Nostalgia Professional 1.25 Qt Soft Serve Ice Cream Machine vs Cuisinart ICE-200 Slushy & Soft-Serve Maker

Buy the Cuisinart ICE-200 if you want a self-cooling machine that makes soft serve, sorbet, slushies and frozen cocktails without pre-freezing a bowl. Buy the Nostalgia NDICM125PK if soft serve is the whole point and you want a lever dispenser and adjustable thickness. The Cuisinart is the more versatile and better-built machine; owners rate it 4.1 out of 5 across 148 ratings, with complaints mostly about noise and the narrow footprint. The Nostalgia is a simpler, lighter machine with a smaller bowl and no compressor, so it depends on a frozen bowl and rewards patience less.

• Choose the Nostalgia Professional 1.25 Qt if you mainly want soft serve with a real dispensing lever and ten thickness settings, and you don't mind pre-freezing the bowl.
• Choose the Cuisinart 6-in-1 if you want one self-cooling machine for soft serve, sorbet, slushies and frozen drinks, with no bowl to pre-freeze.