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Here are the top models for every budget

Making smoothies at home is an easy and affordable way to get your five-a-day. Plus, using one of our expert-tested best smoothie makers can be healthier than buying sugary ready-made drinks, as you have full control over the fruit, vegetables and other ingredients that you use.

In short, you’ll be whipping up nutritious breakfasts in no time. So, to help kickstart (or continue) your wellness journey, here's a quick look at the Good Housekeeping Institute's pick of the top smoothie makers you can buy, with our full reviews below:

The main difference between a smoothie maker and a blender is that smoothie makers – also known as 'personal blenders' – are designed to make smaller portions, helping to cut down on food waste.

Designed with drinks in mind, their jugs usually transform into a cup – simply attach the lid and sip on the go. Smoothie makers require less cleaning and take up less space than blenders, but their compact size means they tend to be less powerful.

Blenders, on the other hand, are larger (coming with a wider base unit and a pouring jug) and can tackle more kitchen tasks, including puréeing vegetables for soups and sauces. They typically come with more power and speed settings, too. Read our blenders guide for specific recommendations.

Whether you want a speedy smoothie for one or are whizzing up blends for the whole family, our best smoothie makers range from a compact 0.47 litres to a more generous 0.93 litres.

Many smoothie makers come with just one speed setting, which automatically starts when you place the jug on the motor and click it into place. Variations may include manual speed settings for greater control, a pulse setting and vacuum blending technology, which is designed to enhance flavour, retain nutrients, and keep contents fresh for longer.

Some smoothie makers, like our two winning Ninjas, feature a variety of functions, allowing you to tailor the blending to your ingredients for the best taste, texture and colour. Expect to spend more on these versatile units and note that they'll take up more space on your kitchen worktop.

You'll notice that some smoothie makers are equipped with vacuum blending technology for locking in vitamins and nutrients for a better, healthier blend and taste.

Expect your smoothie to look brighter, be lighter in texture and taste better than a regular blend of the same recipe, even several hours later (this is useful if you're packing a smoothie into your handbag to enjoy in the office).

Our GHI tester reported that, when vacuum blending technology was at play, their ingredients didn't separate or form a thick, frothy layer after a few hours, like they did when blended in a regular machine.

This modern technology, offered by the Tefal Freshboost Vacuum BL181D65, does come at a higher price, but it's worth the investment if you're trying to live more healthily and like to make your smoothies in advance.

Our GHI pro tested 47 of the best smoothie makers on the market, from leading brands such as NutriBullet and Ninja, and assessed their performance, ease of use, design, instructions and how leakproof they were during transportation and blending.

They made four different smoothies in each machine – citrus, berry, mixed fruit, and spinach and kale – to judge how it adeptly it handled a range of fruit and vegetables. Unless the manufacturer advised us not to, our tester also assessed how well each model coped with crushing ice.

Drink up with our 14 best smoothie makers:

There’s not much this smoothie maker can’t handle. Its two blending cups hold up to 600ml of liquid each, and we found the measuring scale on the side useful. There was no leakage from the lids either, so you can safely stow your drink in your bag for on-the-go sipping. The cups, lids and blades are all dishwasher-safe too.

This user-friendly machine scored top marks for performance, pulverising even tricky raspberry seeds with ease to create silky smooth drinks in seconds. Its two auto programmes and LED countdown timer take the guesswork away for the optimum blend every time.

This powerful appliance scored almost full marks, thanks to capabilities that far exceed a traditional smoothie maker’s simple stop and start function. Its four pre-programmed settings – blend, crush, mix and powermix – let you tailor its pulsing pattern to suit your ingredients, while its Nutri Bowl attachment is ideal for mixing up thicker smoothie bowls or nut butters.

On test, it delivered consistently well-blended drinks, cutting through even the roughest of apple skins. It blitzed ice cubes, leaving no large chunks, but struggled to pulverise raspberry seeds. Its strong non-slip feet helped keep it stable on our worktop but required some muscle to dislodge after use.

Another high scorer, this smoothie maker blended smoothly and consistently in each test. It has in-built scales – as you add each ingredient, its accompanying app will calculate their weight and nutritional value. This proved accurate when measuring solid ingredients, but less so with liquids.

The app boasts a wide selection of recipes, and the two included 930ml cups are dishwasher safe.

Twist down this smoothie maker’s jug to blend and its smart technology will do the rest, detecting when its blades need to speed up or slow down. On test, it consistently delivered evenly blended results, with only raspberry seeds escaping unscathed. Surprisingly for its price point, it only has one setting, but it’s otherwise hard to fault.

Its sturdy travel cup also caught our expert’s eye. Made with brushed metal and complete with a rubber grip, it’s the perfect commuting companion. Its jug is generously sized too, with ample room for multiple servings.

A premium blender, this is simple but powerful. It’s intuitively designed; push down the cup and choose between operating it at full strength or pulsing it for smooth results.

It didn’t burst berry seeds, and it missed a chunk of pineapple in our green smoothie, but it stayed still on our countertop and cleaned easily afterwards. Its accompanying recipe book was also notably detailed. We’d have liked measurement markings on at least one of the cups, though.

You don’t have to splash out to bag yourself a star performer; this compact smoothie maker was simple to set up and use, crushed ice easily and blended most fibrous ingredients. It did struggle pulverising berry seeds, but so did most models on test.

Measurement markings were clear to read, and the lid poured even the thickest of smoothies cleanly, but you must hold down the blend button during use.

You can whizz up fruity concoctions in 30 seconds or less with this straightforward machine; simply blend smoothies directly into the leakproof 500ml or 800ml plastic cups (included).

On test, it made short work of pulverising tough ingredients such as seeds and ice, and blended leafy greens to perfection. Its compact design and non-slip feet make it well-suited to small kitchens and it's excellent value for money.

Despite its compact size, this smoothie maker is powerful. It's simple to use, terrific value for money and put in an excellent overall performance in our tests, blending ice, oats and tougher fruits (such as apples and grapes) with ease.

However, it didn’t fully pulverise raspberries, leaving a slight crunch to an otherwise smooth drink. It takes up minimal counter space though, and the two 470ml cups are slim and easy to store.

Smoothie makers aren’t quiet, but at 89 decibels – 6 under the average – this one shouldn’t stick in your ear as much. Its sleek design clearly signposts measurements along the jug, and it blended and crushed well, leaving no chunks behind. Again, it struggled with seeds.

Our tester liked how the pre-set smoothie program doesn’t require anything to be held down, so you can switch the machine on and wait. It stops after 40 seconds and blended well. The base moved somewhat in use unless we held it down, but the travel lid’s locking system proved secure.

The Nutribullet 1200 is a great all-rounder. It processes a variety of fruits, seeds, ice and oats effortlessly, and comes with a recipe book. The pre-set blending functions stop the motor automatically when the smoothie is ready, making it effortless to use. Alternatively, you can opt for a longer, continuous blend.

The large-capacity cups each hold 930ml – ideal if you want to whizz up multiple servings at once. They are chunky to hold, though. We found the cup with a handle more comfortable to use.

If you’re after a gift for a fitness lover, this smoothie maker could be a good option, as our expert felt its blades were well-suited to mixing in protein powders. It has a large capacity too, and the jug’s wide drinking spout didn’t clog on test, even with the thickest of smoothies.

The drinks themselves were a bit inconsistent – our mixed fruit medley was perfectly blended, but the others were slightly uneven. Experimenting with its ‘on’ and ‘pulse’ settings may help you nail down the right blend, and it made light work of crushing ice.

As the only vacuum-blending smoothie maker in our roundup, we were impressed with the vibrant, smooth and longer-lasting drinks it created. If you're looking to blitz up a breakfast blend in the morning and drink it at work or after the gym, this will ensure ingredients don’t separate.

The vacuum programs do take longer to complete than manual blending (up to 110 seconds vs just 14 seconds), which is something to consider if you’re short on time. Still, we think this machine is worth the money and it comes with both a two-year guarantee and a ten-year repair warranty.

Offering excellent value for money, this machine scored nearly full marks for its blending performance, proving to be just as effective as more expensive models in our roundup. It has just one blending function, which we found worked well for all tasks, creating velvety, silky smoothies.

The 500ml and 800ml blending cups and lids are leakproof too, even when blending at full capacity. Sadly, they aren't dishwasher-safe, but washing up by hand is quick and easy. Overall, this is a fantastic smoothie maker given the price.

Whipping up protein shakes and smoothies is a breeze with this budget smoothie maker. Fruit-based smoothies were blitzed in under 20 seconds, with thicker icy drinks taking just 10 seconds longer.

Even when blending at maximum capacity, the unit didn't leak, and the touch pulse setting is handy for giving drinks one last blitz without over-mixing them. However, the blades didn't cope well with harder ingredients, such as nuts and seeds.