The 7 Best Personal Blenders of 2024, Tested & Reviewed

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The 7 Best Personal Blenders of 2024, Tested & Reviewed

Food and Wine / Russell Kilgore

If you like a morning breakfast smoothie, a personal blender is a must-have small kitchen appliance. This compact machine can liquefy fruits and veggies without all the production of setting up a standard blender, and you can remove the blending jar and take it with you as a to-go cup.

To find the best personal blenders, we put 39 top models through a series of tests to evaluate their performance. In addition to assessing their ability to blend fibrous greens and crush ice, we also rated each one’s design, convenience, portability, and ease of use and cleaning. Read on to see which personal blenders you should take for a spin, and which fell short.

The powerful motor can handle ice, leafy greens, or anything else you want to blend, with a large capacity.

It only comes with extra-large cups that are less portable, and the lids didn't make a perfect seal.

We've tested all six personal blender models Nutribullet makes, and they're all top contenders. It was tough to pick a single favorite, but we decided the Pro 900 offers the best balance of price and performance. It earned perfect scores across all categories, with a 900-watt motor that had no trouble crushing ice and frozen fruit or blending kale and blueberries into a smooth mix with virtually no bits of leaf or skin.

This blender comes with two 32-ounce cups, big enough for really hearty servings but still hoistable with one hand. (Fear not, small-handed readers: You also get screw-on lip rings with attached handles for easy holding.) Flip-top lids allow you to protect and enjoy your beverage on the go, though ours did dribble a bit when tipped over. It’s probably best to carry them upright instead of tossing them in a backpack or gym bag. The huge cups are nice, but it's a bit disappointing you don't get any options for smaller servings that might fit better in a car cup holder. With that said, there are lots of Nutribullet accessories you can buy separately, including 18- and 24-ounce cups.

Dimensions: 12.01 x 7.72 x 15.94 inches | Weight: 4.7 pounds | Power: 900 watts | Includes: 2 (32-ounce) cups, 2 lip rings, 2 handled lip rings, 2 to-go lids

Food & Wine / Russell Kilgore

This powerful machine is minimalistic, quiet, and easy to clean.

Extra cups and accessories are not included with the Beast Mini.

Beast is the rare blender brand that pays as much attention to aesthetics as it does to function. We love the minimalist look of the base, the distinctive ribbed jar, and the five available colors, as well as the powerful motor.

Beast's new Mini Blender was released after we finished our head-to-head tests, but we tested this mini model separately and can confirm that it's worth its $99 price tag. The 600-watt motor made short work of smoothies full of tough-to-blend ingredients like sticky almond butter, dense dates, and tough kale. It was able to keep up with a legendary Vitamix blender — with less noise, to boot. When it's time for cleaning, the jar, lid, and blade can all be popped into the top shelf of the dishwasher.

To match its minimalist look, the Beast Mini includes minimal accessories. It comes with a single large-capacity cup and a single storage/straw lid. If you want to take multiple smoothies to go at once, you'll have to pay extra for the Mini Plus, which adds two smaller jars with storage lids.

Dimensions: 4.13 x 4.13 x 13.43 inches | Weight: 4.81 pounds | Power: 600 watts | Includes: 21.5-ounce cup, lid, 2 straws

This machine's powerful motor can take down just about anything, and it includes some nice extras.

It's one of the more expensive models we tested.

The Nutribullet Pro+ offers 1,200 watts of power, which was enough to deal with even chunks of whole frozen veggies for a smoothie. But it also blends thoroughly, able to turn soft tomatoes into a velvety sauce with no bits of skin or seeds to be found. The machine comes with 24- and 32-ounce cups, plus a sealing travel lid and screw-on sipping ring for each one.

Our favorite feature on this blender is the automatic cycle. Rather than having to hold the cup down the whole time you're blending, the Pro+ will run for 60 seconds and then shut off all by itself. This seems like such a small thing, but being able to start the rest of your morning routine while your smoothie comes together is a game-changer.

Dimensions: 12.05 x 11.81 x 12.99 inches | Weight: 6.2 pounds | Power: 1,200 watts | Includes: 24-ounce cup, 32-ounce cup, 2 travel lids, 2 cup rings

Food & Wine / Jennifer Lomeli

You can blend a fresh smoothie anywhere with this inexpensive, cordless marvel.

It needed more liquid than other models to blend thoroughly, and you can't carry the jar separately from the base.

This portable blender's cordless battery lets you fill it with ingredients and then throw it in a soft cooler bag to blend fresh at work, at a potluck, or at the beach. It can run up to 30 blending sessions on a single charge, and despite its 70-watt motor, it was able to make a smooth puree in all of our tests. It struggled at first, but it helped to add a little extra liquid — juice for a smoothie and oil for pesto — than we did with other models.

The portable functionality is very impressive, but you have to carry the blending base around with this model. The jar and sipping lid come off the blades for cleaning (they're dishwasher-safe), but there's nothing to cover the bottom of the jar and turn it into a travel cup. It's also rather small, at just 16 ounces, though anything much bigger would interfere with it being portable.

Dimensions: 3.26 x 3.26 x 10.64 inches | Weight: 1.2 pounds | Power: 70 watts | Capacity: 16 ounces

Food & Wine / Brierley Horton

This stylish blender backs up its cool retro look with solid performance.

It's pretty expensive, especially given its low power and few accessories.

We're big fans of SMEG's retro-styled kitchen appliances in general. They have unique looks and thoughtful designs that often justify the machines' high prices. That's the case with this blender, which was a top performer in testing. It made velvety smoothies from berries, greens, frozen fruit, and peanut butter; crushed cashews for making nut milk; and even powered through fibrous ginger for a marinade. It has two separate speeds, which is unusual for a personal blender — the high speed, though loud, was great for breaking up large items at the beginning of the blending process.

The curvy jars included with the SMEG are of course eye-catching, and they have flip-top handled sipper lids, a little like some of the super-trendy insulated water bottles you see everywhere these days. The shape makes it easy for sticky ingredients like nut butter to get trapped in the bottom or sides and not blend thoroughly, but we found a simple solution: Make sure you add liquid ingredients first.

The issue with the SMEG Personal Blender is its high price. You can get similar performance for less money, but not with the same looks (and color options — there are seven choices). The accessories are also limited, with two identical jars, and two identical lids, and that's it.

Dimensions: 5.5 x 5.5 x 13 inches | Weight: 4 pounds | Power: 250 watts | Includes: 2 (20.3-ounce) cups, 2 lids

Food & Wine / John Somerall

This inexpensive blender is simple to use and extremely easy to clean.

It's somewhat underpowered and had trouble blending frozen fruit.

The Magic Bullet may be cheap in cost and tiny in size, but it's a complete personal-blending system that outperformed a lot of its pricier competitors in our testing. The set includes a short cup, tall cup, and handled mug, plus lip rings, a to-go lid, and flad sealing lids so you can store contents in the fridge for later. The larger vessels are a good size for a breakfast smoothie, though the short cup is only big enough for a sauce — say, a few servings of pesto.

We were truly impressed with this machine's cleanability — one of our testers, who's worked as a barista and at a smoothie shop, called it the easiest blender she's ever had to wash. Given the budget price, we worried that sticky juice would leak out into the base, but the screw-on blade kept everything contained and was simple to rinse off. The cups and lids can all go in the dishwasher.

The Magic Bullet has the same push-to-blend operation as most similar models, but you can also twist the cup to lock it in place with the motor running. This isn't quite as convenient as a timed setting, but it's a nice extra. The machine had no trouble handling blueberries and spinach in our tests, but its mere 250-watt motor couldn't break down strawberries straight out of the freezer. You're best off using fresh (or thawed) fruit only, as in this pomegranate-banana smoothie.

Dimensions: 4.01 x 4.48 x 11.61 inches | Weight: 4.14 pounds | Power: 250 watts | Includes: 12-ounce short cup, 18-ounce tall cup, 18-ounce handled mug, 1 cup ring, 1 to-go lid, 2 resealable lids

Food & Wine / Ashe Purscell

With a small-but-mighty base and three generous blender jars, this model does a lot in not a lot of space

It took some stopping, starting, and scraping down the sides to get a smooth mixture.

The base of the Ninja Nutri-Blender Plus isn't very big, but it hides a huge 900 watts of power. It was able to finish a smoothie in less than 30 seconds in testing, and it created exceptionally velvety homemade hummus. With pesto and other dry or extra-thick recipes, we did have trouble with ingredients sticking to the sides of the jar and not getting blended. We had to stop and scrape down the sides a few times to get everything down into the blades, but after that, the motor had no trouble.

This model comes with three 20-ounce jars, which is a great size for single-serving smoothies or enough sauce for a family meal if not a large batch of soup. You get two flip-top travel lids and one flat storage lid, none of which leaked in our tests. The Ninja brand offers a lot of blender choices — we tested 5 personal-sized models in total — and this one's our favorite. It's middle-of-the-road in terms of price but high-end in terms of performance, and it'll fit in any cabinet and most drawers.

Dimensions: 4.7 x 4.7 x 13.8 inches | Weight: 1.3 pounds | Power: 900 watts | Includes: 3 (20-ounce) jars, 2 spout lids, 1 storage lid

Food & Wine / Hildara Araya-Gonzalez

After rigorously testing 39 personal blenders — and many, many smoothies later — we landed on the Nutribullet Pro 900 Personal Blender as our top pick. It has a powerful motor, speedy blending, and generously sized cups. If you want something less expensive, the Magic Bullet Personal Blender is an excellent choice. It offers surprisingly solid performance and a nice assortment of accessories at a budget price. For a sleek upgrade, we also recommend the Beast Mini Blender as an editor-favorite pick.

Food and Wine / Russell Kilgore

This roundup includes results from two sets of tests including 39 different personal blender models. (We defined "personal blender" as a machine with at least one blending jar that doubles as a drinking cup.) We evaluated each model in a variety of ways.

Food & Wine / Russell Kilgore

As with most electrical appliances, the power of a blender motor is measured in watts. The models we tested have a wide range, from under 100 to over 1000, and we found that more power means better performance — to a point. Machines with less than about 300 watts tended to have trouble with ice, greens, or both, while those above 600 blended faster and created a smoother consistency. Of course, more powerful motors are more expensive, and the design and shape of blades and jars also affect performance.

Since you blend in and drink out of the same container with a personal blender, the included jars tend to be smaller, intended for just one or two servings. "Standard" jars range from 12 to about 20 ounces, or a single small-ish serving to a really generous one. If you're looking for a morning-smoothie blender, measure how much you usually make and be sure your model includes a jar at least that big.

Similar to some full-size blenders, many personal models also include smaller jars for making sauces, as well as large multi-serving ones. Multiple vessels of multiple sizes can make a blender more versatile, not to mention better for a house full of people, but extra accessories and larger containers tend to increase cost.

Keep in mind that bigger isn't always better when it comes to blending: Ingredients can stick to the top and sides of a mostly empty jar, where the blades can't reach them. If the jar is closer to full, the contents tend to blend more efficiently.

Food & Wine / Brierley Horton

Personal blenders tend not to have very many different settings. Some simply blend when you push the cup down and stop when you let go. Others let you lock the cup in place with the motor running, or have automatic programs that run the blades for a set amount of time. A few have multiple speed settings so you can use a slower mode for rough chopping and a faster one for completely smooth mixes.

There are also extra parts included with some blenders that add functionality. Multiple jars of multiple sizes let everybody have their own smoothie, and tight-sealing lids with straws or sipping holes let everybody take their smoothie to go. Some fancier personal blenders also come with separate blending and grinding blades so you can use them with coffee or spices in addition to fresh fruits and veggies.

Personal blenders are generally easy to take care of, but you should always follow the included instructions for your specific model. That being said, you can usually assume it's safe to hand-wash the cups and lids with soap and water. If the blade is removable from the base, you can also rinse it under the faucet and wipe down with a sponge — just be careful around the sharp tines.

The motor base of a blender (or any electrical appliance) should never go under water; you can wipe off any spills with a damp cloth or sponge. If the blades don't come off the base, you can clean some models by adding water and a few drops of soap, and then running a blend cycle. Be sure to run a cycle or two of plain water afterward to rinse away all traces of soap. Many of the blenders on this list have dishwasher-safe parts, which makes cleanup a breeze. However, this rarely includes the blade, whose parts can rust or get damaged. Also, most jars and lids should be washed only in the gentler top rack of the dishwasher — be sure to check your model's manual for details.

The average lifespan for a personal blender is about 5 years, and the best thing you can do to maintain your machine's longevity is to thoroughly clean it according to the manufacturer's instructions every time you use it. You also shouldn't run a blender for long periods without a rest; stop to let the machine cool down after each minute or so of blending, or if you feel the motor start to get hot.

Food & Wine / Russell Kilgore

Nutribullet 600-Watt Personal Blender ($70 at Nutribullet)

The original Nutribullet performed similarly to the rest of the brand's models, which is to say well. It's the least expensive and least powerful of Nutribullet's personal blenders, and it gets the job done nonetheless. However, it's a bit smaller and slower than the Pro 900, and it doesn't have the automatic cycle we liked so much in the Pro+.

Nutribullet RX Cooking Blender ($180 at Nutribullet)

The top-end Nutribullet boasts an incredible 1,700 watts of power that was able to smoothie up everything we threw at it. Its special feature is that it can heat up and cook soup while blending it at the same time. That's pretty cool, but the increased cost isn't worth it unless you'll use the heating function frequently.

Cuisinart Portable Blending/Chopping System ($80 at Cuisinart)

An excellent choice for a big family of smoothie drinkers, this Cuisinart set comes with four identical to-go containers, two other blending jars, and a grinding blade. It's a versatile machine at an unexpectedly low price. It's just not very powerful and couldn't handle ice or dates.

Ninja Fit Compact Personal Blender ($70 at Amazon)

Our previous choice for best value, the Ninja Fit offers solid performance at a great price. But the Magic Bullet is cheaper, and the equally compact Ninja Nutri-Blender Plus did better in tests, at only $10 more.

Ninja BN401 Nutri Pro Compact Personal Blender ($73 at Amazon)

Both smoothies this Ninja made were smooth and easy to sip through straws, but we noticed bits of kale and dates weren’t fully blended. It’s easy to use and clean and has plenty of power to crush ice and frozen fruit, but other Ninja blenders did better in our tests.

Zwilling Enfinigy Personal Blender ($170 at Amazon)

Most personal blenders look the same, but this one's ridged cup and stylish control wheel stand out. It performed well for making smoothies in testing thanks to an automatic smoothie setting, though we got very unevenly chopped salsa using the pulse mode.

*Editor’s note: A previous version of this list included the BlendJet 2 Portable Blender, which has been recalled due to safety risks. Consumer Reports has advised consumers to stop using the product and contact BlendJet for a free replacement unit.

The main issue with the 24 blenders we're not recommending is that they weren't able to create a smooth, grit-free texture consistently. Other problems we encountered included extremely loud motors, leaky lids, hard-to-clean parts, and machines that simply felt and looked cheap. A few models we tested that weren't up to snuff were the Hamilton Beach Portable Blender, the Ninja Blast Portable Blender, the Nutribullet Ultra Personal Blender, the Magic Bullet Portable Blender, and the Dash Portable Blender. When we tested multiple models from the same brand, we also tried to compare them to one another and highlight only the best above.

Snack Cups For Adults *Editor's note: In addition to the recalled BlendJet 2 mentioned above, our tests also included the Bella Rocket Extract Pro Personal Blender, which has been discontinued.

The 7 Best Personal Blenders of 2024, Tested &amp; Reviewed

The 7 Best Personal Blenders of 2024, Tested & Reviewed