Trying to find the perfect gumball machine for your home, commercial business, or even the next best gift? As a leading manufacture of all things gumballs, we're here to help you navigate and understand the key differences between the 100's of gumball machines we offer. Sort by type, price, or even top rated by our customer and understand true feedback. When looking for a gumball machine, whether it's for a commercial location or even for your home, you'll find many options and you may find it difficult to decide when they look so similar with just a picture. Knowing the difference between a commercial gumball machine, gumball bank, and a gumball dispenser is key to selecting the right machine for your location. We've put together a quick and easy guide to help you understand the differences.

What is a commercial gumball machine?

Commercial gumball machines are typically made to dispense 1-inch gumballs and they require a quarter. If a nickel, penny, or dime are inserted into a commercial machine it will simply drop through the mechanism and the person inserting the coin will lose that coin. This is known as a "drop thru" coin mechanism and it's designed to prevent the mechanisms from jamming or being blocked by an incorrect coin. Over the years, we've found that people have requested to have a commercial gumball machine in their home as a reward system, a timeless decoration, or even just as a dispenser in their home theater rooms. To accommodate our home use customers, we've adapted some of our mechanism to accept tokens or even a free spin.

Commercial grade machines, like Rhino Vending, are made with industrial strength metals and materials that allow them to be in high traffic location with heavy use. The high quality of these machines is what has attracted so many home users over the years. Commercial machines start at $54 without a stand and can go up to $995 with as many as 10 on one rack. The three biggest differences between a gumball bank and commercial gumball machine are the following: size of gumballs they vend, requires a quarter, and quality

What is a gumball bank?

A Gumball Bank, as the name implies, is an interactive piggybank that allows you to insert any coin and the machine will dispense a small gumball. These machines typically dispense a small gumball that is either .5 inches or .62 inches in diameter. The quality of these machines varies greatly form the cheap plastic machines all the way up to a cast metal machine with a real glass globe with a classy candy red finish. We offer many difference choices when it comes to gumball banks, but our favorites would be the Carousel Gumball Machine and the American Gumball Company Gumball Machine. Both these options give you the simplify of a gumball bank but the full metal construction and quality that would be closer to a commercial machine. The price range for these is about $19.95 and goes up to about $64.95. The biggest differences would be the flowing: typically dispense small gumballs, take any coin, price is much lower.

What is gumball dispensers?

Like gumball banks, gumball dispensers were made primarily for home use and gifts for kids and these are generally made of plastic.These are not made to last and tend to be more of a novelty item. A dispenser is simply made to dispense gumballs by pressing a lever or turning a knob without the need to insert a coin. These can be great for adults as well to keep on their office desk and a quick and easy way to dispense a small gumball or their favorite candy.