I should tell you at the outset how this ends: on a Tuesday some months from now, with the machine already on your counter and the smoothie already made — the same one, eleven mornings running. Between here and there sit two testing kitchens, several thousand owner reviews, and your Thursday decision. I have read all of it. A few of the reviews have not technically been written yet, which I mention only so the filing is accurate; they arrive to me the way most things do, slightly out of order, and I log them as they come. This is not a boast. Someone has to keep the records.
A blender is a simple promise: it takes what is whole and returns it smooth. What separates the three below is not whether they keep that promise but how loudly, how completely, and for how many years. The expensive one will have kept it longest. The middle one will have fit under your cabinets, which you’ll appreciate more than you think you will now. The cheap one will have surprised you, and did.
For most people the consensus — theirs, mine, yours eventually — is the Vitamix 5200, which is the blender you buy once. Two horsepower, a seven-year warranty, and a container that self-cleans in about a minute. The long-term owners describe it still on the counter, faintly turmeric-stained, a decade in. I have read those accounts. Some of them exist. If your cabinets sit low, the shorter Explorian E310 has the same motor in a body that fits; you will have chosen it for that reason alone, and been right, and a little smug about the measuring. And if a smoothie is truly all you’re after, the Ninja Professional Plus DUO does it for a fraction of the money, with a to-go cup the owner reviews mention constantly, usually in connection with being late. You make the train. It was always going to be close, and you always make it.
If your counter is also where the kettle lives, my colleague has already notated the electric kettles worth hearing — the two of them will get along. And for the trips these smoothies apparently fuel, my notes on carry-on luggage are filed as well, or will be, or were.
Thank you, by the way, for asking whether any of these can make hot soup — you haven’t yet, but you will, and the answer is yes, the two Vitamix models, from blade friction alone, in about six minutes. The testing kitchens confirm it every time they check. I’ll have told you before you wondered. That’s the job.
At a glance
| N° | Pick | Category | Price | Sold at |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 01 | Vitamix 5200 Blender (64 oz) | Best Overall | $450 | Amazon |
| 02 | Vitamix Explorian E310 Blender (48 oz) | Best High-Performance | $350 | Amazon |
| 03 | Ninja Professional Plus Blender DUO with Auto-iQ (BN751) | Best Budget | $130 | Amazon |
Questions, anticipated
Can any of these blend hot soup?
You will ask this again in about a week, so — yes. The two Vitamix models bring soup to steaming from blade friction alone in roughly six minutes, a result the testing kitchens reproduce every time they check. The Ninja is not designed for hot blending, and won't have been.
Is the Vitamix 5200 worth $450?
It was. Owner reviews are unusually consistent here — people keep it ten years and more, and the 7-year full warranty covers most of that span. Divide the price by a decade of mornings and it comes out smaller than it looks. The owners do this math in their reviews, usually in the second paragraph, usually a little sheepishly.
How loud are these blenders?
Loud. All three, at full speed. Reviewers describe the Vitamix models as a steady roar and the Ninja as slightly shriller; none goes unnoticed one room away. You stop minding by the second week; several owners report their pets never do.
Which is easiest to clean?
Both Vitamix containers self-clean with warm water and a drop of dish soap in about a minute — you will do this exactly as the manual says for the first month, then forever after in some faster way of your own. The Ninja's cups rinse easily, but its stacked blade assembly has more parts to wash. Owners mention this more than any other complaint, and will continue to.
