Countertop Ice Makers, Compared

11,084 ratings at 4.3 on a listing that sells one machine. Owners report the first batch in 6 to 7 minutes and a machine that is easy to use day to day.

Ice production and durability draw mixed reports, including units that stop after about a month. That theme runs through every brand in this category, and it is the reason to buy where the evidence is deepest.

Sold as a 35 lb nugget machine, and owners describe 9 bullet-shaped cubes every 9 to 10 minutes, which is bullet behaviour rather than pellets. They praise the volume, calling it enough for a large household, and the small-and-large cube options.

4.3 across 1,769 ratings. Buy it for output rather than for texture, and if chewable pellets are the point, buy the Opal Mini below instead.

GE Profile started the countertop nugget category, and the Opal Mini is the compact version on its own listing. Owners report lots of ice quickly, easy set-up and a machine that starts and stops by itself, with noise the mixed note.

4.3 across 57 ratings is very thin, so it is early evidence rather than a verdict. The full-size Opal 2.0 Ultra has 505 ratings and a worse score, 3.6, with owners reporting noise and failures after about 6 months.

The listing states 9 cubes in 6 minutes, 26 lb a day and a self-cleaning cycle, and it is one of the most widely sold machines in the category.

Its 28,207 ratings are shared with Silonn’s nugget machine, so the 4.2 describes a family rather than this unit. Read the recent reviews for the ice shape people mention before you decide.

A 26 lb bullet machine with a carry handle, which is the case for it: owners move it between kitchen, deck and cooler. They report it making ice quickly and performing well.

4.2 across 16,351 ratings, with value and noise the two themes owners split on. If it will live on a worktop in a quiet kitchen, weigh that split carefully.