Blendtec vs Vitamix

Vitamix vs Blendtec

Blender war! Blendtec or Vitamix - which is the best blender? I am in the process of looking for a new blender after several other blenders we have bought broke down. We want something that works well - able to blend ice and not leave little chunky bits in our smoothies. Many people are after a good blender to make it easier to add more fruit and vegetables to their diet or to make the vegetables more palatable for children.

I have narrowed down my search to the Blendtec and the Vita-mix. I have read through dozens of reviews and have summarized my findings here. I would have to say that I am leaning towards the Blendtec (WildSide model).

The Size of the Blender

The Vita-mix is 20½ " tall which means that you may find it difficult to fit under your kitchen cabinets. The Blendtec on the other hand is not too tall (15 ½ ") that it doesn't fit on top of the counter under the cabinets. The Vitamix, at 10 lbs. 9 oz. seems to be a more solid and sturdy machine than the Blendtec at 7 lbs.

The Motor

Both the Blendtec and the Vita-mix are powerful blenders - Blendtec's Total Blender has a 1560 watt motor and the Vita-mix has a 1500 watt motor - which means they blend very well, leaving no bits - even tiny seeds disappear. In fact the food gets blended so finely (micronized) that the nutrients from the fruit and vegetables are more bio-available to our bodies - in other words they can be more easily absorbed, utilized and retained.

Blendtec blenders have a 3 hp (horsepower) motor and Vitamix blenders have a 2 hp motor. According to my research, the Blendtec's 3 hp motor does not affect how fast the motor works (because it is limited by the number of watts), but it should last longer than a 2 horsepower motor.

Note: Both of these powerful blenders are quite noisy to run.

The Jar

Both the Vita-mix and Blendtec have BPA-free jars.

The Blendtec Total Blender has a 2 quart / 64 ounce / 1.8 liter jar. Blendtec WildSide has a 3 quart / 96 ounce / 2.8 liter jar. The bigger jar may be useful if you want to make a large smoothie at the beginning of the day and enjoy it all through the day or if you are making smoothies etc for a larger group of people. The Blendtec jars are wider and shorter than the Vita-mix jars making it easier to get food out of and to clean. The Blendtec in both models also only has two blades, whereas the Vitamix has four, making it a little more difficult to get foods such as nut butters out of the jar.

With the cost of food today and because I hate wasting food, I like the way that the Blendtec jar has no decorative grooves in the jug, making it easy to get all the food out. In comparison, the Vita-mix jar has decorative grooves making it difficult to get all the food out, even with a rubber scraper.

Ease of Cleaning

The Blendtec Total blender is easy to clean - just add a little water and detergent in, pulse it a few times, rinse it out, and leave it to dry. Ease of cleaning is important to me. Who wants to fiddle with washing lots of different parts?

Because there are no knobs and buttons sticking out on the Blendtec, when you spill some fruit or juice on the base (as you inevitably will), it is easy just to wipe off.

The Vita-mix has a manual control which means you will need to adjust the dial yourself if you want the blender to change the speed at which it is blending. The Vita-Mix 4500 blender has two speeds - low and high. The Vita-Mix 1709 blender (which I think is the same as the 5200) has a variable speed from 1 to 10 and also an extra high speed.

The Warranty

The Vita-mix has a 5 year limited warranty on all parts whereas the Blendtec has a 1 year warranty on the jar, a 3 year warranty on the motor and base, and a lifetime warranty on the coupling and blade.

Performance

According to the reviews I read, both the Blendtec total blender and the Vitamix blender make fabulous smoothies, blending the food to tiny particles until they are smooth (nice for a smoothie!). In the following videos, it seems to take about the same amount of time to blend foods and both reviewers are very happy with the results. In the second video, the reviewer also compares the Blendtec wildside blender which seems to be quicker.

The Blendtec will grind grains and nuts, but to do this in the Vitamix, you will need to buy a separate container.

Blendtec vs Vitamix

Have you tried either of these blenders or would you recommend an entirely different blender?