These Top-Tested Ice Cream Makers Let You Whip up a Pint at Home

We updated this article in February 2023 to ensure all picks vetted and tested by the Good Housekeeping Institute's Kitchen Appliances Lab were available, in stock and correctly priced.

A home ice cream maker will allow you to get creative in the kitchen with fruity sorbets and decadent ice cream flavors. And while you can technically make the sweet treat without a fancy machine, an at-home ice cream maker makes the process so much easier since you just have to pour in the ingredients and usually just let the machine do the work.

Whether you prefer an ice cream float, ice cream sundae or even a baked Alaska, “buying an ice cream maker is worth it if you'd like to add a homemade touch to hosting or simply want to control the types of ingredients you use,” says Kitchen Appliances and Innovation Lab Director Nicole Papantoniou. “They're also great if you want to experiment with flavors or have family members with dietary or allergy restrictions who you'd like to cater to.”

In the Good Housekeeping Institute Kitchen Appliances and Culinary Innovation Lab, we have a long history of testing kitchen appliances, from portable grills to personal blenders. In recent years, we've tested over 18 ice cream makers, assessing every element of the machine, from ease of setup and use to noise level during operation, to ease of cleaning and the quality of the ice cream.

Our top picks:

Whether you opt for a freezer bowl, compressor or more manual ice cream maker, you'll want to serve homemade sundaes all the time! Read our full reviews below, and find more info about how we test ice cream makers and what to look for when shopping for one at the bottom of this guide.