Best Egg Incubators for Beginners
The right first incubator is a forced-air model with an automatic turner and a ~20–24 egg capacity — here's how to choose, and the types worth buying at each budget.
Beginner forced-air incubator
$60–110Best for: Your first hatch
A fan-circulated incubator with automatic temperature control, a digital display, and a built-in egg turner takes the fiddly parts out of a first hatch. Aim for a ~20–24 egg capacity and a clear dome so you can watch hatch day without opening the lid.
Compare prices →Budget still-air incubator
$40–70Best for: Testing the water cheaply
The cheapest way in. No fan, so run it 1–2°F warmer measured at the top of the eggs, and expect wider temperature swings and a bit more hands-on management. Fine for a small first batch if you watch it closely.
Compare prices →Cabinet incubator
$250–600Best for: Regular or large hatches
Holds 40+ eggs with rock-steady temperature and humidity. Overkill for a one-off, but the right call once you hatch several times a year — the stability lifts hatch rates and the capacity pays for itself.
Compare prices →"Compare prices" links are affiliate links — if you buy through them we may earn a small commission, at no extra cost to you. They never change what we recommend.
How to choose an incubator
Incubators do one job — hold eggs at a steady temperature and humidity while turning them — and the price difference between models is almost entirely about how reliably they do it without your attention. Four things actually matter.
Forced-air beats still-air for beginners. A fan keeps the temperature even throughout the chamber, so a stray reading doesn't mean cooked or chilled eggs on the far side. Still-air incubators are cheaper but stratify heat, so they demand a warmer setpoint and closer watching.
An automatic turner earns its keep. Eggs must be turned at least three times a day until lockdown, and the most common reason a home hatch fails is simply missing turns. A turner removes that failure mode entirely — switch it off at lockdown and you're done.
Size it to your flock, not your ambition. A 20–24 egg model suits almost every backyard keeper. Use the incubation calculator to plan your hatch dates, and remember that hatch rates run 50–75%, so set more eggs than the number of chicks you want.
Trust a second gauge, not the built-in one. Budget incubators' onboard humidity and temperature readouts are often 5–10 points off. A cheap standalone thermometer/hygrometer sitting at egg level is the single best accessory you can add.
Incubator vs. a broody hen
A broody hen is free, needs no electricity, and raises the chicks herself — when it works, it's the easiest hatch there is. The catch is control: you can't schedule broodiness, a hen may quit halfway, and breeds bred for laying rarely go broody at all. An incubator hatches on your calendar, any time of year, in any quantity. Many keepers do both — a Silkie or Cochin for the occasional natural hatch, an incubator when they want chicks on demand.
Common questions
- What is the cheapest way to start incubating eggs?
- A budget still-air incubator runs $40–70 and will hatch a small batch if you watch it closely. The trade-off is wider temperature swings and more hands-on management than a forced-air model. If you plan to hatch more than once, the extra $20–40 for a forced-air incubator with a fan and automatic turner is money well spent.
- How many eggs should my first incubator hold?
- For a backyard flock, a 20–24 egg capacity is the sweet spot: enough that a normal hatch rate still gives you a useful number of chicks, small enough to manage and afford. Remember you rarely get 100% — plan for roughly 50–75% of set eggs to hatch, so set more than the number of chicks you want.
- Do I need an automatic egg turner?
- Not strictly — eggs can be hand-turned at least three times a day until lockdown — but an automatic turner removes the single most common cause of failed hatches: forgetting or being unable to turn on schedule. For most keepers it is the most worthwhile feature to pay for.
- Still-air or forced-air incubator?
- Forced-air models have a fan that keeps temperature even throughout, so they are more forgiving and hatch more consistently — run them at 99.5°F. Still-air models have no fan, so heat layers; run them warmer (about 101–102°F measured at the top of the eggs) and expect more variation. Beginners do better with forced-air.