Vitamix vs Ninja Blenders

Bought, Tested, and Compared

Design Differences

Build Quality

The Vitamix A3500's motor base has a metal gear.

Ninja blenders like the Ninja Foodi Cold & Hot Blender generally have an all-plastic design.

Vitamix blenders are usually better built. They have metal gears and sometimes metal bodies, while Ninja uses an all-plastic design. Depending on where you buy your blender, you can get a longer warranty for a Vitamix (some models have 10-year U.S. warranties, while Ninja blenders usually have one-year U.S. warranties). Ninja blenders still feel solid and sturdy but don't have the same premium feel.

Vitamix offers multi-year warranties for its blenders (it always depends on where you live and where you buy your blender), and they have a sturdy design with metal gears. However, even cheaper Vitamix models are significantly more expensive than most Ninjas, so you will pay for the longer guarantee and more durable materials. Ninja blenders are a good choice if you're not interested in paying for a Vitamix. Most models have good or great build qualities, even cheaper options like the Ninja Professional 1000, so you won't end up with a very cheap-feeling blender. You can see a comparison between all the models we've tested here.

Blades and jar shape

Vitamix and Ninja blenders generally have different blade designs. Vitamix uses the usual blender blade design, with four blades at the bottom of the jar. Ninja blenders use a spindle with blades attached along its length, so the blades aren't only at the bottom of the jar. Some Ninja blenders, like the Ninja Chef and the Ninja Foodi Cold & Hot Blender, have a blade design more like Vitamix's.

The Vitamix design is more convenient for most purposes. It allows you to use a tamper (whereas Ninja blades get in the way), and it's easier to clean. The Ninja blade assembly is removable, but its blades are so sharp that you can easily cut yourself if you aren't very careful. However, it's marketed as the 'Total Crushing' blade assembly and is very effective for ice crushing.

The Vitamix Propel 510 has Vitamix's usual blade design.

The Ninja Foodi Power Pitcher System's spiral blade assembly is typical of the brand.

Speed range and controls

Vitamix blenders offer a much faster maximum blending speed than Ninja blenders. This might be the most important difference between the two. You need fast blending speeds to liquify fibrous ingredients, which includes fruits and vegetables, and many recipes, like smoothies, soups, and sauces, benefit from faster speeds. Ninja blenders have a relatively slow max blending speed in the main jar, and most don't make a completely smooth blend with fibrous ingredients in the main jar (with some exceptions).

Ninja blenders compensate for this with smaller personal jars. Because of the design of the gears, Ninjas have a faster blending speed when you're using a personal jar, which helps them match Vitamix's performance for recipes like smoothies. That's less helpful if you're making smoothies for more than one person.

 Tamper and Lid

In general, Vitamix lids have a more convenient design. These lids are vented to allow steam to escape while preventing splatters, which allows you to blend hot ingredients. You can also remove the center piece to use the tamper (usually included) and add more ingredients mid-blend. Ninja blenders normally don't have a removable center piece, although they have a spout at the corner with a cover you can open and close. That helps serve drinks directly from the jar since it allows you to pour from the jar with the lid on. However, only some Ninja blenders have vented lids for hot blending.

The Vitamix design is better if you want to blend hot ingredients or add ingredients mid-blend. A tamper can help with thicker recipes, so you might also prefer the Vitamix design if you don't want to have to stop and stir recipes like nut butter. You might like the Ninja's lids with pouring spouts if you mostly make drinks.

The Vitamix A3500's lid has a removable center piece for adding ingredients.

The Ninja Mega Kitchen System doesn't have a 2-part lid but has a pouring spout.

Performance Differences

Fibrous ingredients

A Vitamix is better if you want to make smooth soups, sauces, or multiple servings of smoothies at once. That's the most obvious difference in performance between Ninja and Vitamix blenders. If you don't mind some small grains left over in your smoothies, you can still use a Ninja for a big batch of smoothies.

Vitamix blenders are usually just as good at blending smaller amounts of ingredients in the main jar. On the other hand, many Ninja blenders struggle to smoothly blend smaller amounts in the main jar, often because they have wider bases and ingredients can splash up the jar walls. However, they often come bundled with personal jars. These jars often have separate blade assemblies with smaller gears, which allows you to get a faster blending speed with the same motor base. They're usually fantastic for blending smaller quantities of fibrous ingredients. You might prefer using one jar for everything with a Vitamix, but Ninja's smaller personal jars are a nice compromise, and you can use them as travel cups.

Vitamix is a better bet for big batches of smoothies and soups. However, if you plan to make single-serves, many Ninja blenders come with personal jars that can make fantastic smoothies with fibrous ingredients. Compare how Vitamix and Ninjas perform for multiple servings of smoothies here and for single-serve smoothies here.

Ice crushing

Most of Ninja's full-size blenders can crush a batch of 12 ice cubes very quickly, so for crushing ice, there isn't much difference between Ninja and Vitamix.

Both brands are good for making crushed ice for cocktails or blended drinks like margaritas and slushies.

Nut butter

Thicker recipes like nut butter and hummus can be difficult to prepare in some blenders. It helps to start at a lower blending speed and to have a jar shape and blade design that prevents the ingredients from getting stuck away from the blades. Vitamix blenders generally perform better for this use. They have tampers, so you don't have to remove the lid to stir, and the blades are usually a little closer to the sides of the jar. However, some Ninjas come with 'Smoothie Bowl Maker' jars, which have rotating arms inside that stir for you, so you don't have to stop the blender and scrape the jar's walls. These jars are very easy to use to make nut butter.

Since you can use a tamper and gradually ramp up the speed, Vitamix blenders are all reasonably easy to use for nut butter and similar recipes. With Ninja, it depends on the model. If you want to see how different models perform for recipes like nut butter, you can compare them here.

Hot blending

You can use Vitamix blenders to blend hot ingredients for soups and sauces. You can also heat ingredients with a Vitamix—they use high blending speeds and friction from the blades to heat ingredients as they blend. Ninja blenders don't get fast enough for that, and their lids aren't vented, so you shouldn't use them to blend already-heated ingredients. There are some exceptions, like the Ninja Foodi Cold & Hot Blender. That model has a heating element built into the jar, so it can keep ingredients hot and heat them up without blending them. The Ninja Chef is another exception since it's different from most other Ninja blenders and has a vented lid.

All Vitamix blenders can hot blend, but only a few Ninjas can, so you have to pick the model carefully if you plan to make soups and sauces from hot ingredients.

The Ninja Foodi Cold & Hot Blender is one of the few Ninja blenders that can hot blend and heat up ingredients.

Most Ninja blenders, like the Ninja Mega Kitchen System, don't have vented lids and aren't meant for hot blending.

Cleaning

A good blending performance is important, but you might not want to use a blender that's a pain to clean. Vitamix blenders would be easier to clean if you could remove the blades from the jar, but reaching them with a sponge or brush isn't too hard. Most Vitamix models come with dishwasher-safe components, but 'Legacy' Vitamix blenders must be cleaned by hand.

Ninja blenders with the stacked blade design are tough to clean by hand because the blades are so sharp. Their components are usually dishwasher-safe as well, however.

Noise

In the same way that you might not use a blender that's hard to clean, you might avoid using a super loud blender. There's no major difference between the brands regarding noise; it depends on what model you get. You can compare all the Ninja and Vitamix blenders we've tested here.

Additional jars & Accessories

The Vitamix A3500 comes with a tamper and lid

The Ninja Mega Kitchen System comes with a food processor and personal jars.

The Ninja Foodi Power Pitcher System includes a 'Smoothie Bowl Maker' jar and personal jars.

Ninja blenders often come bundled with additional accessories and jars. As discussed above, additional containers like personal jars and 'Smoothie Bowl Maker' jars can help compensate for weaknesses in the blender's main jar performance. Ninja's 'Foodi' blenders come with dough blades for forming dough, and some models also come with additional blades and containers for food processing. Vitamix sells similar accessories, but you must purchase them separately and aren't cheap.

If you're interested in extras like personal jars and food processing attachments, it's worth checking out Ninja first since they have many blenders with included accessories. However, you can buy similar accessories from Vitamix if you don't mind the added expense.

Blender Comparisons

Multi-purpose 

The Ninja Foodi Cold & Hot Blender is the best Ninja blender we've tested for multi-purpose use.

The Vitamix A3500 is the best Vitamix blender we've tested if you want a versatile machine.

Vitamix blenders are usually better for multi-purpose use since they can handle a variety of recipes in the same jar and are usually much better at blending big batches of fibrous ingredients. The best Vitamix blender for multi-purpose use that we've tested is the Vitamix A3500. On the other hand, the best Ninja blenders for multi-purpose use are designed more like Vitamix blenders. The Ninja Chef has a blade design like Vitamix's and a faster maximum blending speed. Performance-wise, it can compete with blenders like the Vitamix A3500; it can also hot blend. However, it's so loud that we don't recommend it.

Ninja Foodi Cold & Hot Blender is a better option for most people. It also has Vitamix-like blades and a higher maximum blending speed. It doesn't make quite as smooth a blend with fibrous ingredients as the A3500, but it can hot blend and heat ingredients with the heating element built into its jar. The downside is that the jar is bulky, and you can't immerse it in water for cleaning.

Smoothies

The Vitamix 5200 is the best blender for smoothies that we've tested. Its taller, narrower jar helps it blend smaller batches since it helps reduce splattering. It makes an almost perfectly smooth blend with fibrous ingredients, whatever volume of ingredients you use. However, it has a basic design without any automatic blending programs.

The Ninja Detect Duo Power Blender Pro makes a grainier blend with fibrous ingredients in its main jar, but it comes with 24oz personal jars that you can use to get a faster maximum blending speed and a smoother blend. It also comes with resealable to-go lids, so you can use them as travel cups, making it a good option if you want to save money and make a lot of single-serve smoothies.

Conclusion

Vitamix blenders generally perform better overall and have a more convenient design. They're also sturdier but are some of the more expensive blenders available, even if you choose a cheaper model. Ninja blenders are a good choice if you want to save money, but you must be more careful when picking a model because not every Ninja blender is versatile enough for all kinds of recipes. The most versatile Ninja blenders come with many extra jars for different uses or have a more Vitamix-like design, like the Ninja Foodi Cold & Hot Blender. On the other hand, the majority of Ninja blenders are fantastic ice crushers, so if you need a blender for frozen drinks or making crushed ice for cocktails, you won't go wrong with a Ninja.