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 they 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 — and so much more. Best of all, no two are entirely alike, so you can really hone in on the best blender model that fits your specific needs and cooking repertoire.
The Best Blenders of 2022
- Best Overall: Ninja BL610 Professional Countertop Blender
- Best Speed Precision: Vitamix 5200 Blender
- Best for Smaller Servings: Vitamix Explorian E310 Blender
- Best Convertible Blender: NutriBullet ZNBF30500Z Blender Combo
- Best for Blending Soups: Instant Pot Ace Nova Cooking Blender
- Heftiest Build: KitchenAid K400 Countertop Blender
- Best Personal Blender: NutriBullet Pro
What to Consider
There's a lot more to a good blender than meets the eye. So, before you zero in on the nicest-looking or cheapest model, we suggest starting your search by looking at a different number: the wattage. This will let you know exactly how rough and tough your blender can get when blending hard ingredients. The countertop blenders in this guide range from 900 to 1,380 watts, while smaller personal blenders may max out at less than 500 watts.
If you want to get creative with your blender recipes, settling for a cheap, low-powered blender may be more of a headache in the long run than springing for a solid model that can blend whatever you 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 during sales holidays.
Other features to look for include the size of the blending container, the control panel setup, and any other accessories or cups that come with the blender.
How We Chose
Our guide to the best blenders includes testing feedback from our editors after months of use, where they evaluated the appliance's size, noise level, and overall blending ease. Learn more about the best blenders you can buy for your kitchen right now.
Best Overall
Key Specs
- Container Size: 72 ounces
- Speeds: 3 speeds and pulse setting
- Watts: 1,000
The Ninja Professional Blender is the best of our list because it provides the perfect combination of value and performance. It boasts the biggest blending container of this list, which is pretty outstanding for its price. This blender is a versatile machine fit for blending, puréeing, ice crushing, and controlled food processing.
Although this Ninja blender takes up a precious foot of counter space, its modern silver-and-black aesthetic makes it seamlessly blend into virtually any modern kitchen. It has only three speed levels, so you can't control the whir of the blade as meticulously as you could with other models, but it does have a pulse setting to offer in between bursts for dislodging stubborn ingredients.
Our tester Bridget Clegg uses this blender for smoothies that contain frozen fruit and spinach, and she notes that it can blend in just 20 seconds, with only a few rogue spinach leaves left at the top of the pitcher. However, this blender does make some rumbling noise, especially when crushing ice or frozen fruit. Overall, if you're looking for a blender that does a lot on a budget, the Ninja Professional Blender is what you're looking for.
Also worth mentioning: If you're looking for something that's beyond basic and want a slightly leveled-up blender that uses Ninja's new Auto iQ technology to deliver the perfect purées, ice-crushing, chopping, and dough-kneading blends at the touch of a button, we highly recommend the Ninja Professional Plus Kitchen System. It comes with two blending pitchers and two single-serve cups, making it all the more versatile.
Best Speed Precision
Key Specs
- Container Size: 64 ounces
- Speeds: Variable speed control among 10 levels and pulse
- Watts: 1,380
Vitamix blenders may have a lot of hype around them, but it's definitely warranted. What sets them apart from the pack is their industrial-quality build and wattage — the Vitamix 5200 has 1,380 watts of power, meaning that at full speed, it has the ability to pulverize in seconds.
You can make subtle speed adjustments using its dial, which makes the blending experience a lot smoother than toggling between two not-quite-right speeds. If you make smoothies on the regular — especially those that incorporate leafy greens or frozen chunks of fruit — this blender will be a game changer for you. The blender's only included accessory is a tamper, which is a rod-shaped object that helps stir the contents of your blender 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, and the tamper is literally a life-changer.” She also says that this Vitamix's motor is surprisingly quiet.
The Vitamix 5200 can also be used to 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 you're making. Best suited for homes versus small apartments (with equally small kitchens), the Vitamix 5200 weighs just over 10 pounds, and has a fairly sizable footprint.
Best for Smaller Servings
Key Specs
- Container Size: 48 ounces
- Speeds: Variable speed control among 10 levels and pulse
- Watts: 1,380
The Vitamix Explorian E310 is a great blender because it's powerful, simple to use, and highly effective. It looks almost the same as the aforementioned 5200 model, except for the fact that the blending container is 16 ounces smaller. But despite this, it neatly blends anything you put into it, and you're not left with a messy countertop or piles of parts to clean up afterward.
This blender is controlled by 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. I've used this blender for 6 months, and have tested it by making several different blender recipes including smoothies, soups, dressing, and oat flour. It makes achieving a smooth consistency very easy, each and every time.
The one drawback? It's a bit loud. On its lowest setting, the blade whirs at around 70 dBs (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 isn't that bad.
Overall, the Vitamix Explorian E310 Blender offers nearly the same quality and amount of power as the top-of-the-line Vitamix for much less. Its smaller size fits comfortably on a narrow countertop, too.
Best Convertible Blender
Key Specs
- Container Size: 64 ounces
- Speeds: 3 speeds, pulse, and extract
- Watts: 1,200
With simple controls, a sizable 64-ounce main container, two blendable to-go cups (32 and 24 ounces each), and a tamper to keep things moving, this blender from Nutribullet is the master of versatility. It's 1,200-watt motor provides the power to blend or purée ingredients without an issue — just keep in mind that it's also a loud device.
Our tester Erica Murphy uses the NutriBullet Blender mostly for smoothies and frozen drinks, but the brand claims that the pitcher can also handle heat. But perhaps our favorite feature of this blender is how easy it is to clean — it comes with just a simple base and easy-to-rinse pitcher that's dishwasher-friendly. The base also has suction cups to keep everything in place, so this blender feels super sturdy during use.
This convertible NutriBullet Blender Combo brings together the power of a countertop blender with the convenience of a personal blender. If you're split between the two types, this is the one to get.
Best for Blending Soups
Key Specs
- Container Size: 56 ounces
- Speeds: 10 speeds, pulse, and 8 presets
- Watts: 1,000
If you're looking for a blender that can be used to blend both hot and cold liquids, we recommend the Instant Pot Ace. Its one-touch button programming makes it so easy to whip up smoothies, hot soups, frozen cocktails, dips, nut butter, plant-based milks, and more.
Along with standard low, medium, and high speeds, this blender also has four hot-blend and four cold-blend settings. These presets run on individual timers, which gives you the freedom to simply tap a button and let the device do all the work for you. This model also comes with a tamper rod, a tamper handle that doubles as a measuring cup, a cleaning brush, and even a strainer bag for making your own nut milk at home.
Our tester Zarah Kavarana reviewed a previous version of this blender, and she was particularly amazed by its soup function that cooks, stirs, and blends all ingredients into one uniform mixture — basically saying, "You can walk away for 20 minutes and return to deliciously silky soups and luscious broths without ever needing to touch the stove."
This blender can also easily crush ice (it makes a killer margarita), and can fully incorporate cubes into a smoothie without leaving chunks behind.
Heftiest Build
Key Specs
- Container Size: 56 ounces
- Speeds: 5 speeds, pulse, and 4 presets
- Watts: 1,118
The precision of a control dial definitely has its benefits, and it's why the KitchenAid K400 Countertop Blender is such a great device. Unlike the Vitamix blenders, this model has a Soft Start function: So, even if your dial is set to a high speed, it'll pre-mix the ingredients together slowly at first, and then amp up moments later to its full power.
This KitchenAid model is quite hefty, and it's definitely on the louder side. Best for larger kitchens with ample counter space, the blender container is slightly cumbersome, so keep its size in mind. However, our tester Scott Simone loves the contoured shape of the container, which keeps everything flowing to the blades. This shape also makes the blender super easy to clean.
Best Personal Blender
Key Specs
- Container Size: 32 ounces
- Speeds: 1
- Watts: 900
We get it: Not everyone has the kitchen countertop space for a blender to take up full-time. If you're more of a sporadic smoothie drinker, or if you want a small-ish model that's easier to store and pull out when you need it, we think the Nutribullet Pro is the best blender for you.
Technically considered a personal blender because of its single speed setting and 32-ounce container capacity that's best for single servings, this Nutribullet blender can do everything that a food processor can — plus make cold drinks and small batches of dressings and dips. To operate it, you securely attach the blender top to the container, then hold it down onto the base and twist. It can also pulse if you push down repeatedly.
Our tester Scott Simone loves the Nutribullet Pro's surprising versatility, and enjoys blending up pesto with it. He also says that this blender has a moderate noise level that won't wake up the neighbors. As far as accessories go, there are two 32-ounce containers included with the blender, each with their own flip-up cap for easy, on-the-go sipping.
This 8-pound blender delivers serious power for its size. It comes in a literal rainbow of fun colors to choose from, and the sub-$100 price point really can't be beat.
