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If you’re shopping for the best blenders, chances are you’ve considered buying a Vitamix. But when it comes to high-end blenders for your morning smoothies and beyond, there are a few affordable, high-quality blender options to consider that you can buy online while still sticking to a budget. Below, we found some of the top blenders on Amazon. But first, here’s everything you need to know about choosing a machine for your home.
What to Consider When Buying a Blender
Motor Power: Consider what you’ll use your blender for the most often. Blenders with a wattage of around 1500 or similar have enough motor power for most uses. Models with slightly less at 1,000 or 700 wattage should still be enough to reliably blend ice or frozen fruits.
Preset Functions and Speed Settings: We like to see a wide range of speed settings that allow you to adjust the consistency of your final product. Many of our favorite models include preset buttons for things like smoothies or soups, so you don’t need to monitor the machine until you’ve gotten the blend just right.
Tamper Tool: A tamper tool falls in the “nice to have” category rather than a necessity. This mallet-like tool allows you to push down on ingredients that have gotten stuck to the sides or aren’t otherwise blending properly.
Capacity: A larger jar with greater capacity is especially useful when you’re making big batches of soup or other dishes, but be warned that this can also take up a great deal of space on your counter. Our favorites have around a 70-ounce capacity.
Easy to Clean: We tend to prefer blenders that have some kind of self-cleaning function, in which you simply add dish soap and water and run the machine before rinsing. Others allow you to remove the blade and wash in the dishwasher. Less ideal are models without a removable blade that are not machine washable, thereby making you reach your hand in and scrub the blade by hand.
