The 4 Best Cheap Blenders - Summer 2021 Reviews

The best cheap personal blender that we've tested is the Magic Bullet Mini. It's small, compact, and won't take up very much room on your kitchen counter or in a cupboard. The 13-ounce main jar comes with a lip ring and to-go lid so you can drink directly from it or take it with you on the go.

It has a simple, easy-to-use design and makes a good, uniformly-textured smoothie in less than two minutes. While you may need to shake the jar to make sure all the ingredients are incorporated, it does a good job of processing fibrous greens like kale. It's easy to clean if you've been working with liquid ingredients since a quick rinse with water takes care of most debris. There's also an eight-ounce additional jar, which is a bit small for smoothies, but it's a good size for whipping up dips and dressings.

Unfortunately, it's not a very versatile blender since it can't hot blend or crush ice. It takes more than 10 minutes to make poor, sticky almond butter, so it's not well-suited for that purpose. That said, if you want something cheap and compact to use for your morning smoothie, it's a solid choice.

The NutriBullet Immersion Blender is the best cheap immersion blender that we've tested. This affordable model has a decent build quality and a variable speed dial that allows you to fine-tune the blending speed. It comes with a whisk attachment that's advertised for making foods like whipped cream, although we don't test it currently.

You can use it to blend hot ingredients like cooked vegetables for soups, sauces, and purees. It can incorporate raw kale into a good, well-blended smoothie. You can also use it to make passable almond butter and crushed ice with an okay texture. When you're working with liquid ingredients, it's very easy to clean with a quick rinse.

Unfortunately, it's not dishwasher-safe and doesn't come with a jar or beaker you can use for blending. Also, if you use it to crush ice, the ice tends to build up under the blades, especially if you make multiple batches. That said, it's a great choice for making soups and is even one of the best blenders we've tested.

The best budget blender that we've tested is the KitchenAid K150. This full-size blender has an impressive build quality and comes with a 48-ounce jar with a two-part lid, so you can add ingredients mid-blend. There's a speed dial with three settings and a dedicated ice/crush mode.

It makes bar-quality crushed ice in a few minutes using its ice crush mode. You can use it to make alright smoothies, great almond butter, and to blend hot ingredients like cooked vegetables for soups, sauces, and purees. It's easy to clean if you're working with liquid ingredients, since running it with soap and water is enough to take care of the residue.

Unfortunately, it's more difficult to clean when you're working with sticky ingredients like almond butter, and the angle of the blades can make them a bit hard to clean with a sponge. That said, if you're looking for a multi-purpose blender, this is a solid option at an affordable price.