Reviews You Can Rely On

The 5 Best Blenders

We tested the top blenders from Vitamix, Cuisinart, NutriBullet, Breville, and others to find the best
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Best Blenders
Credit: Abriah Wofford

We evaluated over 120 different blenders to find the best, then bought the 13 top blenders available today. We put each product through an extensive side-by-side testing process, including 21 scientific performance tests. Our tests compared performance on popular blending tasks like making smoothies, and margaritas, crushing ice, milling flour, grating hard cheeses, mixing soups, and even making nut butter. We also scored each product on ease of cleaning and ease of use.

This review covers the best full-sized blenders. We also do extensive testing of the best portable blenders available. While smaller blenders don't offer the power and versatility of full-sized models, they take less space, are more affordable, and may cover all your blending needs. If you are mainly looking to blend soups and dressings, consider our favorite hand blenders, which have minimal parts to clean and fits in a drawer. And if you want to specialize in smoothies, we'd recommend you consider one of the best bullet blenders from our review for increased convenience. If you are not sure which style is the best for you, check out our detailed blender buying advice. If you are curious about other top kitchen appliances, we have recommendations to make your life easier.

Editor's Note: We updated our blender review on September 14, 2023, with a focus on ensuring correct product pricing.

Top 13 Product Ratings

Displaying 1 - 5 of 13
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Awards Editors' Choice Award Editors' Choice Award Editors' Choice Award   
Price $550 List
$539.55 at Amazon
$550 List
$599.95 at Amazon
$400 List
$222.40 at Amazon
$630 List
$629.95 at Amazon
$350 List
$379.95 at Amazon
Overall Score Sort Icon
92
89
88
86
84
Star Rating
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Pros Lots of convenient presets, intuitive interface, comes with accessories, strong overall performance, great heating capabilitiesExcellent at crushing ice, perfect at pureeing, superb at smoothies, durableFantastic smoothies, great at crushing ice, silky-smooth pureesGreat at grinding, fantastic for smoothies, crushes ice with easeGreat smoothies, delicious margaritas, solid grinding capabilities, pulse button
Cons ExpensivePriceyBlade showed signs of wear and tearNot the most convenient to use, expensiveNo presets, no digital timer, requires hands-on use
Bottom Line An expensive blender that is worth every penny, with premium blending, pureeing, and milling capabilitiesThis burly blender earned the top score overall but comes at a premium priceThis is one of our all-around favorite kitchen appliances and we highly recommend it for all of your blending needsThis top-of-the-line blender did exceptionally well in our tests, but there are less expensive models that performed comparablyA simple and sleek blender that offers complete control over the speed at which it runs, but zero presets
Rating Categories Breville the Super Q Vitamix A2500 Ascen... Cuisinart Hurricane... Vitamix Pro 750 Vitamix Explorian E310
Smoothies (30%)
9.0
9.0
9.0
9.0
8.9
Ice (20%)
10.0
10.0
10.0
10.0
10.0
Convenience (20%)
8.3
7.2
6.9
5.9
6.9
Pureeing (15%)
9.8
10.0
10.0
9.6
7.1
Grinding (15%)
8.9
8.2
8.4
8.6
8.8
Specs Breville the Super Q Vitamix A2500 Ascen... Cuisinart Hurricane... Vitamix Pro 750 Vitamix Explorian E310
Model Number BBL920BSS1BUS1 A2500 CBT-2000 750 E310
Power 2.4 HP Peak 2.2 HP Peak 3.5 HP Peak 2.2 HP 2 HP
Dimensions 10.5" x 8.1" x 18" 11" x 8" x 17" 10.05" x 8.50" x 17.55" 17.5" x 9.4" x 7.7" 11" x 8" x 18"
Pitcher size 50 oz 64 oz 64 oz 64 oz 48 oz
Dishwasher safe Yes - the blender jug, the personal blender cup, tamper, scraper, and the lids Yes Yes No Yes - Lid, Lid Plug, Centering Pad, Tamper, Tamper Holder and Blade Scraper
Accessories Yes
  • Personal cup
  • Recipe book
  • Two tampers
  • Personal cup blade system
Yes
  • Tamper
No Yes
  • Tamper
Yes
  • Tamper
  • Small recipe pamphlet
Digital Timer Yes Yes Yes Yes No
Presets Yes, 5
  • Smoothie
  • Green Smoothie
  • Ice Crush
  • Frozen Desserts
  • Soup
  • 12 speed settings
Yes, 3
  • Smoothie
  • Frozen Drink
  • Soup
Yes,
  • Clean
  • Soup
  • Smoothie (Fruit and Green)
  • Ice Crush
Yes, 5
  • Smoothie
  • Frozen Drink
  • Soup
  • Puree
  • Clean
Yes, 1
  • Pulse
Measured Soup Temperature 154 153.2 155.4 153.2 112


Best Premium Blender


Breville the Super Q


92
OVERALL
SCORE
  • Smoothies 9.0
  • Ice 10.0
  • Convenience 8.3
  • Pureeing 9.8
  • Grinding 8.9
Peak Power: 2.4 HP | Jar Size: 50 oz.
REASONS TO BUY
Thoughtful presets
User-friendly interface
Personal cup and blender
Heats soup well
REASONS TO AVOID
Slightly fickle lid

The Breville the Super Q is nearly perfect, with many thoughtful presets and attachments and unmatched versatility. The personal blender cup is big and durable, making it perfect for those on the go, while the blending top is efficient and easy to install. The tamper and scraper are helpful when blending green smoothies or pureeing nuts into butter or veggies into soup. The Super Q also heats soup to a whopping 154 degrees in 5.5 minutes. Sugar and flour easily grind into a powder, and hard cheeses like parmesan shred perfectly to complete your pasta dinner or top your homemade pizza. The five preset buttons, pulse/ice crush, smoothie, green smoothie, frozen dessert, and soup, are clearly labeled and light up when selected. A dial controls the large, easy-to-read digital screen, and there are six settings: mill, puree, blend, chop, mix, and stir. This unit is dishwasher safe and has a cleaning sequence for those who don't have a dishwasher.

High performance comes at a high price. While the price tag may deter some, the Super Q is well worth the money. It shows no signs of wear during our arduous testing and offers a very versatile performance. If you are looking for the best of the best and don't mind spending the extra money to obtain it, the Super Q is a wonderful option.

Read more: Breville the Super Q review

The Super Q crushes fruit very quickly.
Credit: Abriah Wofford

Runner Up Blender


Cuisinart Hurricane Pro


88
OVERALL
SCORE
  • Smoothies 9.0
  • Ice 10.0
  • Convenience 6.9
  • Pureeing 10.0
  • Grinding 8.4
Peak Power: 3.5 HP | Jar Size: 64 oz.
REASONS TO BUY
Silky smoothies
Excellent at pureeing
Crushes ice with ease
REASONS TO AVOID
Blades showed signs of wear

The Cuisinart Hurricane Pro takes the cake for the best blender on the market. While there may be another model in our test suite that slightly outperforms it, we couldn't ignore that it costs a fraction of the price. The Hurricane Pro makes silky-smooth smoothies and magnificently mixed margaritas. In addition to delicious beverages, this model easily powers through other tasks like milling flour and cornmeal or grating hard cheese without any trouble. It pureed velvety-smooth tomato soup and even heated it enough to serve right out of the pitcher. This top-of-the-line product is convenient and excels across the board. It would make an excellent addition to any kitchen appliance lineup.

However, we noticed some minor signs of wear and tear on the blade after our admittedly intense testing process. This should only be a concern if you plan to frequently do tasks that are hard on the blade, such as crushing ice without liquid, milling cornmeal, or making nut butter.

Read more: Cuisinart Hurricane Pro review

blender - fast, easy, and evenly blended, the hurricane pro 3.5 made delicious...
Fast, easy, and evenly blended, the Hurricane Pro 3.5 made delicious smoothies with little effort.
Credit: Jenna Ammerman

Long Lasting High Performer


Vitamix A2500 Ascent Series


89
OVERALL
SCORE
  • Smoothies 9.0
  • Ice 10.0
  • Convenience 7.2
  • Pureeing 10.0
  • Grinding 8.2
Peak Power: 2.2 HP | Jar Size: 64 oz.
REASONS TO BUY
Dishwasher safe
No sign of wear
Makes excellent nut butter
REASONS TO AVOID
Pricey

The Vitamix A2500 Ascent Series is a premium product that excelled in the bulk of our tests, including the most difficult ones like milling flour and crushing ice. This model does a fantastic job at pureeing soup, and it can even warm it up to piping hot, ready to serve. On top of all that, the blades on this burly device showed practically zero signs of wear after our testing, so if you're planning to use it daily, it should make an excellent choice and offer lasting value.

Unfortunately, this model is a pretty serious investment with a price tag that will cost you a few hundred dollars more than our other top performers. That said, according to our extensive testing, it offers long-term value and can handle any blending challenge you throw its way. If you are willing to fork over the cash, the Vitamix A2500 is the absolute best.

Read more: Vitamix A2500 Ascent Series review

blender - the 64-ounce pitcher included with the a2500 is plenty capable of...
The 64-ounce pitcher included with the A2500 is plenty capable of making a large-batch of smoothies from fresh or frozen ingredients.
Credit: Jenna Ammerman

Best Bang for the Buck


NutriBullet Blender


80
OVERALL
SCORE
  • Smoothies 8.3
  • Ice 10.0
  • Convenience 5.2
  • Pureeing 10.0
  • Grinding 6.7
Peak Power: 1.61 HP | Jar Size: 64 oz.
REASONS TO BUY
Fantastic at pureeing
Heats soups
Great at crushing ice and blending drinks
REASONS TO AVOID
No presets or timers
Can be more difficult to clean

If the top models' price tags are well outside your budget, check out the NutriBullet Blender. We were surprised by this budget blender's excellent performance, holding its own against other models that cost significantly more. It makes excellent blended beverages and smoothies and excels in some of the more difficult blending tasks, such as grating hard cheeses and pureeing nut butter. The NutriBullet can even heat soup to serving temperature while it's blending — something only the most powerful models can do.

While we have mostly raving reviews, a price difference like this doesn't come without compromise. The NutriBullet is a bit less user-friendly and convenient to operate. It does not have a digital timer and lacks any automatic preset cycles for different blending tasks. This means that you have to get to know the different power cycles a little better before you can concoct the perfect margarita or breakfast smoothie. We also think it's a little difficult to clean under the blade. However, we found these issues to be forgivable due to the cost savings this product offers over the top-tier models.

Read more: NutriBullet Blender review

blender - the nutribullet made some excellent smoothies.
The NutriBullet made some excellent smoothies.
Credit: Jenna Ammerman

Best Multipurpose Blender


Breville the 3X Bluicer


71
OVERALL
SCORE
  • Smoothies 7.4
  • Ice 7.7
  • Convenience 7.7
  • Pureeing 5.2
  • Grinding 6.8
Peak Power: 2 HP | Jar Size: 48 oz.
REASONS TO BUY
Juicer-Blender hybrid
Simple assembly
Convenient presets
REASONS TO AVOID
Subpar pureeing abilities
Spout doesn't work well for thicker liquids

The Breville Bluicer doesn't stop at smoothies. It doubles as a juicer, eliminating the need for a slew of kitchen appliances crowding your cabinets. While it does not create the perfect smoothie like some of the more expensive blenders in our test suite, it still holds its own. Our fruit oat and nut smoothie is well blended and delicious, and so is the milkshake. It juices like a dream but requires some elbow grease to get things going. It also crushes ice very efficiently and makes a decent margarita, as long as you don't mind a slushy consistency.

The Bluicer struggles to break down berry seeds. It also falls very short in the soup-making department. During our testing, it pureed a very chunky and inconsistent tomato soup. Not all is lost in the pureeing tests, though. To our surprise, it makes a great nut butter with the assistance of extra oil and a tamper. The Breville 3X Bluicer is a great option for those looking for a dual-purpose blender.

Read more: Breville the 3X Bluicer review

Here we are twisting up some tasty margaritas with the Bluicer.
Credit: Abriah Wofford

Compare Products

select up to 5 products to compare
Score Product Price
92
Breville the Super Q
Best Premium Blender
$550
Editors' Choice Award
89
Vitamix A2500 Ascent Series
Long Lasting High Performer
$550
Editors' Choice Award
88
Cuisinart Hurricane Pro
Runner Up Blender
$400
Editors' Choice Award
86
Vitamix Pro 750
$630
84
Vitamix Explorian E310
$350
80
NutriBullet Blender
Best Bang for the Buck
$130
Best Buy Award
79
Vitamix 5200
$480
77
Ninja Professional Plus BN701
$120
76
Blendtec Designer 650
$450
72
Breville Fresh & Furious
$200
71
Breville the 3X Bluicer
Best Multipurpose Blender
$300
Top Pick Award
67
Cleanblend Commercial Blender
$180
60
Oster Versa Pro
$310

blender - we subjected every blender to 21 individual performance tests...
We subjected every blender to 21 individual performance tests. Milling popcorn into cornmeal is a tough challenge that separates the best from the rest.
Credit: Austin Palmer

Why You Should Trust Us


Our testing protocol for blenders is extensive; we've conducted more than 420 individual tests to evaluate the more than 40 blenders we've tested since 2016. Our tests prove that blenders vary widely in their performance and best application. To help you find the perfect one for your needs, we buy each blender ourselves, accepting no freebies from manufacturers to assure complete independence. Then we perform a barrage of 21 individual tests on each model.

Our testing is divided across five rating metrics:
  • Smoothie tests (30% of total score weighting)
  • Ice tests (20% weighting)
  • Convenience tests (20% weighting)
  • Pureeing tests (15% weighting)
  • Grinding tests (15% weighting)

Each metric's contribution to the overall score is weighted based on how important we believe it is for most people's purchase decision-making. This exhaustive testing and rating process puts us in a unique position to help you find just the right blender for your needs.

blender - using an spl meter to record how loud each blender is in dba.
Using an SPL meter to record how loud each blender is in dBa.
Credit: Jenna Ammerman

The Smoothie metric is the one we weighted most heavily, for 30% of each blender's score. To assure scientific and fair comparison testing, we use the same smoothie and blended beverage recipes in each product. We created a berry smoothie, green smoothie, a fruit, nut, & oat smoothie, and an Oreo malt. Then, a panel of judges performs blind taste-testing without knowing which blender made them, scoring them on texture, consistency, and flavor. We also used each blender for less common but more difficult tasks, including milling flour and making nut butter. These tasks are much more taxing for a blender and truly pushed them to their limits! Finally, we tested ease of use, awarded points for top display interfaces, and rated each on how easy they are to clean.

Our blender review team is made up of Austin Palmer, David Wise, and Hayley Thomas,. Combined, they have tested over 500 kitchen products including the best vacuum sealers, food processors, best microwaves, juicers, and many others. Both David and Austin have been testing blenders since 2016. All three people bring their expertise as avid home chefs to this review. New to this review is Genaveve Bradshaw, a detail-obsessed tester who has researched and tested many, many kitchen appliances from the best juicers and the best coffee makers to top-rated toasters.

The Pro 750 was a top competitor in making smoothies.
The Pro 750 was a top competitor in making smoothies.
The Vitamix A2500 makes efficient work of ice and ideally blended...
The Vitamix A2500 makes efficient work of ice and ideally blended frozen drinks with its Frozen Dessert preset.

Analysis and Test Results


The following sections detail the results of our tests, where we note which blenders stood out for their performance, good or bad, in each of our tests, so you can find the right blender for your needs.


Which Blender Offers the Best Value?


The premium blenders, like the Super Q, Cuisinart Hurricane Pro, and the Vitamix A2500, come with a matching premium price. However, don't be discouraged if spending a few hundred bucks on a kitchen appliance inspires panic. The NutriBullet Blender is an excellent all-around product that retails for less than half the price while holding its own in most of our tests against the A2500 and the Hurricane Pro. It has plenty of power when grating hard cheeses, making nut butter, and milling cornmeal and flour. The primary drawback of the NutriBullet Blender is that it isn't quite as easy to use, but it's still an incredible value option if you want to maximize your budget.

blender - the cuisinart hurricane pro makes beautiful berry smoothies.
The Cuisinart Hurricane Pro makes beautiful berry smoothies.
Credit: Jenna Ammerman

Which Blender Makes The Best Smoothies?


Most people think of smoothies when the word blender comes to mind. That is why we deemed smoothies our most important rating metric. To rate each model's ability in this metric, we put them each to the challenge of blending three popular types of smoothies and one milkshake:
  • Our Berry smoothie test (30% of Smoothie score weighting)
  • Our Green smoothie test (30% weighting)
  • Our Fruit, Nut & Oat smoothie test (25% weighting)
  • Our Oreo milkshake test (15% weighting)

Each test was rated, weighted for importance, and then a total score was calculated based on the results. We followed the manufacturer's recommended instructions for blending a smoothie for each machine and had a panel of judges do blind taste tests to score the consistency and texture of each beverage that we mixed up.


The most impressive models are the Cuisinart Hurricane Pro, Vitamix A2500 Ascent Series, Vitamix Pro 750, Vitamix 5200, and the Breville the Super Q. Any of these five would be a great match for a person or family that loves smoothies. A mid-grade price for high performance in the smoothie department would be the Breville Fresh & Furious. A couple more budget-friendly runner-ups are the NutriBullet and the Ninja Pro Plus.

blender - the pro 750 makes easy work of all the berry seeds.
The Pro 750 makes easy work of all the berry seeds.
Credit: Austin Palmer

Results of the Four Smoothie Tests


Each blender was given a score for each type of smoothie. These scores were weighted for the relative level of importance and calculated into the overall smoothie score.

blender - just a touch of a preset away from an ultra-smooth berry smoothie...
Just a touch of a preset away from an ultra-smooth berry smoothie with the Cuisinart Hurricane Pro.
Credit: Jenna Ammerman

Berry Smoothie Test


For the berry smoothie test, we strained the final mixture, looking to see if the blender successfully destroyed all of the berry seeds and skins and completely blended all of the fruit.


The Vitamix products are just amazing in our berry smoothie test. The A2500 and 5200 completely obliterate not only the fruit but the seeds as well. The Vitamix Pro 750 destroys all the seeds but leaves a few residual pieces of unblended strawberry. The Explorian does a great job here too, but leaves a few seeds unblended.

blender - the a2500 was a top performer for our berry smoothie test.
The A2500 was a top performer for our berry smoothie test.
Credit: Austin Palmer

The Vitamix Explorian E310 also blends up berries efficiently, offering a smooth consistency with minimal seeds to chew. The Breville the Super Q breaks down fruit effortlessly.

The Super Q only took 45 seconds to completely blend our green smoothie.
Credit: Abriah Wofford

The NutriBullet did an excellent job creating all four drinks in this metric, particularly the green smoothie. It chews through all the spinach and kale on its high setting in about a minute, only failing to liquefy a small clump of leaves. The finished drink had hardly any foam with a great texture and taste.

blender - the nutribullet made short work of some frozen berries.
The NutriBullet made short work of some frozen berries.
Credit: Jenna Ammerman

Green Smoothie Test


We judged how well each blender liquefied leafy greens for our green smoothie test. We again strain the mixture, looking for a completely liquid beverage. We also scored each smoothie on its texture and its flavor profile. Kale proved to be particularly challenging for many blenders.


The top-scoring blenders create a drink with a uniform texture and taste throughout, while poor performers have wildly varying tastes and inconsistency throughout the drink.

blender - the vitamix a2500 green smoothie poured effortlessly through the...
The Vitamix A2500 green smoothie poured effortlessly through the sieve.
Credit: Austin Palmer

The Vitamix A2500, Pro 750, 5200, and Breville the Super Q completely liquify the leafy greens in 60 seconds or less. The Cuisinart Hurricane and Super Q match this performance using its Green Smoothie button.

blender - the a2500 made a fantastically smooth and delectable green smoothie.
The A2500 made a fantastically smooth and delectable green smoothie.
Credit: Austin Palmer

The Explorian E310 also produces a smooth green drink, but the lack of presets requires the user to toggle back and forth between speeds to ensure a well-blended product.

If you don't mind putting in a little work, the Explorian whips up a deliciously smooth green smoothie.
Credit: Abriah Wofford

The Breville Fresh and Furious and NutriBullet ZNBF30400Z also produce a smooth consistency but very small pieces of leafy greens behind. This doesn't affect the overall taste or general enjoyability, but it may leave you with green stuck between your teeth.

blender - this color may not be the most appealing, but the fresh and furious...
This color may not be the most appealing, but the Fresh and Furious makes a mean green smoothie.
Credit: Genaveve Bradshaw

Fruit, Nut, and Oat Smoothie Test


For the fruit and oat smoothie, we evaluated if each product completely broke down the fruit, almonds, and oats, as well as the texture. The best blenders achieved a smooth and creamy mix, while the mediocre ones created a thick and grainy drink. We also considered if we needed to scrape the pitcher to get it to blend successfully.


The Fruit, Nut, and Oat smoothie test proved to be a surprisingly difficult task for some blenders because there isn't any liquid in the recipe, only almonds, strawberries, bananas, oats, yogurt, and maple syrup.

The Super Q blends up a fruit, nut, and oat smoothie seamlessly with its smoothie setting; however, the almonds and seeds are a little noticeable in the texture. That said, it outperforms most of the other blenders in this metric.

blender - the super q makes a mean fruit, oat, and nut smoothie, even in the...
The Super Q makes a mean fruit, oat, and nut smoothie, even in the personal cup.
Credit: Abriah Wofford

The Vitamix 5200 produces a consistent smoothie, but it takes a long time for the mixture to resemble a smoothie and a decent amount of coaxing with the tamper to get it to blend. The final mix is a little on the grainy side but consistent.

The Breville the 3X Bluicer and Explorian E310 struggle initially. The Bluicer offers a mostly consistent texture with the exception of a few soft chunks of strawberry, and the Explorian requires a little added effort with the tamper. The Cuisinart Hurricane Pro, Breville Fresh and Furious, and Cleanblend blend the next best smoothies. They are all relatively smooth and give us no major issues in the process, but they are slightly grainier than the berry smoothies and are inferior to the fruit and oat smoothie made by the Vitamix 5200.

blender - the 5200 makes excellent super blended smoothies.
The 5200 makes excellent super blended smoothies.
Credit: Jenna Ammerman

Oreo Milkshake Test


For our Oreo Malted Milkshake test, we rate each product on how well it completely breaks down the sandwich cookies and chunks of ice cream, and we note if we have to intervene to help the mixture blend.


Some models combined every ingredient effortlessly, while others required we repeatedly stop to scrape the sides of the pitcher to get it to liquefy.

blender - the a2500 ready to ascend to the top of our tastebuds with this...
The A2500 ready to ascend to the top of our tastebuds with this mouthwatering Oreo shake.
Credit: Austin Palmer

The Vitamix Pro 750, Vitamix A2500, Cuisinart Hurricane Pro, and Explorian E310 all deliver a flawless performance, creating a perfect malted milkshake without any additional effort on our part. The Vitamix 5200 also does well but requires some blending assistance initially. It also left some small clumps of ice cream unblended, but it still produced an excellent milkshake.

The Explorian had our mouths watering while it blended up this perfect milkshake.
Credit: Abriah Wofford

The Breville Fresh and Furious, Ninja Pro Plus, and The Super Q all create an evenly blended product with a rich, smooth texture without sacrificing the satisfying thickness. The Bluicer also produces a nice milkshake, but it's a little bit runnier than the rest.

blender - the super q is a top performer in most of our metrics, and the oreo...
The Super Q is a top performer in most of our metrics, and the Oreo milkshake is no exception.
Credit: Genaveve Bradshaw,Genaveve Bradshaw

Crushed Ice Performance


Next up, we have our ice performance metric. While we love a good smoothie before work, we want to ensure that your blender can satisfy your craving for a blended margarita after a long week. Here we compared how well each machine crushes ice and the quality of a blended margarita made by each one.


The Cuisinart Hurricane Pro, Vitamix A2500, Super Q, Explorian E310, and the Vitamix Pro 750 come out ahead of the pack, but this time they are joined by the NutriBullet. All six of these models offer phenomenal performances, crushing the ice cubes in 15 to 30 seconds, and none exhibited the slightest sign of a struggle.

blender - ice stood no chance in the vitamix 750 or any of the other vitamix...
Ice stood no chance in the Vitamix 750 or any of the other Vitamix products in our testing.
Credit: Austin Palmer

Straight-up Ice Test


The straight-up ice-crushing test is simple. We filled each pitcher with ice and followed the manufacturer's directions to crush it. We deducted points if the instructions said to add water, and we evaluated how well the ice fed into the blades, whether it crushed continuously or if we had to intervene.


Margarita Ice Test


We make the same recipe in each blender for our margarita challenge, again following the manufacturer's recommendation. Our panel then judged the texture and consistency of each beverage, only consuming them in moderation, of course!


The Cuisinart Hurricane Pro, Vitamix A2500, Super Q, Explorian E310, Vitamix Pro 750, and NutriBullet all performed flawlessly in this department. The Vitamix 5200 required us to stop, pulse, and shake the pitcher until things were more thoroughly liquefied. The Explorian does not have a preset for ice, so it requires the user to manually hold the pulse setting.

Some runner ups in the margarita contest are the Ninja Pro Plus and Chef, Blendtec Designer, Vitamix 5200 and

Diamond 5-Speed. All five of these models offer decent consistency throughout, with the exception of a few small unblended bits or an overall more slushy-like consistency.

blender - the hurricane pro 3.5 made a delicious blended margarita with a...
The Hurricane Pro 3.5 made a delicious blended margarita with a smooth, creamy texture.
Credit: Jenna Ammerman

Convenience


Our Convenience tests evaluate how much effort it takes to use each product, with scores based on the difficulty of hand-washing, whether or not parts are dishwasher safe, and how easy it is to remove the lid. We also tested if the pitcher would dry when left on the base and the quality of the machine's presets and labeling.



The Ninja Pro Plus and The Super Q are some of the easier models to use. They are dishwasher safe and provide lots of well-labeled presets that light up when in use. The Pro Plus lid also prevents the blender from starting up if it is not completely sealed. Our only issue with it is that it tends to be quite loud.

blender - we love the ninja pro plus easy to use handle.
We love the Ninja Pro Plus easy to use handle.
Credit: Genaveve Bradshaw

The Vitamix A2500, 3X Bluicer, Explorian, and Breville Fresh and Furious are also dishwasher safe and easy to clean. The A2500 has three well-labeled presets, and the Fresh and Furious has a whopping nine. These presets help take the guesswork out of your blending.

blender - like the a2500, the wider pitcher makes it easier to get your hand...
Like the A2500, the wider pitcher makes it easier to get your hand in there and clean.
Credit: Jenna Ammerman

Convenience Tests


We scored convenience on seven different factors. The ease of washing was the highest weighted factor, with simple to clean and dishwasher safe products getting the best marks.

Ease of cleaning is a big part of our convenience test. Many of our blenders are dishwasher safe and a few of them, like the Bluicer, even have a cleaning preset.
Credit: Abriah Wofford

We rated the ease of cleaning the components of each blender by hand, noting any problem areas that are difficult to reach or if it was hard to clean the blades without getting cut.

blender - you&#039;ll need to take great care when hand-washing this nutri ninja...
You'll need to take great care when hand-washing this Nutri Ninja blade. It is sharp!
Credit: Jenna Ammerman

We also scored the ease of drying after washing. One factor we considered, for those of you who are hygienically minded (like we are), was whether or not it is possible to place the pitcher back on the base in a way that it would dry adequately after washing or if you needed to lay out all the components on a drying rack to prevent mold.

Before storing make sure all parts are completely dry, you don&#039;t...
Before storing make sure all parts are completely dry, you don't want mold ruining your smoothies!
Cleaning blenders can be a nuisance, which is why we included...
Cleaning blenders can be a nuisance, which is why we included cleaning in our testing so that you can find the easiest blender to clean.

We tested and rated the ease of using the front panel and digital timer, whether the labeling is clear, how easy it is to remove the lid, and whether the product offers pragmatic and helpful presets.

blender - we used a professional-quality sound meter to precisely test and...
We used a professional-quality sound meter to precisely test and compare the noise levels of each blender.
Credit: Jenna Ammerman

Noise Levels


We used a decibel sound meter to measure the noise level of each blender, but that test did not prove useful in separating the products. We found that all the blenders produced between 82 dBa and 88 dBa, which is quite loud: louder than most garbage disposals and slightly less noisy than a gas-powered lawnmower. We concluded that all the blenders we tested are noisy, with the best-performing blenders a bit more so. None of the tested products will be satisfactory if your main purchasing criteria is low noise levels.

blender - the kernel grinding test is by far the loudest and the ninja pro is...
The kernel grinding test is by far the loudest and the Ninja Pro is no exception.
Credit: Genaveve Bradshaw

Pureeing


Our next metric is pureeing. While this may not be as important as making smoothies or margaritas, we still feel as though it plays a role in each blender's versatility.


The Cuisinart Hurricane Pro, Vitamix A2500, The Super Q, NutriBullet, and the Vitamix Pro 750 all perform close to perfection. The Pro 750 and the A2500 both produced a nice and creamy spread after about eight minutes of operation. The Hurricane Pro also took about eight minutes to finish, but the final product produced by the Hurricane was slightly grainier than the nut butter produced by the Vitamix. The Super Q heats soup up to 154 degrees.

blender - the vitamix&#039;s powerful motor easily churned these nuts into butter.
The Vitamix's powerful motor easily churned these nuts into butter.
Credit: Jenna Ammerman

The NutriBullet requires just a tiny nudge to get going but didn't struggle once we added a tiny splash of oil. It also took about eight minutes to create some peanut and almond butter, and the resulting spread was smooth and creamy, with an almost perfect texture.


Pureeing Tests


Our ratings for this category came from two very different pureed food tests. We made a pureed tomato soup and blended nut butter with almonds and peanuts in this metric. Additionally, we also awarded points if machines could heat the soup while it was being pureed, which is a hallmark trait of high-powered blenders.

Pureeing up smooth tomato soup can be a tall order, but some of our models go the extra mile by heating it up.
Credit: Genaveve Bradshaw

The Vitamix A2500, the NutriBullet, Super Q, and the Hurricane smashed our soup test. These appliances produce a uniform soup that pours right through a fine-mesh sieve. The Pro 750 falls a little behind these three. The sieve caught a few unblended chunks when we poured the Pro 750's soup through, but it did an overall excellent job. We were also impressed that all four blenders could heat the soup to a serving temperature while pureeing, with the soup measuring over 150 degrees Fahrenheit after blending.

blender - some blenders can actually heat up your soup &amp;#40;if blended for...
Some blenders can actually heat up your soup (if blended for long enough, about 5-6 minutes) as you puree, like the Vitamix.
Credit: Austin Palmer

Grinding


Our Grinding metric provided some of the most difficult tasks for these machines. We made powdered sugar, cornmeal, and shredded hard parmesan cheese to see what these blenders could tackle.


Surprisingly, the Vitamix Pro 750 produces finely powdered sugar and cornmeal, with 99% or so of the finished product making it through the sieve. It also stands out in its ability to grind up the parmesan cheese, though it isn't quite the best, remaining slightly coarser than the ground cheese produced by the Hurricane.

The grinding performance varies significantly from blender to blender.
Credit: Genaveve Bradshaw

The Hurricane Pro, VERSA Pro, Super Q, Explorian E310, and Vitamix A2500, and Vitamix 5200 all performed exceptionally in our grinding tests.

blender - one of our grinding tests is the challenge of quickly grating hard...
One of our grinding tests is the challenge of quickly grating hard parmesan cheese. The Cuisinart managed this test quite well!
Credit: Austin Palmer

Grinding Performance Tests


We performed three different tests on each blender to score grinding performance: we grated parmesan cheese, made powdered sugar, and blended flour to determine the scores.

The Vitamix 5200, A2500, and Super Q produced very fine powdered sugar, equivalent to the Pro 750. The mixture made by the VERSA is just a little grainier, which knocked down its score slightly. The powdered sugar made by the Hurricane Pro matched the Vitamix 5200 but took much longer than the manufacturer's recommended time to achieve that consistency.

In the parmesan cheese challenge, the Hurricane Pro, Diamond 5-Speed, and Vitamix Explorian E310 do the best of the entire group, creating the most finely grated cheese, with the VERSA Pro tying with the Vitamix Pro 750.

The A2500, Hurricane Pro, Vitamix 5200, and VERSA all performed similarly at grinding popcorn into cornmeal, with about 95% of the finished product passing through the sieve, compared to the 99% for the Vitamix Pro 750.

blender - worst &amp;#40;left&amp;#41; to best &amp;#40;right&amp;#41; in our corn flour test.
Worst (left) to best (right) in our corn flour test.
Credit: Austin Palmer

Conclusion


Whether you are looking for a top-tier model that can do it all or a budget option that can easily handle your daily smoothie, we hope you now feel confident selecting a blender that fits your needs and budget. Although the enormous spread of prices and features can make picking the perfect blender a seemingly dauntless task, we are here to help, and hopefully, this review has accomplished that.

We've also outlined the best hand mixers and best stand mixers if you need some help with your baking tasks.

Austin Palmer, David Wise, Genaveve Bradshaw, and Hayley Thomas