![The best blenders](https://cdn.statically.io/img/www.allrecipes.com/thmb/7ZONe-XxfkrnfD_8L5bUWxBvC5A=/1500x0/filters:no_upscale():max_bytes(150000):strip_icc()/alr-primary-blenders-rkilgore-0129-04807bd0ae994d2f96aee779c20915dc.jpeg)
Allrecipes / Russell Kilgore
A quality blender is a kitchen workhorse that will take so much unnecessary work and frustration out of your life. You can use your blender for many tasks, such as pulverizing ice for the smoothest frozen daiquiris, pureeing soups, grinding coffee, and even making nut butter.
To help you find the best blenders for your kitchen, we put 52 highly-rated options to the test, ranging from full-sized models to immersion-style and personal blenders. We made fruit smoothies, vegetable soups, sauces, and a lot of frozen margaritas while considering each blender's look, speed, efficiency, cleanup, and storage.
About Our Tests
We tested 52 different models ranging from full-sized blenders to immersion and personal blenders. After noting the overall look of each blender, we made fresh almond milk as well as kale, blueberry, and peanut butter smoothies. We also made margaritas to observe the blender’s performance blending ice and creating frozen drinks, made fresh mayonnaise to evaluate control and precision through emulsifying, and made soup with yellow onion, apple, carrot, and butternut squash. Since blenders are notorious for their noise, we used a decibel meter to record the blending sound for 30 seconds on low, medium, and high settings to assess the loudness.
Veteran product tester Rachel Johnson also conducted an earlier test of seven different models. She used each one to make a Kale Banana Smoothie to test its ability to get through tough-to-blend ingredients and a Hollandaise Sauce to test its lower speed settings for proper aeration.
Each blender was rated on the following attributes:
- Design: Do the materials seem high-quality or cheap and flimsy? How securely does the blender’s jar fit onto the base? While blending, does any leakage occur around the lid? How intuitive is it to interact with the control panel (buttons, knobs, display, etc.)?
- Ease of Use: How easy is lifting and pouring from the blender? Is it easy to scrape down the sides?
- Performance: Does the blender fully integrate ingredients of different textures? Does the motor struggle through denser ingredients?
- Convenience: How heavy is the blender? Would it be challenging to move from shelves or cabinets? Are there any features, settings, or characteristics that make it more or less convenient to use?
Our Top Pick
Breville Fresh & Furious Blender
Why It's Great: Convenient digital display; slender design; available in a range of colors; easy to clean; excellent for frozen drinks; budget-conscious
Grain of Salt: Small pour spout
Not only did the Breville Fresh and Furious Blender pass our smoothie, soup, and frozen margarita tests with flying colors, it was one of the only blenders to conquer the mayonnaise test—even beating out our Vitamix. While it did well in all of our tests, it really blew us away when it came time to blend frozen drinks, producing a perfectly fluffy margarita in just 33 seconds. It features a slender design that won’t take up too much space on the counter, and the control panel combines manual buttons with a digital display that we found very intuitive to use.
We also loved how easy it was to clean this blender after testing was finished. There’s a convenient 60-second auto-clean function, but it is also very easy to clean by hand thanks to the angeled blades and rounded base. These attributes, paired with the great value reflected in the price, make this blender a no-brainer for our top pick.
The Details: 6.9 x 8.3 x 17.7 inches; 8.5 pounds; 50-ounce capacity
Allrecipes / Russell Kilgore
Allrecipes / Russell Kilgore
Allrecipes / Russell Kilgore
Allrecipes / Russell Kilgore
Allrecipes / Russell Kilgore
Best Value Blender
Hamilton Beach Power Elite Blender
Why It's Great: Dishwasher-safe glass jar; great for beginners; easy to pour
Grain of Salt: Small capacity
One of the biggest complaints we see about blenders is their high price tags, but this model from Hamilton Beach doesn’t make you choose between great performance and low cost. The cylinder-shaped pitcher has a mess-free spout and the pitcher fits very snugly into the base, so we never had concerns about big messes during our tests. It has a total of five buttons: two to control the high and low speeds, two to control the pulse function, and a fifth button to shut the blender off.
We also noted how straightforward the controls were during our tests, which helps make this a great model for beginners who don't want to deal with knob control—or don’t want to spend an exorbitant amount of money on an entry-level blender. While this model is not as powerful as others, it can hold its own against much more expensive blenders in terms of performance.
The Details: 8.66 x 8.5 x 14.69 inches; 6 pounds; 40-ounce capacity
Allrecipes / Russell Kilgore
Allrecipes / Russell Kilgore
Allrecipes / Russell Kilgore
Allrecipes / Russell Kilgore
Allrecipes / Russell Kilgore
Allrecipes / Russell Kilgore
Best Personal Blender
Ninja Nutri-Blender Plus Compact Personal Blender
Why It’s Great: Intuitive operation; solid build; sharp blades; works great with dips and sauces
Grain of Salt: Jars are difficult to clean by hand
What we love about this compact personal blender from Ninja is its versatility. Sure, it has a super strong blade mechanism that blasts through smoothies, but it also blends up some pretty impressive sauces. Whether it was pesto, feta cheese dip, or hummus, the results during our tests were creamy, smooth, and delicious. The operation is straightforward and intuitive—simply lock the cup onto the base and press down to blend.
The cons to this personal blender are subjective. While they are dishwasher safe and didn’t sustain any damage from cleaning during tests, we found the jars difficult to clean by hand because of the thick internal ridges. This is something to keep in mind if you don’t have access to a dishwasher. The jars are also somewhat small in capacity compared to other personal blenders. When it came to smoothies with ingredients with high water contents (think spinach and cucumber), we only ended up with about 12 ounces of liquid once everything was packed in and blended. On the other hand, the smaller jars make them easier to travel and fit into cup holders, so it’s really a personal preference.
The Details: 4.7 x 4.7 x 13.8 inches; 5.34 pounds; 20-ounce capacity
Allrecipes / Hildara Araya-Gonzalez
Allrecipes / Hildara Araya-Gonzalez
Allrecipes / Hildara Araya-Gonzalez
Allrecipes / Hildara Araya-Gonzalez
Best Vitamix Blender
Vitamix Professional-Grade Blender
Why It’s Great: Quiet; sturdy materials; easy to use; great for smoothies
Grain of Salt: Heavy; expensive
The Vitamix 5200 was one of the best-performing blenders we tested when it came to smoothie making, pulverizing even thicker ingredients like kale, blueberries, and pitted dates to a fine consistency in less than 30 seconds. After passing the smoothie through a fine mesh strainer to check for flecks of food, we found hardly any pulp left. It also produced a light, fluffy frozen margarita and blended a perfect 120° Fahrenheit soup that was incredibly smooth.
We love the cord storage and the fact that it has settings for speeds through 10 as well as a “high” setting that’s even faster. Although this blender clocks in at just over 10 pounds, the weight is evenly distributed across the base and jar components to make it easier to move around. Still, we probably wouldn’t store this on a higher shelf. If you’re looking for a similar model with a high-speed motor, Rachel found this Cuisinart Hurricane Pro 3.5 Peak Blender to be comparable in performance in our first round of testing.
The Details: 20.5 x 8.75 x 7.25; 10.56 pounds; 64-ounce capacity
Allrecipes / Russell Kilgore
Allrecipes / Russell Kilgore
Allrecipes / Russell Kilgore
Allrecipes / Russell Kilgore
Allrecipes / Russell Kilgore
Best Portable Blender
Ninja Blast Portable Blender
Why It’s Great: Simple control panel; sleek design; quiet; fits into car cupholder; easy to clean
Grain of Salt: Small capacity
The Ninja Blast earned perfect scores across the board in our tests, boasting a cordless six-blade design that’s strong enough to handle frozen fruit yet small enough to fit in the car cup holder. It will last for days on a single charge, and the quiet motor is perfect for blending up a morning smoothie while others sleep.
We love the simple, two-button control panel that blends in 30-second intervals—an extremely intuitive design that’s paired with an equally straightforward, twisting blending jar. The narrow frame is very lightweight and great to take on the go (it fits in hand like an insulated water bottle), while the spout is well-suited for pouring and drinking. We didn’t experience any leakage, even when it was placed on its side. The blender is durable enough to clean in the dishwasher, but we actually found it easier to clean by leaving the jar on the base, blending water with a drop of dish soap, and rinsing.
The Details: 3.54 x 3.54 x 10.71 inches; 1.1 pounds; 18-ounce capacity
Allrecipes / Elle Wignall
Allrecipes / Elle Wignall
Allrecipes / Elle Wignall
Allrecipes / Elle Wignall
Quietest Blender
Breville Stainless Steel Super Q Blender
Why It’s Great: Large capacity; digital display; numerous settings
Grain of Salt: Pricey
Blenders are known to be noisy, so much so that we decided to measure sound pressure levels during our tests, using two separate decibel readers to record and register the sound of the motor alone at low, medium, and high speeds. The Breville Super Q is the quietest blender we tested, but also one of the best performing. The secret is in the specially-designed cooling system that’s meant to reduce operating noise. There’s also a convenient digital display, 12 different speed settings, and five programs for green smoothie, smoothie, soup, pulse, ice crush, and frozen dessert.
To be fair, this blender is pretty expensive. We think it would be a great investment for regular blender users—for example, if you’re a daily smoothie drinker who wants a high-powered, efficient blender that won’t wake the entire household.
The Details: 10.5 x 8.1 x 18 inches; 13 pounds; 68-ounce capacity
Allrecipes / Russell Kilgore
Allrecipes / Russell Kilgore
Allrecipes / Russell Kilgore
Allrecipes / Russell Kilgore
Allrecipes / Russell Kilgore
Best Blender for Crushing Ice
KitchenAid Blender
Why It's Great: Budget-conscious; multiple colors available; compact and lightweight
Grain of Salt: No cord storage
Have your heart set on the ultimate frozen strawberry margarita? You’ll need a machine that can not only handle frozen ice and fruit, but turn them into a delicious, fluffy concoction with minimal effort. Luckily, the KitchenAid K150 excelled at crushing ice during tests; it took only 14 seconds to blend our ice and margarita mix fully, and no ice chunks were present at the end. The compact, lightweight blender was also super easy to lift, pour from, and scrape down the sides. We found no issues controlling the speed and quantity of the pour even when it was filled to the top.
Its control panel features a single knob with three settings and a separate pulse mode. The minimalist design is compact and available in several colors, plus we really like the simple, classic square base. The jar is bottom rack dishwasher safe, but we did not find ingredients trapped around or under the blades, even after washing out sticky peanut butter and pitted dates by hand.
The Details: 8.5 x 7.1 x 14.8 inches; 5.67 pounds; 48-ounce capacity
Allrecipes / Russell Kilgore
Allrecipes / Russell Kilgore
Allrecipes / Russell Kilgore
Allrecipes / Russell Kilgore
Allrecipes / Russell Kilgore
Best Immersion Blender
KitchenAid Hand Blender
Why It’s Great: Easy to maneuver; available in different colors; includes a pan guard
Grain of Salt: Requires full charge before each use
In true KitchenAid fashion, this immersion blender comes in a wide variety of stylish colors, from sky blue to bright red to matte black. This is one of our favorite immersion blenders because it is controlled by a variable speed switch. You can switch between multiple high and low speeds, which allows for more control over power than with a blender that offers specific speed settings. We also love that it has a convenient built-in rechargeable battery, so there’s no long cord to get tangled up while you blend.
In tests, the KitchenAid immersion blender made quick work of blending and pureeing, breaking down even denser ingredients like kale and ice with ease. Since attachments are dishwasher safe, it was also easy to clean. If a corded option sounds more comfortable, KitchenAid also makes a similar—and less expensive—corded model.
The Details: 2.5 x 2.5 x 16.3 inches; 2.44 pounds
![KitchenAid Cordless Variable Speed Hand Blender](https://www.allrecipes.com/thmb/P4CoPBegdwcw7XzYKUltn8pklWM=/1500x0/filters:no_upscale():max_bytes(150000):strip_icc()/kitchenaid-cordless-variable-speed-hand-blender-kevin-norris-411aa9b3eddf4f789f4d80b661ace4d0.jpg)
Allrecipes / Kevin Norris
Our Takeaway
After testing over 50 different blenders on important attributes like design, ease of use, performance, convenience, value, and cleanup, we were most impressed with the Breville Fresh and Furious Blender. For a budget-conscious pick, we also recommend the Hamilton Beach Power Elite Blender.
How To Pick the Right Blender
Intended Use
If you only use your current blender for the occasional smoothie or soup, you'd be better off going with a lower-priced blender.
Many of the top blenders on the market today are manufactured with the power to grind coffee, blend nut butter, pulverize ice, and more. But these blenders also come with hefty price tags. Before you choose a blender, consider how you plan to use it and how often. You might find that you're better off with something like a food processor or maybe a margarita machine, depending on what you're looking for.
Size
In an ideal world, we'd all have the counter space to host a full-size blender at all times. But since we live in the real world, you've got to consider a few things when deciding which size blender to go with, including storage, capacity, and portability.
If you can't spare the counter space, opt for a lightweight blender that can easily go from the cupboard to the countertop when you need to use it. You'll also need to consider whether you want a blender with more capacity or if you'd prefer a single-serve (or personal) blender. These are largely meant for smoothies and can often be enjoyed straight out of the container they were blended in.
If you want to use your blender for anything from soups to sauces to frozen drinks, a countertop blender is usually going to come with greater capacity and the motor power needed to pulverize these taxing ingredients.
Wattage
This might go without saying, but the higher the wattage, the more powerful the blender (most of the time). It's important to take note of wattage when considering a blender, but the overall design of the blender is just as, if not more, important.
Glass vs. Plastic
Glass blenders have a few advantages. They are less likely to stain or hold onto odors, but unlike their plastic counterparts, they're heavy and not always the best option for the accident-prone or those who need to take their blending jar with them on the go.
Plus, there's no guarantee that glass blenders will be shatterproof—blending ice in a glass blender straight out of a hot dishwasher could lead to disaster. Fortunately, many of the top models use Tristan plastic, which is a BPA-free alternative to plastic that's much lighter and more durable than glass.
The Leftovers: Other Blenders We Tested
During our first round of testing, the Vitamix Professional Series 750 Blender blew us away with its precision, power, and speed. However, after testing the Vitamix 5200, we just couldn’t justify the high price of the 750. That said, if you’re looking specifically for a low-profile jar, the 750 is still an excellent choice. Our original portable blender pick, the Hamilton Beach 14-Ounce Single-Serve Blender, did a great job of blending, but we ultimately decided it was too small-capacity when compared to our two Ninja options in the second round of testing.
Common Questions
Can you make juice in a blender?
If you don’t have a dedicated juicer, a blender will work just fine. Opt for a model with a strong motor that won’t leave a lot of pulp behind, and simply push your mixture through a fine mesh strainer or cheesecloth into a cup or bowl.
Are blenders dishwasher safe?
We always suggest consulting the owner’s manual on how best to clean your blender, but dishwasher-safe blenders are becoming increasingly easier to find. To wash your blender by hand: fill the jar halfway with hot water and a few drops of dish soap, place on the base and reattach the lid, blend for about 30 seconds, and rinse.
Which blenders are best for making soup?
An immersion blender works great for soups since the stick design lets you puree ingredients straight in the pot or virtually any shape of bowl. The KitchenAid Cordless Variable Speed Hand Blender makes this process even easier with a rechargeable battery.
Why Take Our Word For It?
This piece was originally written by Melanie Fincher, a Birmingham, Alabama-based food writer who joined the Allrecipes team in 2019. She has nearly seven years of experience writing news and lifestyle content, the last three of which were spent working exclusively as a food writer.
Katherine Gallagher, an associate commerce editor at Allrecipes, updated this article with insights from our test kitchen. A former associate commerce editor at The Spruce Eats, Katherine also has over a decade's worth of experience in the restaurant industry.