Best ice cream makers in Australia

Top Pick for

Overall ice cream maker

Cuisinart ice cream and gelato maker

Top Pick for

Budget ice cream maker

Davis & Waddell electric ice cream maker

Top Pick for

Mid-range ice cream maker

Cuisinart ice cream & frozen yoghurt maker

Top Pick for

Premium ice cream maker

Breville Smart Scoop ice cream maker

The best ice cream makers in Australia

• Best overall ice cream maker: Cuisinart ice cream and gelato maker
• Best budget ice cream maker: Davis & Waddell electric ice cream maker
• Best mid-range ice cream maker: Cuisinart ice cream and frozen yoghurt maker
• Best premium ice cream maker: Breville Smart Scoop ice cream maker
• Best ice cream attachment for stand mixers: KitchenAid ice cream bowl attachment

Best overall ice cream maker: Cuisinart ice cream and gelato maker

Pros

• No need to pre-freeze the bowl
• Can make ice cream and gelato

Cons

• It will take up a fair amount of bench/cupboard space
• The price

Specs | 1.5L capacity | Two paddles: one ice cream, one gelato | Brushed stainless steel

Price (RRP): $659
Amazon pricing: From $441.76

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Why we chose it

If you're serious about making your own ice cream at home, you need a serious ice cream maker to churn it out for you. The Cuisinart ice cream and gelato maker took out top spot in this list with a star rating of 4.7 across 500+ reviews.

You don't need to waste time pre-freezing with this unit as it has an in-built compressor; simply add your ingredients, select how long you want to churn (up to 60 minutes) and hit start. The clear lid allows you to watch what's happening inside (while keeping little fingers out) and the flap on top makes it easy to add any mix-ins you like while the machine is still running.

Included are two paddles, one for ice cream and one for gelato. The difference between the two is that ice cream is light and fluffy in texture, while gelato is denser and creamier, so you'll notice the ice cream paddle has extra blades to help incorporate more air while it churns.

What users say

I love it, I am having real old fashioned ice cream like I used to have as a child, thick and creamy.

Best budget ice cream maker: Davis & Waddell electric ice cream maker

Pros

• Compact for easy storage
• One switch operation

Cons

• Speaking from experience, it's noisy
• Bowl needs 8 hours minimum in the freezer

Specs | 1.5L capacity | Clear lid with mix-in chute | Non-slip feet

Price (RRP): $119
Amazon pricing: From $49.95

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Why we chose it

If you're just dipping your toe into the homemade ice cream realm and don't want to invest too much cash, the Davis & Waddell electric ice cream maker is for you. It earned a 4-star rating in our research and if you look online, it's easy to find it for much cheaper than its already low $119 RRP.

It's a compact unit for easy storage, but the bowl itself will still churn out 1.5L of soft serve ice cream for you. The one switch operation makes it kid-friendly to use and the rubber non-slip feet mean it won't vibrate onto the floor. It has a clear lid with a hole to drop in any mix-ins when ready. I used to own one and can honestly say that apart from ice cream it can also make delicious slushies – for kids or adults, it's up to you!

What users say

I think this does a pretty good ice-cream for the price.

Best mid-range ice cream maker: Cuisinart ice cream & frozen yoghurt maker

Pros

• 25-minute churn time
• Consumers say it's easy to clean

Cons

• 24-hour bowl freeze required
• Some reviewers find it noisy

Specs | 2L capacity | Double insulated bowl | Rubber feet

Price (RRP): $219
Amazon pricing: Check site for current pricing

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Why we chose it

Cuisinart is a popular kitchen appliance brand and with its 4.8-star rating, this ice cream and frozen yoghurt maker is no exception.

The heavy-duty build holds an impressive 2L double insulated bowl inside. There is a downside though – the bowl needs 24 hours in the freezer so you'll need to pre-plan your spontaneous "Hey kids, let's make ice cream!" Once the bowl is frozen though, you'll be eating ice cream in 25 minutes. It also has a clear lid with a hole in top so they can watch and add their favourite mix-ins.

What users say

Excellent ice cream & frozen yoghurt maker, easy to use and clean.

Best premium ice cream maker: Breville Smart Scoop ice cream maker

Why we chose it

When you're paying a premium price you want an ice cream maker that can do it all. The Breville Smart Scoop (Model: BCI600BSS) does exactly that. It took out this category with a 4.5-star rating.

With 12 hardness settings, there's no more arguing over soft serve versus real ice cream (can you tell which one I prefer?) Equipped with a Pre Cool function, you don't need to worry about refrigerating your mix first either, the machine will do that before it starts to churn. If you prefer to have more control over the process, there's also a manual setting where you can decide exactly how long to churn for (3 minutes to 3 hours). Once done, the self-refrigerating compressor will keep the batch at the desired hardness for up to three hours with its Keep Cool function.

What users say

Overall the features are awesome and it makes everything from soft to hard and in between. Love it!

Best ice cream attachment for stand mixers: KitchenAid ice cream bowl attachment

Why we chose it

In an effort to reduce kitchen clutter, have you considered an attachment for your stand mixer? We took a look at what's available on the market and the KitchenAid ice cream bowl attachment was the most popular choice with a 4.5-star rating.

Simply freeze the bowl overnight and attach it to your KitchenAid stand mixer (it's compatible with most of them, check the KitchenAid website), pour in your ice cream base and switch it on. It takes around 20 minutes to churn before you can scoop it into a freezer-safe container ready for storage.

What's that? You don't have a stand mixer? Check out our kitchen mixer guide here.

What users say

So easy to use and makes delicious ice cream.

Methodology

6
Brands considered

11
Products compared

5
Best products chosen

• We researched ice cream makers from 6 brands available in Australia.
• The 5 categories awarded were: best overall, best budget ice cream maker, best mid-range ice cream maker, best premium ice cream maker and best ice cream attachment for stand mixers.
• The products on this list are chosen by our editorial team and are not selected based on commercial relationships.

• Why you can trust our picks

  Before setting the price ranges we searched out which ice cream makers were available in Australia. The sites we used were: Appliances Online, Harvey Norman, House, Kitchen Warehouse, Myer, Peter's of Kensington and Victoria's Basement.

  Based on the price ranges across these sites we set the categories as follows:

  • Best budget ice cream maker under $150
  • Best mid-range ice cream maker between $150 and $300
  • Best premium ice cream maker $300+
  • Best overall ice cream maker and best attachment for stand mixers had no price restrictions

  Not all of the above sites offered customer reviews, so we then focused on Amazon Australia, Kitchen Warehouse, Appliances Online and the manufacturers' own websites to make the final selection based on star ratings. To make it to the shortlist each ice cream maker needed to score a minimum of 4 stars.

  We looked at ice cream makers from the following brands:

  • Breville
  • Cuisinart
  • Davis & Waddell

  • Kenwood
  • KitchenAid
  • Smeg

  We value our editorial independence, basing our comparison results, content and reviews on objective analysis without bias. However, Finder may receive compensation when you click some links on our site. Learn more about how we make money from our partners and why you can trust our guides.