Dry Ice: Where to Buy It, How Much to Get, and How to Handle It Safely
Dry ice is solid carbon dioxide, and it sits at roughly 109 degrees below zero Fahrenheit. That one fact drives where to buy it, how much to get, and how you carry it home. It burns skin on contact. Sealed in a container or a closed car, it turns dangerous in another way entirely. Handled with gloves and ventilation, it is also the cleanest coolant you can buy, because it goes straight to gas and leaves no puddle. Here is where to find it, what it costs, and the safety rules that are not optional.
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Who Actually Needs Dry Ice
Dry ice is the solid form of carbon dioxide gas, used as a coolant wherever something must 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 when the block is gone. Sublimation is why people pick it over water ice: no meltwater, no soggy packaging, and a 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.
- Anyone staging a Halloween party or haunted house, using a bucket of 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 pellets at a surface and leave no grit.
Handling Dry Ice 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 OSHA and the CDC treat elevated carbon dioxide as a workplace hazard.
- Wear insulated gloves and use tongs. Contact with unprotected skin causes a cold burn that behaves like frostbite. Thin kitchen or latex gloves are not protection.
- Never use a sealed or airtight container. As the solid turns to gas it expands enormously, and a closed 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 in a confined space, so a basement, walk-in cooler, closet, or home freezer is the wrong place to put it.
- Ventilate the vehicle. Use the trunk, not a sealed passenger cabin, crack the windows, and unload on arrival. Headache, dizziness, or shortness of breath means get to fresh air immediately.
- Keep it away from mouths and children. Never put a piece in a drink someone could swallow, never chew or hold it in the mouth, and never let kids handle it unsupervised.
- Let leftovers sublimate. Set the remainder in a well-ventilated room or outdoors, away from pets and people. Never put it down a sink, a toilet, or a closed bin.
Buying Criteria: What Separates a Good Dry Ice Purchase From a Bad One
Form, quantity, and timing are the 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. Pellets pack around irregular items and produce fog faster, at the cost of a shorter working life. Surface area drives the loss rate.
Quantity by job. A day-trip cooler, a shipped package of frozen food, and a stage fog effect are three different orders of magnitude. Describe the job at the counter, let the supplier size it, and add a margin, since some is gone before you get home.
Timing beats everything. You cannot stockpile this product. It sublimates continuously from the moment it is made, in any container, at any storage temperature you have. Buy it the day you need it. That is the most common first-timer mistake.
Food grade versus technical grade. If it will touch food, ask for food grade. Welding and industrial suppliers stock technical grade meant for cleaning and blasting, which is not what you want in a cooler with groceries. Carry it home in a thick-walled foam cooler, lid unsealed, and bring ID, because some retailers set a minimum purchase age.
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, historically in the $1 to $3 per pound range at supermarket and warehouse freezer chests. You are paying for the fact that it is five minutes away.
Welding and industrial gas suppliers. The value tier. A supplier that makes or distributes it in volume usually beats supermarket pricing per pound, particularly above about 20 pounds. Call for a quote, since these outlets 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.
When is paying more not worth it? Overnight delivery, if a store 20 minutes away stocks it: you pay the premium and still get less than the listed weight. Confirm pricing when you call.
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
Dry Ice Delivered ships to residential addresses across the United States and lets you choose a delivery date, which is the main reason to use a shipper at all. Check their cutoff times and how they handle transit loss before ordering.
Penguin Brand
Penguin Brand is the label on many freezer chests parked near supermarket entrances. Their store locator tool beats calling six stores in a row.
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 that goes with it: 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 pellets by the pound | 20 pounds and up, 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 chain a few miles apart can differ, so call before you drive.
Walmart
Walmart supercenters are the most common consumer source, usually through a standalone freezer chest near the checkout lanes rather than the frozen aisle. Check their site, then phone to confirm, because listings and shelf reality drift apart on a product nobody can stockpile.
Kroger, Safeway, Costco, and Other Chains
Kroger, Safeway, Meijer, H-E-B, and Publix locations carry it in some markets and not others, usually in the same chest freezer near the front. The service desk will know. 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. Independents such as CeeKay Supply in St. Louis serve their own metros. Search “welding supply” near you and ask about block sizes and minimums. These counters also 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. Purchased two days out, a meaningful share 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 ajar.
Assuming your chain stocks it. No national grocery chain guarantees it at every location, and a closed passenger cabin is the wrong way to bring it home anyway. One phone call saves the trip.
Ignoring transport rules. This is a regulated hazardous material for air travel and for shipping. Airlines and the FAA cap how much a passenger may carry and require vented, marked packaging, and carriers require a declaration and specific labeling. Check with your airline or carrier before you buy.
Best Places to Buy Dry Ice Right Now
Ranked the way people shop: nearest first, cheapest second, delivered last.
Best for convenience: Walmart or your local supermarket. One stop, small quantities, historically $1 to $3 per pound. Confirm by phone first.
Best price per pound: a welding or industrial gas supplier. Airgas branches and regional suppliers beat retail on volume and cut blocks to size. Weekday hours are the tradeoff.
Best for a guaranteed date: Dry Ice Delivered. Worth the premium only when nothing local stocks it, or when the event date cannot slip.
Best safety buy: a pair of cryogenic gloves. Cheaper than an emergency room visit. See the options on Amazon.
Best for Canadian buyers: The Iceman. A Greater Toronto Area supplier; contact them for quantities and delivery areas.
Phone the two closest stocking locations to confirm stock, form, and price per pound, then book pickup for the day you need it. Above about 20 pounds, 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 should I buy 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 container, outside temperature, and block versus pellet, so no universal number fits. Layer it on top of what you are chilling, since cold falls.
Can you put dry ice in a drink?
No. Never put a piece in 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. Limits differ, so confirm the rules with your airline or carrier before buying.
Does Walmart sell dry ice?
Many supercenters do, from a branded freezer chest near the registers rather than the frozen food aisle. It is not company-wide, and stock thins around Halloween. Call your store, since a neighboring one may have it when yours does not.
What if you touch dry ice?
Brief accidental contact causes stinging and redness. Longer contact produces a cold burn that looks and heals like frostbite, and it happens faster through thin gloves than people expect. Warm the area with room-temperature water, do not rub, and get medical care for blistering.
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 carbon dioxide is warmer, cheaper, and needs no specialist equipment.
In July 2026, our editorial team reviewed the retailer channels and safety guidance in this guide, written with reference to published materials from the New York State Department of Health and Cornell environmental health and safety.