We tested ten models and spent 20 hours researching two dozen blenders. After pureeing close to 25 pounds of sticky dates, gooey peanut butter, fibrous ginger, hearty kale, and frozen fruit, we think the NutriBullet Pro 900 Series is the best personal blender for most people. It offers the best balance and combination of convenience, power, price, and simplicity.
The Tribest PB-150, our runner-up pick is durable and compact. It has the smallest cups and weakest motor of our picks, so smoothies will come out thinner as they’ll require a bit of extra liquid. Still, the PB-150 manages to blend well and it’ll last long.
Our upgrade pick, the Breville Boss To Go, offers smoother blending and a sleek design that’s more appealing than our top pick’s. It also comes with a better travel lid with a large opening for easier drinking.
How we picked and tested
The perfect personal blender is easy to use, powerful, and hands-free. We researched blenders with small footprints as they’re ideal for small apartments, dorms, and for people who don’t like countertop clutter.
A good blender should be durable and have a cup with a lid that’ll stay secured. It should be able to make smooth purees in about a minute, and more importantly, it should offer long-term reliability. During testing we found that some smaller machines got hot and smelled of burning after blending thick smoothies. They needed about ¿ cup more liquid than more powerful models, which resulted in thinner smoothies.
Since variable speed dials didn’t improve our experience during testing, we chose personal blenders with one speed. Along with a feature that powers the blender on when its cup is engaged with the base, single-speed models are easiest to use.
In order to get a good idea of the longevity of our picks, we read online reviews and searched for mentions of malfunction and wear. So long as our picks are used within their abilities, we’re confident that they will last a long time.
We blended frozen fruit and juice to see how the machines would handle a thick smoothie. Each model had a suggested running time and if any blender couldn’t make puree within that time frame (typically one minute), it was disqualified.
In our second phase of testing, we blended water and curly kale before straining the mixture through a fine sieve. We then evaluated the size of the particles as well as the amount of solids and fibers we found. We blended ½-inch-thick pieces of ginger and frozen peaches to see whether or not our picks could tackle tough fiber—all of the smoothies had noticeable fibers after this test. Although dates are difficult to puree, all of our picks managed to blend them along with peanut butter, ice, and almond milk.
We attached the lids of our picks and shook them to test for leaks. When we took decibel readings we found that all of the blenders produced that same level of noise.
Our pick: NutriBullet Pro 900
The NutriBullet Pro 900 has the best balance of price, ease of use, and power. It blended everything we tossed in and it comes with a secure-fitting travel lid. The Pro’s large cup can blend a capacity of 24 ounces and it’s the only blender we tested that includes two blade assemblies—when it’s ordered through Amazon.
We like that the Pro is intuitive straight out of the box. Twisting its cup onto the base will engage the motor. The same blade assembly works for all three of its cup sizes (two 24-ounce, one “short cup,” and one 32-ounce) and there aren’t any dials or buttons to navigate. It has a 5½-inch-diameter footprint so it won’t take up too much space on most kitchen counters and measuring 15-inches high, it fits in most standard upper cabinets.
Though the NutriBullet Pro is about $100, its price isn’t far off from the average cost of a personal blender. Aside from speed variation and a die cast metal drive shaft, models that are four times as expensive didn’t offer much of an upgrade when we tested them.
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The NutriBullet Pro powered through and produced thick, lump-free smoothies. It handled kale well and only left behind particles that were small enough to make it up and out of a straw. It won’t completely break down tough ginger fiber, but none of the personal blenders we tested were able to do so with ease.
Overall, its force is impressive and its lid—which has a hinged plastic cap that covers the opening—screws on tightly to prevent leaks.
This pick comes with a one-year warranty and if you want to purchase additional lids, handles, or blades, they’re widely available. There’s also the option of buying a four-year extended warranty for $15.
This guide may have been updated. To see the current recommendations or availability updates, you can read the full personal blender guide here.
