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Icy drinks are a fan favourite across Canada all year round, but this is especially true in the sweltering summer months. Anyone disagree? We didn’t think so! And while it’s fun to get your fix from a restaurant occasionally, there are plenty of occasions when you want to enjoy them at home too. For some people, daily. But what do you do when you’re sick of buying ice or making it in your freezer all the time?
You get a countertop ice maker, of course! These handy machines can make, store, and recycle ice constantly so you always have a fresh supply ready when you need it. They can make ice in various shapes and sizes, and some of them can even connect to other devices for convenience. They’re super easy to use, too. Just fill the tank up with water and choose your settings. The machine does the rest!
If a countertop ice maker sounds like something you need, we’d love to help you find the best one for your home. They’ll vary in things like price, overall size, number of ice sizes, ice shape, water tank capacity, ice bin capacity, and more. And we strongly encourage you to think about every feature… that’s the best way to get the right fit!
This comprehensive guide will investigate the best countertop ice makers in Canada right now and outline the criteria you should consider while making your purchase decision. Let’s dive right into our top five products.
Top Pick: Frigidaire EFIC189 Compact Ice Maker
Upgrade Pick: Ecozy Countertop Ice Maker
Connected Pick: GoveeLife Smart Countertop Ice Maker
Budget Pick: LivingBasics Portable Ice Maker
Also Great: Koolatron Automatic Digital Ice Machine
The Frigidaire EFIC189 Compact Ice Maker has a lot of features worth mentioning. It has one of our favourite control setups of all time—only a couple of buttons to start/stop the machine and choose your ice size. It’ll automatically stop producing ice when the bucket is full, too, and restart once you’ve removed some!
Plus, instead of annoying alarms, it has light indicators to let you know when the water is low and when the ice bucket is full. We love this the most. Since the ice production process is also really quiet, this machine is perfect for low-noise households. And also low-space households, since it’s so compact and countertop-friendly, even in the smallest kitchens.
The only fault we can really find with this ice maker is the cleaning process. Since it doesn’t have a self-clean function, it needs to be done by hand every couple of weeks (depending on use) to make sure it’s hygienic and working properly. The drain can be awkward to reach, though, and it just takes more time than hitting a simple self-clean button. This might be a dealbreaker for some people, which is why we bring it up.
All in all, the Frigidaire EFIC189 Compact Ice Maker is a pretty awesome ice maker. It doesn’t have any fancy features or extraordinary ice production rates, but it’s super reliable, easy to use, and perfectly countertop-friendly. You can’t ask for much more than that at this price!
Performance: 5/5
Usability: 5/5
Price: 4/5
Quality: 4.5/5
Reviewers have a great opinion of the Frigidaire EFIC189 Compact Ice Maker. It’s quieter than a lot of other ice makers they’ve used in the past, and it also fits a lot better on the counter. The controls are very basic and easy to understand, which helped first-timers a lot, and the smaller ice size is made pretty quickly. They wish it was a bit easier to drain and clean, but it’s not that big of a deal for any of them.
Buy If…
You need something very compact
Simplistic and intuitive controls are ideal
You want a quiet and unobtrusive ice maker
You don’t want to micromanage the ice production
Don’t Buy If…
You don’t want to clean the machine by hand
Dimensions: 8.7” x 11.6” x 11.4”
Weight: 12.9 lbs
Daily Production: 26 lbs
Water Tank Capacity: 1.1 L
Production Rate: 9 cubes every 7-15 minutes
Ice Sizes: 2
Ice Shape: Bullet
Ice Storage Capacity: 1.5 lbs
Warranty: 1 year
The Ecozy Countertop Ice Maker has so many features working in its favour. One of its most noteworthy characteristics is the sheer amount of ice it can make in a day—44 lbs! That’s almost double what the average ice maker can put out. This makes it absolutely perfect for serving large groups, or for those last-minute ice emergencies. They happen.
We really like that you get three ice bags with this machine—they make it so much easier to store the ice in the freezer for later use. You won’t have to sacrifice any of your containers. It has a delayed start timer, too, so you can have ice ready when you get home from work or when you wake up in the morning. It even makes solid cubes instead of hollow bullet-shaped ice.
There are only two groups of people that won’t be extremely happy with this machine. This first group is people looking for something budget-friendly—this one costs almost three times as much as the least expensive options out there. The second group is people with small kitchens. This machine needs more counter space than most.
All in all, the Ecozy Countertop Ice Maker is one of the absolute best ice makers money can buy. It outperforms every other machine in daily ice production, comes with extra accessories, and is perfect for cube lovers.
Performance: 5/5
Usability: 5/5
Price: 3/5
Quality: 5/5
Reviewers are blown away by the quality of the Ecozy Countertop Ice Maker. They only need to run a few cycles (less than an hour) to get a freezer full of ice, and it melts very slowly. They love that they can use the delay-start timer to have ice ready even when they won’t be home to start the machine. They all agree wholeheartedly that this one is worth the higher price tag.
Buy If…
You need a large volume of ice on a daily basis
You want to store your ice in the freezer
You’d enjoy the convenience of a delay-start timer
You prefer cube-shaped ice over bullet-shaped
Don’t Buy If…
You aren’t prepared to spend a good chunk of change
You don’t have a lot of free counter space
Dimensions: 9.9” x 14.2” x 14.6”
Weight: 24.6 lbs
Daily Production: 44 lbs
Water Tank Capacity: 3.2 L
Production Rate: 24 cubes every 13 minutes
Ice Sizes: 1
Ice Shape: Cube
Warranty: 1 year
The GoveeLife Smart Countertop Ice Maker is the best choice for people who love smart machines. It can connect to your voice assistants or an app on your smartphone. You can use both options to start or stop the ice maker, and your phone’s app will also alert you when the ice bucket is full or the water tank is empty. Talk about convenience!
We also really like how versatile this machine is. It can make three different sizes of ice instead of just two, and you can even put in pulp-free juices to make flavoured ice cubes. So much fun. It also has a 10-minute self-clean cycle to save you the hassle of doing it by hand. And we’re still not done! Since each ice cycle takes between 6 and 8 minutes (even for the largest size), you’ll never be left without ice.
There’s really nothing wrong with this ice maker, and we love that for you. Just be aware that this one is a bit more expensive than the average ice maker (because of the extra tech), and it also has extra tech…if you’d prefer a more basic machine, you’ll want to steer clear of this one.
Overall, the GoveeLife Smart Countertop Ice Maker is our top recommendation for folks who would love to get a little more intelligence out of their machines. Not only is it super connected, but it also makes really great batches of ice, really quickly, and is even super quiet. It’s hard to beat, we know.
Performance: 5/5
Usability: 5/5
Price: 4/5
Quality: 5/5
Reviewers absolutely love the GoveeLife Smart Countertop Ice Maker. It’s a super reliable machine, they’ve never had it mess up a batch of ice like other machines can, and the app connectivity is really convenient so ice is ready when they get home. The self-clean function works great, and they even find the ice melts slower than store-bought varieties.
Buy If…
You’d like to control it with your home assistant and get updates in a companion app
You’d prefer not to clean it by hand
You’d like a little extra versatility
You go through a lot of ice every day
Don’t Buy If…
You need something really affordable
Connectivity isn’t something you want
Dimensions: 12.3” x 8.7” x 12.6”
Weight: 11 lbs
Daily Production: 26 lbs
Water Tank Capacity: 2 L
Production Rate: 9 cubes every 6-8 mins
Ice Sizes: 3
Ice Shape: Bullet
The LivingBasics Portable Ice Maker was an easy choice for our budget pick this year. And we’ll tell you why. It’s one of the smallest and quietest machines out there, so it will fit perfectly in smaller kitchens with limited counter space as well as households that don’t do well with extraneous noise. You’ll only have to hear the ice cubes dropping—no other noise will be a nuisance!
We’re also really happy with the cycle time on this machine—the smaller size of ice only takes 6 minutes to freeze, and the larger size is ready in 12 minutes. And since nine cubes are produced each cycle, you’ll never run out even if you’re serving a group. Since the controls are incredibly simple, even your kids will be able to get in on the fun of using the ice maker.
One of the only things we don’t love about this ice maker is the size of the water tank. It can only hold 1.2 litres of water at a time, so if you’ll be using up your ice quickly, you’ll also be filling up the tank quite often. This can get a bit annoying if you’re doing it all the time, so just something to keep in mind while you’re considering your options.
Overall, the LivingBasics Portable Ice Maker is our favourite choice in the budget-friendly ice maker arena. It isn’t perfect, but it makes a ton of ice every 24 hours, is incredibly easy to use, and is even more countertop-friendly than your average machine. It’s even super quiet as a bonus.
Performance: 5/5
Usability: 4.5/5
Price: 5/5
Quality: 4.5/5
Reviewers are getting a lot of use out of their LivingBasics Portable Ice Makers. With the two ice sizes, they’re able to make the right kind of ice for drinks or packing coolers, which they love. The machine is very quiet aside from the noise of the ice dropping down, and they’re really happy with how quickly the cubes are made.
Buy If…
You need a quick supply of ice
A quiet ice maker is ideal
You’re short on counter space
You’ll appreciate very basic controls
Don’t Buy If…
You don’t want to be filling up the water tank all the time
Dimensions: 8.7” x 11.6” x 11.4”
Weight: 13.7 lbs
Daily Production: 26.5 lbs
Water Tank Capacity: 1.2 L
Production Rate: 9 cubes every 6-12 mins
Ice Sizes: 2
Ice Shape: Bullet
Ice Storage Capacity: 1.3 lbs
Warranty: 1 year
The Koolatron Automatic Digital Ice Machine has a number of features that we enjoy. One of our favourites is the automated clean—this function will run clean water through the lines to make sure your ice is always tasting great and is free of contaminants. Thank goodness. We also really appreciate how easy it is to use—all of the buttons are intuitive and press easily.
We’re also pretty happy with the black exterior rather than the standard stainless steel—it isn’t so much of an eyesore, especially if you’ve got a darker aesthetic already going on in your kitchen. Plus, since it comes with an ice scoop and the ice bin is removable, you’ll be able to transfer over the fresh ice to a permanent bucket in your freezer if you need to stock up. Super handy.
There aren’t many things that we don’t love about this option, but they do still have to be mentioned. First of all, the overall build quality of this one isn’t as high as other options out there, so it might not last as long as you’d hope. Also, it can make some pretty loud noises while it’s making ice, so just be aware of that if it’ll be cycling all the time.
Overall, the Koolatron Automatic Digital Ice Machine is a very well-rounded option that will fit into just about any home. Or cottage. Or anywhere else, for that matter. It won’t last as long as some of the higher-end options, but it sure is good at its job.
Performance: 5/5
Usability: 5/5
Price: 4/5
Quality: 4/5
Reviewers are pretty happy with their Koolatron Automatic Digital Ice Machines. They find the machine really easy to use and are happy with the quality of the ice—it crushes easily for mixing in smoothies, but is still solid enough to melt slowly in drinks. Some of them had it stop working within a year, though. Longevity is a bit of a concern.
Buy If…
You want it to clean itself
You’d like it to blend well with a darker décor scheme
You’ll be transferring the ice to a separate container in your freezer
Ease of use is important
Don’t Buy If…
Startling noises will be a problem
You want to use it for years
Dimensions: 12.8” x 9” x 12.2”
Weight: 16.4 lbs
Daily Production: 26.5 lbs
Water Tank Capacity: 1.85 L
Ice Sizes: 2
Almost every countertop ice maker can be purchased for $300 or less, but some are as cheap as $100. In general, more expensive ice makers will have a larger production capacity, a faster production rate, and extras like app connectivity.
The ice production rate of a countertop ice maker refers to how quickly it churns out a batch of ice. It generally varies between 5-7 minutes for small sizes of cubes and 8-15 minutes for larger sizes. If you frequently need ice on a last-minute basis, you’ll want to find a machine with a faster ice production rate.
Most countertop ice makers make ice in hollow bullet shapes, but a rare few can make traditional solid cubes. They can also vary the size of ice they make—generally the cube-style machines can only make one size, but the bullet-style machines will offer at least two (if not three) sizes of ice to suit different occasions.
The capacities of an ice maker’s water tank and ice bin should also come into play when you’re making a purchase decision. The water tank capacity can vary between 1 and 3 litres generally, and the ice bin capacity is usually between 1 and 1.5 litres. A larger water tank means less frequent filling, and a larger ice bin means more ice can be produced before the machine shuts off.
Disclaimer: The prices displayed are accurate at the time of publication. We’ll do our best to keep them as up-to-date as possible, but you may see slight changes. The products in this list are ranked by independent third parties. Rankings are based on both reviews and independent testing.