Ice Cream Maker Comparison: Cuisinart vs KitchenAid vs Breville

There is nothing like the authentic flavor of homemade ice cream or sorbet, and with the automatic frozen dessert makers now available at retailers and online stores across North America and the UK, you can produce a batch of luscious homemade ice cream with very little effort. While some of the cheaper ice cream makers, such as the top-selling Cuisinart ICE-21 and Cuisinart ICE-30BC, require you to pre-freeze the mixing bowl before making a batch of ice cream or sorbet, the more advanced ice cream machines with built-in freezers take care of the entire process.

In this review, we'll focus on two such self-freezing ice cream makers: the Cuisinart ICE-100 Ice Cream & Gelato Maker and the Breville BCI600XL Ice Cream Maker. While both of these machines have received top marks for their ability to produce smooth, creamy ice cream with minimal effort, they do require quite a bit of countertop space. That's why this ice cream maker comparison also includes the KitchenAid Frozen Dessert Attachment, a great space-saving option for those who already own a KitchenAid Stand Mixer.

Cuisinart or Breville Ice Cream Maker – Which is Better?

Which one is better, Cuisinart's ICE-100 ice cream maker or the Breville Smart Scoop? Unfortunately, there's no straightforward answer – instead, the verdict depends largely on your requirements, preferences and budget.

And, what makes choosing between these two ice cream makers even more complicated is that these two machines are actually quite similar. Both the Cuisinart ICE-100 Ice Cream & Gelato Maker and the Breville BCI600XL Ice Cream Maker are fully automatic, self-freezing ice cream/sorbet makers, which means that you won't have to pre-freeze the mixing bowl before making a batch of ice cream – great if you don't have much space in your freezer! This is also the main thing that sets them apart from the popular semi-automatic ice cream makers out there, including the Cuisinart ICE-21 and Cuisinart ICE-30BC (these machines require you to pre-freeze the bowl for several hours in the freezer before making ice cream).

Both the Cuisinart ICE-100 and the Breville Smart Scoop have also received a lot of good reviews on Amazon, and they are also very similar in terms of additional features and functions: both feature a see-through lid with a flip-back window for mix-ins, keep-cool setting that keeps your dessert cold after the mixing/freezing cycle, and an end-of-cycle sound alert that lets you know when your dessert is ready to be served.

That said, the Breville Smart Scoop seems to offer a few more bells and whistles, such as the option to change the sound alert from a plain beep to one of three musical tunes. For an at-glance overview of some of the key differences and similarities between these two ice cream makers, check out the comparison chart below.

How Does the KitchenAid Attachment Compare with Cuisinart/Breville?

If you already own a KitchenAid stand mixer and have limited countertop and cabinet space, you might want to consider getting the KitchenAid KICA0WH Ice Cream Attachment instead of a proper ice cream machine like the Cuisinart ICE-100 or Breville BCI600XL. Available in different sizes to fit almost any KitchenAid stand mixer, this space-saving attachment turns your favorite ice cream ingredients into a luscious frozen dessert in about 25 minutes. But there's a catch: before making a batch of ice cream, frozen yogurt or sorbet, you will have to pre-freeze the empty mixing bowl by leaving it in the freezer for at least 15 hours.

Comparison of Top Frozen Dessert Makers

The following chart provides a side-by-side comparison of the popular ice cream makers described above, Cuisinart's ICE-100 Ice Cream & Gelato Maker, Breville'sBCI600XL Ice Cream Maker and KitchenAid's KICA0WH Ice Cream Attachment (note: The KICA0WH has been designed to fit all modern KitchenAid Stand Mixers except the KSM6573C and KSM7 models. if you have one of these models, get the KAICA attachment instead).

	Breville BCI600XL	Cuisinart ICE-100	KICA0WH
Current Amazon price (in US$)
Machine type	Automatic ice cream maker	Automatic ice cream maker	Stand mixer attachment
Self-freezing	Yes	Yes	No
Capacity	1.5 quarts	1.5 quarts	2 quarts
Housing	Metal	Metal, plastic	Plastic
Country of manufacture*	China	China	United States
User manual	View manual	View manual	View manual
See-through lid	Yes	Yes	No lid
Bowl dishwasher-safe	No	No	No
End-of-cycle sound alert	Yes	Yes	No
Keep-cool feature	Yes	Yes	No
	Buy it on Amazon Buy it on Wayfair	Buy it on Amazon Buy it on Wayfair	Buy it on Amazon Buy it on Wayfair

Note for UK residents: You you are looking to buy a self-freezing ice cream or sorbet maker in the UK, head to Amazon.co.uk