This is the most powerful personal blender I've ever used: Nutribullet Ultra review

Nutribullet has historically dominated the single-serve, bullet blender market, and their latest release, the Nutribullet Ultra is by far the best model in their offering. It's by far the most powerful personal blender on the market, plus it looks beautiful too.

I already own and use a different Nutribullet (the Pro 900) every day. Before the Nutribullet Ultra, I thought my Pro 900 was one of the best blenders on the market. However, after testing the quieter, more powerful, touchscreen Ultra, it'll be tough to go back to anything else.

I tested the Ultra on smoothies, dips, and crushed ice, even though bullet blenders have a tricky relationship with ice and tougher ingredients. The Ultra is powerful enough to take on these tasks, but is it enough for it to replace a family-sized pitcher blender?

Specifications

Who would it suit?

As a bullet blender, this is perfect for people who want quick drinks and single servings of smoothies. The nature of the shape of bullet blenders makes them much better at more liquid-based tasks, so if you’re looking for a blender to make ice cones and dips in huge quantities, you might want a more traditional blending jug. Both for blending power and consistency throughout your mix.

With that in mind though, the Nutribullet is by far the most powerful bullet blender that I’ve tested. It actually didn’t really struggle with dips or ice, but I couldn't make huge quantities in it.

Unboxing

The Nutribullet was easy to unbox and get set up. All the packaging was cardboard, which was very easy to flatten and recycle. The Ultra comes with a base, two blending cups, and a lid. This means that you can make bigger quantities and save some for later by just screwing the lid on.

Sat on the countertop, the Nutribullet looks smart. It has a backlit, touchscreen control panel which glows in a very futuristic way as soon as you plug it in. On the countertop, it’s very subtle and smart. I could imagine this blending seamlessly into any modern kitchen and even small kitchens wouldn’t struggle to make space for it.

What is it like to use?

Bullet blenders are intuitive to use. You screw the lid on, lock it into place, and then, rather than twisting it to blend, you use the touchscreen to toggle between 30-second blends and pulsing. Aside from the screen, the Ultra is exactly the same as other Nutribullets, but with extra, enhanced power, This makes it brilliant for blending tougher ingredients.

Test 1: smoothies

The first test that we put every blender through is on smoothies. I used a mix of frozen bananas, blueberries, ice, almond milk, spinach, and oats, because this tests the blades across a range of tricky ingredients. The frozen berries are effectively big ice chunks that also have tough seeds. The oats can be fibrous, as can the spinach leaves, so blending them all into a seamlessly smooth drink is no mean feat.

The Ultra, with its impressive power, made a super smooth drink. It hardly took any time either. I only used the thirty-second run, which was more than enough. I don't know whether I would say that the Ultra was quieter than my 900. It's certainly not the loudest blender I've tested, but it's not notably quieter. My dBA measurer was at around 90 for most of the blending.

I gave this an extra tough test by adding a scoop of protein powder into the mix. Protein powders come with the potential for the smoothie to get a little lumpy and powdery, but this was fine. My powder seamlessly blended into the smoothie.

Test 2: dips

I’ve had trouble with bullet blenders and hummus in the past. They normally need a shake or a scrape in the way of a helping hand, because there’s a very low liquid content, so chickpeas at the top aren’t often well integrated into the mix. The Ultra, however, didn’t break a sweat. It effortlessly whizzed up my chickpeas, tahini, lemon juice, and cumin into a super smooth dip. Even with a wider, more powerful pitcher blender, I wouldn’t have had the same results.

Test 3: crushed ice

I have never had success making crushed ice in a bullet blender. They’re just not made for snow cones, which is fine, but worth knowing nonetheless. That’s why I was so impressed when I put ice in the Ultra, set it running, and watched my ice cubes mist into fine particles. This was the first and only bullet blender that could actually crush ice. And it didn’t just do that. All the ice particles were powdery, light, and a wonderful texture. It’s faultless.

Cleaning, storage, and maintenance

The Nutribullet cup and blades are dishwasher safe, so once I was finished with testing, both parts went into the dishwasher. Cleaning up doesn’t get any easier. The base is, of course, not dishwasher-friendly, but it doesn’t really get dirty. I’d still recommend giving both the base and the touchscreen controls a wipe down with a microfiber cloth, but it’s not exactly a task that needs elbow grease.

The slim, sleek design of the Ultra makes it easy to keep out on the countertop. It’s subtle and smart, so I think it would be the most convenient solution to tuck this into a corner (if you blend daily). If you’re not a smoothie-every-morning kind of person, you’ll be fine to put this in a cupboard. The base, in spite of its power, isn’t very heavy. Plus, the cups come with sip-top lids, so you can use these for your protein shakes, or for transporting any liquids with you when you're on the go. Talk about accessories that do it all.

How does it rate online?

The Ultra is unanimously recognized as the most powerful, impressive bullet blender on the market. It has been met with a significant amount of praise from both reviewers and customers alike.

People say that this is stylish, the new touchscreen controls always got a special mention. People liked how sensitive the touchscreen is, although I did find a few people who accidentally set theirs running because it's almost too sensitive. However, the blender won't run until your cup is locked into place, so you won't get much mess.

The other upgrades that Nutibullet boasts, power and quietness, are also often mentioned. Everyone says that this is incredibly powerful and that it is much more capable of tackling tough tasks than other blenders. Even though I didn't find that mine was much quieter than other models, plenty of people thought that theirs were on the quiet side for blenders.

Some reviewers said that, whilst the upgrades were nice, they're not essential. Cheaper, simpler Nutribullets can offer similar results for less money. So, if you're holding on to your purse strings, you might not need to invest in Nutribullet's latest and greatest.

How does it compare?

I’ve tested some of the best blenders on the market and this truly is up there with them. I’d like to make two comparisons, one with the Nutribullet 900 (which is probably the other model you’re considering if you’re looking at this) and the Braun TriForce Power Blender.

The Nutribullet Pro 900 is slightly smaller, chunkier, and less modern-looking than the Ultra. This is the one I use almost every day at home and I can make an equally good smoothie or bowl of hummus in mine. However, when it comes to ice, the 900 is no match for the Ultra. The 900 spins the ice around, not misting it at all, whilst the Ultra makes light work of turning cubes into light crystals.

The Ultra's more powerful motor also means that it's much quicker than the 900 across all tasks. Although, with great power comes an immense amount of noise. The Ultra measured up to 90 dBa in my kitchen, which is a full 15 dBa more than the 900. If you want to save money and you don’t need immense amounts of power, the 900 is better, If you want power and speed, the Ultra is a better option.

The Braun TriForce Power Blender is a similar price to the Ultra, which is why I think it warrants comparison. It’s a different style from the Ultra in that the Nutribullet is a bullet blender and the Braun is a pitcher blender. This means that the Braun has a bigger capacity and is even better when it comes to silky-smooth results. The Braun is just as noisy as the Ultra, if not more, but if you need capacity, it’s a better option. However, the larger capacity means that it takes up more space, so a small kitchen or people who only need single servings won’t make use of the capacity.

Should you buy it?

If you want power and convenience, this is a great investment. The Nutribullet isn’t eye-wateringly expensive, but it’s the most expensive option on offer from Nutribullet. Compared to other blenders on the market, it’s a steal. Having used the Ultra, going back to my Pro 900 felt like walking after you've been running: it felt slower and a lot simpler. It still does a good job of the tasks, but if you want the best of the best, you need this.

How we test

We have three simple tasks that we put our blenders through to test their performance. The first is making smoothies. We use frozen fruits (because these are like seedy ice cubes), oats (for the fiber), spinach (for the tough leaves), almond milk, and a scoop of protein powder (because this can go lumpy). When we set the blender running, we measure the time it takes to make a silky smoothie. We'll also measure the amount of noise that it makes, in decibels, since blenders are notoriously noisy appliances.

Our next test is on dips, normally hummus. There's a much lower liquid content here, so some blenders struggle to get a consistent blend across all the ingredients. We measure, again, the time and amount of noise made, whilst also making notes on the texture of our final hummus.

Our final, standard test, is on ice. These cubes are close to impossible for most bullet blenders to crush (although the Ultra did a stellar job). We'll let you know the results and why a blender has achieved the results it has, because not everyone needs to be able to mist ice daily.

Aside from making notes on performance, we'll also let you know how the blender looks, what it's like to clean, and how it compares to other models on the market. In short, we want you to be able to make a decision on what you want to buy, safe in the knowledge that you've seen all your options.

If you want to find out more, we've got all the details on our dedicated page for how we test blenders.