While I’m always testing the best coffee machines as they launch – including bean-to-cup coffee machines and espresso machines – the best milk frothers are the ultimate way to create barista-level drinks at home.
The micro foam you’re used to on your latte, cappuccino, flat white and hot chocolate milk is usually made with a steam wand. Steam blasts through the milk, causing the fat in milk to break down and creating small bubbles and a silky texture. By comparison, milk frother machines tend to whisk and heat the milk at the same time to make a steamed milk imitation.
After lots of trial and error, I’ve found the best milk frothers worth buying. ProCook’s milk and hot chocolate frother is an excellent choice thanks to its ability to froth and make warm milk, hot chocolate and cold foam. But I’ve also found options for a range of other scenarios, including a budget-friendly milk frother.
How I tested
During testing, I made hot drinks for coffee lovers and discerning fans of hot chocolate. While I mostly used whole milk, I also tested the frothers with semi-skimmed milk as well as barista-grade oat milk (as the most popular vegan option). In the process of frothing, I looked at:
- Ease of use: With lots of the frothers and steamers offering hot and cold functionality, I assessed how simple it was to activate each programme. I also considered how easy it was to clean, for instance, if the inner pan was removable and if it was dishwasher-safe.
- Functions: Comparing value for money, I looked at how many settings were on offer for the price, from degrees of foam thickness to temperature options.
- Visual appeal: Given that coffee is one of the drinks I drink regularly (and my kids love hot chocolate), I wanted to leave the milk frothers on display in my kitchen, so aesthetics were factored into my ratings.
- Milk quality: Any coffee fanatic will tell you that the consistency of your milk is paramount to a silky flat white or latte, so I applied my experience with all manner of coffee chains and independent businesses while rating the quality of microbubbles (the key to velvety milk), cappuccino foam and the like.
Why you can trust IndyBest reviews
Zoë Phillimore has reviewed many kitchen appliances for IndyBest, from slow cookers to blenders. She knows what she’s looking for, be it the device’s ease-of-use, settings or value for money. Zoë has used all of the frothers in this review in real-world conditions, producing a steaming pot of milk in every single one to bring you her honest opinions. Plus, she has also reviewed the best coffee machines, decaf coffee and iced coffee makers, so she was primed and ready to test her freshly frothed milk with some seriously impressive espresso. Lastly, as a parent to three, she’s whipped up many a cup of cocoa in her time – with her little ones being the harshest of hot chocolate critics.
The best milk frothers for 2025 are:
- Best overall – ProCook milk frother and hot chocolate maker: £69, Procook.co.uk
- Best budget buy – Progress chocoluxe electric hot chocolate maker: £32.99, Progresscookshop.com
- Best luxury hot chocolate maker – Hotel Chocolat velvetiser: £94.49, Amazon.co.uk
- Best for lattes – Nespresso aeroccino 4 milk frother: £89, Nespresso.com
- Best for fans of hot chocolate – Dualit cocoatiser hot chocolate maker: £69.95, Amazon.co.uk
ProCook milk frother and hot chocolate maker
Best: Milk frother overall
Capacity: 400ml
Colourways: Black
Why we love it
- Generous capacity
- Dishwasher safe
- Plenty of functions
Take note
- Takes up more space than others
For busy households, this ProCook milk frother is perfect. It has a capacity of 400ml, meaning it can make a couple of hot chocolates at once, without breaking a sweat. This is only on the hot-milk/hot-chocolate setting, though – ie, with no froth. Want some texture in your milk, and you’re down to a 200ml capacity.
There’s a hot frothy milk setting, a hot milk setting, a hot chocolate setting and a cold frothy milk setting, meaning all bases are covered. Simply click through on the button to select which function you want, then wait up to five minutes while the gadget works its magic.
The foam this machine created was impressive. Plus, as this model doesn’t have a non-stick coating inside, I could use a spoon to scrape out all the fluffy foam. The jug detaches from the base, with a spout for pouring, and it can be put in the dishwasher without dismantling loads of parts.
The overall design is pretty chunky and clunky. It’s going to take up space on your counter or in your cupboards, but for a larger household, you’re going to reap the rewards of that extra capacity.
Buy now £69.00, Procook.co.uk
Progress chocoluxe electric hot chocolate maker
Best: Budget milk frother
Capacity: 300ml
Colourways: Black
Why we love it
- Plenty of functions
- Made a good froth
Take note
- No pouring spout
- Feels slightly plastic-y
I kept having to check that the price was right on this hot chocolate maker/milk frother. It has so many functions and all for less than £35. Perhaps the compromise here is the capacity – 150ml if you want “thick hot froth” means this is best suited to a one-cup-at-a-time household.
As well as thick hot foam, the chocoluxe does a light hot froth for hot chocolate (essentially with a blended but foam-free milk) and a cold froth. This means you can make most milky drinks with this little gadget. It made a silky hot chocolate that was perfectly drinkable and enjoyable. There’s nothing to stop you from making a frothy hot chocolate, either. I loved the light, hot froth for lattes and mochas – it was smooth and silky. Meanwhile, the thick froth is great for cappuccinos.
Using the chocoluxe is easy – there are four functions, which you click through on the dial. The relevant LED lights up to let you know which function you’re selecting, and emits a little beep. Other than that, it’s a fairly silent appliance. I’d have loved to see a pouring spout on it to prevent mess, and you have to unplug it at the back to wash and pour (other models have a base like a kettle), but you can’t have everything at this price.
Buy now £32.99, Progresscookshop.com
Hotel Chocolat velvetiser
Best: Luxury hot chocolate maker
Capacity: 200ml
Colourways: Copper, charcoal and white
Why we love it
- Looks good
- Easy to clean
Take note
- Can only make one cup at a time
- Only one function
- Relatively expensive
Probably one of the best-known hot chocolate machines on the market, this is a bit of a style icon. It’s designed to look a little like a cezve (Turkish coffee pot), and is actually engineered by the kitchen-appliance powerhouse Dualit. Whether you go for a copper, black or white finish, this is a sexy little milk frother.
It’s a hot chocolate machine first, so Hotel Chocolat makes sachets of a range of shaved real chocolate to add to the machine alongside your milk. There are measures inside the metal jug, so you can see just how much milk to add. Tip in your hot chocolate powder, shavings or even a chocolate bar and press the button. The velvetiser whirls in action, first warming the milk while whisking, then, once the pot reaches temperature, the chocolate melts and folds into the milk. The result? A super-smooth hot chocolate that tastes better than the ones you’ll get at most cafés. It’s also pretty silent – so much so, I had to double-check it was actually working.
In the spirit of thorough testing, I also tried non-Hotel Chocolat hot chocolate powder and warming up milk for coffees. Both were good – the milk for coffees is best for lattes rather than a really frothy cappuccino milk. Hotel Chocolat now also makes mocha and latte coffee sachets, so you can stay on brand while enjoying a caffeine fix. As a bonus, each velvetiser comes with two cups that are perfectly sized for a hot chocolate (the device makes one cup at a time).
Buy now £94.49, Amazon.co.uk
Nespresso aeroccino 4 milk frother
Best: Milk frother for lattes
Capacity: 236ml
Colourways: Chrome
Why we love it
- Can make four milk textures
- Now does hot chocolates
- Dishwasher safe
- Can do iced coffees
Take note
- Putting it through the dishwasher is a bit of a faff
This is Nespresso’s premium milk frother. It offers the option of hot milk, cold milk or hot foam. This means I was able to make iced coffees easily, as well as lattes and frothy cappuccinos. If you’re pondering how it works with cold milk, the aeroccino whips it without adding the heat element, so you are getting lightly foamed, cold milk.
This is a key selling point of the aeroccino – it can heat and froth separately, unlike products such as Hotel Chocolat’s velvetiser, so you can just make warm milk and unfrothed hot chocolate in it. This made a rich, smooth hot chocolate, but I did miss the foam a bit.
You also get options of airy hot milk or dense hot milk. Airy made an extremely fluffy and fun cappuccino. The dense, hot milk was silky and pretty good atop an espresso, to make a latte.
Nespresso has recently updated the aeroccino 4. The new model now has buttons on the jug, rather than on the base. It also has recipes for hot chocolates, whereas, previously, Nespresso’s official line has been not to use anything other than milk in the brand’s milk frothers.
I like that you can put the aeroccino in the dishwasher. I don’t like that this involves dismantling the whole jug – however, I was worried about losing the smaller parts. I found it easier to wash the gadget by hand.
The industrial-style corrugated chrome jug looked fine on my kitchen worktop, but might not work with everyone’s design ideals.
Buy now £89.00, Nespresso.com
Melitta cremio milk frother
Best: Milk frother for fluffy cappuccinos
Capacity: 250ml
Colourways: Black
Why we love it
- Can do a range of textured milks
- Can do iced coffees
- Good range of functions for the price
Take note
- Bit messy
- No pouring spout
With a more generous capacity than some other options in this round-up, the Melitta cremio milk frother is best-suited to people who are making more than just one hot drink at a time. It’s capable of foamy hot milk, hot milk without foam and cold milk with foam.
I made a pillowy cappuccino, with a dense microfoam that was one of the best on test. The hot milk function was great for hot chocolates, but I wished it had a bit more foam to it.
Operating the cremio was easy – there are just two buttons. A short press of one makes cold froth, and a longer press gets the hot froth going. The other button is just for hot milk. I liked the neat look of this – there’s no big base taking up space in my kitchen, and the handle isn’t too huge, either.
One downside is that the whisk attaches to the lid inside the jug (instead of the floor of the jug) via magnets. This means you take the lid off to pour the milk (there’s no pouring spout here, either), and I found it dripped milk on my kitchen work surface.
Having said all this, I was pleased to note this premium milk frother is a bit easier on the purse than some other big names in this lineup.
Buy now £46.99, Amazon.co.uk
Dualit cocoatiser hot chocolate maker
Best: Hot chocolate maker
Capacity: 250ml
Colourways: Chrome, copper
Why we love it
- Great for hot chocolate
- Stylish
- Space-saving
Take note
- Not great foam
- No cold-milk option
This simple little gadget has an eye firmly on the hot-chocolate market, hence the name. It does plain milk, too, but you’re not going to get a huge head of foam – this machine is better suited to silky coffees and hot chocolates.
Having said that, if hot chocolate is your aim, this is a great option. It’s been designed to handle segments of chocolate, as well as chocolate buttons, grated chocolate and chocolate powder. This is something I found some other milk frothers couldn’t handle, and I loved the versatility it offered me. I could pop in some Green & Blacks, for instance, and be enjoying a super-duper rich hot chocolate in minutes. A dangerous proposition.
This will come down to taste, but I love the fact that this design is handle-free. It felt modern and didn’t take up extra space on my kitchen work surface – it’s easier to store away, too. The cool-touch body means you can pick it up as soon as the hot chocolate has been made.
Buy now £69.95, Amazon.co.uk
Lakeland milk frother and hot chocolate maker
Best: Milk frother for cold foam
Capacity: 450ml
Colourways: Black
Why we love it
- Good value
- Looks nice
- Great for hot chocolates
Take note
- Corded
With four milk textures on Lakeland’s own-brand milk frother, this gadget is really good value for money. It can do frothy hot milk, frothy cold milk, chocolate milk and hot milk, and, with a 450ml capacity, it’s another good option for larger households.
I took on the chocolate-milk setting first, employing some Cadbury’s Flake bars to flavour my milk. The result was absolutely delicious, to the point of being addictive – the hot chocolate was rich, silky and chocolatey. My kids were thrilled.
The hot frothy milk was great for cappuccinos in the late morning – the froth was thick but not as finely textured as you’d get from a coffee shop.
The drawback to this milk frother is that it’s not cordless, so you can’t take it away and pour it at the table, for example. This might not be an issue if you just want to use it on the kitchen counter, though.
Buy now £39.99, Lakeland.co.uk
Smeg milk frother
Best: Milk frother design
Capacity: 600ml
Colourways: Light blue, patterned, white, black, red, cream
Why we love it
- Looks great
- Loads of functionality
- Great for control freaks
Take note
- Expensive
The Smeg milk frother has six functions: it can make hot chocolate, hot milk, hot milk with light froth, hot milk with dense froth, cold milk with light froth, cold milk with dense froth – and there’s a manual program, too. Phew.
This means, whatever texture you’re looking for, you can achieve it with the Smeg milk frother. Subtle flat whites and just-right foamy hot chocolates are all up for grabs here. I was so impressed with the functionality, and the dense foam was perfectly pillowy.
Other big ticks for me included the fact that you can stick the carafe in the dishwasher, while the tactile dial felt more premium than the standard buttons. As you might expect from Smeg, it looks gorgeous, too.
Buy now £179.00, Johnlewis.com
What is the best milk frother?
Hats off to ProCook, as the brand has made a great milk frother with loads of functionality, at a fraction of the price of some other milk frothers on the market. If you’re a die-hard fan of hot chocolate, Dualit’s cocoatiser is fantastic. Meanwhile, if you want to invest in a really premium milk frother, Smeg is a good place to put your money.
Can milk frothers whip cream?
No, while a heated milk frother does use a whisking mechanism, it’s not suitable for whipping cream. However, a handheld milk frother – without a warming element – will work for this, and costs just £4.99 (Amazon.co.uk).
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