Top 5 compared
The best blenders
Breakfast smoothies, silky soups and frozen drinks blended smooth, with enough in the jug for the whole family.
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The top 5 at a glance
A jug blender is a motor base with a tall jug on top, for anything made in quantity: smoothies and milkshakes for everyone, soups and sauces, batters, dips and crushed ice. Simple ones have a speed or two and a pulse; dearer ones bring more power for frozen fruit and ice, programmes that run themselves, and sometimes a single-serve cup to take out.
Most jugs here go in the dishwasher, blades out first on some. A jug blends less than it holds, so the table gives the working capacity where the maker states one. The nutribullet’s lid cap vents steam, so soup can go in straight from the pan, while Ninja says not to blend anything hot. For one smoothie at a time, see our personal blenders list.
What matters
- Suction feet, so it doesn’t walk across the worktop.
- A lid with a filler cap, to add things mid-blend.
- A pulse button, for ice and frozen fruit.
- A lift-out blade is easier to wash than a fixed one.
#1Ninja 2-in-1 Blender with Auto-iQ (BN750UK)
£100–£150
A 1,200W jug blender with a single-serve cup in the box: the 2.1-litre jug makes smoothies, sauces and batters for the family, the 700ml cup blends one drink to take out, and three Auto-iQ programmes pulse and pause by themselves for smoothies and crushed ice.
What owners say: Owners are impressed by how easily it gets through ice and frozen fruit, and say it’s simple to use day to day; the one thing they mention against it is how loud it is.
Heads up: Ninja says not to blend hot liquids in it, so let soups and sauces cool before they go in the jug.
A closer look: For a smoothie in the cup, Ninja’s suggested order is fruit and vegetables first, then leafy greens, liquid, powders and finally ice, so the blade catches everything. The jug’s stacked blade lifts out before washing, and every attachment goes on the dishwasher’s top rack.
- Programmes pulse and pause themselves
- Stacked blade lifts out
- 2-year guarantee when registered
Best for: Family jugs and single smoothies
- Power
- 1,200W
- Jug
- 2.1L (1.8L max liquid)
- Speeds
- 3 + pulse, 3 programmes
- Single-serve cup
- 700ml
- Weight
- 4.03kg
- Cleaning
- Dishwasher, top rack
#2nutribullet Blender 1000W (1.6L jug)
£99.99 RRP
A full-size jug from the single-serve specialists, made for hot as well as cold: with the vented lid cap in place, the 1.6-litre jug blends just-cooked soups and sauces as well as smoothies and milkshakes, on a 1,000W base.
What owners say: Owners say it copes with large ice cubes, and one makes vegetable soup for a big family in it.
A closer look: With anything hot, fit the vented cap and start on the low speed so steam can escape before turning it up, and use the pusher to move a thick mixture onto the blade without stopping. Everything but the motor base can go in the dishwasher.
- Vented cap for hot soups
- Pusher moves thick mixtures
Best for: Soups straight from the pan
- Power
- 1,000W
- Jug
- 1.6L
- Speeds
- 2 + pulse
- Single-serve cup
- No
- Weight
- 4.6kg
- Cleaning
- Dishwasher
#3Vitamix Explorian E310 Blender (1.4L)
£429.00 RRP
A blender bought to last rather than to a price: a 2 HP motor, ten speeds on a dial plus pulse and hardened steel blades under a 1.4-litre jug, with a five-year warranty. Vitamix has been run by the Barnard family since 1921. It suits anyone who blends most days.
What owners say: Owners say it blends everything smooth and fast, iced fruit included, and is very easy to clean; the complaints are some parts feeling flimsy and a lid that’s tricky to get on.
A closer look: Press the lid straight down until both tabs snap over the jug’s rim before switching on. Vitamix suggests starting on speed 1 and working up to 10 for the smoothest result, and for thick mixtures the mini-tamper in the box goes through the lid-plug opening while it runs, made so it can’t reach the blades.
- 5-year warranty
- Hardened steel blades
- Mini-tamper in the box
Best for: Blending most days, for years
- Power
- 2 HP
- Jug
- 1.4L
- Speeds
- 10 + pulse
- Single-serve cup
- No
- Weight
- 4.7kg
- Cleaning
- Self-cleaning cycle
#4Tefal Blendforce II Blender (BL420840, 2L plastic jug)
£30–£50
A sturdy everyday blender for smoothies, milkshakes and crushed ice, with four stainless steel blades in a tapered jug, suction feet that stop it walking across the worktop, and a filler hole in the lid for adding ingredients as it runs.
What owners say: Owners rate it for everyday smoothies and like that the blades unscrew for a proper clean, though some find it struggles with frozen fruit and a few had one give up within months.
Heads up: The jug holds 2 litres, but Tefal’s working capacity is 1.25 litres, so blend a big batch in two goes.
A closer look: Speed and pulse share one dial: short pulses break up ice first, then the higher speed takes a smoothie the rest of the way. Lift the blade unit out before the jug and lid go in the dishwasher.
- Suction feet stop it walking
- Filler hole in the lid
- 4 stainless steel blades
- Air-cooled motor
Best for: Morning smoothies and shakes
- Power
- 600W
- Jug
- 2L (1.25L working)
- Speeds
- 2 + pulse
- Single-serve cup
- No
- Weight
- 1.86kg
- Cleaning
- Dishwasher, blades out
#5Philips 3000 Series Blender (HR2041/01)
£20–£30
The simple, light one: a 450W motor, one speed plus pulse and a 1.9-litre jar that blends a litre at a time, about five glasses of smoothie, and it still crushes ice. At 1.55kg it’s easy to lift down from a cupboard.
What owners say: Owners say it gets through most things inside a minute, ice included, and find it straightforward to use; the complaints are about noise and some units failing after a few weeks.
A closer look: Pulse in short bursts for ice and frozen fruit, then let it run: Philips reckons on about 45 seconds for a smooth blend. The blade is fixed in the jar, so rinse it straight after use, before anything dries underneath, and the jar can then go in the dishwasher.
- Smooth in about 45 seconds
- Crushes ice
Best for: Light, simple blending
- Power
- 450W
- Jug
- 1.9L (1L working)
- Speeds
- 1 + pulse
- Single-serve cup
- No
- Weight
- 1.55kg
- Cleaning
- Dishwasher, fixed blade
How they compare
Swipe sideways or rotate device to see all 5.
| Feature | #1Ninja 2-in-1 | #2nutribullet 1000W | #3Vitamix E310 | #4Tefal Blendforce II | #5Philips 3000 Series |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Best overall | Best premium | Best budget | |||
| Picked Rating | 9.3 | 9.1 | 8.9 | 8.6 | 8.3 |
| Price | £100–£150 | £99.99 RRP | £429.00 RRP | £30–£50 | £20–£30 |
| Power | 1,200W | 1,000W | 2 HP | 600W | 450W |
| Jug | 2.1L (1.8L max liquid) | 1.6L | 1.4L | 2L (1.25L working) | 1.9L (1L working) |
| Speeds | 3 + pulse, 3 programmes | 2 + pulse | 10 + pulse | 2 + pulse | 1 + pulse |
| Single-serve cup | 700ml | No | No | No | No |
| Weight | 4.03kg | 4.6kg | 4.7kg | 1.86kg | 1.55kg |
| Cleaning | Dishwasher, top rack | Dishwasher | Self-cleaning cycle | Dishwasher, blades out | Dishwasher, fixed blade |
| Best for | Family jugs and single smoothies | Soups straight from the pan | Blending most days, for years | Morning smoothies and shakes | Light, simple blending |
| Buy now | Amazon | Amazon | Amazon | Amazon | Amazon |
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