7 Best Kitchen Compost Grinders of 2024, Tested and Reviewed

1. Smart Kitchen Waste Composter, Food Cycler with 18L Capacity

To be clear, this is an unbranded kitchen compost grinder, and it comes with the risk you would expect for that. On test, it does what it promises, and creates a huge 18L of compost in around four hours (five with cooling).

Because of its size, it is awkward to fit in a kitchen, but thankfully it's outdoor safe, so can be set up outside, and makes an interesting and attractive alternative to a traditional compost bin. 

It also doesn’t have a caddy, so you will need to take waste to it after each kitchen prep session, And while I realise that’s mostly negative, I can’t help but love it. 

It’s a truly magnificent thing, that does something wonderful, on a scale that no other brand is doing. So I’m willing to overlook its bulkiness, and its lack of branding, and just trust that it works, because it does.

2. Breville FoodCycler

Breville are probably the only household name in this list because they’ve been making reliable kitchen appliances for decades. Their version of the food cycler, as you might expect, does exactly what it says. 

It produces compost from nearly any food waste imaginable in as little as two hours. Even with the cooling time added on, that’s compost, ready to use, in no time from nothing more than rubbish!

The caddy is great too and can be stored on the counter for easy filling, and the unit itself can hide away in a cupboard to save counter space. With simple controls and no complicated user settings, it's straightforward to use, and probably still the best on the market.

3. Lomi Smart Waste Kitchen Composter

If you’re after a kitchen composter with good capacity, and effective results, the Lomi composter is one to consider. It works slower than most but is more energy efficient as a result. 

The compost it produces is finer, and more evenly prepared too, so provided you’re happy to wait (and it does take longer than most at about 18 hours) you’ll be rewarded with exceptional compost.

The 3L capacity is enough for a small household to run just one cycle a week from veg peel, or a few cycles if you’re compositing everything, and it comes with 45 cycles worth of replacement filters too!

4. Sage FoodCycler Compost Grinder

Sage’s FoodCycler and Breville’s FoodCycler are identical kits. When it comes to separating the two, it’s really down to customer service and price. The day we published this review, Sage’s food cyclers were full price, while Breville’s was on offer. 

Last week, they were the other way around. What stays the same though, is that Sage’s Foodcyclers comes with a two-year warranty – twice the length of Breville, so twice the protection.

5. Full Circle Odour Free Countertop Compost Collector

This stylish countertop composter looks at home in any kitchen. It has a good 57 litre capacity, which is quite big for a countertop composter, making it suitable for families.

It’s durably built with quality components made of steel and recycled plastic, and the star of the show is its high-performance charcoal filter that keeps your space odour-free and prevents flies and pests.

It also has a great feature where there’s a wire frame that holds your composting bag in place, keeping your composter clean and reducing spills.

6. OXO Good Grips Easy Clean Kitchen Compost Bin

This is another good countertop compost bin suitable for kitchen use. With a 6.5 litre capacity, it’s compact and suited to individuals and small families. It has smooth walls and a contoured bottom with a removable lid to make cleaning easy.

The rotating handle and container is easy to transport to your outdoor compost bin, and it’s designed to look attractive on your countertop too.

It’s durably made from a high-quality plastic, and designed with bag management holes to stop the compost bags slipping down the interior, and the lid is designed for quick, easy one hand operation.

7. Full Circle Scrap Happy Scrap Collector and Freezer Kitchen Compost Bin

This freezer-safe 2.2 litre home composter is perfect for collecting everyday kitchen scraps. The wire rim is attached to the drawers to collect food waste without messing, and the flexible silicon design flips inside out for easy emptying.

Cleaning it is easy too, as it’s fully dishwasher safe. The idea behind this composter is that you put it in your freezer until it’s filled with scraps, then you add that to your composter outside, so there’s no odour and your counter space is freed up.

You can attach it to your countertop while you cook so you can push scraps into the bin, then put it back in the freezer.

The most expensive, and most extensive kitchen compost grinder on review here is the Smart Kitchen Waste Composter. With a whopping 18 litre capacity, it’s the biggest compost grinder on the market, and it's effective at what it does. 

If you’re trying to completely cut out food waste at home, this is the unit for you.

The original, one of the best, and one of the cheapest, is Breville’s 2 litre FoodCycler. It’s smaller than most, but it works faster, and produces some of the best compost in just two hours.

While its grinding abilities might leave a little to be desired, the quality of compost you get can’t be argued with. It’s a near-instant nutrient-rich source of fibre and food for all of your plants, and it cuts out any of the stuff that attracts fruit flies to your home too.

What is a compost grinder?

Compost grinders started out as simple kitchen units that used heat and grinding blades to quickly process most food waste into usable compost, usually in about eight hours. In less than a year, these clever products have reduced their time down to about 4 hours, and are sold in a range of sizes.

Essentially, uncooked food goes in, and compost comes out. As soon as it’s cool enough to handle you can use it as a mulch to feed houseplants, or even sow directly into.

On average, compost grinders are about the size of a breadbin or microwave, so are quite a big kitchen appliance, but are well worth the space, and give much more back than they take.

How do compost grinders work?

Compost grinders work through heat and controlled humidity during an accelerated drying and decomposition cycle. After the drying process, which is sped up with artificial heat (replicating the heat of bacteria in natural compost), food is ground down to small particles, where its own humidity helps to process it into an early-stage compost – equivalent to about six months in a manually churned compost bin outside.

Worth noting too, is that these compost grinders do not produce a fine loam. They produce quite a chunky compost, but one that is ready to use all the same. If you compost it further, it’s fine to use in any scenario, but it's best as a fertiliser or mulch when it comes fresh from the compost grinder.

What to Look for When Buying a Compost Grinder

Kitchen compost bins and compost grinders are quite simple kitchen appliances, so as long as they’ve been produced well and make good compost, that’s about all there is to it.

For now, it’s all about working out how much you’re willing to spend, against the amount of food waste you want to process.

Brand

Compost grinders are still a relatively new invention, so there’s not a lot of competition out there, and a few of the bigger brands use near-identical units. 

The only real indicator of quality is a mix of brand recognition and their product, as there are enough previous users to have reported back on their long-term durability. However, in our experience, both the Vitamix, Sage, and Breville compost grinders have produced glorious compost at least twice a week for over a year now. 

Some newer brands, including a larger unbranded compost grinder, and the IUHAND (a new brand dedicated to home appliances) make good compost but haven’t truly been around for long enough to test durability.

And there is always the worry with newer brands that you may not be able to get replacement filters or buckets if you need them.

Capacity

The two longest-standing compost grinder brands, Sage and Breville, have small 2-litre buckets but cost less to run, and make compost faster than most competitors, and for most homes, 2-litres of food waste is enough to use every few days. 

Large-capacity compost grinders and food recyclers, have capacities of 5 litres, and even 18 litres for much more expensive units. For large households, or anyone who really loves to cook (or, like us, has garden waste to churn up quickly too) that’s an incredible bonus, and worth the investment, but it also means dedicating more space to the food recycler.

How to Use a Compost Grinder

Regardless of the brand you choose, the way you use a kitchen compost bin is the same; fill up your bucket, add it to the chamber, make sure the blades are set up, and turn it on. 

Some have smart capabilities, and others can be set on timers, but the general method is the same.

What I think separates some brands from others though are the removable buckets. If you can keep your food waste in a bucket-style caddy in the kitchen, you can collect waste over the week, and run one cycle per week, rather than leaving old food in the chamber of the unit all week long.

What Food to Put in a Compost Grinder

While compost grinder are designed to handle any food, the same rules should apply to food recyclers as they do to normal compost:

• Fresh fruit and vegetables are good
• Cooked food is bad
• Dry, clean, egg shells and bones are good
• Fatty foods and oils are bad

However, due to their heat, grinding, and drying, you can compost nearly anything other than fat and oil in these machines. As long as it’s organic and uncooked, the compost grinder will turn it into usable compost.

Compost Grinders Safety Tips

Compost grinders are heated appliances and therefore pose a risk to your home. Use them only when you are at home. There are no reports of overheating units, for just as you wouldn’t leave your oven on, the same goes for these units.

They have blades inside, but they should disconnect and shut off automatically if the lid is opened, but use common sense and avoid opening the lid while the machine is in operation as the grinders are tough, and could potentially damage your hands or fingers.

Compost Grinder Frequently Asked Questions

What is the proper name for a compost grinder?

Compost grinders, kitchen grinders, or food recyclers are all general names given to what is best described as a compost machine. There is no standard name, but trademarked names include the Foodcycler.

What should I not put in my kitchen compost bin?

Things not to put in your kitchen compost bin include plastics and any non-organic waste, including treated timber, or chemical-treated organics. Bioplastics or compostable bags are also not good to use in compost grinders.

Are kitchen compost grinders worth it?

Kitchen compost grinders are absolutely worth every penny. Before these handy compost grinders came out, I was spending several hundred dollars a year on compost, and while I’ll admit that’s more than most, the savings are already clear from our basic unit.

How long does it take to make compost in a kitchen compost grinder?

Traditional compost is ready to use after two years, including a twice-yearly turn, though this can be dramatically shortened by using smaller piles, and turning once a day – making compost in as little as two weeks.

Kitchen compost grinders, in stark contrast, make usable compost in as little as two hours.

For bigger compost bins, check out our reviews of the best compost bins for 2024.