Best Cold Brew Coffee Maker: 4 Picks From Five Tests

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For most people the OXO Brew 32-ounce is the cold brew coffee maker to buy: best overall at Good Housekeeping, Business Insider and Wirecutter, with 4.5 stars across 3,435 ratings at $49.99. If you want to spend half as much, the Takeya Deluxe is the value pick, but two of the five tests marked it down.

Five independent tests picked three different best-overall makers, and several marked down picks that others praised. This guide sets out where they agree and where they split. Every price and rating below was read from Amazon.com on 12 October 2026.

Quick Comparison

Five Tests, Three Different Winners

Where the Tests Agree

• A fast reusable filter: Serious Eats preferred reusable stainless steel filters that drain quickly, and found the Mueller’s mesh so slow it had to stop and start pouring more than 10 times. Wirecutter credits the OXO’s metal mesh for its consistent cup.
• Coarse grounds: Business Insider says coarse, French press-style grounds, and a finer grind can turn muddy over a long steep. Wirecutter says the OXO’s manual recommends coarse grounds, and found its optional paper filters blocked the flow.
• Eight to 24 hours: Wired describes 12, 16 or 24 hours at room temperature and a 24-hour fridge steep. Wirecutter gives eight to 24 hours and used 24 hours for every maker; Takeya’s own instructions say 24 hours in the refrigerator.
• A strong concentrate, diluted: Business Insider recommends 1 part coffee to 5 of water for concentrate and 1 to 7 for ready-to-drink. Serious Eats brewed 1 ounce per 5.3 ounces and diluted with equal parts water, and Wirecutter diluted its concentrate 3 to 1.

Where the Tests Split

• The full-size OXO: Good Housekeeping, Business Insider and Wirecutter make it best overall, and Wirecutter calls it the easiest to use. Serious Eats found it the most complicated maker it tested, and the coffee no different from simpler ones.
• Pitcher-style makers: Serious Eats liked the simple filter-insert pitchers, and Good Housekeeping scored the Takeya near-perfect. Wirecutter found the pitcher-style brewers watery and messy, and Wired found most of them weak and inconsistent.
• The KitchenAid: it is Serious Eats’ best overall, Good Housekeeping’s easy-pouring pick and Wired’s dispenser. Wirecutter found it harder to use and the coffee gritty and lacking flavor, and Business Insider found its metal filter inconsistent.

Do You Need a Cold Brew Maker at All?

The tests split on this too. Serious Eats writes that you can make cold brew without a dedicated device by combining grounds and water, steeping and pouring through a filter. Wired says a French press works like any filtered container, but lets through more fines that keep steeping and turn bitter. Wirecutter found that Mason jars and French presses did not work great, though it also says a dedicated brewer is worth it for a frequent cold brew drinker.

What a maker adds is a filter you do not have to improvise, a lid that seals and a shape that fits a fridge door. In Serious Eats’ tests the Ovalware’s gasketed lid kept its flavor for a week, while the Hario Mizudashi, whose lid does not seal, tasted bitter by then. If you already own a French press, my best French press guide covers choosing one, and my best coffee for French press guide covers the beans.

1. OXO Brew 32-Ounce: Best Overall

4.5 stars | 3,435 ratings | $49.99 | sold by Amazon.com

This is the pick for most people, and especially if you drink cold brew every day. Good Housekeeping named it best overall for some of the smoothest, most balanced coffee, with a 32-ounce carafe good for about 14 cups. Business Insider also made it best overall, and Wirecutter’s top pick made the strongest, boldest brew of any model it tested.

Wirecutter puts a batch at 24 to 28 ounces of concentrate from 10 ounces of grounds, or 12 to 14 servings at about 2 ounces of concentrate a glass. Serious Eats is the dissenter: it found the full-size OXO the most complicated maker it tested, with a stand, a rainmaker lid and a separate beaker, and the coffee not noticeably different from simpler makers.

Pros:

• Best overall at Good Housekeeping, Business Insider and Wirecutter
• Concentrate keeps up to two weeks in the sealed carafe, per Good Housekeeping
• Measurement markings on the carafe, per Good Housekeeping and Wirecutter
• A 7% one or two star share across 3,435 ratings

Cons:

• Serious Eats found it bulky and finicky, with the most parts of any maker it tested
• Wirecutter says not everyone loved the strong flavor, and that the optional paper filters blocked the flow
• Everything but the glass carafe is hand-wash, and Wirecutter puts a replacement carafe at about $25
• About 4 pounds and 14.75 inches tall, per Good Housekeeping
• Two reader comments on Wirecutter’s page describe clogging and leaking, which are anecdotes rather than test results

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2. OXO Brew Compact 24-Ounce: Best Compact

4.4 stars | 4,814 ratings | $39.95 | sold by Amazon.com

This is the pick if fridge space is tight or you drink one cup a day. Wired made it best overall, Good Housekeeping named it best compact, Wirecutter lists it as also great, and Serious Eats calls it an editor’s favorite that produced an intense concentrate with fruity and nutty flavors. Wirecutter found it even easier to use than the larger OXO, with a fill line for grounds, an 11-inch height and a carafe that nests inside the reservoir.

The tests disagree on batch size. Serious Eats puts one batch at about seven cups, Wirecutter at about 16 ounces of concentrate, and Wired’s recipe of 110 grams of coffee and 600 ml of water yields about a pint, or four to five cups once diluted.

Pros:

• Best overall at Wired, also great at Wirecutter, and the compact pick at Good Housekeeping and Serious Eats
• Parts nest inside one another for storage, and the carafe has a cork lid
• Marked guidelines on the pitcher and brewing container, per Serious Eats

Cons:

• Good Housekeeping says it suits fewer drinkers, and Serious Eats says a batch may not be enough for a caffeine-heavy household
• Wirecutter says the carafe has fewer markings, and a replacement costs almost as much as the whole brewer
• Business Insider found its concentrate a bit brighter with slightly more grit than the Toddy Artisan
• A 9% one or two star share across 4,814 ratings, the highest of the four

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3. Takeya Deluxe 1-Quart: Cheapest, With Caveats

4.6 stars | 67,550 ratings | $24.98 | sold by Amazon.com

This is the pick if you want the cheapest way in and a ready-to-drink pitcher that fits a fridge door. Good Housekeeping gave it near-perfect lab scores and found the fine-mesh filter kept grit out without paper filters. Takeya’s recipe for the 1-quart is 1 1/4 cups, about 106 grams, of coarse grounds and 24 hours in the refrigerator.

Three tests found problems, so go in with open eyes. Wirecutter grouped Takeya’s maker with the Hario and Primula tall-basket pitchers, which it found hard to set up, prone to messes and watery. Wired found gritty sediment outside the filter of a $17 Takeya “Airtight” model that may not be the exact Deluxe listing, and Business Insider, which still made it best budget, found grounds can stick under the lid unless you shake the pitcher.

Pros:

• A 3% one or two star share across 67,550 ratings
• Good Housekeeping’s best value and Business Insider’s best budget pick
• Seals tightly with no leaks, even brewed on its side, per Business Insider
• Dishwasher-safe, and a 2-quart size is also sold

Cons:

• Wirecutter found it hard to set up, messy and watery
• Wired found gritty sediment past the filter and a filter that is harder to clean
• Business Insider’s 12-hour brew was tea-like and the 24-hour brew still weaker than the OXO’s
• Good Housekeeping notes no measurement markings on the side
• Business Insider says the plastic is prone to staining after many uses

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4. Ovalware 34-Ounce: Best Airtight Pitcher

4.5 stars | 13,564 ratings | $40.99 | sold by Ovalware

This is the pick if you want a glass pitcher that seals. Serious Eats named it the best pitcher combo: borosilicate glass, a stainless steel filter with a fast flow rate, a gasketed lid and a protective silicone base, with cold brew that kept its smooth flavor after a week in the fridge. Ovalware’s own page says it is dishwasher-safe and that the lid keeps a brew fresh for up to two weeks.

Wired reached the opposite verdict on the 1-liter model. It liked the shape, the measuring marks and the airtight lid, but found the laser-cut metal filter extracted less consistently and gave a thinner, less uniform brew. Wirecutter’s guide does not list it. This is the pick to buy only if the seal and glass matter more to you than strength.

Pros:

• A 5% one or two star share across 13,564 ratings
• Dishwasher-safe glass with measuring marks, per Ovalware and Wired
• A stainless steel filter that drained quickly in Serious Eats’ tests

Cons:

• Wired found a thinner, less uniform brew than competitors
• Serious Eats says the tapered glass is hard to reach the bottom of without a bottle brush
• Ovalware’s own recipe uses 85 g for the 1-liter pitcher against Takeya’s 106 g for its 1-quart, so it is a lighter ratio by design
• Sold by the brand, not Amazon.com

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Left Out

• KitchenAid 38-ounce: Serious Eats’ best cold brew maker, but Wirecutter found it gritty and harder to use and Business Insider found its filter inconsistent. Amazon lists the 38-ounce KCM5912, 4.4 stars across 898 ratings, with no featured offer and one seller from $179.95 on 12 October 2026, against the $114 sale price Serious Eats showed. Several of its top Amazon reviews describe a leaking tap, so I did not link it.
• Filtron: Wirecutter’s runner-up, a mellower coffee and about 32 ounces of concentrate, at $40 from Filtron. Its felt filter can mold if stored wrongly and the rubber stopper is messy. Four Amazon searches turned up only a replacement stopper, so it appears to be sold direct.
• Hario Mizudashi: $16.40 on Amazon from a third-party seller. Serious Eats found its filter too small for a 1:5.33 ratio and the coffee bitter after a week, Wirecutter found the Hario watery, and Business Insider found it tall and not sealed; Wired liked the 600 ml size for one person.
• OXO Rapid Brewer: the fast pick at Serious Eats, Wired and Business Insider, but it needs espresso-fine grounds and makes about five ounces of concentrate. I did not check it on Amazon. The only rapid brewer Wirecutter liked was the Dash, which costs more than double its top pick.
• Toddy: Serious Eats found the Toddy Cold Brew System oversized and flimsy, and Wirecutter found it stains, is more complicated and is less flavorful. Business Insider’s compact pick is a different model, the Toddy Artisan, which I did not check on Amazon.
• Cumulus nitro machine: $695 at Williams Sonoma per Serious Eats and Wired, a different category from the pitchers here.

Storing It

Serious Eats, Good Housekeeping, Business Insider and Takeya all say up to two weeks in a sealed container. Wired is less generous: flavor can start to decline within a couple of days and may be quite pronounced by a week, mainly if grit stays in the coffee. Serious Eats found the open-lid Hario bitter after a week and the sealed Ovalware fine, so the seal and the filter seem to matter more than the date.

Frequently Asked Questions

Do you need a cold brew maker?

Serious Eats says you can steep grounds in water and filter them without a device, and Wired says a French press works. Wirecutter found Mason jars and French presses did not work great. A maker adds a built-in filter, a sealing lid and a shape that fits a fridge.

Can you make cold brew in a French press?

Yes, with limits. Wired says a French press can make cold brew like any filtered container, but it lets through fines that keep steeping and turn bitter. Wirecutter found French presses did not work great. Use coarse grounds, as Business Insider advises, and filter the coffee again.

How long should cold brew steep?

Eight to 24 hours, with 24 the common choice. Wirecutter used 24 hours for every maker, and Wired describes 12, 16 or 24 hours at room temperature. Business Insider found 12 hours in the Takeya tea-like and 24 hours much stronger. Takeya’s own recipe says refrigerate for 24 hours.

What ratio of coffee to water makes cold brew?

Business Insider recommends 1 part coffee to 5 parts water for concentrate and 1 to 7 for ready-to-drink. Serious Eats used 1 ounce of coffee per 5.3 ounces of water, and Wirecutter about 4.5 to 1, then diluted 3 to 1. Takeya’s recipe uses about 106 grams per quart.

How long does cold brew last in the fridge?

Up to two weeks sealed, say Serious Eats, Good Housekeeping, Business Insider and Takeya. Wired is more cautious: flavor can start to decline within a couple of days and be pronounced by a week, especially if grit stays in the coffee.

Is the OXO or the Takeya better for cold brew?

The OXO 32-ounce is best overall at Good Housekeeping, Business Insider and Wirecutter, and made stronger concentrate than the Takeya in Business Insider’s test. It costs about $25 more. Good Housekeeping rates the Takeya best value, but Wired and Wirecutter marked it down.

How These Picks Were Chosen

This is a research-based guide, not a hands-on test: I have not brewed with these makers. Each pick rests on its Amazon listing, read on 12 October 2026, its star breakdown, the maker pages for Takeya and Ovalware, and the Serious Eats, Good Housekeeping, Wired, Business Insider and Wirecutter tests.

Several things could not be established. The five tests used different recipes and brewing times, so their rankings are not directly comparable. Wired’s Takeya and Wirecutter’s Takeya may not be the Deluxe sold on Amazon, and Wirecutter’s guide was last updated in July 2025 with its own prices of $60 and $40 for the two OXO makers. I did not find OXO’s own brewing instructions, and Amazon’s star breakdown covers each listing, not a single size.

The Verdict

For most people the OXO 32-ounce is the pick: best overall at three of the five tests, with Serious Eats’ complexity complaint as the caveat. The OXO Compact suits a small fridge, and the Takeya Deluxe is the cheapest way in if you accept that two tests found it messy or watery. The Ovalware is the pick if a sealing glass pitcher matters more than strength.

For a coarse grind, see my OXO Brew grinder review, and for more on brewing, the coffee hub.