Best iced coffee makers 2024 – tested by a barista

If you're anything like me, the occasional iced latte (with almond milk and a pump of vanilla, if you're asking) may have moved from a Friday treat to an everyday essential. When the weather heats up and you can't face a heavy, hot coffee, iced coffee is the perfect way to keep cool and caffeinated. 

However, the costs of a daily iced coffee can quickly add up. Switching to making your own can save you time and money, whilst impressing any guests at the weekends.

Before we deep dive into the details of my favorite iced coffee makers, I want to clear one thing up. These machines are completely different to the best cold brew coffee makers. I've written an article on the differences between cold brew and iced coffee, but if you want the headlines: iced coffee is quick to make, but more acidic. Cold brew takes at least 18 hours, but will taste smoother and sweeter.

I and a team of coffee experts have tested a range of the best coffee makers on the market. Some specialise in making iced coffee, others simply happen to include it in their repertoire. Whatever you're looking for, you'll find the very best here.

The quick list

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The best iced coffee makers 2024

The best drip coffee maker for iced coffee

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Hear us out on this one. It looks a little strange to have a drip coffee maker in at number one, but this made some of the most delicious iced coffee our experts made in their tests.

That's because Breville's drip coffee maker is one of the greatest of all time. It comes with a versatile range of brewing settings, from single-serve to cold brew, but the one we're really here for is the 'over ice' setting. This brews your coffee like a concentrate, so that when it is poured over ice, the ice melts, cooling it and diluting it to the perfect ratio.  However, the maximum amount you can make is four cups. It sounds a little limiting, but it means you'll savor every sip even more.

The Thermal Brewer is signature Breville. It's sleek and would look good in a modern kitchen, alongside other stainless steel appliances. Lets face it though, this isn't winning any beauty pageants. The team have ever so slightly prioritized function over form. Luckily, it's slender, so even though this has a 12 cup capacity, it doesn't demand much space. You can put it in a corner or cupboard and it won't become the focal point of your coffee station.

Anyway, what The Thermal Brewer lacks in looks it more than makes up for in functionality and durability. This feels like it would last you for a lifetime; the pre-sets are easy to navigate; and this boasts two different filter baskets, which can deliver on a range of flavors. If you're new to making iced coffee, all you have to do is select the setting and the Thermal Brewer can do the rest. If you're a borderline-barista, you can control the temperature, bloom speed, and flow rate. Once you've tinkered and tailored this to suit your tastes, you can save your settings, so that you get your favorite flavors every single time.

Our experts' biggest gripes were that this is tricky to clean and pricy. A combination of the showerhead and fixed reservoir mean that you have to get in some awkward positions with your brush if you want your coffee maker to sparkle. This is also expensive, so it's not one for those who are on a budget.

You can find more detail in our Breville Precision Brewer Thermal Coffee Maker review.

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The best single-serve coffee maker for iced coffee

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Since Nespresso makes the best single-serve coffee makers on the market, they make the best single-serve iced coffee makers too. All you need to do is change the standard pods for iced coffee pods, like the Ice Forte, available at Nespresso. Thankfully, Nespresso's iced pods make really nice, iced coffee. I've tested both their cold brew, iced, and hot pods and can vouch for them all: they hit on every flavor note which they promise: a rarity for single-serve machines.

The Vertuo Next is a single-serve classic. It has a sleek and slender design, is easy to use, and brewed my iced coffee in under a minute. There's very little to complain about. The only hitch you might find is that Nespresso's Vertuo machines are exclusively compatible with Nespresso's Vertuo pods. To be fair, they make over thirty varieties (not all of them are designed to be iced), but you have to use Nespresso's Vertuo pods. That means you can't grind your own coffee into a reusable pod, or opt for a special cold brew K-cup, for example. 

You also won't be able make cold foam for your iced coffees unless you buy a this in a bundle or you invest in Nespresso's Aeroccino, available at Walmart, separately. The Aeroccino froths cold milk really well, even on plant-based options, but it won't be included by default. 

If you're not interested in Nespresso, it was a tough decision to choose the Vertuo Next over the Morning Coffee Machine. This offers more flexibility and versatility than the Nespresso, but you have to be very tech savvy to make the most of your money.

You can find out more in our Nespresso Vertuo Next review.

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The most versatile iced-coffee maker

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The Ninja DualBrew Pro boasts an extensive range of coffee options. It can brew coffee in classic styles, as well as a rich, speciality, and over ice function. If you like an iced latte, you're in for a treat. The over ice function brews concentrated coffee, designed to be watered down over ice, culminating in an iced coffee which consistently delicious. Our expert testers enjoyed working through these flavors and suggested that this 'might be the only speciality coffee maker you need'. 

It's relatively compact, especially considering the range of coffee types that this can brew. It doesn't have an integrated grinder, so we'd recommend checking out our guide to the best grinders on the market if you want to make really good iced coffee. Alternatively, you can make use of the capsule compatibility and invest in some iced coffee K-Cups, available at Walmart, but make sure not to confuse the machine by brewing you're already concentrated over ice K-cups on the concentrated setting. It will all be overwhelming. 

My biggest criticism is that the DualBrew, is a jack of all trades, but a master of none. Whilst we liked all the coffee options, and the iced coffee was good, it wasn't as flavorful as the Breville's, for example. If you like milky coffees, we found that the milk texturing tool is a little less than perfect, especially on plant-based milks.

There's more information in our full Ninja DualBrew Pro review.

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The best automatic drip coffee maker for iced coffee

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I have tested nearly fifty different coffee makers, in all shapes and sizes and am yet to find one as versatile as the Eletta Explore. It looks professional, it feels luxurious, and the coffee tastes exceptionally good. 

There are over 52 different types of coffees programmed in to this bean-to-cup machine. I tested every single one (I know, it’s a hard life) and the Eletta Explore didn’t miss the mark on any, including cold brew and iced coffee. In fact, I thought their iced Americanos and iced lattes were some of the best I've had. The De'Longhi branded ice tray is a nice touch and is easy to use, but the speciality of these coffees really lies in their flavors. Each one had the gentle, distinctively acidic notes of iced coffee, balanced delicately with my coffee’s earthy, nutty tones. The cold milk texturing is better than plenty of baristas' hand-steamed efforts, even on plant-based milks.

Whilst the essential flavors come from well-ground beans – which the Eletta Explore will grind for you – there's also a range of customizable settings. You can control the time, temperature, strength, and size of your coffee. You can even select how dense you'd like the foam to be when frothing milk. Online, everyone from beginners to baristas enjoyed using this. People with large homes particularly benefitted from the customizable settings; you can save personal preferences and swerve any battles between different people's coffee settings.

If that sounds too good to be true, it’s because it sort of is. Whilst the design is sleek and not too tall, the Eletta Explore is very deep. It will come out far onto the countertops. If that’s still okay with you, I have one more thing you need to know about: this is incredibly expensive. It’s close to being overpriced, but I loved this too much to say that it’s not good value. I mean, it makes cold brew in minutes (rather than 24 hours), the iced coffee is the perfect balance of acidic and earthy, and, let me repeat it, you can choose between 52 different types of coffee. This is a luxurious iced coffee maker, but it comes with a luxurious price tag, too.

There's more information in my De'Longhi Eletta Explore review.

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The best espresso machine for iced coffee

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Even some of the best espresso machines don't have iced coffee functions. Instead, they rely on you being able to judge, by eye, how much to dilute your espresso by to make the perfect iced drink. For most people, this is tricky and you'll waste a lot of coffee trying to work out how to brew the perfect iced latte. Enter, La Specialista Maestro. This looks every part the specialist espresso machine, but it's beginner-friendly and easy to use too.

On the left, there's a dial which talks you through a range of coffee settings. A quick scroll through these will reveal that La Specialista can make a whole lot more than simple espressos. In fact, it will tackle a whole coffee shop menu if you let it. I'm yet to test another espresso machine which can make cold brew (and in a matter of minutes too) as well as hot coffees. When you're brewing over ice you can opt for a heatless, low-pressure extraction or a normal, hot brew. 

If you need your iced coffee to be stronger and more intense, the dials make it easy to adjust dosing quantities and temperatures. It might sound complicated, but that's only available to you if you want it to be. You can use La Specialista at a surface level and enjoy it just as much as a barista would. Plus, there's plenty of fool-proof features which guarantee that your coffees will be consistently tasty.

The one thing La Specialista can't do is make cold foam. You'll need a separate milk frother or steaming technology. I found plenty of people who were happy to simply drink their milk over ice, but De'Longhi makes models such as the Eletta Explore, available at Macy's, which have the capacity to create cold foam. What's more, this is an expensive espresso machine and, whilst it is does an incredible job, you could save a couple of hundred dollars by opting for Breville's Barista Pro. You'll need to read up on how this functions more, but you can adjust the brewing temperatures and pre-bloom your coffee to make a delicious iced coffee. It's more effort, but less money.

There's more information in my De'Longhi La Specialista Maestro review.

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The best budget iced-coffee maker

Our experts have reviewed a number of Keurigs which can make iced coffee. The cheapest is the K-Mini Plus. It's tiny, inexpensive, and can brew iced coffee. Technically, this fits the brief for the best budget coffee maker better than the K-Slim. However, in a blind taste test, it's easy to tell which is which. 

The K-Slim and Iced makes iced coffee which is leagues ahead of the K-Mini Plus. It uses Keurig's special 'multistream technology' which saturates K-Cups more evenly, claiming to deliver fuller flavors. I haven't tested the K-Slim and Iced yet, but the reviews speak for themselves. Experts and customers are convinced that you can taste the difference between the brewing technology. They say the acidity is balanced better too, so, in the case of the K-Slim and Iced against the K-Mini Plus, it's worth spending more money to get an exponentially better tasting cup of iced coffee.

In terms of aesthetics, the K-Slim and Iced is super svelte. It's certainly the smallest coffee maker on this list and one of the smallest models that Keurig makes. It's available in a range of bright and neutral colors, suitable for a range of interiors, so it's really hard to fault. The one thing we would stress is that this is a budget machine. It will only make coffee in cup sizes 8, 10 and 12 ounces. The K-Slim and Iced also feels like a cheaper coffee maker than the De'Longhis, because, it is. There's no escaping it.

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How to choose the best iced coffee maker

Choosing the right iced coffee maker for you will depend upon a number of factors, but, most importantly, you'll need to think about the kind of coffee you drink. If you'll only be drinking iced coffees, you can opt for a specialist, single-function machine. However, if you want to drink a range of coffees, hot and cold, you'll want a more versatile machine. If you need some more help on the specifics, these are other factors to consider:

Size
Iced coffee makers come in all shapes and sizes, so you need to think about your space. You might need a compact option for tucking away on the countertop or a cupboard. However, you might equally want a stylish, statement iced coffee maker for your coffee station.

Compatibility
Some coffee machines use capsules, some require coffee grounds, some use wholebeans. The ones which freshly grind your coffee beans will generally produce the best coffee flavors. If you don't have a grinder integrated, you could buy one separately (this is often the case for drip and pour-over coffee makers). However, if you have a single-serve machine, the same doesn't apply.

Noise
If you're someone who likes to rise and grind, you'll need to think carefully about your coffee maker. Those with integrated grinders can be really noisy, so you won't be making any friends at home in the mornings. However, some specialise in quiet brewing, which is really useful for stealthy coffee making.

Cleaning
It's an unglamorous aspect of coffee making, but you'll need to keep your coffee machine in good condition if you want it to last a long time. Generally, the more removable parts a machine has, the easier it is to clean. A fixed reservoir can make life very difficult for you, for example.

If you're still stuck and want to know a bit more about the  different types of coffee makers, I have explained the differences on our dedicated page.

How we tested these iced coffee makers

Our experts think carefully about how we test the best coffee makers. We do our research well in advance of calling in the products which we think are best suited to each guide. We'll put the latest and greatest machines through their paces, across a range of functions, before curating a longlist and shortlist of which we think the best iced coffee makers are. As and when new products come onto the market, we test them on the same criteria, so they can directly compare to our favorites. If we think they've earned a spot in the buying guide, we'll add it in (and maybe swap one out).

Our tests cover the basics. We always test an espresso, Americano, and cappuccino, if possible. This will help us to understand the range that each coffee maker has. However, if a coffee machine claims to make sixteen different types, we will test them all and add them to the 'special features section'. 

We'll also look at other factors, including aesthetics, size, price, and cleaning, so that you get a good idea of what the coffee maker is like to use. That way, if you choose to invest in one, you know there are no nasty surprises waiting for you.