Nutri Ninja vs Nutribullet – The Battle of the Compact Blenders

In the world of compact blenders these two brands stand out.

The Nutribullet and the Nutri Ninja are locked in a battle royal where each manufacturer tries to one up the other by coming up with better features and stronger motors.

Nutri Ninja vs Nutribullet

Consumers are winners in the end

The biggest winners of course would be us consumers because along with better features we also get better pricing.

Related: Looking for a great blender deal? Check out this page to get the best blender deals in Amazon just in time for Christmas!

Ninja is a one of the sub-brands under SharkNinja LLC.

Aside from manufacturing compact blenders, this company also manufacturers food processors, vacuums, coffee makers and yes full sized blenders.

So what we will not do is compare their full sized blender to the compact line because that won’t be fair.

Nutribullet only makes compact blenders, nothing else. And right now they have 3 variants in their line.

These include the original Nutribullet, the Nutribullet Pro and the latest variant the Nutribullet Rx.


Blade Design

Comparing the blades of the Ninja and Nutribullet

Nutribullet blade

At first glance, you’ll immediately notice the difference. Nutribullet uses a straighter blade that appears to look weaker than the Ninja.

And when you actually touch the blade of a Nutribullet it does have a little play and is a source of leaks according to reviews.

You can buy redesigned blades in Amazon that will fit both the 600 watt and 900 watt models for around $12 if you’re having problems with the original blade.

Blunt blades

The blades aren’t as pointed as the blades found in the Ninja. So there is less risk of injury when cleaning. The dullness of these blades means it will pulverize and not cut. There’s a risk of seeing chunks of kale floating around.

If you want to see how the Nutribullet or the Ninja performed making smoothies then jump ahead to the blending performance section.

Prior to the RX, Nutribullet used 2-blade system you see above but they’ve changed all that with this new model. Have a look.

Nutribullet RX Blade

Even with the new blade design there are still complaints about liquid seeping through the blades and down the motor base.

Nutribullet Rx

Comparing the blades of the new RX and the previous Nutribullet…

Comparing the RX and the old Nutribullet blades

The Ninja uses a more traditional blade design that is rigid and has sharp edges.

It also bends both ways – to the top and bottom.

This is by design to be able to shred ingredients at the bottom of the blade (a trouble spot in most blenders) and to pull the ingredients from the top downwards creating a vortex motion.

More sturdy than the Nutribullet

The more sturdy construction of Ninja’s blades means that this machine should hold up for longer and the risk for leaks is far less than a Nutribullet.

Here’s a video comparison done by Rack Boyz Fitness on the difference between the two…

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ycu_qE476Xk

Winner: Nutri Ninja.


Power

The first Nutribullet took the market by storm when it was introduced to the market in 2012.

Instead of having a weak 300 to 400 watt motors that most compact blenders have, Nutribullet put on a 600 watt motor that was unheard of during that time.

Nutribullet was king until Ninja came along

  • Original Nutribullet – 600 watts
  • Nutribullet Pro – 900 watts
  • Nutribullet RX – 1,700 watts

When Ninja came up with their first generation blender, it had more power (900 watts). And somewhat forced Nutribullet to come up with something more potent in the Nutribullet Pro.

Ninja blenders and their respective power figures

  • Ninja Pro (none Auto IQ version) BL456 – 900 watts
  • BL482 Auto iQ – 1,000 watts
  • Ninja Auto IQ Pro – 1,200 watts
  • BL493Z Auto-iQ Compact System – 1,200 watts
  • NN102 Blender Duo – 1,200 – 1,500 watts
  • BL682 Blender System – 1,500 watts

Enter the Nutribullet Pro that now has 900 watts and the battles wages on.

The Rx has 1,700 watts of power

Right now, the RX has perhaps the strongest motor among the compact blenders you’ll find in the market right now with 1,700 watts of crushing power.

That’s more than the other full sized blenders in the market like the Vitamix 750, Vitamix 7500, Montel Williams HealthMaster, Shred and Cleanblend just to name a few.

The most powerful blender that Ninja has right now is the Auto-IQ Duo Professional that tops out at 1,500 watts.

Winner: Nutribullet


Blending Performance

This is where the “rubber meets the road” so to speak.

Here I’ll share with you YouTube videos on how these blenders performed in different tasks from making green smoothies to crushing ice.

What do you need to look for in these videos?

For the smoothie test, we will compare how each of these blenders would be capable of chopping up all the ingredients into a smooth consistency.

The last thing we want in our smoothies or shakes are bits and pieces of leaves and seeds.

The litmus test so to speak for blenders is making the green smoothie.

Bad brands will have difficulty with leafy greens

Inferior models will have a difficult time blending ingredients like leafy greens without having to start and stop several times to manually move things around.

This could be due to poor blade design, weak motor or a combination of both.

A mark of a good blender is its ability to turn whole leafy greens into a smooth consistent and delicious juice without wasting time stopping and starting.

In the ice crush test, another litmus test for blenders is how well the blender crushes ice without leaving huge chunks behind. What we want is a consistent texture that resembles snow.

Nutribullet

Let’s start with the original Nutribullet 600

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P_4-vuHGWns

First a few disclaimers, first you cannot use raspberries or blackberries in this blender because it will leave behind chunks of seeds.

Second, you will need to shake the cut several times for the ingredients to blend properly. Adding more water to the recipe can solve this issue.

Even powerful blenders like Blendtec will advise their customers to add some water into their smoothie recipes.

With the Vitamix it shouldn’t be a problem because it comes with a tamper.

Lastly, don’t pack it in too tightly and chop the ingredients so it blends easier.

Here’s the Nutribullet Pro 900’s ice crush test

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NLB-EoKFK8U

Consumer Reports say that the Nutribullet’s blades cracked blending ice in their stress test. Their stress test involves blending ice over 40 times. Nutribullet disputed this claim (click on the link) and say that this product is not a safety risk.

Not a good idea to crush ice with it

My take on this is that you don’t buy a Nutribullet just to crush ice.

You buy this to make smoothies and if that involves adding a few cubes of ice, it should blend well (as long as you add some water or juice in your recipe).

Here’s a green smoothie using the Nutribullet RX that contains spinach, apple, pear, banana and some water.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pgnUOix6QTI

Even with the cup stuffed with spinach the Nutribullet RX was able to go through all of the ingredients. The key is adding a bit of liquid, this is very important to get things going. The smoothie looks smooth without any chunks inside.

Soup

Here’s how to make cream of broccoli soup (a recipe that you’ll find in the recipe book) using the SoupBlaster pitcher.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7iPMS-lSF-Y

If you read the book, this recipe calls for steamed broccoli. But even with the frozen broccoli the RX was able to turn it into warm soup.

To make hot soup just push the button in the middle of the bottom part of the motor base.

Soup blending cycle

When you push this button, it goes through a 7-minute blending cycle that heats up the liquid inside.

Nutribullet does not recommend putting in hot liquid inside.

Here’s another demo of the SoupBlaster in action…

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SRXvSgKHeuY

The result is a delicious hot vegetable soup (you can see the steam coming out!) that can rival any soup you’ll find in a fine dining restaurant without paying the outrageous price.

Comparing the Nutribullet Pro and Nutri Ninja Auto IQ

Here’s a comparison video again by “The Fitness Radar” comparing the Nutribullet Pro and the Nutri Ninja Auto IQ blending kale, carrots and beet…

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fPMNSvidi0k

After the first round of blending the Ninja came out clunky with a chunk of kale still present and while the Nutribullet had better results – it still was clunky.

If you’re planning to use this to make green juice (particularly kale and beet), blend it for at least 3 minutes or chop the beets into smaller chunks so it blends faster.

Nutribullet 900 was better

Overall the Nutribullet 900 seemed to do a better job when it comes to blending the combo of kale and beet.

Now let’s move on to the next video, this time it’s the Nutri Ninja Auto IQ Pro Complete that comes with the large capacity 48 ounce pitcher.

In this video Mooch tests it blending mixed greens (a lot!), blueberries, banana, protein powder and oatmeal. Don’t forget to add water…

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ckK-YlDpT4k

The result is a smoothie that came out really smooth.

Take note that this recipe does not contain any hard to blend stuff like beet so it didn’t take long to blend.

Pizza dough

Here’s a video from Nutri Ninja and it shows you how to use the dough blade attachment to make pizza dough…

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tsypqiRwd60

Using the low setting, it only takes 30 seconds to make a pound of pizza dough. Now if you have a large family you may need to make more batches of pizza dough but having that option is really nice.

Winner: Nutri Ninja (by a hair)

This is close, even though the Ninja is more versatile in terms of pulverizing power the Nutribullet isn’t far behind.

When you saw the side by side test when Mooch tried to make a green smoothie using kale and beet, the Nutribullet seemed to fair better.


Controls

From the second generation onwards, Ninja has added more control options to their blenders.

Have a look at how the user interface has evolved from the second generation blender that came with the Auto IQ to the latest version that comes with a decent sized 40 ounce pitcher they call the “Compact System”.

NutriNinjaControls

Nutribullet didn’t bother to put any controls in their blenders. Their motto is if ain’t broke why fix it?

Have a look at their 3 main models and see for yourself.

Well, except for the Nutribullet RX that has a soup button at the bottom of the motor base.

Nutribullet Controls

But it’s hard to argue with the success of their products, maybe it’s the simplicity that appeals to their loyal customers and will continue to attract more people to their products. It’s simple to use and with the RX you have the power of a full sized blender disguised as a compact extractor.

Winner: Nutri Ninja


Accessories

Both the Nutri Ninja and the Nutribullet comes with loads of accessories, pitchers and extra cups depending on the variant you will choose.

In some cases the difference between variants would be accessories included.

Let me enumerate what comes with each model to give you an idea what you will get.

The Original Nutribullet

Nutribullet 600 Accessories

  • Two tall cups (24 oz.)
  • One short cup (18 oz.)
  • One flat blade (you can use this to grind coffee, nuts and grains)
  • One emulsifying blade (standard blade used to make smoothies)
  • Two re-sealable lids (so you can take your smoothies with you anywhere)
  • 50+ page recipe book

Nutribullet Pro 900

Nutri Bullet Pro Accessories

  • One colossal cup (32 oz.)
  • Two tall cups (24 oz.)
  • One short cup (with a handle)
  • Two stay-fresh re-usable lids
  • One regular lip ring
  • One Flip-Top To-Go Lid
  • 130+ page recipe book

Nutribullet RX

Nutribullet RX Accessories

  • Redesigned blade
  • SouperBlast Pitcher (designed for making hot soup) plus the lid
  • One 30 ounce short cup
  • One 45 ounce oversized cup
  • One stay-fresh re-usable lid
  • Blade remover (to remove the blade – just in case)
  • 150+ page recipe book

Now I know why the RX has such a powerful motor.

Aside from making smoothies and protein shakes, this machine can now make soup recipes. Something that previous generation models cannot do.

The RX comes with a Pitcher Nutribullet calls the SouperBlast

It is basically a pitcher that has small holes on top to allow heat and pressure to escape while blending soup and when you combine it with the powerful 1,700 motor.

This blender will be capable of making soup and make it hot, no need to buy a Vitamix for that.

Nutri Ninja has more options

When you look at the product line of the Ninja, you can immediately see that it has a lot more options.

The same goes for the accessories that come along with it.

From the basic cup, lid and blade set that you will get in the Ninja Pro, you have the option to purchase a variant with a full sized pitcher that allows you to chop ingredients as well as mix ingredients.

Let’s go through these options one by one.

Nutri Ninja Pro

Nutri Ninja Pro Accessories

  • One 18 ounce cup
  • One 24 ounce cup
  • Two seal and sip lids
  • 30 page recipe and wellness guide

Nutri Ninja Auto IQ

  • One 18 ounce cup
  • One regular 24 ounce cup
  • One jumbo 32 ounce cup
  • One pro extractor blades
  • 3 sip and seal lids
  • 75 page recipe book

Nutri Ninja Auto IQ Pro

  • One 24 ounce tritan cup
  • One 24 ounce stainless steel cup (keeps your smoothies cold for up to 4 hours!)
  • One 32 ounce jumbo tritan cup
  • One extractor blade
  • Three seal and sip lids
  • Recipe book (30 recipes)

Ninja Auto-iQ Compact System

  • One 40 ounce ninja blend & prep bowl
  • One 48 ounce multi-serve ninja pitcher (for your food processing needs)
  • One 24 ounce Tritan cup
  • One 24 ounce stainless steel cup
  • Two seal and sip lids
  • One chopping blade, dough hook & pro extractor blades
  • 30 recipe booklet

Ninja Blender Duo BL642

Ninja Blender Duo BL642 Accessories

  • One 72 ounce blender pitcher (with Lid)
  • One total crushing blades
  • One small 18 ounce cup
  • One regular 24 ounce cup
  • One jumbo 32 ounce cup
  • One Pro extractor blades
  • Three seal and sip lids
  • 75 recipe cook book

Ninja Blender Duo BL682

  • One 72 ounce blender pitcher (with Lid)
  • One 64 ounce (8 cup capacity) food processor bowl for making dips, purees, salsa and chopping veggies
  • One 18 ounce cup
  • One 24 ounce up
  • One 32 ounce cup
  • One Rachelle Beller Healthy Living & Recipe Book

If you check on Amazon the Auto-IQ compact system has three variants – the BL491, BL492 and BL493Z, each has a different set of accessories included.

Hands down the Nutri Ninja with its multitude for tools that not only chop and blend but also mix dough gives you a far more versatile functionality – not only can you make smoothies and shakes, you can also mix dough, make soup, chop veggies (with more control because of the pulse function) and crush ice better than a Nutribullet.

Winner: Nutri Ninja


Warranty

If you’d buy these blenders from Amazon both of these brands will come with the standard one year warranty. But when you buy it from their website they offer different warranty options.

Nutribullet gives you the option to purchase an extended warranty of 4 years.

Amazon also offers an extended warranty of up to four years depending on the variant. And it is actually cheaper than the warranty sold by Nutribullet.

Lifetime warranty from Ninja

Ninja offers a far better warranty. If you buy direct from their website, ninjakitchen.com you have the option of getting the 5 year warranty and the VIP lifetime warranty depending on the product you choose.

Winner: Ninja


Price

If you’re looking for the cheapest, the Ninja Pro (Non-IQ version) would be the most affordable cost just a little under $70. The cheapest Nutribullet would be the original version and it would cost a shade under $65 while the most expensive would be the powerful soup making RX.

Ninja a bit more expensive

For the Ninja the IQ version of the Pro would cost around $85. When you hear the word IQ it simply means it has preset controls.

The top of the line Ninja with all the bells and whistles would be the 1,500 watt BL682.

It will cost close to $180. If you don’t need the food processor attachement then go with the BL642 that’s around $30 cheaper.

Here’s a tip when buying a Ninja

A lot of its variants vary with the accessories included so what you need to do is carefully look at the inclusions and see if you really need those attachments.

Both brands offer refurbished options if you don’t buying buying something used.

Why not try a refurbished blender?

Refurbished means appliances repaired to brand new spec and given a seal of approval by the manufacturer (but with a shorter warranty).

These usually come from returned items that manufacturers don’t want to just discard.

When you compare the price point of these two brands, it is clear that you will get a lot more for your dollar with the Ninja. While the Nutribullet is a very good product, you don’t get a lot of versatility.

Winner: Nutri Ninja


Conclusion – Which One Is Better?

Both of these machines cater to a different type of consumer.

Why the Nutribullet?

The Nutribullet would fit the consumer who does not want to fiddle with pre-programmed controls and just want something that can quickly make smoothies, protein shakes or soups.

All their machines come with only one speed. The biggest difference would be the size of the motors and with the Nutribullet RX you also have a pitcher that is capable of heating up your soup recipes and allow steam to come out.

Great for smoothies, protein shakes or soup

So if you’re all about making smoothies, protein shakes, soups and the occasional salad dressing then the Nutribullet would be a better and cheaper option in most cases.

Remember that base on reviews, all variants have the same leaking issues and in some cases bits and pieces of the rubber gasket going into the juice.

Despite these negative reviews, the majority still like this product.

It could be a small batch of lemon products coming out of the manufacturing facility.

Why Ninja?

The Ninja is more suited for the home chef as it offers far more control in terms of blending control.

Depending on what you buy you have the option not just to blend smoothies but the product allows you to chop veggies, make salsa and even mix dough using the specialized dough blade.

Which is the better blender?

In terms of versatility and functionality I’d say the Nutri Ninja wins by a mile.

When you combine the preset controls, different blades and containers you have a fully functional food processor to go along with your blender.

It won’t be as heavy duty as a Vitamix or a Blendtec but for the fraction of the price you can get the same versatility.

The Nutribullet is great for three things – making smoothies, protein shakes and soups.

The lack of a pulse function will rob you of control when you will try to make salsa or dips.

3 thoughts on “Nutri Ninja vs Nutribullet – The Battle of the Compact Blenders”

Leave a Comment

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

Scroll to Top