Most and Least Reliable Blender Brands
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Our test engineers conduct exhaustive tests on blenders—evaluating their ability to crush ice, make smoothies, and purée soups—to help you choose one that deserves to grace your countertop.
But performance in these tests is only one aspect of a blender’s Overall Score. We also factor in predicted brand reliability and owner satisfaction ratings based on data from our annual member survey.
Every year we ask our members about the products they own and use that data to make projections about how new models from a given brand will hold up over time. “The ones rated Excellent for predicted reliability are less likely to have any issues in the long run,” says Simon Slater, CR’s associate director of survey research. "The ones rated Poor are more likely to give owners a problem-filled experience.”
We also ask members how likely they are to recommend their blender, and that serves as the basis for our owner satisfaction rating. The latest survey provided data on more than 70,500 blenders purchased by CR members between 2012 and 2020. You can find information on predicted reliability and owner satisfaction in our ratings.
Below are the best and worst brands for full-sized blenders and personal blenders in terms of reliability and satisfaction. Our survey results cover 14 brands, including Blendtec, Hamilton Beach, Ninja, Oster, and Vitamix.
Most Reliable Full-Sized Blenders
CR members have told us that they expect to use their blenders for about eight years. But judging by our brand reliability ratings, that might be optimistic.
Most brands receive only a moderate rating of Good for predicted reliability. And only a handful receive a rating higher than Good for owner satisfaction. In fact, Vitamix and Wolf are the only blender brands to receive top ratings for both predicted reliability and owner satisfaction. Ninja isn't far behind, receiving Very Good ratings for both predicted reliability and owner satisfaction. And Oster gets a Very Good rating for reliability and a Good for satisfaction.
CR members with digital access can take a closer look at two full-sized blenders from brands that earn an Excellent rating for predicted reliability and perform well in CR’s lab tests.
Least Reliable Full-Sized Blenders
At the other end of the spectrum, Blendtec gets a subpar rating of Fair for reliability.
The rest of the brands, including Black+Decker, Breville, Braun, Cuisinart, Dash, Hamilton Beach, KitchenAid, and NutriBullet, receive a middle-of-the-road rating of Good for predicted reliability.
Most Reliable Personal Blenders
Braun and Breville are the only personal blender brands in our survey to earn top marks for reliability. Vitamix and Ninja come close. However, Vitamix is the only brand to earn an Excellent score for owner satisfaction; Braun and Ninja earn Very Good ratings.
CR members with digital access can read the ratings and reviews of these two high-performing personal blenders from Breville and Vitamix.
Least Reliable Personal Blenders
Despite its name being almost synonymous with personal blenders, NutriBullet earns a Fair rating for reliability (the second lowest possible rating) and receives a middling rating of Good for owner satisfaction. Bella rates just as unimpressive.
Cuisinart, Hamilton Beach, and Oster do slightly better, netting Good ratings for both reliability and satisfaction. Black+Decker also rates Good for reliability, but it’s the only brand to get our lowest rating for owner satisfaction, meaning our members aren't very likely to recommend Black+Decker personal blenders.
