The KitchenAid Pure Power is a full-size blender that's positioned at the lower end of the brand's lineup. It has a similar design to pricier models, like the KitchenAid K150 and KitchenAid K400, but where those models have just a dial to control blending, this model adds a handful of buttons for different settings, like 'Ice Crush' and 'Smoothie.' It comes with a large 68-ounce main jar and two 16-ounce travel jars with matching lids.
Our Verdict
The KitchenAid Pure Power Blender is an excellent choice for multi-purpose use. It easily tackles most recipes, including blends with ice cubes or fibrous ingredients, like leafy greens, as well as thicker recipes like nut butter, hummus, and smoothie bowls. Granted, thick recipes require more intervention as the blades tend to push ingredients to the sides, making it necessary to scrape the jar or tamp ingredients down to incorporate everything. It's worth noting that this model doesn't come with a tamper, so you may want to purchase one separately if you blend thick recipes often. The vented lid allows steam to escape so you can safely blend hot ingredients, which is handy for soups and sauces. It's also well-built, decently quiet, and pretty easy to clean.
Fantastic fibrous ingredient processing.
Vented lid allows for hot blending.
Great build quality.
Easily crushes about 10 ice cubes.
Decently quiet, for a blender.
Cleaning the blades can be difficult.
Thick blends are difficult to process.
The KitchenAid Pure Power Blender delivers excellent performance for single-serving smoothies. Using its highest setting, this blender can create a nearly perfectly smooth blend with fibrous ingredients like kale, pineapple, and mango in about a minute and a half. You have to stop and shake the tall personal jar to combine everything, since some unprocessed bits tend to stick near the top, but it's still a relatively easy process. It processes ice easily, so you can add a few cubes to your smoothie without worrying about your blender rattling around on your counter. It's decently quiet, too, which is handy for early morning smoothies. When your smoothie's done, the self-cleaning program takes care of most of the mess, although food can get trapped under the blades and in a few tight spots, which can be tricky to scrub by hand.
Fantastic fibrous ingredient processing in small batches.
Great build quality.
Easily crushes about 10 ice cubes.
Decently quiet, for a blender.
Cleaning the blades can be difficult.
The KitchenAid Pure Power Blender offers exceptional performance for making multiple servings of smoothies. It has no problem powering through fibrous foods like leafy greens or crushing ice in its large 68-ounce jar, so you can make multiple portions in one batch regardless of the ingredients you choose. The blender's impressive build quality keeps it stable during blending, and its self-cleaning program makes tidying up easier, although reaching under the blades and into tight crevices takes some extra work.
Fantastic fibrous ingredient processing at full capacity.
Large 68-ounce capacity.
Great build quality.
Cleaning the blades can be difficult.
The KitchenAid Pure Power Blender is superb for crushing ice. While it can't quite manage 12 ice cubes, it easily crushes most of the batch in 30 seconds using its 'Ice Crush' program, leaving just one or two cubes unprocessed. Its 68-ounce jar offers plenty of capacity, so you can crush ice, then blend frozen drinks without transferring ingredients to a larger vessel. It's sturdy and well-built, too, so the whole blender stays pretty stable throughout the process.
Large 68-ounce capacity.
Great build quality.
Easily crushes about 10 ice cubes.
The KitchenAid Pure Power Blender is fantastic for making soups. It has a large 68-ounce capacity, so you can make big batches in one go, and you can remove the center of its two-part lid to safely vent steam, so using hot ingredients straight from the pan is no problem. It makes easy work of nearly any ingredient, including leafy greens and other fibrous foods, like leeks and celery. Thanks to its impressive build quality, it stays quite stable on your counter, too, even while tackling tough ingredients. When you're finished blending, the 'Clean' mode takes care of most of the residue, but it can be tricky to get the rest, since it's difficult to scrub under the blades and in crevices on the jar and lid.
Fantastic fibrous ingredient processing at full capacity.
Vented lid allows for hot blending.
Large 68-ounce capacity.
Great build quality.
Cleaning the blades can be difficult.
The KitchenAid Pure Power Blender is an excellent choice for professional use. It's well-built, with a large capacity, and it can handle a variety of tasks, including hot blending, crushing ice, and processing leafy greens and other fibrous ingredients. It's also a good choice for thick blends like hummus or nut butter, though the process isn't easy. The blender tends to push dry ingredients to the sides of the jar, away from the blades, so you have to spend some time tamping down the ingredients and scraping the sides of the jar to incorporate everything. It's decently easy to clean, thanks mainly to the self-cleaning mode, but it's tricky to scrub under the blades, and there are a few tight spots that require extra attention.
Fantastic fibrous ingredient processing at full capacity.
Vented lid allows for hot blending.
Large 68-ounce capacity.
Great build quality.
Easily crushes about 10 ice cubes.
Cleaning the blades can be difficult.
Thick blends are difficult to process.
Check Price
Differences Between Sizes And Variants
The KitchenAid Pure Power Blender comes in 'Black Matte,' 'Porcelain White,' 'Empire Red,' and 'Matte Charcoal Grey.' There's also a version of this blender with a 62-ounce glass jar, available in 'Matte Black,' 'Porcelain White,' 'Cardamom,' 'Agave,' and 'Empire Red.' We tested the Matte Charcoal Grey version with a 68-ounce BPA-free plastic jar, and you can see a photo of the label for our unit.
If you discover another variant, tell us about it in the comments, and we'll update our review.
Popular Blender Comparisons
The KitchenAid Pure Power Blender is a full-size blender that comes with a large 68-ounce main jar and two 16-ounce travel jars. Like the KitchenAid K150 and KitchenAid K400, it offers excellent multi-purpose performance, making it a superb choice for crushing ice, blending protein shakes and smoothies, or pureeing soups. The biggest weakness of this model is its performance with thick recipes, like almond butter, tahini, or hummus. Ultimately, it yields a very smooth, spreadable product, but it's a time-consuming, hands-on process. If you want a similarly well-rounded blender that easily handles your homemade cashew or pistachio butter recipes, you might like the Vitamix Explorian E310. Of course, it's pricier. If you're willing to put in the extra effort for thicker blends and prefer to save some cash, the KitchenAid offers outstanding performance for most recipes at a very reasonable price.
If you're wondering what we recommend, see our picks for the best blenders, the best blenders for smoothies, and the best blenders for frozen drinks.
The KitchenAid Pure Power is a better blender than the nutribullet Blender Combo for most people. The KitchenAid delivers better multi-purpose performance, so you can use it for smoothies and frozen drinks, as well as for nut butter and hummus. It's also sturdier, so it'll hold up better to a variety of recipes. Having said that, if you mainly use your blender for protein shakes or single-serve smoothies with simple recipes, you may want the nutribullet instead. It's better for processing leafy greens and other fibrous fruits and veggies in small batches, and it's easier to clean.
The KitchenAid Pure Power and the KitchenAid K400 offer very similar performance, but the Pure Power is a better choice for most people. The Pure Power is less expensive, offers more capacity, and comes with a couple of 16-ounce personal jars. It's also better for making nut or seed butter and other thick recipes, since you don't have to stop the blender to scrape the sides of the jar and stir the ingredients quite as often. The Pure Power is a bit quieter, too. The K400, on the other hand, comes in a wide array of colors, so if you want a blender that matches your stand mixer, you can still get excellent performance with that model.
The KitchenAid K150 and the KitchenAid Pure Power are both excellent blenders, but they have different strengths. Go for the K150 if you're looking for a quiet blender, or if you make a lot of thick recipes, like smoothie bowls, hummus, or nut butter, since it's an easier process with this model. Get the Pure Power if you need more capacity or make smoothies or soups frequently, since it delivers better performance when processing fibrous fruits and veggies.
The Vitamix VX1 and the KitchenAid Pure Power offer remarkably similar performance across the board, but there are a few differences that can help you choose between them. The KitchenAid is better for processing large batches of smoothies and soups, since it makes a smoother puree with fibrous fruits and veggies. It's also a more effective ice crusher. The Vitamix is a better choice for thick recipes, like hummus or nut butter. The final product is similar using either blender, but you don't have to stop and tamp down the ingredients as often with the Vitamix. It's also quieter. Finally, the Vitamix is more expensive, but it also comes with a 5-year warranty.
Test Results
