Hi! I’m Philip, and i’ve tested and reviewed the top popcorn makers on the market on the following factors: build quality, design, performance, and value for money to help you choose the right one.
By Siem
Popcorn machines: the magical creator of everyone’s favourite snack, popcorn. When you and your friends settle down to enjoy a brand new film in the cinema, it is guaranteed that at least one of you will have a bucket filled with the golden stuff.
Why buy a popcorn maker for your home?
Movie nights at home are cheaper, and more cosy. But they lack the main ingredient: popcorn. Sure, you can buy the store-bought, microwavable stuff, but what’s the fun in that? It’s just all processed crap and added sugars. With a popcorn maker, however, you’re enjoying real, homemade popcorn that’s fresh, with natural kernels. Plus, you can customise the flavour to your desire by adding as much sugar, salt, or caramel sauce as you’d like. In other words, if you’re like me and you love movie nights and popcorn, then one of these devices is indispensable. I’ve got an electric one, and saved hundreds of pounds since.
What is the best popcorn maker for you?
When buying a popped-corn machine, it is important to know exactly what you want. You don’t want to make a bad purchase that gives you nothing that you asked for in a popcorn maker. A good place to start then, is your budget. Most popcorn domestic popcorn makers range between £20-£60, and the quality reflects in the price. After that, you can decide on the design, and any other qualities you’d like your popped-corn maker to possess. Let’s have a look at the top 7 popcorn machines on the market to give some more insight into what makes a great popcorn maker:
The best popcorn maker for the home
Gadgy Round
This Gadgy appliance is fun for the whole family. It has a 5 litre capacity, and has a 360 degree view of the magical cooking process. It’s fast, quiet, and easy to use, making it ideal for home movie nights. Coming with a two-year guarantee, this device will last for a long time, provided its looked after, and has a removable lid to easily add butter or oil.
This tested the best of all the domestic popcorn makers overall, thanks to its great capacity, simple, aesthetic design, and fast, quiet performance. The only downside is that it is at the top end of the price range. However, given its great qualities, that is no surprise!
- 5 litre capacity
- Fast prep time
- Oil and fat free
- Lid for ingredients
- Difficult to store
- Expensive
The best budget popcorn maker for the home
Salter EK2902
This Salter electric hot air popcorn maker is a great budget appliance for any home. It makes popcorn in minutes, keeping spillages to a minimum, while providing delicious popcorn at only 30 calories per serving. Because it makes healthy popcorn at such a low price, it was the best overall budget option. You don’t have to add any oil for it to make any flavour popcorn. You’ll never need to pay for the movie theater again with one of these, further saving you money and time, and although it has a small popcorn capacity, it makes enough popcorn for the whole family to enjoy.
- Healthy budget option
- Doesn’t require any oil
- Anti-slip feet
- Smaller capacity
The best professional popcorn maker
CORNRUSH
This professional popcorn maker comes in the design a carnival-style popcorn maker, and no doubt is able to support making a living off of selling popcorn. It comes with a corn scoop, bags, and seasoning spoons, and can make up to 226 grams of popcorn at once, which is a lot! Kids and adults alike can enjoy the popping process through the tempered glass walls, and it makes great tasting popcorn in less that three minutes.
To be sure, this is not a domestic appliance, and is difficult to store and clean given its size. Having said that, if you’re in the market for a great side hustle, then this will not serve you wrong!
- Huge capacity
- Great retro design
- Warming light
- Comes with extras
- Difficult to clean and store
- Not for domestic use
- Very pricey
The best budget professional popcorn maker
CORNRUSH Vintage Professional
This is the best budget professional popcorn maker. It holds half the capacity of the previous model, but at 1/10 of the price! It also has a great retro design, and is compact enough to fit on any countertop. It promises a 99% pop rate, and the simple, square design makes it really easy to clean, so its great for parties, especially set up next to a home cinema. The only downside is that the popcorn will spill when you open the door. But, other than that, this is a gourmet popcorn maker that makes movie-style popcorn quickly and in large quantities.
- 113 grams at once
- Retro design
- Includes popcorn bags
- Easily cleaned
- Difficult to store
- Popcorn kernels not included
The best retro popcorn maker
Judge JEA83
This retro device resembles an upside-down popcorn bucket, but is in fact, an electric popcorn maker with bowl spout for easy and simple catching of flying popcorn. It’s small, but doesn’t use any oil to cook with, making it more healthy than the best stovetop cooking process.
The downside is its size, that can only make enough popped popcorn for one to two people maximum. For this reason, it is ideal for small households, and its low price also reflects that fact.
- Fun, retro design
- Two-year guarantee
- Doesn’t need any type of oil
- Smaller capacity
- Made from cheap plastic
The best compact popcorn maker
Gadgy Retro
Another great popcorn maker by Gadgy, who always get excellent product reviews. This one is very similar in design to the previous addition, however it is slightly more compact, making it suitable for small kitchens and families. Like no. 5, this one has a spout for popcorn bowls, and does not require any oil or butter. The convenience of this device makes it a great option, and its nozzle prevents popcorn flying and getting wasted.
- Compact option
- Great design
- No-oil air popper
- Small capacity
- Expensive for size
The best microwave popcorn maker
The Original Korcci Microwavable
The best electric popcorn maker cannot rival this silicone microwave popcorn popper thanks to its easy convenience and oh so simple method of use. Just place the unpopped kernel into the bowl, cover it with a lid, place it into the microwave, turn it on, and voila! Fluffy popcorn. Its material is silicone, meaning that is collapsable and dishwasher-safe, and it can make up to four portions of popcorn at once. This is a great option for those who love delicious homemade popcorn, but don’t want the complication of a whole machine to worry about and clean. Cooking popcorn in the microwave has never been healthier with this device, which doubles as a bowl of popcorn!
- Easy to store
- Dishwasher-safe
- Simple operation
- Requires microwave
Our top 7, at a glance:
- The best for home: Gadgy Round
- The best budget for home: Salter EK2902
- Best professional: CORNRUSH
- Best budget professional: CORNRUSH Vintage Professional
- Best retro popcorn maker: Judge JEA83
- The best compact popcorn maker: Gadgy Retro
- The best microwave popcorn maker: The Original Korcci Microwavable
Buying guide: what to look out for when buying a popcorn maker?
So, that was our top 7. Did you find one that suits you best? If not, don’t worry. Here, we’ll break down how to find the right popcorn maker for you in more detail.
What’s your budget? Determining your budget is the first thing you should do before any purchase, and popcorn makers are no different. As mentioned earlier, they range between £20-£60 for a domestic option, and their quality is reflected in their price. Once you have identified what a reasonable budget for you is, you can move on to anything else that takes your fancy, as long as it falls between your selected budget frame. If you’re looking for a professional popcorn maker, then the rule still applies!
What sized maker would you like? How much popcorn you want to make at once will narrow down your choices to a select few. Normal-sized popcorn makers make around 1-3 portions at once. If that is the rough amount that you want, then consider the Salter EK2902, or Judge JEA83. If not, then the Gadgy Round is the best domestic option for large amounts of popcorn out of all the tested popcorn makers.
Energy use? Popcorn makers use electricity to make their batches of popcorn at home, just like any electric appliance. If you are concerned with how much energy you want to use, then consider the Korcci Microwavable maker, which goes in the microwave, using very little electricity. It’s a small difference, but in the long run it can add up.
What design do you prefer? In other words, does the retro look take your fancy, or a more modern look? Half of the appeal of when you use a popcorn machine is the carnival, retro feeling that it brings, and out of all the makers we tested, the retro ones made the best-tasting popcorn! If you don’t mind what the design is, then consider the collapsible silicone microwave popcorn maker, as it is simple, and convenient.
How fast would you like it to be? Some poppers turn kernels to popcorn in less than three minutes, so the option is there if you want a device that will use hot air to pop the kernels quickly. Some of these include the Gadgy Round, and the Salter EK2902.
Now you will be armed with the knowledge to find and choose the right popcorn maker for you, without making any bad purchases! If you’re still not sure, then we recommend the Salter EK2902 or Gadgy round for their value for money and all round performances!
Conclusion: what’s the best popcorn maker?
Overall, popcorn machines are the best way to make popcorn. You don’t need any oil in a popcorn machine, as hot air circulation cooks the popcorn without the added calories of oil or butter. We tested the best popcorn makers and machines on the market in 2024, and we found 7 that stood out in the respective categories, however, the best overall popcorn machine was the Gadgy Round popcorn maker, thanks to its huge capacity, excellent design, and add-ons included. The best budget option for the home was the Salter EK2902, which, despite its smaller capacity, has great value for money.
Thanks for reading! If you liked this article, then visit kitchenarylab.com to discover more kitchen appliances that have been tested and reviewed professionally.
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs):
Have a look at our buying guide, it will give you the method of selecting the best option for you.
Short answer, yes. Most are food-grade silicone that does not effect the taste, or texture of the popcorn, making it fresh in the microwave every time!
Yes. It is healthier, and faster to use the hot air method, as the machine heats up quickly, and requires no oil or butter. This also saves electricity!