Blenders Review : The Best Blenders for Smoothies & Other Drinkables

Blenders play a uniquely important role in your kitchen. Since automation is a never-ending evolution, kitchenware is also getting equipped with cutting-edge technology. Apart from the traditional blenders, this post includes high-tech blenders that not provide amazing blending options but also reduce your electricity charges.

It's totally your choice for what purpose you are plugging in a blender. So far, the best cheap blenders for smoothies, purée, and sauces have already been discovered. But due to minor differences, customers get bewildered every time they decide to invest their money in the best blenders that are affordable.

Each blender possesses a variety of functions and different aesthetics. However, it's not possible that every product gives the same value. There are differences, and to make every aspect crystal clear, our team has tested 9 blenders that are best yet affordable in the market. We'll share the unbiased testing results and some of the customers' reviews with you.

Here is the list of blenders ranked according to the testing results and customers' satisfaction:

Best Overall

1. Instant Ace Nova Blender

Best Value

1. Black & Decker 10-Speed Countertop Blender

Other Affordable Blenders

1. KitchenAid 5-Speed Diamond Blender
2. Cleanblend 3HP Commercial Blender
3. NutriBullet Smart Touch Blender
4. GE Blender
5. Oster Pro 1200 7-Speed Blender
6. Oster Versa 1400
7. Hamilton Beach Power Elite 58148

The Best Blender Overall

Instant Ace Nova – Price: $112.26 at Amazon

This multi-functional blender tops our list of the best cheap blenders for several reasons. When you unbox the package, you will find a high-tech blending machine with a big pitcher that is heavy and beautiful. The arrangement of the buttons is flawless. All the buttons are protected with waterproof material. The best gadget about the Instant Ace Nova is it gives full control to the consumer in blending options and speed.

The available blending options include Smoothies, Purée, Rice Milk, Soy Milk, Crushed Ice, Frozen Desserts, Nut/Oat Milk, Soup, and Keep Warm. All these options passed the tests with flying colors. Moreover, this blender cooked the soup for us, and that was delicious. Only setback is that the Instant Ace Nova will not blend the soup for you after it's cooked. You have to use the Pulse option to complete the mixing.

Some of its parts can be washed in dishwater. You will find the manual describing how to wash the base and the glass pitcher.

Pros

• Top-quality blender
• High-tech
• Multi-functional with easy buttons
• Passed all the blending tests

Cons

• Pitcher is heavy

Black & Decker 10-Speed Blender – Price: $24.99 at Amazon

Black & Decker is a big name in kitchenware and other home accessories. Everyone expects high-quality products from such an appliance giant. The 10-Speed blender fits amazingly well on the countertop. Because of its compact base, it won't cover much of your kitchen's counter's space. The pitcher is also made compact and high to give the blender an appealing look. Everything about this best blender cheap is fine by our checklist.

Now, the functionality of the 10-Speed Blender by Black & Decker.

There are no automatic functions available. However, the control panel's ease of use is highly appreciated. Each button is fully functional and gives a response instantly. We tried to chop frozen fruits and blend smoothies, and this blender gave us the perfect thing we craved for.

You can wash the lid and the pitcher in the dishwasher. And for the base, use a clean damp cloth.

Pros

• Compact in size
• Smooth blending
• High glass pitcher

Cons

• Loud
• Lacks automatic functions

How Did We Test the Blenders?

The team included a kitchenware editor and a former cooking editor. While both of them synchronized with each other well, their experiences with the kitchen appliances also make a viable combination of testing and research.

We began with the test of chopping. Chocolate, frozen strawberries, and almonds were chopped really well. Then we tested the mixing capacity by putting two kinds of different colored yogurts. The result came quickly. And at last, the crushing and blending challenge. The test was to crush ice and almonds and blend them with fruits. Also, the mixing must be done with milk to prepare the perfect smoothie. This challenge was also aced just like we expected.

On a general note, all these capacities must give better results because that's what the blenders are for. So this basic series of tests was important to run. It proved many things that can help our customers buy the best cheap blenders available in the market.

More conclusions were drawn, including the quality of the blender, the aesthetics, cost, power consumption, warranty, and cleaning.

What Type of Blender is the Best?

Since there are majorly 3 kinds of blenders manufactured by the kitchenware industries; Personal, Immersion, and Full-Sized, what blender suits you best depends upon your kitchenware preference. And when you realize the need for your kitchen, you will confidently put your hands on the required blender.

Personal Blenders

As the name suggests, these blenders are preferred by individuals or new couples who don't blend very often. The trend of consuming healthy smoothies and shakes boosted the sale of personal blenders in recent years. They are not very powerful. However, their performance at low-scale blending is commendable. The pitcher of a personal blender is also compatible with the instant-sipping option.

Full-Sized Blenders

These blenders are ideal for big families where blending occurs quite frequently. From healthy & fresh smoothies, hard crushing and blending to cooking soup and other delicious items, a full-sized blender is the best option for you. These blenders are perfect for the large-scale preparation of blended edibles and drinkables. If your household takes everything regarding cooking quite seriously, go for a full-sized blender.

Immersion Blenders

An immersion blender is an all-rounder that provides food processing as well as simple blending. They are also called hand-blenders because of their easy mobility and portability. An immersion blender carries out the whipping and blending easily. So if you are looking to blend something nice and warm for a few people, don't hesitate to buy an immersion blender. But if you think that your blending activity will go on regularly, a full-sized blender should be your preference.

Other Cheap Blenders on the List

KitchenAid 5-Speed Diamond Blender – Price: $110.99 at Amazon

This classical blender proved its worth in our tests. The KitchenAid's collection of blenders and other kitchenware is sturdy and delivers an astonishing performance. It crushes the ice very well, turns thick liquid thin, and blends nut and other condiments easily. And on top of that, it's reasonable too!

The control panel is simple and user-friendly too. In case you press a button unknowingly, there is some resistance in the buttons that can save you from mishaps. Overall, the KitchenAid 5-Speed Diamond Blender is a great choice.

Pros

• Exceptional blending
• Good at crushing & chopping
• Easy buttons

Cons

• Appearance is old-school

Cleanblend Classic – Price: $17.97 at Amazon

The Cleanblend Classic is another classical blender that's usually found in cafés and juice bars. From the aesthetic point of view, no extra attraction was found on its base. However, the button configuration is easy and simple. A customer reviewed this blender as "made by chefs for chefs." This blender is like a quick-response product; its pitcher is easy to put on the base. So it's time-saving too.

While testing, we found out that despite the Cleanblend Classic's purely fast performance, there's a chance of damage because there's no sound of the lock when you place the pitcher on the base. You never know if the pitcher is properly locked. Another point that made this blender step down from the podium is its blending capacity is average. You can find some chunks of the fruits at the base of the container that are not perfectly blended.

With its accessories, you get a nut milk bag, a small spatula, a tamper, and a 5-year warranty.

Pros

• Usage is easy
• Simple controls
• Nice performance with nut milk preparation

Cons

• No sound of "lock"
• Risky
• Doesn't blend completely

NutriBullet Smart Touch – Price: $151.99 at Amazon

This high-functioning blender by NutriBullet is aesthetically attractive. Due to its digital control panel, a lot of reviewers showed great appreciation to the designer. While the digitally controlled blender looks beautiful, the LED screen lacks notification space. That means when you press a button, you won't always know what's going with the blender. There is no issue with the buttons but with the screen.

Another feature that's good and annoying at the same time is the closing of the lid. The NutriBullet Smart Touch blender won't work unless the lid is properly closed. There are three mechanical plugs available in which the lid fits. Also, there's a sensor that detects whether the lid of the blender is properly closed or not.

The general chopping and blending were okay. And if you want to have something as nice as a NutriBullet blender on top of your kitchen counter, take the big step!

Pros

• Smooth functioning
• Buttons work fine
• Safety feature is good

Cons

• Lid's function is annoying
• No proper notification on the small LED screen

GE Blender – Price: $62.00 at Amazon

This elegant 1,000-watt blender is one of the famous GE's countertop appliances, and it almost makes up for its lack of performance in elegance and accessories. It passed our smoothie test with flying colors, providing a well-blended, pleasant result, and it performed admirably when mixing two different types of yogurt.

The blender automatically shuts off during the ice and frozen strawberry cutting tests, and it had to be unplugged at the moment and then plugged back in. Even after that, the ice and strawberries couldn't be processed unless they were fed into the blender through the lid hole one by one when the blender was already running or while using the pulse button.

Even though this blender is so attractive that we'd never weary of having it on our counters, we were generally underwhelmed with the GE blender. This is probably not the greatest option for you if you're seeking a high-performing, cheap blender that can do more than simply prepare smoothies. However, if you're a die-hard GE fan, this blender isn't the worst we've seen, and it's under $100.

Pros

• Excellent design
• Good choice to prepare smoothies

Cons

• Failed the ice-crushing test
• Lacks proper mixing

Oster Pro 1200 7-Speed Blender – Price: $69.99 at Amazon

The aesthetically stylish blender by Oster works fine with blending. But when we loaded its jar with heavy items for chopping, it failed the test. More than 50% of the stuff looked untouched. However, the mixer worked perfectly when we prepared smoothies and another drinkable in the Oster Pro 1200 7-Speed Blender.

For $70, you can find better options than this.

Pros

• Good blending
• Design is attractive

Cons

• Failed at chopping

Oster Versa 1400 – Price: $229.99 at Amazon

The Oster Vesta brings you an elegant blender that has a beautifully carved aesthetic. The base and the pitcher both resonate with each other, making you waive your $230 for it. But hey, there are things you must know. We also got puzzled after checking out the status of the Oster Versa 1400 blender as the top-selling kitchenware for a specific tenure. But when we tested it, its performance failed to justify the overly paid 100 bucks!

The base of this blender is sturdy. With a minimal design and a strong moto, this blender does the job brilliantly with chopping and mixing. But crushing the ice, well, it didn't impress any of us.

Pros

• Good blending
• Powerful motor

Cons

• Failed while crushing ice
• Costly

Hamilton Beach Power Elite 58148 – Price: $36.99 at Amazon

This blender is not recommended at all! During the first level of the test, the blender failed to chop even the softest chunk available. Then it couldn't blend the ingredients of a smoothie. And when it came to crushing, the majority of the items were flowing here and there instead of getting crushed. So the overall rating is the least.

Pros

• None

Cons

• All general tests were failed
• Too cheap to perform well