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From protein shakes to fruit smoothies, a great blender is an essential for any kitchen. But there are an overabundance of options on the market, and it’s very hard to determine what the best models truly are.
So we did the research, aggregated tens of thousands of reviews, and tested many different models. Here are our top picks, for best blender.
Our Top Pick
Vitamix Professional Series 750
With over 580 stellar online reviews, this blender from Vitamix is the best on the market. While it’s not a budget choice, it offers every luxury feature you can imagine, and provides some of the best smoothies we’ve ever tasted. Our top pick.
Other Great Picks
Ninja Mega Kitchen System (BL770)
With over 1,900 stellar online reviews, the Ninja Mega Kitchen is an awesome pick. With everything you could ever need or want for a blender, this may be the best ‘all in one’ option available on the market. Definitely recommended.
Vitamix 001372 5200
With over 1,100 stellar online reviews, this Vitamix is one of the most popular options on the market. We loved how smooth it blended anything we fed it – including full vegetables. Highly recommended.
NutriBullet NBR-1201
With a whopping 9,000+ stellar online reviews, the Nutribullet is one of the best blenders on the market. Affordable, durable, easy to use, and easy to clean – it’s a perfect budget choice.
Oster BLSTPB-WPK
With over 4,600 stellar online reviews, this personal blender from Oster is a steal. It offers great versatility, portability, and affordability. It doesn’t get any better than this, when looking for a personal (and portable) blender.
Breville BSB510XL
This awesome immersion blender from Breville offers everything you could need. With over 900 glowing reviews, it is hands-down the best-performing immersion blender on the market. Highly recommended.
Magic Bullet
The Magic Bullet has a sterling reputation – and for good reason. It offers a smooth blending experience, ease-of-use, and an affordable price point. With over 4,000 positive online reviews, it is the best choice for a budget blender. Highly recommended.
Hamilton Beach Power Elite
The Power Elite blender from Hamilton Beach is another great machine. Offering an affordable price, with every feature you could need – the 5,900+ positive reviews don’t lie – this is a stellar machine. Highly recommended.
Mueller Austria Hand Blender
With over 3,000 stellar online reviews, this hand blender from Mueller is extraordinary. At an affordable price range, with every great feature you could want, and with smooth performance – it’s a top pick. Highly recommended.
Hamilton Beach Personal Smoothie Blender
With over 8,300 (!) amazing online reviews, this personal blender from Hamilton Beach is another winner. While it doesn’t work for huge batches, or full vegetables – it’s perfect for personal use, or traveling. Highly recommended.
What Is A Blender?
Blending your favorite protein powder and flavors together is a fast way to stay healthy on the go. If you never have time to make breakfast during the week, you’ll definitely benefit from having a blender in your kitchen.
Using rotating blades, a blender chops up anything you put in it, and also mixes liquid ingredients with air. This creates a vortex, which operates like a tornado, resulting in a perfectly blended smoothie in just 20 seconds.
The science behind a blender is impressive, but most of us never think about it. We simply use a blender to make our favorite protein smoothies and shake, and rarely think about it again.
However, there are thousands of blenders out there, many of which are not worth your money. We sorted through thousands of models, and can confidently tell you which are the best blenders on the market.
There are high-powered blenders, portable blenders, and cheap blenders. Depending on your needs (and budget) we can tell you which blender is the best choice for you.
How To Use A Blender
Using a blender is easy. Start by filling up the blender with your chosen amount of water. Next, add your ingredients, being careful to leave space at the top of the blender for mixing.
Once you have secured the top of the blender, make sure that you hold on tight to it, as you begin to blend. Turn on the blender, and wait for it to do its magic. After 15-30 seconds, you will see the right consistency appear, at which point you can turn off your blender, and enjoy your drink.
What Features Make For The Best Blender?
When choosing a blender, you’ll want to consider many different factors. The speed of the blender, the power it has, and how easy it is to clean. Budget is also a concern, though most blenders popular with consumers are quite affordable.
Working Space
If you are looking for a blender that is not a small personal model, you should consider how much space it may take up on your kitchen counter. Conventional blenders take up slightly more space, and you may need to store them in an area without cabinets above.
In our testing, we preferred the conventional blenders in every way – except for portability. So if you are going to be making a lot of smoothies and shakes – we recommend getting a conventional blender.
Even if it may take up slightly more space on your counter, we recommend a conventional blender. Personal blenders are great for small tasks, and they are certainly far more portable – but that isn’t usually what most people are looking for when it comes to their blending needs.
Blender Speed
The speed of a blender is an important buying factor. No one wants a blender that is slow, and these days, things move faster than ever.
You won’t find a blender on our list that takes more than 30 seconds to blend, and unless you are blending truly impossible foods (not something we recommend anyway) – it’s doubtful you’ll find a good blender that has a slow speed.
Blenders typically offer multiple speeds, so if you have specific needs, make sure to review the settings for speed before making a purchase.
Blender Power
Power is an important consideration when it comes to a blender choice. You want something powerful, but also not too loud. If you are looking for a professional, restaurant style blender, it will also be pricier.
However, for most people, the low-end of this area is the sweet spot. Spend a little bit more, but get a blender that has lots of great features, will last a long time, and can blend almost anything.
Blender Pitcher Type
The blender pitcher type is also often overlooked, but it can have a direct impact on the food you are blending. Also known as the blender jar, a blender pitcher can be made from glass, plastic, or metal.
The most popular choice is plastic, which is usually made from polycarbonate. This choice is also cheaper, as it won’t cost as much as glass or metal. However, plastic does not provide the absolute best blending.
Metal is another popular choice for blender pitcher, and it is the opposite of cheap. Usually made from stainless steel, this type of blender pitch is most often used in blenders at restaurants and cafes.
Glass is another popular choice for a blender pitcher, and it works tremendously. However, is it pricier than plastic, and can also break easily if dropped. That being said, we still think a glass pitcher is still the best choice for most people.
Cleaning Ease
How easy a blender is to clean, is certainly another important factor to consider before making a purchase. Most modern blenders offer fairly fast cleaning, but each model will differ in the specifics of cleaning.
Personal blenders are easier to clean than conventional blenders, but of course they also offer far fewer blending capabilities. The average conventional blender usually only takes a minute or two to clean, even if you opt for the most deluxe models.
Immersion Blender
An immersion blender (or hand blender) is simply a handheld device that can easily blend soups, sauces, and smoothies. By immersing the blender in your soup, smoothie or sauce, you can quickly puree almost anything you can imagine.
Immersion blenders are less expensive than conventional blenders, and about as costly as personal blenders. They are also extremely portable, but won’t have nearly the power of conventional blenders. Immersion blenders are usually used in a niche capacity, most commonly for pureeing soups.
Blender vs. Food Processor
A food processor is another popular kitchen appliance, but it differs from a blender in a key ways. The main difference is that a food processor is used for foods that are not liquids, like slicing vegetables.
Blenders, on the other hand, are usually used for far less strenuous tasks, like mixing powders and liquids together smoothly. If you want to routinely be able to slice veggies, or mix dough, a food processor is another good purchase to make. But if you just want to mix smoothies and shakes, a blender is all you will need.
Ninja Blender
The Ninja blender has become very popular, and for good reason. The Ninja offers tremendous durability, is very convenient, and is also very affordable.
You won’t need to provide any maintenance for a Ninja over the appliance’s lifetime, and for most people, it is a perfect choice for an everyday blender. They also offer higher-end models, so you can get even more features if you’d prefer.
Vitamix Blender
The Vitamix has a stellar reputation, and for great reason. Hands down, it offers some of the best blending on the planet. On top of that, it is very durable, extremely reliable, and can even be used in commercial settings.
While not the least expensive option, the Vitamix is well worth your hard-earned money. We highly recommend any model from Vitamix, and their customer service is also second-to-none.
Oster Blender
Oster has been making blenders for over two decades, and they offer a perfect marriage of performance and affordability. You can certainly get a more expensive model, but for most people, an Oster is a happy compromise between saving money and great blending performance.
Magic Bullet Blender
The Magic Bullet has emerged as one of the most popular blenders in the world, and it certainly holds up to that reputation. With a Magic Bullet, you can chop, mix, and blend – much more than you can do with a traditional blender.
Blender Bottle
The Blender Bottle has become extremely popular over the last 10 years, and is not actually technically a blender. It is essentially a shaker cup, with a whisk inside, that allows you to quickly mix together a protein shake.
If you are looking for a very affordable, and a very portable option, a Blender Bottle makes for a good alternative to an at-home blender.
Best Blender For Smoothies
We think the Vitamix is the best choice for not only smoothies, but for any type of blending. However, it is not the cheapest, so you may want to opt for one of our personal blender picks, if you only need to mix a smoothie after your workout.
You can also buy a Blender Bottle for this type of ultra-low budget blending. However, you will want to make sure you clean it very often, as it is much more likely to grow bacteria, since it is made from plastic.
How Do I Choose The Best Blender For Me?
Choosing the best blender for you comes down to looking at your own personal needs, and choosing the right. If you want speed, power, portability, or simply the cheapest option – there is a blender out there for you.
We recommend that you spend a little more on a blender (unlike some kitchen appliances), because more expensive models are much better crafted, and will last much longer. You don’t want to have to replace your blender every 6 months, and a blender is often the most-used device in your entire kitchen – so investing in a good model is a sound idea.
The Best Blender
There you have it – our top picks for the best blender. There are lots of other great products in the home appliance space, so be sure to check out our other reviews in the home and kitchen categories.