There are few breakfasts that feel as healthy and refreshing as the ever-mutable smoothie. You can make them virtuous, with lots of greens and nut milk, or luscious, with full-fat dairy and cocoa powder – but in order to make a good one, you need a really good blender.
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And while smoothies are the classic use for a blender, these appliances can do so much more; a truly great blender is a kitchen workhorse that can make your morning smoothie, your afternoon dip, your evening soup and even a frozen drink if you’re feeling frisky.
While blender technology has definitely improved in the last few decades – we now have high-speed contraptions that can make peanut butter in less than a minute – they’re all basically attempting to turn large pieces of food into a smoother result. If you’re looking for a new one, we’ve tested the best in the business.
At a glance
All prices current at time of publication.
Why you should trust me
I’ve been writing about food for more than a decade, whether that’s writing recipes, editing cookbooks or reviewing restaurants. I’m an obsessive home cook with a small kitchen: I love an efficient kitchen tool and don’t have patience for useless bits and bobs. I’m also a habitual smoothie maker, meaning that I’ve made hundreds of morning drinks, as well as plenty of pesto and endless sauces, in my own refurbished Vitamix – and cleaned it by hand each time.
How I tested all these blenders
After spending a few weeks researching the wide world of blender options, I selected nine blenders to test: six full-sized blenders and three personal blenders. (I skipped immersion blenders, because comparing them to high-powered blenders felt like comparing a bike to a Hummer: they have different uses and vastly different power levels.)
Photograph: Marion Bull/The Guardian
I tested each blender’s ability to make the following: crushed ice (to replicate frozen drinks), peanut butter, pesto, smoothies and a broccoli-potato-white bean soup. After each test, I washed the blenders by hand, making note of how annoying they were to wash without the luxury of a dishwasher. I also made note of what “extras” they came with, how they were packaged and what they were made of.
Photograph: The Guardian
I’m donating the blenders I tested to St Mary’s Clothing Drive in Brooklyn, a wonderful charity near my apartment.
Best overall:
Vitamix 5200
Photograph: The Guardian
$464.99 at Amazon
$499.95 at Vitamix
Why we love it
Across all my rounds of testing, the two Vitamix blenders I tested consistently produced the smoothest product, though this one – the 5200 – had the edge. Whether I was sipping a smoothie, spooning a soup or (let’s be real) dipping a finger into a batch of pesto, this blender produced luscious, vibrant results, even keeping green and purple smoothies from turning muddy in color. It also worked quickly, turning a chunky soup into a puree in less than a minute, while other competitors took 90 seconds or more to create a mulchier result.
After a few rounds of testing, the touchscreen of the more expensive Ascent ($750 compared to the 5200’s $470) stopped working, and the blender was unusable. Even if the Ascent had kept working throughout my testing, the results were basically the same as those of the 5200.
I also appreciated that the 5200 offered an array of speeds, without an excess of settings. There’s an on/off switch and a switch that lets you choose high speed or variable speed; if you choose variable, a dial at the center of the control panel lets you go from zero to 10 as you like. The device will also “pulse” in case you want to make something chunkier, such as salsa. And it comes with a tamper, to help break down anything super thick like peanut butter. Finally, it has a seven-year warranty.
It’s a shame that … It’s definitely loud. At just over 20in tall, it’s also too large to fit under some people’s cupboards.
Capacity: 64 ounces
Power: 1,380 watts / 120 volts
Speeds: 10
Best budget blender:
Breville Fresh & Furious
Photograph: The Guardian
$198.99 at Target
$186 at Amazon
Why we love it
Out of the gate, I was impressed by the Breville because it was one of only two blenders that could crush ice without the assistance of a tamper or a splash of water. If you’re looking to make frozen margaritas on the cheap, this blender is for you. The Breville website claims that the blades offer a mix of blending and food processing functionality; I tried chopping some carrots, and it was more of a shred. Still, it’s a useful option. It also whipped up a bright-green pesto quickly. While it wasn’t as silky smooth as the Vitamix pesto, it got pretty close. The smoothie, too, had a bit more texture than the Vitamix smoothie, but at nearly a third of the price, it feels like an acceptable tradeoff.
I also liked the lid design: it fits very tightly and securely into the jug and features a loop that helps you pull it off easily.
It’s a shame that … Although it comes in seven different colors, from “red velvet cake” to “olive tapenada”, this isn’t the sleekest-looking blender of the bunch. And if you’re obsessive about texture, you may find that your smoothies and soups aren’t perfectly smooth.
Capacity: 50 ounces
Power: 1,100 watts
Speeds: five, plus other features such as crushed ice and pulse
Best personal blender:
The Beast Mega 1200 Plus
Photograph: The Guardian
$219 at Macys
$219 at Beast
Why we love it
The Beast is the newest brand on this list. Their personal blenders have a very strong motor at 1,200 watts, and this option, the Mega Plus, comes with three jars, for XL smoothies, little batches of sauce and everything in between. The Mega Plus came with more bits and bobs than any other blender I tried: in addition to the jars there are a drinking lid, two straws, a straw cleaner and a blade cleaner. If you like gear, this is likely the blender for you.
Of the three personal blenders I tested, the Beast consistently produced the best results, blending everything evenly from pesto to soup. While it couldn’t blend nut butter or crush ice, I’m not sure that there’s a personal blender on the market that can, and it was definitely the best for thick smoothies. I also liked the color options – I tested a dark blue model. It offers two speeds: “pulse” and “blend”.
It’s a shame that … While the Beast’s jars are made of plastic – the same BPA-free material that the Vitamix uses – they’re so heavy I briefly thought they might be made from very thick glass. I recently deadlifted nearly 240lbs, but even I wouldn’t want to carry a smoothie this heavy to the gym.
Capacity: 28.75 ounces
Power: 1,200 watts / 120 volts
Speeds: two (pulse and blend)
The best of the rest
Best blender for smoothies on the go:
Nutribullet Pro 900
Photograph: Marion Bull/The Guardian
$89.19 at Amazon
$79.99 at Kohl’s
If you want a personal blender that will make good smoothies and shakes you can take to the gym – or you balked at the Beast’s $219 price tag – the Nutribullet is your friend. At just $88, the Nutribullet blended smoothies that were only slightly more textured than those of its more expensive counterpart, and it handily blended soup and pesto without any problem. It also comes with a second jar, a lid for drinking and a clunky-looking but totally effective detachable handle. This jar was basically designed to be thrown in a gym bag.
It didn’t make the final cut because … Its smoothies weren’t the smoothest, but they still did the trick.
Capacity: 32 ounces
Power: 900 watts
Speeds: one
Best blender for the plastic-averse:
Oster Classic Series Heritage Blender with 6-Cup Glass Jar
Photograph: Marion Bull/The Guardian
$99.99 at Walmart
The Oster felt decidedly nostalgic – I’m pretty sure that my parents had the same one in the 90s, with its flip-on switch and tapered glass jug. It’s also the only blender that arrived with zero plastic packaging: all cardboard, no useless baggies. If you’re looking for a blender that will minimize potential exposure to microplastics, this is a great option, thanks to its glass jug. The lid is still plastic, but has less contact with your food. It also offers a 10-year warranty – even longer than the Vitamix’s.
It didn’t make the final cut because … Its blending capabilities left something to be desired: it produced a decidedly mulchy green smoothie, and it never got soup as smooth as its competitors. Because the base is so narrow, it’s difficult to clean by hand, as the area beneath the blades is a challenge to reach.
Capacity: 48 ounces
Power: 1,000 power watts/600 blending watts
Speeds: two
What key features should I look out for?
Choosing your blender will have a lot to do with how you want to use it. Do you just want to make shakes for the gym, or are you an obsessive home cook who has always wanted to make hummus? When it comes to jug blenders, the motor’s power is the factor that most contributes to the blender’s ability to do its job, but jug shape also comes into play. A more narrow, round base will blend small quantities better than a wider, square base.
If you’re just looking for a smoothie-making machine, or you have very limited counter space or budget, a personal blender is likely your best bet, thanks to its small footprint and because the jar turns into a to-go vessel for your drink. Jug blenders are better for larger jobs, or thicker mixtures, such as thick smoothies, nut butters, spreads and soups. A higher-power blender is going to offer a smoother consistency and faster results.
How do I clean my blender?
Photograph: Marion Bull/The Guardian
Most high-speed blenders can clean themselves with a little help. Rinse out your blender as best you can, add a squeeze of dish soap and fill halfway with water. Then blend on high for a minute. Unless you were blending something particularly sticky, this should clean out your blender, and all you have to do is rinse it. You may have to wash the lid by hand.
Personal blenders are a little different. Cleaning the jars is the same as cleaning a water glass. Be careful when cleaning the blades. I like to soak them in hot soapy water for about 20 minutes, which will loosen any bits of soup that have lodged in crevices.
What else did you test?
These are the blenders that I tested, in alphabetical order:
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The Beast Mega 1200 Plus
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Blendtec Total Blender Classic
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Breville Fresh & Furious
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Cuisinart Hurricane
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Nutribullet Pro 900
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Classic Series Heritage Blender with 6-Cup Glass Jar
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Vitamix 5200
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Vitamix Ascent X5
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Zwilling Enfinigy Personal Blender
Marian Bull has 10 years’ experience in recipe reviewing – and in cleaning her blender. She has written about food for publications including Bon Appétit, the New York Times and the Los Angeles Times.
This article was originally published on 7 August 2025. Reviews published in the Filter may be periodically updated to reflect new products and at the editor’s discretion. The date of an article’s most recent update can be found in the timestamp at the top of the page.
