Online slots are the most popular online casino game nowadays. These games draw inspiration from classic slot machines at Las Vegas casinos, but they are made differently online. More bonus games, better odds, crisp graphics, and huge variety.
Finding a top-notch online slot machine across all main areas – gameplay, RTP, payouts, odds, sound effects, theme, etc. – is near impossible. Some slot machines are the best in terms of odds, but others offer a distinctive experience because they combine mini-games with progressive jackpots and free spins.
In this guide, we will try to do the impossible. Provide you with excellent slot machine names based on all critical factors. Our experts have tried out thousands of games to come up with the following names of slot machines!
What Are The Best Slot Machines to Play Online?
The word best is personal in most cases. My top-rated online slot might be unappealing to you. However, there are some objective areas where you can focus when searching for an excellent slot machine to play at a casino. Here they are:
Odds
Slot machines with the best odds carry good long-term winning chances. This can be defined based on a game’s return to player rate, which is a theoretical value that plays out across millions of spins. The higher the slot RTP, the better its odds of winning more.
Bonus Games
Traditional slot machines in Vegas and Atlantic City featured 3-reels or 5-reels at best. This limited the creativity and bonuses that could be added to the games. As such, most games carried wilds, scatters, and a free spin feature. Online slots are way more interesting when it comes to their bonuses. Some slot machines feature expanding reels, upgraded symbols, wilds, wild multipliers, scatters, bonus symbols, jackpots, and more.
Payouts
Like RTP is used to calculate the long-term payouts; volatility is another metric you can consider when searching for the best slot machine at a casino. It ranges from low to high, with higher variance games signifying big win slot machines but less frequent wins. This can significantly affect your gaming experience and bankroll.
Gaming Vendor
The slot options you get online are different for land-based slot machines because different companies make them. Online slot machines are more diverse, with over 200 software companies producing them. In contrast, a handful of gaming vendors make slot machines for Vegas casinos. Knowing who makes the game can help you find the slot machine names you will see at selected casinos.
These areas help us spot top-rated games across several benchmarks objectively. The same cannot be said for gameplay since one might prefer classic slots and someone else Megaways slots. Using these criteria, we explain which slot machines are the best from each category.
Best Slots To Play in Vegas
The best Las Vegas casinos are home to 2,000+ slot machines. Most of these Vegas slots are powered by IGT, Light & Wonder, Aristocrat, Ainsworth, Bally’s Technologies, and other classic industry names. Usually, their RTPs range between 85% and 95%, which is below the industry average for online slots. This is normal, though, due to the massive costs they need to pay for the maintenance of the venues.
They stand out for their variety of themes, typical gameplay, progressive jackpots, and ‘expensive’ themes. By expensive, we mean branded slot machines, either based on movies or celebrities. You can find slot machines themed around Batman, Paris Hilton, or Robocop. But that’s not a smart way to go about finding the best slot machine to play at a land-based casino.
Instead, we suggest players the following games if they ever find themselves in a Vegas casino:
Book of Dead
This game is powered by Play’n GO and plays with high volatility and a 96% RTP. It made quite some noise after it was added to Las Vegas casino floors because it is distinctively modern. Great graphics and execution are of an Egyptian theme playable on a 5×3 reel game grid. The Book of Dead symbol is the game’s scatter and wild, helping you form wins and trigger 10 free spins with upgraded symbols. The maximum win in this game is an impressive 10,000x!
Cleopatra
The renowned Egyptian slot by IGT, still makes waves at Las Vegas casinos. The graphics and gameplay are less modern than in Book of Dead, but it remains popular because the free spins round can be retriggered up to 500 free spins. This makes the 10,000x jackpot win reachable, and many players have won it over the years.
Ultimate Fire Link China Street
The Ultimate Fire Link series is the US version of Hold and Win and Lightning Link slots. It’s a bonus game connected to a network jackpot that can pay out millions to the winner. The China Street slot is one of the best Ultimate Fire Link games at Vegas casinos because it plays with a 95.97% RTP, medium to high volatility, and can payout 10,000x without counting in the progressive.
Wild scatters and free spins are all there, including a 5×4 reel structure that deviates from the classic Las Vegas slots.
The free spins round lets players choose their volatility, with a selection of free spin rounds with varying multipliers. If you get four fire symbols, you’ll experience the outstanding progressive jackpot game that guarantees payouts!
Slot Machines With The Best Odds
RTP is king in slot machines. It doesn’t matter if you are looking for the best online slots for real money or the best slot machines at a casino. The higher the RTP value, the more likely you will win in the long run.
This value is theoretical and provided by the gaming vendors of slot machines. It is always negative since these games guarantee profit for the casino, but you could always bring it home before the average is realized. The higher the RTP, the better your slot machine winning chances.
As we previously mentioned, online slot machines are much better regarding RTPs. The 96% is the industry average, but you can do much better than this. To help, we list the 10 best slot machines in terms of odds:
Best odds slot machinesRTPProviderOOH AAH Dracula99%BarcrestJackpot 600099%NetEntMarching Legions98.12%Relax GamingThe Catfather98.1%Pragmatic PlayBlood Suckers98%NetEntJokerizer98%YggdrasilStarmania97.87%NextGen GamingGood Girl Bad Girl97.79%Betsoft GamingGolden Tour97.71%PlaytechBig Red97.04%Aristocrat
Best Payout Slot Machines
Long-term payouts are different than actual online slot payouts. Most of the games we provide above are low to medium-volatility slots that offer a balanced game. Your balance will most likely average its starting point when playing such high RTP slots with low risk.
If you like your gaming experience to be fun and adrenaline-filled, you got to look elsewhere. Preferably to our list of best payout slot machines.
The slots that pay the best at the casino will either be high volatility slots (scarce but big payouts) or progressive jackpot slots. The latter is a standard slot game that includes a top progressive prize that accumulates based on all the bets placed on it or the linked network until someone wins it. The prize then resets and starts from scratch. Some progressive slot machines have paid over $40 million in one go. Still, high volatility slots these days can offer equal massive payouts without a progressive pot.
Here are a few great picks if you are looking for the best payout slot machines:
Best payout slot machinesMaximum Win (Non-Progressive)Progressive Jackpot?DeveloperAztec Millions2,500x$1 million seedRealTime GamingJackpot Cleopatra’s Gold Deluxe5,000x$100,000 seedRealTime GamingMega Moolah10,000x$1 million seedMicrogamingAge of the Gods50,000x$200,000 seedPlaytechShopping Spree 210,000x$200,000 seedRealTime GamingStarburst XXXtreme200,000x–NetEntSan Quentin Xways150,000x–NolimitWild Flower114,100x–Big Time GamingMental66,666x–NolimitPeking Luck180,000x Pragmatic PlayRise of the Mountain King50,000x–NextGen GamingDead or Alive 2111,111x–NetEntMoney Train 3100,000x–Relax GamingSuper Boost200,000x–Electric E.
Slots With Bonus Games
All slot machine types we covered in the previous sections are outstanding in terms of odds, payouts, RTPs, and overall mechanics. But not equal when it comes to bonus rounds and gameplay.
Players looking for exhilarating bonus games must look far beyond a standard free spin round or stacked wilds. Themed bonus games immerse you into the action, where you must uncover hidden treasures to win a prize or climb up ladders by selecting random buttons. They don’t necessarily pay more, but top bonus game slots can be extremely fun. Here are some excellent examples:
Gonzo’s Quest Megaways – one of the few slot games that have created a cult around it, the remake of the original Gonzo’s Quest has some excellent special features. First, all wins lead to a symbol cascade that enables cascading wins with increased multipliers. Wilds remain stacked through cascades and can lead to exquisite winning combos. The earthquake bonus can randomly remove all lower-paying symbols. A free spin round with cascading wins and progressive multipliers with retriggers. What else to ask from a slot?
Gates of Olympus – an award-winning slot by Pragmatic Play themed around the god of thunder, Zeus. No paylines. Land eight symbols or more anywhere and you get a win. Random multipliers up to 500x can appear anytime in the base game. Trigger the 15 free spins, with 5 additional free spins for three scatters, and all random multipliers remain stacked. The result? Up to 10,000x maximum win!
Dead or Alive 2 – sequels rarely match up the original games’ success, but this NetEnt slot is an exception. Wild multipliers keep the fun going in the Wild-West base game, but the free spins bonus brings the game to another level. You get to choose your volatility (risk), with three free spins rounds with varying multipliers, number of spins, and add-ons. Up to 111,111x maximum win and a $0.09 minimum bet. A great bonus slot game for all.
5 Best Slot Machines to Play at Online Casinos
We have provided 30 gaming options so far, ideal for different tastes. The following five tend to be the most played across all online casinos, and we can reasonably rate them as the best slot machines of all time!
#1 Bigger Bass Bonanza
RTP – 96.71%
Max Win – 4,000x
Stakes – $0.12 to $240
Developer – Pragmatic Play
Pragmatic Play keeps growing the Big Bass Bonanza slot collection with spin-offs that users love. The most successful to date remains Bigger Bass Bonanza. On first look, the game isn’t anything special. A 5×4 game grid with 12 paylines, where you can get up to 20 free spins.
The bonus round supports retriggers based on how many multipliers land, and each wild helps you collect random fish prizes. The top win is an average 4,000x, but the overall gameplay is highly immersive and takes place in a fun underwater setting.
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Wild Casino
Bonus Offer:
$5000 Welcome Bonus
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Accepts US players
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Slots
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Instant-play Casino Software
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#2 Starburst
RTP – 96.09%
Max Win – 500x
Stakes – $0.10 to $50
Developer – NetEnt
Starburst has been one of the most popular slots since its release in 2011. It’s a space-themed slot with a 5×3 layout, and bets range from $0.10 to $50 per spin.
The game has fun gameplay with low volatility, where you need to match at least three symbols on the paylines from either sides. Wilds remain stacked and trigger a free respin, making it easier to land consecutive wins up to 500x.
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Super Slots Casino
Bonus Offer:
$6000 Welcome Bonus
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US Players Accepted
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#3 Immortal Romance
RTP – 96.86%
Max Win – 12,000x
Stakes – $0.30 to $30
Developer – Microgaming
Immortal Romance came out in 2011 and is a Microgaming slot with 243 ways to win. It’s similar to Thunderstruck 2 in that you can unlock additional bonus games as you trigger the free spin round.
There are four different rooms to enter, with unique features in each. These include free spins, multipliers, stacked wilds, etc.
The data and graphics of this title are also out of this world, literally making it an immortal hit! Try it for real money at:
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BetOnline Casino
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100% UP TO $3000
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Compatible with all mobile devices
Great selection of games
Banking methods with flexible limits
#4 Bonanza
RTP – 96%
Max Win – 10,000x
Stakes – $0.10 – $10 per round
Developer – Big Time Gaming
Bonanza was the first Megaways slot to make the niche popular, developed by BGT in 2016. The game is themed around the gold rush era, with 6 reels and up to 7 rows. This format allows for over 117,000 ways to win per spin.
Each win leads to a cascade of winning symbols, with new winning opportunities for free. Form the word GOLD on a single spin, and you can play its renowned free spins round, where each win adds x1 to the multiplier!
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DuckyLuck Casino
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500% UP TO $2,500 + 150 FREE SPINS
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Lucrative 500% First Deposit Match
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#5 Cazino Zepellin Reloaded
RTP – 96%
Max Win – 102,838x
Stakes – $0.10 to $1.2
Developer – Yggdrasil
This is a lesser known slot, but my personal favorite. It’s a super high volatility game taking place in a zeppelin where a group of gamblers plays casino games. I love this game because it can pay over $100,000 from a low max bet of $1.
This can be achieved through the multiplier wilds carried to the free spins bonus game. Any additional wild that lands add a multiplier to all other stacked wild multipliers bringing home massive wins. The bonus game can also be retriggered for even bigger wins!
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Lucky Creek Casino
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250% UP TO $10,000
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Amazing & Unique Match Bonus
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Summary
Our team has already explained that finding one of the thousands of online slots available today to classify as the best is quite hard. We provide several excellent slot machines of various types, helping you play according to your needs.
You can find these and thousands more on our recommended casinos. You can start using the demo mode to practice and test each game before spending real money. Using our links, you can also grab a no deposit bonus or a slot machine free spins bonus to lower the entry cost while still having a chance to win big.
New slot machines are regularly released, and we will be the first to update our list of the best slot machines to play in 2023 to keep you in the loop.
Frequently Asked Questions
What are the most popular slot machines to play?
Popular slot machines include Mega Moolah, Bigger Bass Bonanza, Starburst, Immortal Romance, and Book of Ra.
What are the best-paying slot machines?
The best-paying slot machines usually have a high RTP (return to player) rate and low house edge. Examples include Aztec Millions and Money Train 3.
Where can I find the best slot machine odds?
The best odds for slot machines can be found at online casinos audited by independent third-party organizations.
What is the difference between progressive and non-progressive slot machines?
Progressive slot machines have a growing jackpot connected to a network of devices, while non-progressive machines have a fixed jackpot.
Are online slot machines fair and safe to play?
What are the best strategies for playing slot machines?
There is no guaranteed winning strategy for slot machines, as a random number generator determines the outcome. Some players suggest managing bankroll, choosing high RTP games, and taking advantage of bonuses.
What are the newest and most exciting slot machines to play?
New and exciting slot machines include Reel Rush 2, Jingle Spin, The Dog House Megaways, and Fruit Party.
