Quick Answer: The best clear ice maker for most people in 2026 is the NewAir ClearIce40 — up to 40 lbs of restaurant-style clear cubes a day, with the first batch ready in under 15 minutes per NewAir’s specs, for around $300-400 with no plumbing. If you want the big, dense 2-inch craft cubes cocktail bars use, get the Klaris Clear Ice Maker ($549, four cubes per cycle) or the compact Klaris Mini ($299, two cubes) — they freeze slowly and directionally for perfectly transparent ice. Volume for a party? The VEVOR 110 lb commercial machine makes clear cubes all day for ~$330.
“Clear ice maker” actually means two very different machines in 2026, and buying the wrong one is the most common mistake in this category. Restaurant-style machines (NewAir, Luma Comfort, VEVOR) cascade water over a super-cooled plate, freezing it in layers into lots of small, clear cubes — fast. Craft clear ice makers (Klaris) use directional freezing to grow a few flawless 2-inch cocktail cubes over 8-12 hours — slow, but this is the glass-like ice you see in a $16 old fashioned. This guide ranks the best of both, tells you which type you actually need, and covers the no-machine cooler trick at the end.
Our top clear ice maker picks at a glance
| Ice Maker | Best for | Type | Output | Price |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| NewAir ClearIce40 | Best overall | Restaurant-style | ~40 lbs/day | ~$300-400 |
| Klaris Clear Ice Maker | Best craft cocktail cubes | Directional freezing | 4× 2" cubes / 8-12 hrs | $549 |
| Klaris Mini | Best compact craft | Directional freezing | 2× 2" cubes / 8-10 hrs | $299 |
| Luma Comfort IM200SS | Best budget machine | Restaurant-style | ~28 lbs/day | ~$250 |
| VEVOR Commercial 110 lb | Best high volume | Restaurant-style | ~110 lbs/day | ~$330 |
| Scotsman CU50GA-1 | Best built-in gourmet | Undercounter gourmet | ~64 lbs/day | ~$3,300 |
1. NewAir ClearIce40 — Best Clear Ice Maker Overall
NewAir ClearIce40 Countertop Clear Ice Maker
- Makes up to 40 lbs of crystal-clear cube ice a day, with the first batch ready in under 15 minutes, per NewAir's published specs.
- Cascading-water freezing over a cooled plate — real layered clear ice, not hollow bullets.
- Two cube sizes, two-button operation, stainless body, reservoir-fed — just plug it in.
- Lists at $399.99 and regularly sells around $300 street (West Marine had it at $299.99 at our July 2026 check).
The ClearIce40 is the machine to buy if you just want good, genuinely clear ice on tap. It splits the difference between a cheap bullet-ice unit and a plumbed built-in: restaurant-style layered cubes, enough daily output for a family plus entertaining, and nothing to install. The cubes are smaller than craft cocktail ice — this is everyday clear ice for water, soda, and mixed drinks, not the 2-inch showpiece cube. For that, keep reading. Stocking the bar cart for the weekend anyway? Try Amazon Fresh and have the citrus, mixers, and garnishes delivered while the first batch freezes.
2. Klaris Clear Ice Maker — Best Craft Cocktail Cubes
Klaris Clear Ice Maker
- Grows four flawless 2-inch clear cubes (or Collins spears for highballs) every 8-12 hours via directional freezing, per Klaris.
- Layer-by-layer crystallization pushes air and impurities out — bar-grade transparency from tap water.
- Compact 9 × 9 in countertop footprint; reusable tray, one-button operation.
- Holds finished ice just below freezing for 24 hours so cubes are ready when you are.
The Klaris is the machine that finally made true craft ice push-button. Instead of freezing a tray from all sides — which traps air and clouds the middle — it freezes water in one direction, layer by layer, exactly like the cooler trick bartenders use, but automated and dripless. The result is the dense, perfectly transparent 2-inch cube that melts slowly and photographs like glass. Four cubes per half-day cycle is enough for a nightly whiskey or a weekend cocktail session; if you host bigger groups, run it daily and bank cubes in the freezer (they stay clear).
3. Klaris Mini — Best Compact Craft Ice Maker
Klaris Mini Clear Ice Maker
- New for 2026: two 2-inch crystal-clear cubes every 8-10 hours — The Humble Garnish's review clocked real cycles at ~7.5-8 hours.
- Toaster-sized 8 × 8 in footprint and just 5 lbs — lives on a bar cart or apartment counter.
- Same directional-freezing tech and cube quality as the $549 original, at $299.
- Progress bar shows cycle status at a glance; holds finished cubes below freezing until you need them.
The Mini is the Klaris for people who pour one or two proper drinks a night. Half the cubes, nearly half the price, and a footprint small enough that it doesn’t have to justify counter space. Cube quality is identical to the original — same 2-inch directional-freezing cubes — so the only real question is throughput: two cubes per cycle covers a nightcap habit; entertaining regularly, get the four-cube original.
4. Luma Comfort IM200SS — Best Budget Clear Ice Machine
Luma Comfort IM200SS Countertop Clear Ice Maker
- Up to 28 lbs of layered clear ice a day for about $249.99, per NewAir (Luma is NewAir's value line).
- Same cascading-water clear-ice method as the ClearIce40, in a slightly smaller 11.3-inch cabinet.
- First cubes in roughly 15 minutes; reservoir-fed, no water line.
- Lower daily output and a smaller bin than the ClearIce40 — the trade for saving ~$100.
The IM200SS is the cheapest way to get real machine-made clear ice — the same freezing method as our top pick from the same parent company, throttled to 28 lbs a day. For a couple or a small household that wants clear cubes for drinks without the craft-cube ritual, it’s the value play. If you routinely empty an ice bin entertaining, spend up for the ClearIce40’s extra 12 lbs of daily output.
5. VEVOR Commercial 110 lb — Best High-Volume Clear Ice
VEVOR Commercial Ice Maker, 110 lbs/24H
- Up to 110 lbs of clear cube ice a day — 50 cubes every 12-15 minutes per VEVOR's listing.
- Freestanding stainless cabinet, LED display, one-touch self-clean; filter and hoses in the box.
- Party, food-truck, and home-bar volume at a countertop-machine price.
- Unlike the picks above, it needs a cold-water line and a drain — plan the install first.
When the question is “how do I fill three coolers with clear ice by Saturday,” the answer is the VEVOR. It makes more clear ice per dollar than anything else on this list — at the $2-4 a 10-lb bag stores charge, 110 lbs a day is $20-40 of bagged ice daily — but it’s plumbing-dependent and built for output, not looks. We cover it and its Euhomy rival in depth in our best commercial ice makers guide.
6. Scotsman CU50GA-1 — Best Built-In Gourmet Clear Ice
Scotsman CU50GA-1 Undercounter Gourmet Cube Ice Maker
- Scotsman's signature "gourmet" cube: top-hat shaped, crystal-clear, dense, and slow-melting.
- About 64 lbs a day from a narrow 14.9-inch cabinet built for permanent installation.
- The clear-ice benchmark cocktail bars install; NSF-grade foodservice build.
- Gravity drain on this model — it needs a floor drain nearby, or the pump version.
If clear ice should simply be there every time you open a bin — no cycles, no trays — this is the endgame. The Scotsman’s gourmet cubes are the standard by which bar ice is judged, and 64 lbs a day means never planning ahead. It costs six times the Klaris and needs real installation, which is exactly why it’s last on a home-focused list: for most readers, a home undercounter unit or a countertop pick above gets 90% of the way there.
Which type of clear ice maker do you actually need?
- Everyday clear ice for drinks, no plumbing: the NewAir ClearIce40 or Luma IM200SS. Lots of small clear cubes, fast, reservoir-fed.
- Cocktail-grade 2-inch cubes for spirits: the Klaris or Klaris Mini. A few perfect cubes per day, zero effort — this is the ice that changes how an old fashioned looks and dilutes.
- Coolers-full for parties or a business: the VEVOR 110 lb (or the Euhomy in our commercial guide) — cheapest clear ice per pound, needs a water line.
- Built-in, always-on luxury: the Scotsman CU50GA-1, or a residential built-in from our best undercounter ice makers.
- Chewable Sonic-style ice instead? That’s nugget ice — intentionally soft and cloudy, a different category entirely. Start with our best nugget ice makers and the GE Opal 2.0 review.
Whichever you buy, clear ice machines scale up like any other: descale on schedule with a nickel-safe cleaner from our best ice maker cleaners guide — mineral film on the freeze plate is what slowly turns “clear” ice cloudy again.
How to make clear ice without a machine
The zero-dollar version of everything above is directional freezing, popularized by cocktail writer Camper English of Alcademics in 2009: fill a small insulated cooler with water, leave the lid off, and freeze the whole thing. Ice can only grow from the top down, so air and minerals get pushed ahead of the freeze line — after ~24 hours the top slab is perfectly clear, and you saw off the cloudy bottom. Clear-ice molds (True Cubes-style, typically $20-50 on Amazon) package the same physics into an insulated box with cube cavities. It genuinely works; the trade is time, freezer space, and cutting ice with a serrated knife every few days — which is exactly the chore a $299 Klaris Mini automates.
Clear ice by the numbers
| Metric | Figure | Why it matters |
|---|---|---|
| Fastest first batch | <15 minutes | NewAir's published spec for the ClearIce40's first cubes — restaurant-style machines trade cube size for speed. |
| Craft cube cycle | 8-12 hours | What Klaris publishes for four 2-inch directional-freeze cubes; The Humble Garnish measured ~7.5-8 hours per Mini cycle in its 2026 review. |
| Craft ice price gap | $299 vs $549 | Klaris Mini (2 cubes/cycle) vs the original Klaris (4 cubes + Collins spears) — throughput, not ice quality, is what you pay for. |
| Bagged-ice math | $2-4 per 10-lb bag | Store pricing that a 110 lb/day VEVOR beats in days — and specialty clear cocktail cubes run $1-2 per cube at liquor stores. |
| DIY method age | Since 2009 | Directional freezing has been the home bartender's clear-ice trick since Camper English documented it on Alcademics — every craft machine here automates it. |
The bottom line
Buy the NewAir ClearIce40 if you want a steady daily supply of genuinely clear cubes with zero installation — it’s the best clear ice maker for most homes in 2026. Buy the Klaris ($549) or Klaris Mini ($299) if the goal is the dense 2-inch cocktail cube, the Luma IM200SS to spend the least on a real clear-ice machine, the VEVOR 110 lb for party volume, and the Scotsman CU50GA-1 when you’re building it into a bar for good. And if you’re not ready to buy anything, the cooler trick makes flawless clear ice tonight — it just makes you the machine.
Want chewable nugget ice instead of clear? See our best nugget ice makers. No plumbing and smallest budget? Start with the best countertop ice makers.