The Ninja Nutri Ninja Auto-iQ is a personal blender meant for making smoothies. It comes with two personal jars with different capacities, 18oz and 24oz, with matching to-go lids. Unlike the similar Ninja Nutri Ninja Pro, it has blending programs that stop the blender automatically at the end. Like many personal blenders, it's not a great multi-purpose blender, so it's best suited for people looking for a simple shake or smoothie machine.
Our Verdict
The Ninja Nutri Ninja Auto-iQ is decent for multi-purpose use. Its biggest jar holds 24oz, so it's only good for small batches, but it can make a well-blended puree with most smoothie and protein shake recipes. It smoothly blends fibrous fruits and vegetables and makes snow-like ice. However, it's not that versatile. It can't hot blend and isn't well-suited for more difficult recipes like nut butter. It only has one speed preset, so you can't adjust the speed for different recipes.
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Two differently-sized personal jars.
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Easy to clean.
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Smoothly blends fibrous ingredients.
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No hot blending.
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Quite loud.
The Ninja Nutri Ninja Auto-iQ is excellent for single-serve smoothies. Using its 'Ultra-Blend' blending program, it can make well-blended smoothies with ingredients like kale and blueberries. The 24oz and 18oz jars are good sizes for single-serve smoothies and come with resealable lids. This blender is also easy to clean by hand or in the dishwasher.
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Two differently-sized personal jars.
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Easy to clean.
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Smoothly blends fibrous ingredients.
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Makes snow-like ice.
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Quite loud.
The Ninja Nutri Ninja Auto-iQ is good for multiple servings of smoothies. If you fill it to full capacity, it quickly blends a silky smoothie with ingredients like ice cubes, kale, and blueberries. Each jar is only big enough for about one smoothie at once, so it's not as suitable for multiple servings as many full-size blenders. It has automatic blending programs, making processing several smoothies easier. It's also easy to clean. However, it's loud, so it'll be annoying to use for multiple servings in a row.
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Easy to clean.
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Smoothly blends fibrous ingredients.
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Makes snow-like ice.
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Small capacity.
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Quite loud.
The Ninja Nutri Ninja Auto-iQ is okay for crushing ice. It has a manual pulse button, which isn't quite as convenient as an automatic blending program, and like most personal blenders, it only fits about four ice cubes at once. That said, it can produce snow-like ice quite quickly.
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Easy to clean.
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Makes snow-like ice.
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Quite loud.
The Ninja Nutri Ninja Auto-iQ isn't safe for hot blending, so it's unsuitable for soup. The max capacity of its biggest jar is 24oz, which isn't big enough for most recipes in one batch. However, it smoothly blends fibrous ingredients, which is important for smooth soups with ingredients like kale and broccoli.
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Easy to clean.
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Smoothly blends fibrous ingredients.
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No hot blending.
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Small capacity.
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Quite loud.
The Ninja Nutri Ninja Auto-iQ isn't good for professional use. It's decently well-built, but its small capacity, single speed preset, and bullet-style design limit its versatility. You can't use it for hot blending, and it struggles with nut butter and hummus recipes. On the plus side, it can make well-blended smoothies, and it's easy to clean.
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Easy to clean.
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No hot blending.
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Single speed.
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Small capacity.
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Quite loud.
- 7.0 Multi-Purpose
- 8.7 Smoothies (Single Serving)
- 7.5 Smoothies (Multiple Servings)
- 6.8 Ice Crushing
- 3.5 Soups
- 5.7 Professional Use
- Updated May 16, 2023: Updated text to match Test Bench 1.0.
- Updated Aug 25, 2022: The result for 'Blades - Removable' changed from 'No' to 'Yes' because the blade assembly lid is removable from the jar.
- Updated Aug 08, 2022: Converted to Test Bench 1.0.
- Updated Oct 05, 2020: We've updated this blender's blade count.
- Updated Sep 23, 2020: Review published.
Differences Between Sizes And Variants
We tested the Ninja Nutri Ninja Auto-iQ with the model number BL480. It comes with an 18oz jar and a 24oz jar. Another variant (with model number BL481 or BL482) comes with an additional 32oz jar. Our results are also valid for that one, except that if you're using the 32oz jar, you may get different results.
The Ninja Nutri Auto-iQ Pro Complete Blender (BL487 and BL488) has a similar appearance. However, it has an extra button on its motor base for a 'Smooth Boost' feature. We don't know how it may affect the blender's performance, and our results are invalid for that model.
If you encounter another variant, let us know in the forums, and we'll update the review.
Compared To Other Blenders
The Ninja Nutri Ninja Auto-iQ is a personal blender for smoothies and other single-serve drinks. It's very similar to the Ninja Nutri Ninja Pro, but it has automatic blending programs, so you can step away from the blender while it runs, making it quite convenient. However, unlike some personal blenders like the Ninja Foodi Power Nutri DUO, it's not easy to use for recipes like nut butter, so it doesn't have the versatility of some personal blenders. It's not as quiet as some, like the ZWILLING ENFINIGY Personal Blender.
If you're looking for more options, check out our recommendations for the best personal blenders, the best bullet blenders, and the best Ninja blenders.
The Ninja Foodi Power Nutri DUO is a significantly better personal blender than the Ninja Nutri Ninja Auto-iQ. The DUO feels better built and comes with two 24-ounce jars as well as one 14-ounce jar that has two manually rotating blades to help move food toward the blades. It's better at processing hard ingredients like nuts and fibrous ingredients like kale.
The Ninja Nutri-Blender Pro with Auto-iQ is better for most purposes than the Ninja Nutri Ninja Auto-iQ. The Nutri-Blender takes less time to make better-blended smoothies. It's easier to clean by hand and comes with a pair of 24-ounce jars, while the Nutri Ninja includes one 24-ounce jar and one smaller 18-ounce jar.
The Ninja Nutri Ninja Auto-iQ is a more versatile personal blender than the NutriBullet Pro 900. The Ninja can make crushed ice for slushies or to add to cocktails. It's easier to clean by hand. However, the NutriBullet makes a smoother blend with fibrous fruits and vegetables, producing a smoother smoothie.
The Ninja Nutri Ninja Auto-iQ is better than the Ninja Nutri Ninja Pro for most purposes. They have a similar design and performance, but the Auto-iQ has buttons for a few automatic blending programs, which eliminates the need to press down on the jar to blend.
For most purposes, the Ninja Nutri Ninja Auto-iQ is better than the NutriBullet Pro 1000. The Ninja is more versatile since it can crush ice without liquid in the jar and easily handle tough tasks like nut butter. It's also easier to clean by hand, and all its parts are dishwasher-safe. On the other hand, the NutriBullet is significantly quieter and comes with bigger-capacity jars.
The Ninja Nutri Ninja Auto-iQ is a more versatile personal blender than the Magic Bullet Kitchen Express. The Ninja is better built, and it comes with more speed options and a timer. It's easier to clean and can crush ice, unlike the Magic Bullet. That said, the Magic Bullet comes with a food processing attachment, and it makes a better smoothie.
The Ninja Nutri Ninja Auto-iQ is a much better blender than the Magic Bullet Mini. It's more powerful and performs better at making nut butter. It's also remarkable at crushing ice, which the Magic Bullet can't do without liquid in the jar. On the other hand, the Magic Bullet makes a slightly better smoothie, with fewer grains coming from leafy ingredients like kale.
The Breville Boss To Go Sport is a better personal blender than the Ninja Nutri Ninja Auto-iQ. The Breville has a better build quality and does a better job of processing fibrous ingredients. It's easier to use for thicker recipes like nut butter as well. On the other hand, the Ninja is much quieter when it's running.
The Ninja Nutri Ninja Auto-iQ is a little better than the NutriBullet Pro+. The Ninja is more versatile since it can crush ice. It's easier to clean by hand, and the blades, jars, and lids are all dishwasher-safe. On the other hand, the Pro+ is easier to use to make nut butter.
The Ninja Nutri Ninja Auto-iQ is a better blender than the BlendJet 2. The Ninja makes better crushed ice and more spreadable nut butter. It also does a better job of processing fibrous ingredients like kale and comes with an additional jar and lid. On the other hand, the BlendJet is much smaller and lighter, so you may prefer it if you're looking for something portable.
The Beast Health Blender is better than the Ninja Nutri Ninja Auto-iQ for most purposes. The Beast has a better build quality and performance for most uses, like processing fibrous ingredients for silky smoothies and making nut butter. It's also quieter. On the other hand, the Ninja comes with two jars with to-go lids instead of just one. It's easier to clean by hand, and all its components are dishwasher-safe.
Test Results
The Ninja Nutri Ninja Auto-iQ BL480 isn't very tall or wide, but it still takes up some space on your counter. You can store it away in a pantry or cupboard, though.
The Ninja Nutri Ninja Auto-iQ BL480 has decent build quality. While the motor base is made from plastic, it doesn't feel as well-built as the Ninja Foodi Power Nutri DUO. Parts of it feel decently sturdy, like the transmission gear, but the parts, like the base, feel a little cheap. While the transmission gear may wear down over time, it has overheat protection to prevent burn-out damage to your blender.
It has two jars with different capacities: 24oz and 18oz. They're both best suited for single-serve recipes like smoothies.
The jars are made of plastic and are top-rack dishwasher-safe.
The blade assembly has six sharp blades, including a pair of short blades sticking straight up from the center of the blade assembly. They all point in different directions to help encourage the flow of ingredients.
The lid screws onto the jar, and you can place it in your dishwasher's top rack for cleaning.
This blender has a power cable that'll be long enough to reach an outlet on your kitchen counter. Unfortunately, it doesn't have a stowaway compartment to hide the power cord when not in use.
- Motor base
- 1x 18 oz jar
- 1x 24 oz jar
- 2x to-go lids
- Extractor blade assembly
- User guide
It's fantastic for processing small batches of fibrous ingredients. You might need to run the 'Ultra-Blend' program twice, depending on your recipe, so it's not as quick as other personal blenders like the Ninja Foodi Power Nutri DUO, but it's still a very easy process. The result is a smooth blend with just a few small unprocessed grains left over.
The Ninja Nutri Ninja Auto-iQ is fantastic for processing fibrous ingredients at full capacity. Using the bigger jar, it takes an extra minute to get the best results compared to a smaller batch. Still, the automatic blending programs make it easy since you don't need to hold down a button the whole time.
It's excellent for crushed ice. It's a little less convenient than blending something like a smoothie since the best method is to use the pulse button, which runs the blender for as long as you hold it down. It's less convenient than using an automatic blending program, but still, it quickly crushes small batches of about four cubes at once into snow-like ice.
It's decent for making nut butter. It's not an easy process, since you must stop the blender often, undock the jar, and shake it or tap it to dislodge any ingredients stuck away from the blades. It also takes quite a while to process the ingredients into nut butter. It doesn't make completely smooth nut butter, but it's easy to spread on toast and still has a great result.
It's pretty loud for a personal blender. The noise will be irritating if you need to blend for several minutes in a row. You can get quieter personal blenders with similar power, like the Ninja Nutri-Blender Plus and the NutriBullet Pro 1000.
As usual for personal blenders, it has one speed setting. There are buttons for two blending modes, 'Blend' and 'Ultra-Blend', which run the blender for different lengths of time rather than changing the blade speed. There's also a pulse button, which activates the motor for as long as you hold it down.
There are buttons for two blending modes, 'Blend' and 'Ultra-Blend', which run the blender for different lengths of time and automatically alternate between blending and pulsing (what Ninja calls 'Auto-iQ'). The 'Ultra-Blend' mode is meant for fibrous ingredients like kale or hard ingredients like frozen fruit and ice cubes. 'Blend' is for softer, easier ingredients like fresh bananas or mangoes. The 'Start/stop' button runs a 60-second blending cycle. There's also a pulse button, which activates the motor for as long as you hold it down.
The Ninja Nutri Ninja Auto-iQ BL480 is amazingly easy to clean. Running it with soap and water in the jar helps clear sticky residue from the blades and jar. You need to use a sponge to clean the inside walls of the jar and around the rim of the blade assembly, but you don't need to scrub the blades or any other tough-to-reach spots.