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. It's on the higher end of Vitamix's range, and its controls include a speed dial, a programmable timer, and five blending programs. Like other 'Ascent' blenders, it's Bluetooth-compatible, and you can connect to a companion app that offers even more programs.
Our Verdict
The Vitamix A3500 is outstanding for multi-purpose use. It doesn't have any trouble with hard food like nuts, makes incredibly smooth blends with fibrous ingredients, and can process ice into a snow-like consistency very quickly. It can also hot blend and offers a wide range of speed settings to suit different recipes. This blender is easy to clean, and the jar and lid are dishwasher-safe.
- Very well-built with premium material.
- Easy to clean.
- Can hot blend.
- Doesn't come with extra jars or attachments.
The Vitamix A3500 is superb for single-serve smoothies. Even though it only comes with a 64-ounce blending jar, you can use it to make exceptionally silky single-serve smoothies with ingredients like kale. The 'Smoothie' blending program makes it a very easy process. The jar and lid are easy to clean by hand and dishwasher-safe.
- Very well-built with premium material.
- Easy to clean.
It's superb for making multiple servings of smoothies. If you fill the 64-ounce jar to its full capacity, it does a fantastic job of processing big batches of fibrous ingredients. It's very well-suited for making a big batch of smoothies with ingredients like kale. You can also use it to make snow-like ice for frozen drinks. The jar is easy to clean by hand and dishwasher-safe.
- Very well-built with premium material.
- 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, meaning you can go right from blending to drinking margaritas as quickly as possible.
- Very well-built with premium material.
- Easy to clean.
- Produces snow-like ice in less than a minute.
The Vitamix A3500 is incredible for soups. It can liquefy ingredients like kale, and it's safe to use for hot blending, so you can easily puree vegetables 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 by hand, and you can put the jar, lid, and blade assembly directly into the dishwasher.
- Very well-built with premium material.
- Easy to clean.
- Can hot blend.
- 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 you can process a lot of food at a time. It can easily blend hard ingredients like nuts and makes an extremely smooth puree with fibrous ingredients. It makes snow-like crushed ice in less than a minute. As its jar, lid, and blade assembly are all dishwasher-safe, cleanup is easy.
- Very well-built with premium material.
- Easy to clean.
- Can hot blend.
- Doesn't come with extra jars or attachments.
Changelog
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Updated Feb 13, 2025:
Added a note that the Breville the Super Q BBL920 includes a personal jar in addition to its main pitcher under jar capacity.
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Updated Nov 07, 2024:
Compared its noise level to the Vitamix Ascent X5's.
- Updated Oct 07, 2024: Compared its performance for nut butter with the Vitamix Ascent X3's.
- Updated May 05, 2023: Compared its dimensions to the Vitamix Propel 750's.
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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.
It 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 eight-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, meaning these attachments may perform differently with this blender.
In Europe, this product is sold as the Vitamix A3500i and comes with a slightly larger, two-liter main jar. It may perform differently than our unit due to the difference in size.
Popular Blender Comparisons
The Vitamix Ascent A3500 is one of this brand's most premium full-size blenders, and comes packed with more features than most Vitamix models. Just like the Vitamix A2300 and Vitamix 2500, it's part of the Ascent series, so you can purchase a wide variety of 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's equipped with a programmable timer and has a companion app that adds even more modes into the mix.
If you're looking for something different, take a look at our recommendations for the best Vitamix blenders, the best blenders, and the best blenders for smoothies.
The Vitamix A3500 is a bit better than the Vitamix 5200. It processes fibrous ingredients faster, can make a bigger batch of crushed ice, and makes less noise when it's running. The jar is also dishwasher-safe, and its controls include automatic blending programs. However, you may prefer the Vitamix 5200's simpler design. It's also easier to use to make recipes like nut butter or hummus.
The Vitamix A3500 is a little better than the Vitamix A2500. The A3500 makes more snow-like crushed ice and a smoother puree with small batches of fibrous ingredients. It has more automatic blending programs, and its controls include a programmable timer. It's also quieter when it's running.
The Vitamix A3500 is a bit better than the Vitamix Ascent X5. The A3500 blends fibrous ingredients a bit faster and without any need to use a spatula. It can also handle bigger batches of ice cubes in its 64oz jar. Its controls include a programmable timer. That said, the Ascent X5 is easier to use for making nut butter in its 48oz jar. It's also quieter and unlike the A3500, its controls include a tamper indicator.
The Vitamix A3500 is better than the Vitamix Explorian E310. The A3500 has a bigger capacity, a better ice-crushing performance, and processes big batches of fibrous ingredients faster. It's quieter and 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 a bit easier to use to make nut butter and just as good for processing small batches, like for a single-serve smoothie.
Test Results
It's a large blender. It's about the same size as the Vitamix A2300 and is quite heavy. That said, it's best stored on your kitchen counter or in a large cupboard. If you're looking for a smaller, lighter full-size blender, check out the Vitamix Propel 750.
This blender has 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 pitcher has a big 64-ounce capacity. Although it performs well for single-serve smoothies, it doesn't come with a personal jar for smaller batches, unlike the Breville the Super Q BBL920.
The jar and lid are made of plastic and are dishwasher-safe, along with the non-removable blades.
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 lid is clear and has two clips on each side to create a seal. You can remove the middle part if you want to add ingredients or use the tamper to mix food in while blending. You can use this center part as a 30ml measuring cup, which is handy in a pinch.
The power cord is long and thick. 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)
It's fantastic for processing small batches of fibrous ingredients. It makes an extremely smooth blend of fibrous ingredients like kale, and it's a very easy process since all you need to do is run the 'Smoothie' program once.
It's superb for processing fibrous ingredients at full capacity. Using the 'Smoothie' program, it makes a nearly perfectly smooth puree of fibrous ingredients like kale in very little time.
It makes outstanding crushed ice. It makes powdery, snow-like ice very fast with its 'Frozen Drinks' mode.
It makes very smooth, spreadable nut butter. You need to use the tamper to push the ingredients down towards the blades and stop and scrape the sides of the jar with a spatula, but overall, it's decently easy. Some blenders, like the Vitamix Ascent X3, are easier to use for nut butter.
It's much quieter than some other Vitamix blenders like the Vitamix Professional Series 750, but there are full-size blenders that make less noise when they're running, like the Wolf Gourmet Pro-Performance and Vitamix Ascent X5.
It offers a wide range of speed settings, so you can start at a low speed and gradually ramp up to high, or make small adjustments to fine-tune the speed to a particular recipe.
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'. Just like the Vitamix A3300, it's also Bluetooth-compatible. 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.
It's easy to clean. You can easily get rid of a lot of food residue 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, as food debris can get stuck in these areas.