We are living in the golden age of blending. With powerful motors and finely tuned vortex action, today's best blenders can crush ice, pulverize tough greens and whole almonds with ease, and make perfectly smooth smoothies without overheating. But the best blender for you depends on how you’ll use it—as well as how much you’re willing to spend.
Our top picks:
Our favorite blender: Vitamix VX1 → Read the review
Another powerful blender: Zwilling Enfinigy Power Blender → Read the review
The best budget blender: Nutribullet Powercore → Read the review
Over more than five years BA’s product testers and editors have tested more than 35 countertop blenders and we've found impressively powerful and practical models at a variety of price points. That's important because while you will never go wrong with a Vitamix blender, you will spend several hundred dollars. And for folks just getting into cooking or working on tighter budgets, that can be disqualifying.
If you're looking for a personal smoothie blender or a bullet blender, we've tested lots of those in our kitchen, and you can read about here. But for this review I'm focused on full-size blenders with large pitchers—the tool you need for your Thanksgiving soups and your frozen margaritas.
New in this update: I tested the new Vitamix VX1, a less-expensive but no less powerful version of the flagship (and our longstanding favorite) Vitamix 5200. I also tested budget blenders from Ninja and Nutribullet, plus a blender attachment to our favorite cold-press juicer from Nama. We compared all these newcomers to our previous winners and have a couple of new top picks.
The best blender overall: Vitamix VX1
Pros and cons
Pros:
- Simple, intuitive controls
- Powerful motor
- Lower price than most Vitamixes
Cons:
- Soft lid doesn’t always feel secure
- Smoothie came out warmer than models with presets
Specs
Power: 1440 watts
Speeds: 10
Capacity: 64 oz.
Included: Motor base, 64-oz. pitcher, tamper stick
Warranty: 5 years, limited
What we love: We have been recommending Vitamix blenders for years, always with the understanding that their high price point is a bit of a barrier for many home cooks. But Vitamix has done its part to try and meet the market where it's at, offering models at a variety of price points. That now includes the VX1, a less-expensive, slightly more powerful, but otherwise nearly identical counterpart to the 5200. And we’re thrilled to say our initial testing of this model met our high Vitamix expectations. With a 1440 watt motor, the VX1 technically packs a bit more oomph than the 1380-watt 5200, while offering the same capacity and only slight concessions on features. The tactile controls (no touch screens here) feature manual on/off and pulse switches, and a variable speed setting dial, which ranges from one to 10 as well as a cleaning setting. When starting with the speed on the lowest setting, the blade doesn't jolt into action, tossing ingredients all over the pitcher, helping everything incorporate evenly. The standard 64-oz. pitcher is the same you’d find on the 5200, but we also like that this model is compatible with Vitamix’s (optional) 48-oz.unce pitcher and personal blending cups, meaning for some added investment you can tailor your blending to a variety of sizes and needs. And while no blender is whisper quiet, this one isn’t the loudest by any stretch while still pulverizing everything effectively and efficiently. It comes with a tamper stick, but in our relatively chunky smoothie and soup tests, we never had to reach for it, and everything turned out smooth and silky. At $100+ less than the 5200, we’re calling this our new, go-to Vitamix pick for the average user and first-time Vitamix buyers.
NOTE: You may still find a 5200 cheaper than the list price of the VX1 during the big sales events around Amazon Prime Day and Black Friday.
What we'd leave: As we have noted/complained about with other Vitamix models, the one “fail” we’d claim is that our smoothie was warmer than we would have liked, especially when compared head-to-head with other blenders on this list. (Though, in fairness, that’s probably as much a function of us learning not to overblend as it is due to a warm motor base.) The lid snaps on with two tabs, but it is a soft plastic material that also doesn’t feel like it’s completely sealed when compared with some other models that lock in or have rubber gaskets. And at about 19.5" tall, it’s shorter than the 5200, but you still may run into some storage issues under especially low cabinets.
A more affordable Vitamix alternative: Zwilling Enfinigy Power Blender
Pros and cons
Pros:
- Sleek design
- Comparatively affordable
- Great warranty
- Trusted brand
Cons:
- Learning curve to pitcher placement and settings
- Heavy base
Specs
Power: 1400 watts
Speeds: 12 settings
Capacity: 64 oz.
Included: Motor base, blending pitcher, lid, tamper
Warranty: Limited lifetime warranty
What we love: We're big fans of the Zwilling Enfinigy Personal blender, and this full-size version from the same small appliance line impressed in all of our tests, but really shined when making a smoothie. We filled the pitcher of this 1400-watt blender and our previous top pick, the Vitamix 5200 with the exact same ingredients—including raw kale and almonds—and ran both for 36 seconds, which is the duration of the Zwilling's smoothie preset. That preset starts at the highest speed (but automatically adjusted speeds, theoretically to allow for better incorporation of various textures), so we set the 5200 to its highest speed too. The smoothie from the Zwilling was noticeably cooler in temperature than that from the Vitamix, and we were able to replicate the results by running the same test with various frozen and not-frozen smoothie ingredients.
In addition to the impressive wattage, part of what makes this blender such an effective smoothie maker is the pitcher's shape. The BPA-free Tritan plastic pitcher has four sides—sort of a square base with rounded corners—as well as some vertical ribbing on the interior, which work together to toss ingredients back into the blade's Vortex. In round pitchers I‘ve used, the same ingredients might stick to the sides and spin around the blade, like your body does on a Gravitron amusement ride (any state fair fans out there?).
A hidden display lights up to display 12 settings. In addition to pulse, there are six variable mixing speeds and four blending presets (ice cube, ice cream, cocktails, smoothie), and a cleaning setting. Of course, cleaning this blender—and any blender—is easy when you fill it with warm water and dish soap then blend. It's even easier if you do it right after you use it.
Some customers have complained in reviews about water getting in the handle in the dishwasher, but this seems like a case of user error. According to the manual, only the lid and tamper are indicated as dishwasher-safe—not the pitcher, which contains the blade. Blender pitchers of any type really aren't meant for the dishwasher.
What we'd leave: This one's not quite as user-friendly as the Vitamix. If the lid isn't properly aligned to the pitcher, it won't turn on. Like the Vitamix, the blade also can't be removed for easy cleaning, though again, cleaning a blender is pretty easy, especially if you do it right away.
The best budget blender: Nutribullet Power Core
Pros and cons
Pros:
- Powerful enough for smoothies
- Easy to use
- Easy to clean
- Retro look
- Affordable
Cons:
- Loud
- No presets
- Smaller pitcher than Vitamix and Zwilling
- Sometimes hard to find
Specs
Power: 700 watts
Speeds: 3
Capacity: 1.5L/50 oz.
Included: Chrome motor base, glass pitcher with lid, blade
Warranty: Limited 1-year warranty
What we love: Nutribullet might be best known for its personal smoothie blenders, but the brand recently debuted its full-size Power Core model with a whopping 72-oz. capacity and 1400 watts of peak power. The six-point stainless-steel blade effectively smoothed out leafy greens and chunky almonds, and I was able to get a creamy, cool, and ice-chunk-free smoothie out of it. Compared with the other top picks the pitcher is spacious, with a 72-oz. capacity, and I liked that the flat profile lid fit snugly inside like a plug. The whole assembly is only 17.5" high, making it very countertop/cabinet friendly. Plus the pitcher and lid components are all dishwasher-safe (an exception to the rule I mentioned above for the Zwilling). All that for under $100 isn’t too shabby, especially if your blender only makes occasional appearances in your culinary repertoire.
What we'd leave: With only three speeds, your fine-tuning options are limited, and I was left with quite a few unblended bits flung around the top of the pitcher and into the nooks and crannies of the lid. The interface is a touch screen, which is always less desirable with wet or messy hands and occasionally took a couple presses to react. It’s a bit loud and whiny, but that’s also the norm with lower-priced blenders.
Speaking of the low price, there’s not much that feels especially premium, including the lightweight base that uses suction cups for stability (which in this case is a necessary feature to keep it from bouncing around), and the plastic pitcher, which we’d worry about dropping and cracking. Also, though I didn’t dock any points for this, it’s odd that Nutribullet didn’t opt to make this one compatible with its smoothie cups given its pedigree there.
How we tested blenders
For more than half a decade other BA product testers and I have reviewed more than 35 full-size blenders (and dozens more personal and immersion blenders), giving them increasingly difficult assignments designed to weed out subpar models.
We performed basic ice-crushing tests to see if any would leave large chunks, whizzed batches of butternut squash soup to see how they handled blending hot food, and, finally, used them to make a smoothie with challenging ingredients like raw almonds raw kale (stems and all).
To judge how they fared in this final test we put the finished smoothie through a strainer to see how many solids were left.
I also cleaned each blender I tested, both by hand-washing and by filling them with warm water and dish soap and running the blender on its preset cleaning cycle or on low speed for about 20 seconds to clean the blade.
What we looked for in a blender
Power
I looked for powerful blenders that could make smooth smoothies without big chunks of anything—nuts, fibrous greens, ice—and do it efficiently enough not to make the smoothie too warm.
Ease of use
I looked for blenders with intuitive control panels that were easy to use. If a blender had presets or special features, I considered whether they felt useful or unnecessary. I also noted how easy or complicated it was to attach and detach parts for use and cleaning.
Size
Understanding that not everyone needs a big Vitamix blender, and that a personal or portable blender might be too small for others, I considered the footprint and height of each blender base and pitcher and whether it would fit under a standard kitchen cabinet (18").
Quality materials
I paid special attention to the materials of the base and the pitchers (and any accessories, if included) and noted whether they felt durable and sturdy, or cheap and flimsy.
Cleaning
I hand-washed each blender to gauge how easy it was to clean both the pitcher and the blades, as well as any accessories. Blenders with dishwasher-safe parts got bonus points.
Other blenders we liked
We’ve been recommending the Vitamix 5200 blender for years—a recommendation that comes both from our product testers and test kitchen editors who have used it weekly since the 2010s. And you will not catch any of us saying a bad word about it. The VX1 just did everything the 5200 could with a lower price tag.
The 5200 has reliably made velvety soups, delicious smoothies, and pulverized solid ingredients like it’s no big deal. Though the BPA-free plastic blending jar is large (64 oz.), this blender can make a single-serve smoothie without issue, and because you can so easily control the speed, it will even emulsify mayonnaise, a task full-sized blenders can struggle with because the ingredients get stuck on the sides of the jar. A simple dial has 10 variable speed settings, or you can flip a switch to blend on high. Another switch turns the motor on and off. Other than that, there are no bells, whistles, buttons, or lights to clog up the control panel. While you can’t remove the blade for cleaning and it lacks a dedicated cleaning cycle, you can rig up your own“self-cleaning” function by just adding some warm water and dish soap to the pitcher and running it on low or medium speed to dislodge anything stuck in or under the blade. As food director Chris Morocco has previously said, “If you get anything other than a Vitamix 5200, price better be the only reason.” And while we still think it’s an exceptional blender, the introduction of the less expensive and slightly more powerful VX1 bumped this from its forever spot as our top pick. But there’s also size to consider. This is a bulky blender, and the pitcher alone is too tall for some cabinet shelves. So if you’re short on counter or storage space you might want to take some measurements before adding it to your cart, or opt for the VX1 which accommodates a smaller 48 oz. pitcher.
This new Extreme Mix Blender from Oster was supposed to make me forget all about my inexpensive budget Oster above. And it does have a lot going for it, including a 1600-watt motor
and a 10-point titanium-coated blade system that was able to blend everything I threw at it. I was a little surprised there was no tamper in the box, but the motor (all-metal drive) reverses on the auto settings/presets, which so far (as promised) has eliminated the need for tamping or mixing mid-blend. The blade detaches from the sturdy glass (dishwasher-safe) pitcher for easy cleaning. This blender also comes with a smaller Blend-N-Go travel tumbler for single-serve smoothies. It has five speeds and three presets/iBlend settings. Overall, this is a very good blender and a great value for the price (especially when it's on sale). Unfortunately, it's very loud (not entirely surprising given the 1600-watt motor) and I really wish it had knob or a somewhat more manual adjustments than the buttons on the control panel.
The high-performance Cuisinart Hurricane Pro is a great full-size blender that performed nearly as well as the Vitamix 5200 in our testing. It crushes ice with ease and makes smooth and airy smoothies. The interface comes with a bit of a learning curve, but the presets (which include smoothies, ice crushing, soup, and cleaning) are helpful. It's big and heavy and only a little less expensive than our top pick, but if you want to save a little money, this powerful blender gets the job done.
The compact Breville Fresh and Furious Blender is a good option for those with smaller kitchens. The 50-oz. pitcher feels generous for such a compact machine. It blends powerfully and efficiently and the intuitive control panel has nine one-touch presets. While the 1100-watt motor can blend frozen fruit and ice, it’s still no Vitamix, and in our testing, it didn’t produce the same silky smoothie texture the Vitamix 5200 did.
This affordable, versatile Magic Bullet Combo Blender has a 48-oz. pitcher and a tall cup to use for single-serve smoothies. The stainless steel blade attaches to both and sits on the compact base, which houses a 600-watt motor. The lightweight base has two speeds and a pulse function, and suction cup feet are a nice touch to keep it firmly in place on a countertop, especially when blending large batches of smoothies. It did a pretty good job blending kale and almonds—especially for something at this price point—but overall the materials felt cheap and flimsy. And unless you really need both the pitcher and the personal blending cup (which comes with a solid lid for storage and travel) there are a lot of parts to keep track of. For a very cheap blender it's fine, but you're getting what you pay for and there are better cheap blenders including the Nutribullet below.
The Nutribullet Full-Size Blender has a 1200-watt motor (that's even more powerful than the Nutribullet Pro, which has 900 watts) and three speeds plus a pulse and extract function. According to the manual, the latter is the smoothie preset (not a juicer function, sorry). This blender crushed ice better than the Magic Bullet Combo blender and did a nice job breaking down rough kale stems in a smoothie. The motor base has a nice matte finish and suction cups to keep it planted on the counter, but the round plastic 64-oz. pitcher felt both flimsy and bulky. It was also tricky to get on and off of the motor base. I actually tested a Combo version of this blender, which offers more versatility for not a lot more money. But the extra parts (personal blending cup, travel mug with a handle, travel lids, and tamper, plus an included recipe book) are a lot to keep track of and store. If you're looking for power and don't want to spend a lot of money, this is a good option at a good price point, and if I had to choose between this blender and the Magic Bullet above, I'd choose this. It just doesn't feel like something that's made to last.
If the Oster Original 3-Speed Chrome Blender looks like something your grandma used back in the day, that’s because it kind of is. Oster was one of the first brands to make blenders for home cooks, and this three-speed blender is a contemporary take on the brand’s original single-speed beehive blender—but has some very useful updates. A sturdy chrome base houses a 700-watt motor that, combined with the stainless-steel blades, can crush ice as well as many higher-priced blenders, though not quite as well as a Vitamix. At its highest speed, this blender quickly and easily incorporated almonds and kale into a smooth smoothie, though it wasn’t as velvety as what we got from the Vitamix 5200. The 1.5-liter glass pitcher (about 50 oz.) is square-ish, a departure from the original round one, with gently sloped corners, and those four straight sides that make it so ingredients get thrown back into the blade’s vortex. The blade base unscrews from the pitcher for easy cleaning. And because the pitcher body is all glass, it can go in the dishwasher. But glass blenders jars are a mixed bag. When filled high with hot ingredients (like if you’re blending a soup) there is a risk the pressure will make it crack or, in a worst case scenario, explode. So while this Oster is a good value, we won’t make it a top pick.
The motor is also loud, especially when operating at the highest speed, and compared to the hum of the Vitamix motor, this one is a bit more piercing.
The KitchenAid 3-Speed Ice Crushing Blender (K150) is basic and easy-to-use: Its dial has just three speeds and a pulse setting, with no preset programs like you find on some pricier blenders. During testing, the KitchenAid crushed ice cubes and blended basic smoothies better than some of the high-performance, higher-priced competitors. It did struggle with very hard ingredients though, like nuts, and fibrous ones, like raw kale.
Released in 2024, the Vitamix X5 has some impressive tech upgrades including 10 preset programs for making nut butters, frozen cocktails, and ground spices, and other pureed and pulverized ingredients. Helpful features include a tamper notification to let you know when you need to tamp your ingredients down and a one-touch option to extend any preset by 15 seconds. It’s a premium choice for those looking to do everything with a blender, but is more than you need for basic smoothies. That said, if the features are appealing and you also want to consolidate your small kitchen appliances, you could spend a little more and upgrade to the Ascent X5 Kitchen System; it comes with attachments and accessories that allow you to use the base for a powerful 12-cup food processor. Read our deeper dive on the X5 here.
The Vitamix A3500 offers somewhat improved performance compared to the 5200 model, but not enough to offset the notable increase in price. And while it is very powerful, the wide, 64-oz. jar (the 5200’s is tall instead) feels too big for small smoothies and ingredients. If you don’t need all the extra functions—and most people won’t—the A3500 might feel like overkill. Also worth noting: Vitamix is starting to phase this blender out in favor of the Ascent X series.
The Vitamix Explorian 310 is currently the least expensive Vitamix and it performs and functions much like our favorite 5200. It’s smaller and squatter, with a 48-oz. pitcher compared to the 5200’s 64-oz. The Explorian 310 is also louder—and the 5200 isn’t exactly quiet, so that's saying something. If you want to keep your spending under $350 and don’t plan to blend huge batches of anything, it may work for you.
The Vitamix Venturist Pro is a Costco-exclusive Vitamix blender. Performance and functionality-wise it's very similar to the 5200, but it does have a few added features, including a built-in timer, which is a nice touch for when you figure out the perfect speed and time for your very specific morning smoothie. However, the base is bigger than that of the 5200—as is the base of the 64-oz. pitcher, making it harder to blend small quantities of anything. If you often blend big batches of soups, smoothies, or frozen drinks (as one who shops regularly at Costco might) this could be a really good blender for you, but overall, it just felt like too much blender for most people.
Blenders we don't recommend
Ninja makes a version of just about every appliance for your kitchen, and our testing generally reveals that the brand’s products are “fine” (with some exceptional exceptions like their air fryers), and that’s the case here. The Ninja Detect is an affordable blender that also comes as part of a “kitchen system” which includes a food processor attachment, as well as some models that include individual smoothie cups. Like a food processor, it features blades on a spindle that you drop into the pitcher, meaning you get slicing action much higher up than a bottom-mounted blade assembly. The blades are sharp. So sharp, in fact that I cut my finger on them and another colleague had a near miss while disassembling. That should be a good thing, however while soft, simmered soup ingredients were well blended, the attempted smoothie had found many more flecks of kale and grainy chunks of fruit than other blenders. We also found the multiple sets of blades whipped more air into the mixture, a noticeable textural difference in both a creamy soup and icy smoothie. Other features include a locking base and locking lid, both of which need to be in the correct position and locked for the blender to run (good for safety), but the lid’s lack of an access cap mean you can’t drop ingredients in during blending. The base isn’t as beefy as a Vitamix, but it does have suction cups on the bottom to keep it sturdy on smooth counters.
Let’s make one thing clear: This is a more-than-decent blender. The C2 Blender from the makers of our favorite juicer provides solid vortex action, and the dial offers both presets and manual speed controls, as well as a cleaning function. It also comes with a tamper stick and cleaning brush. The lid snaps into place and includes a very secure gasket, though I found it took a lot of effort to remove it. The unit won’t operate unless the blender pitcher is properly installed onto the motor base (though it doesn’t lock into place). And the motor base was a fair bit noisier and whinier than most of our Vitamixes.
But the one aspect that stuck out, and I thought disqualified it from a top spot for a home kitchen, was its size. The entire assembly with the blender pitcher on top is 21" tall, which is not as under-cabinet friendly as other models, and the base itself is a good inch taller than the Vitamix.
The reason to get this blender is that you can use the base for with a nama juicer as well. But for most people in the market for a blender, at the C2’s nearly $1,000 you could also just buy the standalone Nama juicer and a really nice Vitamix.
The Tribest Backspin Contra-Rotating Impact Blender with Vacuum Technology doesn't look like a regular blender because it's not. It has an both an inner and outer pitcher to create a vacuum during the blending process, which is intended to reduce oxidation. The pitcher also spins the opposite direction of the blade to supposedly eliminate the need for tamping or scraping ingredients down the side of the blender. That all sounds great, so I really wanted to love this blender. But after my initial testing, I don't—though I fully admit I might yet not be over the learning curve required to adjust to nontraditional blender technology. I also might have been a bit too ambitious out of the gate because the first thing I tried to make in it was almond butter. The marketing copy promises smooth almond butters with no tamping or scraping necessary throughout the blending cycle ("100% hands-free, no tamper needed" it says). The included recipe book suggested pressing Auto High, one of five presets on the top of the blender, for almond butter, so I did just that. Unfortunately, before the cycle had finished, I could smell the motor working too hard, so I paused the cycle and opened two lids to find what was basically a donut of almond meal glued to the edge of the pitcher.
I shook it down manually and tried to let it blend on its own again and soon paused the process to check on it because it still seemed to be struggling. The almond butter that had started to form near the blade was hot (not warm, but hot) to the touch. I gave up on the almond butter and manually scooped most of the almond meal out with a spoon, then added about ¼ cup almond milk and hit the Auto Low button to try and clear the paste that was stuck to the bottom. Instead, my nutty concoction went vertical and started to seep down between the two pitcher chambers—something the manual says should not happen and may cause a malfunction. That's when I decided this blender and I needed some space.
Apparently, starting with roasted almonds would have yielded much better results, but overall I found this blender very awkward to use. It did a much better job of making a green smoothie when liquid was added from the get-go, but there's no pour spout on the pitcher and that, combined with the gap between the inner and outer pitchers makes it very awkward to pour from this blender. It's also disappointing that, even though the blade comes out easily for cleaning, the multiple pitcher parts (two chambers and two lids) aren't dishwasher safe.
The 1200-watt Beast Mega 1200 Blender did a great job crushing ice, and with enough blending time, it made smooth smoothies. Because it comes with three different jars (16, 34, and 40 oz.) plus lids for storage and travel, among other accessories, it's also very versatile. But given its capacity and power, it's frustrating that the Beast still functions like a personal blender. This means the blade base is also the lid of the blending jar, so after adding the ingredients, you screw on the blade/cap then turn everything over and put it on the motorized base to blend. Perhaps it was the order in which we added ingredients, but with repeat smoothie making, testers found that if we were blending fibrous or tough ingredients like kale stems and raw almonds without adding any frozen ingredients, the smoothie would be noticeably warm. The same thing happened when putting hard ingredients in the Beast Mighty 850 personal blender we tested. A colleague's test had even worse results—though with long-term testing we've both found the smaller 850 to be a convenient little blender for “easy” smoothie jobs. So if you end up using a Beast blender to make a smoothie and you're not using any frozen fruit, it's a good idea to add a handful of ice to the mix. Finally, while the different jars and lids (and straws and cleaning brushes) make this blender very versatile, they also make a lot of parts to keep track of.
Like all of Smeg’s 50s-inspired kitchen appliances, the Smeg Professional Blender looks great on the countertop (if a retro look is your thing, that is). But also like many of the brand’s offerings, its performance fell short of justifying its price—especially when used side-by-side with comparably priced products. It does have presets for things like smoothies and ice crushing, but the results were underwhelming. The ice, specifically, was far from evenly crushed and we ended up with big chunks.
With an 1800-watt motor, the Breville Super Q blender delivers in the power department (it excelled at crushing ice), but we had to run the smoothie preset twice to fully incorporate almonds in our smoothie test. The brand promotes this as a “super-quiet” blender (presumably “Q” is for “quiet”) but in our testing, we found it to be pretty loud, and not that pleasant to use. In 2020, we also tried it with Breville’s add-on Vac Q tool, which is supposed to remove air from the pitcher for a smoother blend. While it’s an interesting concept, it just makes something that should be simple even more complicated (and expensive!) than it needs to be.
The commercial-grade Breville Super Q Pro blender is an advanced version of the Super Q above. It’s also the fussiest blender we’ve tested. The speed settings on the control panel were confusing, and it took longer than it should have to get a super-smooth smoothie.
We approached the Cleanblend Commercial Blender with skepticism. Sure, it has an 1800-watt motor, but it also costs less than half the price of a good Vitamix blender—and our testing has shown us that this is a category where you really get what you pay for. Overall, this is a decent blender. It’s powerful and easy to use, but, disappointingly (though not entirely surprisingly) the smoothie we made in testing was grainy.
The Blendtec Classic 575 Blender has a professional look and feel, but in our testing, the smoothies were a bit too thick and more fibrous than we’d like. It’s also pretty loud and while the presets are nice, the LED display feels flashy and unnecessary. For the price (which approaches Vitamix levels) it's just not something we recommend.
The Hurom Hexa Power Blender is fine, but it can’t compete with any of our top picks. The speed dial is tricky to adjust (if you stop blending, the knob needs to be set back to neutral before you can adjust the speed and if you skip this step and try to power it back on, it won’t start). It also doesn’t deliver super-smooth smoothies.
The KitchenAid High-Performance Blender offers some improvements over the less-pricey model we also tested, but the performance didn’t justify the much higher price tag. In fact, in almost every test we did, the more affordable, basic 3-speed KitchenAid blender performed just as well or better.
Cuisinart’s small appliances are really a mixed bag in terms of quality and performance, but we were intrigued by the Soho line, which offers stylish, compact options for small kitchens, including the Cuisinart Soho Blender. This is very much a basic blender. Beyond blend and pulse there are no other settings (it’s billed as a 2-speed blender but it’s really just those two settings). It made a decent smoothie, but it took a while to get there. If you’re looking for something compact in this price range, the a personal blender is a better option.
There’s nothing powerful or elite about the Hamilton Beach Power Elite Blender. It performed about as well as we expected a sub-$50 blender to perform. The smoothie we made in it during testing was chunky, with unblended bits of almond and kale fibers—even with an extra minute of blending time. It was also so lightweight it felt flimsy.
Discontinued blenders we’ve tested
Nothing lasts forever, and these blenders didn't. We're leaving our reviews here in case you find a used Vitamix 750 or Instant Ace that looks interesting to you and you're in need of unbiased opinion on what you'll get.
Vitamix Professional Series 750
We’ve previously recommended the durable Vitamix Professional Series 750 blender for its wide container, powerful motor, and ease of use. It offered programmed settings for making smoothies, frozen desserts, soups, and purées in addition to the standard 10-speed options—all manually selected by turning a simple knob. The containers for the 5200 and 750 Professional blender hold the same volume, but the 750’s is wider and shorter; a style that Vitamix calls “low-profile.” However, in 2024, VItamix began phasing out many of its blenders, including its Legacy Series, which includes this model.
Vitamix One
Released in 2021, the Vitamix One was Vitamix’s most affordable model. It had a very pared-down control panel (a single knob), less power than pricier models, and a smaller pitcher. Because it had less power than other Vitamix blenders, it wasn’t great at crushing ice, but it did make nice soups and smoothies. However, this model has been discontinued by the brand.
Ninja Professional Blender
The Ninja Professional Blender we tested (BL621) didn’t impress in our tests, especially when it came to ice-crushing. It did “crush” the ice, but the result was an uneven mess. The smoothies from this Ninja blender were thick and clumpy too, compared to what we got from similarly-priced blenders. While we like a lot of Ninja’s kitchen gear, we’ve unfortunately seen too many customer reviews complaining about blender durability.
Oster Blender Pro 1200
The Oster Blender Pro 1200 features a push-button interface that’s less flexible than the dial controls of other blenders, limiting your ability to adjust power mid-blend. The smoothie it made was slightly grainy, and while it technically doubles as a food processor, we found that dedicated machines for both tasks performed better.
Oster Versa Blender
The Oster Versa Blender pretty much failed our ice test but did make pretty decent smoothies. And the preset functions were helpful with specific tasks like making dips and soups. However, this blender is no longer available.
Instant Pot Ace Blender
Overall, we were pretty impressed with the Instant Pot Ace Blender. It was powerful and versatile, and a great value for the price. The biggest drawback was the heavy glass pitcher, which may be a dealbreaker for anyone who wants something lightweight and durable, but this model is no longer available.
Hamilton Beach Professional
The Hamilton Beach Professional blender is a higher-end Hamilton Beach blender that performed much better than the cheaper Power Elite. In our testing, it produced evenly crushed ice and smoothies without chunks (though it still wasn’t easily drinkable with a straw). The smoothie was also a little warm, which leads us to believe the motor had to work overtime just to blend. Since we tested it, this model has been discontinued by the brand.
Wolf Gourmet High Performance Blender
Wolf Gourmet makes some good small kitchen appliances but the High-Performance Blender wasn't one of our favorites. Though it has a 1545-watt motor, it fell short in our ice test and overall it just didn’t perform quite as well as comparably-priced Vitamix models. It’s not a bad blender, and it has a sleek stainless steel base—but unless you’re dead set on that red knob, we recommend a Vitamix blender over a Wolf blender. The particular model we tested (WGBL100S) is unavailable as of our most recent update anyway, as is the a very similar model.
Additional testing and reporting by Emily Farris