When shopping for a blender on a budget, it can feel like you need to sacrifice good performance for a lower price point. While blenders under the $100 mark tend to have simple controls and lack additional features or attachments, they may also struggle to blend harder ingredients like nuts or be unable to process hot food. However, with so many blenders on the market these days, there's a variety of wallet-friendly appliances to help you get the job done.
We've tested over 125 blenders, and below are our recommendations for the best under $100. You can also find budget-friendly options on our list of the best glass jar blenders, or check out our recommendations for the best blenders for smoothies.
If you also need a microwave, you can find something budget-friendly on our list of the best-value microwaves. For another type of convenient cooking solution, you can find affordable options on our list of the best budget and cheap air fryers.
If you're looking for a versatile, sturdy blender for multi-purpose use and want to spend around $100, check out the Chefman Obliterator. While its price can sometimes rise a little above $100, it's often available for less. This impressively well-built full-size blender includes a 48oz main pitcher for bigger batches and a 20oz personal jar for single servings. In either jar, it makes a very smooth blend with fibrous ingredients, so it's a good choice for smoothies and pureed soups. It's also a fantastic ice crusher, and unlike many 48oz blenders, it can crush a batch of a dozen ice cubes into snow-like ice quickly. Thicker recipes are a bit more difficult, and while they can make smooth nut butter, they require a lot of effort on your part.
It also has some convenient features: its 17 speed settings give you a lot of control over the blending speed, or you can use 'Auto-Blend' and have the machine automatically adjust the blending setting and duration. The main jar can be used for hot blending and has a 2-part lid so you can add ingredients mid-blend. There's also a spout lid for the personal jar so you can bring your blend on the go. That said, it's on the loud side.
If you're looking to spend well under $100, the Black+Decker Quiet Blender with Cyclone Glass Jar is the best cheap blender we've tested. Like the Chefman Obliterator, it comes with a 48oz main pitcher as well as a personal jar with a slightly bigger capacity of 24oz. It's not as well-built as some parts of it feel flimsy, but its main jar is made of glass, which you might prefer as it's more scratch and odor-resistant. The blades are removable, which helps make it very easy to clean, and it's also quiet when it's running. It has a few automatic blending programs, so you don't have to stop the blender manually.
Using either jar, it makes a mostly smooth blend with fibrous ingredients like kale, making it a good option for recipes like smoothies. It also makes smooth, spreadable nut butter, although it's not the fastest, and you must stop the blender and stir. It's not ideal for crushing ice, since even with a smaller batch of about six cubes, it leaves behind some unprocessed pieces. The manufacturer says you can use it to blend hot food, like cooked vegetables, but not hot liquids.
If you like to make frozen treats like slushies or big batches of blended drinks like margaritas, you might need a blender that can handle more ice than the previous pick, the Black+Decker Quiet Blender with Cyclone Glass Jar. The Ninja Professional Blender 1000 includes a 72-ounce pitcher and has no problem pulverizing a big batch of ice cubes. Its sturdy design is particularly important if you use your blender often for tough jobs like crushing ice. It doesn't have a 2-part lid, so you can't add ingredients mid-blend, but it has a pouring spout to help serve drinks from the pitcher.
However, it can't hot blend and only comes with one jar, so there's no personal jar for single-serve smoothies. It doesn't completely blend fibrous ingredients like kale, so recipes with fruit like blueberries or pineapple will have some unprocessed bits left over. The Ninja also lacks automatic blending programs besides a 'Pulse' button, so you have to manually switch off the blender when your recipe is done.
If you mainly use your blender for smoothies, you might prefer the nutribullet Blender Combo. This blender sometimes costs a little over $100 but comes with a large-capacity 64oz jar for multiple servings and a pair of 32oz jars for single servings. nutribullet also sells extra accessories for its blenders, so you can purchase more personal jars if a few people in your household like smoothies in the morning.
It creates an incredibly smooth blend with fibrous ingredients in any of its jars, so it'll make well-blended smoothies with common ingredients like fruit and leafy greens. However, its lowest blending speed is still quite fast, and the blender doesn't have a tamper, so it's not easy to use for thicker smoothie bowls or something like nut butter. Still, the nutribullet is worth considering if you're looking for a relatively inexpensive blender that can make good smoothies, whether you're blending for a crowd or just yourself.
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. Personal blenders are generally cheaper than full-size ones, so you don't have to sacrifice much to get one for a budget-friendly price. This model's price sometimes fluctuates above $100, but it's usually available for less, and it's the best personal blender we've tested. 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 Bowl Maker' jar, it's easy to make thick blends, so it's also ideal for small batches of nut butter, hummus, or dip. Its relatively short motor base makes storing it under a cabinet or in a cupboard easy.
However, since it's a personal blender, it's less versatile than the Chefman Obliterator since it can't hot blend and has only one speed setting. Despite its small size, it's also louder than the Chefman. Then again, there are a few automatic blending programs, so you don't need to stand next to it the whole time it's running. Overall, if you don't need a blender with a large capacity, the Ninja is a great choice for smoothies, frozen drinks, and small batches of spreads and dips like hummus or nut butter.
The Magic Bullet Combo Blender is even cheaper than the Black+Decker Quiet Blender with Cyclone Glass Jar. It comes with a 48oz main jar and a 15oz personal jar and makes a smoother blend with small batches of fibrous ingredients. It's not a bad option if you want something very cheap that can make single or multiple servings of smoothies. However, it can't crush ice without liquid in the jar and it's much louder.
See our reviewThe Oster Master Series with Texture Select Settings is a good alternative to the Chefman if you want a glass jar. It's a bit more expensive and not as well-built, but comes with a 48oz glass jar, a 24oz personal jar, and offers a better built quality compared with similar options like the Black+Decker Quiet Blender with Cyclone Glass Jar.
See our reviewWe've replaced the Oster Master Series with Texture Select Settings with the Chefman Obliterator as the 'Best Blender Under $100' since it offers similar features, a better build quality, and a better performance.
We've replaced the Calphalon ActiveSense with the Oster Master Series Blender with Texture Select Settings because the Calphalon's price has gone up. We've also removed the Oster Pro 1200 from Notable Mentions as it's difficult to find available and similar to the Master Series.
We've made minor updates to the text and checked that the products are in stock. Our recommendations have remained unchanged.
Aug 21, 2024 : We've added the Magic Bullet Combo Blender as a Notable Mention since it's very inexpensive and works well for smoothies.
Jun 03, 2024 : We've replaced the Oster Pro 1200 with the Calphalon ActiveSense because its price has increased above $100. Also added the Oster Master Series Blender with Texture Select Settings to the Notable Mentions.
Our above recommendations are what we think are currently the best blenders for under $100 for most people. 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 want to choose for yourself, here is the list of all our blender reviews for under $100. 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.