If we should point out the most hot competition between two blender brands then Ninja Kitchen versus Vitamix Blenders is the one. These two famous blender brands have caught many customers’ great attention for more than 6 years.
Both brands are making these products that pose serious competition in the market. Funnily, they put it outright without any fear of criticism of how their respective products are superior to their competitors. To specify, Ninja Kitchen does that brave thing.
And as we noticed Ninja always knows how to attract the market by offering a cheaper product yet still bring all the quality the customer needs, and the tension of this competition goes to another level since 2023 when Ninja released their new model which now adapts full metal blades.
So without further ado let’s find out the in depth comparison between these two attractive blender brands.
The Beginning of Market War between Ninja and Vitamix
Suppose you look at the Ninja Ultima Blender box shown below. In that case, the manufacturer claims that the Ninja Ultima Blender is better than Vitamix priced at $600 (which refers to Vitamix Professional Series 750).
Can you feel how intensive this competition is? The war has just started here!
The fact that Vitamix blender technology has been in the competitive market since 1949 doesn’t deter Ninja Kitchen from exuding high confidence and determination to compete with it as the major competitor.
Ninja offers cheaper blenders than Vitamix
- Ninja Kitchen is conscious of attracting interest in the market by providing high-quality blender models at a rather cheaper cost than Vitamix.
- The ranging price for Vitamix could be between $349-$649, while Ninja comes at a 3x lower price, ranging between $129-$349 depending on the model.
Let’s Go to In-Depth Review for these 2 Blender Brands
Subjecting the review to price would only place the competition into an unfair hallmark. It’s obvious that Ninja blender is far much cheaper than Vitamix.
But then how about the quality comparison between Vitamix vs. Ninja concerning the materials, performance, durability, and product warranty? Are they generally more or less similar?
The Essential Aspects between Vitamix Compared to Ninja blender
A blender’s build quality will determine its durability and make a difference in using it. So, let’s compare the material of the Vitamix and Ninja blenders.
1. Containers are BPA free.
Since we use a blender to process food, we need to make sure it’s free from all chemical substances hazardous in nature for our body, such as Bisphenol A (BPA). This is more specific on the container part, which has direct contact with food or ingredient.
But, the plastic is prone to cracks, so be careful when using these blenders. Please do not put them somewhere extremely high, like on top of a refrigerator.
The containers
- Both Vitamix and Ninja container are made from BPA free material. It has been an intolerable standard.
- Both of them are dishwasher safe.
- Vitamix has some container options from the size and for the purpose: dry or wet ingredients.
2. Driver socket material
As you can see from the picture above, even the most important component in the Ninja blender, which is the drive socket, comes all plastics. In contrast, Vitamix blenders use metal gears on its drive socket.
The mounting part that connects the container and the drive socket in Vitamix has an elastic and flexible pad made of rubber, while for Ninja, it’s all plastic.
Update: Ninja Kitchen seems it won’t let their competitor put them down with this issue, so now they also have blenders with metal components on their driver socket. This only applies to the Ninja Ultima Blender model.
The drive socket
- Vitamix uses a metal gear on its drive socket while Ninja rocks an all-plastic build.
3. Blades material – Is this still the Biggest Difference in 2021?
All Vitamix blender models use hardened, laser-cut, stainless-steel blades with advanced technology that ensures every edge is powerful and unlikely to rust over time. These blades, although blunt, have a slight taper to the edge. The blades’ housing is also made of metal, while Ninja’s sharp blades come with a plastic shaft.
We also found that due to Ninja’s blade design, you always need to pull out the blades every time you want to pour the mixed ingredients from the container. This is a risky step. You might get injured if you’re not careful enough since the blades might easily cut your fingers.
Furthermore, the blade design of the Ninja makes it harder to get a taste of whatever you’re blending. If you want a taste of the mixture inside the blender, use a spoon instead of your finger.
The downside to Vitamix’s blades is that you can’t easily detach them from the blender jar.
Comparing the blade’s quality in terms of sharpness, we don’t need extremely sharp blades fitted on a 300 mph speed motor. The motor’s power and speed are enough for the blunt blades to pulverize any ingredient or food substance.
The Ninja’s blades, although very sharp, would not age very well since the more you use them, the more they start to wear and become dull over time.
The blades
- Vitamix blades are made from hardened stainless steel, while the Ninja blades’ body is made from plastics.
- The Ninja blades design that comes with sharp blades can be dangerous to your fingers when trying to set it on the blender or while you wash the blades.
Latest Update:
Ninja Kitchen has released their new model Ninja Chef™ High-Speed Blender in 2020 which uses a dull blade design like Vitamix. And later on 2021 Ninja Kitchen released Ninja Foodie blender series which also use a full metal blade materials.
4. Container lid material
Vitamix has a 2-Parts lid design, and they are separable. The main lid body is rubber, and the other part is a vented lid made of plastic.
This vented lid is designed to be placed in the center of the main cover with an additional tamper to help you press the blended ingredient to the bottom blades. In comparison, the Ninja plastic lid comes with a unique lid lock system with a vented lid on one side.
Since Ninja has a blades extension that has to be in the middle of the container, they designed the vented lid on the side part. But the hole is not aVitamix’sVitamix’can’t we can’t add large pieces of ingredients with ease while blending to adjust the texture.
The container lid
- Besides the fact that the Ninja blender’s lids are all plastic, the design of vented lid can be a downside since it limits your access to put in your extra ingredients while blending.
5. Body material
Vitamix blender’s body is made of polycarbonate, dipped in liquid metal with a brushed stainless steel finish. In contrast, Ninja blender has a spray-painted and lacquered body along with a high polish plastic face.
The body
- The metal body on Vitamix makes it looks more luxurious than the Ninja’s body.
Performances Comparison
Which of these two blenders will score higher in performance? Find out using these criteria.
1. Compare the Machine (motor) – The key differences
Both Vitamix and Ninja blender have a great powerful machine that can generate magnificent power to crush ice, blend fruits, vegetables, and frozen fruits, letting you get all benefits from the ingredients.
The quality of the machine reflects the power generated by both brands. To compare:
- Vitamix 5200 Standard comes with 1,380 watts power (they claim it can produce 2 HP speed on peak level)
- Ninja Ultima Blender comes with 1,500 watts power (they claim it can produce 2.2 HP speed on peak level)
- While other regular blenders in the market only provide an average 300-700 watt motor.
Summary
In summary, with the amazing power that comes from both blenders, they will allow you to efficiently accomplish a wide range of tasks that most blenders cannot do.
2. Which one can blend better green smoothies?
You can use either the Ninja or Vitamix blender to produce a smooth texture for green smoothies. But Vitamix makes it faster.
To prove this, I made a quick, simple test by putting kiwi, baby spinach, apple, celery, and pineapple to make green smoothies using both Vitamix and Ninja blenders. To be fair, I set the blenders to 30 seconds long for both.
This quick test showed how these machines could blend high fiber veggies (celery) and a kiwi with its seeds quickly, which classified them as smoothie-friendly blender.
The result was pretty amazing as we never had any doubt that both blenders with such high power can produce smooth green smoothies. But Vitamix blended the ingredients into smaller cell pieces with a smoother texture than Ninja.
3. Peanut butter blending result with Vitamix and Ninja blender
For those of you who like to make your peanut butter, this test might give you an idea of how these two blenders make creamy peanut butter.
To test both blenders’ performance, we put roasted peanuts without any additional ingredients into both Vitamix and Ninja. We set both on the highest speed level for 5 minutes.
During the process, the peanut in both blenders needed some help to move around, but the Vitamix was much easier to handle because they provided a tamper that can help push the peanut to the bottom part near the blades. While with Ninja blender, I had to turn off the machine and scrape the sides down very carefully due to the very sharp blades placed in the middle of the container and then run the blender again.
We can say both blenders can make peanut butter in 3 minutes for the result, but Vitamix made a very creamy peanut butter while Ninja made chunky nut butter. I would run another 3-5 minutes on Ninja to achieve the same level of creamy peanut butter.
4. Which Blender is better at making hot soup?
Have you experienced any explosion or leaking issue when you blend the pureed hot soup with your blender?
Yes! Be careful! When you blend hot liquids with your blender, please know that the container pressure can build up and sometimes create a little explosion that makes the ingredients leak out from your blender container.
As a matter of caution, I realized that Ninja blender has clearly stated that you should never put hot liquid into the blender’s container.
This precautionary measure must be because the container lid design doesn’t have any vent to release the steam. On the contrary, the Vitamix container lid has a vent in its standard container lids.
Please note that not all Vitamix containers have a vent on the lid. For example, if you are using a 20-ounce container cup (travel cup), you cannot blend with a hot liquid using this container.
5. Which blender is easier to clean?
Cleaning up is pretty easy with both Vitamix and Ninja blender. To clean these blenders, just soak them with warm water and drop a little liquid soap into the blender container, put the lid on, then you set the blender to the highest level speed.
For some blender models, you can also press the pulse button to burst the power to make more water round during the cleaning process. It helps to release all residues left from the ingredients that you used before, even thick mixtures like hummus and other homemade dips.
Even better on some Vitamix models, it has a built-in auto-cleaning system option on the switch control to help you clean up the containers, lid, and blades, making it easier to clean.
After running the auto-cleaning system, just remove the water from the container and rinse under running water to rinse all the soap away. That’s all, and wait until the blender dries.
On the other hand, the Ninja blender is dishwasher-safe, which means that if you’re in a hurry, you can just put it on the top shelf of your dishwasher, and it will come out clean.
No matter which between Vitamix and Ninja you choose, you should always dry the blender completely after washing. This extra step is to keep it from smelling bad.
6. Which blender can make well-blended ice cream?
Which between the Vitamix and Ninja can crush ice good enough for ice cream? Not only that, but how well can these two machines get ice and the other ingredients to turn into a basic vanilla ice cream.
I put the Vitamix and the Ninja in a one-minute chocolate ice cream test: To both blender jars, I added a cup of whole milk, six cups of ice, a half cup of powdered sugar, and two tablespoons of vanilla, then blended at max speed.
The Ninja blender’s outcome was more of a milky shake than an actual ice cream. Its consistency was weak and liquidy, with noticeable chunks of ice within. It was still delicious and makes for a good, creamy milkshake.
Compared to the Ninja’s result, the Vitamix did a better job at making ice cream. The Vitamix blender has a Frozen Desserts setting that lets it function as a soft-serve ice cream maker, that’s why it created a perfectly thick, smooth, and creamy vanilla ice cream. I noticed that it was quicker too.
7. Which blender has better accessories?
The Ninja has a lot of accessories that are especially useful if you’re always on-the-go. For example, the two 16 oz. cups give you the option to use the Ninja as a bullet blender because of the included detachable blade mechanism.
The Ninja blender’s 16 oz. cups come with sip and seal lids – a feature that the Vitamix blender does not have.
There are many more accessories out there for the Ninja blender, such as various sized cups with lids. You will feel satisfied with the brand’s selection of complementary items for your Ninja blender.
You can find plenty of Vitamix tools available on the market. For example, the blade removing wrench tool is convenient if you want to get every single drop of nut butter out of the blender.
8. Which blender is easier to use?
When it comes to overall convenience, we have good news for you: both are fairly easy to clean and pour contents. Both Vitamix and Ninja have precise controls and labels that won’t give you a hard time reading.
I’ve noticed that the Ninja blender’s markings are slightly easier to read, though, so the Ninja wins. But overall, it’s not that big of a difference.
Product durability and warranty
Every electronic product has its lifetime, and blenders are no exception! The question is, how long can Vitamix and Ninja blenders last? That will vary depending on how you utilize and maintain them.
Like all other kitchen appliances, Ninja and Vitamix blenders are not exempt from quality issues that cause slight inconvenience but aren’t serious flaws. Let’s have a look at some of them.
Ninja blenders have a rubber base that wears away quite easily. The good news is the warranty for these blenders will most likely fix them.
Meanwhile Vitamix blenders offer decent build quality for the price, and if you maintenance the blender well, you should get them to last for years.
We are likely able to estimate the lifetime based on the materials. Blender with high-quality materials should ideally have a longer lifetime than cheaper ones. Nonetheless, it’s just standard logic; let’s see from a different point of view.
Which blender has a longer product year warranty? Ninja blenders are covered with two years limited warranty (we found that you can obtain a 5-year warranty in certain conditions). In comparison, Vitamix blenders are covered with five years or seven years warranty depending on the model. Plus, there is a 3-year extended warranty(optional with some additional charge) for all of them.
Regarding the procedure to claim the warranty, both blender brands provide an easy way of warranty verification. You call customer services; then, they will explain how you can get your replacement.
Please note: for the Ninja blender, you need to cover the shipping and handling fee to obtain a replacement product.
Which One of Those is for You?
Both Vitamix and Ninja blenders are good products. There is no doubt about that!
They have tough competition in this market. But keep in mind that we always get what we pay for! At times, cheap can be expensive.
With the higher prices that we spend on the Vitamix blender, we get better quality products, materials, and better-blended products than Ninja.
But if you are working with a tight budget and are only planning to use a blender to make your simple daily smoothies, then the Ninja blender may be a better alternative for you.
Another option if you still want to have a Vitamix blender, but you are low in funds: you may consider the certified recondition Vitamix blenders.