The 6 Best Blenders Under $100 - Winter 2023 Reviews

The Oster Pro 1200 is the best blender under $100 that we've tested. This inexpensive blender comes with a 48-ounce main jar as well as a 24-ounce jar for single-serve drinks like smoothies. It's safe for hot blending and makes a very smooth blend with fibrous ingredients, so it's a good choice for making pureed soups with greens or broccoli. If you use the personal jar for something like a single-serve smoothie, it easily blends elements like kale or fruit skin into a silky blend. There's also a to-go lid included for the personal jar, meaning you can bring your drink with you on the go.

However, this budget-friendly blender has a few downsides. It has a mediocre build quality, and its gear design isn't very durable. It has a limited capacity for ice crushing since it's only meant to handle up to six ice cubes at once. On the plus side, it's very easy to clean, and the jars, lids, and blades are all dishwasher-safe. The main jar is made of glass, which you might find less prone to scratches and discoloration than plastic.

If you like making frozen treats like slushies and snow cones or blended drinks like margaritas, the Ninja Professional Βlender 1000 is the best option under $100 we've tested. This blender can handle more ice cubes at a time than the Oster Pro 1200 and has a better build quality. Its 72-ounce pitcher is fantastic for blending big batches of snow-like crushed ice. The pitcher lid has a pouring spout, so you can easily serve drinks. Its sturdy build quality is particularly important if you blend hard ingredients like ice, and it's also much quieter than the Oster.

However, this blender doesn't come with a personal jar for smoothies. It doesn't make a completely smooth blend with fibrous ingredients, so it's not ideal for drink recipes with stubborn ingredients like kale or blueberries. It's also not safe to use for hot blending. It's not the easiest to clean by hand because of its very sharp blades, but on the plus side, the jar, lid, and blades are all dishwasher-safe.

If you have a small kitchen or usually prepare food for just one or two people, you may prefer a personal blender like the Ninja Foodi Power Nutri DUO. This blender is usually more expensive than our top full-size blender under $100, but it's worth considering if you're looking for a compact option. Its relatively short motor base makes it easy to store under a cabinet or in a cupboard. Using its 24-ounce personal jars, it makes a nearly perfectly smooth puree with fibrous veggies like kale and fruit like blueberries. Thanks to its 14-ounce 'Smoothie Βowl Maker' jar, it's very easy to make thick blends, so it's also ideal for small batches of nut butter, hummus, or dip.

It's not quite as versatile as the Oster Pro 1200, though, since it can't hot blend and has only one speed setting. Despite its small size, it's also louder than that model. There are a few automatic blending programs, so you don't need to stand next to the blender the whole time it's running. Overall, if you don't need a blender with a large capacity, it's a great choice for smoothies, frozen drinks, and small batches of spreads and dips like hummus or nut butter.

The best blender/food processor under $100 we've tested is the Magic Βullet Kitchen Express. Many blenders sold with food processors are full-size models that cost well over $100, and this is a good choice if you're looking for a cheaper, smaller blender that can also help with slicing onions and shredding carrots. It comes with a separate food processor bowl with a reversible blade for slicing or shredding ingredients, which includes its own lid with a food chute, so you can add ingredients without undocking the jar.

Also included are a pair of 15-ounce jars with resealable lids that you can use to make silky smoothies with ingredients like kale. It's also great for making small batches of recipes like nut butter. However, the manual says not to use it to crush ice on its own. Like most personal blenders, it has only one speed setting. However, it has a dedicated 'Pulse' mode that you can select with the control dial. It's fairly well-built but not as sturdy as the Ninja Foodi Power Nutri DUO.

The ΒlendJet 2 is the best portable blender under $100 that we've tested. This battery-powered blender doesn't perform as well as some similarly-priced conventional blenders, so it's probably not for you if you're looking to equip your kitchen with a blender. However, if you want something you can bring to work or on a trip, its lightweight, compact, and quiet design make it a good choice. It can break up ice cubes but struggles to fully puree fibrous ingredients, so it's best suited for simple smoothie or protein shake recipes without additions like leafy greens or seeds.

It has a good, sturdy build quality, with a plastic loop on the lid so you can hang it from a bag. Even though it's not dishwasher-safe, the jar's wide opening and removable blade assembly make it easy to clean by hand. It comes with a short USB-C to USB-A for charging and is advertised to last for about 15 20-second blending cycles, but you can't use it when it's charging.

If you blend a lot of hot recipes like soup or sauce, you may prefer the Ninja Foodi Power Mixer System. This hand blender is meant for processing hot ingredients for recipes like soup or sauce directly in the pan, saving you the trouble of pouring your recipe into a blending jar. While full-size models like the Oster Pro 1200 are more suitable for blending hard ingredients like nuts, it makes a smooth puree with fibrous ingredients, meaning it can produce a very well-blended broccoli soup or a silky kale smoothie. There's a 24-ounce jar you can use for blending, plus a whisk attachment for making whipped cream or homemade mayonnaise.

It stands out from most immersion blenders because it comes with beaters and converts into a hand mixer. It's easy to reconfigure, and you can use it to help mix cake batter or cookie dough. The motor base, blending arm, and attachments all feel sturdy and solid. The blending arm is easy to clean by hand and dishwasher-safe, along with the attachments, jar, and lid.