Buy the Ninja CREAMi NC301 if you want a machine you will still be using in two years: two 16-ounce pints, seven one-touch programs and an 800-watt motor that handles high-protein and low-sugar bases. Buy the DASH My Pint if you want to spend as little as possible to find out whether you will make ice cream at all. America's Test Kitchen placed the CREAMi in Recommended with Reservations at $207 in June 2026; the My Pint is a fraction of that.
They are not the same kind of machine. The CREAMi does not churn: it drives a blade down through a pint frozen solid and shaves it smooth. The My Pint is a conventional freezer-bowl machine shrunk to one serving — you freeze a small bowl, pour in a liquid base, and a 12-watt motor turns a paddle until it thickens.
Side by side
| Spec |  |  |
|---|---|---|
| Mechanism | Spin / blade, shaves a frozen pint | Freezer bowl, churns a liquid |
| Capacity in | 16 oz pint of base | Up to 1 cup of mixture |
| Yield | 0.5 qt per pint (per ATK) | About 1.6 cups (manufacturer) |
| Containers included | Two 16 oz pints | One bowl |
| Pre-freeze | Freeze the pint overnight | Bowl frozen before use |
| Churn / spin time | A couple of minutes per spin | Under 30 minutes (manufacturer) |
| Power | 800 W | 12 W |
| Programs | 7 one-touch, plus re-spin | None, single switch |
| Dimensions | 17.44" L x 8.58" W x 18.39" H | Small enough for a freezer-door bowl |
| Hard or protein bases | Handles bases that stall a churning machine | A 12 W motor will stall on a very stiff mix |
| Independent testing | ATK and Ice Cream Science both used it | None we could read |
| Two flavors at once | Yes, two pints in the box | No, one bowl that must refreeze |
| Price |
800 watts against 12, and why it decides things
That is not a typographical comparison — it is the difference between the two designs. The CREAMi has to cut through a solid block of frozen base, which takes real torque, so it publishes 800 watts. The My Pint only has to stir a liquid that is slowly thickening, so 12 watts is enough for the job it was built for.
The consequence shows up at the edges. A high-protein, low-sugar or heavily fruited base is stiff and awkward, and the CREAMi handles exactly that — it is why the protein ice cream crowd bought it in the first place, as our protein recipe covers. A 12-watt motor will stall on the same mix. If you intend to make anything other than a standard cream-and-sugar base, that is the whole decision.
Neither one skips the planning
Both machines need something frozen in advance: the CREAMi needs the pint frozen solid overnight, the My Pint needs its bowl frozen first. Neither is a decide-at-seven, eat-at-eight machine. The difference is that a stocked freezer of CREAMi pints means the planning happens once per flavor, while a single My Pint bowl means it happens once per dessert.
One dessert, or two servings you can keep
The My Pint takes up to a cup of mixture and returns about 1.6 cups finished per the manufacturer. That is one dessert, eaten now. The CREAMi pint is 16 ounces, which ATK records as 0.5 quart of working capacity — two servings, and the second one can be re-sealed and put back in the freezer because the pint is also the storage container.
Two pints come in the CREAMi box, so two flavors can sit frozen at once, and spare pints are sold in 4-packs with color-coded lids. The My Pint has one bowl that has to refreeze before it can make anything else. For one person who eats dessert most evenings, that single difference matters more than the price gap — see best ice cream maker for one person and CREAMi pints and accessories.
What the CREAMi costs you beyond money
It is 18.39 inches tall, which means it will not fit under a standard wall cabinet, and 17.44 inches long. ATK's reservations were real: one 16-ounce pint per spin is a hard ceiling, and four people means four pints frozen in advance. Ice Cream Science spent ten weeks with it and came away positive on convenience and footprint, which is a genuine endorsement from a source that is hard on machines.
The My Pint's costs are different and smaller: two parts to wash, a bowl that lives in the freezer door, no programs to learn. There is no independent test data on it from any source we could read, which is worth knowing before you treat the low price as a bargain rather than simply a low price. Reviews in full: Ninja CREAMi review and DASH My Pint review.
The mistake both machines invite
Buying two small machines to avoid one medium one never works out. Two DASH My Pints cost more than a Cuisinart ICE-21P1 that makes eight times as much and was ATK's best canister-style pick at $70 in June 2026. Two CREAMis is not a thing anyone should consider; buy spare pints instead.
And if the real situation is that two people both eat dessert, the My Pint is the one genuine error on this page: a cup and a half is one serving. The honest middle ground is the nutribullet Chill — the CREAMi workflow at 10.49 pounds and 5.74 inches wide with two 16-ounce cups, though with no published wattage and no lab verdict. That decision is laid out in best for two people.
The verdict
- You will make ice cream regularly: Ninja CREAMi NC301.
- Protein, low-sugar or very stiff bases: CREAMi. A 12-watt motor cannot do it.
- You are not sure you will use it at all: DASH My Pint, as the cheapest test.
- Counter under a wall cabinet: not the NC301 at 18.39 inches tall. Chill or My Pint.
- Two people eating: neither at a single serving — CREAMi with spare pints, or the Chill.
