Ninja CREAMi Scoop & Swirl vs Whynter 7-in-1 Soft Serve Ice Cream Maker

The Whynter is the easier machine to live with: a built-in compressor means no pre-freezing, so you can make soft serve, slushies and frozen coffee on demand, and the 1.6-quart bowl serves a family. The Ninja CREAMi Scoop & Swirl needs its pint jars frozen solid ahead of time, but it does more with what you put in them: 13 one-touch programs, six Swirl soft-serve programs and a three-speed handle, so one-ingredient fruit sorbet or a protein dessert comes out the way you want. Build is plastic on both, and the Ninja's 4.2 out of 5 from about 1,000 ratings shows owners like the results but complain about the freezer space and the wait. Buy the Whynter for instant, larger batches and drinks; buy the Ninja for control over ingredients and smaller portions.

• Choose the Ninja CREAMi Scoop & Swirl if you want to control what goes in, make single pints of sorbet or protein ice cream, and don't mind freezing the jars a day ahead.
• Choose the Whynter 7-in-1 if you want soft serve and slushies on demand without pre-freezing, in batches big enough for a family or guests.