakers produce the same type of ice. Some make little nuggets; bullet icemakers, on the other hand, make ice that resembles small, hollow cylinders closed at one end. Bullet ice models offer small and large ice sizes (we used the large ones in our tests). Cube, or craft, icemakers produce larger cubes that last longer in cold drinks. Of the 20 models we’ve tested, four make nugget (or pebble) ice, 15 make bullet ice, and one makes large ice cubes. Prices range from $65 to $550.
These home appliances offer convenience and speed for those who want to satisfy their ice cravings at home because icemakers can produce ice faster than relying on a freezer tray. Nugget icemakers are also useful for people recovering from surgery who can’t or don’t want to drink large quantities of water. “After a recent surgery, my hospital recommended I use nugget ice at home,” says Sharon Seidl, a Consumer Reports visual designer. “Having a countertop nugget icemaker was my easiest source of hydration, so it really saved me.”
Countertop icemakers work much more quickly than making a tray of ice in your freezer.
Best Countertop Icemakers
The best countertop icemakers in our tests produce ice quickly. They can also hold a lot of ice before needing to be refilled.
Ecozy IM-NS451B
Height by width by depth (in.): 16x14x10
Weight (lb.): 25
The Ecozy IM-NS451B icemaker is on the pricier side, but it comes with a digital display and a drawer that holds the ice. It earns an excellent score for how quickly it produces ice, and our testers found it very energy-efficient. Like many countertop icemakers, this model has a fairly small capacity. It isn’t great as far as noise, earning just a mediocre score in that test.
GE Opal 2.0 Stainless Steel Icemaker XPIO13SCSS
Height by width by depth (in.): 17x14x18
Weight (lb.): 40
The GE Opal 2.0 Stainless Steel Icemaker XPIO13SCSS makes nugget ice, and it’s one of the few icemakers we tested that opens like a drawer. It’s also the most expensive icemaker we’ve tested. Its removable plastic water reservoir has a large capacity, which means fewer refills. GE claims it can produce up to 38 pounds of ice a day. It was also among the quieter icemakers we tried. It comes with a limited one-year warranty.
GoveeLife H7172
Height by width by depth (in.): 13x9x13
Weight (lb.): 15
The GoveeLife H7172 icemaker is a quick and efficient icemaker that excels in our speed tests and receives a very good score for efficiency, meaning it uses less energy than other models while it’s working. It receives only a middling score for noise, however, and it doesn’t have much space to store the ice it makes. If you plan to use the ice right away, though, that may not matter to you.
Luma IM200SS
Height by width by depth (in.): 15x12x15
Weight (lb.): 23
The Luma IM200SS icemaker showed very good performance overall in our tests. This midpriced model aced our speed tests, quickly filling its 28-pound capacity ice bin. It was also exceptionally energy-efficient. It’s on the noisier side, however, based on its sound while operating, not including the sound of falling ice.
How CR Tests Countertop Icemakers
The best countertop icemakers make ice quickly and efficiently, Chai says. The fastest ones produce ice every 6 to 8 minutes; others we tested made ice every 10 to 15 minutes. We also tested an icemaker that produced large, cube-shaped craft ice, and because of its size, it made three large ice cubes every 25 to 35 minutes. Testers also factor in noise levels and the amount of electricity required to produce each pound of ice.
Water capacity is another consideration. Ice production in the models in our tests ranged from 16 to 44 pounds per day, “but none have the water capacity to make that much ice without needing to refill it,” Chai says. The models we tested hold 1 to 5 liters of water, with most holding about 2. Chai says these machines aren’t freezers; they store ice at 32° F vs. ice in a freezer, which sits at 0° F. “Once the cycle is made, you need to use it quickly or it will begin to melt.”
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