Types of Blenders
If you’re looking to whip up just the occasional milkshake, you’ll want a different model from one you’d use if you’re into juicing whole fruits or crafting homemade almond butter. Here are the four main types, from most to least versatile.
‘Premium’
“Premium” (and “high performance”) are terms that manufacturers use to describe high-end blenders. These machines are usually meant to do more than conventional blenders, such as making nut butters or serving up hot soup. The price is the tip-off—they’re the most expensive blenders we test, ranging from $300 all the way up to $1,000.
Conventional
This less expensive, full-sized blender is best for lower-intensity blending tasks, such as making milkshakes and fresh fruit smoothies. Forget the hot soup or whole-fruit juicing; you might also have to settle for chunkier frozen cocktails. Conventional blenders cost anywhere from $40 to $150.
Personal
This newer blender category targets people who prefer their power shakes and yogurt-based smoothies on the go; mixing containers double as travel jars. They are not intended for hardcore blending. Performance varies greatly in personal blenders, as does their price: You can find a plastic personal blender for $20, but others can cost up to $500 for more premium features.
Immersion
Submerge this cylindrical blender directly into the food or drink you’re preparing—say, simmering vegetables in a pot. With its blades exposed, it’s more of a complement to your countertop blender than a replacement. Immersion blenders aren’t as powerful as premium blenders or as quick as personal blenders, but you can find an immersion blender for anywhere from $30 up to $200.
How We Test Blenders
Consumer Reports tests blenders on how well they make icy drinks, crush ice, and purée, as well as on convenience, durability, and noise.
In our lab, we make batches of nonalcoholic piña coladas and use a series of sieves (with diminishing mesh sizes) to evaluate smoothness and thickness. “When a blender earns an excellent score in our icy-drinks tests, the drinks have a smooth, consistent texture,” says Larry Ciufo, a test engineer who oversees CR’s blender testing.
For our ice-crushing tests, we use another set of sieves to separate the big chips from the finer bits. A blender that garners a top-level score in our ice-crushing test serves up ice that looks uniformly like snow, while a very good score tells you the ice is more like a snow cone. (The lower the score, the bigger—and more irregular—the ice chips.)
In our purée test, we blend veggies and other ingredients in boiling water, operating on the manufacturer’s recommended speed (or high) for 15 seconds—three times per model.
We measure a machine’s convenience by how easy it is to use its controls, clean its base, and remove and replace the blade—among other factors.
Our durability test involves crushing seven ice cubes (four for personal blenders) without liquid for 1 minute on the highest setting.
To gauge the noise level, CR blends 1 cup of water and takes an average decibel reading over 30 seconds.
To see how well premium, full-sized, personal, and immersion blenders perform in our tests, see our blender ratings.
Blender Features
Decide which features are most important to you, but keep in mind that paying more for a blender doesn’t necessarily get you more features. There are some baseline features we think you should consider, which we outline here.
Container
Most of our top-rated blenders feature plastic containers, which are lightweight and less prone to breaking than glass containers. The downside is that plastic can absorb odors and stains, so you’ll want to clean it promptly after each use. Regardless of the material, look for a container with a wide mouth to facilitate loading and cleaning, as well as easy-to-read measurements.
Controls
No one type of control is best, so the decision is mainly about personal preference:
- Touchpad controls are the easiest to clean, but they can be a little more difficult to operate. (For example, you might have to press the button multiple times to turn the machine on and off.)
- Push buttons switch easily from one speed to the next, but grime can collect in their crevices.
- Dial controls wipe down easily, but you have to turn through all the settings to reach your desired speed.
- A flip switch is easy to clean, but it limits you to a few options.
Speed
Though three speeds are generally adequate for a blender, you’ll see that blenders can have as few as two or as many as 17 speeds. With a dozen or more, it can start to get difficult to distinguish one speed from the next. A pulse setting, which eliminates the lag time between when you push the button and when the blender starts or stops, allows for more precision when blending delicate ingredients. Some high-performance blenders also come with convenient programmed settings—say, for smoothies, whole-fruit juice, and hot soup.
Power
You’ll see anywhere from 300 to 1,000 watts, or even greater, as more manufacturers make the claim that higher wattage equates to better performance. But we’ve found that this is not necessarily the case because the design of the blade assembly and the shape of the container are also factors. (The exception is immersion blenders, where higher wattage does tend to deliver more consistent results.)
Warranty
As with any product, a blender’s warranty can be an indication of how long the manufacturer expects it to last. Some high-performance blenders have seven- or eight-year warranties, and budget blenders might be covered for only a year.
Ease of storage
Some blenders are easier to store than others, which could be a real concern if you have a small kitchen. With their super-compact design, immersion blenders tuck easily into a drawer—though, again, they can’t take the place of a countertop blender. Personal blenders are also fairly compact.
If you’re going for a full-sized unit and plan to keep it on the countertop, a model that is less than 17 inches tall should save space by fitting under the kitchen cabinetry when not in use. The height between countertops and the bottom of cabinets is typically 20 to 22 inches, so you want to have enough space to take the top off a blender or insert and remove the jar (though it’s a good idea to take a measurement because some cabinets are lower).
Pay attention to the number of attachments and accessories that come with the blender. Some hybrid models feature multiple mixing containers, which might improve their versatility but will also take up storage space in your cabinets.
How to Layer Your Ingredients
To get a perfectly smooth smoothie every time, layer your ingredients in the order we’ve laid out below, starting with liquids and ending with your heavier ingredients. (For easy reference, you can also download and print this PDF and keep it on your fridge.)
- At the bottom of your cup sit your liquids—milk, water, cold brew, or whatever it is that you’re using as the base of your smoothie. When submerged in liquid, the blender’s blades create a vortex, pulling solid ingredients (those that come later) into the base.
- Second, layer leafy greens and herbs near the blades so that they have more time to be thoroughly liquefied (and so you can avoid sipping stringy fibers). We recommend tossing in a handful or so.
- Third, nuts and seeds sit atop your herbs and liquids. These hard ingredients need ample time with your blender’s blades to become thoroughly pulverized. Limit the nuts and seeds to an ounce, or a couple of tablespoons.
- Next introduce soft foods like yogurt, tofu, or nut butter. You can go up to a half-cup with the yogurt and tofu, but remember that too much can make for a watery smoothie.
- Fresh fruits and veggies—or non-stringy produce—come fifth because they liquefy quickly. Add a layer of 1 to 2 cups to keep your soft foods (below) from your frozen ingredients (above), or the two will clump together stubbornly when wet.
- Frozen foods can be added to further press the previous layers into the blender’s blades. Limit these frozen fruits and veggies to 1 cup to avoid forming air pockets.
- We’re nearing the end: Start blending the previous six layers before you introduce powders like protein powder, fiber, or collagen. Powders are less likely to clump if you add them after the blender has started running.
- Finally, after blending for 1 to 2 minutes, assess your smoothie’s consistency and place a few ice cubes into the mix. Blend them until you can’t hear them hitting the blender’s walls.
If you’re using a personal blender cup instead, reverse the order because you’ll be inverting the container onto the motor base. For more on why placing ingredients in the order above is key to a great smoothie every time, see “How to Load Your Blender for the Smoothest Smoothies,” and watch the video below.
Illustration: Rodrigo Damati Illustration: Rodrigo Damati
How to Stack a Blender for a Smoother Smoothie
For more, watch our video on the best way to fill a blender before making a smoothie.
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