The Best Cold Brew Coffee Makers of 2026

The Toddy Home Cold Brew System is the pick that comes out on top in our weighted scoring below. It claims the largest capacity in this group at 56 oz, according to Consumer Reports’ own spec listing for the model, and its felt-and-paper filtration is the method coffee shops have leaned on since Toddy’s founding in 1964, per the brand’s product page. If a $49 brewer that asks you to rinse and freeze a felt filter between batches sounds like too much upkeep, the OXO Brew Cold Brew Coffee Maker is the simpler one-switch alternative, and it is the most-reviewed maker here, averaging 4.5 out of 5 stars across 3,435 ratings on Amazon. Want a built-in tap you can use straight from the fridge door? The KitchenAid KCM4212SX adds one, for a price. Just want the cheapest way into cold brew? The Takeya Patented Deluxe pitcher and the Hario Mizudashi glass pot both sell for well under $25.

Every pick below comes from published spec sheets on each brand’s own site, the Consumer Product Safety Commission’s recall database, Consumer Reports’ lab-tested Overall Score where it exists, and dated owner reviews on retailer listings, not from a brewing session in a test kitchen we run ourselves. The full method is at /how-we-score/.

How we picked

Five criteria decide the ranking below, and brew quality carries the most weight because a cold brew maker that cannot extract a clean, consistent concentrate is not worth the counter space, no matter how cheap the filters are.

• Brew quality and temperature, 35%. Since none of these five makers plug in or heat water, this criterion tracks extraction design (a rainmaker top that spreads water evenly, a felt-plus-paper double filter, a one-piece mesh basket) and any independent lab score we could find, mainly Consumer Reports’ Overall Score for the three models it has tested here.
• Capacity and carafe, 15%. Claimed brewed volume, straight from each brand’s spec sheet or Consumer Reports’ listing.
• Ease of use and cleaning, 15%. Number of parts to wash, whether the filter is dishwasher safe, and what actual owners say about leaks or clogs in dated reviews.
• Build and warranty, 15%. Materials (glass, BPA-free Tritan, stainless steel) and any written warranty term we could confirm.
• 3-year cost of ownership, 20%. Unit price plus any documented filter or replacement-part cost. None of these five brewers use electricity or need descaling, since there is no heating element or mineral buildup to worry about, so that part of our usual cost math does not apply to this category.

We read the brand pages and spec sheets for OXO, Takeya USA, Toddy, KitchenAid, and Hario USA; pulled Consumer Reports’ Overall Score for the Toddy, KitchenAid, and OXO models it has lab-tested; read the AI-summarized review themes and several dated, verified reviews on OXO’s 3,435-rating Amazon listing; and queried the Consumer Product Safety Commission’s SaferProducts.gov recall database for "coffee makers" on September 16, 2026. None of the five picks in this guide turned up in that recall search.

What to look for

Four specs matter more than marketing copy when you are comparing cold brew makers on a shelf or a product page.

• Capacity of 32 oz or more if you drink cold brew daily and do not want to start a new batch every other day. Toddy’s 56 oz and OXO’s 32 oz cover that; Takeya’s 1 qt and Hario’s 1000 mL are sized more for one or two people.
• A steep time of 12 to 24 hours. That is the range every maker in this guide calls for, straight from each brand’s own instructions; a full-immersion cold brew claiming to finish in a few hours is cutting the extraction short.
• A reusable stainless steel or nylon mesh filter if you do not want a recurring paper filter bill. OXO, Takeya, KitchenAid, and Hario all use a reusable filter with no consumable to rebuy. Toddy is the exception: its felt filter is rated for up to 10 uses and Toddy’s own instructions say to discard it every 3 months, at $4.50 for a 2-pack on toddycafe.com.
• A BPA-free material disclosure printed on the product page, whether the vessel is glass (OXO, Toddy, KitchenAid, Hario) or Tritan plastic (Takeya).
• A written warranty of at least 1 year. Toddy states a 1-year warranty on its own FAQ page; confirm the same in writing before you buy a brand that does not spell it out.
• No match in the CPSC recall database before you buy secondhand or from an off-brand seller. We checked saferproducts.gov for "coffee makers" and found no listing for any of the five picks here.

FAQ

Is cold brew coffee actually less acidic than hot-brewed coffee?

Cold water extracts fewer of the acidic compounds that hot water pulls out quickly, which is the reasoning OXO gives on its own product page for marketing its cold brew concentrate as low-acid. We did not find an independent lab measurement of pH or acidity for any of the five makers in this guide, so treat that as the brand’s own explanation rather than a tested number.

How long should I steep cold brew coffee grounds?

Every maker in this guide, OXO, Takeya, Toddy, KitchenAid, and Hario, calls for a 12 to 24 hour steep in the refrigerator or at room temperature, based on each brand’s own instructions. Hario specifically recommends 18 hours refrigerated for its 1000 mL pot with an 80 gram coffee dose, per the recipe posted by retailer Prima Coffee.

Do I need paper filters for a cold brew maker?

Not for OXO, Takeya, KitchenAid, or Hario. All four use a reusable stainless steel or nylon mesh filter with nothing disposable to rebuy. Toddy is the one maker here built around a felt filter, and Toddy also sells paper filter bags as a second layer of filtration on top of the felt, per its own parts catalog.

Has any cold brew coffee maker in this guide been recalled?

No. We queried the Consumer Product Safety Commission’s SaferProducts.gov database for "coffee makers" on September 16, 2026 and the two results that came back, a single-serve hot coffee maker and a 12-cup digital drip machine, were unrelated products from other brands. None of the five cold brew makers in this guide appeared.

Which cold brew maker costs the least to own over 3 years?

The Hario Mizudashi, which we found on sale for $11.75 (MSRP $19.50) at specialty retailer Prima Coffee with no recurring filter cost we could verify. Takeya’s $24.99 pitcher is a close second. Toddy’s $49 unit price is higher before you add roughly $9 a year in felt filters, per Toddy’s own care instructions. If you also want a hot drip machine for the rest of the week, see our best drip coffee makers guide.