Vitamix 5200 Review

Performance Comparison

To determine which of these kitchen appliances came out on top, we bought the best and put them head-to-head to find our winners, judging their performance in five weighted rating metrics. These were Grinding, Pureeing, Smoothies, Ice, and Convenience.

Smoothies

The most important metric of our review was our Smoothie metric, which takes credit for 30% of each blender's score. We selected four common smoothie recipes — green, berry, fruit and oat, and Oreo — to rate the performance of the Vitamix 5200. This blender is a smoothie maker's dream, landing at the top of the pack in this metric.

The 5200 made an awesome green smoothie that essentially poured right through the sieve without any issue.

The texture was exceptionally smooth, with no flakes or chunks of unblended greenery and a consistent flavor profile throughout the drink.

The berry smoothie was also fantastic, with no unblended chunks of fruit in the final drink and an incredibly consistent texture.

The 5200 also completely destroyed the seeds, a task that only the top-performing blenders can tackle, with the finished mixture cleanly pouring through the sieve.

We had to use the blender's tamper to get the fruit and oat smoothie to blend, but this is what the tamper is for. The final mixture was a bit grainier the some of the other product's fruit and oat smoothies, but it was still very good. The 5200 also produced an exceptionally smooth and creamy Oreo malt milkshake. We employed the tamper here too, and there were one or two little clumps of ice cream that the blade missed, but all in all, it was an excellent shake.

Ice

The Ice tests in this review are weighted at 20% for each blender. We based the scores for each product on its performance in two tests: mixing an excellent margarita and crushing a full pitcher of ice. This premium Vitamix model again scored very well here. It had no issue crushing ice without any liquid present, demolishing an entire pitcher in less than 20 seconds.

The 5200 took a little bit more time when blending a margarita and required us to vary the speed and stop and shake the pitcher occasionally to keep the mixture blending.

Convenience

Convenience takes credit for another 20% of the final score for the Vitamix 5200. We determined scores for this metric on how easy it is to clean each blender, take the lid on and off, or use the preset functions. The 5200 delivered a middle-of-the-road performance, earning a 5 out of 10 for its efforts.

We had a bit of difficulty cleaning this model. It's not recommended for the dishwasher, and it's a bit tougher to manually clean than other Vitamix models due to its taller and narrower pitcher.

The 5200 also does not include a digital timer and preset functions as we would hope. However, the controls are clearly and intuitively labeled.

It's also very easy to remove the lid, but this blender is a little on the loud side compared to the rest of the pack.

Pureeing

Accounting for 15% of the total score, our Pureeing metric is comprised of a trio of assessments, testing how well each blender made mixed soup, heated it, and made nut butter from almonds and peanuts. The 5200 did very well here, just slightly behind the other premium blender models.

The 5200 created an excellent and silky-smooth tomato soup that effortlessly poured right through the sieve in just under six minutes.

It easily heated the soup to the point that it was hot enough to be served, reaching just over 153°F at the conclusion of its blending cycle. Unfortunately, though, the 5200 severely struggled with making nut butter. The mixture remained thick and grainy, never becoming smooth and creamy like the other Vitamix models. The motor also became exceptionally warm — enough for us to feel the need to give it a rest. We even added a little extra oil and never got satisfactory results.

Grinding

For the remaining 15% of the final score, we judged how well each blender handled grinding hard food. The 5200 concluded our test with a solid performance, doing great at milling corn flour, creating a mixture that almost entirely passed through the sieve, with only a tiny bit of residual caught.

The 5200 also did very well when tasked with making powdered sugar, matching the performance of the top models. The 5200 finished with a solid performance in our parmesan cheese challenge, producing a relatively fine blend of grated cheese, but not quite pizza parlor shaker quality.

Should You Buy the Vitamix 5200?

The 5200 is a great choice if you want a Vitamix and can deal with the lack of presets. It's more affordable than the other Vitamix models we tested and performs similarly; just note that the pitcher on this model is taller and slimmer than the other Vitamix blenders. However, if you're okay moving outside of the Vitamix brand, there are comparably priced models that matched or even outperformed this one.

What Other Blenders Should You Consider?

If you're sold on the Vitamix brand, the A2500 Ascent Series is our favorite of the bunch. We think it's one of the best blenders on the market today. With a similar overall score, the Cuisinart Hurricane Pro is an excellent model that comes highly recommended, and it's a bit more affordable than the A2500 Ascent. These models are outside of the price range for many, though, and if that's the case, we recommend the NutriBullet Blender, which also lands high on our list and scores very well in smoothie making, ice crushing, and pureeing.