If you like to make frozen drinks and slushies on a hot day, you'll want a blender that can crush ice. However, not all models can blend ice cubes, as ice can sometimes get stuck on the blades, preventing the cubes from breaking down. For a pleasant and tasty drink, most users want a consistent, snow-like blend without any uneven chunks or clumps left behind.
We've tested over 125 blenders, and below are our recommendations for the best blenders for ice crushing you can buy. If you don't find what you need, see our picks for the best blenders for frozen drinks and the best Ninja blenders. If your kitchen needs more than one new appliance, check out our recommendations for the best toasters or the best countertop microwaves.
Quick Look
We've tested more than 125 blenders since 2020. We always buy our own products from major retailers, just like you, to keep our reviews independent and unbiased. Each blender goes through the same set of tests, so you can easily compare models, regardless of price or features. We keep the blenders we test even after the review is published, so we can go back and retest them to answer questions from our users.
Check out our How We Test Blenders article to learn more about our purchasing, testing, and writing procedures.
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Best Blender For Crushing Ice
Ice Crushing9.6Multi-Purpose9.2Smoothies (Multiple Servings)9.3Main Jar Capacity68.0 oz (2,011 ml)See all our test resultsBuild Quality9.0The best blender for crushing ice is the Breville the Super Q BBL920. This high-end blender excels when it comes to crushing ice, outperforming competitors from other segment leaders, such as Vitamix. Its big 68oz capacity and 'Ice Crush' blending program make it a superb option for crushing ice or making big batches of frozen drinks.
It boasts fantastic build quality, featuring sturdy jars and a stainless-steel motor base. Aside from ice crushing, it's ideal for processing fibrous ingredients, allowing you to create well-blended smoothies or frozen drinks. It also has no problem processing recipes like nut butter or hummus. That said, if you primarily use your blender for crushing ice or making blended beverages, you might prefer a less expensive option below.
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Best Mid-Range Blender For Ice Crushing
Ice Crushing9.7Multi-Purpose7.1Smoothies (Multiple Servings)8.2Main Jar Capacity72.0 oz (2,129 ml)See all our test resultsBuild Quality7.5Consider the Ninja Detect Duo Power Blender Pro if you want something less expensive. This sturdy blender isn't as well-built as the Breville The Super Q and has a less versatile performance, but it's just as good for ice crushing. It has a pulse mode that can help break up big chunks of ingredients, and you can also use its automatic 'BlendSense' feature for snow-like crushed ice. The 72oz main jar is large enough for multiple servings of slushies or blended margaritas at your next party, and the lid features a pouring spout, making it easy to serve drinks directly from the pitcher.
It comes with a pair of 24oz jars, so you don't have to use the big pitcher when blending for one. It creates a very smooth blend with fibrous ingredients in the personal jars, which is essential for the silkiest fruit smoothies. Although it produces a less smooth blend in its main pitcher, it still does a good overall job. If you want more personal jars, the Ninja Blender Duo with Auto-iQ BL642 is a very similar blender that comes with three. However, it doesn't blend fibrous ingredients as smoothly, so it's less suitable for fruit smoothies. Both models are more difficult to clean by hand than the Breville, and if you plan to use your blender for a variety of recipes, it's worth noting that you can't use either for hot blending.
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Best Budget Blender For Ice Crushing
Ice Crushing9.7Multi-Purpose6.5Smoothies (Multiple Servings)7.9Main Jar Capacity72.0 oz (2,129 ml)See all our test resultsBuild Quality8.0If you don't plan to use your blender for much besides crushing ice, a straightforward, budget-friendly blender might be just what you need. The Ninja Professional Plus Blender with Auto-iQ is just as good at making snow-like crushed ice as the previous picks, but its lower price comes with a worse performance for other recipes. It only comes with one 72oz jar, but its controls include a button for pulse mode, which can be useful for breaking up bigger chunks of ice, as well as a few automatic blending programs, so you don't have to manually shut off the blender when a recipe is done.
The lid features a pouring spout, making it easy to serve drinks directly from the pitcher. However, it doesn't make a completely smooth blend with fibrous fruits and vegetables, which can result in smoothies and blended cocktails having leafy bits or grains leftover. It also has the same blade design as the Ninja Detect Duo Power Blender Pro, which makes it difficult to clean by hand. Still, all of its components are dishwasher-safe. It's also the quietest blender listed here.
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Best Cheap Blender For Ice Crushing
Ice Crushing6.6Multi-Purpose8.3Smoothies (Multiple Servings)7.7Main Jar Capacity48.0 oz (1,420 ml)See all our test resultsBuild Quality6.5If you want an inexpensive blender that can still crush ice, consider the Black+Decker Quiet Blender with Cyclone Glass Jar. This blender's ice-crushing performance is a step down from the previous picks, but if you work with smaller batches of about six ice cubes, it makes decent crushed ice. It's also quite versatile, as it can smoothly blend fibrous ingredients like leafy greens or fruit, and it's fairly easy to use to make smooth, spreadable nut butter.
While some parts of the blender feel a bit cheap, it's adequately well-built and comes with a sturdy glass pitcher. Its removable blades help make it very easy to clean, and it's quiet for a full-size blender. Overall, while it doesn't pulverize ice cubes as efficiently as the pricier options, it's worth considering if you want a cheap blender that can crush ice.
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Best Personal Blender For Ice Crushing
Ice Crushing7.3Multi-Purpose7.8Smoothies (Multiple Servings)8.0Main Jar Capacity24.0 oz (710 ml)See all our test resultsBuild Quality7.5If you generally blend for just yourself or one other person, you might not want a bulky full-size blender for crushing ice. Personal blenders are smaller, but aren't always suitable for ice crushing. Enter the Ninja Foodi Power Nutri DUO, which has no issue crushing ice in either of its 24oz jars. Its short, compact motor base also makes it easy to store out of the way in a cupboard. It also excels at processing fibrous ingredients, allowing you to create silky single-serve drinks with ingredients like kale. The jars each come with a resealable lid to bring your drink on the go.
It's loud but has a few automatic blending programs, so you can step away from the blender while it's running. It's versatile for a personal blender, thanks to its 14oz 'Smoothie Bowl Maker' that works very well for thick mixtures like nut butter. It's well-built, like the Ninja Professional Plus Blender with Auto-iQ, but it doesn't feel as sturdy as the more expensive blenders on this list. Like most personal blenders, it can't hot blend and has only one speed setting. On the plus side, it's easy to clean by hand, and all the jars, lids, and blade assemblies are dishwasher-safe.
Notable Mentions
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Ninja Foodi Cold & Hot Blender:
The Ninja Foodi Cold & Hot Blender is a fantastic ice crusher, like the Ninja Detect Duo Power Blender Pro, but it has a heating element built into its base that allows it to heat and cook ingredients. This element means you can't immerse the jar in water for cleaning, but it can handle icy blends as well as steaming soups.
See our review -
Ninja Mega Kitchen System [BL770, BL770AMZ, BL771]:
The Ninja Mega Kitchen System BL770 performs similarly to the Ninja Detect Duo Power Blender Pro for crushing ice in its 72-ounce pitcher. It's more expensive and blends single-serve smoothies more slowly, but it comes with a food processor, so you might prefer it for that reason.
See our review - Ninja Professional Blender 1000: The Ninja Professional Blender 1000 is a bit cheaper than the Ninja Professional Plus Blender with Auto-iQ. It lacks blending programs but is equally good at ice crushing, so you might prefer it if you want something less expensive and don't mind manually operating the blender. See our review
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Vitamix Propel 510:
The Vitamix Propel 510 is a high-end blender with better performance than the Breville The Super Q in some respects. It's better for nut butter and has more speed options, but has a smaller capacity and no dedicated 'Ice Crush' mode.
See our review
Recent Updates
Nov 17, 2025:
We've replaced the discontinued Vitamix A3500 with the Breville The Super Q as the 'Best Blender For Ice Crushing.' We've also removed the Breville The Q, which is unavailable, as well as the upper mid-range category, since the next-best option is now the mid-range pick. We also added the Black+Decker Quiet Blender with Cyclone Glass Jar as our cheap pick.
May 06, 2025:
We've verified that the picks represent the best recommendations and that the products are in stock.
Feb 12, 2025:
We've made minor updates to the text and checked that the products are in stock, but there hasn't been a change to our recommendations.
Nov 15, 2024:
We've replaced the Vitamix 7500 with the Vitamix A3500, since its 'Frozen Drinks' program makes it easier to use for ice crushing. We also replaced the KitchenAid K400 with the Breville The Q, since it offers a better overall blending performance for a similar price.
Aug 21, 2024: We've made minor updates to the text and checked that the products are in stock. However, our recommendations have remained unchanged.
All Reviews
Our recommendations above are what we think are currently the best blenders for crushing ice for most people in each price range. We factor in the price (a cheaper blender wins over a pricier one if the difference isn't worth it), feedback from our visitors, and availability (no blenders that are difficult to find or almost out of stock everywhere).
If you would like to choose for yourself, here is the list of all our reviews for blenders for ice-crushing. Be careful not to get too caught up in the details. While no blender is perfect, most blenders are great enough to please almost everyone, and the differences are often not noticeable unless you look for them.