VitaMix vs Blendtec Blenders
By Music Lady
VitaMix vs. Blendtec
VitaMix vs. Blendtec
I've owned and loved my Vita-Mix blender for many years. Nearly every morning we start the day with oatmeal and a delicious smoothie. A couple weeks ago we purchased a Blendtec blender and I must say it's an impressive machine.
This hub is comparing these two top of the line blenders. I do recommend owning a machine like this because it's such a terrific way to eat fresh fruits and vegetables with the fiber. Unlike juicers, you eat the entire fruit or vegetable and clean up is quick and easy.
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7 Reasons I Prefer the Blendtec
I must admit the Blendtec YouTube videos caught my interest. They have rolled out a very creative set of videos showing their machine making powder out of things like iPhones. I knew it must be a terrific machine for making flour and smoothies. Here are the top 7 reasons I personally like the Blendtec the best.
- You don't need a tamper. I used the Vita-Mix tamper a lot and liked the idea of making drinks without having to stand over the machine. The Blendtec has settings and you can basically walk away white the drink is blending. (To be fair, there was one time I did need to open the top and push down the food where a tamper would have been nice, but otherwise I've had no need to touch the food inside the Blendtec.)
- It's a smaller machine. The Blendtec is 5 inches shorter and now fits under our kitchen cabinets. It's also 3 horse power instead of 2.5, a stronger machine than the Vita-Mix.
- The Blendtec makes perfect flour. This is actually one of the main reasons I decided to purchase the machine! In a minute it turns grains into fine powder. I tried to make flour with the dry container of my Vita-Mix but the 'flour' was too gritty. My muffins had little rocks of grain.
- The Blendtec uses the same jar for everything. You use the same jar for wet or dry items. This means more cabinet space since you don't need two containers like the Vita-Mix.
- It's easier to clean. Both machines are easy to clean, but the Blendtec is a wider jar and only has 2 blades instead of 4. It's easier to clean the bottom of the jar. I also like that the blades are quite dull so you don't accidentally get cut.
- It's easier to pour. I like the square jar. It's easier to pour from.
- Ease of use. The lid of the Vita-Mix is harder to secure for an older person. I have a 90 year old friend who cannot secure the lid. It's much easier for her to use the Blendtec. The lid is easier to get on and off plus she doesn't have to use the tamper to push the food down in the jar.
These are the reasons I'm using the Blendtec and not the Vita-Mix. The Vita-Mix is still an outstanding blender and if I didn't have the Blendtec would be using it a lot. They are both very powerful blenders!
Blendtec - iPhone
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Comments
Thanks for your comments. A VitaMix is a very good machine. I used my for probably 15 years. It is true that sometimes a tamper would be useful with the Blentec, but in general it's working much better than my VitaMix did.
Maybe we had different models. My VitaMix did a horrible job with grinding grains. Glad yours worked better!
As you say, they are both great machines. What a blessing to be able to make healthy delicious smoothies out of whole fruits and vegetables.
Nice review.
I've had a Blendtec for a few years and loved it!
When the motor got too loud and started making a strange noise I was shopping again. For me the pre-programmed buttons were a big selling point but I found them to be useless as I always had to manually finish whatever I was doing anyway.
After researching and shopping around I got a Vitamix 5200. Now I have a new love. It is much less noisy than the blendtec ever was. It really is just as easy to clean. I started grinding my own flour for holiday cookies and have no problems doing it in the wet container that came with it. And I have 8 year warranty on everything!
I found this comparison very helpful in making my decision:
http://gotgreensrevolution.com/Vitamix-versus-blen
The one thing I do miss about my Blendtec is the size. I was able to store the whole thing on my counter top. Now I have to store my Vitamix container in the cabinet.
Thanks for your comment. Mine was a VitaMix 5000. So perhaps the 5200 is better than mine. I sold my VitaMix since for me, the Bendtec worked better and took much less space.
Hey "music lady":
I have your guitar DVD's and get your newsletter, this is the first time I've linked through to this blog. Tks for sharing on other good stuff with the bigger "world" out there too.
Thanks Mary! I appreciate your comment.
I owned a Vita-Mix 5200 and then switched to BlendTec. Both machines are good. I did find the BlendTec to be superior to the Vita-Mix. I love Margaritas. The BlendTec crushes my ice UNIFORMLY throughout. What I get out at the top of the jar is the SAME CONSISTENCY as what's at the bottom. The square shape of the jar forces the particles to create a vortex and the contents circulate or travel down, then up-and-down again. If people have ACTUALLY USED BOTH MACHINES THOROUGHTLY i just can't possibly imagine somebody will actually prefer the Vita-Mix. I find that absolutely unbeleivable. Secondly, my BlendTec can make flour with the same blade, not needing an extra $100 jar. In the final analysis, I found myself after only a few months of owning a BlendTec, now actually using the blender for smoothies, ice cream, BREAD!!!!!, and sauces, compared to using my Vita-Mix for smoothing 2 or 3 times a week.
I own both. The new Vitamix in my opinion is much better. They have improved the lid and the container. The analog controls allow you to select any speed you like. The blendtec I am always pushing the preset digital buttons over and over. The Blendtec can't handle frozen foods very well because there is no tamper. Much easier to work with Frozen foods in the Vitamix. The Vitamix just feels like a superior blender. I believe the Blendtec is over priced for what it is. These are my opinions as an owner. And yes the lower height of the blendtec and easier clean up are nice... but I vote the Vitamix the superior machine.
Interesting. I haven't seen the newest Vitamix machines. I find both machines to be pricey... but I when you use them pretty much everyday it's well worth the price.
I've found Vitamix hands down to be the higher performing maching...
And you actually can grind flour in the vitamix in the container that comes with the machine and it does the same job as the blendtec... The Vitamix offers a dry container that grinds the flour even finer than the blendtec's container... However you have to take into consideration that blendtecs claim of more power is actually misleading. The Vitamix actually spins faster on the highest speed compared to blenctec. Higher speed= better results. The Vitamix makes nut butters WAY faster than the blendtec because of that tamper. and Vitamix is definitely quiter. Not to mention that more commercial establishments prefer Vitamix. i.e. Jamba juice. Starbucks is transitioning back to Vitamix right now after giving blendtec a try for a couple years. Not to mention most of your national chain restaurants and professional chefs and leading chef schools use vitamix. If that's not enough just look in consumer reports magazine. Vitamix is always #1. ....
But besides all that I've seen both and dealt with both machines and the Vitamix gets my vote hands down for performance ease of use and sound...
But as long as we're getting more whole foods in our diet... that's what matters most whatever you decide.
Ryan, thanks for your comments. I might try a newer VitaMix when and if the blendtec ever needs to be replaced. And, we are absolutely on the same page with the purpose of both machines helping us to get more whole foods in our diet!
blessings, Jean
I bought a Blendtec 7 months ago at Costco, and recently noticed the jar is leaking a metallic-smelling dark liquid around the base of the metal post (under the jar). As luck would have it, Costco is running a Vitamix demo, so I bought it, and plan on returning the Blendtec. So far I love the Vitamix! I love the variable control of the and the tamper. With the Blendtec, I've had to restart the pre-programmed cycle, sometimes more than once, to get the desired texture of my smoothies. What sold me on the Vitamix was when I called Blendtec and asked about the leaky jar problem. They said since I've had it for less than a year, they will ship me a new jar with free shipping (I need to mail the jar back to them, also with free shipping). But in the future, if this should happen again (and I was told the product life is about 2-3 years) during the warranty period (3 years for the jar and blade), I would need to pay the $17 in shipping to get a new free jar. After 3 years I have to buy a new one. With the Vitamix, the warranty is longer (7 years) and I would pay no shipping to get a free replacement. This sealed the deal for me. To be fair, I loved the Blendtec when it didn't leak. In fact, if I didn't have this problem, I would be very satisfied with it and not even think about getting the Vitamix. My friend's Blendtec jar has also started to leak (she's owned hers for about 2-3 years). Now I need to find more uses for my Vitamix other than just smoothies and whole food juices!
Thanks for your comment Conner. I've have the Blentec for a bit over a year now. I still love it and use it almost everyday. Odd you mentioned the 'leak' I just yesterday noticed there was a brown circle of something on the inside of the bottom of the jar. I wondered what it was... but it came right off.
Both are great machines. And it looks like the newer VitaMix are better better than the one I had. If given the choice, I would buy another Blendtec if the VitaMix had not changed.
Hey, I love your hubpage! I am a HUGE blender fan and I am a proud owner of the Vitamix 5200 Platinum. I truly cannot live without it! It was really hard for me to make the decision to get a Vitamix. Actually I decided to buy the Blendtec first and then my sister told me after I ordered it that my mom had already bought me the vitamix for christmas so I had to cancel my order. But I will say that I am happy with how that turned out. However, I am still curious what the blendtec would be like. Eventually I will have both and compare them for myself I guess. Here is another blender site that I found helpful. www.bestcommercialblender.com
Thank you for the various comments. I had until tomorrow to purchase a Blendtec at Costco at one of their special events. I have decided to wait.
It would be useful when people refer to either blender to also name the model they are using, particularly when referring to the Blendtec whether it is the old 3" or new 4" blade. I'm doing the rounds going from one review site to another in an effort to glean any information and overall sense that will help me make my decision between the Vitamix5200 and BlendTec. The impression so far I'm getting is that the Vitamix is slightly better than the Blendtec with the old jug, but now the new 4" has again overtaken the Vitamix. Perhaps it is that even the new 4" does not do dry as well Vitamix's dedicated dry jug, but my interest and focus is on fruit and veg blending to get my raw greens in. On that front the wider base and new 4" blade appears to do better than Vitamix. I do like Vitamix's 7 year peace of mind guarantee - very important imo when forking out that amount of money. To hear from reviewers here of poor customer support and relations is further disturbing. My mind is not yet made up...
I have had the vitamix 5000 for about 10 years now with no problems. I also looked at the blendtec and could see the way the way they made the permanent bearing assy. on the jar would not last very long. Its very similar to cheap blenders that I have had in the past, which would leak and seize up very quickly. (I see people posted above, have had this happen to them.) I also agree with others on the blendtec automatic buttons sound cool, but are worthless in the real world. Its funny how in the demos. for the blendtec, how they make the negatives of their machine sound like a plus for them. Someone was asking to tell what model number they had, but for the vitamix, I have seen very little changes other than cosmetics. I think the vitamix will way outlast the blendtec.
The automatic buttons work great on my Blentec. I love that I can set it, walk away, and come back to a perfectly blended smoothie. I use the machine almost everyday and have had no problems.
Glad you are enjoying your machine. It's great to have an easy way to consume more fruits and vegetables.
I find that the Vitamix does a GREAT job with grains! I love mine to bits. I think I want to buy my sister a blendtec though, just to compare.
I purchased a Blendtec a little less than a month ago. On the 23rd blend cycle, the unit overloaded; now on the 44th blend cycle I have oil leaking at the base of the unit. Not sure about the longevity of this particular Blendtec. I'm thinking I should return it before something else occurs!
Bought a Vitamix in 1976. Used daily with a farm family. Lots of tough useage.Brought it with me to the Philippines and still use it everyday with a step down transformer. In all those yesrs,replaced the blade assy twice and one set motor brushes! It was the most expensive retail market blender when I bought it. With all the hard years we gave it,its the cheapest to own over the years,like most expensive name brand products!
RachDminor 2 years ago
I had a VitaMix for 25 years and BlendTec for 4. My experience and conclusion is the opposite of that expressed here. Following the directions, I never had gritty ground grains with the VitaMix and frequently need a tamper with the BlendTec (finally fashioned my own rather than stop and start numerous times with the thicker textures I like - which made the greater horsepower moot). As for the extra horsepower, logically it would seem to save time ... if true, we're talking seconds. I've used both machines thoroughly and honestly don't notice any difference related to horsepower. As for cleaning, running it with water with a squirt of detergent does most or all of the job for each. VitaMix sells a smaller container for space-saving and smaller quantities. Yes, it's more expensive, may take more storage space, and the buttons can be convenient, but read the following about 25 years vs. 1 year and think long-term.
They're both excellent machines when they work - which was 25 years before needing a $50 part for the VitaMix vs. just over ONE year for same part requiring $50 purchase on the BlendTec. VitaMix helpfully offered the part for a 25-year-old machine without snickering or pressure to sell a new VitaMix. BlendTec very rudely and uncaringly refused to honor the lifetime warranty seen all over the internet (they'd just changed it to one year without notice). 2-3 who had influenced my choice of BlendTec had the same experience with them. None of us will give them another cent of our money because of it. Considering the differences in longevity (25 vs 1 year) and decency of customer service, VitaMix is the better product, investment, and company to support with my money and endorsement. (not affiliated in any way)