We've Tested Over 50 Blenders in the Past Two Years. These Ones Are the Best in 2024. (2024)

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A blender is a mighty countertop appliance that will blend your favorite smoothie or crush ice for slushies. But these kitchen staples offer versatility, like whipping up lump-free blender pancakes, a batched watermelon margarita or homemade oat milk, in a matter of minutes. Some models even come with personal blending cups for portability, food processor attachments and a variety of settings and functions to make them a kitchen tool you reach for often.

To find the best blenders, our Lab pros in the Good Housekeeping Institute Kitchen Appliances and Innovation Lab have rigorously tested over a 100 different models in the past decade — including Vitamix blenders and Ninja blenders — testing more than 50 blenders in the last two years alone. We've ground more than five pounds of coffee beans, blended 12 pounds of frozen strawberries and pulverized over 650 ice cubes to test how powerful they are and how evenly they can blend. And not just full-sized blenders — we've tested personal blenders, immersion blenders and blender-food processor combos as well. Each model of blender has gone through over nine different tests and only top-performing blenders made this list.

A3500 Ascent Series Smart Blender

This best-tested Vitamix blender features include a touch interface, five program settings, a programmable timer, variable speed and pulse.

In our tests, this model produced the best-tasting kale and strawberry smoothie that completely went through a sieve without any flecks of kale or pieces of strawberry remaining. Milkshakes were creamy, frothy and had great body; homemade peanut butter was silky smooth without any peanut chunks remaining; and margaritas were restaurant-quality with a super fluffy consistency. Overall we were very impressed with this blender's ability to break down even the toughest of ingredients.

It was noticeably loud while grinding tough ingredients and the self-cleaning function with soap and water wasn't a complete match for sticky nut butter. But the overall results are unmatched by the other models we tested. Throw in a 10-year warranty and you've got extra security that you will get years of great use out of this blender.

RELATED: Battle of the Blenders: Ninja vs. Vitamix

$689.99 at amazon.com

Blender Combo

Well-priced, this high-powered blender comes with three (!) jars, making it super versatile and our pick for the best value. It includes a 64-ounce pitcher for large batches and two different personal-sized cups (32 ounces and 24 ounces with a handle).

Both cups have lids that make it easy to take your smoothie to-go. It features an “extract” button that blends smoothies at pre-programmed variable speeds. We blended kale smoothies in all three jars, and all were uniformly smooth with no flecks. It also blasted through frozen strawberries effortlessly to make a delicious, evenly processed daiquiri.

The base is not much larger than other NutriBullet models, and it has suction cups on the bottom that reliably prevent it from shifting around. The blades screw onto the top of the personal cups and then get inverted to be blended, so be careful to unscrew the personal blending cups from the base of the blender when you're done blending. It’s easy to accidentally make a mess if you unscrew the cup from the blade instead.

$109.99 at amazon.com

Smart Power Duet Blender/Food Processor

A highly popular Cuisinart blender/food processor combo, it has a low-profile 40-ounce glass jar and seven blending and processing options that are clearly marked and easy to use. We love that it comes with a compact food processor bowl for chopping, stirring and shredding.

When blender testing, we found that this blender was very easy to clean and that it ground ingredients exceptionally well. We do recommend making berry and protein smoothies without tough kale though, since in our tests it didn't blend kale very well. Once the food processor attachment was on, we were even more impressed with how this model minced parsley, shredded carrots and sliced pepperoni.

All parts, except for the base, are dishwasher-safe. Of note: At 500 watts, this is not the most high-powered blender, and if you do overwork the blender it will stop working temporarily until it cools down.

RELATED: 5 Best Blender-Food Processor Combos

$91.00 at amazon.com

The Fresh and Furious Countertop Blender

We were very impressed with how well this blender performed for its great price point. The green smoothie setting yielded a smooth and creamy texture with no sign of fibrous kale or spinach. This blender also has a regular smoothie button which will provide you with a juice bar-quality smoothie in one minute.

In our tests, this blender pureed soup to a silky smooth texture and produced a mighty fine margarita as well. The Fresh and Furious is easy to clean, and the jar and lid are dishwasher-safe. In our tests, we found very few flaws, though the jar is just 50 ounces and became stained a little from tomato sauce.

If you're on the hunt for a hand blender instead of a full-sized blender we also recommend the Breville Control Grip Immersion Blender which tested best in our immersion blender Lab tests with a nonstick blender arm and perfectly emulsified mayo.

$198.99 at amazon.com

SS101 Foodi Smoothie Bowl Maker & Nutrient Extractor

We've tested a lot of personal blenders over the years and this one surprised us with the amount of presets it offered, compared to many personal blenders that only feature a pulse button. We especially loved the smoothie bowl maker cup which features a built-in tamper and doesn’t need as much liquid to blend ingredients to a smooth, very thick consistency. In our tests, we loved how the margarita was rich and creamy and there was absolutely no grit from the super fine sugar used. Don't forget the homemade peanut butter that was smooth and creamy in under three minutes.

This model suctions firmly to your counter, which keeps it completely in place for its pulse-style auto-smoothie setting. In addition to the 14-ounce smoothie bowl jar, this model comes with two 24-ounce blender jars with travel lids, which are all dishwasher-safe.

RELATED: 7 Best Ninja Blenders

$79.99 at amazon.com

Pro Performance Blender

The Wolf Gourmet Pro Performance Blender stood out to us in many ways with its sleek design, featuring its signature red knob and lightweight jar with a comfortable handle. There are 10 speed settings on the blender and four pre-programmed options: soup, puree, ice crush and smoothie. This blender produced a very smooth, thick milkshake and a smoothie that was creamy and homogenous.

In our tests, this super powerful blender produced great frozen drinks. It also has a unique emulsion cap that allows you to add oil to the blender at an optimal pace to get a great emulsion in sauces and dressings. This pick is also sized to fit under most cabinets. The blender jar is hand-wash only.

$349.95 at amazon.com

K400 Variable Speed Blender

Claiming to blend “even the toughest ingredients, from kale to almonds,'' this sleek blender passed our test with flying colors. We couldn’t taste the kale in our smoothie, it crushed ice into snow-like consistency and it even blended chia seeds smoothly.

It features easy-to-use presets for crushing ice, smoothies and icy drinks. Plus, a little soap and water added to the self-clean cycle makes sure no food bits are left behind in hard-to-reach spots. In our tests, we noticed that the “start” button is a little small and sometimes needed to be pressed several times to activate. We love its sleek design and that you can pick from a variety of fun colors.

$359.87 at amazon.com

Other good blenders

• Zwilling Enfinigy Countertop Power Blender: Not only does this blender look stylish on your countertop, but it also performs well. It didn't receive a perfect score when it made a smoothie though as some ice cubes remained in the blend.
  

• Kitchenaid K150 3 Speed Ice Crushing Blender: Another high performing blender from KitchenAid that allows you to whirl up a soup or a smoothie in minutes, it has a smaller capacity, which could be a dealbreaker if you have a larger family.
  

• Ninja Foodi Power Blender & Processor System: If you want the option to switch between personal smoothies and blending up party-sized batches of frozen margaritas then this is another great pick from the Ninja Foodi line. In our tests, the blender produced smooth and creamy soups and milkshakes. This does have a lot of pieces that require additional storage, though.
  

• Vitamix E310 Explorian Blender: If a $600+ blender isn't in your budget right now we also recommend this Vitamix that retails around $350 (before additional sales). This model produced margaritas and peanut butter that was just as tasty as the A3500 Ascent Series Smart Blender, but did fall short on some other tests.
  

• NutriBullet Ultra Personal Blender: This little blender packs a powerful punch thanks to its 1,200-watt motor. In our Lab test, it blended up thick and delicious smoothies with great body in 1.5 minutes, but there were still some strawberry seeds remaining.
  

• Breville 3X Bluicer Pro Blender: We love this combination appliance for blending or juicing. The juicer attachment works well and so does the rest of the blender. However it's a bit pricey and more to store.

How we test the best blenders

In the Good Housekeeping Institute Kitchen Appliances and Innovation Lab we test each blender with the same standardized recipes to see how they stand out among the rest. When we test personal blenders, we adjust the recipes accordingly to their capacity. Once we are done putting each blender through Lab testing, we hold onto the best blenders for long-term testing.

Strawberry kale smoothie test: To help mimic how a home consumer would use a blender, we made strawberry kale smoothies. We blend up fresh kale, ice cubes and frozen strawberries using a blender's smoothie preset and to see how evenly blended the final product is, each smoothie is put through a fine mesh sieve.

Frozen Margarita test: During Lab testing we use the same frozen margarita recipe we've been using for decades and strain the final product through a mesh sieve to evaluate whether all ingredients are fully blended and whether each grind or puree is uniform.

Milkshake test: We blend up a pint of vanilla ice and milk to see how frothy and creamy a milkshake whips up in a blender or if it ends up curdled and separated instead.

Broccoli leek soup test: We also make a homemade broccoli leek soup, if the blender is equipped to blend hot ingredients. A blender must have vents in order to safely blend hot ingredients and you should avoid blending hot liquids in a personal blending cup, which could potentially cause burns upon opening.

Grinding tests: To see how smoothly each blender will churn out peanut butter, we grind a pound of peanut butter using a standardized recipe. After blending, we evaluate its temperature, how it tastes and clean afterwards. We also grind coffee beans to see how evenly a blender will grind the hard beans.

Additional tests: If a blender comes with a food processor attachment, we test that attachment to see how well it performs. We shred carrots and mozzarella, mince parsley, grind parmesan and slice pepperoni and tomatoes.

Ease of use tests: When testing, we rate the helpfulness of the owner’s manual and evaluate how easy each model is to assemble, use and clean. We also consider how noisy each blender is while operating.

Cleaning test: Finally, we check how well blender cups and jars resist staining from tomato sauce that is left overnight. We also measure the wear after 14 cycles in the dishwasher.

What to consider when shopping for blenders

✔️ Type of blender: Blenders come in a few different varieties. Choose the best one for you according to your culinary needs.

• Full-sized: The most common type of blender, great for full-sized recipes and larger families.

• Food processor blender combo: While one of these may cost more than a traditional full-sized blender, it's meant to combine two appliances in one. This type of blender tends to offer more accessories to store though.

• Personal: Great for traveling or storing at your desk for a quick smoothie in between meetings, this type of blender is ideal for smaller families or families where everyone wants a different type of smoothie. Keep in mind you cannot puree a soup in here because there aren't vents like full-sized models.

• Hand blender: For even less storage, a hand blender can fit in a drawer and be used to blend ingredients in whichever container of your choosing. These are also great for traveling, but keep in mind the blender results aren't always as even as a traditional style blender.

✔️ Controls: Depending on the blender, some offer a variety of presets and functions, while others only offer a few. If you prefer to push a smoothie button and let the blender do the work then look for a model with presets. Another function to look for is a timer if you want to keep track of how long you need to blend for a recipe; some models have this feature, while others don't.

✔️ Blades: While it might seem counterintuitive, better-performing blenders do not come with sharp blades (which tend to dull over time). Instead, they come with strong blades that stand the test of time and are able to pulverize just about anything. This also makes them much safer to clean.

✔️ Size: If you don't plan to keep your blender on your countertop, look for a lightweight model. They're more portable but also more likely to skid around on the countertop when in use. If you want to keep your blender on the counter, be sure to consider the height, as some models are too tall to fit neatly underneath kitchen cabinets. If a countertop blender is too big for your kitchen, consider an immersion blender that’s slim and can tackle most of the same tasks.

✔️ Glass vs. plastic carafe: Glass is heavier, but it won’t retain odors or stain as easily as plastic models. Most high-powered blenders do not use glass jars because they're not guaranteed to be completely shatterproof, but if you really want glass, look for one that’s been thermal-shock tested (which means you can blend ice in a canister that's come straight from the dishwasher). Many of our top-performing blenders have jars made of Tritan plastic and some that manufacturers say are BPA-free, which can withstand high-speed blades.

✔️ Wattage: Blenders with higher wattage tended to perform better, but this was not always the case — the overall design of the blender is more important in determining performance.

✔️ Accessories: Some blender models come with a few personal cups with drinking lids; this is great to look for if you want the versatility of blending up a small batch of pesto or a personal smoothie. Food processor-blender combo models also come with accessories like dough hooks for kneading pizza or cookie dough or discs for shredding and grating ingredients. If you have the space for storage, these accessories can give you even more cooking versatility.

How do I clean my blender?

While some blenders can be placed on the top rack of a dishwasher for speedy cleaning, many brands recommend hand washing a blender, especially the blender jar and blade for longevity. We recommend washing your blender jar immediately after use so that ingredients don't get stuck in blender crevices. However, if you do wait, use a bottle brush and warm soapy water to get into the blender's nooks and crannies.

Why trust Good Housekeeping?

Eva Bleyer has professionally tested all kinds of kitchen equipment, from oven ranges to juicers, kitchen scales and blenders. In fact, in the past two and a half years alone, Eva has rigorously tested over 45 blenders in the Good Housekeeping Institute Kitchen Appliances & Innovation Lab. As a trained chef with a background in health-supportive cooking, she also has years of experience using blenders to make everything from cashew cream sauce to roasted beet hummus.

Nicole Papantoniou is the director of the Good Housekeeping Kitchen Appliances and Innovation Lab where she oversees all of Good Housekeeping's content and testing related to kitchen appliances, tools, gadgets and gear. She's been testing kitchen appliances professionally since 2013 and has worked at kitchen appliance companies where she helped develop some popular blenders and hand blenders as well as many recipes for them. She is trained in classic culinary arts and is a professional recipe developer.

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