Article updated on September 18, 2024 at 2:31 AM PDT
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David Watsky Senior Editor / Home and Kitchen
David lives in Brooklyn where he's spent more than a decade covering all things edible, including meal kit services, food subscriptions, kitchen tools and cooking tips. David earned his BA from Northeastern and has toiled in nearly every aspect of the food business, including as a line cook in Rhode Island where he once made a steak sandwich for Lamar Odom. Right now he's likely somewhere stress-testing a blender or tinkering with a toaster. Anything with sesame is his all-time favorite food this week.
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Yes, we should be drinking more water. However, there are just some days we want a little treat with a meal or something to cool us down on these hot summer days. But if you don’t want to pay store prices or deal with extra cans and bottles, consider investing in a soda maker. A good soda machine can help you re-create your favorite brand name-brand cola or make your own custom drink. We had our experts test the best soda makers to buy for your bubbly beverage needs.
Not only is a soda maker a great way to get creative, but it can also save you a little money -- something we can all be bubbly about. Soda makers work by adding carbonation to most drinks, letting you choose the flavor and the ingredients. When looking for a soda machine, it's important to make sure it's worthy of your precious kitchen counter space. That means it has to be space-saving, easy to use and actually make tasty soda.
To find the best, I took a total of eight soda makers to task, including three SodaStream models, Ninja's fancy new at-home Thirsti machine and Aarke's striking stainless steel carbonator, to find the best soda maker.
Based on my testing, here are the four best soda makers to buy in 2024.
What's the best soda maker overall?
After extensive testing (and one persistent case of hiccups), we've marked the SodaStream Terra as the best soda maker for 2024. During our testing, we found it consistently makes sparkling water with its simple manual pump; it's cheaper to purchase, and it also offers an exchange program that makes getting carbonation canisters cheaper.
While there are more elegant options, the SodaStream Terra is probably the best soda water maker for most people.
SodaStreamThe Terra is SodaStream's entry-level model, but it works well and lands at the top of our list as the best soda water maker for most people. The Terra made consistently fizzy water with simple manual pumps. It's very easy to operate and doesn't take up much space on the counter.
The Terra model has one recent improvement over SodaStream's previous models in that you can click the carbon dioxide canister into the back rather than having to load it from the bottom. This saves a step each time you change the canister. Speaking of canisters, SodaStream has an easy exchange program where you can drop off empty cartridges in exchange for full ones at about half price ($17).
If I had one complaint about this and some other SodaStreams, it's that the plastic build is a tad flimsy. The Terra has the lowest price of any model on this list. The basic package is $100 (now on sale for $95) and includes a carbon dioxide cartridge and plastic carafe, The value bundle features three plastic bottles (1 liter), two carbon dioxide cartridges (60L) and two bottles of Bubly drops to flavor your water for $160. Read my full review of the SodaStream Terra.
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If it's more than just sparkling water you covet, Ninja's souped-up Thirsti beverage system is the right pick. At its base price of $150, it's more expensive than a standard SodaStream, but that's because it does a whole lot more.
The Thirsti is the only electronic drink maker on this list. It adds carbon dioxide to your water with the best of them, but also has the option to impart flavors, caffeine, vitamins and other enhancements electronically in 6-,12-, 18- or 24-ounce servings.
Choose from more than 20 water drops to plug into the front of the drink maker -- as many as two at a time -- and the Thirsti will spit out fruity beverages, lemonade and flavored sparkling water in about 3 seconds. The beverages are all zero-calorie and some are sweetened with sucralose. If you don't like the taste of that sugar substitute, you'll want to stick to the "Splash" pods, which contain only essence.
The basic Thirsti package comes with the machine, a carbon dioxide canister and eight water drops to add some panache to your hydration routine. Read our Ninja Thirsti review.
If design and aesthetics are important to you, the Aarke is pretty clearly the best-looking soda water maker on the market. It's built from metal, while most others are constructed from cheaper plastics. It also has something of a vintage malt shop appeal, and it's slim, so you can slide it onto the counter without forfeiting much real estate. The Aarke III works well, although it releases carbon dioxide a bit less consistently than a SodaStream.
This is also the most expensive soda maker on our list at around $200, and that price doesn't include a carbon dioxide canister. The good news is you can use SodaStream and Soda Sensei canisters with the Aarke and take advantage of their robust canister exchange programs. Read my full review of the Aarke here.
If you're looking to transport yourself to an Italian piazza, a bottle of sparkling water poured from a shapely glass bottle could help. SodaStream's Aqua Fizz has all the functions of the other models but an elevated design. The carafe that accompanies the starter package is glass and the base that holds them while in use is metal. It's also quieter than other models since the bottles are encased completely while they're being pumped with gas.
I don't like the look of this model quite as much as the Aarke, but it's a more affordable premium model, and the glass carafes, although smaller than the plastic versions, are nice to set on the table for dinner parties.
In testing to find the best soda water makers, it mostly came down to general performance, ease of use, and overall value. I made at least 10 full bottles of sparkling water using each, noting how proficiently and consistently a machine executed its most vital duty of imparting carbon dioxide into the water. I also carbonated other liquids -- including fruit juice and wine -- but found that there was no difference in performance based on the type of liquid being carbonated. If a machine carbonated water well, it did so across all liquids.
Some of the machines took more muscling and pumps of the lever to get carbon dioxide emitted into the bottles. Of the manual machines, the SodaStream models were the most consistent. With five unique settings, the Spärkel electric seltzer maker makes the most precise soda water.
The stylish Aarke III carbonator comes in five finishes and has a vintage malt shop look.
AarkeI also took note of the sturdiness and build of each soda water maker. The Aarke III is by far the most stylish soda water maker and is built solidly out of stainless steel, with five finishes to choose from. Aesthetics are nice, but it's also by far the priciest model, with an over $200 tag, which keeps it from being the best model for most people.
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DrinkMate OmniFizz: This $120 sparkling water maker did a fine job carbonating water, wine and juice. I don't have much negative to say about the machine other than that the hinge at the top that connects the bottle to the machine seems like it could loosen or break over time.
SodaStream Fizzi One Touch: The SodaStream Fizzi One Touch is an electronic sparkling water maker that typically retails for $130 but is currently on sale for $124. It works well and has three presets to get whatever level of carbonation you seek. This is another model I don't have any major issues with, but I just don't think it's worth the extra $54 over its manual counterpart, the Terra when it is not on sale.
Sparkel: This unique carbonation system uses powder packets instead of carbon dioxide canisters to add fizz to water. It works well, but the machine base is bulkier than most and isn't quite worth the $150 price.
Soda Sensei [Out of Stock]: This model looks nice, but it struggled a bit more than the SodaStream Terra to make consistently bubbly water.
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How much cheaper is it to make seltzer at home?
Let's use the rough estimate SodaStream gives of getting 60 liters out of each $17 cartridge if you use the exchange program. That breaks down to about 25 cents per liter. By comparison, the average cost for a 1-liter bottle of soda water is about 80 cents in a store.
If you were to go through six cartridges over a year ($102), plus the cost of the SodaStream Terra ($100), that would be $202 total and about 56 cents per liter, a significant savings over store-bought seltzer.
These calculations are based on drinking 360 liters per year, which is about 33 ounces of soda water per day, or a little less than three cans. The more carbonated water you drink and the longer you use your SodaStream, the more you'll save versus paying for the canned stuff.
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Are soda water makers better for the environment?
Definitely. A soda water maker such as SodaStream or the Aarke Carbonator has almost no negative environmental impact. If used instead of store-bought seltzer, these machines will take hundreds of cans and plastic bottles out of the waste management and recycling system every year. Standard carbon dioxide canisters are also reusable, which is why SodaStream will sell you a refill for half price if you return the empty canister.
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Can you carbonate other beverages with a soda water maker?
Beyond making carbonated water, you can add fizz to just about any liquid with a soda water maker. Fruit juices, sparkling wine and beer that have gone flat (even flat soda) are just a few popular beverages to consider other than plain cold water. If you want fizzy milk, you can make that too.
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