When they first came out, electric milk frothers used to cost a lot for what they do: heat milk and create delicious froth for your latte or cappuccino at home.
Luckily, milk frothers have become more affordable as options are now more available. For the price of $50 and less, you can now buy an electric milk frother to prepare your favorite coffee drinks at home.
Key Takeaways
- Best Overall Budget Milk Frother: Instant Milk Frother
- Cheapest Electric Milk Frother: Bodum Bistro Milk Frother
- Largest Capacity Milk Frother: Secura Milk Frother with 16 oz capacity.
To create this list for best budget electric milk frothers, I followed some criteria to make sure I am offering you the best bang for your buck:
- The frother is completely electric (powered by electricity, not battery operated)
- The frother can heat and froth milk.
- It can make different levels of milk froth.
- It can froth non-dairy milks
On the other hand, here’s what you are ‘settling’ for when buying a budget milk frother:
- The milk frother will have teflon coating.
- Not dishwasher safe
- No variable temperature settings to select from
A budget electric milk frother will give you all basic features that you need to prepare milk for your latte or cappuccino at home for a very reasonable price point. Please do not that price of under $50 is all correct as of time of writing.
Related Post: Best Milk Frother without nonstick coating
Best Budget Electric Milk Frothers
Instant Milk Frother 4-in-1 Hot and Cold Frother
Instant is a brand that has been always know for its pot. You know… Instant Pot. This milk frother comes from the same brand as they branch out to the world of coffee makers.
Instant Milk frother is a simple yet great milk frother, it does exactly what you need it to:
- Three type of milk froth styles
- Hot milk without froth
Inside the Instant Milk frother, you’ll find three lines:
- MAX for hot milk – which is the highest line
- MAX for Cappuccino/Latte – Which will be the lowest
- Max for Cold froth, which is slightly higher.
These lines help you fill the milk frother correctly for each type of milk froth you want to do without overfilling or overflowing when it milk froths and doubles in volume. So always stick to the guidelines.
Instant Frother uses a single whisk to create different froth styles, so you don’t have to switch up your whisks, only choose your froth style from the function menu.
Can You Use Instant Frother for Almond Milk or Oat Milk?
Yes, you can. But expect different froth results as froth always depends on the fat content of the milk used. This is way non-dairy milks always give out different results.
Bodum Bistro Electric Milk Frother
Bodum is well known brand in the world of coffee. While they are most known for their French press pots, Bodum also makes this excellent electric milk frother to accompany your coffee maker.
Bodum Milk Frother is a basic frother, great for anyone who simply wants a milk frother that can heat and froth milk. It has no special functions, no cold froth, only hot froth option. To make lighter froth or hot milk only, you’ll have to remove the coil from the whisk.
The lack of functions reflect on its most affordable price. It also has a decent 10 oz capacity for its price.
On the inside, Bodum Bistro milk frother has three lines:
- Minimum, which is the minimum amount of milk you can add to turn the frother on.
- Max level one (lower line) which is used to create higher level of foam.
- Max level two (higher line) which is used to make hot milk after removing the whisk.
Bodum Bistro milk frother has a stainless steel body with nonstick teflon coating on the inside.
Secura Milk frother is a highly rated frother that is available in two capacitys: 8 oz and 16 oz. Not a lot of brands offer their milk frothers in different capacities so that’s nice to see.
Secura Milk frother does hot froth and cold froth. You can also do two levels of froth, which you can control by either leaving the frothing whisk in or removing it.
For the body of the secura milk frother, you have two options: Stainless steel exterior or black plastic exterior. But for the interior, nonstick teflon is the only option.
SIMPLETASTE Electric Milk Frother
Simpletaste milk frother has a compact and attractive design. It has a cool-to-touch exterior so you can pick it up even when its heated the milk and is still hot.
This milk frother gives you a total of 4 options:
- Dense Foam
- Light Foam
- Hot Milk
- and Cold foam
Overall capacity of SimpleTaste Milk frother is 10 oz: 2 oz is the minimum, 4 oz is the max amount to fill (before frothing, it’s going to double after froth), and 10 oz is the max level for hot milk only.
Starument Electric Milk Frother
Starument Electric Milk Frother has a cool and interesting design that makes it stand out from the crowd. It’s also available in several colors: white, pink, green, blue or gray.
But let’s talk about what’s really important here, function.
Starument Milk Frother makes a total of 4 milk styles: thick froth, thin froth, hot milk and cold froth. The simple to use touch button and icons allows you to choose your setting easily.
What Is an Electric Milk Frother Used For?
A milk frother will heat and froth your choice of milk at a touch of a button.
Most people buy an electric milk frother to make their favorite coffee drinks at home. But that’s not the only use for it. You can create so many different recipes using frothy milk:
Matcha, Hot chocolate, Chai Latte… or use hot milk for any recipe/beverage you like!
An electric milk frother is a better alternative to handheld frothers or manual whisks, which require that you heat your milk first separately, then froth it yourself. Using an electric frother, it does everything for you with a push of a button.
Do Milk Frothers Work With Non-Dairy Milk?
Yes, all milk frothers are designed to work with non-dairy milk: almond milk, oat milk, coconut milk.. you name it.
The difference is: you’re going to get different froth results from each type of non-dairy milk.
You see, how froth milk gets relies on the fat content of the milk used. Most non-dairy milks are light in fat, which is why they don’t produce the thickest foam. So I highly advise that you use ‘Barista’ style non-dairy milks when using a frother, which is specially formulated to make frothy milk.
How To Clean an Electric Milk Frother
Cleaning and maintaining your electric milk frother is really easy. Since they have non-stick coating, any milk residue will slip right out when washing.
But, it’s really important to remember that you CAN’T submerge an electric milk frother in water, since the base of the jug has electric coils in it.
The jug of the milk frother is splash proof, but not water proof. So as long as the water does not touch the electric parts on the bottom, you’re good!
Simply fill the frother’s jug with water, rinse it and immediately dry it.
This type of electric milk frothers is not dishwasher safe, too.
