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Vitamix VS Blendtec - Blender Comparison

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Vitamix VS Blendtec - Blender Comparison

Article By  Chef Austin 

Vitamix and Blendtec are two of the best-known companies when it comes to high-power blenders. Vitamix believes that blending is a great way to happier & healthier living, and their blenders are known for the ability to make steaming hot soup in under 10 minutes. Blendtec considers itself to be the world’s most advanced blender and is constantly designing and engineering the next generation of kitchen technology. So which is the best? Here at Everything Kitchens, we put Vitamix & Blendtec blenders head-to-head to see who comes out on top when it comes to blending popular everyday recipes.

Shop the Vitamix & Blendtec links throughout this review to learn about their blenders and help you decide which brand is right for you! If you have more questions, you can chat with our customer service heroes online by pressing the chat icon at the bottom right of our website or give us a call at 866-852-4268.

Is a Vitamix or Blendtec blender worth it?

Why are Blendtec and Vitamix blenders so expensive? Why shouldn't I get a $50 blender? What makes Blendtec or Vitamix better than Ninja? There are many reasons why you'd want to invest in a high-powered blender like Vitamix or Blendtec:

• Quality Built — Both Vitamix and Blendtec blenders are designed with restaurant-grade, heavy-duty parts. The motors in each of these blenders are larger than the ones found in a big-box store blender. Cheaper blenders like Ninja are made with plastic gears and cheaper plastic jars that can break down much more quickly over time, eventually leading you to have to buy another blender. You can check out our Vitamix VS Ninja Comparison to see how much better a high-powered blender performs!
• Multi-Year Warranties — Vitamix comes standard with a 10-year warranty, yet Blendtec has an 8-year warranty for their Designer Series and a 10-year warranty for their Pro 800 series. Both brands stand behind their products because they know they are built to last. Cheaper blenders typically offer a 1-year warranty
• Restaurant Results — Ever wonder why your Starbucks blended drinks taste so good or how your favorite smoothie shop is able to get their drinks so smooth? Chances are they’re using a Vitamix or Blendtec blender behind the counter. Cheap blenders will leave chunks and unblended ingredients behind which can ruin your smoothie experience. Only with a high-power blender can you achieve restaurant-quality results at home!
• Accessorize Your Blender — Both Vitamix and Blendtec have many different blending jars and accessories that can expand the functionality of your blender. See their accessories below!
• Made in USA — Both Blendtec and Vitamix blenders are made right here in the USA, supporting American workers and manufacturers. 

Who has better accessories: Vitamix or Blendtec?

There is a slew of different blender jars and accessories for both Blendtec and Vitamix blenders. Here are the most popular blender accessories and which blender has them:

• To-Go Smoothie Jars — Both Blendtec and Vitamix have a single-serving blender jar specifically made for on-the-go blending. No need to pour a smoothie out into a separate container, the Vitamix Blending Cup or the Blendtec Travel Bottle makes the morning smoothie mess-free and ready to take on the go!
• All Metal Container — Only Vitamix at this time offers a fully stainless steel blender jar. The metal jar is perfect for blending hot soups right off the stove. The Vitamix Stainless Steel Container is durable, odor-resistant, & non-reactive
• Food Processor — Turn your blender into another appliance with the Vitamix 12-Cup Food Processor Attachment. Get perfect chops, slices, and shreds of veggies and cheese using the power of your Vitamix blender motor base. Save space in the kitchen by turning one appliance into two! This food processor is only available for Vitamix.
• Twister Jar — The Twister Jar, exclusive to Blendtec, is specifically designed for notoriously difficult foods to blend like nut butter, hummus, pesto, bread dough, and smaller serving sizes.  The lid is designed with scrapers that you can twist while blending to scrape and push thick products off the walls and back into the blender for smooth, even results.
• Frothing Jar — Both Blendtec and Vitamix have a blender jar with a special round blade for certain culinary creations like delicate sauces such as hollandaise, muddled cocktails, and best of all, cold milk foam. Check out the Vitamix Aer or the Blendtec Frothing Jar for more info.

The Test Subjects

Build Quality

Blendtec 675 comes with its patented Wildside Jar. The Wildside Jar is so named for its unique fifth side which creates a high-powered vortex in the center of the jar that pulls the food down into the blades for a smoother consistency. Blendtec’s blades feature thick, blunt edges with wingtips which are designed to eliminate any tampering while blending. Blendtec's jars are incredibly durable and can even withstand a two-story drop without so much as a crack. 

The Vitamix Ascent Series blending jars have an updated design that makes them more efficient and user-friendly. The most notable feature is the new Self-Detect wireless technology integrated into each Ascent jar. This allows the blender base to communicate with the jar to recognize the size and adjust the power level and maximum blend time to avoid damaging the jar. The 64oz low-profile jar is extremely durable and will stand up to potential drops and falls over its lifetime.

Vitamix features blunt 4-pronged blades that are slightly tapered with pointed tips. Vitamix blenders use a tamper tool to push thicker blends back down into the blades while blending.

Vitamix and Blendtec both feature thick, blunt blades. Blendtec has designed their blades and jar to eliminate the use for a tamper.

The Ascent A2300 features Vitamix’s classic variable speed dial so you can control your blends to your preference. The A2300 also includes three presets for hot soup, frozen desserts, and smoothies. When a preset is selected, the new LCD timer counts down to display how long until your blend will be done. The toggle switches for the start/stop and pulse functions feel sturdy and satisfying to press.

The Designer 675 from Blendtec sports a sleek, futuristic, intuitive touchscreen interface. Easily press one of its five preprogrammed cycles and walk away while it blends. There is a dedicated pulse button and manual speed touch slider for blending at any speed you desire. The numeric LCD shows how long you’ve been blending and the time remaining on preprogrammed blends.  

Vitamix has their classic control dial and physical switches and new LCD counter. Blendtec sports a futuristic all-touch screen interface with 4 timed presets.

Both Vitamix and Blendtec also use metal for their drive socket and blade assembly. Metal parts are high quality and are designed to last for years. 

Both Vitamix and Blendtec use metal for their drive socket and blade assembly. Metal parts are high quality and are designed to last for years. 

Blendtec takes the lead with a 3.0 peak HP motor in their Designer 675 when it comes to raw power compared to Vitamix’s 2.2 HP motor. It’s worth noting that Blendtec offers an even more powerful 3.8 peak HP motor in their higher-end models. That's enough power to blend a garden rake!

We tested the major functions of each blender using simple recipes that you can make at home with ingredients you might just have readily available. For each round, we used identical recipes and blended them for identical times unless otherwise noted. For a fair comparison, we chose Vitamix and Blendtec blenders with similar specs: the Vitamix Ascent Series A2500 versus the Blendtec Designer 675.

Hummus, everybody's favorite Mediterranean dip, is made from chickpeas & olive oil and can be flavored with just about anything. We had an abundance of onions in the test kitchen, so we decided to do some caramelized onion-infused hummus. A good hummus should be thick and spreadable with no chunks or bits of food in it. For this test, we looked at how well each blender incorporated the ingredients to test the effectiveness of the blades and the engineering of the jar.

Recipe: Caramelized Onion Hummus

Blend time: 1 Minute

Vitamix

We loaded the Vitamix with two cans of chickpeas, some water, lemon juice, and our caramelized onions. It took about one minute for the Vitamix to completely puree our hummus from start to finish. The olive oil was completely emulsified with the liquid with no signs of pooling oil on top. The hummus had a great airy, creamy texture with no signs of unblended ingredients. The final product was as spreadable as mayonnaise and tasted every bit as good as hummus you'd get at a restaurant.

Blendtec

We put Blendtec through the same test: all ingredients were blended on high speed for one minute. Like the Vitamix, the Blendtec completely emulsified the olive oil into the other ingredients and made a light and creamy hummus. Blendtec's hummus had a slightly less smooth consistency and was less airy compared to Vitamix's hummus, but both blenders made excellent hummus.

Both Vitamix and Blendtec made delicious hummus; smooth, fluffy, and creamy.

Winner: Vitamix - Emulsification Expert

Oil and water do not mix, but you can emulsify them. For oil and water to combine into one, oil particles have to be small enough to surround water particles to create a homogeneous mixture. Both the Vitamix and the Blendtec can achieve full emulsification, but Vitamix had better consistency and was slightly more airy and smooth compared to Blendtec's hummus.  

Powdered Sugar Test

To test the effectiveness of the blades, we put sugar into each blender to see how well it turned granulated sugar into powdered sugar. We looked for a consistently fine, fluffy powder with no sugar crystals left unblended.

Recipe: Powdered Sugar

Blend time: 30 seconds

Vitamix

We added 1.5 cups of sugar in the Vitamix and cranked it up to the highest speed for 30 seconds. That's all it took to create perfect powdered sugar. We sifted through and did not find any full sugar crystals left over, resulting in a nice, white, sugary dust, as powdered sugar should be.

Blendtec

After 30 seconds at the highest speed in our Blendtec, we also ended up with a pile of snow-like powdered sugar. We sifted through and could not find any full sugar crystals. Blendtec makes a great mill for turning granular sugar into powdered sugar.

Snow-like powdered sugar falls through the sifter, dusting our test slate. Both blenders are excellent at milling.

Winner: Vitamix & Blendtec - Masters of Milling

Both blenders excelled at breaking down full-size sugar crystals into powdered sugar. Both Vitamix's and Blendtec's blade designs incorporate thick, blunt blades. These blades spin so fast that they actually crush ingredients because there is more surface area for those tiny sugar particles to hit. This, along with the food-grabbing vortex, ensures all of the food you put into your blender gets pulverized. This also makes Vitamix and Blendtec great for milling whole grains for flour.

Hot Soup

Vitamix is famous for making hot soup without ever needing to turn on your stove. As a testament to their claim, my vintage Vitamix from 1992 still churns out hot soup! How this occurs is brilliant in its simplicity: Those super fast blades create so much friction that food heats up while it's blending. Blendtec also advertises the ability to create hot soup sans stove. So who makes the better hot soup?

Recipe: Cheddar Broccoli Soup

Blend Time: 5 minutes 45 seconds

Vitamix

We filled our blender jar full of cheddar broccoli soup ingredients then pressed the Hot Soup preset and let the blender run its course. In a mere 5 minutes and 45 seconds, we had perfectly pureed cheddar broccoli soup clocking in at 162°F degrees. It was literally steaming. Vitamix delivers on its claim of making hot soup.

Blendtec

We used the same recipe and Blendtec’s Hot Soup preset button. We stepped away and 3 minutes later, we had soup at about 135°F. While the soup was steaming and technically hot, it was not as hot as we prefer the serving temperature to be. If you were to put this soup into a cold bowl, the soup would cool down quickly. Given that Blendtec's Hot Soup preset only blended for half the time as the Vitamix, we ran the preset once more and came back to a much hotter 170°F soup—similar to the Vitamix's results. 

Friction from the blades in a tight space creates enough heat to make a hot soup.

Winner: Vitamix - Hot Soup, No Stove Required

Although the Blendtec created a hotter soup in the same amount of time as the Vitamix, we're declaring Vitamix the winner because its Hot Soup preset gave better results the first time around for an easier user experience. Both Blendtec and Vitamix passed with flying colors on making hot soup, you just have to do a little more work with the Blendtec.

Ice Cream Test

At Everything Kitchens, we all love ice cream, so we were especially excited about this test! For this test, we looked at how well each blender crushed ice and how well the liquid ingredients froze around the ice particles, as these qualities are what create a well-blended ice cream. The smaller the ice crystals and the faster they've moved around, the more frozen and creamy the ice cream will be.

Recipe: Chocolate Ice Cream

Blending Time: 1 Minute

Vitamix

Vitamix has a dedicated Frozen Dessert preset function for ice cream. We added four cups of ice along with milk, cream, vanilla extract, and cocoa powder to the Vitamix and started blending. The ice was quickly crushed and began to freeze to the jar sides, so we used the tamper to push everything back down into the blades. After only one minute, we had thick soft-serve chocolate ice cream. The ice cream had very small ice crystals for a smooth consistency that held its shape nicely.

Blendtec

Blendtec's Frozen Dessert function works similarly to Vitamix's. Both begin blending at a slow speed which increases the power to crush the ice. At first, Blendtec was doing great, but after only 20 - 30 seconds, the ice cream began to freeze to the sides of the jar and would no longer blend. We had to stop and push the frozen ice cream back into the blades to continue blending. After blending, the ice cream came out almost perfectly. The ice crystals were small, but some chunks of ice were still there. All in all, Blendtec made a tasty chocolate ice cream and passed the test.

Both blenders made ice cream in their own way. It's interesting to see the texture difference caused by the blade design.

Winner: Vitamix - Ice Cream Anytime

Vitamix is the big ice cream winner. With the use of the tamper, Vitamix made a better consistency without having to start and stop. Blendtec advertises that their blender is tamper-free which makes blending and storing the blender a lot easier, but in this particular application, a tamper would have been beneficial. For very thick blends, the tamper helps move food back down into the blender blades, and that's what helped Vitamix win this test.

Bread Dough Test

Both Vitamix & Blendtec advertise that their blenders can mix & knead bread dough right in the blender jar, so we put them to the test.

Recipe: White Yeast Bread

Vitamix

As expected, Vitamix did a great job at mixing dough. All of the flour was thoroughly incorporated, and there was a good amount of gluten development.

Blendtec

Blendtec also did a good job mixing bread dough. Like Vitamix, all the dough was well kneaded and created a nice, stretchy bread dough as shown below.

You can see the excellent stretchy gluten development in both doughs. This dough is on its way to becoming fresh-baked bread!

Winner: Vitamix & Blendtec - Kneads Your Dough

Both blenders did an excellent job making dough right in the blender jar without having to knead anything by hand. There were no big differences in the quality of the doughs produced in this test. We recommend both Vitamix and Blendtec for making your favorite bread dough recipes.

Smoothie Test

Smoothies are one of the most popular things people make with a blender. If you're a smoothie-lover, you'll want a blender that makes smoothies with a smooth consistency with no chunks or strings. For this test, we compared how smooth and velvety each unit blended the ingredients.

Recipe: Green Smoothie

(1 Apple, 1 carrot, 3 brussel sprouts, 1 oz of kale, 8 oz water, one frozen banana

Blending Time: 1 Minute

Vitamix

Our Vitamix Ascent A2500 had a dedicated smoothie button that ran for 60 seconds. No tamper was needed for the smoothie while blending and the vortex effect thoroughly blended all the ingredients to a smooth consistency. As you can see in the below photo, there are no distinguishable bits of carrot, apple, or kale. It's all one nice, consistent green color. This made for a smooth mouthfeel. The pulp was very fine and not grainy.

Blendtec

We used Blendtec's dedicated Smoothie button and in 60 seconds, we had a nutrient-dense green smoothie ready for drinking. The Wildside jar pulled down all of the hearty ingredients and pulverized everything. There were more tiny air bubbles in Blendtec's smoothie, but that's really the only difference we noticed.

Close-up of each green smoothie. Completely pulverized green ingredients from both blenders. Blendtec had some tiny air bubbles in its smoothie. Both make a silky smooth drinkable meal.

Winner: Vitamix & Blendtec - Professional Quality Smoothness

As far as smoothies go, both Blendtec and Vitamix deliver excellent results. I’m not the biggest green smoothie fan (I mostly drink them for the nutrition and not so much the taste), but I will say that both blenders made drinking a green smoothie an enjoyable experience. There was no grittiness, strings of kale, or chunks of carrot left over in either smoothie. Looking at the smear test, there's almost no discernible difference between the two. You won’t be disappointed with either blender when you’re making your morning smoothie.

After using both the Vitamix and the Blendtec, I can absolutely recommend either of them as a great choice for your wildest blending desires. Both blenders passed every test and handled every single recipe we threw at them. We were very impressed with the results. We will say that Vitamix does better at some tasks, like making smoother hummus and hotter soup, but that's splitting hairs when talking about the overall quality.

When choosing between the two, take into consideration what kind of blending experience you prefer. Vitamix features physical control dials and switches that are easy to use and understand. Blendtec has a sleek, futuristic touchscreen and multiple timed presets that allow you to select, walk away, and come back to a perfect smoothie or creamy hummus.

Both Blendtec and Vitamix offer multiple sizes of blending jars to expand the versatility of their blenders. Create single-serve dishes and smoothies with smaller blender jars, or check out Blendtec’s Twister Jar for efficiently creating difficult-to-blend foods like nut butter.

Personally, I like the Blendtec a little more than Vitamix.  The backlit touchscreen looks so sleek and provides a fun user experience while blending. I am also a fan of the Wildside Jar which, for just about every application, works great and doesn’t require a tamper. If you like a versatile, high-powered blender, you won't be disappointed with either Blendtec or Vitamix. Both blenders have lengthy warranties and an exceptional commercial-quality build for reliable blenders that'll last a long time. 

What Vitamix should I buy? Which Blendtec to buy?

Ready to learn more about what blender you should buy? Check out our Blendtec Blenders Shopping Guide or our Vitamix Ascent Blender Shopping Guide to see the differences between models of Blendtec and Vitamix blenders.

Which Makes the Better Blender?

If you like piña coladas ... you'll probably like a blender. In the world of high-powered, high-end blenders, two names sit at the top of the list: Vitamix and Blendtec. Both offer supremely efficient and durable blending, especially compared to cheaper, budget brands, but which is right for you? To find out, we compared the most popular blenders from each brand — the Vitamix 5200 ($450) and the Blendtec Classic 575 ($420)— to figure out which blender should find its way to your counter.

Vitamix 101

Courtesy

As of 2021, Vitamix has 100 years of production under its belt. But the brand didn't start off with blenders (a can opener was its first runaway hit). The original blender was called the Vita-Mix and was born from its founder's desire to live a healthy lifestyle through whole-food nutrition. Essentially, founder William Grover Barnard and his family lived a vegetarian lifestyle, and they found that blenders could give them tasty meals (smoothies, blended soups, etc.). The brand is now almost entirely focused on making blenders, ranging from wallet-friendly options to those with the latest innovations.

Blendtec 101

Courtesy

Blendtec doesn't have as much time on its hand as Vitamix, but 46 years is still a long time to continually innovate upon a powerful blender. Founded by Tom Dickson, Blendtec gained notoriety for its Will it Blend? marketing campaign in which Dickson would put non-food items — like phones, toys and other miscellaneous items — into a Blendtec blender to, well, see if it would blend.

Features

The Vitamix 5200 features a 64-ounce jar atop a motorized base with 10-speed manual control. When it comes to features on a blender, the 5200 is pretty standard – no bells or whistles, not even preprogrammed settings. On the other hand, the Blendtec 575 is packed with added features. It has fewer speed options — just five compared to the Vitamix 5200's 10 — but it also has four preprogrammed settings: a smoothie mode, a 60-second blend cycle, a 90-second blend cycle and a clean function, in which you basically run the 575 with water and dish soap, cleaning the blender.

Design

Courtesy

Courtesy

The biggest difference between the design of the 5200 and 575 blenders is the design of their blades. The Vitamix 5200 uses alaser-cut, stainless-steel hammermill and cutting blades, while the Blendtec 575 uses a blunt blade. On inspection, the two blades couldn't be any more different. The 5200's blade is sharp as hell, and you'd better be careful you don't cut yourself on it; the 575's blade is dull and works by pulverizing instead of slicing.

The jars of the two blenders also differ. The Vitamix's jar is tall and made of glass, with an opening to use the additional tamp. The Blendtec 575 comes with the option of two style of jars, both made of plastic. The first jar is known as the FourSide Jar, which is squared off and designed to generate more friction, which Blendtec recommends for making hot soups. The pricier Wildside Jar has a wide base and a fifth side, which are meant to work in conjunction to create a blending vortex that more efficiently blends without the need for a tamp — which the Blendtec does not include with its blenders.

Performance

Vitamix

The differences in design between the two blenders ultimately affect the way they perform. By and large, the Vitamix is one of the most efficient and effective blenders out there. It creates smooth blends, and while there is some clumping, the tamp is a helpful tool to get things going smoothly. It has 10 speeds, which makes customizing blends easy, especially since you can adjust the speend mid-blend. The Blendetc blender is a decent blender. The biggest issue with it is its steadfast belief that a tamp is not necessary. According to the brand, Blendtec's blades and jars are designed to never clump up, removing the need to scrape the sides during blending. That's just not how blending works. Things will come out smooth from the 575, but you better account for all the times you'll have to stop its operation to get an even blend.

Verdict

As interesting as Blendtec's Will it Blend? series is, its blenders pale in comparison to Vitamix blenders. Blendtec is too caught up in its own marketing — No tamp necessary! It can blend your phone! — whereas Vitamix lets the power and efficiency of its blenders speak for itself. Depending on which two blenders you compare from the brands, one may be more expensive than the other, but at the end of the day, it's the Vitamix's variable speed control and extra-sharp blades that make you think Vitamix first when you want to shop for a high-end, high-powered blender.