The best blenders: personal mini blenders, jug blenders and stick blenders for making smoothies, soups and sauces

Blenders can be a godsend in the kitchen, particularly if you like to kick-start your day with a smoothie, or if soup is a staple in your household when the nights draw in. But the trick is to find a model that, on top of being efficient and thorough, suits the size and demands of your kitchen, and isn’t so loud as to draw complaints from the neighbours.

To help find the best blenders to buy online, we spoke to our friends at BBC Good Food, who told us what they look for when choosing the best blenders. We used their advice, which you can read their advice at the bottom of this page, to help us put together our list of the best blenders and help you whizz up a storm in your kitchen at home.

Happy blending!

The best blenders at-a-glance:

• Best mini-blender: Breville Blend Active Personal Blender & Smoothie Maker
• Best stick blender: Russell Hobbs Food Collection Hand Blender
• Best premium mini-blender: NUTRiBULLET 600 Series High Speed Blender
• Best budget jug blender: Philips Blender 3000 Series
• Best premium jug blender: Ninja 2-in-1 Blender with Auto-iQ
• Best affordable jug blender: Tefal Perfectmix blender
• Best portable blender: Mulli Portable Blender
• Best blender for ice: Morphy Richards 403010 Jug Blender with Ice Crusher Blades
• Best basic jug blender: Russell Hobbs Desire blender
• Best premium blender set: Dualit Hand Blender Set

The best blenders:

Best budget mini-blender: Breville Blend Active Personal Blender & Smoothie Maker

Ideal for making individual drinks

This simple-to-use and easy-to-clean mini-blender features a one-button operation, making it perfect for making smoothies to drink on the go.

This mini-blender has a very small footprint and features storage for the power cable within its base, making it ideal for small kitchens. While this smoothie-maker doesn’t have a wealth of features, the selection of drinks bottles, with their brightly-coloured sports lids, are a family-friendly selling point.

Best stick blender: Russell Hobbs Food Collection Hand Blender

Perfect for making soups

This stick blender features two speed settings, making it ideal for using on different foods, while its detachable plastic blending leg makes it super easy to clean.

If you’re not bothered by all the bells and whistles of more advanced blenders and are looking for a basic stick blender to help you make soups or sauces on the stove, this straightforward and reliable Russell Hobbs hand blender is ideal.

Best premium mini-blender: NUTRiBULLET 600 Series High Speed Blender

Features a powerful 600W motor

This high-speed mini-blender is ideal for creating smoothies and small batches of sauce with total ease.

The NUTRiBULLET’s blades break down whole vegetables, fruits and nuts for maximum nutrition extraction in less than a minute, making it perfect for drinks and sauces. The full 8-piece set includes the high torque power base, powerful extractor blade, 680ml tall cup, 511ml short cup, handled comfort lip ring, stay-fresh lid, and of course, the all-important user manual.

Best budget jug blender: Philips Blender 3000 Series

A great versatile choice

This Philips blender is ideal for creating a variety of smoothies, dips, and soups. It features a Philips ProBlend technology that promises to blend even the toughest ingredients in less than a minute.

The Philips Blender 3000 Series comes with a large 1.5L jug, perfect for making smoothies, and a smaller 0.5L jug, ideal for single servings or small dips. The blender also has multiple speed settings, as well as a pulse function, that allows you to easily create your desired consistency. It also has easy-to-clean, dishwasher-safe parts for easy cleaning.

Best premium jug blender: Ninja 2-in-1 Blender with Auto-iQ

Powerful and versatile

This innovative blender features Ninja’s Auto-iQ technology, which provides timed pulsing, blending, and pausing patterns to create delicious and nutritious drinks and meals with minimal effort.

The blender comes with a 72 oz blender pitcher and an 8-cup food processor bowl. With the touch of a button, you can easily switch between the blender pitcher and the food processor bowl, making it easy to create a variety of different dishes. The blender also has easy-to-clean, dishwasher-safe parts.

Best affordable jug blender: Tefal Perfectmix blender

Don't break the bank

This Tefal blender features unique PerfectMix technology and 6 stainless steel blades that are specially designed to work together to ensure a perfect blend.

If you’re looking for a straightforward blender, the Tefal’s easy-to-use interface with a digital display, multiple speed settings, and a pulse function makes it easy to create your desired consistency, is ideal. The blender also has easy-to-clean, dishwasher-safe parts – ideal for busy households.

Best portable blender: Mulli Portable Blender

Ideal for those on-the-go

This portable, one-button blender features a built-in rechargeable battery that can be charged via USB and can be used for up to 20 times on a single charge.

The blender comes with a BPA-free travel cup that has a capacity of 380ml and a leak-proof lid that is easy to close and open, and it also has a safety design that prevents the blender from working when the cup isn't properly assembled.

Best blender for ice: Morphy Richards 403010 Jug Blender with Ice Crusher Blades

Ideal for frozen drinks

This Morphy Richards blender comes with ice crusher blades that are specially designed to crush ice quickly and easily, perfect for making frozen drinks like smoothies and cocktails.

With multiple speed settings, as well as a pulse function, this blender allows you to easily create your desired consistency, no matter the ingredients you use. It features a non-slip base that provides extra stability during use, while its safety locking mechanism prevents the blender from operating if the jug isn't properly assembled. Its jug is also made of durable glass that is dishwasher-safe and easy to clean.

Best basic jug blender: Russell Hobbs Desire blender

Covers all the essentials

This blender features two speed settings, a pulse mode, a generous 1.5L glass jug and a powerful 650W motor, which can easily blend ingredients to create smooth soups and smoothies.

If you’re looking for a basic blender that covers all the essentials, this Russell Hobbs model ticks all the boxes. Its two speed settings are great for making thick and chunky dips or smooth and silky soups, while its removable filler cap is designed to make blending even easier, letting you continuously add ingredients into the blender without any of the contents escaping.

Best premium blender set: Dualit Hand Blender Set

Great range of attachments

The Dualit Hand Blender Set features a powerful 800W blender, durable stainless steel blades and a one-litre measuring jug, as well as mixing bowl and whisk attachments for extra versatility.

This set gives you all the equipment you need to puree, chop and whisk ingredients to create a variety of healthy and nutritious meals. The hand blender has a comfortable and easy-grip handle, and it's lightweight, making it easy to manoeuvre. Its included mixing bowl attachment is made of durable and heat-resistant Tritan plastic and has a capacity of 500ml, making it perfect for creating soups, while the whisk attachment is ideal for whipping eggs, cream, and other ingredients for baking. Both attachments are BPA-free and dishwasher-safe for easy cleaning.

How to choose the best blender

To get the full low-down on blenders, we spoke to our friends at BBC Good Food, who told us exactly what a blender is, what it can be used for, and most importantly, what you need to look for when buying a blender.

What is a blender?

Stand blenders come in all different shapes and sizes with a range of specifications and price points, so it's best to evaluate the overall demands of your lifestyle and kitchen, and also the space you have available. Some of the more advanced machines tend to be bulkier and heavier, with larger jugs and stands.

Things to look for in a blender

• Pulse function
• Variety of speed settings
• BPA-free plastic or glass jug
• Measurement notches on the jug
• Self-clean function
• Auto shut-off in case of overheating
• Plunger
• Pouring spout
• Individual smoothie cup with a sealed lid

What can you use a blender for?

It's worth identifying whether you need a straightforward blender, purely for the sake of blending smoothies and soups, or whether you'd like additional functions such as ice crushing, the ability to blend hot ingredients, or the power to pulse ingredients such as nuts and seeds.

Finally, if you're short on time, and looking to save on the washing-up, it may be worth looking for a device that comes with its own to-go cup which you can blend smoothies directly into – you can find these at different price points, depending on your budget.

If you want to read more expert-recommended round-ups and product guides, check out our Household page, where you’ll find more home recommendations, including the best air fryers, the best clothes airers, and the best energy efficient heaters.