To Find the 6 Best Blenders, I Made Smoothies, Frozen Margs, Mayo, and More

Upgrading to a high-speed blender can seem revelatory, especially if you’ve spent years using personal blenders or lower-powered immersion blenders. But the price tag on these models, which often include an array of preset programs and tons of speeds, can make them seem daunting.

To help you parse out what’s hyperbolic marketing lingo and which high-speed blenders are actually worth $500 or more, I tested 16 popular models. After putting blenders from Vitamix, Breville, KitchenAid, and more through their paces, I found six winners that do everything they promise and then some. 

The Winners, at a Glance

The Best Blender

Vitamix 5200 Professional-Grade Blender

$500 at Amazon View on Vitamix.com $632 at Newegg.com

Our team has been recommending this blender for over a decade, and I am as enthusiastic about it as ever. The tall, tapered jar created powerful vortexes, and although it doesn’t have any presets, I promise you won’t miss them: The variable speeds are all you really need to blend things into oblivion. Of all the blenders on this list, this is a true “chef’s blender,” with a no-nonsense interface and supercharged motor.

Another Great Blender

Vitamix Propel 510

$500 at Amazon View on Vitamix.com

This is one of Vitamix’s secret superstars. It’s not its best-known blender, but it’s an outstanding performer. It has three dialed-in presets (smoothie, hot soup, and frozen dessert), plus 10 speeds and a tapered jar. It’s a fantastic choice for cooks who want presets but don’t plan on using their blender for highly specialized things like grinding spices or milling flour.

The Best Blender with Presets

Breville Stainless Steel Super Q Blender

$550 $500 at Amazon $500 at Williams Sonoma $499 at Walmart

The Super Q has a sleek and chic stainless steel base with a luxe-looking digital display. With five presets and 12 speeds, it was one of the more versatile blenders I tested. It’s a great option for smoothie drinkers because there are two smoothie presets (for regular smoothies and ones made with leafy greens like kale). The jar is too wide to emulsify sauces, but other than that, I had very few complaints.

The Best Splurge Blender

Vitamix Ascent X5 Blender

$1,125 at Amazon $750 at Williams Sonoma View on Vitamix.com

If a $750 blender is within your budget, I highly recommend this one. Loaded with 10 presets and 19 speeds, using it is, simply put, fun. It blended the best across almost all tests, producing luxuriously creamy and thick smoothies. There are some truly innovative features in this model, too: The blender will nudge you to use the tamper when necessary.

The Best Mid-Priced Blender

KitchenAid K400 Variable Speed Blender

$300 at Amazon $270 at Home Depot $300 at Kohls.com

The K400 costs about $200 to $450 less than the first four blenders on this list, but it held its own in my tests. It made the second-best frozen margarita (second only to the X5), and it has a good blade design, similar to that of a Vitamix.

The Best Budget Blender

Breville Fresh & Furious Blender

$200 at Amazon $200 at Williams Sonoma $200 at Target

The Fresh & Furious is like the Super Q in miniature. A little less powerful, fewer presets and speed options, but still a very well-made, high-performing blender. It’s a great choice for cooks who want to use their blenders mostly for smoothies, but are looking for something more powerful than a personal blender.

The Tests

• Almond Milk Test: I blended whole, skin-on almonds with dates and water, then strained the mixture through a cheesecloth-lined fine mesh strainer. This helped me identify which blenders created consistently smooth and creamy nut milk, and which ones created chunky pulp and watery milk.
• Smoothie Test: Every blender ought to make an outstanding smoothie. I blended curly kale, frozen blueberries, banana, almond milk, and peanut butter. If the blenders had a smoothie preset, I used that. Otherwise, I started at the lowest speed and ramped my way up to max. After straining the blended liquid, I weighed the remaining pulp.
• Frozen Margarita Test: I wanted to know how well the blenders handled hard ice cubes. I mixed 16 ounces of ice with eight ounces of premade margarita mix, again starting with the slowest speed and working up to the fastest. I poured the margarita into a drinking glass and assessed its texture, looking for smooth, soft, and fluffy ice.
• Mayonnaise Test: Although mayonnaise is easily made with an immersion blender, a traditional blender ought to be able to make it too. Once I had outlined preliminary picks, I made mayonnaise in my favorite blenders. I assessed which ones were able to create the necessary vortex for creamy, emulsified mayo. 

What We Learned

Tapered Jars Reigned Supreme 

Beyond the motor’s power, the most important element of your blender is the jar design. Tapered jars are best at creating turbulence—an element all blenders need to make a vortex that cycles ingredients through the blades. That’s why our team has named the Vitamix 5200 the best high-speed blender for over a decade. It is not only tapered but tall (2.5 inches taller than some of the other jars we tested). In my most recent test, I replicated these findings, especially during the mayonnaise test. The 5200 outperformed every other model, producing creamy, thick mayo. 

But the 5200 is an outlier: No other blender I tested had such a tall jar, so you’ll have to rely on other features to contribute to that important vortex. Ridged, textured sides create turbulence, and blade design matters too, but I’ll get into that momentarily. I want to note that you don’t need a blender with a dramatically tapered jar. My runner-up, the Breville Super Q, has a wide jar that struggled to make good mayonnaise, but it comes with a strong motor and solid blades—and otherwise performed really well. Plus, the wide base makes it easier to scrape food out of and clean. The best blender for you depends on what you want to use it for.

A Simple Blade Design Was Best

Don’t overthink it: Uncomplicated, basic blades work best. The Oster 1500 Watt Extreme Mix Blender boasts its 10-blade stack but in my tests, that proved to be about six blades too many. None of the Oster’s blades were large enough or appropriately angled to pulverize ingredients. All they really did was capture bits of food that were tough to clean. Vitamix’s blade design is consistent across all its models: four thick, blunt blades. Why blunt? Because sharp blades will eventually become dull. (They’ll quickly become dull if you use your blender to process hard ingredients, like frozen fruit or nuts.) 

High-Speed Blenders Should Give You Speed Control 

Presets and programs are awesome, especially if you want to follow a recipe. But it would be a shame to splurge on a high-speed blender and not experiment with its speeds! That’s why all of the winning models here have at least 10 of them. The Vitamix Propel 510 was an outstanding example of a blender with variable speeds and smart presets. I enjoyed experimenting with its 10 speeds, and its three programs (smoothie, frozen dessert, and hot soup) were reliable and worth the real estate they took up on the display. 

There were some interesting outliers within this category. Although the Breville Super Q has 12 speeds, they’re labeled with verbs (chop, mix, mill, and so on). This was more confusing than helpful, but by no means enough to disqualify it. You can always ignore the descriptors on the display screen as you build speed. 

Presets Were Only Useful If They Got the Job Done

The Vitamix Ascent X5 (which I’ve reviewed fully here) is an overachiever. Not only does it have 19 variable speeds, but it’s also programmed with 10 presets. I’ve used every preset throughout my testing, and feel that most of them are outstanding. They make use of the many speeds to tackle highly specific recipes, like smoothie bowls, spice blends, and nut butter. But not every blender had hardworking presets. The Oster 1500 Extreme chose smoothie, milkshake, and salsa as its only three presets. The first was unsatisfactory, with loads of blueberry and kale pulp left behind. The latter two don’t seem all that useful—I don’t make milkshakes at home enough to warrant a special blender program for it. 

Clever Design Elements Made a Difference

Small upgrades add up. For example, the handle on the Vitamix Ascent X5 has a rubberized coating—amazingly beneficial in instances when you’re working with damp hands. With cheery color options, the KitchenAid K400 was made with an eye for aesthetics, something that matters if you want to leave your blender on the counter. The Super Q has a big, bright digital display and a countdown timer for its presets. All the Vitamix models I tested have wraparound under-the-base cord storage with prongs to hold it in place. 

If you’re paying top dollar for a high-speed blender, you deserve more than just a ginormous motor. Think of it like flying business class: That steep ticket price gets you a few flashy “just because” extras. 

The Criteria: What to Look for in a Blender

The best blenders have powerful motors and a simple blade design—four blades is enough. Blunt blades are best because they won’t dull over time. There should be a minimum of five speeds. Presets should be quick and efficient. Tapered jars are the most versatile (they’re ideal for making sauces), but wide jars are easier to scoop from and clean.

Our Favorite Blenders

The Best Blender

Vitamix 5200 Professional-Grade Blender

$500 at Amazon View on Vitamix.com $632 at Newegg.com

What we liked: The 5200 proves it: It doesn’t take a ton of bells and whistles to make a great blender. This one is powerful and has all the design elements you want in a high-speed blender: a tall, tapered, jar; a simple, upward-facing blade design; a ridged jar for optimal turbulence; and 10 reliable speeds. Blenders are underrated tools for emulsifying (making salad dressings and sauces). The 5200 does it best. We’ve recommended it for over a decade.

What we didn’t like: The jar is so tall that the blender struggles with ice crushing—it made a pretty watery margarita. It might also be too tall to nestle under your cabinets. It’s more difficult to scrape out the tapered bottom with a spatula. If you want a Vitamix and presets, you’ll be happier with the Propel 510 or the Ascent X5.

Key Specs

• Jar capacity: 64 ounces
• Blender weight: 10.9 pounds
• Presets: None
• Number of speeds: 10
• Warranty: 7 years

Another Great Blender

Vitamix Propel 510

$500 at Amazon View on Vitamix.com

What we liked: This blender is small, but it packs a punch. There are three no-nonsense presets I bet you’ll use all the time, plus the 10 typical Vitamix variable speeds. The blade and jar design is flawless (blunt blades, tapered and ridged). It kept pace with the 5200 in most of my tests, falling behind only in the smoothie and nut milk test, and just barely. It has a six-foot cord, which is longer than many Vitamix models I tested. It’s just a great blender and a fantastic value.

What we didn’t like: Some cooks may find the 48-ounce jar too small, although it wasn’t a problem in my tests. Beyond that, I really have nothing to complain about. 

Key Specs

• Jar capacity: 48 ounces
• Blender weight: 9.6 pounds
• Presets: 3 (smoothie, hot soup, frozen dessert)
• Number of speeds: 10
• Warranty: 5 years

The Best Blender with Presets

Breville Stainless Steel Super Q Blender

$550 $500 at Amazon $500 at Williams Sonoma $499 at Walmart

What we liked: This blender truly is “super quiet.” It purrs, rather than grinds and growls. It has 12 speeds and five useful presets, including a smoothie and a green smoothie setting, which both work well. The digital screen is clear and easy to read (I liked the brightness of this screen better than the more expensive Vitamix X5). It made an outstanding batch of almond milk; one of the creamiest. It comes with a personal blending jar, eliminating the need for another appliance. The tamper is heavily weighted, so it doesn’t roll when set down.

What we didn’t like: It’s almost 16 pounds, the heaviest of all the blenders I tested. The jar doesn’t taper enough to emulsify sauces. The speeds are labeled with actions, like mix and chop, which is more confusing than helpful.

Key Specs

• Jar capacity: 64 ounces (personal jar is 24 ounces)
• Blender weight: 15.48
• Presets: 5 (smoothie, green smoothie, soup, frozen dessert, ice crush)
• Number of speeds: 12
• Warranty: 10 years

The Best Splurge Blender

Vitamix Ascent X5 Blender

$1,125 at Amazon $750 at Williams Sonoma View on Vitamix.com

What we liked: This is the only blender I tested with 19 speed settings. (1, 1+, 2, 2+, etc.) There are an impressive 10 presets (including some unique options, like spice grinding and non-dairy milks). It made an outstanding smoothie with barely any pulp left behind. The almond milk was great too; no surprise there, as it has a specific preset for alternative milk. There’s a removable tamper holder that acts like a spoon rest, which is clever. Even better, the blender tells you when to use the tamper with the presets. The base is compatible with Vitamix’s food processor attachment. It pushes the boundaries of what blenders can do.

What we didn’t like: It is very pricey.

Key Specs

• Jar capacity: 48 ounces
• Blender weight: 14.25 pounds
• Presets: 10 (smoothies, frozen desserts, soups, frozen cocktails, dips and spread, smoothie bowl, frappé, nut butter, non-dairy milk, spice grinding)
• Number of speeds: 19
• Warranty: 10 years

The Best Mid-Priced Blender

KitchenAid K400 Variable Speed Blender

$300 at Amazon $270 at Home Depot $300 at Kohls.com

What we liked: This is a quality blender for the price—it’s at least $200 less than the winning Vitamixes and Breville Super Q. The jar capacity is generous, at 56 ounces. The icy drinks button bumped this blender to the top of the pack during the frozen margarita test. The blades are simple, durable, and effective. There’s also a specific preset for crushing ice. It’s nice-looking and comes in a handful of fun colors.

What we didn’t like: This blender only has five speed settings, the lowest of all our winners. It didn’t make the smoothest smoothie, with some blueberry pulp left behind. The jar isn’t tapered enough to emulsify well.

Key Specs

• Jar capacity: 56 ounces
• Blender weight: 16.5 pounds
• Presets: (smoothie, icy drinks, ice crush)
• Number of speeds: 5
• Warranty: 5 years

The Best Budget Blender

Breville Fresh & Furious Blender

$200 at Amazon $200 at Williams Sonoma $200 at Target

What we liked: This blender also has three presets and five speeds. Whereas the KitchenAid is better for frozen drinks, the Fresh & Furious is your best budget option if you make a lot of smoothies. (There are presets for regular smoothies and green smoothies.) With a 50-ounce capacity, it’s a touch bigger than the 48-ounce Vitamix jars. There is a lid assist ring to help open the tightly sealed top—also found on the Super Q.

What we didn’t like: It’s not as powerful as the true high-speed winning blenders, like the Super Q and the picks from Vitamix. That means blended recipes will be a little chunkier. It struggled a little in the almond milk test, leaving behind date pieces.

Key Specs

• Jar capacity: 50 ounces
• Blender weight: 8.82 pounds
• Presets: 3 (smoothie, green smoothie, ice crush)
• Number of speeds: 5
• Warranty: 3 years

The Competition

• Vitamix Ascent X2: This is a solid blender, but it’s more expensive than the Propel 510 and performs similarly. 
• Vitamix Explorian E310: The Explorian E310 is another sturdy option from Vitamix. It performed on par with the Propel 510 in my tests, but it lacks presets. 
• Oster 1500 Watt Extreme Mix Blender: This blender could not keep up with any of the winners. Its overcomplicated 10-blade system failed to produce a pulp-free smoothie, and it couldn’t make creamy almond milk.
• Vitamix V1200 Super Pack: This blender was once on our winners’ list, but it's no longer available.
• Blendtec Total Blender Classic: This blender was also on the winners’ list, but it has been discontinued.
• Zwilling Enfinigy Power Blender: The ribbed jar of this blender is unique, which helps create turbulence and looks great, too. The self-clean button was helpful, but it struggled to make any smooth or creamy recipe—there was always lots of pulp left behind.
• Waring Commercial Xtreme Hi-Power Blender: There are only three speed settings and no presets on this blender. It performed decently but didn’t offer enough to compete with the winning models.
• Hurom Hexa Power High-Speed Blender: This blender features six blades, but as mentioned above, that’s not an upgrade. The Hurom produced a chunky, unappealing frozen margarita—despite having an “ice crush” preset. The machine runs very hot. Like the Waring blender, the Hurom got uncomfortably warm to the touch after making almond milk. 
• Wolf Gourmet High-Performance Blender: This blender has that iconic “Wolf look,” with a red knob that matches its popular range. It also has a high price tag befitting the brand's lineup. Unfortunately, it didn’t perform with the power I expected from a Wolf appliance. The almond milk produced a lot of unprocessed skins, and even the lowest speed was too fast to make a proper mayonnaise. 
• Oster Versa Professional Power Blender: With its powerful motor and burly profile, this blender looks like it belongs in a restaurant kitchen. The 64-ounce capacity jar is sturdy, with a hefty handle and thick pour spout. I liked the large number of speeds in manual mode. But it failed to emulsify the mayonnaise. The serrated blades will, as with all blades of that style, get dull with use.

FAQs

What’s a good blender for smoothies?

Although not common, some full-sized blenders are sold under the moniker “smoothie blender;” these are designed to pulverize frozen fruit and leafy greens, and don’t have other features that make blenders versatile. More common are blenders with a setting or two specifically for smoothies. The Breville Super Q and Fresh & Furious both have smoothie presets. To throw another term into the mix, personal blenders are sometimes called smoothie blenders or smoothie makers; these are designed for single-serve smoothies you can take on the go. They’re typically less powerful, with streamlined interfaces. Our favorite personal blender is the Zwilling Enfingy.

What’s the best juice blender?

Blenders pulverize ingredients with rapidly turning blades, creating purées, emulsifications, and sauces. Juicers work differently by extracting liquid from fruits and vegetables, leaving behind the pulp. If you're looking for an appliance to make fresh juice, you will need a juicer: Here's our full review. In a pinch, you can blend fruits and vegetables and strain out the pulp, but the resulting liquid will be more fibrous than with a juicer.

What’s the best glass blender?

None of the winning blenders here have glass jars—and for good reason. Glass is highly breakable. Imagine accidentally dropping a metal spoon in the blender while it’s running—that’s a recipe for disaster. Glass can also accumulate tiny micro-cracks over time, which will eventually shatter.

How do I choose the best kitchen blender?

The first factor you’ll need to consider is price. If it’s within your budget to spend $300 to $400, we recommend investing in a high-speed blender, which has a powerful motor, plenty of speeds to choose from, and clever design features. But there are still plenty of quality mid-priced and budget blenders.

What brand of blender is good? 

Vitamix has great name recognition and a solid brand reputation—and for good reason. Our favorite blender is the Vitamix 5200, and after testing just about every model the brand makes, we’re impressed with their quality and power. We also really like certain models from Breville, two of which were included on this list.

Why We’re the Experts

• Rochelle Bilow is an editor at Serious Eats. Previously, she worked at Bon Appétit and Cooking Light magazines. 
• Rochelle is a culinary school graduate and former line cook, and is working on her first cookbook.
• For this review, Rochelle put 16 blenders to the test, making smoothies, almond milk, mayonnaise, and frozen margaritas.