Frolic vs Ninja Creami: Full Comparison Guide

While there aren’t many that have sought out to do what Frolic has, most self-proclaimed ice cream lovers have probably heard of the Ninjas Creami, and may wonder how the two compare. Both are designed after the PacoJet, a commercial grade ice cream machine use in very high end restaurants around the world. In thisguide we’ll cover everything from the capabilities of each machine to pricing and customer reviews.

 

Frolic vs Ninja Creami: At a Glance

	Frolic	Ninja Creami
Prep Time	Instant	24 hours
Spin Duration	70 seconds	90 seconds - 3 minutes
Ice Cream Style	Frozen single use pods	Fill it yourself
Price	$525.00	$229.99
Dimensions	11 in. L x 6 in. W x 15.5 in H	12.07 in L x 6.52 in W x 15.95 in H
User Reviews	4.9 out of 5 stars	4.6 out of 5 stars

Frolic: Everything You Need to Know 

Frolic Ice Cream is a modern ice cream brand that focuses on bringing high-quality gourmet ice cream into people's homes. Frolic’s countertop ice cream maker utilizes single-serve pods to provide consumers with fresh churned, completely customizable ice cream in just minutes - think of it as the Keurig for ice cream!

For more on the magic of Frolic, check out this detailed guide that breaks down how the machine works and everything it has to offer. 

Pricing

Frolic’s ice cream machine retails for $525. Each ice cream pod is sold for $6.99. You can also purchase add-ins for $3 each for a 2oz bag. Frolic also offers a subscription for the ice cream pods that saves you 10-15% depending on how many pods.  

Frolic Machine	$525
Ice Cream (per 12oz pod)	$6.99
Mix Ins (per 2oz bag)	$3.00

Ice Cream Base

Frolic’s ice cream comes in frozen pre-mixed pods that are designed to go from frozen solid to smooth and creamy ice cream in just two minutes. Frolic offers eight different ice cream bases that fall into two different flavor profiles and four different categories, based on dairy and sugar.

	Flavors:	Dairy/Alternative:	Sugar/Alternative:
Classic:	Vanilla & Chocolate	Whole Milk	Sugar
Vegan:	Vanilla & Chocolate	Unsweetened Coconut Milk	Sugar
Lite:	Vanilla & Chocolate	Skim Milk	Sugar
Superlite:	Vanilla & Chocolate	Skim Milk	MonkFruit

Frolic prides itself on creating ice cream that’s made of the highest quality ingredients. All Frolic ice cream bases utilize fresh, responsible dairy from a small dairy farm in Northern Illinois.

Frolic’s ice cream recipes are also designed by world famous chefs and ice cream experts.  Why should you have to follow bad receipts when you can just let the world class team at Frolic do it for you.  

Machine Design

Frolic’s machine is made for ice cream lovers everywhere. All you have to do is take a pod from the freezer, put it in the machine, and with the push of a button - fresh churned ice cream! 

The “pod” style design is one of the things that makes this product so unique. It allows consumers to make fresh churned ice cream in just minutes with no preparation time at all. 

Curious how it works? The high speed stainless steel blade breaks down the ice crystals 10x smaller than your standard grocery store ice cream options - resulting in an ice cream that’s both smoother and creamier. 

Looking for a more creative flavor? The beauty of the Frolic is that you can add any mix-ins you want before spinning for a completely customizable flavor profile. The machine breaks down mix-ins so finely that rather than vanilla ice cream with snickers pieces inside, you’ll truly have a snicker flavored ice cream. 

User Reviews

Frolic has earned a 4.9 out of 5 stars on customer reviews. Some of the most recent reviews say that the machine is easy to use and that the ice cream has a smooth consistency. Users have also mentioned that they love the vanilla and chocolate flavors and love that they can create any combination they’re craving at any time! 

Frolic Pros & Cons

Pros:	Cons:
More compact size	More expensive
Instantly ready to use with prefrozen bases	Smaller pint size
Custom ice cream flavors in minutes	Must purchase their bases in order to utilize the machine

Ninja Creami: Everything You Need to Know 

Ninja is a popular appliance brand that sells cheap everything from blenders to coffee makers and even indoor and outdoor grills. The Ninja Creami is their countertop ice cream machine that can make ice cream, sorbet, milkshakes, and more.

Pricing

Ninja offers two different versions of their Ninja Creami machine which retail between $229.99 and $249.99. Since Ninja is a “fill-it-yourself” style machine - there are no other costs associated directly through Ninja. Though, you will of course need to purchase whatever ingredients you’ll need to make the flavors that interest you - milk, sugar, flavoring, etc.

The Ninja Cream is also available for purchase through many different major retailers - Kohls, Costco, Macys, and more. Pricing can vary depending on current sales and promotions. 

Ice Cream Base

The Ninja Creami comes with 2 empty ice cream pints that are designed exclusively for use with its machine. You’ll need to fill it up with the ice cream base of your choice and freeze it for 24 hours before it will be ready to be used. 

With their standard machine, each pint has a two cup capacity - with their deluxe machine, each pint can hold three cups.

Machine Design

The Ninja Creami is designed to fit the pints that the machine comes with - click them into place, and then bring the mixture up towards the blade and back down to grind it down finely. The machine has many different buttons - ice cream, lite ice cream, sorbet, milkshake - which dictate how quickly the blade spins, to achieve the desired texture. It also has a “mix-in” button. If you want to add mix-ins to your creation, you’ll have to spin your base ice cream first, and then run the machine a second time to add in the toppings. 

The machine is designed very cheaply and is very underpowered.  This poor power results in a low quality ice cream that needs very specific receipts that include a lot of filler.  The fact is the Ninja is not built to perform as well as the PacoJet, but it is designed to be “affordable.” 

User Reviews

The Ninja Creami has earned a 4.6 out of 5 stars (for their standard machine) from customer reviews directly on the Ninja website. Users love that it’s simple to use and that they can add their favorite drinks (like juices and protein shakes) into the machine and turn them to ice cream.

With the many positive reviews, there are quite a few negatives as well. Many users complain that the blade shaves off plastic from the pints into their ice cream. Others say that no matter how many times you spin the ice cream, the result is crumbly and dry. (This is because the machine is not powerful enough.) 

Ninja Creami Pros & Cons

Pros:	Cons:
More affordable	24 hour wait time
Fill with your own ingredients	Users say you often need to re-spin in order to get the texture right
Available in stores	Mix ins need to be ran separately

 

Frolic vs. Ninja Creami: Which is right for you?

If you’re looking to purchase an ice cream maker for your home, you’ll likely find yourself between these two options after researching to see what options are out there. 

For users that are looking for a relatively cheap solution and the ability to use mixes you already have available at home, the Ninja Creami is likely a good fit. For true ice cream aficionados that care about top quality ingredients, access to the smoothest ice cream in just minutes, and creating unique flavor profiles - the Frolic is sure worth the investment!