Before blenders had motors with the same horsepower as a small boat, they were more basic appliances. Four times a summer, your grandma needed this thing to blend Minute Maid frozen lime concentrate (RIP) with tequila and triple sec so that your uncle could have one too many margaritas on the front porch. At least mine did. Now, smoothies are a lifestyle. We pay $21 for celebrity-endorsed versions at Erewon, and expect our home blenders to turn the same fibrous ingredients and bright powders into milkshake-like beverages. And typically we have to pay for the privilege.
If I sound like your uncle that had too many margaritas, I’m sorry, but also listen up. The good ol’ days aren’t over. You can get a blender that works for less than $100 dollars. You can even make impressive smoothies in that blender. We have been testing blenders for 8 years now, and can solidly recommend a few economical options. Read on for the best cheap blenders.
The best cheap blenders
- The best cheap blender: Nutribullet Powercore, $100 → Jump to the review
- The best personal blender: Nutribullet Ultra, $100 → Jump to the review
Are cheap blenders any good?
For lots of typical blender uses, a budget blender (especially our top picks here) will produce the results we want. But it’s important to manage your expectations of what that blender will do, though. Here, I’ll outline a few key areas where your dollar goes when you spend money on a blender. If you’re open to spending more on a countertop blender, check out our full blender review here.
Motor power and RPMs
We live in the era of high-powered blenders. When the Vitamix became a home kitchen status symbol in the 2000s and early 2010s, our expectations of what a blender could do changed. These high-powered machines generally boast well over 1,000 watts of power, compared to around 500–700 watts of power in the blenders that were common in homes earlier. With this increased power, these blenders can rotate their blades faster, and break ingredients down more effectively. This faster rotation and breakdown ultimately leads to smoother textures (this video from our sister site Epicurious explains why that is, if you’d like to get into the weeds). As a result, these high-powered blenders can demolish ice into thin shavings, and puree soups and smoothies with unparalleled velvety results.
The blenders we’ve recommended below are not Vitamixes (or Brevilles or anything else we’d consider a “high-performance blender” for that matter)—those generally cost upwards from $300 dollars. But they are good blenders absolutely capable of making well-blended smoothies and soups—we have tested them rigorously and have been happy with the smoothies they made with tough greens and almonds. But if you tasted them side by side with those blended in a Vitamix, they would technically be less smooth. If you are using your blender every day because smoothies are your thing or if you are regularly trying to make nut milks or nut butters, it’s worth thinking about investing in a higher end model. Good news if that’s you: In 2026 Vitamix released its VX1 model, which is less expensive than its previous flagship blenders (but still comes with that $300+ price tag). People with once-a-week smoothie needs or semi-regular sauce makers are sure to be satisfied with these lower-priced models.
Presets and blending speeds
In addition to blending faster, more expensive blenders tend to have more preset functions designed to optimally blend the food you’re trying to process. These presets vary the speed of the blender and how long it runs, which can actually help you achieve better, varied textures. But they aren’t strictly necessary.
Materials
The easiest place to notice the quality of a blender’s build is in its base. High-powered blenders can have motor bases that weigh close to 10 pounds. Less expensive blenders weigh quite a bit less, which can make them less stable on the counter when the motor is whizzing. The two we recommend here use suction cup feet to help hold the blender in place. That undoubtedly gives them a more budget feel.
Pricey blender pitchers generally feel more substantial as well. Today, most blender pitchers, regardless of price, are made from BPA-free plastic as opposed to glass, which was more common in pre-21st century blenders. That’s not necessarily a bad thing—blending hot soups in a glass pitcher, for example, can cause enough pressure to crack them. But the quality of the plastic will vary, with cheaper blenders typically having thinner walls that feel less durable.
What counts as a cheap blender?
The blenders recommended here range from $60–$150. Generally, when we write these price-focused articles, we try to offer options below $100. With a blender, for the reasons outlined above, we felt that it was necessary to go a little higher in price cutoff, to $150. At this price point, we can recommend blenders that have enough power, high enough RPM, and high enough quality materials to last.
If you see blenders in this article that cost over $150, that’s because their prices fluctuate, especially on multi-party seller websites like Amazon. Know that we have regularly seen these blenders for $150 or less, so if you’re seeing them listed for more, it’s worth cross-checking retailers, or waiting for a sale.
The best budget blender: Nutribullet Power Core
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: Nutribullet mastered the personal smoothie blender with its Ultra in 2025 and now also offers the best full-sized bang for your blender buck with the Power Core. Its 1400 watt motor and 72 ounce pitcher are topline specs you’d typically find associated with blenders that cost three or four times as much. When our testers used it to blend a smoothie with kale and almonds it did leave some flecks of green leaves behind, but produced an impressively sippable beverage with some very challenging ingredients.
The Power Core’s design is also quite smart. Though its pitcher has an extra large capacity (bigger than a standard Vitamix pitcher), it fits on to the base flush like a plug into a wall socket, giving the whole assembly only 17.5 inches of height and allowing it to fit under kitchen cabinets to tuck away when not in use.
What we’d leave: The touchscreen controls were a little touchy—especially when testers were working with wet ingredients it sometimes took a couple pushes to get the blades moving. It only has three speeds (as well as a smoothie setting). That’s far fewer than a Vitamix blender that will typically have 10, though this is the sort of sacrifice that’s typical when going the budget blender route.
It also flung bits kale, almond, and orange that stuck to the lid when blending the smoothie. That’s also a consequence of the blender’s inability to smoothie adjust speeds up and down like a blender with a variable speed dial can.
The best personal blender: Nutribullet Ultra
Pros and cons
Pros
- Powerful
- Improved blade design
Cons
- Has the size limitations of all personal blenders
Specs
Power: 1,200 watts
Capacity: 24 or 32 oz.
Warranty: 1-year limited (5-year limited for blade)
Included: 32-oz. cup, 24-oz. cup, 24-oz. handled cup, 2 to-go lids
What we love: If you use your blender primarily to make smoothies and small batches of sauces, getting a personal blender is an easy way to cut down on costs—the trouble is, many models lack adequate power to actually blend effectively. This Nutribullet, like its full-sized cousin, has an impressive motor. The Ultra’s 1,200 watts are as high as any personal blender we’ve tested, and double the typical 500-600 watts of power you’d expect from something this size (do not confuse “personal blenders” with “portable blenders,” which run on batteries and are woefully underpowered). As a result, it crushed our famously difficult test smoothie into a velvety puree. It also crushed pine nuts and herbs into a pesto in just 30 seconds, a task which no other personal blender could pull off. Plus, it has some clever design features, like a thicker rim than other personal blenders to prevent leaking and powerful suction cups that secure the blender to your counter (both leaking and counter vibrating are common in personal blenders, so these are nice upgrades). It also comes with two additional blending jars, and a to-go lid that allows you to seamlessly take the pitcher from blending to your morning commute.
What we’d leave: There’s a lot you can’t do with a personal blender—no soups here. So the functionality is limited to small production runs like a single smoothie or one batch of pesto.
How we tested these blenders
All of these budget blenders went through the same testing process as pricey Vitamixes and Blendtecs. We simply graded them on an appropriate curve.
Tests included making smoothies that included tough ingredients like kale leaves and stems and whole almonds. In full-sized blenders we also made a butternut squash soup and crushed ice. In personal blenders we made batches of pesto.
Testers also cleaned the blenders, testing their cleaning cycles if they had them, and handwashing to see how hard it was to get all the green smoothie ingredients out of the nooks and crannies of the pitchers.
What we looked for in cheap blenders
We looked for blenders with the following attributes:
Power
We looked for the most power available within the price parameters we set.
Ease-of-use and preset functions
You should be able to get a blender that’s easy to use out of the package at any price point. We were also open to preset blending functions that were genuinely useful in producing a better-processed product, but they weren’t essential for our winners.
Quality materials
Just because a blender is cheap doesn’t mean you should use it for a year and then throw it away. We prioritized picking blenders that felt sturdy, that were built with high-quality materials.
Easy to clean
Even though some brands say their blender parts are dishwasher safe, the best way to clean your blender container is just to rinse it, then put a little dish soap and water in the container and turn it on. However, the edges of the blending pitcher can have nooks and crannies that are difficult to clean, and the bases can similarly accumulate gunk. We looked for streamlined designs that were easy to clean.
Other inexpensive blenders we liked
Oster Original 3-Speed Chrome Blender
In our years of testing blenders, Oster has consistently performed in the no-fuss budget category—this makes sense because, in fact, they were one of the first brands to make blenders for home use. It has a 700-watt motor and sturdy stainless-steel blades, as well as three speed settings. Often, on cheap blenders, the speed settings aren’t actually that different from one another, but these are clearly differentiated. This blender also has a glass jar rather than a plastic one—a rarity at this price. In general, we love the quality materials this blender offers. The Oster punches above its weight in blending tough kale and almond smoothies, crushing ice, and making velvety soups.
There are a couple things we don’t love about the Oster, like its small 50-ounce capacity and the fact that if it runs too long it will produce a noticeably warm smoothie.
KitchenAid 3-Speed Ice Crushing Blender
This blender was our budget pick in our review of the best blenders for a number of years. It’s a basic, easy-to-use model, but its price can fluctuate—though right now you can get it for $100 on the KitchenAid website. It features a dial with three differentiated speed settings, as well as a pulse setting. It also has a very heavy base, so if you plan on storing your blender in a cabinet and hauling it out only when you need it, the Nutribullet or Oster is a better bet. If you don’t mind keeping it out on the counter, or you’re super ripped, get one of these on sale.
Magic Bullet Combo Blender
This blender offers the best of both the full-sized and personal blender worlds, with a 48-ounce pitcher and a single-smoothie blending cup. It has a 600-watt motor and offers two distinct speeds as well as a pulse function, and performed adequately in the ice crushing and smoothie blending tests. This is another one that lost the top spot because of flimsy-feeling materials, and given the choice between it and the Nutribullet below that suffers from a similar issue, we’d go Nutribullet, since it offers more power.
Zwilling Enfinigy 20-ounce Personal Blender
This Zwilling blender held our top spot as the best personal blender for a number of years running, until 2024 when Nutribullet released their Ultra model. It has a 500-watt motor, so considerably less power than the winning model. Despite that, it performed impressively in our smoothie and pesto tests. It also has a sleek and stylish design, with a sturdy metal base and a knob that offers a pulse setting when you turn it one way and a blend setting when you turn it the other. I’ve personally had it in my kitchen for about five years, so I can speak to its enduring power and longevity.
Thyme & Table Single-Serve Blender
At just $60, this personal blender offers a tremendous value. After 30-second blend cycles, the machine produced pretty consistently blended smoothies and batches of pesto, though we had to blend each for a few more seconds beyond the preset cycle to truly achieve the texture we were after. It’s a Walmart exclusive brand, and while it’s made of all plastic, the base feels sturdy enough and the suction cups effectively provide stability. We also like the way it looks. For about half the price of the Zwilling, you get similar results—though we haven’t kept it in our testing cycle long enough to know if it offers the same longevity.
Inexpensive blenders we don’t recommend
This Ninja blender barely sneaks in under our price limit and also comes with a food processor attachment. But, despite incredibly sharp blades (that cut one of our testers during routine handling), it just didn’t give us as smooth a smoothie as blenders higher up on this list.
Nutribullet’s older full-sized blender has an incredibly powerful motor for its price at 1,200 watts. It also has three speeds, and understandably performed well at both the ice crushing test and the smoothie test given its great power. However, the design we like about the new Power Core isn’t present here and this one feels somehow both bulky and also flimsy. This blender offers really great power for the price, but we’re suspicious that it’s not built to last. Because you can just get the newer Nutribullet model we don’t think there’s a reason to consider this one.
This blender is lightweight and flimsy—definitely not built to last. We blended our test smoothie for a full extra minute past the usual time and still had whole chunks of kale in it.
How to get the best smoothie out of your cheap blender
Layer ingredients properly
Put your liquids in your blender first, then layer your ingredients from easiest to blend to hardest to blend. The heftier ingredients will push the easy-to-blend ingredients down, and as those ingredients blend easily, the heartier ingredients get sucked into the vortex and crushed.
Start slow and ramp up your speed
The preset function on Vitamixes and other high-end blenders for smoothies starts slow, then gradually ramps up its speed before ending at a lower speed; you can replicate this manually on any blender that offers multiple speeds. This is the optimal way to blend for a few reasons: Starting at a low speed allows you to chop ingredients first, making them more manageable to puree as you ramp up your speed. This will lead to better texture, but also prevent overworking the motor on a less powerful machine, which will help with its overall longevity. Starting at a low speed also avoids creating air pockets that push ingredients away from the blade, up the sides of the machine.
You may need to pre-chop ingredients
In a lower powered blender, it’s helpful to pre-process tough ingredients like kale, almonds, or big chunks of frozen fruit so that the blender can handle them more effectively. We’re not saying you have to dice those cubes of mango from the freezer aisle into teeny pieces, but don’t put a whole frozen banana in your machine and expect it to blend perfectly.
Actually measure your ingredients—and blend the proper amount
Blenders create a vortex that sucks ingredients from the side of the machine back into the center toward the blade, where they can be crushed. For this reason, the blender won’t work properly if it’s under- or over-loaded. It may feel silly to use an actual smoothie recipe, but a recipe is a good place to start to understand the proper ratios of ingredients to liquids, and the amount of ingredients you truly need to add to your blender.