Credit:
Reviewed / Betsey Goldwasser
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Credit:
Reviewed / Betsey Goldwasser
Reviewed's mission is to help you buy the best stuff and get the most out of what you already own. Our team of product experts thoroughly vet every product we recommend to help you cut through the clutter and find what you need.
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Fast, simple, and very transportable, the Magic Bullet is designed with busy people in mind. Add enough liquid, and it can handle almost any smoothie ingredient. Read More
This budget blender won't take up much countertop space, plus it's great at blending smoothies, chopping, and mixing. Read More
Made by chefs for chefs, this no-frills affordable blender is easy to use and has simple controls, but lacks any child safety features. Read More
This affordable blender from NutriBullet is sleek and great at chopping and mixing, but the lid is tricky to put on and take off. Read More
This GE blender is easy on the eyes and won't take up too much counter space, but beyond blending smoothies, it doesn't deliver on performance. Read More
Whether you're making smoothies, whipping egg whites, or pureeing veggies for soup, a good blender is an essential kitchen tool.
High-performance blenders are the best choice for pure power and warranty coverage. However, your average protein shake doesn’t require something as high-end as a Vitamix or Blendtec.
That's why we searched for the best cheap blenders. After chopping almonds, blending smoothies, crushing ice, and pureeing vegetables, we learned that the best bargain blenders are more than sufficient for most tasks—especially our favorite affordable blender, the classic Magic Bullet Blender (available at Amazon for $39.88) . It can quickly produce the smoothest smoothies we’ve seen with the least fuss—all at a budget-friendly price point.
The Magic Bullet is small but mighty.
The Black & Decker 10-Speed Countertop Blender is our pick for best value.
Compact
Blends smoothly
Glass pitcher
Loud
No automatic programs
Easy to use
Simple controls
Excellent at making nut milk
No "lock" sound
No child safety
Pitcher moves a bit during use
Sleek
Helpful presets
Has child safety features
Lid is difficult to take off
Difficult to know if a button has been pushed
Not overly bulky
Sleek design
Great at making smoothies
Bad at crushing ice
Bad at mixing
No presets
Nothing we could find
Bad at blending, chopping, and crushing
Cheaply made
We put the affordable blenders through multiple tests, including a multi-color yogurt blending test.
Two of Reviewed's former kitchen editors Madison Trapkin and Cassidy Olsen tested blenders for this best-of guide. In addition to their time spent testing kitchen appliances, both have lots of blender-specific experience in their previous work. Madison worked in a restaurant known for frozen margaritas and Cassidy at an organic juice bar—so they know their way around blenders.
We put our budget-friendly contenders through a range of tests to prove their worth. First, chopping—how well can the blender chop up chocolate candy, frozen strawberries, and hard almonds? Next, a mixing test determines how quickly and evenly the blender can blend two different colors of yogurt. Then came greater challenges, using the blenders to crush ice, mix fruit smoothies, and for our top performers, mill almonds into water to make smooth almond milk.
Affordable blenders should be able to handle these blending basics with ease, and sometimes they’ll even stand up when compared to their high-tech counterparts, so therefore we put them through the same tests as the pro-style blenders we’ve tested.
In addition to all the data gathered from these tests, we also considered subjective features like the look and feel of the blenders, the intuitiveness of their controls, and how easy they are to clean. We also considered price, features, size, durability, warranty, and more when making our final ranking.
There are three main types of blenders: full-sized blenders, personal blenders, and immersion or hand blenders.
While this ranking focuses on full-sized, affordable blenders, you may also consider personal blenders and immersion blenders. If you're not already a kitchenware connoisseur, you're probably wondering, "Why are there so many types of blenders? Are they actually that different? Do I need to own every single one?!"
The answer to that last question is no, you don't necessarily need all three. When it comes down to it, they all use the same mechanics to blend, mix, and pulverize food and drinks—but choosing the best blender for your kitchen will make life a lot easier.
Full-sized blenders are ideal for larger households, people who like to entertain, and people who are very serious about cooking.
They’re great for making icy cocktails, healthy smoothies, milkshakes, and other drinks for more than one person at a time. Our favorite blenders (like the Cuisinart Hurricane) can easily accomplish all of these tasks and can also be used to make soups, dips, nut butters, and other tough-to-blend foods.
Personal blenders and portable blenders are ideal for individuals who rarely need to blend a lot at once—they've exploded in popularity since everyone started juicing and making single-serve smoothies for those post-gym energy boosts. They're easier to store, clean, and transport than full-sized blenders and their containers are ideal for on-the-go sipping.
They’re also cheaper and less powerful, so they likely won’t stand the test of time the way full-sized blenders will. If you want a quick blending solution and don't need to make a lot of anything at once, you can probably forgo a full-sized blender in favor of a personal model.
Immersion blenders are incredibly useful and very versatile. Also called hand blenders, they look like a wand, and work with your existing bowls, cups, or pots. They’re portable, simple, and perfect for hot foods.
They often come with food processor and whipping attachments that make them true multi-use tools. We’ve used them to make pesto, whip up homemade mayo and whipped cream, and blend butternut squash soup.
If you enjoy cooking but aren't trying to feed a family or outfit a full kitchen, an immersion blender can help you cover all your blending bases without taking up too much room. But if you’re serious about cooking and regularly serve more than two people, a full-sized blender is the right choice.
A budget blender can be a solid addition to a kitchen. While you typically get what you pay for with blenders, there’s a solid tier of affordable blenders that provide solid performance and durability. Given the wide gap between high-end and entry-level blenders, there’s plenty of room to find something that works for you without breaking the bank.
Cassidy covered all things cooking as the kitchen editor for Reviewed from 2018 to 2020. An experimental home chef with a healthy distrust of recipes, Cassidy lives by the "Ratatouille" philosophy that, with a few techniques and key tools, anyone can cook. She's produced in-depth reviews and guides on everything from meal kits to stand mixers and the right way to cook an egg.
Madison Trapkin
Contributor
Madison covered all things cooking as the kitchen editor for Reviewed in 2021. Formerly the editor-in-chief of Culture Magazine, Madison is the founder of GRLSQUASH, a women's food, art, and culture journal. Her work has also appeared in The Boston Globe, Cherrybombe, Gather Journal, and more. She is passionate about pizza, aesthetic countertop appliances, and regularly watering her houseplants.
She holds a Bachelor's degree from the University of Georgia and a Master's of Liberal Arts in Gastronomy from Boston University.
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