Vitamix vs. Ninja: Our Editors Reviewed Three Popular Blender Models to Find the Best

*Note: These scores reflect the average scores for both Vitamix blenders.

• Value: 18/20
• Ease of Use: 19/20
• Aesthetics: 17/20
• Versatility: 19/20
• Noise Level: 18/20

TOTAL: 91/100

Ascent 3500

Davison found it a total breeze to make frozen drinks in this Vitamix model, which she has been using for more than seven years. “Margaritas in less than 30 seconds—honestly,” she explains. “Since I was pulverizing the ice into slush, there was no need to scrape down the sides. Just dump everything in, switch to a medium-high setting (like a 6 out of 10) and in less than 20 seconds, the drink is ready. This machine is a beast.”

Crushing ice is simple too. “If you don’t start on a low speed, you’ll have shaved ice in ten seconds flat. I needed to pause after five seconds and mix it up a bit, just because some cubes were turning into snowflakes while some remained chunky. But it did the job with hardly any effort.”

Purées are a breeze as well. “I steamed berries, per Vitamix’s recommendation, then put them in the blender on high speed. Within seconds, the purée was ready. No scraping necessary or stops midway; it just pulverized the softened berries, making an easy baby food for my son.”

As for hot soups, they’re a cinch too. “I made a copycat Panera broccoli cheddar soup. Since you sauté the veggies first, everything blends pretty easily. The actual blending takes less than two minutes, and there’s minimal cleanup.”

Nut butter seemed to be the most challenging task for the Ascent. “It’s definitely powerful enough to make nut butter; there’s even a button that allows you to whip it up in one minute, but you need at least three cups of nuts and some oil to create a creamy consistency. I tried halving the recipe to make snickerdoodle almond butter, but I had to scrape down the sides three times and run it continually to get a decently smooth result. The nuts got stuck under the blades, so I had to use a spoon to scrape them out, and it was definitely the messiest to clean.”

5200 Standard

Dellner had the most success with liquid-based blends. “I made a frozen berry smoothie,” she explains. “It made a puree in no time at all (maybe 10 seconds), so I quickly realized I needed more liquid and added some more milk. After that, it made a smooth drink in another 10 seconds. My kids don’t like clumps, so a smooth consistency is key. I didn’t have to scrape the sides or use the tamper. Sometimes I’ll add more interesting ingredients, like flaxseeds, chia seeds and spinach, and then some scraping is necessary, but very minimal.”

She also uses her blender to make baby food, purées and soups in mere seconds. However, she stresses that adding liquid as you go to achieve your desired texture and loosen the ingredients for the blades is key.

As for crushing ice, this Vitamix model was less successful than the Ascent. “I added the ice, turned on the blender and had what looked like snow!” Dellner explains. “I figured I must’ve taken my eyes off the blender, so I repeated the test and this time kept a close eye on it, turning it off after about 5 seconds or so, and the same thing happened. I had still chunks of ice up top and powder below.”

The same goes for making nut butter. “I’m allergic to nut,s so I made pumpkin seed butter instead, adding canola oil, maple syrup and vanilla extract. I had to constantly stop to scrape down the sides (like, every 10 seconds) and still no luck. I read a recipe online that said I should be able to make pumpkin butter without any add-ons, but even with additional ingredients, it was not a success. I gave up after 20 minutes and you can see from the pictures that it’s not so much a butter as it is a grainy paste.”

• Value: 18/20
• Ease of Use: 19/20
• Aesthetics: 20/20
• Versatility: 19/20
• Noise Level: 16/20

TOTAL: 92/100

This powerhouse boasts BlendSense Technology, which automatically adjusts the blend speed and time for impeccably smooth results that require minimal guesswork. When used with the single-serve cup, the blender also alerts you when more liquid is needed, and single-touch presets make it a breeze to use. That said, you’ll still need to mind the blend as it’s happening: “For some of the recipes I made, I stopped the BlendSense a bit early as to not overmix the contents,” explains Curtis. “It does a great job, but you have to keep an eye on it to get the consistency you’re looking for.”

Simple tasks like smoothies and cocktails are painless to prepare. “It was incredibly easy to make a frozen drink,” they add. “I decided on frozen strawberry daiquiris, and it took about 45 seconds to blend everything together. The crushed ice took about 60 seconds to turn powdery—no scraping or tampering to get the job done.” Pureeing was similarly easy and low lift.

Even nut butter was relatively simple to pull off. “I figured it might be a challenge, given how the blender needed to grind the nuts finely enough for it to smoothen. Because almonds are naturally oily, I didn’t need to add any additional oil. But I did have to scrape down the sides a couple of times and blend in intervals, just in case the blender got too hot, but the BlendSense feature kicked in and I was able to make the nut butter in about 6 minutes and 45 seconds.”