Soft Serve vs Gelato vs Frozen Yoghurt: Which Machine Do You Need?
They look similar in the cabinet but they're made on different equipment. Pick the right product first, then the right machine.
Soft serve, gelato or frozen yoghurt — what's the difference?
They look similar in the cabinet, but they're made on different equipment. Picking the right machine starts with picking the right product.
Soft serve
Made fresh to order in a soft serve machine (gravity or pump feed) from a liquid or powder mix. Smooth, aerated, served straight from the spout. Low labour, fast serves, high margin.
Frozen yoghurt
Good news: frozen yoghurt runs on the same soft serve machines. You just run a froyo mix instead of an ice-cream mix. If you want both, one machine can do the job — clean between mixes.
Gelato
Different process. Traditional gelato is made in a batch freezer, then stored and scooped from a display cabinet — denser, less air, served warmer. That's a different (and usually pricier) equipment path than soft serve.
Which should you choose?
- Fast, low-labour, high-margin, made-to-order → soft serve (and froyo on the same machine)
- Artisan, scoop-style, premium positioning → gelato batch freezer + display
Not sure which suits your menu? Talk to us — we sell and service both worlds.