The 10 Best Blenders of 2026, Ranked

For daily smoothies, a personal blender with 700W or more is the easiest route: you blend and drink from the same cup, and it takes a minute to rinse. A jug blender is better if you make two or more servings at once. Frozen fruit and ice need more power than soft fruit and milk.

Under 500W suits soft fruit, milk and sauces. 600 to 900W handles ice and frozen fruit in small batches. 1000W and above deals with nuts, root vegetables and fibrous greens, and premium motors go further. Watts are only a guide: blade design and jug shape change the result.

Plastic is light and cheap, but it scratches and can hold odours or stain with turmeric and berries. Glass is sturdy and does not stain, but it is heavy and can crack if it is knocked. Tritan, used on many premium jugs, is a tough plastic that resists cracking and clouding better than basic plastic.

Most 600W and above models can crush ice, though some do it better than others. Add liquid first, then soft fruit, then ice, and use pulse in short bursts. Cheap 350W and 450W blenders are best kept for soft ingredients, and the bottle types are not made for heavy ice.

Pick a personal blender if you make one drink at a time, have little worktop space or want to carry the cup. Pick a jug blender for family batches, soups and sauces, since the jug is bigger and often has more speeds. Portable bottle blenders suit the gym or office, with less power than a larger jug model.

On most of the models here the jug or cup, lid and blades go in the dishwasher, but the motor base never does. For a quick clean, fill the jug a third with warm water and a drop of washing-up liquid and run it for 30 seconds. In hard water areas, rinse promptly so scale does not build up around the blade seal.