After Testing Almost 100 Models, These 4 Blenders Are Worth the Investment

• Beast Blender: Whether you have a small kitchen or are cooking for one, the Beast Blender is a great compact option with proven performance. However, it comes with numerous pieces that require storage.
• 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 requires more storage space.
• Cuisinart Smart Power Duet Blender/Food Processor: This low-profile 40-ounce glass jar has seven blending and processing options that are clearly marked and easy to use. At 500 watts, this is not the most high-powered blender, and if you overwork the blender, it will stop working temporarily until it cools down.
• 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, this model has a smaller capacity, which could be a dealbreaker if you have a larger family.
• Ninja Foodi Power Blender & Processor System: If you want to switch between personal smoothies and blending up party-sized batches of frozen margaritas, this is another great pick from the Ninja Foodi line. In our tests, the blender produced smooth and creamy soups and milkshakes. However, this model has many pieces that require additional storage.
• NutriBullet Ultra Personal Blender: This little blender packs a powerful punch thanks to its 1,200-watt motor. In our evaluations, it blended up thick and delicious smoothies with great body in 1.5 minutes, but there were still some strawberry seeds remaining.
• Vitamix E310 Explorian Blender: If a $700+ blender isn't in your budget right now, we recommend this Vitamix, which typically retails for around $350 before sales. In our tests, it produced smooth margaritas and creamy peanut butter with impressive consistency, though it didn't perform quite as well across every evaluation as some of our top picks.
• 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.

In the Good Housekeeping Institute Kitchen & Cooking Lab, we test each blender using the same standardized recipes to see how it stands out from the rest. Once we put each blender through Lab testing, we hold onto the best blenders for long-term testing.

✔️Strawberry kale smoothie test: We make strawberry kale smoothies to help mimic how a home consumer would use a blender. We blend 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.

✔️ Type of blender: For this story, we focused on the best full-sized blenders, but 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.
• Blender-food processor 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.
• Portable: These are cordless personal blenders designed to operate without needing to be plugged into an electrical outlet, providing portability and convenience. However, its battery requires charging, and it typically lacks the power of traditional blenders that connect directly to an electrical outlet.
• Hand blender: For even less storage, an immersion blender can fit in a drawer and blend ingredients in whichever container you choose. These are also great for traveling, but remember that 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 provide a few. If you prefer to push a smoothie button and let the blender do the work, 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 pitcher: 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.

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 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.

Eva Bleyer has professionally tested all kinds of kitchen equipment, from oven ranges to juicers. Eva has rigorously tested almost 100 blenders in the Good Housekeeping Institute in the past almost five years. As a trained chef from the Natural Gourmet Institute with a background in health-supportive cooking, she has extensive experience using blenders.

Nicole Papantoniou is the director of the Good Housekeeping Kitchen & Cooking Lab, where she oversees testing and content related to kitchen appliances, tools and gear. She has tested kitchen appliances professionally since 2013 and is a trained culinary professional and recipe developer.