The 5 Best Personal Blenders - Fall 2023 Reviews

The best personal blender we've tested is the Ninja Foodi Power Nutri DUO. If you're looking for a smoothie machine, it's a fantastic option, with its overall performance rivaling some good full-size blenders'. That's partly because of its 'smoothie bowl maker', a jar with rotating arms inside that allows it to easily process thick smoothies or other recipes like nut butter. Naturally, it also comes with personal jars that you can use to blend extremely silky smoothies with fibrous elements like kale. Add in its fantastic ice-crushing ability, and you have a compact, multi-purpose blender that can help with a bit of almost everything.

Unlike many personal blenders, it has a few automatic blending programs, so you can move away from the blender as it's running—which may come in handy because it's very loud. If you're concerned about noise, you might prefer the NutriBullet 900. This quieter blender can match the Ninja's fibrous ingredient blending performance, which is important for silky smoothies, but it has a few downsides: it's not meant for ice crushing, and its blade assembly isn't dishwasher-safe.

Ninja and NutriBullet are a few of the most popular personal blender brands, and if you want to know more about how they stack up against each other, you can read a more detailed comparison here.

If you're looking for a personal blender, Ninja is one of the best blender brands, and they have options at a few different price points. The Ninja Fit isn't as feature-packed as the previous pick. It doesn't come with a 'smoothie bowl maker', so it's not as good for small batches of nut butter or hummus. However, it has no difficulty processing stubborn smoothie ingredients like spinach or blueberries. It's also great for small batches of crushed ice, so it can easily handle ice cubes in your smoothie or produce well-blended slushies and blended margaritas. It's quieter, so blending an early-morning smoothie is less likely to wake everyone up.

However, its 16oz personal jars are narrow, so you may need to stop and shake the jar depending on the recipe. That said, the blender's main downside is the controls—it has no buttons, and you need to push down on the blending jar and hold it to blend. Blending something like a smoothie doesn't take long, but if it bothers you to keep your hand on the jar, you might prefer the Magic Bullet Blender MBR-1101. This blender is more difficult to clean by hand, and you can't use it to crush ice without liquid in the jar, but it's a good option for well-blended smoothies. Its jar locks into place, so you can do something else while the machine runs.

The Magic Bullet Mini isn't as well-built or as powerful as the previous picks, but it's a good option if you're looking for the best mini blender for smoothies or want to save money. This blender's light, compact design makes it easy to store on a shelf or in a cupboard, which is good news for cramped kitchens. It makes a smooth blend with fibrous ingredients like kale and blueberries, meaning it can make a well-blended smoothie with all kinds of recipes. It takes longer to blend a smoothie than the Ninja Fit, but you don't need to hold onto the jar to blend.

However, its design feels plasticky and not particularly durable, and it's not very versatile since it's very hard to use for blends like nut butter or hummus. Like most Magic Bullet blenders, it's not meant for crushing ice without liquid in the jar. It doesn't come with a resealable lid for the jar, which is unusual for a personal blender. If you want a personal blender with a jar that can double as a travel cup, the Oster MyBlend is around the same price and comes with a resealable lid. However, it struggles to make a smooth blend with common smoothie ingredients like leafy greens.

Despite its relatively small size, our top pick, the Ninja Foodi Power Nutri DUO, is one of the loudest blenders we've tested. That might not bother you much, especially if you're making quick recipes like smoothies, but a roaring blender can get annoying if you use it often or like recipes with longer blending times. If the noise level is a priority, the best single-serve blender we've tested is the Beast Health Blender. This model is even quieter than the much less powerful Magic Bullet Mini.

It's more expensive than the DUO but has a more premium build and an equally fantastic performance for most recipes. It easily liquifies difficult ingredients like leafy greens, thicker recipes like nut butter, and ice cubes. It comes with a drinking lid for its 34oz jar, but the jar has a shorter, wider shape than most personal blender jars, which might make it a little less convenient to use as a travel cup. The jar's ribbed design gives it a premium look but makes it harder to clean by hand than most picks here since food tends to get trapped in the ridges.

The best single-serve blender with a portable design that we've tested is the BlendJet 2. This blender is around the same price as the Magic Bullet Mini and isn't as good at processing stubborn elements like leafy greens or fruit skins. If you're looking for something you can take to work or on a trip, it's the best battery-powered option we've tested. It's small enough to fit into a backpack or a big purse, and the lid has a built-in loop to make it easier to carry or hang from your bag. It charges with a USB-C to USB-A cable, and the manufacturer advertises it to last for about 15 20-second blending cycles. It also comes in different colors and patterns to suit your style.

Depending on your recipe, your smoothie will have a grainy or leafy texture, so it's not ideal if a perfectly smooth puree is important to you. However, it can still produce an acceptable, drinkable smoothie from most recipes. It's not a great choice for making crushed ice on its own, but a few cubes in a protein shake with some liquid aren't an issue. It's easy to clean by hand since the jar is open on both ends once you unscrew the blade assembly. No part of it is dishwasher-safe, however.