Looking to step up your ice game? I've rounded up the coolest portable ice makers for the money. These cheap options are praised by students, and will get the job done every time.
FYI, Prices and ratings are accurate as of time of writing.
1. AGLUCKY Portable Ice Cube Maker
Top-rated: 21,137 ratings | 234 answered questions
Credit: Amazon.com
Highlight: Indicators will remind you to take out the ice cubes when the basket is full, and inform you to add water when necessary.
Helpful review: "The ice companies may close due to this machine. I love it. I used to buy lots of ice because mine tastes funny. Anyway... it was super easy to get running. I got a gallon of water from the store. And taadaa I had ice. It makes bullet shaped ice that is hollow in the middle. As the ice is used or melts it makes more. I have no complaints at all. It doesn’t make a huge amount of ice, maybe 64oz a batch. It’s pretty quiet running. The ice makes a plink sound when it drops down." — Eleanor L. Dulany
Trending review: "I ordered this for my treatment room inside my spa so it was important to me that it be compact and quiet. This is awesome!! Its smaller than I expected which was great and its really quiet. Makes about 2 cups of ice every 3-6 minutes. I leave it on so that it keeps making more ice and when its full it simply keeps the ice cold until you empty the container and the red light comes on to let you know to empty it. It also lets you know when you need to refill it. LOVE THIS ICE MAKER!! You can also choose smaller ice which looks like little pellets or choose the larger ice size depending on you needs. Highly highly recommend! You won't be disappointed." — All Things Vain
Reassuring review: "I’m so happy to finally have an ice maker with summer just around the corner. So my initial ice maker I received was defective and didn’t work at all, I sent the company a message and immediately I was contacted by their customer service, after a quick exchange they had a new replacement sent to me. That service alone is worth more then the machine. So after plugging in my new Ice maker, it started making ice In about 13 mins. I like the ice because it’s crunchable and semi soft, but not to the point where it will melt right away (hope that made sense). So buy yours with confidence, you won’t regret it!" — Manuel S.
Get it from Amazon now: $119.99
2. Frigidaire Compact Ice Maker
Top-rated: 13,746 ratings | 204 answered questions
Credit: Amazon.com
Highlight: Large see-through window allows for process monitoring and ice level checking.
Helpful review: "I spent thousands on a Samsung French-door refrigerator 5 years back, joining the thousands who love the fridge but hate the ice maker. Apparently, I'm not alone in my disdain for that "sometimes it works, most of the time not" ice maker that just freezes up on a regular basis. Had it repaired, then replaced, still the same issue. My wife LOVES ice in her diet soda. She doesn't drink coffee, so her DC is her morning lifeblood, but she MUST have her Yeti full of ice....SO.....I heard about this countertop ice maker and gave it a run. Wrapped it up as an "extra' Christmas gift (I know, never give your wife an appliance for Christmas) but this was more fun and experiment than a vacuum or dust mop.
Our ice maker (in the fridge) OF COURSE started working again on Christmas Eve, which really gave me a chuckle. When she unwrapped it, my wife said "The ice maker is working again!" which made me chuckle even harder. I knew (and I was right) that it would stop working...and it did. On Christmas afternoon.
Out came this Frigidaire ice maker, and I had it making ice literally minutes later. Once I started, I was an ice-making machine. I even bought ice cube bags on Amazon, and started filling 10 pound bags of ice. I would make an Eskimo jealous with all the ice I've made with this thing.
Now I'm thinking fishing season, even though it's January, because I have a fishing boat at the shore, and I'm always planning my route to stop for bagged ice on my down to the boat...NOT ANY MORE. I'll have bag after bag in the garage freezer now.
Easy to run, simple and easy to drain and wipe down when your "other fridge" decides to work, and makes at least the 20 pounds a day that it claims. As long as you keep emptying that bin to another container or bag, you'll watch your cubes build up like magic. Great product! Would purchase again in a heartbeat." — FireMedic
Get it from Amazon now: $99.99 & FREE Returns
3. Igloo Bullet Ice Machine
Top-rated: 3,353 ratings | 78 answered questions
Credit: Amazon.com
Highlight: Stores up to 2 pounds of ice at a time.
Helpful review: "I have an automatic ice maker in my freezer but it runs out quickly when we have people over. This is awesome not just for parties but for everyday use. The ice can be large or small and comes in a hollow bullet shape. It does 9 bullets every 6 mins and it takes about 30 mins to fill the bucket. It stops making more ice when it’s full or out of water. It’ll keep my full bucket cold for a while and no big deal if it melts a little because it reuses the water. I personally like the cubes melted a little bit because I like to eat ice and they are like the soft snow cone pellets. We use this everyday for hours at a time and I’ve had no taste issues or mechanical problems. It makes a little bit of noise but it’s not annoyingly loud. This would be great for an RV, dorm, classroom, home bar or office kitchen. This and my crepe maker are my favorite and most used items in my kitchen. I love the light aqua color and it doesn’t take up a huge amount of counter space." — Amazon Customer
Get it from Amazon now: $119.99 & FREE Returns
4. CROWNFUL Ice Maker Machine
Top-rated: 8,823 ratings | 122 answered questions
Credit: Amazon.com
Highlight: 12-month warranty and lifetime support.
Helpful review: "I love this little ice maker! The ice maker in the main fridge/freezer broke many moons ago, and since I’ve been working from home (Office had an ice maker/water machine), the lack of ice in abundance had me sweating. The first time I opened it and set it up, I cleaned it with water and vinegar very well. I let it sit on the counter for approx 4.5 hours per the instructions (and a little bit more since I read horrific reviews of the machine suddenly not working). I made sure there’s nothing within 10-12 inches of the exhaust fan area.
I did have to run the water/ice maker for a few batches until all the vinegar flavor got out. Once it did, there was edible ice! I scoop it into a freezer gallon ziplock bag and keep it in the freezer. The ice cubes do come out a little wet but it makes sense since it’s not a cooler or freezer, but literally just an ice maker. The ice isn’t meant to sit in the basket all day. It makes a set of maybe 6-9 pieces of ice (don’t remember) every approx 15 mins. I’ve learned I am able to leave it running for about 1.5-2 hours before I have to empty the entire basket into a gallon ziplock bag and place it in the freezer. If starting with bottled water filled to the max level, it’ll last about two whole baskets-full. Like others, I don’t recommend letting the water run out which will cause it to blink that water is empty, since too many times of that could cause the motor to overheat and burn out or whatever.
Pro tip: when transferring ice to the ziplock bag, roll all of the air out, zip it closed, and spread the ice flat. Then you can either place it in the freezer flat or fold the bag in half depending on size and space in your freezer. This helps a bit to keep the ice from freezing in big lumps when storing away, or waiting to add in the next batch of ice." — Karin
Get it from Amazon now: $99.99 & FREE Returns
5. Euhomy Compact Ice Machine
Top-rated: 12,483 ratings | 262 answered questions
Credit: Amazon.com
Highlight: Produces 9 ice cubes in just 6 minutes.
Helpful review: "This icemaker was packaged very nicely. Everything was wrapped and taped up, but it was still easy to unpack and to remove the tape. My biggest pet peeve is when it takes an hour to unwrap something 🙂
The icemaker itself feels very sturdy and was the perfect size for my limited countertop space. It is solid, but not overly heavy. It takes up about the same amount of space as my Kitchenaid mixer, just as a more solid rectangular shape. The entire unit is stainless steel minus the lid, which is a solid black and see through black color. The fan portion puts out a good bit of air, so make sure you have plenty of space on that right side to vent. I thought it might look too cumbersome overall at first, but it really didn’t take up as much space as I’d feared. And it matches my appliances very nicely. The cord is a really nice length too. I was surprised how much length you got.
The front panel has notification lights for adding water, ice full, small ice size, large ice size, and also has a select button and the power button. It also comes with the removable ice basket and scoop. It is crazy simple to use. Just pour water in the tank, select the size and turn it on!
Once you turn on the icemaker, it began filling within seconds. It took less than 5 minutes for the first small batch of ice to be done. You’ll need a bit of time to get a full batch. The basket holds enough to fill a couple cups full of ice, but the machine runs continuously if left on until it runs out of water. It’s definitely great for 2-3 people, especially if you have a small kitchen or space. I’m one of those people who has to have ice with their drinks, and this is perfect since we have well water and can’t use the fridge icemaker. Using filtered water, the ice comes out crystal clear and in a hollow shape." — Amy Briana
Get it from Amazon now: $104.99 & FREE Returns
6. Igloo Self-Cleaning Ice Machine
Top-rated: 2,922 ratings | 61 answered questions
Credit: Amazon.com
Highlight: Stores up to 1.25 pounds of ice.
Helpful review: "I decided to wait a while before posting my review on this to really give it a proper review.
The ice maker in our refrigerator broke and it was going to cost more than I wanted to spend to get it fixed. I knew that calling in a repair man would require buying a new part and paying for his time and labor. I figured it'd be at least a couple hundred bucks. So I decided to see what Amazon had. We bought a fuel pump for my daughter's car on Amazon, I was sure they'd have a replacement ice maker for my fridge, and I'd get the neighborhood handyman to install it. He installed the fuel pump and that turned out okay. Unfortunately, I was unable to find a replacement icemaker for my fridge, but I did find this little gadget.
My husband had his doubts, but I trusted Igloo, and I was tired of him going to the gas station every day for a bag of ice. When we first got it, I wiped it all down with a towel and bleach water. I set it up in the dining room on top of our mini freezer, which sits in the corner of the room beside the China cabinet. It fit right in with the recommended six inches of space all around it. The first few times we ran it, I bought a couple of gallons of distilled water to put in it. Then I realized that doing that would also mean a trip to the gas station every day for water, so I decided to just knuckle under and use tap water. I was sure that it would have a funny taste, but it just doesn't. Maybe the freezing process kills whatever makes the water taste funny when it's liquid. We did notice that the ice cubes were more white and less clear than the cubes from the distilled water. We try to not to dwell on why that might be.
Every day starts the same. Instead of getting up and turning on the coffee pot, my husband or I (whoever gets up first) fill up the ice maker. Seven minutes later, you can set your watch by it, the machine will push out 9 ice cubes. I try to stay on top of it but my husband will let it go a few rounds before getting up and dumping the ice into a gallon sized Ziploc bag. Within a few hours you will have a full bag. It comes out of the machine wet, so when it goes into the Ziploc and into the freezer, the cubes tend to freeze together. I recommend not using cheap or generic Ziplocs and using them over and over. Cheap bags will not stand up to being dropped repeatedly on the floor to break up the ice. It would be nice if the cubes didn't come out wet, but I don't think it's a deal-breaker.
This has been a very handy little ice machine and we've done the math. Ice machine vs bags of ice from the gas station equated to the ice machine paying for itself within 3 months. We travel often and we always end up buying bags of ice that sometimes go unused. This solves that problem, we only make what we need and the unit is small enough to take on any trip. We keep it running most of the time while we're awake and constantly fill up bags. When we get four bags, we stop because we're out of freezer space for the bags. Between my husband's (12 pk a day) Pepsi addiction and mine to iced tea, we go through a lot of ice, I'd say far more than 2 average people and this ice maker has accommodated us greatly. It has become a permanent piece of our furniture now. We can't imagine life without it.
Side note: I had a stroke and I have limited motion. My physical therapist says that walking to the ice machine every 7 minutes is the best thing I could be doing to get my mobility back. I read through other reviews before deciding on this model and I think I made a great choice. This little gadget is very nifty. My husband likes to let it go two rounds before dumping the tray. That way he can time it to drop when the commercials come on.
I had concerns about the sounds of it, but you barely hear it at all until the ice drops. We can hear it, but it's not loud enough to disturb the TV or casual conversation. If we have company and the ice drops, nobody panics and says "WHAT WAS THAT?" In fact, I think one of our friends is planning to buy one after seeing ours. It's cool!" — Annie K
Get it from Amazon now: $123.16 & FREE Returns
7. VIVOHOME Electric Ice Cube Maker
Top-rated: 6,965 ratings
Credit: Amazon.com
Highlight: No installation required - just turn on the machine and select your nugget size (S/L) of choice.
Helpful review: "I love this machine!!! I have I’ll say a fetish about ice, and I have since I was in my teens. I will not drink a drink that does not have ice (unless it’s a cold bottle of water,) I used to chew ice - I’ve stopped that recently. I will not use ice from the freezer because they always get a funky odor. As a result, I have to buy bags of ice “, which end up getting a funky odor, and they’re heavy, and they take up an entire shelf in my freezer. I also like small cubes, which this machine makes. I don’t have to buy bags of ice anymore!
The ice is fresh! I don’t have anything else on my counter other than a coffee maker. some people may not like the fact that it takes up about 12 inches wide, but it’s just me and I REALLY like the ice. Although I don’t drink alcohol often, for someone who made cocktails and wanted smaller pieces of ice? you use your scoop and done. The freezer that I’m using has been an issue for 3-years and I’m renting? so I’m stuck with this freezer. Every time I walk by, I grab a piece of ice, but it is so easy to add ice to my water or iced-tea by the glass. It replenishes constantly. sometimes during the night, the sound will scare me but I’m not turning it off because if you turn it off, all the ice melts. I have hard water so I’m using spring or distilled water to pull into the machine rather than from my faucet. I don’t know if it’s running up my electricity bill but I don’t care. It’s hard on my back getting ice into the house? there’s not room in my freezer for bagged ice, and the bagged ice kills my back. I’ve emptied out a shelf in the freezer, which is great. It’s an attractive piece of equipment - also fashion forward, maybe modern looking. I read a review on Amazon, and bought it immediately. It is my favorite appliance in my villa!" — Amazon Customer
Get it from Amazon now: $149.99 & FREE Returns
8. Euhomy Countertop Ice Cube Maker
Top-rated: 4,659 ratings | 201 answered questions
Credit: Amazon.com
Highlight: Produces 24 ice cubes per cycle (every 12 to 18 minutes) = up to 40 pounds per 24 hours.
Helpful review: "Our ice maker in our fridge broke and we were quoted $800+ for the repair. It is still new enough that I can't justify replacing the fridge or paying that much for the repair simply for an ice maker. Even when the ice maker did work it was constantly jamming up and never really made enough ice anyways. Decided to give this a try to solve both issues. When the unit arrived we followed the instructions which requires allowing it to sit for 1-2 hours to allow the coolant to settle and so the unit can get to ambient temperature. Unfortunately, something ended up being wrong with the unit. It would run but never made any ice. Contacted the seller and they immediately sent a replacement. The second one works just fine and makes quite a bit of ice in a pretty short amount of time. The process is kinda fascinating because it doesn't use a flat ice tray. It runs water over a vertical tray until it eventually freezes into cubes. The ice it makes is pretty wet so after I put the bin in my freezer it kinda froze together. A small amount of influence with a butter knife and it was just fine though. I'm confident this will cure both of our issues for 1/4 of the repair price. I can't comment on longevity since we've only had the unit for a few days but I will update my review if it fails early." — Darrell Nash
Get it from Amazon now: $219.99 & FREE Returns
9. CROWNFUL Ice Maker
Top-rated: 4,814 ratings | 67 answered questions
Credit: Amazon.com
Highlight: The transparent lid allows you to clearly see the ice making process and the remaining water amount inside without opening the cover.
Helpful review: "So once again, something in my house has gone bad. People, this home ownership thing isn't all roses, let me tell you. So anyways, my ice maker in the fridge decided it didnt want to work right anymore and due to the lovely pandemic, it's almost impossible to get a service call on it. And if you know my family, you'll understand why we need ice. Especially in this absolutely ridiculous summer heat we've been having. I figured a countertop ice maker would make a nice stop-gap measure and when I do get it fixed I'll be able to make extra ice for parties.
So it was shipped nicely packaged and piece of advice on anything with a refrigeration component, let it sit for 24 hrs to settle the Freon. After that I filled water to the clearly delineated line under the ice basket, turned it on, and let it do it's thing.
It's fairly quiet. The fridge hum is much louder than this. And it made my first batch of ice in about 8 minutes when I timed it. Not bad! And I didn't realize the shape of the cubes would look like that, but it's even better since it fits into my tea and lemonade bottles! It fills up the basket pretty efficiently and any ice that melts before use drops back into the water reservoir to make more ice. Definitely a keeper in this house!" — TOP 100 REVIEWER
Get it from Amazon now: $99.99 & FREE Returns
10. hOmeLabs Countertop Ice Maker
Top-rated: 6,673 ratings | 459 answered questions
Credit: Amazon.com
Highlight: Makes small or medium sized ice cubes in just 8 to 10 minutes.
Helpful review: "Absolutely love this ice maker!! I do not know what took us so long to buy one. We have two fridges in the house with ice makers and neither of them work!! We live in super hot Arizona and have been buying ice for several years. I am guessing we spend about $40 a month on ice for our family of 6. I am so happy with this little machine. It fits on my counter, it looks nice, it is fairly quiet, and it makes ice in two sizes FAST!!
It is also super easy to fill. For those that are making ice ahead of time to store I recommend either putting the ice in a bag in your freezer until it refreezes and then you can break it up and add it to another container/bucket or just keep the ice in a bag so you can throw it on the ground to break it apart. When you get the ice out of the machine it is very wet and if you are storing in your freezer you will end up with a big block of ice. You will not have that problem if you are just taking the ice from the machine and putting it directly into your drinks. I like that it automatically stops running when the ice tray is full and as soon as some of the ice melts down a little or you take some of the ice out it will continue working right away. This is just a great product. Thank you hOme for making life easier, it really is the simple things! I am crossing my fingers that the constant use will not effect its performance." — Dana Ellett
Get it from Amazon now: $114.99