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Over the years, we’ve used a lot of different blenders and I’ve written several blender reviews. Cooking from scratch three times a day for eight people gives me a LOT of time to test out blenders while making sauces, smoothies and more. My favorite blender has changed a few times over the years so I figured an updated review was in order!
What to Look For in a Quality Blender
A good blender can last years, so it is worth doing some research before purchasing one!
Before deciding which blender will work for you, consider how often you’ll be using it, how big it needs to be and your budget. I also looked at the warranty length of each blender and how well it could fit in a cabinet or under a counter.
Based on these criteria, I’m sharing my favorite blenders that we’ve used over the years and why. These are our favorites in each category: high-powered, budget-friendly, easiest for kids, and immersion.
Best High Speed Blender
High speed blenders are all the rage. With the continued popularity of smoothies in recent years, these blenders have become the most-used kitchen appliances in many kitchens. We’ve personally tried several different iterations of the top two contenders: Blendtec and Vitamix and while they are both amazing, I think we will stick with our current favorite for many, many years…
My Top Choice: Vitamix 750 Professional Series
We have this brushed stainless steel Vitamix 750 Professional and I love it! It has a 2.2 horsepower motor and blends quickly and completely.
The biggest (and possibly only) downside to this blender? The price.
Most people won’t want to drop $600+ on a blender and there are some less expensive options (see below) that work almost as well. We opted for this one because it is professional grade and our blender gets a lot of daily use making nut butters, smoothies and even soups.
Our very first Vitamix was a refurbished 5200 that we saved up for months and months to get as newlyweds. It was such an improvement over our $30 wedding gift blender and we used it for many years. The only downside was that it didn’t fit well under the cabinet on the counter and the jar was too big to fit in any of our kitchen cabinets. This meant that with very limited counter space, it was always in the middle of the counter in two pieces and in the way. We used that blender daily for over five years and it was still running like a champ when we passed it on to a family member.
The newer professional series fixes this with a shorter design and is our daily blender now. In fact, we now store ours in a kitchen cabinet so it isn’t on the counter at all!
Vitamix Pros & Cons
Pros:
- BPA free carafe
- 2.2 horsepower motor
- Spill-proof lid
- New models fit under counter or store in cabinet
- Four blades for faster blending
- Choice of many restaurants and bars for its consistent and resilient performance
- “Self Cleaning”- if you put soapy water in it, it will clean itself and just needs to be rinsed
Cons:
- Pricy
- Loud (due to the powerful motor, though this is true with all high-speed blenders)
- Not dishwasher safe
Blendtec vs. Vitamix
A few years ago, I had the chance to use a Blendtec for a while. Blendtec is another great option with comparable engine speed and performance. At the time, I liked that the Blendtec was shorter and easier to store, though as mentioned, that has been resolved with newer Vitamix models.
Both have good warranties, BPA free carafes, and are a great choice as a home blender. The reason that the new Vitamix still wins in my book is that the lid has a latch system that stays on (we had a couple accidents with the Blendtec) and the Vitamix has a manual control system vs. the computerized Blendtec system. Also, Vitamix has 4 blades to Blendtec’s two.
So Vitmix wins, though Blendtec is a great runner-up.
More Budget Friendly Vitamix
We have the top of the line Professional Series Vitamix but there are other great models that cost about half the price.
Best choice: The Certified Refurbished Vitamix 5300 still fits under the cabinet on a counter, has a long-lasting powerful motor, and is about half the price of the professional series.
Best Budget Friendly Blender
If a restaurant-grade high speed blender isn’t in the budget, there are some lower-priced options that perform almost as well! In fact, looking back, these would have been a great choice instead of the Vitamix when our budget was much tighter several years ago.
Top Choice: Ninja Pro
The Ninja Professional Blender is a great value and a great blender. It has close to the power of a true high speed blender and can do many of the same things at a fraction of the price.
We got to try this one at a rental house while on vacation. I was impressed with the power of the Ninja, and at under $100 it is a much less costly alternative to the two big brands. The Ninja doesn’t quite measure up to the power of the Vitamix but it can accomplish almost all of the same functions and has great reviews.
Easiest Blender for Kids
My older kids easily work most kitchen appliances and can even safely handle a chef’s knife (thanks to the Kids Cook Real Food course), but high speed blenders are not a toy, and I don’t let our younger kids use ours. It’s too easy (even for an adult) to leave a spoon in and blow out the motor or not latch the top and paint the kitchen. (I’m guilty of that one!)
A while back, we got a Magic Bullet as a gift. I almost didn’t take it out of the box because we use our Vitamix for everything, but I wondered if it would be a good option for the kids and decided to try it because it doesn’t take up much room.
I found that the size and speed are great for kids to make individual smoothies as long as they know the proportions and not to overfill. It was also convenient for chopping foods and making things like guacamole.
I wouldn’t consider it comparable to the options above and wouldn’t have purchased it, but it has been a convenient and inexpensive option to let the kids use.
Best Immersion Blender
I could write an ode to my immersion blender because I use it so often. We had a Cuisinart immersion blender for almost a decade and when it eventually died, we replaced it with the Oxa 4-in-1 Immersion Blender and we absolutely love it!
Immersion blenders are fantastic when you don’t need the power (or cleanup) of a high speed blender. I also use this all the time for blending soups and sauces in the pan without having to risk transferring them to a blender. Since the immersion blender is stainless steel, this also minimizes plastic touching hot foods.
As a bonus, the OXA has attachments that whisk and that chop (great for onions without the tears). Personally, I consider both a regular high speed blender and an immersion blender to be necessary kitchen tools since I use them in such different ways.
There are lots of options available when it comes to blenders, but these are my personal favorites and have met the needs of our family.
What is your favorite blender? Do you agree with my blender reviews? Share below!
Katie, I have looked at the immersion blender you spoke of. In the comments, some people mention the instructions say to not use in hot liquids. My main purpose for this type of blender is to puree my okra and spinach soup. Do you use it in a soup pot?
The manufacturer clarified in the questions section that this can be used with hot soups. They just wanted to be sure customers were careful with hot liquids and didn’t splash anything too hot on themselves. So yes, this is perfect for soup!
I have had my Ninja Pro for about 10 months and I don’t use it every day. A few days ago oil started bubbling up out of the top of the unit from the motor. I haven’t contacted the company yet, but I am hoping that since I have had it for less than a year that the warranty will cover it. I would really prefer to get my money back rather than a replacement. The blade for the individual smoothie cups blends very well, but the blade in the large carafe does not. It leaves little bits of spinach in my smoothies. Also, I really dislike that I can’t add ingredients while blending unless they are tiny and fit through the spout. I used my mother-in-law’s Oster Duralast Classic many times over the Christmas holiday and was much happier with that.
I just got the Dynapro Commercial Vacuum Blender by Tribest, which is a high-speed blender just as powerful as the Vitamix, but way better because you can blend under vacuum! Which is simply amazing as it avoids the extrem oxidation (=destruction) during blending. Look into vacuum blending, it might transform your life.
Hi, are there any glass blenders that you would recommend? It looks like the ones above use plastic, is that right? I would love a good glass one if there are ones out there. Thanks!
I love the idea of a Vitamix, but I am worried about chemicals leeching out when using it for hot stuff (i.e. coffee & soups). Can you shed any light in this?
I love the idea of a Vitamix, but I am worried about chemicals leaching out when using it for hot stuff (i.e. coffee & soups). Can anyone shed any light on this?
I saw all the comments are varied and interesting. Read about this topic I think its very personal choice as to what blender each person likes or doesn’t like. Myself, I have used easy Clean Juicer. That are very fast and make more smoothies.
Easier cleaning is the main reason I by-passed the Vitamix for the Blentec which is much, much easier to clean (two blades vs four blades). The other reason was canister size because years ago when I bought my Blentec the Vitamix was too tall to fit any place. Any blender can ship in with a problem but the concern should be whether or not the company stands behind their equipment when a problem develops especially during the warranty period. Vitamix offers rebates I believe.
I own a Blentec at present and IMO it is a LOT easier to clean. It has two blades which are easier to work around when emptying than working around Vitamix’s 4 blades yet there is no loss in blending technique. The Blentec started out as a commercial blender, used in such establishments as Starbucks, prior to introducing the model for use in the home. Of course the reputation of the Vitamix was well established years and years ago so IMO one can’t go wrong either way. I haven’t checked recently but when I bought mine, the Blentec was more reasonably priced and was much shorter (the Vitamix wouldn’t fit anywhere but they have now, finally, introduced the shorter canister). I’ve used the Blentec about 2,000 heavy duty times and will buy another if I ever need to.
I found all the comments so varied and interesting for this topic. I think it’s a very personal preference as to what blender each person likes or doesn’t like. I myself have used the same basic Black and Decker blender for years for everything from smoothies to non-dairy cream sauces. It blends perfectly and smoothly without chunks left in the mixtures. It is easy to clean and has many blend options. It’s roughly only $40, and I’ve probably had it for 10 years. I’ve been wanting to try a Vitamix or Blendtec for ever, but I just can’t justify the cost especially when my inexpensive blender works fantastically. Also, I can’t find enough reviews to help me lean to choosing either the Vitamix or the Blendtec because I feel they are split right down the middle.
I love my Vitamix. I bought it refurbished for $300 about 40 months ago and it is one of the best investments ever. It sits on my counter all the time because I use it daily. When I decided I had to start eating an inflammatory diet 18 months ago, it became more important because I have a daily detox smoothie full of vegetables. I have almost no pain these days, lost 50 pounds, went from a size 18 to a size 8, and am smaller at 63 than I was when I was 11.
I’ve had the Vitamix Professional 750 since 2013 and I love it. I’ve been using it almost everyday since 2016 and it has can handle almost everything. I have both the 64oz and the 32oz pitchers since this allows me to process smaller amounts (smoothies for 1 or 2) and larger recipes. I hesitated over the price, but I had one of the original Vitamix machines years ago (the 80’s) when they had the spigot on the front and were stainless. They were amazing back then, so I was willing to pay for the 750. It is easy to clean, so it is something I use a lot.
I have a blendtec that I paid around $350 for and I absolutely hate it. I don’t have the “wildside” jar, so I don’t know if that’s my problem, but I have to add SO much liquid to smoothies to get them to blend that it defeats the purpose. It has the problem of getting an air pocket around the blades three or four times and I have to stop blending. I have to hold onto it very tightly as it jerks while it is blending. I’m looking to replace with a Vitamix eventually, but I have heard really good things about the Ninja from friends who have it.
Yes!!! I LOVE my Vitamix!! I use it two or three times a day.
As far as the Bullet goes, I tried taking it on my trips so I could make my own smoothies but it just doesn’t have the power to really make them, well, smooth!
After much consideration, I bought a Waring Pro Commercial blender because it is 3.5hp and can take Vitamix jugs as well as it’s own wider jug. It also has four blades and a stainless steel jug option. I had an older Vitamix that I used the jugs from and had max power and jug joy! It’s been going strong for 10 years, and while the jug stayed fine, I had to replace my Vitamix jug because the ball bearings came out. Also, it has manual controls, so no electronic failures to worry about.
Waring MX1000XTS Xtreme 3 1/2 hp Commercial Blender with Paddle Switches, and 64 oz. Stainless Steel Container
That’s the one I’m talking about – $440 with the stainless steel jug.
Are you aware of the class action lawsuit on Vitamix, due to particles of the coating allegedly coming off in the food being blended? They are offering replacement blade assemblies for those affected.
We actually have a Cuisinart Hurricane and use it daily—we love it!
What’s the best juicer out there that is affordable and easy to clean. Right now I am using my ninja and straining through a cheese cloth or muslin. I love feelings big the juices between my hands it really makes me appreciate gods amazing fruits and vegggies but it is very time consuming and beets can be very messy. I’m looking to speed up prep time altogether. ?