Reviews you can trust.
See why.Soda Makers
The best soda makers carbonate water quickly, easily, and effectively.
By Updated Mar. 22, 2022
SodaStream recently discontinued the Fizzi, which had been our all-around top pick, and replaced it with the Terra. The company also debuted a new model called the Art. We tested both models. They each come with dishwasher-safe plastic water bottles—something that used to be quite rare for soda makers—and use new “quick connect” CO2 canisters that are easy to install. The Terra is our new winner, and we also highly recommend the Art. For the full results, see the chart below.
Top Picks
What You Need To Know
The best soda makers carbonate water quickly, easily, and effectively. They sit stably on the counter, and their water bottles are convenient to drink from and store. We highly recommend four models, each of which is able to create lightly, moderately, and heavily carbonated water. Which one you choose will depend on your needs and preferences. The SodaStream Terra is our all-around top pick. A stylish metal model, the Aarke Carbonator III, was another top performer. If you prefer glass water bottles to plastic, we recommend the SodaStream Aqua Fizz. We also recommend one model with preprogrammed carbonation settings: the SodaStream One Touch.
What You Need to Know
To turn regular tap water into carbonated water at home, you need to add carbon dioxide (CO2). Some models (often called soda siphons) require tiny single-use CO2 cartridges. We’ve found this style of machine imprecise, and we think it’s a nuisance to buy, store, and dispose of all those tiny cartridges, so we didn’t include any in this review. We prefer machines that use tall, slim CO2 canisters that are big enough to carbonate dozens of bottles of water. Most soda makers—including all the models made by SodaStream, the biggest brand in home soda makers—use this style of CO2 canister. One machine in our lineup is different. It relies on small packets of powdered citric acid and sodium bicarbonate, which, when mixed with water, create CO2.
All the soda makers we tested come with reusable water bottles that are unique to that specific machine. Most of the bottles are plastic, but one comes with dishwasher-safe glass bottles. With every model, you fill its water bottle with cold water and attach it to the machine. Many of the machines we tested are manually operated (you repeatedly press a button or lever until you get the amount of carbonation you prefer), while a few are automatic (you choose from a selection of preprogrammed carbonation settings). The automatic machines are electric and must be plugged into an outlet for you to operate them.
What to Look For
- A Machine That Uses 60-Liter CO2 Canisters: We prefer models that use tall, slim CO2 canisters that contain enough gas to carbonate dozens of bottles of water. They’re generally marketed as 60-liter canisters because manufacturers estimate that each one can carbonate 60 liters of water—though that number depends on how bubbly you like your water.
- Sturdy Construction: With all the models, pressure builds up inside the water bottles as you add carbonation, so you want a machine that feels sturdy and secure. On one model, the bit of plastic that cradled the water bottle was thin and felt flimsy. It wiggled s...
Everything We Tested
Highly Recommended
- Ease of Use: 3 stars out of 3.
- Performance: 3 stars out of 3.
- Design: 3 stars out of 3.
It’s easy to use this model: Simply press the large button on the top of the machine until you’ve obtained your desired level of carbonation. The plastic water bottles connect to the machine easily and are dishwasher-safe. The machine uses SodaStream’s new “quick connect” CO2 canisters, which slide into the back of the machine and lock into place when you pull down a plastic handle. Like other models from SodaStream, it takes up fairly little counter space and is sturdy.
- Ease of Use: 3 stars out of 3.
- Performance: 3 stars out of 3.
- Design: 3 stars out of 3.
This model uses glass water bottles—something of a rarity for soda makers—and has a big button on its top that allows users to customize the carbonation level. Affixing a water bottle to the machine requires a bit of effort: A plastic sleeve slides over the top of the bottle and must be locked into place by sliding a small door. The machine is about 21 inches tall (roughly 5 inches taller than other models), but it doesn’t take up very much counter space. The water bottles are dishwasher-safe.
- Ease of Use: 3 stars out of 3.
- Performance: 3 stars out of 3.
- Design: 3 stars out of 3.
There’s no guesswork to this automatic model: Simply press one of three preprogrammed buttons (for light, medium, or high carbonation). It’s our pick for people who want consistency as well as those who might find it uncomfortable or difficult to repeatedly press a button or lever. An internal mechanism in the machine grabs the neck of the plastic water bottle and releases it easily. Unlike most other machines, it must be plugged into an electrical outlet.
- Ease of Use: 3 stars out of 3.
- Performance: 3 stars out of 3.
- Design: 3 stars out of 3.
Instead of a button, this machine sports a lever on its side that you press repeatedly to carbonate water. The machine was easy and straightforward to use. The plastic water bottle it comes with is dishwasher-safe, which is handy for anyone who wants to minimize the number of dishes they do by hand. The machine uses new “quick connect” CO2 canisters that are easy to install.
- Ease of Use: 2.5 stars out of 3.
- Performance: 3 stars out of 3.
- Design: 3 stars out of 3.
By repeatedly pressing the lever on this stainless-steel soda maker, it’s quick and easy to customize the water’s carbonation level. The machine’s plastic water bottle must be twisted onto the machine and then twisted off again, which adds a few seconds to the process. The machine is sleek and takes up very little counter space.
Recommended with reservations
- Ease of Use: 2 stars out of 3.
- Performance: 3 stars out of 3.
- Design: 2 stars out of 3.
This machine uses a carbonating cap (which the company calls a “fizz infuser”) and is a bit more cumbersome to use than our favorite models. After you carbonate the water to the desired intensity and remove the bottle from the machine, the bottle can be shaken gently to increase the carbonation. When you’re done, you press a release valve on the cap and wait a few seconds for the pressure inside the bottle to dissipate before you can remove it and switch to a regular cap. The machine carbonated well, and it can be used with a variety of liquids, but the plastic components felt a bit less sturdy than those of our favorite models.
- Ease of Use: 2 stars out of 3.
- Performance: 3 stars out of 3.
- Design: 1.5 stars out of 3.
This machine is impressively slim and easily produced a variety of carbonation intensities. But it takes extra steps to carbonate liquid: After attaching the carbonating cap to the water bottle and positioning it on the machine, you press down repeatedly on the top of the machine. When you’re done, you shake the bottle gently and then give the cap a quarter twist to release some pressure before removing it entirely. We liked the slim footprint and didn’t mind the carbonating cap, but the very long, slim water bottle is more than 14 inches tall. We couldn’t store the bottle upright in our refrigerator, and it was awkward to drink from. This machine can be used to carbonate liquids other than water.
Not Recommended
- Ease of Use: 2 stars out of 3.
- Performance: 2 stars out of 3.
- Design: 1 stars out of 3.
Instead of using a standard CO2 canister, this electric machine relies on special packets of powdered citric acid and sodium bicarbonate for carbonation. For each bottle of water you carbonate, you first empty a set of packets into the top of the machine. The powders combine with water from a reservoir tank in the back of the machine to generate the CO2 that carbonates the water. Only the CO2 goes in the water bottle; the water that combines with the powders ends up in a second water tank that must be emptied regularly. For all those extra steps and compartments, the quality of the carbonated water was disappointing. Even at the highest of the machine’s five preprogrammed carbonation settings, the water was barely even fizzy. It also took 4 full minutes to carbonate, compared with mere seconds for every other model.
DISCONTINUED
- Ease of Use: 3 stars out of 3.
- Performance: 3 stars out of 3.
- Design: 3 stars out of 3.
By pressing a large button on the top of the machine, you can quickly and easily carbonate water along a spectrum from mildly fizzy to very bubbly. An internal mechanism latches on to the water bottle and releases it gently. The machine is sturdy and fairly compact, and the water bottles are a convenient size.
Reviews you can trust
Reviews you can trust
The mission of America’s Test Kitchen Reviews is to find the best equipment and ingredients for the home cook through rigorous, hands-on testing. We stand behind our winners so much that we even put our seal of approval on them.
Kate Shannon
Kate is a deputy editor for ATK Reviews. She's a culinary school graduate and former line cook and cheesemonger.
0 Comments
