Best Commercial Soft Serve Ice Cream Machines UK: Buyer’s Guide (2026)

Last updated: September 2026

In 30 seconds:

• Size the machine on servings per hour, not on price. Our range runs from 200 to 720 servings an hour.
• Check your power supply first. Most machines here run off a normal single-phase socket. The biggest S-series models need a 3-phase supply — and most sites don’t have one.
• Gravity feed is simpler and cheaper to run. Pump feed whips more air in, so you get a lighter product and more servings per tub of mix.
• Twin twist means two flavours plus a swirl of both. It’s the single biggest upgrade for a busy pitch.
• Prices start from £5,259 inc VAT, and every machine below is in stock for free next-working-day UK mainland delivery.

Want to see everything side by side? Browse the full soft serve and frozen yoghurt machine range. It takes two minutes and saves you buying the wrong size.

Soft serve looks like an easy add-on. A machine, a tub of mix, a cone. Then the first hot Saturday arrives, a queue forms, and you find out your machine can’t recover fast enough between servings. That’s the moment most people learn what “servings per hour” actually means.

Why servings per hour is the number that matters

Every machine has a freezing cylinder. It chills mix, you pull a serving, and the cylinder has to catch up before the next one. Servings per hour is simply how many 80 g portions it can hand out without the product going soft.

Work backwards from your busiest hour, not your average one. A festival pitch doing 250 covers in a two-hour rush needs a 300/hr machine, not a 150/hr one.

Why gravity vs pump feed changes the product

Gravity feed lets mix drop into the cylinder under its own weight. Simple, fewer parts, less to clean.

Pump feed pushes mix in and injects air with it. That air is called overrun. More overrun means a lighter, fluffier serve — and more portions out of the same tub of mix.

Pump machines cost more and have more parts to strip down each night. Gravity is the safer first machine.

Why the power supply is the real trap

This is the one that catches people out. Machines up to around 550 servings an hour run on single-phase power, the same supply a normal building or trailer has. Most are 13 to 24 Amp.

The biggest freestanding S-series machines need 3-phase — a heavier industrial supply. Cafés, units and most event pitches don’t have it. Fitting it is an electrician’s job and it isn’t cheap.

Check what you’ve got before you shortlist anything. If you’re serving at events off a generator, work out your total draw first — our generator sizing guide walks through the sums.

Why countertop vs freestanding is a floor-space decision

Countertop machines sit on a bench. They suit vans, trailers, kiosks and anywhere counter height is fixed.

Freestanding machines stand on the floor at serving height. They hold more mix and free up your bench, but they need a footprint of roughly half a metre square.

The honest summary

The most expensive mistake isn’t buying too small. It’s buying a machine your site can’t power, or a pasteurising model when you’re making live-culture frozen yoghurt. Sort power and product type first. Then pick on output.

Compare the range at a glance

All prices include VAT and are correct at the time of writing. All five are Blue Ice machines, built by Spaceman.

Blue Ice T15 — the sensible first machine

Quick specs

• Output: up to 200 servings/hour (80 g)
• Flavours: single flavour
• Feed: gravity
• Hopper: 8 litres
• Power: 13 Amp
• Size: 440(W) x 700(D) x 721(H) mm
• Freeze-down: 3-4 minutes from start-up
• Price: from £5,259 inc VAT
• View the Blue Ice T15 →

Best for

Cafés, kiosks, trailers and seaside units adding soft serve for the first time. It’s the cheapest machine here and the easiest to live with.

What it does well

• Runs off a standard 13 Amp socket — no electrical work needed
• Freezes down in 3-4 minutes, so you’re serving almost straight away
• Standby mode holds mix fresh through quiet spells instead of you dumping it
• Fits on a normal counter without rearranging the whole van

Don’t use it for

• Two-flavour menus — it’s single flavour only
• Festival rushes above roughly 200 servings in an hour
• Live-culture frozen yoghurt where you want a dedicated froyo setup

Trade-off

The 8 litre hopper is modest. On a busy day you’ll be topping up more often than you would on a bigger machine.

Blue Ice T29 / T29A — twin twist without the floor space

Quick specs

• Output: approximately 300 servings/hour (80 g)
• Flavours: 2 flavours plus twist
• Feed: gravity (the T29A adds an optional air pump)
• Cylinders: 2 x 1.7 litre freezing cylinders
• Hopper: 12 litres
• Format: countertop
• Controls: digital microprocessor, low-mix warning, self-closing valves
• Price: from £7,150 inc VAT
• View the Blue Ice T29 →

Best for

Anyone who wants two flavours and a swirl but has no floor space to give up. This is the most popular step up from a single-flavour machine.

What it does well

• Twin twist — vanilla, a second flavour, or a swirl of both from one machine
• Low-mix warning tells you before you run dry mid-serve
• Self-closing valves cut the drips and the waste
• The T29A’s air pump gives a lighter serve and stretches each tub of mix further

Don’t use it for

• Sustained demand above 300 servings an hour
• Sites where you’d rather keep the counter clear — look at the S30 instead

Trade-off

Two cylinders mean twice the cleaning at close. Budget a few extra minutes a night compared with the T15.

Blue Ice S30 — the same output, off your counter

Quick specs

• Output: 300 servings/hour (80 g)
• Flavours: 2 flavours plus twist
• Feed: gravity
• Format: freestanding
• Power: 13 Amp
• Size: 552(W) x 652(D) x 1474(H) mm
• Price: from £7,282 inc VAT
• View the Blue Ice S30 →

Best for

Shops and permanent units with floor space but no spare bench. It gives you twin twist at serving height and hands your counter back.

What it does well

• Still runs on a 13 Amp socket despite being a full-height machine
• Serves at a comfortable height for staff working a long shift
• Frees up around half a metre of counter for tills, toppings or prep

Don’t use it for

• Vans and trailers — at 1474 mm tall it needs a permanent floor spot
• Anything above 300 servings an hour

Trade-off

You pay around £130 more than the T29 for the same output. What you’re buying is the floor-standing format, not more performance.

Blue Ice S60 — the most output you can get on a normal supply

Quick specs

• Output: 550 servings/hour (80 g)
• Flavours: 2 flavours plus twist
• Feed: gravity
• Format: freestanding
• Power: 24 Amp single phase
• Size: 552(W) x 766(D) x 1474(H) mm
• Price: from £9,929 inc VAT
• View the Blue Ice S60 →

Best for

Busy seaside shops, festival pitches and dessert bars. It is the highest-output machine in the range that still runs on single-phase power.

What it does well

• 550 servings an hour without a 3-phase supply — this is its whole reason to exist
• Gravity feed, so no pump to strip and rebuild at close
• Non-pasteurised gravity feed also makes it the right pick for live-culture frozen yoghurt

Don’t use it for

• Sockets on a low-rated circuit — 24 Amp needs checking against your board
• Small counters. It’s freestanding and 766 mm deep

Trade-off

24 Amp is a real load. Fine in a shop with a proper distribution board. Worth an electrician’s opinion in an older unit.

Blue Ice S70 — the high-volume machine (3-phase only)

Quick specs

• Output: 720 servings/hour (80 g)
• Flavours: 2 flavours plus twist
• Feed: gravity
• Format: freestanding
• Power: 3-phase supply required
• Size: 532(W) x 823(D) x 1563(H) mm
• Price: from £16,819 inc VAT
• View the Blue Ice S70 →

Best for

High-street dessert chains, theme parks and stadium concessions. Places where the queue never really stops.

What it does well

• 720 servings an hour, sustained — it doesn’t fade in a long rush
• Built for all-day trading rather than weekend peaks

Don’t use it for

• Any site without 3-phase power. Confirm this before you order
• Mobile use — it’s too tall and too power-hungry for a van

Trade-off

The machine is the smaller cost if you need an electrician to bring 3-phase in. Get that quote before you commit.

What about pasteurising machines?

Some models heat-treat the mix overnight so you don’t have to strip and wash the machine daily. That’s useful in a shop selling standard soft serve every day.

It is the wrong choice for live-culture frozen yoghurt. Heat kills the live cultures — the exact thing froyo customers are paying for.

Pasteurising models in the range include the T34B (420 servings/hour, from £12,336), the S68C (450/hr, 3-phase) and the S70C (720/hr, 3-phase). If frozen yoghurt is your main product, a non-pasteurised gravity machine such as the S60 is the safer buy.

Selling live-culture frozen yoghurt? Read our frozen yoghurt machine guide: gravity vs pump, pasteurised vs live-culture before you choose — a pasteurising cycle kills the cultures.

How to choose in four questions

1. What’s your busiest hour? Count covers in your peak hour, not your average. Match that to the servings/hour column.
2. What power have you got? Single phase rules out the S-series flagships. Check the board before you shortlist.
3. Counter or floor? Vans and kiosks want countertop. Shops with floor space usually prefer freestanding.
4. One flavour or two? Twin twist costs more but sells more. If you can stretch, most operators wish they had.

Still not sure? Tell us your peak hour and your power supply and we’ll point you at the right one. We only sell equipment we’d put in our own unit.

Frequently asked questions

How many servings per hour do I actually need?

Count your busiest hour, then add about 20%. A van doing 150 covers in a peak hour is comfortable on a 200/hr machine. A festival pitch doing 250 in a rush wants 300/hr or more.

Do commercial soft serve machines need 3-phase power?

Most don’t. The T15 and S30 run on 13 Amp, and the S60 runs on 24 Amp single phase. Only the biggest freestanding machines — the S68C, S70, S70A and S70C — need a 3-phase supply.

What’s the difference between gravity feed and pump feed?

Gravity feed lets mix fall into the cylinder under its own weight. Pump feed pushes it in and adds air, which gives a lighter serve and more portions per tub. Pump machines cost more and take longer to clean.

What does twin twist mean?

Two separate flavours, plus a third spout that swirls both together. You get three products from one machine, which is why twin twist machines outsell single-flavour ones on busy pitches.

Can I use a soft serve machine for frozen yoghurt?

Yes. Every machine here handles ice cream, frozen yoghurt and sorbet mixes. If you’re making live-culture frozen yoghurt, choose a non-pasteurised gravity machine such as the S60 — pasteurising heats the mix and kills the cultures.

How long does a soft serve machine take to freeze down?

The T15 freezes down in 3-4 minutes from start-up. Larger machines take longer because there’s more mix to chill. Plan to switch on before you open, not as the first customer arrives.

How much cleaning do these machines need?

A non-pasteurised machine is stripped, washed and sanitised daily. A twin-twist machine has two cylinders, so it takes roughly twice as long as a single-flavour one. Pasteurising models heat-treat overnight and need a full strip-down less often.

Do you deliver and is there a warranty?

Every machine listed is in stock with free next-working-day delivery to the UK mainland on orders placed before 11.30am. All come with 12 months parts and labour warranty.

If you’re building a whole dessert operation rather than adding one machine, our guide to buying an ice cream van in the UK covers the vehicle side of the decision.