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Frosty blended smoothies are a great way to boost your daily veggie and fruit intake in one delicious cup. However, a bulky blender may not be the best option for those low on counter space or who only want to make a single serving at a time. The best personal smoothie blender offers the best of both worlds, allowing you to blend up delicious drinks and even soups in one compact yet powerful, easy-to-clean appliance.
I teamed up with Meggan, the professional chef and writer behind Culinary Hill, to find the best personal smoothie blenders, starting with the one in her own kitchen. Together we sourced recommendations from trustworthy publications, fellow bloggers, major retailers, and customer reviews. Read on to learn more about the best personal smoothie blender you can buy.
Table of Contents
Our Top Picks
- What’s in Meggan’s Kitchen: Nutribullet Pro 900 – $79.99 at Amazon
- Best Budget: Original Magic Bullet – $39.88 at Walmart
- Best Design: Zwilling Enfinigy – $79.93 at Amazon
- Best Portable: Hamilton Beach Personal Creations Blender – $20.85 at Amazon
- Best Smart: Ninja Nutri-Blender Pro with Auto-iQ – $69 at Walmart
Reviews of The Best Personal Smoothie Blenders
1. What’s in Meggan’s Kitchen: Nutribullet Pro 900
As a self-proclaimed giant smoothie fan, Meggan loves the large 32-ounce capacity and power of the Nutribullet Pro 900. “I make a ton of smoothies, so I reach for this portable blender daily, sometimes twice daily,” she says. “I love that it blends everything evenly and is easy to clean and store.”
Despite its large volume, the blender has a compact base, which is why it’s also one of the best portable blenders you can buy, according to Meggan. With 900 watts of power and no complicated controls, all you have to do is push and twist the cup into the base of the blender, and your smoothie will be ready in no time. Once you’re done, just put any of the blender’s eight included accessories into the dishwasher for easy cleanup.
The Specs:
- Volume: 32 ounces
- Power: 900 watts
- Dimensions: 7.72 by 12.01 by 15.94 inches
- Weight: 5.5 pounds
- Accessories: Two cups, two to-go lids, two sip rims with handles, and two sip rims without handles
The Pros:
- Blends quickly and evenly
- Large cup size makes up to 32 ounces at a time
- Easy to clean in the dishwasher
- Replacement cups, lids, and blades sold separately
The Cons:
- Only comes with one large cup size
What Others are Saying:
Aside from its 4.7 stars from almost 25,500 Amazon reviews, the Nutribullet Pro 900 was named the best personal blender by Forbes Vetted, Food & Wine, Wirecutter, and The Spruce Eats. Serious Eats also recommended it as the most efficient personal blender.
Buy the Nutribullet Pro 900 Personal Blender:
2. Best Budget: Original Magic Bullet Blender
Being made by the same company, the Magic Bullet has a similar push-and-twist design as the Nutribullet with less power, capacity, and weight—and a lower cost.
The 11-piece set comes with three cups—two 18-ounce cups, one with a handle, and one 12-ounce cup—and four lids. It’s great for the smoothie lover who truly just wants to make smoothies at home and save money doing it.
The Specs:
- Volume: 18 ounces and 12 ounces
- Power: 250 watts
- Dimensions: 4.01 by 4.48 by 11.61 inches
- Weight: 2.55 pounds
- Accessories: Three cups, two lids, two sip rings, and one to-go lid
The Pros:
- Inexpensive
- Lightweight and portable
- Compact and easy to store
- Dishwasher-safe cup and lids
- Replacement cups, lids, and blades sold separately
The Cons:
- Included cups are on the small side
- Frozen fruit and ice cubes may take longer to blend
- Loud
What Others are Saying:
This Magic Bullet blender is recommended as the best value personal blender by Food & Wine and Good Housekeeping. Plus, it has a 4.4 average rating from over 105,600 reviews on Amazon.
Buy the Original Magic Bullet Blender:
3. Best Design: Zwilling Enfinigy
If aesthetics are number one in your kitchen, consider the sleek Enfinigy Blender from Zwilling. With its minimal matte black or silver finish and hands-free pulse and smoothie settings, this blender is a luxury appliance without the high price.
Its serrated blades cut through frozen fruits and veggies fast, the ribbed 20-ounce cup has measure marks for easier ingredient adding, and the included lid locks shut to prevent spills.
The Specs:
- Volume: 20 ounces
- Power: 500 watts
- Dimensions: 5.25 by 5.75 by 14.5 inches
- Weight: 5.13 pounds
- Accessories: One cup and one to-go lid
The Pros:
- Beautiful design
- Sharp blades
- Dishwasher-safe
The Cons:
- Small capacity
- No extra accessories
- Blades are not replaceable
What Others are Saying:
The ZWILLING Enfinigy is recommended by Good Housekeeping, Epicurious, Forbes Vetted, The Spruce Eats, and Serious Eats for its excellent design and performance.
Buy the Zwilling Enfinigy Personal Blender:
4. Best Portable: Hamilton Beach Personal Creations Blender
For the smoothie drinker on the go, this Hamilton Beach blender is cupholder-ready from the moment it finishes blending. The blender’s lid transforms it into a to-go cup, so there’s no need to transfer it to another container before heading out the door. It has a relatively small capacity of 14 ounces, but that just makes it more lightweight and portable for your morning commute or quick snack break.
The Specs:
- Volume: 14 ounces
- Power: 175 watts
- Dimensions: 3.9 by 3.9 by 11.9 inches
- Weight: 2 pounds
- Accessories: One cup and to-go lid
The Pros:
- To-go cup fits in any cup holder for the ultimate in portability
- Inexpensive
- Lightweight and compact
- Built-in cord wrap
- Replacement cup with blades and lid sold separately
The Cons:
- Doesn’t come with extra accessories
- Small capacity
- Lower power than some
What Others are Saying:
Hamilton Beach’s Portable Blender has 4.2 stars from over 54,000 Amazon reviews, and it’s recommended by EatingWell as the best budget personal blender.
Buy the Hamilton Beach Portable Blender:
5. Best Smart: Ninja Nutri-Blender Pro with Auto-iQ
The Ninja Nutri Pro is as powerful as it is smart. With 1,000 watts and two auto-adjusting settings for pulverizing fruit and veggies and crushing ice, this personal smoothie blender runs only as long as needed to ensure smooth results every time. Its two included 24-ounce cups have to-go lids, and all are dishwasher-safe for quick cleanup. As the most powerful option on our list, the Nutri Pro is loud but extremely effective.
The Specs:
- Volume: 24 ounces
- Power: 1,000 watts
- Dimensions: 6.34 by 6.93 by 14.29 inches
- Weight: 6.28 pounds
- Accessories: Two cups and to-go lids
The Pros:
- Two “smart” settings take the guesswork out of pulverizing frozen fruit and ice
- Easy to clean in the dishwasher
- Replacement cups, lids, and blade sold separately
The Cons:
- Loud
- Minimal accessories
- Marks on cups wear off quickly
What Others are Saying:
This Ninja blender has more than 7,700 Amazon reviews and a 4.7-star rating. It was named the best overall personal blender by Good Housekeeping and the best smart option by The Spruce Eats.
Buy the Ninja Nutri-Blender Pro with Auto-iQ:
Other Personal Smoothie Blenders to Consider
Beast Blender
This minimalist, trendy blender created by Beast Health has a signature ridged jar that not only looks cute but also claims to help blend. Good Housekeeping and The Spruce Eats both recommend the blender. While the Beast Blender is undoubtedly attractive, the also-sleek Zwilling Enfinigy performs just as well and costs roughly half the price. The Beast Blender is available at Amazon for $165.
Smeg Retro Personal Blender
When it comes to kitchen appliances, Smeg is often considered one of the most stylish brands to buy, and this blender is no exception. Despite its recommendations in Food & Wine and EatingWell, we just don’t think its signature design is worth the expensive price tag attached to it. The Smeg Retro Personal Blender is available at Amazon for $169.95.
Beautiful Portable To-Go Blender 2.0
From Drew Barrymore’s Walmart home goods brand called Beautiful, this blender is conveniently compact and cordless, which is why Food & Wine named it the best portable personal blender. However, with a motor of only 70 watts, you’re better off with the Hamilton Beach Portable Blender for around the same price. The Beautiful Portable to-Go Blender 2.0 is available at Walmart for $24.97.
Why You Can Trust Us
I’m Grace, and I write about products for a living, specializing in home, kitchen, and more. I’ve tested my fair share of kitchen appliances and gadgets, from toaster ovens to dish-drying racks to electric kettles. I also own and love Meggan’s go-to personal smoothie blender, the Nutribullet Pro 900!
I teamed up with Meggan to find the best personal smoothie blenders for every household, leaning on her expertise as a professional chef, writer, and recipe developer. In fact, she’s a bit of a smoothie expert with s slew of smoothie recipes published on Culinary Hill.
For this article, we started with her top pick and then did extensive research on the best personal smoothie blenders from a variety of brands and retailers. We combed through positive and negative customer reviews and looked at what other publications and bloggers were recommending. To trim down the final list, we considered models of various prices, sizes, powers, and capabilities.
Everything to Know Before Buying a Personal Smoothie Blender
What to Consider Before Buying a Personal Smoothie Blender
Personal smoothie blenders are just that: personal. While a larger household may need the more expensive, bigger blender with multiple settings, a single person—or the only smoothie drinker in a household—may prefer a compact, single-serve model for their daily smoothies. Here are some blender features to help you narrow down your options.
Capacity: Personal smoothie blenders can have a volume as small as 14 ounces—less than a pint—to as large as 32 ounces or a quart. Therefore, you should consider your smoothie consumption—or whether you’ll be sharing a batch—when selecting your size.
Accessories: Having multiple blender cups and other accessories can make a big difference, whether you live alone or make smoothies in batches for your family. What’s more, lids can be misplaced and cups and blades may wear out or break. If the blender you’re considering doesn’t come with accessories beyond a single container and lid, check if you can buy more a la carte.
Longevity: While the lifetime of a kitchen appliance depends on a variety of factors, you can check for general durability by reading customer reviews. Bonus points if a blender has a multi-year warranty to back it up.
Power: The blenders we selected range in power from 250 to 1,000 watts. While the lower end of the spectrum will be enough to make the typical fruit smoothie, a blender with more wattage is better suited to take on tasks that a traditional blender might handle, like crushing ice.
Controls: Most personal-sized blenders will have few, if any, settings because of their pared-down design. However, if you envision yourself making more than just smoothies, such as peanut butter, and want to have an automated pulse setting or the ability to go hands-free, then it might be worth splurging on a model with a couple of controls.
How Do You Make a Smoothie in a Personal Blender?
If you’ve ever had a smoothie clump instead of blend, you learned the hard way that your order of operations matters. You should add your ingredients to the blender in order from softest/most liquidy to hardest/most solid. Start with liquids like water or milk, and then put in fresh produce. Follow with anything that’s frozen, such as fruit or ice, and lastly, your protein powders, seeds, or anything else with a fine grain. This will ensure that the ice and frozen food are the first to get blended and will keep any powders from sticking to the sides of the blender cup.
In the best personal smoothie blenders, the blades will be at the top of the cup when blending. But if your blender is designed where you place the container on the base without flipping it, then you should reverse the order of your smoothie ingredients and start with powders, ice, etc.
On any personal smoothie blender, be sure to pay attention to the max line on your smoothie cup, if there is one, so you don’t end up overloading the machine and making a mess.
What Else Can You Make in a Personal Blender?
Even if you’re not a fan of smoothies, a small blender is a great tool to have in the kitchen for making French dressing, chimichurri sauce, tomato soup, homemade peanut butter, and so much more.
How Long Should You Blend a Smoothie?
Most blenders take about 1 to 2 minutes to blend a smoothie, depending on the machine’s power and the hardness of the ingredients. Always feel free to add more liquid if the mixture is proving too chunky or thick to blend.
Can You Make a Smoothie with an Immersion Blender?
Yes! If you have an immersion blender, you can just add your smoothie ingredients to a container and blend away—though a traditional or personal smoothie blender will likely be easier and more effective.
And if you don’t have a blender at all, you could even use a mortar and pestle, a food processor, or a blender bottle, like the one that Meggan likes. “If your smoothie is just protein powder or other items that don’t need to be pulverized, a good shaker bottle is perfect,” Meggan says.
The Best Smoothie Recipes
Whether you’re new to smoothies or looking to break out of your routine, there are endless fruit and veggie smoothie combinations. Here are a few classic and seasonal favorite recipes from Meggan to throw in the blender and try.
- Blueberry Smoothie
- Caribbean Passion Smoothie
- Strawberry Smoothie
- Pumpkin Smoothie
- Raspberry Smoothie
- Peanut Butter Smoothie
- Avocado Smoothie
Prices were accurate at time of publication.
