The 4 best portable blenders in 2023, tried and tested

Pros: Easy to use, self-cleaning, powerful for a cordless blender, submersible

Cons: Won't do much more than blend, battery won't last forever, only 30-day warranty

While it's not going to quickly or consistently pulverize ice or make flawless nut butter, the BlendJet 2 reliably does what most of us call upon a blender to do: make flawless shakes, smoothies, and cocktails.

The slightly offset, four-tipped blade plus a pulse mode allows the BlendJet to process foods better than your average portable blender. We even managed a passable almond butter with it, as well as remarkably fast smoothies (about 30-40 seconds) and shaved ice. The regular mode is better suited for smoothies, shakes, and cocktails — you can also clean it in this mode by blending a drop of dish soap and some warm water.

The BlendJet 2 fully charges in about an hour and a half, which offers around 5 to 10 minutes of blending, or as the brand claims, more than 15 blends. We found that to be about right, though jobs that require more power naturally drained the battery faster. That said, you probably won't be grinding piles of ice cubes or trying to make gravel (please don't try to make gravel in any blender).

We like how easy the BlendJet 2 is to pack and carry and how relatively lightweight it is, especially compared with other, slightly more budget-friendly options. A low-profile, no-frills carry loop plus a locking lid and base make storing it in your bag about as worry-free as can be.

Pros: Extremely compact, low profile, self-cleaning, great 3-year warranty

Cons: A little heavy for the size, not great battery life

For making shakes, smoothies, and cocktails on the go, the Oster Blend Active checks all the boxes at an almost impossibly affordable price.

It doesn't hold the same battery life that the BlendJet 2 does, but for those of us who aren't going 10 blends between finding our way to a charger, that's a non-issue. The brand claims it handles 10 blends between charges, but we found it lasted between five and seven blends before requiring charging.

A two-and-a-half-hour charging time is the biggest downside of this blender, but for about $20, it's worth putting up with.

The base of the blender functions can act as a lid, but we prefered the flip-top. It snaps shut nicely and has a carrying loop, which seems like a fortified, heavy-duty rubber band, that makes holding it much more manageable than with the base functioning as the lid. With the base on top, you do have the option to give your beverage a quick stir or add an ice cube to refresh it.

The slimline, two-tipped blade isn't going to do a great job making almond flour, but if you want a small, budget-friendly blender for basic drinks on the go, Oster's Blend Active is the ticket.

Pros: Lightweight, shatter-resistant jar, blade guard for safety, makes almond flour

Cons: Lid is a little large, won't crush ice or frozen strawberries

Hamilton Beach's Blend Now is another portable blender that is great for smoothies and cocktails, but is designed with smoothies and protein shakes in mind. It doesn't do anything fancy (in spite of its six blades), but it comes with a sturdy lid and built-in plastic handle that will easily clip to your gym back or rest inside without spilling.

We had both perfect smoothies and passable almond flour in under 40 seconds with this blender. As with other budget options, we did have trouble grinding ice and frozen strawberries.

The brand claims you'll get 28 protein shakes out of each charge, which is feasible, but in our testing we were getting about 5 smoothies before the power started to weaken. It took somewhere between an hour and an hour and a half to recharge, which is slightly better than average, but it holds less total charge. All in all, the battery capacity is in line with most portable blenders on the market.

The flip-top lid with the built-in handle is a bit cumbersome, but it's the status-quo design for protein shake bottles. It will suit those looking to bring it to the gym right along with any other blender bottle.

Pros: Easy-open push-button cap, locking lid, double-walled, insulated stainless-steel cup keeps contents cold

Cons: Cup isn't dishwasher-safe, can't handle hot liquids

If you don't need power and just want to shake up your protein drink on your way to, fro, or at the gym, BlenderBottle's Strada is our favorite manual blender bottle because it's built to last with surgical-grade stainless steel and comes with a lid that is as sturdy as they come.

The interior has markings to help you portion out drinks up to 20 ounces (that's where the max-fill line is, despite the advertised 24-ounce capacity). The standard-issue stainless-steel Blender Ball whisk easily does its job to eliminate powder clumps, making for impressively smooth manual shakes.

This is the simple, fuss-free option that won't fail you the way electronics ultimately will, and it's designed to withstand most of the trouble it is liable to meet with at the gym. It goes without saying that you're not going to produce smoothies with this device, but it does an extraordinary job with powder-based shakes and infusions, functions nicely as a water bottle, and a built-in carrying loop attaches to your gym bag with authority. A lifetime limited warranty — something you won't get with most electronics — inspires even further confidence.

Size/capacity: Portable blenders fall under the personal blender category as they don't carry the power of larger blenders. They range in size from about single-serve to about a two-cup capacity, which is just about right for one to three people to enjoy. 

Power: You can only expect about 50 watts or the equivalent from a personal blender. Depending on the size of the battery, we find that you'll get anywhere from about 5 to 15 blends per charge (more or less depending on the hardness of what you're blending or chopping).

Ease of use/cleaning: All of the blenders we tested were easy enough to disassemble and clean, but those with better self-cleaning features and less gaskets to remove are ideal. Portable blenders are all about convenience.

We tested portable blenders side by side with personal blenders. Unsurprisingly, we found that lithium-ion-battery-powered portable blenders lacked the power that small, 110v personal blenders possess. 

We spoke with Erika Wong, a registered dietitian, nutritionist, and PureFish's in-house blending specialist, who also worked as a counselor at Massachusetts General Hospital to find out what makes a top-notch blender and general, and then pared down those criteria to accommodate smaller, less-powerful, and more portable options, looking to speed, power, and simplicity in use and cleaning.

Our testing process for personal blenders was as follows:

Blending

Ice: We blended three ounces of ice in each blender, timing it and noting any necessary pulsing, prodding, or shaking required to get shavings as uniform as possible. Some blenders simply didn't cut it.

Frozen strawberries: We put three ounces of frozen strawberries into each portable blender, finding that some had an easier time than others. The BlendJet 2 was the only one that offered a nearly uniform result.

Almond flour: Although it was a longshot, we put two ounces of toasted almonds into each blender, timing the process and noting when flour either didn't materialize or things clumped up badly. Most portable blenders were unable to make flour, but some, like our top pick, did.

Strawberry-banana smoothies: We made strawberry-banana smoothies with frozen strawberries and fresh bananas because of the difference in texture. Aside from the time it took to be totally blended, we encountered hardly any issues with all of the blenders we tested.

Can a portable blender still crush ice?

Some portable blenders can crush ice well enough, but nothing like a 350- or 700-watt blender can. The best portable blender we tested for crushing ice was our overall pick, the BlendJet 2.

What's the point of a portable blender?

Portable blenders are designed for blending on the go, whether you're staying in an RV, on a boat, or camping in the middle of nowhere. They're usually much more compact than standard blenders, and nowhere near as powerful, but they can handle your basic smoothie, cocktail, and shake.