The Vitamix Explorian E520 is a full-size blender that's part of the same product line as the Vitamix Explorian E310 and is only available at Costco (U.S.). Like most Vitamix blenders we've tested, it delivers versatile performance and is safe for hot blending. There's a pair of 22-ounce tumblers included with matching lids and stainless-steel straws, but you can't use them for blending.
Our Verdict
The Vitamix E520 is incredible for multi-purpose use. It has a big 64-ounce capacity and a versatile performance, since it can hot blend, make a smooth puree with fibrous ingredients, and easily handle tough ingredients like nuts and ice cubes. It's very sturdy, and all of its components are dishwasher-safe. However, it's very loud. There are tumblers included for bringing your smoothie or protein shake on the go, but you can't use them for blending.
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Makes snow-like crushed ice.
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Can hot blend.
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Fantastic build quality.
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Smoothly blends fibrous ingredients like kale.
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No additional jars you can use for blending.
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Very loud.
The Vitamix E520 is amazing for making single-serve smoothies. Using the 64-ounce jar, it makes a nearly perfectly smooth blend with single-serve batches of fibrous ingredients like kale or fruit skin. It's also easy to clean by hand after whipping up a personal smoothie, and the jar and lid are dishwasher-safe. There are tumblers with straws included that you can pour your smoothie into, but you can't use them for blending.
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Makes snow-like crushed ice.
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Fantastic build quality.
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Smoothly blends fibrous ingredients like kale.
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No additional jars you can use for blending.
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Very loud.
The Vitamix E520 is fantastic for making multiple servings of smoothies. If you fill the 64-ounce main jar to its full capacity, it makes an extremely smooth puree with fibrous ingredients, so you can make silky smoothies even if your recipe includes tough additions like leafy greens. It's very well-built and easy to clean by hand.
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Fantastic build quality.
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Smoothly blends fibrous ingredients like kale.
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Very loud.
The Vitamix E520 is fantastic for ice-crushing. It's easy to make snow-like crushed ice for cocktails and frozen drinks. It's also very sturdy. That said, some blenders can crush ice a little faster or have automatic blending programs for a hands-free process.
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Makes snow-like crushed ice.
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Fantastic build quality.
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Very loud.
The Vitamix E520 is superb for making soups. It's very well-built and comes with a 64-ounce main jar that you can use to blend hot ingredients. It can incorporate fibrous ingredients like kale into your mixes and is very easy to clean by hand. The jar, lid, and tamper are all dishwasher-safe as well.
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Can hot blend.
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Fantastic build quality.
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Smoothly blends fibrous ingredients like kale.
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Very loud.
The Vitamix E520 is incredible for professional use. It's very well-built and has a 64-ounce main jar with a two-part lid, so you can add ingredients or use the tamper without stopping the machine. It has a very versatile performance and is safe to use for hot blending. It's also very easy to clean by hand, and the jar, lid, and tamper are all dishwasher-safe.
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Makes snow-like crushed ice.
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Can hot blend.
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Fantastic build quality.
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Smoothly blends fibrous ingredients like kale.
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Very loud.
- 9.2 Multi-Purpose
- 8.9 Smoothies (Single Serving)
- 9.5 Smoothies (Multiple Servings)
- 9.4 Ice Crushing
- 9.5 Soups
- 9.3 Professional Use
- Updated Dec 15, 2022: Made minor updates to the text.
- Updated Sep 26, 2022: Revised text to reflect Test Bench 1.0.
- Updated Sep 07, 2022: Added a comparison between this blender's tumblers and the Vitamix Venturist V1200's additional jar.
- Updated Aug 24, 2022: Converted to Test Bench 1.0.
- Updated Oct 26, 2021: Review published.
- Updated Oct 19, 2021: Early access published.
Check Price
Differences Between Sizes And Variants
The Vitamix E520 comes in either 'Βlack' or 'Gray'. We tested it in 'Gray', and you can see the label for the unit we've tested here.
If you come across another variant, let us know in the discussions, and we'll update our review.
Compared To Other Blenders
The Vitamix Explorian E520 is on the lower end of the price range for Vitamix blenders. It has a similar design to the Vitamix Explorian E310, except it has a few automatic blending programs on its dial. Its 64-ounce capacity is bigger, and it comes with a pair of 22-ounce tumblers with straws. You can't use these tumblers for blending, unlike the personal jars that come with blenders like the Vitamix Venturist V1200 and the Blendtec Designer 725. You can buy a personal jar and adapter separately from Vitamix if you want a single-serve jar for blending.
If you're looking for more options, take a look at our lists of the best blenders, the best blenders for smoothies, and the best blenders for frozen drinks.
The Vitamix 7500 is a bit better than the Vitamix Explorian E310. The 7500 is sturdier and much quieter when it's running. That said, the Explorian's 48-ounce main jar offers better performance for some uses, like processing small amounts of fibrous ingredients. It's also better for making nut butter, but the 7500 is great for that purpose too.
You may prefer either the Vitamix Explorian E310 or the Vitamix Explorian E520. The biggest difference is their capacity: the E520 has a 64-ounce jar, and the E310 has a 48-ounce jar. The E520 is a bit better-suited for processing large batches of fibrous ingredients and ice-crushing. It also has a few automatic blending programs and has a pair of tumblers with straws. They're meant for serving drinks like smoothies, but you can't use them for blending, unlike the personal jars that usually come with blenders. On the other hand, the E310 is slightly better for making single-serve smoothies.
The Vitamix Explorian E520 and the Vitamix 5300 perform very similarly. The Explorian is a bit louder, but it has a few automatic blending programs in addition to a speed dial. You may also prefer it because it comes with a pair of tumblers and straws that you can use to bring a smoothie to go, but they can't be used for blending.
The Vitamix Propel 750 is a little better than the Vitamix Explorian E520, mostly because it's much quieter. The Propel also has a few extra blending programs. However, the Explorian comes with a pair of tumblers with straws that you can transfer your drink into, but they aren't blending jars.
The Vitamix Explorian E520 is slightly better than the Breville The Q. The Vitamix is better built and has a speed dial that gives you more control over the blending speed. It's somewhat better for making nut butter. However, the Breville has the edge when it comes to ice-crushing. It's also much quieter when it's running and easier to clean by hand.
You may prefer either the Βlendtec Designer 725 or the Vitamix Explorian E520. The Βlendtec comes with a bigger 90-ounce main pitcher and a 24-ounce personal jar that you can use to blend single-serves. It's quieter and easier to clean by hand. However, the Vitamix blender makes a smoother blend with fibrous ingredients like kale and hard ingredients like nuts.
The Vitamix Explorian E520 is better for most purposes than the Blendtec Classic 575. The Vitamix is much sturdier and does a much better job of processing hard ingredients like nuts. On the other hand, the Blendtec is easier to clean by hand and has a bigger 90-ounce capacity.
The Vitamix Explorian E520 is a better blender than the Ninja Blender Duo with Auto-iQ BL642. The Vitamix is studier, offers more speed settings, and it's easier to clean by hand. It's better for processing fibrous ingredients like kale and making nut butter. It can also hot blend. On the other hand, the Ninja comes with personal jars that you can use to blend single-serve smoothies. It's a bit easier to use to crush ice, and it's quieter when it's running.
The Vitamix Explorian E520 is better than the NutriBullet Smart Touch Blender Combo. It has a better build quality and does a fantastic job of crushing ice and making nut butter. It offers a wider range of speed settings and it's easier to clean by hand. On the other hand, the NutriBullet is just as good at processing fibrous ingredients like kale and comes with a personal blending jar, meaning you may prefer it for single-serve smoothies.
Test Results
The Vitamix E520 is quite a big full-size blender. If you don't have a spacious cupboard, you likely need to store it on your counter. You can remove the jar for easier storage, though.
It has a fantastic build quality. Similar to other Vitamix models like the Vitamix Explorian E310 or the Vitamix 5200, it's made of plastic that feels sturdy, with metal transmission gears on the motor base and jar. The underside of the base has feet to help keep it from moving around on your counter. The power cord is long and thick, and there's a place to wrap it up when you're not using the blender. The two included tumblers also feel sturdy and well-made. Their lids screw on securely and have a mechanism that closes the hole for the straw when you're not using one.
It comes with a 64-ounce main jar, similar to other Vitamix blenders like the Vitamix 7500. There's also a pair of 22-ounce tumblers with straws, but you can't use them for blending. You can purchase additional jars from Vitamix, including a personal jar for blending (with an adapter). However, unlike 'Ascent' series blenders like the Vitamix A3500, it's not compatible with Vitamix's line of 'Self-Detect' containers. If you want a similar blender with a personal blending jar included, check out the Vitamix Venturist V1200.
The pitcher and lid are made of plastic and are dishwasher-safe. Unfortunately, Vitamix doesn't specify if the tumblers and straws can go in the dishwasher.
The blade assembly has four blades that aren't meant to be removed from the main jar. The jar and blades are dishwasher-safe, though.
The Vitamix E520 comes with a rubberized two-part lid. You can remove the lid's clear plastic centerpiece to add ingredients mid-blend and use it as a small measuring cup. The manual says it has measuring marks, but ours doesn't have any.
The power cable is long and thick, and there's a space to wrap it under the blender with tabs to hold it in place.
- Blender motor base
- 64-ounce jar
- Two-part lid with plastic cap
- 2x 22 oz tumblers
- 2x tumbler lids
- 2x stainless steel straws with rubber sheaths
- Manuals and recipe book
It's fantastic for processing small batches of fibrous ingredients. When working with small amounts, bits of food can splash up the sides of the jar, so you sometimes need to stop the blender and use a spatula to scrape the sides. Still, it's not too much work and produces a nearly perfectly smooth puree with ingredients like kale.
It does an outstanding job of processing fibrous ingredients at full capacity. If you're making a big batch of broccoli soup or kale smoothies for a crowd, it makes a nearly perfectly smooth, grain-free blend. It's an extremely easy process, since you can switch on the blender and let it run for a few minutes.
It's fantastic for crushing ice. If you use the dedicated switch to manually pulse, it turns ice cubes into snow-like crushed ice in seconds. There's also a 'Frozen Dessert' setting, but if you use it to try and crush ice cubes, the blender can't fully process them.
This blender makes superb nut butter. After ramping up from low to high speed, you need to use the tamper to push the ingredients towards the blades for the best results. You need to stop and use a spatula to scrape any ingredients stuck on the sides down towards the blades. Still, it doesn't take very long to make outstanding nut butter.
It's very loud and irritating to stand next to this blender for more than a minute or two. We've tested many quieter full-size blenders, like the KitchenAid K400 and the Vitamix 7500, though.
The speed dial gives you access to a wide range of blending speeds, so you can easily start at low speed and slowly ramp up or fine-tune the speed to suit your recipe.
This blender has a speed dial that allows you to make small adjustments to the speed. Unlike the Vitamix Explorian E310, you can also choose between three different automatic blending programs: 'Smoothie', 'Ηot Soup', and 'Frozen Dessert'. There's a switch for pulse mode to the left of the dial and a start/stop switch to the right. To start the blender, you also need to flip the ON/OFF switch located on the bottom left side of the motor base. The switch lights up in blue when in the 'ON' position and acts as a safety feature to help prevent the blender from being switched on accidentally.
It's easy to clean by hand. Running it for about a minute at top speed takes care of most residue. You still need to wipe the jar, blades, and lid with a sponge, especially the underside of the lid. Since the blades aren't removable, you may need a brush with a handle to clean them effectively.