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Top rated
- best buy
- Ease of cleaning
- Fruit, veg and nut smoothie
- Ease of Use
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If you’re into making smoothies and milkshakes or love homemade soup, a blender is a nifty and useful addition to your kitchen – the best blenders can blitz your ingredients to a smooth consistency in seconds.
But do you need a traditional jug blender or would a mini blender such as the Nutribullet suit you better? And what features are really useful to have?
In this expert guide, we tell you what to look for as you begin searching for a jug blender, and how much you'll need to spend to get a decent one. Plus, you'll find the very best blenders we’ve tested.
Go our in-depth blender reviews to see all the models we've tested.
We’ve put a wide range of blenders to the test, using popular and tricky-to-blend foods to see which blenders can make great soups and smoothies, and also tackle tough tasks such as making pesto and crushing ice. These are some of our most recently tested Best Buys.
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Full Access first month £5, then £10.99 per month, cancel at any time
Full Access first month £5, then £10.99 per month, cancel at any time
Full Access first month £5, then £10.99 per month, cancel at any time
Full Access first month £5, then £10.99 per month, cancel at any time
Full Access first month £5, then £10.99 per month, cancel at any time
Full Access first month £5, then £10.99 per month, cancel at any time
Not found the blender you’re looking for? See all our blender reviews to find an alternative.
Not sure what type of blender to buy? Watch our video to decide on the style of blender that will best suit your needs.
Whether you opt for a personal blender or a traditional jug blender, you shouldn’t need to compromise on quality of blending, as long as you choose a good model. Below, we explain the pros and cons of each type to help you to decide which is best for you.
Mini blenders (or personal blenders) are usually smaller than traditional jug blenders, and have a smaller bullet-shaped blending cup which unscrews at the base, meaning that it can be easily converted into a drinking mug with lid. They are designed to be quick and convenient, originally envisioned as a way to whip up a quick smoothie en route to the gym for those on a health kick. The blenders are smaller, so they won't take up much space on your worktop. They are great for people who just want to blend one smoothie at a time.
These have a larger blending jug with a handle and removable lid, although some allow you to unscrew the base for easier cleaning. They are larger than mini/personal blenders - usually around 1.7l capacity compared to around 600ml - so are a better choice if you want to blend large batches of smoothies and soups to feed a family. They tend to take up more worktop space, but often have dedicated blending programs for different tasks such as pureeing, ice-crushing and smoothie-making.
Head to our blender reviews to see all our tested models, including the Nutribullet range and rival blenders.
Use this checklist to make sure you get a blender that has the extra features you need:
Personal blenders can have these additional features:
Now find the perfect blender for you by comparing models using our blender reviews.
Smoothie makers are similar to jug blenders, except that they have a dispensing tap so you can pour your smoothie straight from the jug into your glass.
However, they’re no longer widely available. If you’re looking for a convenient and speedy smoothie maker, a mini blender such as the Nutribullet may be a better choice, as we’ve found that the taps on smoothie makers tend to clog easily.
Confusingly, some blenders also describe themselves as juicers. Juicers extract juice from fruit and vegetables, leaving you with a thin, clear drink, and pile of waste pulp. Blenders blitz all the fruit and veg together, forming a thicker mixture with no waste pulp.
Our expert guide to choosing a jug blender, juicer or smoothie maker explains the pros and cons of each in more detail.
In our tests, lots of blenders do a good job of blending soup. But transferring soup from the pan to the blender and back can be messy and time-consuming, especially if you’re making a big batch.
If you mostly want to make soup, it’s worth considering a soup maker. These have a heating element at the bottom of the jug, which means you can blend and cook your soup all in the same appliance. They usually also have a smoothie setting, so you might not need to get a blender as well.
Head to our in-depth soup maker reviews to find out which ones make the best soup with minimum fuss.
Looking for ideas for how to use your blender? See BBC Good Food’s top smoothie recipes and soup recipes.
Vacuum blending is a recent trend in newer, more expensive blenders that take air out of the jug or cup before blending. It’s often claimed that this produces brighter, more flavoursome smoothies with fewer bubbles and less foam on top, and that the smoothie should separate out into layers less over time.
Bigger claims can even include that smoothies will stay fresh for longer and retain more of the nutrients of the original ingredients. With ordinary blenders, the high-speed blending action can introduce lots of air into the mix. So, in theory, the lack of oxygen in the blending jug would help to prevent the smoothie oxidising – in the same way that avocados or apples go brown – by preventing enzymes from undergoing a chemical reaction that creates melanin. The lack of oxygen is also said to help to stop water-soluble vitamins, such as B-complex vitamins and vitamin C, from oxidising, helping to preserve the amount of each in your smoothie.
In our vacuum blending try-out, we found that vacuum blending produces a smoothie with fewer bubbles and less foam on top. But the smoothies we made weren’t brighter or more flavoursome, and didn’t have less separation. We kept them in the fridge for four days and found that they didn’t stay fresh for longer, either.
Blenders can cost as little as £25 and as much as £500 for super-premium ‘professional-grade’ blenders from brands such as Blendtec, Sage and Vitamix. We’ve found cheap blenders that are Best Buys because they get the basics just right. The price you pay is often a matter of how many additional features you want.
Super-premium blenders claim to tackle many more food preparation tasks, such as milling grains, making nut milk, heating soup and chopping veg. Some also have lengthy guarantees and claim to be more durable than cheap blenders.
The good news is that you don’t have to spend a lot to get hold of a brilliant blender – if you’re willing to skip extra features and attachments, then you can snag a decent blender for under £50. And some pricier blenders have disappointed in our tests, so it’s worth checking our reviews before forking out for a premium model.
We’ve found that more power doesn’t always equal better blending, but if you want features such as interactivity with your phone or tablet, extra blades/jugs for different food preparation jobs, or a long guarantee, you will need to pay more.
Nice-to-have blender features include:
With a basic blender, it’s important you only use it for the things it was designed for. Trying to crush ice with a non-compatible blender can damage the blades and the container. And hot liquids, such as soup, should never be put into a blender that’s not made for that purpose - it’s dangerous and could damage your appliance.
If you want to keep your options open, start at around the £100 mark and go higher or lower depending on whether you need more features or fewer.
We’ve surveyed blender owners to discover which brands are most prone to faults. Read our guide to blender brands to find out more.
Nutribullet has become a household name since releasing its first mini blender. These machines specialise in blitzing fruit and veg quickly and letting you drink straight from the blending cup after you screw on a lid.
If you’re in the market for a blender, chances are you’ve considered a Nutribullet. Since the original Nutribullet 600, there have been a lot of Nutribullet blenders to choose from. Older Nutribullet blenders are cheaper mini models, while new ones have features like smart connectivity and bigger capacities.
Nutribullet became famous because of its line of mini blenders, though in 2020 it started releasing jug blenders too. We’ve reviewed a lot of Nutribullet blender products – some are great, and others underwhelmed us.
Visit our Nutribullet reviews to see how all nine Nutribullet blenders scored in our tests.
Our guide to the best Nutribullets will help you navigate the Nutribullet blenders on the market
You might be able to grab a better deal if you buy a second-hand or ex-display blender, which also cuts down on waste and does your pocket a favour. But there are a few things you should think about before buying one, particularly if it’s previously been used:
Find out more about your rights when buying second-hand goods.
According to Recycle Now, around one million tonnes of electrical and electronic waste are generated every year. Every item that has either a plug, a charger, batteries or carries a crossed-out wheelie bin logo can be recycled, and that includes blenders.
Broken appliances should be recycled:
Appliances that are still working can be reused. If your old blender is still working, donate it to charity (many offer collections), sell it or take it to your local council recycling/reuse centre.
You can find your nearest recycling location (including stores and council sites) using Recycle Now’s recycling locator.
For more advice on appliance recycling, see our guide on how to recycle electrical items.