- Table of Contents
- Intro
- Our Verdict
- Test Results
- Differences
- Compared To Others
- Deals
- Discussions
The Ninja Professional Plus Blender with Auto-iQ is a full-size model with a 72-ounce main jar. Unlike the Ninja Professional Plus Kitchen System with Auto-iQ, it doesn't come with a lot of attachments. It's still incredible for crushing ice, but it struggles to fully incorporate fibrous ingredients and make spreadable almond butter. However, it's easy to clean, and its components are top-rack dishwasher-safe.
Our Verdict
The Ninja Professional Plus Blender with Auto-iQ is fair for multi-purpose use. It has a durable build and it's easy to clean. It has a large capacity, 72-ounce main jar, and a few preset modes. While it's incredible at crushing ice, it struggles to fully blend smoothies and almond butter. It also can't hot blend ingredients.
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Well-built and easy to clean.
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Several preset modes and preset speeds.
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Struggles to fully blend fibrous ingredients like kale.
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Makes a dry nut butter that's tough to spread.
The Ninja Professional Plus Blender with Auto-iQ is good for smoothies and protein shakes. It's well-built and makes a foamy, slightly grainy smoothie with its 'Smoothie' preset, as it has some trouble fully blending leafy greens like kale. That said, it's outstanding for crushing ice, which is great if you like to include ice in your smoothie. Also, it's pretty easy to clean by hand, and you can even wash the components in the top rack of your dishwasher.
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Well-built and easy to clean.
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Top-rack dishwasher safe.
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Several preset modes and preset speeds.
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Struggles to fully blend fibrous ingredients like kale.
The Ninja Professional Plus Blender with Auto-iQ is remarkable for ice crushing. Thanks to the 'Ice Crush' preset, it can make snow-like crushed ice quickly, which is ideal for making frozen drinks on a hot day.
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Well-built and easy to clean.
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Several preset modes and preset speeds.
The Ninja Professional Plus Blender with Auto-iQ can't hot blend ingredients, so it isn't suitable for making soups.
The Ninja Professional Plus Blender with Auto-iQ is very good for professional use. It's impressively well-built, and its 72-ounce main jar is ideal for making large batches of food. It's easy to clean, and it's fantastic for crushing ice. However, it struggles to make a silky smoothie and spreadable nut butter.
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Well-built and easy to clean.
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Top-rack dishwasher safe.
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Several preset modes and preset speeds.
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Struggles to fully blend fibrous ingredients like kale.
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Makes a dry nut butter that's tough to spread.
- 6.5 Multi-Purpose
- 7.5 Smoothies/Protein Shakes
- 9.7 Ice Crushing
- 7.2 Soups
- 7.9 Professional Use
- Updated Oct 06, 2020: Review published.
- Updated Sep 25, 2020: Early access published.
Test Results
The Ninja BN701 is a large blender, so it takes up a lot of room on your counter. You can store it on your kitchen counter or in a large cupboard, and you can also remove the main jar for easier storage.
The Ninja BN701 has an impressive build quality. The body of the motor base and the transmission are made of plastic, which feels solid. The main jar is also made of plastic, and it also has a durable feel. There are two suction cups on the bottom of the blender to help keep it in place; however, there's still a bit of movement when blending.
The main jar has a large, 72-ounce capacity, so you can use it to make large batches of your favorite foods. The manufacturer advises that you shouldn't put more than 64 ounces of liquid into the jar, however. The jar only clips into place if it's oriented into the base correctly. It's also top-rack dishwasher-safe, but you should remove the blade assembly from the container before placing them both in the dishwasher separately.
This blender doesn't come with any additional jars. Take a look at the Ninja Blender Duo with Auto-iQ BL642 if you're looking for a full-size blender that comes with personal jars.
The blade assembly has six sharp blades, and you can remove them for cleaning. You can wash the blades in the top rack of your dishwasher, but you should remove them from the jar and wash them separately.
The lid is made of plastic, and it has a small, window-like spout. It clicks into place, but only if it's in the proper orientation with the triangle symbol on the lid aligned with the triangle symbol on the handle. However, it isn't a two-part lid, so you can't add ingredients mid-blend without stopping the blender and removing the lid entirely.
The power cord is long enough to reach most outlets. You can wrap the cord on a stowaway unit on the back of the blender when it's not in use.
This blender comes with several preset modes and preset speeds. There's also a dedicated Pulse mode.
The Ninja BN701 is disappointing for almond butter. Moving from the 'Low' to 'Medium' to 'High' settings, you get a dry butter that's very difficult to spread. Even if you stop the blender and use a spatula to scrape dry bits towards the blades, there are still unprocessed chunks in the mix.
This blender is adequate for smoothies. Using the 'Smoothie' preset, it blends a thick, foamy smoothie. You may need to stop it and scrape unprocessed ingredients towards the blades to get them incorporated into the mix. It also doesn't fully blend leafy greens like kale, so there are small bits that add a grainy texture to the smoothie.
This blender doesn't have an additional jar.
The Ninja Professional Plus Blender is fantastic for crushing ice. Using the 'Ice Crush' preset, it can easily make snow-like ice.
This blender has several preset modes: 'Smoothie', 'Ice Crush', 'Ice Cream', 'Low', 'Medium', 'High', and 'Pulse'. However, there isn't a timer, so you can't see how much time is left when using the presets.
This blender is incredibly easy to clean. Warm water and soap clean up most messes, and the removable blade assembly makes it easy and safe to scoop out stickier messes. The jars, lids, and blade assembly are all top-rack dishwasher-safe, too.
It doesn't come with any extra features or attachments, and it can't hot blend. If you want a similar blender with more accessories, check out the Ninja Professional Plus Kitchen System with Auto-iQ.
Differences Between Sizes And Variants
The Ninja BN701 is pretty much the same blender as the Ninja Professional Plus Kitchen System with Auto-iQ. However, the Kitchen System comes with more accessories, including a food processor attachment, compatible blades, and two 24-oz personal jars. It also has a few more preset modes for the attachments. As it comes with a few more preset modes for the attachments, we don't know if its performance is similar to our test unit. You can see the label for the model we tested here. If you come across a variant that's different from our test unit, let us know in the discussion section so that we can update our review.
Compared To Other Blenders
The Ninja Professional Plus Blender with Auto-iQ is a straightforward full-size model with a 72-oz main jar and several preset modes and speeds. While it's well-built and easy to clean, it doesn't have the most versatile performance, and it isn't ideal for making almond butter or smoothies. It also can't hot blend ingredients. If you're looking for more, check out our recommendations for the best Ninja blenders.
The Ninja Professional Plus Kitchen System with Auto-iQ is better for multi-purpose use than the Ninja Professional Plus Blender with Auto-iQ. While both blenders are similar, the Kitchen System comes with more attachments, including a food processor and two 24-ounce personal jars. It also has a few more preset modes and a timer, unlike the Blender. The Kitchen System makes a more spreadable almond butter, and its personal jar can make a better-blended smoothie.
The Ninja Foodi Power Pitcher System is better for most purposes than the Ninja Professional Plus Blender with Auto-iQ. The Foodi makes significantly better almond butter and silkier, more uniform smoothies. It comes with two jars in addition to its 72-ounce main jar. It also comes with a few extra blade assemblies meant for different cooking tasks, including a dough blade, although we don't test them currently. On the other hand, you can make better-textured crushed ice with the Professional Plus using the 'Ice Crush' preset mode.
The Ninja Foodi Power Nutri DUO is better for most purposes than the Ninja Professional Plus Blender with Auto-iQ. The DUO makes smoother, more spreadable almond butter and better-blended smoothies. It's much more suitable for single-serves since it comes with three personal jars. On the other hand, the Professional Plus Blender is a full-size blender with a much larger, 72-ounce capacity. It also makes snow-like crushed ice in less time.
The Ninja Blender Duo with Auto-iQ BL642 is a better blender than the Ninja Professional Plus Blender with Auto-iQ. They have a similar appearance, but the Duo makes significantly better smoothies and almond butter. It also comes with three personal jars in addition to its main jar. On the other hand, the Professional Plus Blender is easier to clean.
The Ninja Professional Βlender 1000 is better than the Ninja Professional Plus Blender with Auto-iQ. The two blenders have a very similar design, but the 1000 does a much better job making almond butter. It's also a bit quieter when it's running at maximum speed. On the other hand, the Plus has much better build quality since the 1000's control panel feels cheap. The Plus has a few timed preset modes, including 'Smoothie' and 'Ice Crush'.
The Ninja Nutri Ninja Auto-iQ is a better blender for smoothies than the Ninja Professional Plus Blender with Auto-iQ. The Nutri is a personal blender that comes with two personal jars and matching to-go lids. It makes better-blended smoothies. On the other hand, the Professional Plus is a full-size blender with significantly better build quality and a much larger, 72-ounce capacity. It also makes crushed ice with a better texture.
The Ninja Mega Kitchen System BL770 is better than the Ninja Professional Plus Blender with Auto-iQ. The Mega Kitchen System makes significantly better smoothies and smoother, more spreadable almond butter. It comes with two personal jars with matching to-go lids and a food processor bowl with a dough blade and a chopping blade, although we don't test it currently.
The Vitamix Explorian E310 is better for most purposes than the Ninja Professional Plus Blender with Auto-iQ. The Explorian has a much better build quality and comes with a tamper. It takes less time to make significantly better smoothies and almond butter. You can also use it to blend hot ingredients. On the other hand, the Ninja makes crushed ice with a better texture and is easier to clean.
The Ninja Foodi Power Pitcher SS201 is a better blender than the Ninja Professional Plus Blender with Auto-iQ. The Foodi Power Pitcher SS201 makes a much better smoothie and significantly smoother almond butter. On the other hand, the Professional Plus Blender with Auto-iQ has a better build quality and is easier to clean.
The Ninja Professional Plus Blender with Auto-iQ and the Ninja Nutri-Blender Pro with Auto-iQ have different strengths, and you may prefer either depending on what you're looking for. The Professional is a full-size blender with a much larger, 72-ouce main pitcher, and it also makes crushed ice with a better texture. On the other hand, the Nutri-Blend is a personal blender that comes with two 24-ounce jars with matching to-go lids. It makes much better-blended smoothies and more spreadable almond butter.
The NutriBullet Pro is better for smoothies than the Ninja Professional Plus Blender with Auto-iQ. The NutriBullet Pro comes with a pair of 32-ounce personal jars with matching to-go lids and cup rings. On the other hand, the Ninja is a full-size blender with a large capacity. It has a much better build quality and can make crushed ice. It's also easier to clean when you're working with sticky ingredients.
The Oster Pro 1200 is better for most purposes than the Ninja Professional Plus Blender with Auto-iQ. The Oster makes significantly better almond butter, silkier smoothies, and you can use it for hot blending. It also comes with a 24-ounce personal jar in addition to its main jar. On the other hand, the Ninja has a significantly better build quality, and its main jar has a bigger capacity. It's also much easier to clean by hand.
The Ninja Professional Plus Blender with Auto-iQ and the NutriBullet Smart Touch Blender Combo have different strengths, and you may prefer either one, depending on your needs. The Ninja can crush ice and is much easier to clean. The NutriBullet can be used to blend hot ingredients and makes significantly better smoothies and almond butter. It also comes with two personal jars in addition to the main jar.
The Ninja Professional Plus Blender with Auto-iQ is a better, more versatile blender than the NutriBullet Blender Combo. The Ninja is better-built and easier to clean, and it can crush ice, unlike the NutriBullet. However, the NutriBullet comes with two additional personal-sized jars. It also makes a better-blended smoothie.
The Ninja DUO is a better full-size blender than the Ninja Professional Plus Blender with Auto-iQ. The DUO comes with two additional 20-ounce beakers, more preset modes, and a timer, unlike the Professional Plus. It also makes a better, more spreadable almond butter and a better-blended smoothie. That said, the Professional Plus is easier to clean.
The KitchenAid K400 is better for most purposes than the Ninja Professional Plus Blender with Auto-iQ. The KitchenAid has a much better build quality and makes significantly better almond butter and smoothies; it can also be used for hot blending and has a self-clean mode. On the other hand, the Ninja makes crushed ice with a better texture. Its main jar also has a larger capacity.
The Ninja Nutri Ninja Pro is better for smoothies than the Ninja Professional Plus Blender with Auto-iQ. The Nutri is a personal blender that comes with three differently-sized jars with to-go lids and makes better-blended smoothies. It also produces more spreadable almond butter. On the other hand, the Professional is a full-size blender that comes with a 72-ounce jar. It has a much better build quality and makes crushed ice in less time.
The Ninja Foodi Cold & Hot Blender is better for most purposes than the Ninja Professional Plus Blender with Auto-iQ. The Foodi makes significantly better smoothies and much smoother, more spreadable almond butter. It has a heating element that allows it to warm up ingredients, and its jar is glass, which some may prefer. On the other hand, the Professional Plus makes crushed ice with a better texture.
The KitchenAid K150 is more versatile than the Ninja Professional Plus Blender with Auto-iQ. The KitchenAid K150 makes much smoother, more spreadable almond butter, and you can use it for hot blending. On the other hand, the Ninja makes crushed ice with a better texture, and it's easier to clean when you're working with sticky ingredients.
The Ninja Smart Screen is a better full-size blender than the Ninja Professional Plus Blender with Auto-iQ. Both blenders have a similar main jar and a similar overall performance, however, the Smart Screen makes a better, more spreadable almond butter. It also comes with a timer, unlike the Professional Plus.
The Ninja Fit and the Ninja Professional Plus blender with Auto-iQ have different strengths. The Professional is a full-size blender better-suited for processing large amounts of ingredients and crushing ice. On the other hand, the Fit is a small personal blender that produces much better smoothies in its 16-ounce jars. It also makes significantly better almond butter.
The Hamilton Beach Professional Quiet Blender and the Ninja Professional Plus Blender with Auto-iQ have different strengths, and you may prefer either. The Ninja has a much bigger, 72-ounce capacity and does a much better job crushing ice. On the other hand, the Hamilton Beach makes significantly better smoothies, almond butter, and you can use it to blend hot ingredients. Its maximum speed is much faster, and it makes less noise when it's running.