10 Best Soft Serve Makers 2025 in the United States

The DASH My Mug Ice Cream Maker is a compact and versatile soft-serve machine, perfect for those who love personalized frozen treats. With a capacity of 0.5 pints, it’s designed for single servings, making it ideal for small households or individuals. The freezing method involves pre-freezing the base for 24 hours, which might require some planning ahead. However, it delivers quick results, turning ingredients into ice cream, gelato, sorbet, or frozen yogurt in just 20 minutes with its automatic operation.

The built-in ingredient chute allows you to mix in your favorite add-ins, adding a fun and personalized touch to your desserts. The machine's innovative design doubles as a freezable mug, adding convenience since you can enjoy your treat directly from the source. It’s quite user-friendly with its ease of assembly, use, and cleaning, although hand washing is recommended for product care.

Weighing just 4.81 pounds and with dimensions of 7.2 x 5.9 x 6.9 inches, it’s space-saving and suitable for kitchens with limited counter space. One potential downside is the need to pre-freeze the base for 24 hours, which might not be convenient for spontaneous cravings. Despite this minor drawback, the DASH My Mug Ice Cream Maker is a reliable and fun choice for those looking to make quick and personalized soft-serve treats at home.

The Ninja Swirl by CREAMi is a versatile soft-serve and frozen treat maker designed for home use, offering 13 one-touch programs including six specifically for soft serve and related styles like frozen yogurt and custard. Its 16-ounce capacity is modest, suitable for small batches or individual servings rather than large families. The machine uses an automatic freezing and mixing process, with a built-in motor base and a digital display that makes it easy to program and operate without complicated steps. Weighing about 21 pounds and measuring roughly 15x10x17.5 inches, it’s fairly compact but not lightweight, so it’s best placed in a permanent spot on the countertop.

Ninja’s focus on customization stands out—you can control ingredients to suit preferences such as low sugar, dairy-free, or high protein treats, which is great for health-conscious users or those with dietary restrictions. The included soft serve handle with three speed settings makes creating swirled cones interactive and fun, especially for kids. Cleanup is straightforward since many parts, including the pints and lids, are dishwasher safe. Additional perks include a pull-out drip tray to keep surfaces clean and over 30 recipes to try.

The relatively small capacity and heavier weight might limit convenience if you want larger quantities or portability. Also, with a price and complexity geared towards ice cream enthusiasts, casual users might find the range of settings more than needed. For anyone wanting a flexible, easy-to-use soft serve maker that offers health-conscious options and family-friendly fun, the Ninja Swirl remains a strong choice.

The Nostalgia Electric Ice Cream Maker is a charming choice for anyone wanting to make soft-serve, frozen yogurt, or gelato at home with a vintage touch. Its 4-quart capacity is generous, allowing you to serve a family or small group in one batch. The machine uses an automatic electric motor to churn the mixture, which means no manual effort is needed and the process is fairly quick—ice cream can be ready in about 20 minutes. This makes it quite user-friendly, especially for those new to ice cream making.

The unit weighs just under 10 pounds and is moderately sized (about 13" x 12" x 16"), so it’s portable enough to carry around using its convenient handle, ideal for parties or gatherings. The vintage wooden design adds a nostalgic aesthetic that fits well in kitchens with classic or rustic decor, but it might be bulkier than more modern, compact soft-serve makers. One downside is that cleaning requires hand washing, which some users may find less convenient compared to dishwasher-safe models.

This ice cream maker suits home users looking for a fun, easy-to-use appliance capable of making a variety of frozen treats with a classic look, but it may not be the best pick if you want something ultra-compact or with fully integrated freezing technology.