Countertop Ice Makers
The Best Countertop Ice Makers
The shape of ice a machine makes decides everything else about it. Pick that first, and the rest of this page is straightforward.
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Quick picks
| # | Machine | Best for | Price |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | No photo GE Profile XPIO13SCSS The best-documented nugget machine, and the reference model. | Best for nugget ice | |
| 2 | No photo Frigidaire EFIC255 185 W published against a 44 lb/day rating, the best ratio here. | Best nugget value | |
| 3 | No photo Frigidaire EFIC235 44 lbs a day at 200 W, and it fills a cooler fast. | Best for bullet ice | |
| 4 | No photo Frigidaire EFIC452 The shortest machine here and the lowest published draw on the site. | Best for clear cubes | |
| 5 | No photo NewAir NIM044BS00 3.3 lbs, the largest published bin in this comparison. | Best bin capacity |
#ad We earn a commission on purchases made through this link. How this is funded. Prices last checked September 2, 2026.
Countertop ice maker is a category name, not a product. Underneath it sit three genuinely different machines that make three genuinely different kinds of ice, and picking the wrong one is the single most common way to be disappointed by this purchase.
So the useful order is: decide what ice you want, then read the section for it. Everything on this page comes from manufacturer manuals read on 2 September 2026 and linked at each figure.
Pick the ice first
| Ice type | How it is made | Melts | Buy it if |
|---|---|---|---|
| Nugget | Flakes frozen on a chilled cylinder, scraped off by an auger and compressed into soft pellets | Fast. High surface area, and the bin is not refrigerated | You want chewable ice and you will drink it before it melts |
| Bullet | Water frozen onto chilled metal prongs, then released as hollow cylinders | Fast to moderate. Hollow shape means high surface area | You want volume quickly, for coolers, parties and iced drinks |
| Clear cube | Water frozen gradually in a tray, pushing out air and impurities | Slowly. Dense and low surface area | You are making cocktails and dilution matters |
Every machine, side by side
| Machine | Rated output | Bin | Electrical | Max $/mo |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| GE Profile XPIO13SCSS | 38 lbs/day [src] | 3 lbs [src] | 3 A [src] | $7.78(nameplate) |
| Frigidaire EFIC255 | 44 lbs/day [src] | 3 lbs [src] | 185 W [src] | $4.00(published W) |
| NewAir NIM044BS00 | 44 lbs/day [src] | 3.3 lbs [src] | 2.7 A [src] | $6.71(nameplate) |
| Frigidaire EFIC235 | 44 lbs/day [src] | Not published | 200 W [src] | $4.32(published W) |
| Frigidaire EFIC452 | 39.7 lbs/day [src] | Not published | 120 W [src] | $2.59(published W) |
One observation that no roundup in this category seems to make: Frigidaire publishes an actual power consumption for all three of its machines and GE publishes none for its. That is not a small difference. It means Frigidaire's running-cost figures on this site are arithmetic on a number the manufacturer printed, while GE's is a ceiling we derived from a current rating because there was nothing better available.
If you want nugget ice
Buy the GE Profile Opal 2.0 if documentation and ecosystem matter, or the Frigidaire Gallery EFIC255 if running cost does. The Opal is the only machine in the entire category whose manufacturer publishes both a daily and an hourly rate, which makes "when will I have ice" answerable from the spec sheet. The Frigidaire is rated higher (44 lbs a day against 38) at a published 185 W.
The whole nugget field, including the budget machines that publish nothing, is on the nugget roundup.
If you want bullet ice
The Frigidaire EFIC235 states 115V 60Hz, 200 W, 20 kg per 24 hours — that is 44 lbs a day, matching the best nugget machine here while using a far simpler mechanism. Bullet machines are fast because freezing water onto a cold prong is easy; there is no auger, no compression stage and nothing to scrape.
One caution from the same spec table: it is 19 inches tall. A standard gap between counter and upper cabinets is 18 inches. Measure before you buy, or plan on it living somewhere else.
If you want clear cubes
The Frigidaire EFIC452 publishes 90 to 120 W, 18 kg per 24 hours, 24 cubes per cycle. That is the lowest power draw of anything on this site and the lowest rated output, which is exactly what you would expect: clarity comes from freezing slowly.
It is also, at 14.1 inches, the only machine here that fits under a standard cabinet gap with room to open the lid. If your counter is tight, this is the machine that solves it, and if you make cocktails it is the machine you wanted anyway.
The thing that disappoints everyone, regardless of type
No countertop ice maker in this comparison refrigerates its ice bin. On all of them, ice sits in an insulated but unpowered compartment, melts, and the meltwater drains back to the reservoir to be frozen again.
Left running, the bin looks permanently full because the machine keeps replacing what melted. Switched off, it is water within hours. If you need a stock of ice that survives, the freezer is still the answer and the machine is the thing that fills it. Full explanation: do countertop ice makers keep ice frozen.
What one costs to run
At four running hours a day and the EIA's June 2026 US residential average of 18.34 cents per kWh, rounded to 18 cents: between about $2.60 a month for the clear-cube machine and $7.78 for the Opal 2.0 ceiling. That is a smaller spread than the machines' prices suggest, and smaller in absolute terms than most people assume before they do the arithmetic.
The complete working, including how to substitute your own rate: what a countertop ice maker costs to run.
The picks in full
1. Best for nugget ice
GE Profile Opal 2.0 Nugget Ice Maker
The machine everything else is measured against, and the only one whose maker publishes both a production rate and a per-hour rate.
- Rated output
- 38 lbs/day
- Bin capacity
- 3 lbs
- Electrical
- 3 A at 120 V (360 VA nameplate)
- Ceiling at 4 hrs/day, $0.18/kWh
- $7.78/month (from the nameplate ceiling)
#ad We earn a commission on purchases made through this link. How this is funded. Prices last checked September 2, 2026.
GE's owner's manual rates the 2.0 at 3.0 A, which at 120 V is a 360 VA nameplate — the highest here. That is a ceiling, not a running draw, but it is the ceiling you are budgeting an outlet for.
The 3 lb bin is not refrigerated. Ice melts, the meltwater drains back into the reservoir and gets re-frozen, so the bin is a holding tray rather than a freezer.
GE is the only manufacturer in this set that publishes an hourly rate as well as a daily one, which makes 'how long until I have a glass of ice' answerable from published data instead of guesswork.
Skip this if
You want the cheapest route to nugget ice, or a small footprint. It is the biggest current draw in this table and its 3 lb bin empties fast.
2. Best nugget value
Frigidaire Gallery Countertop Nugget Ice Maker
The only nugget machine here whose maker publishes an actual power consumption instead of a nameplate ceiling, and it is a low one.
- Rated output
- 44 lbs/day
- Bin capacity
- 3 lbs
- Electrical
- 185 W published
- Ceiling at 4 hrs/day, $0.18/kWh
- $4.00/month (from published watts)
#ad We earn a commission on purchases made through this link. How this is funded. Prices last checked September 2, 2026.
185 W published means the running-cost figure for this machine is not a derived ceiling — it is arithmetic on a number Frigidaire printed. That is the strongest cost data on the site.
It is rated at 20 kg a day, which is 44 lbs — higher than the Opal 2.0's 38. Both numbers are measured under ideal conditions the manual does not describe.
Ten inches wide and 16.5 tall makes it the narrowest full-size nugget machine in this set.
Skip this if
You need a manufacturer-published bin capacity. Frigidaire's specification table omits it, so the 3 lb figure on this page comes from a retail listing rather than the manual.
3. Best for bullet ice
Frigidaire Countertop Bullet Ice Maker
A bullet-ice machine, not a nugget one — and the fastest route to a full bin if the ice shape does not matter to you.
- Rated output
- 44 lbs/day
- Bin capacity
- Not published
- Electrical
- 200 W published
- Ceiling at 4 hrs/day, $0.18/kWh
- $4.32/month (from published watts)
#ad We earn a commission on purchases made through this link. How this is funded. Prices last checked September 2, 2026.
44 lbs a day at 200 W published. Bullet machines make ice by freezing water onto chilled prongs, which is a far simpler and faster process than extruding nugget ice.
This is the machine to buy if you want a lot of ice for a cooler, and the machine to avoid if you want ice you can chew.
At 19 inches tall it does not fit under a standard 18-inch upper cabinet gap. Measure first.
Skip this if
You came here for chewable ice. Bullet ice is hollow, hard cylinders. It is not nugget ice and no setting will make it nugget ice.
4. Best for clear cubes
Frigidaire Countertop Clear Ice Maker
Clear cubes rather than nugget or bullet, the shortest machine here, and the lowest published power draw of anything on the site.
- Rated output
- 39.7 lbs/day
- Bin capacity
- Not published
- Electrical
- 120 W published
- Ceiling at 4 hrs/day, $0.18/kWh
- $2.59/month (from published watts)
#ad We earn a commission on purchases made through this link. How this is funded. Prices last checked September 2, 2026.
90 to 120 W published is the lowest draw of any machine on this site, and it is a published consumption range rather than a nameplate.
14.1 inches tall is the only machine here that clears a standard under-cabinet gap without argument.
Twenty-four cubes per cycle and 18 kg a day. Clear ice melts slowly and dilutes a drink less, which is the entire reason to choose it over nugget.
Skip this if
You want chewable ice. Clear cube machines are slow by design — the clarity comes from freezing water gradually.
5. Best bin capacity
NewAir 44 lb. Countertop Nugget Ice Maker
The largest bin in this set and the lightest full-size body, with a current figure labeled honestly as ice-making current.
- Rated output
- 44 lbs/day
- Bin capacity
- 3.3 lbs
- Electrical
- 2.7 A at 115 V (310.5 VA nameplate)
- Ceiling at 4 hrs/day, $0.18/kWh
- $6.71/month (from the nameplate ceiling)
#ad We earn a commission on purchases made through this link. How this is funded. Prices last checked September 2, 2026.
3.3 lbs of bin capacity is the biggest here — a 10 percent edge over the 3 lb standard, which is one extra tall glass.
At 34.17 lbs it is the lightest full-size machine in this set, nearly 10 lbs under the first-generation Opal.
The specification table calls out 'ice making current' rather than a generic rating. That is a more useful number than a nameplate and we wish more manufacturers printed it.
Skip this if
You want the brand with the deepest support documentation. NewAir's manual is good on specs and thin on service procedure compared with GE's.
Questions people actually ask
What is the best countertop ice maker?
It depends entirely on the ice you want. For soft chewable nugget ice, the GE Profile Opal 2.0 is the best-documented machine and the Frigidaire Gallery EFIC255 is the best value at 185 W published. For hollow bullet ice in volume, the Frigidaire EFIC235 makes 44 lbs a day at 200 W. For slow clear cubes for cocktails, the Frigidaire EFIC452 draws 90 to 120 W and is the only machine here that clears a standard under-cabinet gap at 14.1 inches tall.
Are countertop ice makers worth it?
If you buy bagged ice regularly or your freezer's ice maker cannot keep up, yes, and the electricity is a smaller cost than most people expect: between roughly $2.60 and $7.80 a month at four running hours a day and 18 cents per kWh, depending on the machine. If you want ice that stays frozen without a freezer, no, because none of these machines refrigerates its bin.
How much electricity does a countertop ice maker use?
Where manufacturers publish a figure, it ranges from 90 to 200 watts. Frigidaire publishes 185 W for the EFIC255 nugget machine, 200 W for the EFIC235 bullet machine and 90 to 120 W for the EFIC452 clear-cube machine. GE publishes no wattage for the Opal 2.0, only a 3.0 A current rating, which at 120 V is a 360 VA nameplate ceiling rather than a consumption figure.
What is the difference between nugget, bullet and clear ice makers?
Nugget machines freeze water into flakes on a chilled cylinder and compress the flakes into soft chewable pellets with an auger. Bullet machines freeze water onto chilled metal prongs, producing hollow cylinders quickly. Clear cube machines freeze water gradually in a tray, which pushes air and impurities out and gives a dense transparent cube that melts slowly.
Do countertop ice makers need to be plumbed in?
No. Every countertop machine covered here is reservoir-fed: you pour water into a tank and the machine recirculates it, including the meltwater from the bin. Plumbed connections belong to undercounter machines, which are a different and much more expensive appliance class.
Sources
- Frigidaire EFIC235 User Manual, p.9 (product specifications) (read 2026-09-02)
- Frigidaire EFIC452 Use & Care Manual, p.10 (product specifications) (read 2026-09-02)
- Frigidaire EFIC255 Use & Care Manual, p.12 (product specifications) (read 2026-09-02)
- GE Profile Opal 2.0 Owner's Manual 49-9000029 Rev. 6, p.17 (read 2026-09-02)
- NewAir NIM044BS00 Owner's Manual, p.5 (specifications) (read 2026-09-02)
- EIA Electric Power Monthly, Table 5.6.A, June 2026 (read 2026-09-02)
Read next
- Nugget Ice vs Bullet Ice
Two mechanisms, two products. What actually separates chewable ice from hollow cylinders.
- The Best Portable Ice Makers
Portable machines ranked on published output and draw, with what portable really means.
- The Best Nugget Ice Makers
Six machines ranked on published specs, each with a sourced monthly running-cost ceiling.
- Are Countertop Ice Makers Worth It?
When one earns its place and when it does not, with the cost computed rather than asserted.
- Do Countertop Ice Makers Keep Ice Frozen?
No. The bin is unrefrigerated and the meltwater recirculates. What to do instead.
- What a Nugget Ice Maker Costs to Run
Per-model monthly costs with the wattage sourced, the duty cycle stated and the arithmetic shown.