The 10 Best Personal Blenders

Our choice for the best personal blender is the NutriBullet NBR-1201.

Specially designed to extract nutrients from fruits and vegetables, the NutriBullet NBR-1201 is convenient and powerful. It’s the perfect kitchen accessory for anyone who’s looking for easy ways to improve their health.

Whether a protein shake has become part of your pre- or post-workout regime, or you love to have a breakfast smoothie to start your day, or you’ve just decided you want to supplement your diet with more fruits and veggies, a personal blender is a must-have item.

The very first blenders were developed to make tasty milkshakes and other drinks at local soda fountain shops. The personal blender returns to these roots with its focus on a single-serve design.

Though the basic design of the blender is pretty standard — a tapered container, a motorized blade at the base, and a lid — the best blenders will easily outlast and outperform the competition. We gathered our strawberries and blueberries, combined them with our favorite yogurt, added some milk and honey, then hit “blend” to see which personal blender did the best job!

Human ingenuity has created all kinds of interesting gadgets to make our lives easier, and here at RAVE, the blender is one of our personal favorites.

The kitchen blender was the first motorized kitchen item in American history, and it wouldn’t have been possible without the invention of the small electric motor in 1910.

The blender wasn’t actually developed to deal with food, but rather with drinks — delicious ice cream drinks, that is.

It was engineer Stephen Poplawski from Racine, WI who invented the first blender. It was 1922, and Poplawski was working for the Arnold Electric Company. They wanted to make a machine that could more efficiently mix up malts and milkshakes that they could market to soda shops.

The Poplawski blender featured a cup with blades at the bottom which could be affixed to a motor on a stand. Voilà, the blender!

Poplawski’s invention was then improved upon by Fred Osius and later Fred Waring, who launched the Waring blender in 1937. Waring was a promotional machine and traveled around the country lauding the benefits of the blender. He had a personal story to tell, since he used the blender to prepare the vegetables that he needed to deal with his own stomach issues.

In that same year, W.G. Barnard, founder of Vitamix, also introduced his own blender, which used a stainless steel cup instead of Pyrex glass like the Waring.

Smooth moves

Blenders, whether personal or conventional, are especially associated with the smoothie. And there is no doubt that the history of the smoothie is tied up with the history of the blender.

Smoothies have their roots in the Mediterranean and subtropical cultures, where fruit-based drinks have a long history. But it was in the 20th century, with the invention of refrigeration and the blender, that the smoothie started to catch on in the United States.

But it wasn’t until the 1960s and the health food movement that the smoothie really took off — even the name “smoothie” comes from that time period. Most folks credit the term to Steve Kuhnau, who opened his first health food store, “The Smoothie King,” in 1973. Kuhnau himself credits local hippies in Louisiana for the name.

There are literally hundreds of recipes for smoothies, but most include either fruit or vegetables (or both), and often feature milk, yogurt, or non-dairy milks, as well as a sweetener like honey. They are also often fortified with vitamins and proteins for that extra oomph.

How does a blender work?

Most blenders have a simple design and construction, consisting of a motor, a blade, and a tapered container with a lid. The container can be affixed to the motor and blade, and it usually includes a rubber seal to keep liquid from spilling out the bottom.

When you place fruit or some other item in the cup and turn on the motor, the blades and cup shape will create a vortex vacuum in the center of the container and will pull the item toward the middle of the cup. The lid is there to make sure no ingredients go flying across the room.

Once the ingredients are mixed to your satisfaction, you can stop the motor, take off the top, and enjoy!

Blender models

There are 3 main types of blenders: the countertop blender, the personal blender, and the immersion blender.

• The countertop blender is perhaps the most variable in terms of size, shape, and materials. It is the classic style of blender, with the motor and blades located on the base of the product. The containers of countertop blenders are made from stainless steel, plastic, or glass, with glass generally preferred in terms of its functionality and stability.
• The personal blender is really a subset of the countertop, since the blade and motor are also usually found on the base of the product. What’s unique about personal blenders is their size. Personal blenders are generally meant to serve one, making them easier to use and clean.
• The immersion blender includes a motor, usually embedded in a handle, with blades on the bottom that can be immersed into a container of ingredients that need blending. Though this type of hand-held blender offers a bit more flexibility and control, it’s typically not as powerful as a countertop blender.

Methodology

This ranking was developed through a rigorous methodology that included meta-data analysis of trusted review sites and hours of research watching and reading reviews by culinary experts, personal trainers, and smoothie lovers everywhere. During this process, we distilled the key criteria listed below as crucial elements to keep in mind when purchasing a personal blender. We then created a scoring system of up to 100 points and ranked each personal blender based on how they did in these essential categories:

• Price: Not all blenders are created equal, and the price doesn’t necessarily tell you much about quality. Some of the cheaper models can do just as much as the more expensive ones.
• Quality: This refers both to the durability of the product as a whole, as well as the quality of construction and materials. You don’t want a blender that leaks, do you?
• Accessories: Most personal blenders include at least some accessories, but are they really useful or will they just clutter up your cabinets and never get used?
• Replaceable parts: If your personal blender breaks down, can you easily replace the parts? Or are you going to have to go out there and buy another blender?
• Motor strength: The maximum strength of the motor and the number of available blend settings are the most important factors in determining what your blender can do.
• Cleaning: A blender that is easy to clean is a blender that is easy to love.

Whether you’re making a nutritious breakfast smoothie, an after-workout protein shake, or just a delicious treat, check out our list to help you decide which personal blender works best for you!

Related rankings

• Best Cheap Blenders
• Best Smoothie Blenders
• Best Immersion Blenders
• Best Blenders for Ice
• Best Blenders

Which blender is easiest to clean?

Blenders are all about convenience. So who wants to spend a great deal of time cleaning up a blender? Nobody, that’s who. If a blender is easy to clean, it’s easy to use, and therefore, it’s easy to love.

Plastic is one of the easiest materials to clean. It’s lighter than glass, and less prone to break if dropped on the floor or in the sink. The majority of modern blenders have plastic blending containers (although glass containers are also readily available if that’s what you prefer). Both glass and plastic containers will typically be dishwasher safe.

Some higher-end blenders even come with a self-cleaning setting — just pour in some warm water and let the blender do its thing.

If your blender doesn’t have a cleaning mode, here’s a quick and easy way to do the same thing:

First, pour hot water in your blender, filling up about half the container. Second, add some dish soap. If you want, you can add some lemon or vinegar as well. Then put the top on, hold a towel over it, and turn on the motor for about 10-15 seconds. Then pour out the water and rinse with more hot water. Presto! Your blender will be clean as a whistle!

Which blender is best for bartending?

One of the great things about blenders is that they are excellent at crushing ice, which means they’re great for a whole bevy of mixed drinks. So naturally, you might be wondering which blender is best for your boozy concoctions.

A big factor in answering that question has to do with whether we are talking about home bartending — i.e., making a few drinks for friends or family — or professional bartending. If you are interested in a blender for a professional gig, it is really best to go with a commercial blender.

That’s because commercial blenders are built to handle the constant usage that comes with serving drinks to multiple customers. The motors tend to be better ventilated, and assembly and cleanup are typically much easier, since a bartender will often have to clean a blender multiple times a shift. These blenders also usually come with really good warranties.

But these blenders can be very expensive. A typical starting price would be $1,000.

Not to worry, though, if that price point is a little high for you. You can find quality blenders that are excellent at crushing ice and cost as little as $200. You will definitely want a more robust blender for mixing drinks (think 500+ watts), and glass containers tend to be better than plastic because they don’t absorb flavors over time like plastic containers might.

What is the difference between a blender and a food processor?

People often confuse blenders and food processors. It’s an honest mistake, given how much they share in common. They both have similar components, like a blade that moves at high speed and a container in which you put ingredients to be liquefied or broken down. But there are some important differences.

For instance, blenders are much better at handling liquids like soups, purees, mixed drinks, or smoothies. Blenders also generally need some form of liquid to get the process going — otherwise, ingredients tend to just bounce around.

On the other hand, a good food processor is much better equipped to deal with more labor-intensive tasks like chopping onions or making pesto. Food processor containers tend to be big and have flat bottoms, which makes it easier to add ingredients as needed. Most food processors even have a blade attachment that can help you knead dough.

What are the best personal blenders?

If you love smoothies or like to work out and need a good dose of protein before or after your trip to the gym, then you know that a good personal blender is a must. But with so many models to choose from, what is the best personal blender for your needs? Through our wide-ranging research, we have taken the guesswork out of choosing the best personal blender.

When shopping for your next personal blender, here are some questions to consider:

• Is the blender easy to use?
• Can you clean it without much hassle?
• What kinds of accessories does it come with?
• What is the durability of the blender?
• Can you replace parts if it breaks down?
• How much does it cost?
• Is the motor powerful enough to break down your favorite ingredients?

Taking these and other questions into account, we have pinpointed some of the key qualities that make for a great personal blender.

Our research led us to select the NutriBullet NBR-1201 as the best personal blender.

Before you need to whip up your next triple-berry smoothie, check out the full list of our 10 favorite personal blenders.

RAVE Recommends

Once you’ve got your personal blender picked out, have a look at some of our favorite blender accessories:

• Optimum Nutrition Gold Standard 100% Whey Protein Powder: Perfect for your pre- or post-workout regime.
  
• Reusable Wide Straws: These wide-straws will make sure your smoothie goes down nice and easy. Best of all, they’re reusable!
  
• ‘Superfood Smoothies: 100 Delicious, Energizing & Nutrient-dense Recipes’: For some great smoothie ideas, check out this recipe book.
  
• BlenderBottle Classic Loop Top Shaker Cup: Here are some great travel mugs for when you need to take your shake on the go!