Surely a blender is a blender, right? Actually, when it comes to the best blenders, there’s quite a lot more to it. Ninja makes some of the most innovative kitchen appliances around, offering a wide range of blenders including multi-functional models. Meanwhile, Vitamix blenders are known to pack a punch, but they’re pricey and usually offer less functionality.
But with both of these well-respected brands offering several blending appliances, figuring out which one to buy can be a bit of a minefield. This is the reason we’ve put them up against each other for range, price and the features they offer, to give you a breakdown of what you can get from each brand and which is most likely to meet your needs.
With 2022 Black Friday deals incoming, now would be a really good time to invest in a Vitamix or Ninja blender. Prefer to have an alternative brand? No worries – these Black Friday KitchenAid deals would be worth a look, too.
Read on to discover the pros and cons of Ninja vs Vitamix, so you can decide which of these brands offers exactly what you’re looking for.
Vitamix vs Ninja: Best deals
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Vitamix vs Ninja: Range
The Vitamix range varies slightly from country to country, but there’s a core range of blenders that appear to be quite consistently available worldwide. The top-of-the-range standalone blender is the Vitamix A3500, which is also known as the A3500I in the UK and Australia. It’s a 64oz / 2-liter blender that arrives with digital controls and five auto programs – and it’s currently top of our best blenders list.
Virtually all Vitamix blenders come with an ample 64oz / 2-liter pitcher, including the mid-range A2500 and the A2300 models. The E310 would be considered the more entry-level blender on offer from Vitamix, as a result of its cheaper price tag, simple controls and smaller 48oz / 1.4-liter pitcher.
While Vitamix does offer a few blender bundles, the majority of the range comprises large standalone blenders. Those looking for a personal cup blender from the brand will have to purchase cup attachments for use with its full-size blenders.
In the US, the Vitamix range includes the A2300 Smart Prep Kitchen System, which is supplied with a food processor attachment, as well as slicing and shredding discs. This is comparable to the Ninja Foodi Power Blender Ultimate System since both offer shredding discs in addition to chopping blades. However, the Ninja lacks a slicing disc, but it does come with a coffee and spice grinder, as well as a single-serve cup and smoothie bowl attachment.
It’s typical for Ninja to combine different appliances to create multi-functional kitchen gadgets. And, as such, Ninja’s range of blenders incorporates some of the best food processors as well as single-serve blenders. Often its range will differ by country, which can make it frustrating when trying to compare them like-for-like.
Unlike Vitamix, Ninja makes single-serve blenders that are ideal for those just wanting to make smoothies and protein shakes to-go. The model that’s most widely available is the Ninja Nutri-Blender Pro with Auto-iQ. But the brand has also recently launched a powerful single-serve blender system that includes a cleverly developed smoothie bowl attachment for blitzing hard-to-blend frozen ingredients into a thick smoothie bowl consistency. The Ninja Foodi Smoothie Bowl Maker and Nutrient Extractor is known as the Ninja Foodi Power Nutri Blender 2-in-1 with Smart Torque & Auto-iQ in the UK, and the Ninja Foodi Power Nutri Duo in Australia.
The simplest blender Ninja offers is probably the Professional Plus Duo, known as the 2-in-1 Blender with Auto-iQ in the UK. If you want a blender that isn’t a cross between several appliances, this is the closest you’ll get from Ninja, although it still comes with a single-serve cup bundled in. In the UK, the Ninja range of blenders includes the Ninja Foodi Blender and Soup Maker, but this isn’t available in the US nor Australia.
Vitamix vs Ninja: Price
The Vitamix A3500 will set you back $575 / £699 / AU$1699, which is a pretty hefty investment. By contrast, the most expensive standalone blender you can buy from Ninja (without additional attachments bundled in) costs significantly less at around $119.99 / £129.99 / $249.99
At the lowest end of the scale, the Vitamix E310 costs $350 / £399 / AU$699, which is still far in excess of even the most expensive model that Ninja offers.
The Vitamix A2300 Smart Prep Kitchen System is priced at $650 (only available in the US), whereas Ninja’s equivalent, the Ninja Foodi Power Blender Ultimate System, would cost you less than half that at around $240 / AU$450.
For Ninja's most widely available single-serve blender, the Ninja Nutri-Blender Pro with Auto-iQ, you can expect to pay $99.99 / £99.99 / AU$199.99. If you want a single-serve option from Vitamix, you’ll be looking spending $40/ £35/ AU$60 for a 20oz / 600ml personal cup to attach to the Ascent series of blenders. However, do keep in mind that this price is in addition to the price you pay for the blender.
Vitamix vs Ninja: Features
Ninja’s range of appliances blurs the line between blenders and food processors and incorporates single-serve models, too, whereas for the most part Vitamix blenders sit firmly in the blender category. As such, the features offered by Vitamix focus on ensuring they're the best possible full-size blenders they can be.
The top-of-the-range Vitamix A3500 includes 10 variable speed levels as well as a programmable timer and five auto settings. Similarly, the top-of-the-range Ninja Foodi Power Blender Ultimate System offers 10 variable speeds as well as seven auto programs.
Both brands feature smart technology that allows the blenders to detect which accessory is attached, thereby automatically adjusting the available settings to suit.
As we've already mentioned, the largest and most common pitcher supplied by Vitamix is the 64 oz / 2-liter pitcher. Ninja pitcher sizes vary. The largest in the current range is advertised at 72 oz/ 2.1 liters, but since the max liquid volume is 64oz/ 2 liters, it’s safe to say they’re pretty comparable across the board for capacity.
Ninja’s highest-power blender has a 1600W motor, whereas the top model from Vitamix is equipped with a 1400W motor. Both are capable, powerful motors – and, at this level, blending performance relies as much on blade configuration as it does on the shape of the pitcher. Consequently, this small difference in wattage isn’t really much of an indicator as to which offers the best blending power.
On the whole, in their top-tier models the two brands offer similar blending speeds, power levels and capacity. However, the biggest distinction between the brands has to be in the range of compatible accessories and bundles.
We’ve mentioned already several times throughout this article that Vitamix blenders are generally models with a big pitcher and some optional extras such as single-serve cups. But Ninja has a wide range of hybrid blenders and not very many traditional standalone blenders. Consequently, the two brands differ quite dramatically in the features on offer, since the Vitamix standalone blenders can by design perform fewer functions than Ninjas multi-purpose blenders.
Vitamix vs Ninja: Verdict
There’s no denying that Vitamix blenders are well made and powerful, but if price is top on your priority list, you should consider a model from Ninja. You’ll be able to bag a multi-functional Ninja blender for a fraction of what you’ll pay for even the cheapest standalone blender on offer from Vitamix.
Having said that, if it’s pure blending muscle you're looking for, a Vitamix won’t let you down. This heavyweight blender delivers the power to pulverize pretty much anything – and it won’t clutter your cupboards with unwanted accessories.
If you want more information about the differences between blenders and food processors, check out our blenders vs food processors article.
