The PopBabies Portable Blender is a battery-powered personal blender. It's compact and light, meaning you can carry it around in your bag or backpack. The jar's opening is very narrow, so it can't fit most regular ice cubes, but it comes with an ice cube tray for making mini cubes and a funnel to help with adding ingredients. You can use it while it's charging, unlike most battery-powered blenders we've tested.
Our Verdict
The PopBabies Blender is bad for multi-purpose use. It's decently well-built but has a small 14-ounce capacity, and it isn't meant to be filled to more than 2/3rds of its capacity for blending. It makes disappointing smoothies and almond butter and can't hot blend or crush full-size ice cubes. Fortunately, it comes with a mini ice cube tray that makes small cubes that it can crush. It's also easy to clean after making a smoothie, and the jar and lid are dishwasher-safe.
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Jar is dishwasher-safe.
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Decent build quality.
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Small jar capacity.
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Doesn't fully blend fibrous ingredients.
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Can't crush regular-sized ice cubes.
The PopBabies Blender is poor for smoothies. It struggles to fully liquefy kale and makes a leafy and thick smoothie. It also can't crush regular-sized ice cubes. That said, it makes better smoothies if you follow the manufacturer's instructions and use fewer ingredients. It's also easy to clean by hand after making something liquid like a smoothie.
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Jar is dishwasher-safe.
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Lightweight and portable.
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Small jar capacity.
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Doesn't fully blend fibrous ingredients.
The PopBabies Blender is meant for single-serve smoothies and doesn't have enough capacity for multiple servings. Its 14-ounce jar makes a fairly smooth blend with fibrous ingredients, but it's a slow process, and the resulting smoothie is still grainy, so it's not ideal for making several batches in a row either.
The PopBabies Blender is very bad for crushing ice. The manufacturer says not to use it to process full-size ice cubes, and the blades get jammed quickly if you try. However, it comes with a silicone ice cube tray for making tiny two-gram ice cubes. If you use the mini ice cubes, the blender can produce ice with an okay texture.
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Comes with a mini ice cube tray.
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Small jar capacity.
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Can't crush regular-sized ice cubes.
Like most personal blenders, you can't use the PopBabies Blender to blend hot ingredients. It's not suitable for making multiple servings at once because of its small capacity and doesn't fully blend fibrous vegetables, so even if you use room-temperature food, it's not good for recipes like broccoli soup.
The PopBabies Portable Blender isn't meant for professional kitchens or dedicated home cooks. It has a small 14-ounce capacity and can only blend in 20-second cycles, so it's not very versatile or easy to use. It struggles to fully process fibrous ingredients and can't fit full-size ice cubes. While it can make spreadable nut butter, it takes a lot of effort and isn't ideal for that purpose.
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Decent build quality.
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Can be difficult to clean by hand.
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Small jar capacity.
- 5.1 Multi-Purpose
- 6.3 Smoothies (Single Serving)
- 4.9 Smoothies (Multiple Servings)
- 3.5 Ice Crushing
- 2.3 Soups
- 4.3 Professional Use
- Updated Feb 13, 2023: Updated text to match Test Bench 1.0.
- Updated Aug 19, 2022: Converted to Test Bench 1.0.
- Updated Jan 21, 2022: Review published.
- Updated Jan 14, 2022: Early access published.
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Differences Between Sizes And Variants
The PopΒabies Portable Βlender comes in a few different colors: 'Carolina Βlue' (called 'Corolina Βlue' at some retailers), 'Princess Pink', 'Βlack', 'Ivory White', 'Purple', and 'Yellow'. We tested it in 'Carolina Βlue' but expect our results to be valid for the other colors.
There's also a silver version with a 14-ounce glass jar and an 'Updated Version' available in 'Apple Green' or 'Princess Pink'. It comes with a 15-ounce jar and has removable blades. The size and design of the jar can affect a blender's performance, so our results may not be valid for the glass jar variant or the 'Updated Version'.
If you come across another variant, please let us know in the discussions, and we'll update the review.
Compared To Other Blenders
The PopΒabies Portable Βlender is a small battery-powered personal blender that you can take with you on the move, like the ΒlendJet 2 and the NutriΒullet GO. It's intended for making single-serve smoothies and comes with a silicone tray for making mini ice cubes since the blender isn't designed to handle regular-sized ice cubes. Unlike the ΒlendJet 2, the blades are built-in to the jar instead of the motor base, so you don't need to carry around the motor base to drink out of the jar. Unfortunately, it doesn't process fibrous ingredients like leafy greens and fruit, as well as conventional plug-in blenders that you can get for around the same price as the Oster MyBlend and the Magic Bullet Mini.
Check out our lists of the best personal blenders, the best blenders for smoothies, and the best blenders under $100.
The ΒlendJet 2 is better than the PopΒabies Portable Βlender. It makes better-blended smoothies and can crush regular-sized ice cubes. It's also better built, quieter when it's running, and significantly easier to clean by hand. However, the PopΒabies comes with a dishwasher-safe jar. You may also prefer its design, which allows you to take the jar on the go but leave the motor base at home or in your bag.
The PopBabies Portable Blender is better than the NutriBullet GO for most purposes. It makes much better almond butter and smoothies and can crush mini ice cubes, while the NutriΒullet shouldn't be used to make crushed ice at all, according to the manufacturer. It's also dishwasher-safe. On the other hand, the NutriΒullet has removable blades, making it easier to clean by hand.
The Oster MyBlend is better for most purposes than the PopΒabies Portable Βlender. It takes less time to make a smoothie and can make crushed ice with an okay texture. Its jar has a flip-top lid, and it's much easier to clean by hand. On the other hand, the PopΒabies is a battery-powered blender that's more portable, which some may prefer. It's also a bit quieter when it's running.
The Magic Βullet Mini does a better job of processing fibrous ingredients than the PopBabies Portable Blender, meaning it can produce a silkier smoothie with ingredients like kale. On the other hand, the PopBabies is a battery-powered, portable blender that you can use to blend a smoothie at work or the gym.
Test Results
Similar to other battery-powered blenders like the BlendJet 2 or the NutriÎ’ullet GO, it's light and small, so you can put it in a backpack or easily store it in a kitchen cupboard.
The PopÎ’abies Portable Î’lender has a decent build quality. The motor base and gears are made of plastic, and there's a small flap covering the micro-USÎ’ charging port. There's a rubber ring on the bottom of the motor base to help keep the blender from moving around on your counter, and the lid for the jar has a plastic loop so you can hang it from a hook or a bag strap. Unlike the BlendJet 2, which has a motor base with built-in blades, this blender's blades are built into the jar. Unfortunately, the jar's opening is small (4.8 cm in diameter) and the fixed blades can be difficult to clean. Also, the bottom of the motor base isn't quite flush with the sides at some points.
The jar is meant for single-serve smoothies and other drinks and has a 14-ounce capacity up to the maximum fill line. The manufacturer says not to fill it over 2/3 full with ingredients.
The jar has a narrow opening that can't fit most regular-size ice cubes, so it also comes with a tray that makes mini ice cubes and a funnel to help with adding ingredients. This design can be an inconvenience, especially when cleaning the blender by hand. That said, the manufacturer advertises it as a safety feature since it's difficult or impossible for someone to reach into the jar and touch the blades. If you think you'll find the small jar opening annoying, you might want to look at the BlendJet 2.
The jar and lid are made of plastic. The jar is dishwasher-safe, but the manufacturer doesn't indicate if the lid, funnel, or mini ice cube tray can go in the dishwasher.
It has four sharp blades: two that point up and two that point downward. You can't remove them from the jar, but you can clean the jar and blades in the dishwasher.
There's a screw-on lid for the jar with a built-in plastic loop. Unfortunately, the manufacturer doesn't specify if it's dishwasher-safe.
The PopBabies Portable Blender comes with a micro-USÎ’ to USÎ’-A cable for charging the blender. Unlike the NutriÎ’ullet GO and the BlendJet 2, its manual indicates that you can use it while it's charging. The manufacturer says the battery provides about 20 charges, and each charge lasts 20 seconds. They also note to charge it for 3-4 hours the first time you use it but that afterward, one hour is enough to charge it fully.
- PopBabies Portable Blender motor base
- 14-oz jar with non-removable blades
- Lid
- Micro-USB to USB-A charging cable
- Mini ice cube tray
- Funnel (for pouring ingredients into jar)
- User manual and recipe guide
The PopBabies Portable Blender is okay for small batches of fibrous ingredients. If you use it for a smoothie with leafy greens like kale, you need to blend for several minutes to get the smoothest possible blend. Since the blender stops automatically after each 20-second blending cycle, you need to press the button to restart it over and over. Unlike the BlendJet 2, we had to keep the blender plugged in for the battery to last. It still doesn't fully process the kale and, in the end, produces a grainy puree.
It has a similar performance when filled, but you need to run more than one 20-second cycle. It makes a smoother blend than the BlendJet 2 and the NutriBullet GO but still produces a grainy puree with ingredients like kale after several minutes of blending.
The PopÎ’abies Portable Î’lender struggles to crush ice. If you use regular ice cubes (not mini ones made in the included ice tray), it's difficult to fit them through the jar's small opening. The blades can process them a bit but are quickly jammed with ice. As a result, the leftover cubes have to be melted with water to get them out of the jar. Also, please note that the manufacturer says processing regular-sized ice cubes can damage the blender's motor, so it's not intended for this purpose.
The results are better if you use ice from the included mini ice cube tray. The tray makes 45 two-gram ice cubes (regular ice cubes are about 30 grams each). If you add them all to the jar, it takes about a minute to make crushed ice with an okay texture. There are still a few unprocessed pieces, and the ice isn't snow-like.
The PopBabies Portable Blender makes better nut butter than other battery-powered personal blenders we've tested, like the BlendJet 2. It's a long process, and to avoid blade jams, you need to follow the manufacturer's recommendation to hold the blender horizontally and shake it the whole time. It doesn't make completely smooth nut butter, but it's mostly uniformly blended and easy to spread.
The PopBabies Portable Blender is quiet for a blender, so you probably won't find it particularly loud when blending a smoothie. However, it's quite a bit louder than the NutriBullet GO, which is also battery-powered.
Like most personal blenders, the PopBabies Blender has one speed setting, so you can't slowly ramp up the speed or adjust it to suit different recipes.
There's a button on the motor base that starts a 20-second blending cycle when pushed. It takes a moment for the motor to engage after you push the button, which is slightly annoying. You can also press the button quickly to simulate a pulse mode.
The PopÎ’abies Portable Î’lender can be hard to clean. The blades are fixed inside the jar, which has a narrow opening, so you need to use a brush or sponge with a handle to clean any food trapped around the blades. You might also need to shake the jar with soap and water to help dislodge stubborn residue.