The 6 Best Blenders to Buy in 2023

"Hearst Magazines and Yahoo may earn commission or revenue on some items through these links."

[table-of-contents] stripped

As much as we love air fryers and slow cookers for how much easier they make life in the kitchen, a great blender is second to none in terms of versatility, power, and ease of use.

Yes, they’re best known as smoothie-making machines, but blenders can also purée (and even heat up!) ingredients for soups, gently emulsify tomatoes, greens, or beans to make awesome sauces and spreads, and pulse nuts or oats finer and faster than a food processor can. (One unsung use? An invaluable tool in weekend meal prep.) Best of all, no two are entirely alike, which means you don’t necessarily have to break the bank to find an appropriate blender that realistically suits your needs.

A blender also makes a very generous gift, whether you’re giving it to a new homeowner, a newlywed couple, or a fitness fanatic. These editor-tested blenders span a wide budget range and offer lots of flexibility for whomever you’re buying it for (even if it’s just for yourself).

The Best Blenders

• Best Overall: Ninja BN801 Professional Plus Kitchen System

• Best Budget: Cuisinart Velocity Ultra 1-HP

• Best Speed and Precision: Vitamix 5200

• Best for Small Servings: Vitamix E310 Explorian

• Best High-End Blender: Breville Super Q

What to Consider

There’s a lot more to a good blender than meets the eye. So, before zeroing in on the nicest-looking or cheapest model, we suggest starting your search by looking at a different number: the wattage. This indicates exactly how rough and tough a particular blender can get when blending hard ingredients. The countertop blenders in this guide range from 900 to 1,400 watts, while smaller personal blenders may max out at less than 500.

There’s also something to be said about how that power is distributed. You can have all the wattage in the world, but if there’s not enough variance in the actual power settings, you may find yourself pulverizing tomatoes on a high speed or with stuck blades that don’t have enough rev to get through frozen fruit. A blender with at least six power settings is typically a good place to start, and every company has a different way of setting that up.

Opting for a cheap, low-powered blender may be more of a headache for your recipient in the long run than springing for a solid model that can blend whatever they throw at (or into) it. There is some correlation between power and price, so finding a reasonably priced blender isn’t impossible. Plus, these appliances frequently get discounted for any of the standard sale times throughout the year.

Other features to look for include the size of the blending container (a shallower bottom means less space for food to get stuck underneath the blade), the physical shape and angle of the blades (variance is key to help food move around the container) and the control panel setup (companies shouldn’t require someone have a Master’s degree to figure out how to work the blender). You can also get more value out of a blender bundle that will come with personal-size cups (great for smoothies), but be careful not to opt for too many accessories at the expense of quality in the blender itself.

How We Selected

We’ve tested a range of blenders over the years, keeping all those aspects above — like size, price, and power — in mind. Our reviewer for this most recent update, Geoff Nudelman, says: “I would love to say that I break out the blender five times a week for soups, pestos and more. But like so many others, my blender is my post-workout workhorse for smoothie making.”

His process for gauging a good blender starts with evaluating its ability to, well, blend whatever he has on hand into a palatable consistency. Sometimes, that’s a lot of frozen fruit with a spritz of almond milk; other times it’s a ton of milk and ice with chia and vanilla extract. In either case, he aims for a finished smoothie in a minute or less.

Cleanup is also a big deal. “When I test a blender, it has to be easy to clean, otherwise it’s going to sit in the cabinet,” he says. “This doesn’t mean the blade assembly needs to detach from the container, but I should be able to run a few pulses with soap and water and have a fairly clean blender after. Not all blenders do this easily, and it’s an important, yet often overlooked part of testing.”

Lastly, he tests for durability. Nudelman says: “Part of this is by physically using the blender, but there’s also the eye test. Most blenders are primarily plastic, but does that plastic feel flimsy? Or is it heavier material less prone to chipping from the wear and tear of blending? Is the base sturdy enough that I can move it from cabinet to counter without fear of damage? (Also, will the blender base damage my countertops?).”

There’s a lot to consider with a blender, and testing goes far beyond how well it can mash up what you put in it.

Read Full Reviews

With intuitive controls and four sizable blending containers that suit a variety of drink-mixing and meal-prep needs, the BN801 is the master of versatility and the best overall blender. It can transform from a regular blender to a juicer to a personal blender to a food processor in no time. This blender is the best for experienced home cooks, since they will get the most use out of its numerous blending functions and attachments.

Our tester Melanie Yates tried out each of its preset Auto-iQ functions and manual speeds over the course of a week, and she found that this Ninja blender really shines when making big batches, liquefying soft produce, and chopping up solid ingredients and stringy herbs. Its cyclone-shaped blades do a great job of evenly incorporating everything added to the blending pitcher, and the 1,400-watt motor provides the power to blend or purée ingredients without issue. Just keep in mind that it’s also a loud device.

In her review, she says: “Overall, I was surprised at how easy it makes the whole blending process. It’s not a device that you’ll ever feel the need to upgrade or graduate from because it gives you pretty much everything you could want.”

The only struggle she had with this device was using the dough function, which she says “blended at a speed that was just too high,” making it the one feature that leaves room for improvement. Other than that, the device is an all-in-one wonder. All of the parts are also dishwasher-safe.

For under $100, the Cuisinart Velocity Ultra packs plenty of punch and all the sensibility of a straightforward blender. We found that it tackled most smoothie ingredients with ease and the blade setup lent itself to creating palatable consistencies with thinner materials as well. Cuisinart did a good job of distributing the watts where they’re needed most.

We also liked the simple control panel and on-and-off ease. The blade base also detaches for easier cleanup, and it’s overall light weight makes it easier to move between counters and table tops. Although it doesn’t have all the bells and whistles of more expensive models, it’s a dependable choice that will handle most straightforward blender tasks.

Vitamix blenders may get a lot of hype, but it’s warranted. What sets them apart from the pack is their industrial-quality build and wattage — this 5200 has 1,380 watts of power, meaning that, at full speed, it has the ability to pulverize in seconds. Best suited for homes versus small apartments (with equally small kitchens), it weighs just over 10 pounds and has a fairly sizable footprint.

Subtle speed adjustments are easy using its dial, which makes the blending experience a lot smoother than toggling between two not-quite-right speeds. If you’re gifting this to someone who makes smoothies on the regular, they’ll appreciate it. The blender's only included accessory is a tamper, which is a rod-shaped object that helps stir the contents while in motion in case something gets stuck.

Our tester Christine Anderson says: “I’ve been a smoothie queen since getting the Vitamix 5200! They’re so much creamier than my previous blender.” She also says that this Vitamix’s motor is surprisingly quiet.

The 5200 can also blend soup, make nut butters and nondairy milk, knead pizza dough, and make baby food. It even acts as a food processor — its 64-ounce blending container provides ample space for nearly anything that’s on the menu. We think this blender is best to get as a gift for anyone about to start a family, because its versatility will help them shift from cooking meals at home for just two to mixing up puréed meals for their baby.

The E310 Explorian is a great blender because it’s powerful, simple to use, and highly effective. It looks almost the same as the above 5200 model, except that the blending container is a much-smaller 48-ounce pitcher.

This blender has a dial with variable speed control among 10 settings. It also comes with a tamper that’s an essential part of helping the ingredients blend evenly. Yates tested this blender by making several different recipes including smoothies, soups, dressing, and oat flour. It makes achieving a smooth consistency very easy each time.

The one drawback? It’s a bit loud. On its lowest setting, the blade whirs at around 70 decibels (the same volume as a hair dryer, according to the Hearing Health Foundation) to 95 dBs on its highest setting (akin to a subway platform or car traffic). However, the sound is a low-pitched whir — not high and shrill. Certain blenders can be earsplitting, and this one isn’t that bad.

Overall, the Explorian E310 offers nearly the same quality and amount of power as the top-of-the-line Vitamix for much less. We think it makes a fabulous gift for a solo dweller to up their cooking versatility — its smaller size fits comfortably on a narrow countertop, too.

There’s a big reputation behind Breville products, and at the $500+ price point, a blender has to perform. That’s exactly what the Super Q does. Breville claims the 1,800-watt motor will move the blades up to 186 mph. And while we didn’t test that specifically, it is easy to believe given how smooth and luscious our smoothies turned out to be.

There’s no doubt this is a top-end blender for those who need high performance and minimal fuss. The kicker is a separate blade base for personal-size cups, which harnesses all that power to make smoothies and drinks a breeze. We felt confident that the Super Q would tackle anything in its path, and the integrated settings for all kinds of blending functions would help us get there simply and quickly. It’s also incredibly quiet given how much power is at hand.

Breville’s auto-clean function on this blender is a nice add-on, but with so much power at hand, soap and water blended in the pitcher on high does the job just fine. It is more than 17 pounds though, so keep that in mind, along with its tall height, which makes it tough to use in some spaces with smaller openings between the counter and cabinetry. Lastly, at this price, we would have appreciated a second personal cup, but that’s ultimately a small ding on what is otherwise an outstanding blender.

What makes the BN401 so compelling is its ability to whip up a personal-size smoothie quickly, run through a quick clean cycle, and allow everyone to move on with their day.

The blender is available in three power levels, which help you tailor the leverage for you or your recipient’s daily blending needs. Even the top-line 1,100-watt model still comes in at an affordable $80. We like that power level to get the maximum amount of balanced distribution in the smaller cup size, especially if the user decides to tackle something other than smoothies.

One of the only downsides we found is that the shape of the blades makes it hard to pull some foods out from beneath it, such as sticky butters and slippery pestos. But if the main play is a daily smoothie, the small footprint of the BN401 makes it an excellent choice.

You Might Also Like

• The Paris Hilton Housewares Collection Brings ‘That’s Hot’ Energy to Your Kitchen

• 16 Best Noise-Canceling Headphones Perfect for Rocking Out in Quiet Bliss

• Beyoncé Uses This $26 Amazon Product for Her Glossy Blonde Hair