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Best milk frothers 2025: for perfect coffee and hot chocolate
The best milk frother gives you barista-style coffee quickly with voluminous, creamy froth – and some can even make an indulgent, velvety hot chocolate.
We've tried and tested popular milk frothers, including Hotel Chocolat's Velvetiser and electric milk frothers from Dualit, Lavazza, Swan and more, timing how fast they are, assessing their ease of use and cleaning, and taste testing the finished milk or hot chocolate.
Our warming, frothing, measuring and tasting revealed three milk frothers that impressed us enough to be awarded our Best Buy recommendation. We've also highlighted two cheaper milk frothers as Great Value buys.
We also tested those milk frothers that can make hot chocolate to see which makes the best, including the widely promoted Hotel Chocolat Velvetiser.
The best milk frothers
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| Milk frother | Price | Score | Milk taste and appearance | Ease of cleaning | Speed |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
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Dates tested: November 2024 and May 2022. Page last checked: April 2025. We're not able to show every retailer and cheaper prices may be available.
The milk frothers we tested
All the milk frothers we tested are listed in alphabetical order below.
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Asda George Black Milk Frother
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Available from Asda (£23)
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Most recently tested May 2022
Maximum capacity 150ml for frothing, 300ml for heating
Functions Hot froth, cold froth, heated milk
Need to know Weighs 0.9kg, comes with two-year warranty
Dualit Handheld Milk Frother
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Most recently tested November 2024
Max capacity 150ml for frothing, 300ml for heating
Functions Hot froth
Need to know Weighs 0.85kg, comes with one-year guarantee
Hotel Chocolat Velvetiser
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Most recently tested November 2024
Maximum capacity 220ml for frothing and heating
Functions Hot froth, hot chocolate
Need to know Weighs 1.15kg, comes with one-year warranty, whisk and lid are dishwasher-safe
Illy Electric Milk Frother
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Available from Illy (£75)
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Most recently tested November 2024
Maximum capacity 250ml for frothing and heating
Functions Hot froth, cold froth, heated milk
Need to know Weighs 0.7kg, comes with two-year warranty, jug, lid and whisks are dishwasher-safe
John Lewis Milk Frother
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Available from John Lewis (£39)
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Most recently tested November 2024
Max capacity 250ml
Functions Hot milk froth, hot milk, chocolate milk, cold froth
Need to know Weighs 1.07kg, comes with two-year guarantee
Krups Frothing Control Electric Milk Frother
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Most recently tested November 2024
Maximum capacity 150ml for frothing, 300ml for heating
Functions Hot froth, heated milk
Need to know Weighs 0.85kg, comes with two-year guarantee
Lakeland Milk and Hot Chocolate Frother
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Most recently tested November 2024
Max capacity 450ml
Functions Hot milk froth, hot milk, chocolate milk, cold froth
Need to know Weighs 0.75kg, comes with three-year guarantee
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Lavazza A Modo Mio MilkEasy Milk Frother
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Most recently tested May 2022
Maximum capacity 120ml for frothing, 180ml for heating
Functions Hot froth, cold froth, heated milk
Need to know Weighs 0.9kg, comes with three-year guarantee if you buy from Lakeland, lid and whisk are dishwasher-safe
Lavazza MilkUp Milk Frother
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Most recently tested May 2022
Maximum capacity 120ml for frothing, 180ml for heating
Functions Hot froth, cold froth, heated milk, hot chocolate
Need to know Weighs 1.1kg, comes with two-year guarantee if you buy from John Lewis
Melitta Creamio II Milk Frother
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Most recently tested November 2024
Max capacity 150ml for frothing, 300ml for heating
Functions Hot froth, heated milk
Need to know Weighs 0.9kg, comes with two-year warranty, lid with whisk is dishwasher-safe
ProCook Milk Frother
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Available from ProCook (£69)
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Most recently tested November 2024
Max capacity 400ml
Functions Hot milk froth, hot milk, chocolate milk, cold froth
Need to know Weighs 1.36kg, comes with one-year guarantee, cup is dishwasher-safe
Salter EK4635 Milk Frother
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Most recently tested May 2022
Maximum capacity 150ml for frothing, 300ml for heating
Functions Hot thick froth, hot thin froth, cold froth, heated milk
Need to know Weighs 0.8kg, comes with one-year guarantee
Salter the Chocolatier Electric Milk Frother and Hot Chocolate Maker
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Most recently tested November 2024
Max capacity 115ml for frothing, 240 ml for heating
Functions Cold, thick, and light froth settings
Need to know Weighs 0.78kg, one-year guarantee
Swan Automatic Milk Frother
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Most recently tested May 2022
Maximum capacity 115ml for frothing, 240ml for heating
Functions Hot froth, cold froth, heated milk
Need to know Weighs 0.7kg, comes with two-year guarantee
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Velvetiser vs milk frothers: which makes the best hot chocolate?
Some of the milk frothers we tested also state they can be used to make hot chocolate directly in the machine's container, rather than adding powder to the warm milk afterwards.
We put this claim to the test to see how good they were at making tasty hot chocolate and whether they could rival the heavily advertised Hotel Chocolat Velvetiser.
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| Hot chocolate maker | Price | Score | Hot chocolate taste & appearance | Ease of cleaning | Speed |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Sign up to reveal Get instant access to this and all our scores and recommendations. Unlock tableFirst month £5, then £11.99 per month, cancel at any time Already a member? Log in | |||||
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Dates tested: November 2024 and May 2022. Page last checked: April 2025. We're not able to show every retailer and cheaper prices may be available.
Hotel Chocolat Velvetiser
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Most recently tested November 2024
Maximum capacity 220ml for frothing and heating
Functions Hot froth, hot chocolate
Need to know Weighs 1.15kg, comes with one-year warranty, whisk and lid are dishwasher-safe
Lakeland Milk and Hot Chocolate Frother
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Most recently tested November 2024
Max capacity 450ml
Functions Hot milk froth, hot milk, chocolate milk, cold froth
Need to know Weighs 0.75kg, comes with three-year guarantee
Lavazza MilkUp Milk Frother
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Most recently tested May 2022
Maximum capacity 120ml for frothing, 180ml for heating
Functions Hot froth, cold froth, heated milk, hot chocolate
Need to know Weighs 1.1kg, comes with two-year guarantee if you buy from John Lewis
Salter the Chocolatier Electric Milk Frother and Hot Chocolate Maker
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Most recently tested November 2024
Max capacity 115ml for frothing, 240 ml for heating
Functions Cold, thick, and light froth settings
Need to know Weighs 0.78kg
How does a battery-powered milk frother compare?
If you don't want to pay out for one of the milk frothers above, you can get battery-powered whisks that claim to do a similar job and cost a lot less.
We tried out a handheld whisk from Ikea to see how it compared. And although we weren't blown away, for £1.50 it just about did the job.
It added about 50% volume to semi-skimmed milk and 90% to oat milk. This is on par with the lower-performing electric milk frothers we tested. Our Best Buy recommendations increased the milk volume by 100 to 150%.
We found the mouthfeel of the foam wasn't up to scratch, though. Our taste testers commented that it lacked creaminess and had poor foam structure.
Unlock your inner barista: see our coffee machine reviews
How we test milk frothers and hot chocolate makers
We buy the most popular milk frothers and hot chocolate makers and put each through these tests. We regularly revisit the milk frothers on sale to see if there are any more popular models that need testing, and when we find them we do.
Why you can trust us: at Which? we're free from manufacturer and retailer influence. Find out more about our impartiality and how your support helps us to stay editorially independent
Taste
- After frothing, testers complete a taste test of semi-skimmed milk and score it on appearance, taste, foam formation and creaminess.
- They also each blind-taste a hot chocolate from those milk frothers that claim to make them.
Most milk frothers make reasonable tasting milk, but the best feel creamy and the worst are quite weak and watery.
Frothing
- We froth semi-skimmed milk scoring on how long it takes and measuring the volume increase.
- We also measure how long each milk frother takes to heat up, and if it heated to an appropriate temperature for drinking coffee and hot chocolate.
The best milk frothers should froth different types of milk equally well.
Ease of use and cleaning
- We test each milk frother on how easy it is to operate, pour from, clean and how much noise it makes while working.
- Milk frothers are easier to clean if they have a detachable jug. If not, you need to be careful when cleaning them as water can get directly into the circuitry from the base. We've spotted many online reviews that claim frothers break quickly and this could be a key reason why.
Most milk frothers are easy to operate, but the best milk frothers are easy to pour from and clean as well.
Get excellent coffee to go with your frothed milk with the best pod coffee machines
Milk frothers: key questions answered
Can you froth cold milk?
Many milk frothers have a cold froth setting, but check before purchase if you need this function.
Can you froth milk without a frother?
If you're undecided about purchasing a milk frother, there is another way to achieve frothy cappuccino milk using a cafetiere. We tested it out.
To do this you have to:
- Heat the milk beforehand,
- Then plunge the filter up and down until the milk looks as though it's grown significantly in volume.
The result? Voluminous, frothy milk that scored slightly higher than our electric whisk for foam formation and taste. Don't expect perfectly dense foam, but if you want a quick and easy alternative in the kitchen, then we'd pick a cafetiere over a handheld whisk.
Which milk is best for milk frothers?
The key to perfectly frothed milk is fat. That's why cafés and coffee shops use whole milk to make coffees as standard.
To replicate that same froth for oat milk, and all other plant-based milks, you have to buy the 'barista' version which has added stabilisers to mimic the fats found in cow's milk.
So, if you're after tight microfoam and decent creaminess, then cow's milk is the way to go. However, if you like the sweetness that comes with oat milk and plentiful froth, then oat is a good alternative.
Is the Velvetiser the same as a milk frother?
The Velvetiser is a milk frother but it has been designed for making hot chocolate with Hotel Chocolat's drinking chocolate. There are a variety of flavours to choose from.
You can also simply froth milk in the Velvetiser should you wish to. Some milk frothers also have settings to make hot chocolate.