Vitamix 5200 vs Ninja Professional Plus BN701: Verdict

Vitamix 5200 vs Ninja BN701: independent scores, hot soup and nut butter results, 7-year vs 1-year warranty, and whether the extra cost pays off.

By Maksud · Published Oct 4, 2026

For the Vitamix 5200 vs Ninja Professional Plus question, the Vitamix is the better blender if you blend greens daily or want hot soup: TechGearLab scored it 81 vs 68, and it is America’s Test Kitchen’s overall winner. The Ninja BN701 cost about a fifth as much on ATK’s price listing, fits under 18-inch cabinets, goes in the dishwasher, and scored nearly as well on ice and frozen drinks.

Vitamix 5200 vs Ninja BN701 at a glance

Two independent sources rated this exact pair: America’s Test Kitchen (ATK, published Oct 6, 2025) and TechGearLab (Vitamix 5200 review, dated Oct 16, 2017; BN701 review, dated Jun 3, 2022). TechGearLab’s two reviews come from test rounds five years apart, so treat its scores as a guide rather than a head-to-head.

The sources don’t agree on every spec, so where they differ both numbers are shown. Wattage is the clearest case; for what that number does and doesn’t tell you, see blender wattage explained.

Smoothies and greens: is Vitamix worth it over Ninja?

For green smoothies, the evidence favors the Vitamix clearly. TechGearLab gave it a perfect 10.0 for smoothies, saying it left no flakes or chunks of kale. The BN701 scored 6.0: TechGearLab found small pieces of kale didn’t fully purée, the texture was a little grainy, and some oats and nuts were left unblended in a fruit-and-oat smoothie.

ATK’s findings point the same way with a smaller gap: it rated smoothies 3 of 3 for the Vitamix and 2.5 for the Ninja. It credits the Vitamix’s narrow jar with fine textures without excess air, and calls the Ninja’s smoothies a touch more frothy and fibrous than its top picks’. TechGearLab says the Ninja made a great berry smoothie and Oreo milkshake. So the gap is mainly about kale, seeds and oats; if you blend those daily, it’s the main reason to pay more.

Can the Ninja BN701 make hot soup like the Vitamix?

Of the two, only the Vitamix heated soup in TechGearLab’s tests. Its tomato soup reached just over 153°F at the end of the blending cycle, which TechGearLab calls hot enough to serve, and it poured through the sieve in just under six minutes. TechGearLab’s spec table gives 152.4°F for the same test. The BN701, per TechGearLab, cannot heat soup while puréeing: its soup measured 74°F and came out a little chunky.

For soup that is already hot, the Vitamix 5200 manual says “Never Start on Speeds Above 1 with Hot Liquids”. It also says to lock the lid, start on Variable 1 and increase slowly, and not to fill the container to maximum capacity with hot liquids. We couldn’t open an official BN701 owner’s guide, so check Ninja’s own instructions before blending anything hot in it. The full rules are in can you put hot liquid in a blender.

Nut butter: the two test sources contradict each other

On nut butter, ATK and TechGearLab reached opposite verdicts on the Vitamix, so I wouldn’t buy either blender for this job on the evidence alone. ATK rated the Vitamix 3 of 3 for almond butter and the Ninja 2 of 3. It says the Ninja had to work very hard for slightly gritty results, and that the butter and machine were quite hot by the end. TechGearLab found the reverse: the 5200 “severely struggled”, stayed thick and grainy even with extra oil, and its motor got warm enough to need a rest.

TechGearLab’s BN701 got there in the end, but only with repeated stirring between cycles and a good amount of oil. The Vitamix manual sets a limit. For nut butters, don’t process for more than one minute after the mixture starts to circulate, because longer can cause dangerous overheating. If the motor does shut off, the manual says to turn off the power switch for up to 45 minutes to reset on 120-volt machines.

Ice and frozen drinks: where the Ninja comes closest

Ice is where the price gap buys the least. TechGearLab scored frozen drinks 8.0 for the Vitamix and 7.5 for the BN701. The Ninja’s Ice Crush setting, pulsed, turned ice into a soft, uniform powder, and it made a margarita in 120 seconds on the blend setting, one more 60-second blend than its manual recommends. The Vitamix took a little longer on margaritas and needed speed changes and the occasional pitcher shake.

ATK rated both 3 of 3 for crushed ice. For more on what separates good ice crushing from bad, see can a blender crush ice.

Controls, noise and fitting under 18-inch cabinets

The two take different approaches to controls. Per the Vitamix manual, the 5200 has an on/off switch, a High/Variable switch and a variable-speed dial, and it comes with a tamper; TechGearLab notes there are no presets or timer. The BN701 has Smoothie, Ice Crush and Ice Cream presets, a digital timer and manual low, medium, high and pulse, per TechGearLab, which scored its controls 8.0 vs 7.0. ATK found the Ninja a little finicky: the lid and jar have to be oriented and twisted on in specific ways, and it didn’t love the suction-cup feet.

On noise, the sources pull in different directions. ATK measured the Vitamix slightly louder on high, 96.1 dB vs 94 dB, yet gave both its top noise rating and called the Vitamix quiet. TechGearLab calls the 5200 a little on the loud side compared with the rest of its lineup. Height is the clearer practical issue: ATK lists the Vitamix at 20.25 inches and says it can’t sit under a standard 18-inch-tall cabinet, while the Ninja stands 17 inches.

Cleaning: hand-wash Vitamix vs dishwasher-safe Ninja

The Vitamix 5200 manual says not to put the container, lid or lid plug in the dishwasher. Its normal cleaning method is to fill the container half full with warm water and add a couple of drops of dish soap. Then lock the lid, run from Variable 1 up to High, and hold High for 30 to 60 seconds. TechGearLab scored its cleaning 3.5, noting the tall, narrow pitcher is harder to clean by hand than other Vitamix models.

TechGearLab says the BN701’s lid, pitcher and blades are all dishwasher safe and scored it 7.9, though the pitcher can’t dry on the base. ATK says the Ninja’s detachable blade made cleaning easier but sometimes fell out when pouring smoothies. More detail is in is a blender jar dishwasher safe and how to clean a blender.

Warranty and CPSC recall status

The Vitamix 5200 manual covers the machine for 7 years against failure from defects in material or workmanship or normal wear and tear from ordinary household use. ATK lists the Ninja’s warranty as 1 year. No source I read measured how long either blender lasts.

Neither blender is named in a CPSC recall, per the CPSC recall database checked Oct 4, 2026. Vitamix’s recalls cover other containers. One is the 64-ounce Low-Profile container (13273, Aug 28, 2013), which the CPSC says was sold with the 7500, Professional Series 300 and 750, and on its own. The other is the Ascent and Venturist 8- and 20-ounce containers (18202, Aug 9, 2018, expanded as 24276, Jun 20, 2024).

Ninja’s blender recall, 16034 (Nov 12, 2015), covers BL660-series blenders, not the BN701. To check your own unit, see the blender recall check.

Price and cost per year of warranty

On Oct 4, 2026, ATK’s page listed the Vitamix 5200 at $479.99 and the BN701 at $89.99 (regular $119.99), both at Amazon. Spread over the warranty, that’s $479.99 ÷ 7 = about $68.57 per covered year for the Vitamix and $89.99 for the Ninja’s single year. That isn’t a lifespan estimate, and prices change often.

Which should you buy: Vitamix 5200 or Ninja BN701?

• Daily green smoothies or hot soup: Vitamix 5200. It scored 10.0 vs 6.0 on smoothies and is the only one of the two that heated soup in TechGearLab’s tests.
• Mostly frozen drinks and crushed ice: Ninja BN701. Frozen-drink scores were close (7.5 vs 8.0), and ATK rated both 3 of 3 on crushed ice.
• Low cabinets: Ninja, at 17 inches vs 20.25 inches, per ATK.
• Dishwasher-only household: Ninja; the Vitamix manual says the container, lid and plug stay out of the dishwasher.
• Nut butter: neither is a sure thing, since ATK and TechGearLab disagree.

Staying with Ninja? Compare the Ninja BL610 vs BN701 or the nutribullet NBF50500 vs Ninja BN701.

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