- Table of Contents
- Intro
- Our Verdict
- Test Results
- Differences
- Compared To Others
- Deals
- Discussions
The Vitamix A3500 is a well-built and versatile full-size blender that comes with a 64-ounce jar that should be enough to tackle most of your blending needs. Its control panel has several presets and modes and as it's Bluetooth-compatible, its companion app offers even more presets, depending on what you like to blend. Overall, this blender has no trouble blending hard food like nuts, it can hot blend, and it can process ice into a snow-like consistency in no time. It can incorporate raw greens like kale into silky smoothies, and it's also super easy to clean by hand.
Our Verdict
The Vitamix A3500 is outstanding for multi-purpose use. It doesn't have any trouble with hard food like almonds, makes incredible smoothies, and it can process ice into a snow-like consistency very quickly. It can also hot blend and its companion app offers several additional modes. This blender is very easy to clean.
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Very well-built with premium material.
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Easy to clean.
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Can hot blend.
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Doesn't come with extra jars or attachments.
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Very well-built with premium material.
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Easy to clean.
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Very well-built with premium material.
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Easy to clean.
The Vitamix A3500 is fantastic for ice crushing. This well-built blender can make snow-like crushed ice in under a minute, which means you can go right from blending to drinking margaritas as quickly as possible.
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Very well-built with premium material.
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Easy to clean.
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Produces snow-like ice in less than a minute.
The Vitamix A3500 is excellent for soups. It's able to liquify ingredients like kale and it's safe to use for hot blending, so you can easily puree ingredients like stewed tomatoes for a soup or sauce. There's even a dedicated 'Hot Soup' mode. Its high-capacity jar is also good if you're making a bigger meal. It's very easy to clean as you can put the jar, lid, and blade assembly directly into the dishwasher.
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Very well-built with premium material.
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Easy to clean.
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Can hot blend.
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Non-removable blades can be tricky to clean by hand.
The Vitamix A3500 is outstanding for professional use. This well-built blender has a large jar so that you can process a lot of food at a time. It can easily blend almonds to make smooth nut butter, produces superb, silky smoothies, and makes snow-like crushed ice in less than a minute. As its jar, lid, and blade assembly are all dishwasher-safe, cleanup is easy.
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Very well-built with premium material.
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Easy to clean.
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Can hot blend.
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Doesn't come with extra jars or attachments.
- 9.3 Multi-Purpose
- 9.4 Smoothies (Single Serving)
- 9.6 Smoothies (Multiple Servings)
- 9.6 Ice Crushing
- 9.5 Soups
- 9.1 Professional Use
- Updated Sep 16, 2022: Compared the Vitamix A3500's controls with the newly-reviewed Vitamix Professional Series 750.
- Updated Jul 28, 2022: Converted to Test Bench 1.0.
- Updated Feb 16, 2022: Retested 'Smoothie (Βest Jar).' The score has changed from 8.0 to 9.0.
- Updated Jan 26, 2021: We've updated the Speed Adjustment Based On Jar Size test in the Extra Features box.
- Updated Sep 21, 2020: Review published.
- Updated Sep 08, 2020: Early access published.
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Test Results
The Vitamix Ascent A3500 is a large blender. It's about the same size as the Vitamix A2300, and it's quite heavy. That said, it's best stored on your kitchen counter or in a large cupboard.
This blender has an outstanding build quality. The base is made of high-quality solid plastic with metal siding. The transmission and gears are metal, which makes the blender feel very sturdy overall. It has a thick power cable and its display and speed dial have a premium look and feel.
The Vitamix Ascent A3500 has four sharp, thick blades. They aren't meant to be removed and although you can service them via their nut assembly, this voids their warranty. Luckily, the blades are dishwasher-safe.
The Vitamix A3500's lid is clear and has two clips on each side to create a seal. The middle part can be removed if you want to add ingredients or use the tamper to mix food in while blending. This center part can be used as a 30ml measuring cup, which is handy in a pinch.
The Vitamix A3500 has a long, thick power cord. You should have no problems reaching most outlets and you can even store it away when not in use.
- Motor base
- User manual and cookbook
- Tamper
- 64 oz blender pitcher and lid (with removable center)
This blender makes incredible crushed ice. It can make snow-like ice in less than a minute when using the 'Frozen Drink' mode.
This blender makes exceptional almond butter. It takes about four minutes to make a smooth, sticky almond butter that you can easily spread on toast.
The Vitamix A3500 has a touch-sensitive control panel. The white button on the left changes its pulse mode while the white one on the right is to start/stop. There are also controls to set a timer that runs up to 6:30, as well as several preset modes: 'Smoothies', 'Hot Soups', 'Dips and Spreads', 'Frozen Desserts', and 'Self-Cleaning'. The Vitamix Perfect Blend companion app includes 17 additional modes including 'Spice Grind' and 'Baby Food'. There's also an on/off toggle on the right side of the body.
The Vitamix A3500 has a few programs and modes. Its timer works like a stopwatch, so you just choose a speed setting and let it run. If you want a specific time, you can use the '+' and '-' buttons to control it up to six and a half minutes. Just like the Vitamix A3300, it's also Bluetooth-compatible. You can access additional presets using its Vitamix Perfect Blend companion app: 'Smoothies', 'Hot Soups', 'Frozen Desserts', 'Spreads', 'Dry Chopping', 'Nut Butters', 'Cold Skim Milk Foam', 'Dressings', 'Spice Grinding', 'Baby Food', 'Marinades', 'Frozen Cocktails', 'Nut Milks', 'Thick Dips', 'Batter', and 'Acai Bowls'. If you prefer simple controls without a digital display, you may prefer the design of the Vitamix Professional Series 750.
The Vitamix A3500 is very easy to clean. You can easily clean most messes by rinsing the jar, filling it up with soap and hot water, and running it at max speed. You may need to wipe the jar and lid with a sponge afterward if there's still some sticky residue left, but it's pretty easy to wash. It can be a little trickier to get under the blades or around the lid though, as food debris can get stuck in these areas. All the jars, lids, and blade assemblies are dishwasher-safe too, which is useful in a pinch.
Differences Between Sizes And Variants
The Vitamix A3500 comes in three different color variants: Metal Graphite, Brushed Stainless Steel, and Copper. We tested the Metal Graphite variant, but we expect the other models to perform similarly.
The Vitamix A3500 comes with a 64-ounce main jar. However, there are several other sizes of jars in the Vitamix Ascent Series that you can purchase separately including a 48-ounce container, a 48-ounce dry grains container for blending flour or other grains, a 20-ounce blending cup starter kit, and an 8-ounce blending bowl starter kit. As these accessories are part of the Ascent Series, they come with Vitamix's Self-Detect technology built into the base. According to the manufacturer, the A3500 can recognize the attachments using this technology and adjust the blender's settings depending on the size of the container. We only tested the 64-ounce variant, so these attachments may perform differently with this blender.
In Europe, this product is sold as the Vitamix A3500i and it comes with a slightly larger, 2-liter main jar. It may perform differently than our unit due to the difference in size.
Compared To Other Blenders
The Vitamix Ascent A3500 is one of this brand's most premium full-size blenders and it shows in its durable and thoughtful design. Just like the Vitamix A2300 and Vitamix 2500, it's part of the Ascent series, so you can purchase additional jars that have Self-Detect technology built-in, which allows the blender to detect the jar's size and adjust its settings accordingly. It also comes with a companion app that adds even more modes into the mix.
The Vitamix A3500 and the Vitamix A2500 are very similar blenders. The A3500 is better-built thanks to its solid metal base, which gives it a more premium feel. While both blenders are Bluetooth-compatible and offer additional presets via their companion app, the A3500 has a few more preset modes built into the control panel. Also, unlike the A2500, the A3500's timer works like a stopwatch, so you don't need to watch your blender and manually stop it when it's done blending. That said, the A2500 produces a smoother, less foamy smoothie, and it does a better job incorporating leafy greens like kale.
The Vitamix A3500 and the Vitamix A3300 are very similarly performing full-size blenders. Both are well-built and are easy to clean. However, the A3500 has a few presets available directly on its control panel, while all of the A3300's presets can only be found via its companion app. The A3500 also makes better-textured almond butter in less time.
The Vitamix A3500 comes with more features than the straightforward Vitamix 7500. The A3500's control panel gives you access to a timer and several preset modes. It has a self-clean program and is dishwasher-safe, unlike the 7500. As it's part of Vitamix's Ascent series, you can purchase different jars for the A3500 that use Self-Detect technology to adjust the settings based on their size. The A3500 is also Bluetooth-compatible, and you can use its companion app to access even more preset modes. That said, the 7500 still has an outstanding overall performance.
The Vitamix A3500 and the Vitamix A2300 both perform similarly, but the A3500 is a bit better. They're both Bluetooth-compatible and have extra presets available via their companion app, but the A3500 comes with a more fully-featured control panel. It also performs better with crushed ice and gets a snow-like texture in about 30 seconds. On the other hand, the A2300 is slightly lighter and smaller.
The Vitamix A3500 has more features than the Vitamix 5200, but both have a very versatile performance. The A3500 is part of Vitamix's Ascent Series, so you can get different jars sold separately that use Self-Detect technology to adjust the settings based on their size. It also comes with a Pulse mode, preset modes, a self-clean program, and a timer, and it's Bluetooth-compatible, so you can access extra preset modes using a companion app. The A3500 crushes ice quicker than the 5200, but the 5200 comes with 'High' and 'Variable' speed settings, unlike the A3500.
The Vitamix A3500 and the Vitamix Professional Series 750 perform almost identically, so which is better depends on your preferences. The A3500 is quieter, and its jar and lid are dishwasher-safe. It has a digital display, including a blending time indicator and a programmable timer. It's also compatible with a companion app via Βluetooth. On the other hand, you may prefer the 750's simpler, more analog control scheme. Its power cord is longer as well.
The Vitamix A3500 is better than the Vitamix Explorian E310. The A3500 has a bigger capacity, a better ice crushing performance, and it's much quieter. It has more features, including blending programs and a programmable timer. On the other hand, the Explorian is more compact and lighter. Its smaller 48-ounce main jar is easier to use to make nut butter.
The Vitamix A3500 is better than the Vitamix 5300. The A3500 makes better-blended smoothies and comes with a dishwasher-safe jar. Its controls include several preset modes and a timer in addition to a speed dial. It's also Bluetooth-compatible, which gives you access to more presets via a companion app.
The Vitamix A3500 is a better blender than the Blendtec Designer 725 for most uses. The Vitamix produces a much better smoothie, can hot blend, and makes significantly smoother almond butter much more quickly. On the other hand, the Blendtec comes with a personal jar and to-go lid and is easier to clean.
The Vitamix A3500 is a bit better than the Vitamix Venturist V1200. The A3500 crushes ice more quickly and produces a slightly better result when processing hard ingredients like nuts in its main jar. It's also significantly quieter. On the other hand, you may prefer the V1200 if you often blend smaller batches of ingredients or make a lot of single-serves smoothies, since it comes with a 20-ounce jar for personal smoothies and an 8-ounce jar for sauces and dips. It's also a bit sturdier.
The Vitamix A3500 is better for most purposes than the Blendtec Classic 575. The Vitamix has a much better build quality and comes with a tamper. It makes smoother, more spreadable almond butter, silkier smoothies, and crushed ice with a better texture. On the other hand, the Blendtec is much easier to clean.
The Vitamix A3500 is better than the KitchenAid K400. The Vitamix has a much better build quality and comes with a tamper. In addition to a speed dial, it has buttons for a few preset modes, and you can access more presets via a companion app. It does a better job of making smoothies and almond butter, and it’s easier to clean when you’re working with sticky ingredients. It also makes crushed ice with a better texture. On the other hand, the KitchenAid takes less time to make a smoothie.
The Vitamix A3500 is better than the Vitamix ONE. The A3500 has a much better build quality and a larger capacity. It can make almond butter, crush ice, and hot blend, unlike the ONE.
The Ninja Mega Kitchen System BL770 and the Vitamix A3500 have different strengths, and you may prefer either one depending on your needs. The Vitamix has a much better build quality, more speed settings, and works with a companion app that gives you access to a variety of preset modes. It also comes with a two-part lid and tamper. On the other hand, while both models make fantastic smoothies, the Ninja comes with two personal jars you can use to make single-serves. It also comes with a food processing attachment.
The Vitamix A3500 is better than the Ninja Professional Plus Kitchen System with Auto-iQ. The Vitamix comes with a two-part lid and tamper and can be used to blend hot ingredients. It has a greater number of speed settings and makes smoother, more spreadable almond butter. On the other hand, the Ninja comes with a pair of personal jars with matching to-go lids. There's also a food processing attachment, but we don't test it currently.
The Vitamix A3500 is better than the Ninja Professional Blender 1000. The Vitamix has a much better build quality, comes with a 2-part lid and tamper, and offers a wider range of speed settings. It makes a much smoother blend of fibrous ingredients and can hot blend. Both blenders can make snow-like crushed ice quickly, and the Ninja's main jar has a bigger capacity.
The Vitamix A3500 is better for most purposes than the Breville The Q. The Vitamix makes better-blended, more spreadable almond butter and snow-like crushed ice. It has a significantly better build quality and can be used to blend hot ingredients. On the other hand, the Breville is much easier to clean by hand.
The Vitamix A3500 is better for most purposes than the Ninja Blender Duo with Auto-iQ BL642. The Vitamix has a significantly better build quality and comes with a tamper. It makes fantastic smoothies in its 64-ounce main jar and can hot blend. On the other hand, the Ninja is better for single-serves because it comes with three personal jars. You can use the 32-ounce personal jar to make a fantastic smoothie.
Vitamix A3500 is better than the Smeg BLF01. The Vitamix has a much better build quality and does a better job of making smoothies and crushing ice. It can also blend hot ingredients. On the other hand, the Smeg is a lighter, more compact full-size blender.