What is the best blender for smoothies and crushing ice

64 ounces | Automatic | 8.5 by 8.5 by 17.25 inches

Like I said before, Vitamix has a lot of blender options. On the lowest end, there’s the Vitamix One for $250 — a no-frills but still-powerful option if you don’t need or want a bunch of settings, buttons, and attachments. On the highest end, there’s this model. Despite the name, it is beloved by professionals and regular cooks alike. It’s expensive, yes, but according to everyone who owns one, well worth the investment. It comes with five presets for smoothies, soups, frozen desserts, purées, and a self-cleaning option (you just drop a bit of soap in, whir the motor, and rinse). And unlike the One, it can easily handle tougher ingredients like nuts and grains (which means it’s also extra-efficient at crushing ice). Plus, as with all Vitamix blenders, it comes with a great warranty — something noted by Green Kitchen Stories co-founder David Frenkiel and recipe developer Sophia Roe. “If any piece of it gets run down or stops functioning properly, they take care of it,” Frenkiel says. Finally, it’s got a lower profile than many, able to sit underneath most regular kitchen cabinets.

“This blender is industry-standard and used across most professional kitchens. When I was head of product at Daily Harvest, I used it every day for research and development,” says Jessica Young, former fine-dining chef and current founder and CEO of Bubble. Moon Juice founder Amanda Chantal Bacon also employs the Vitamix at her shops but has one at home, as well. “I love using it because of its ability to whip air into ice cream or tonics or even coconut milk — it gives the fluffiest mouthfeel that no other blender can replicate,” she says. Gaby Dalkin, cookbook author and blogger at What’s Gaby Cooking likes that “it has a smoothie setting, so you can throw all your ingredients in, turn it on, and walk away.” Nutritionist and wellness coach Molly Alliman told us she uses hers “every single day” and that “it works for blending frozen fruits, heartier vegetables like kale, whole nuts, and anything else that would leave chunks in other blenders.” Finally, Jewish Food Society founder Naama Shefi turns to her 750 for pasta sauces, among other things. “It’s a great way to sneak in protein like almonds for my kid because it blends right in,” she says.

36 ounces | Automatic | 8 by 7 by 15 inches

The Blendtec Classic comes enthusiastically endorsed by Christine Sahadi, owner of New York City’s Middle Eastern market and restaurant, Sahadi’s. She told me about it for this story a while back, noting in our interview that both Blendtec and Vitamix make very good quality units. “I just personally like the Blendtec,” she says. She has owned hers for more than a decade and finds that its super-powerful blades, which operate at five preset speeds, emulsify sauces, dressings, and aioli handily. It also, perhaps most importantly for Sahadi, makes the perfect hummus. “If you don’t have a really good blender, you have to add a lot of ice water or cooking liquid to help smooth things out,” she explains. “By the time you get there, the hummus has become too drippy.” The Blendtec, it’s important to note, has just a bit more than half the capacity of the Vitamix 750, so you won’t be able batches that are quite as big.

68 ounces | Automatic | 17 by 13 by 9 inches

If you want a high-speed blender on the larger side — and one that’s less expensive than both the Vitamix 750 and the Blendtec — Strategist writer Kat Gillespie recommends this Hurom. She notes the plastic container’s sturdiness and says the base “has a nice weight to it,” though she warns that the appliance is definitely “pretty hefty and takes up space.” The machine has both automatic controls (for smoothies, ice crushing, and soup) and manual ones; Gillespie uses hers mostly for smoothies. “It makes the perfect consistency — very smooth, no lumps, even if you don’t measure out a good ratio of liquids to solids — and is very convenient as you go about your morning and do other things,” she says, referring to the automatic button you can simply press and walk away from.

48 ounces | Manual | 11 by 8 by 18 inches

A more affordable Vitamix model is this Explorian Series E310. If you don’t care about the automatic settings on the 750 or the smaller container size of this one, Ksenia Avdulova, founder of Breakfast Criminals, thinks it’s a sure bet, even with daily use. “I personally prefer the manual-switch experience versus touchscreen,” she says. Chef Seamus Mullen — who has been using Vitamix blenders for 25 years — is also a fan, noting that even the smaller models have “a powerful motor.”

24 ounces | Manual | 5 by 5 by 14 inches

If you’re looking for something distinctly more affordable, or that will take up less counter or cabinet space, several experts raved about the NutriBullet. The machine comes with two cup sizes: 24 and 18 ounces. Both work for single-portion smoothies, of course (which, conveniently, you can detach from the bottom of the unit and take to go), as well as dressings and smaller-volume sauces. Bacon is a fan, calling it “the mightiest little blender.” Caitlin Sullivan, co-founder of Los Angeles restaurant Honey Hi agrees, saying “it’s affordable, so compact, and easy to clean — but it still has great blending ability.”

72 ounces | Manual | 18 by 12 by 13 inches

On the opposite end of the spectrum, the Ninja is very big — not to mention the cheapest full-size option on this list. With 1,000 watts of power, it’s particularly great for juice- and smoothie-making, with an extra-large 72-ounce plastic pitcher and blades that easily crush ice and liquefy frozen fruits and vegetables. New York deputy editor Alexis Swerdloff has one and loves it. “This thing is powerful,” she says. “It’s super-easy to use and to clean.”

64 ounces | Manual | 20.5 by 8.75 by 7.25 inches

The First Mess’s Laura Wright swears that the Vitamix 5200 model makes the best smoothies. And she should know — not only does the writer and recipe developer make the drink every single day, but she’s tried a good handful of other machines before (Vitamixes and non-Vitamixes alike) for that job specifically. “They always come out thinner, or with foam or bubbles,” she says. “It’s almost like the blades are too powerful on some of the newer Vitamixes.” Her 5200, on the other hand, creates the optimal thick-and-creamy texture — and has done so even after a decade of use.

25 ounces | Manual | 4.92 by 4.92 by 15.75 inches

Strategist associate editor Louis Cheslaw was sent the Beast Blender last spring and has been turning out protein shakes consistently ever since. “Unlike the Ninja blender I was using before, it’s quiet enough that I feel comfortable using it at all hours of the day,” he says. “And even then, it’s so powerful that I rarely have it going for more than ten seconds. And while this is slightly less critical, it’s also incredibly pleasant in your hands — from the stately fluting on the portable, rinsable glass vessels to the magnetic lock when you connect it to the engine.” (For what it’s worth, Halle Berry is also a big fan.)

61 ounces | Automatic | 7.6 by 7.6 by 16.7 inches

Zwilling’s full-size blender is one of the sleekest-looking on the market. For a generally bulky product, it has clean lines and a satisfyingly geometric shape, with a chic fluted design on the jar. It’s not all in the appearance, though: In the several months I’ve been using it, it’s also performed beautifully. The pre-programmed settings are nice to have (recently, I’ve been making use of the frozen-cocktail one, and I am also a fan of the wash button). But you can also manually control the blades with a turn of the dial and a push of the button — this feature lets me keep an eye on consistency so my emulsified dips get to the exact texture I want.

Various capacities | Manual | 3 by 4.5 by 15.3 inches

Although the functionality of an immersion blender is different, “for me, this is the best one — and the best blender in general,” says Richard Rea, the executive chef at the Butcher’s Daughter, who has been using one at home and one in his professional kitchen for several years. “Quite frankly, whenever people ask me what blender to use, I always push them towards this.” His reasoning is that it takes up much less space and is usually much less expensive while still doing everything you need. Indeed, Rea uses his for creamy soups, cashew ricotta, hummus, and all types of salsa. “It’s very strong,” he says of its powerful motor and sharp blades. “It breaks through nuts, and even some big, bulky blenders don’t do that.”