6 Best Blenders of 2026, Lab-Tested and Reviewed
The best of these full-sized blenders can churn vegetables into soup, fresh fruit into silky smoothies, and ice cubes into snow
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If you’re looking for a kitchen appliance to help you make smoothies, frozen drinks, salsas, smooth soups, homemade nut butters, and more, a blender is the best tool for the job. Consumer Reports has rated 23 full-sized blenders priced from $30 to $600 to help you choose the best one for you.
Keep in mind that the features and accessories these blenders offer—including the number of speeds and any additional jars—vary. CR members can access all of these details in our blender ratings.
“Take note of the number or type of speed-control settings that allow you to customize the blending process for different ingredients,” says Elias Arias, the CR engineer who manages blender testing. Three settings are sufficient for most tasks—low speed to move and chop ingredients, medium to blend and emulsify, and high to pulverize and aerate—but models with more options allow you to fine-tune your results, he says.
And while wattage matters, a higher wattage doesn’t always equate to more powerful performance. The blender’s construction also comes into play; some models use those watts more efficiently than others.
Below, we list the top-performing blenders in our tests. For general guidance as you shop, consult our blender buying guide. If you’re looking for a personal blender or an immersion blender, we’ve also got lists of the best blenders in those categories, or check out the models we found are great for making smoothies or baby food.
How Consumer Reports Tests Blenders
Our lab tests evaluate how well a blender makes smoothies, purées, and crushes ice. A blender that scores well for smoothies produces the most evenly blended drinks with few, if any, chunks, bits of fruit skin, or stringy fibers. In our purée tests, we assess how evenly each blender model purées cooked ingredients in hot water for soup. In our ice-crush tests, we process ice cubes, and the best models produce ice with the texture of freshly fallen snow.
We also evaluate convenience, including how easy the blender is to set up and clean, how simple its controls are to use, and whether it has enough stability to operate without being held in place.
We also measure noise using a noise meter. Blenders are some of the noisiest kitchen appliances, though they’re operated in such short bursts that you may not mind. Based on decibel measurements, a top noise score would be at a volume similar to background music or a normal conversation (though none of the models we’ve tested received such a high score), while a blender with a mediocre noise score (which includes most of them) would be the volume of a shouted conversation or a motorcycle revving.
In determining an Overall Score, we factor in the results of CR member surveys for product reliability and satisfaction. To determine a reliability score, we calculate the odds that an appliance will experience a problem within the first four years of ownership. We give brands a satisfaction score based on how likely CR members are to recommend the model they own to friends and family. Based on our tests and surveys, you don’t need to pay hundreds of dollars to get a top-performing and reliable blender.
Pricier blenders may come with fancy features, including wireless connectivity, stainless steel finishes, preset programs, and touchscreen interfaces, but we find those ultimately have little to do with performance.
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