Dry ice is solid carbon dioxide, and it sits at roughly 109 degrees below zero Fahrenheit. That single fact drives where to buy it, how much to get, and how you carry it home. Touch it bare-handed and it burns. Seal it inside a closed jar or a closed car and it turns dangerous a second way entirely. Handled with gloves and airflow, it is the cleanest coolant sold at retail, because it turns to gas and leaves no puddle. Before you buy, phone a stocking location and plan the drive home. Here is where to find it, what it costs, and the rules that are not optional.
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Who Actually Needs Dry Ice
It is the solid form of carbon dioxide gas, used as a coolant wherever something has to stay far below the freezing point of water. It does not melt. It sublimates, passing straight from a solid to a gas, so nothing is left behind once the block is gone. Sublimation is why buyers pick it over water ice: no meltwater, no soggy packaging, and a low temperature no home freezer reaches.
Five groups buy it regularly:
- Households riding out a power outage with a freezer full of frozen food.
- Anyone shipping perishables, from a hunter mailing game meat to a lab moving biological samples.
- Hosts staging a Halloween party or haunted house, dropping pellets into warm water or a fog machine for low-lying fog.
- Campers, caterers, and tailgaters working out of a cooler instead of refrigeration.
- Contractors running dry ice blasting rigs, which fire frozen nuggets at a surface and leave no grit.
Handling It Safely: Gloves, Ventilation, and Disposal
Never touch it with bare skin, and never seal it inside an airtight container. Those two rules prevent nearly every injury tied to this product. The New York State Department of Health safety sheet and the Cornell environmental health and safety tip sheet cover the same short list, and both OSHA and the CDC treat elevated carbon dioxide as a workplace hazard.
- Wear insulated gloves and use tongs. Direct contact with bare skin causes a cold burn that behaves like frostbite. Thin kitchen or latex gloves are not protective gear.
- Never use a sealed container. As the solid turns to gas it expands enormously, and a latched cooler, jar, or bottle can rupture violently. Vent it, or leave the lid loose.
- Keep the air moving. Carbon dioxide is heavier than air and will displace oxygen, so a basement, walk-in cooler, closet, or home freezer is the wrong place to put it.
- Ventilate the vehicle. Use the trunk, crack the windows, and unload on arrival. Headache, dizziness, or shortness of breath means fresh air immediately.
- Keep it away from mouths and children. Never drop a piece into anything someone could swallow, and never let kids handle it unsupervised.
- Let leftovers sublimate. Set the remainder in a well-ventilated room or outdoors, away from pets. Never dispose of dry ice down a sink, a toilet, or a closed bin.
Buying Criteria: What Separates a Good Dry Ice Order From a Bad One
Form, quantity, and timing are the three decisions that matter. Get those right and the rest is logistics.
Blocks versus pellets. Blocks are dense slabs with less exposed surface area, so they last longer and suit a cooler you need cold overnight. Nuggets pack around irregular items and produce fog faster, at the cost of a shorter working life. Surface area drives the loss rate.
Quantity, matched to hours. A day-trip cooler, a shipped carton of frozen food, and a stage effect are three different orders of magnitude. Suppliers publish their own loss rates, commonly several pounds a day from a standard chest, so ask yours for a figure, describe the job at the counter, and add a margin.
Timing beats everything. You cannot stockpile this product. It sublimates continuously from the moment it is made, in any container, at any temperature you have at home. Buy it the day you need it. That is the mistake first-timers make most often.
Food grade versus technical grade. If it will sit next to food, ask for food grade. Welding and industrial suppliers stock technical grade meant for cleaning and blasting, which is not what belongs in a cooler with groceries.
Age rules and the ride home. Some retailers set a minimum purchase age and will ask for ID, so send an adult. Bring thick-walled foam to insulate it, lid unsealed, and make the store your last stop.
How Much Should You Pay for Dry Ice
It sells by the pound, and the price per pound drops sharply as quantity rises. Three tiers cover almost every buyer.
Grocery and big-box retail. The convenience tier. As of September 2026, supermarket and warehouse freezer chests have sat broadly in the $1 to $3 per pound range. You are paying for the fact that it is five minutes away.
Welding and industrial gas suppliers. The value tier. An outlet that makes or distributes it in volume usually beats supermarket pricing per pound on larger orders. Call for a quote, since these branches rarely post prices.
Shipped to your door. The premium tier, because the carrier charges for hazardous materials handling and you pay for product that disappears in transit.
Paying more is not worth it for overnight delivery when a store 20 minutes away stocks it. Confirm pricing when you call; these ranges are a starting point, not a quote.
Buying Dry Ice Online: Retailer Comparison
Ordering online makes sense in two cases: nothing local stocks it, or you need a guaranteed amount on a fixed date. Otherwise local pickup wins on price and yield.
Dry Ice Delivered
This shipper serves residential addresses across the United States and lets you pick a delivery date, which is the main reason to use a courier at all. Check their coverage and cutoff times, and ask how they account for transit loss.
Penguin Brand
Penguin Brand is the label on many of the freezer bins parked near supermarket entrances. Their store locator tool saves you from phoning six stores in a row, though the result still needs a confirming call.
Amazon
Amazon, the largest online retailer in the United States, does not ship the product itself, but it is the easiest place to buy the gear: gloves, tongs, foam shippers, coolers. Browse the related listings before pickup day.
| Channel | Form | Best for | Watch out for |
|---|---|---|---|
| Grocery and big-box | Small blocks, chest freezer | One cooler or party | Varies by store, thin near Halloween |
| Welding and gas suppliers | Blocks or nuggets by the pound | Bulk orders, best price | Weekday hours, often technical grade |
| Shipped to your door | Pellets in an insulated carton | No local source, fixed date | Highest cost, transit loss |
Buying Dry Ice Locally: Store by Store
Availability is decided store by store, not chain by chain. Two locations of the same grocery banner a few miles apart can differ, so call before you drive.
Walmart
Walmart, the largest brick-and-mortar retailer in the United States, is the most common consumer source at select stores, usually through a standalone freezer bin near the checkout lanes, not the frozen aisle. Check their site, then phone to confirm, because listings and shelf reality drift apart.
Grocery Chains: Kroger, Safeway, Publix, and More
Select Kroger, Safeway, Albertsons, Meijer, H-E-B, Publix, and Smart & Final locations carry it in some markets and not others, usually in the same chest freezer near the front doors. Ask at the service desk, and use each chain’s own locator where one exists. Some Costco warehouses stock it too, worth a call for larger quantities.
Welding and Industrial Gas Suppliers
This is the channel most guides skip, and it is usually the better buy. Airgas sells it through its branch network, Linde (formerly Praxair) supplies carbon dioxide commercially, and Continental Carbonic distributes regionally. Search “welding supply” near you and ask about block sizes and minimum orders. These are the same counters that fill helium tanks for balloons and sell butane and other pressurized fuels.
Red Flags When Shopping for Dry Ice
Buying it early. The most expensive mistake is treating it like a pantry item. Two days out, much of what you paid for is gone before you use it.
Using a gasket-sealed cooler. Premium coolers with rubber gaskets and latches are the wrong container. Pressure has to escape, so leave the lid unlatched and slightly ajar.
Assuming your chain stocks it. No national grocery chain guarantees it at every location, and stock thins out in the run-up to Halloween. One phone call saves the trip.
Best Places to Buy Dry Ice Right Now
Ranked the way people actually shop: nearest first, cheapest second, delivered last.
Best for convenience: Walmart or your local supermarket. One stop, small quantities, and pricing that has held in the $1 to $3 per pound range as of September 2026. Confirm by phone first.
Best price per pound: a welding or industrial gas supplier. Airgas branches and regional carbonic suppliers beat retail on volume and will cut blocks to size. Weekday-only hours are the tradeoff.
Best safety buy: a pair of cryogenic gloves. Cheaper than an emergency room visit, and worth buying before the product itself. See the options on Amazon.
Phone the two closest stocking locations to confirm stock, form, and price per pound, then book pickup for the day of your event. On a bulk order, call a gas supplier instead of the supermarket. Buy gloves and a vented cooler first, and the rest of buying dry ice is showing up on time.
Dry Ice Questions, Answered
How much do I need for a cooler?
Give the supplier your cooler size, the contents, and the hours you need it cold, and let them size the order. Loss depends on the container, the outside temperature, and block versus loose form, so no universal number fits. Layer it on top of what you are chilling, because cold falls.
Can I store it in a home freezer?
No. A home freezer runs near 0 degrees Fahrenheit, which is more than 100 degrees warmer, so the block keeps sublimating and the cold gas can trip the thermostat and shut the unit off. A chest freezer is also a confined space. Never store dry ice anywhere sealed.
Is there an age limit for buying it?
Buying it is legal for consumers in the United States, but some retailers apply their own minimum purchase age at the register and will ask for ID. The rule is set by the store, not by federal law, so it varies between two banners in the same town.
Can you put it in a drink?
No. Never drop a piece into any drink a person might swallow. In the mouth or swallowed it causes severe internal cold burns, and a capped bottle can rupture. For a fog effect, keep the solid in a separate vessel of warm water and let only the vapor drift.
Can I fly with it or ship it?
Both are regulated. Airlines and the FAA limit passenger quantities and require vented, marked packaging, and carriers require a hazardous materials declaration and specific labeling for shipping frozen food. Limits differ by airline and by carrier, so confirm before buying.
Is it the same as liquid nitrogen?
No. Liquid nitrogen is a cryogenic liquid, far colder, and it needs a dewar rather than a cooler. It is what flash-freezes products like Dippin’ Dots. Solid CO2 is cheaper and needs no specialist gear, which is why most people who use dry ice never handle nitrogen.
In September 2026, our editorial team re-verified retailer channels, price ranges, and safety guidance for this guide, written with reference to published materials from the New York State Department of Health and Cornell environmental health and safety.