Have you wondered what the difference is between a Magic Bullet blender and Nutribullet? If you have, you are not alone.
The debate over which is the better bullet blender raged as ever since 2007 when the Nutribullet was announced as, the more powerful successor to its forefather, the original personal blender, the Magic Bullet.
To help settle the fog, in this guide, we will look at the strengths and weaknesses of each to help you decide which bullet blender is a better fit for your personal use.
Don’t have time to read? Here’s a quick summary of each blender and what they’re useful for…
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| Product Name | Grade |
| Magic Bullet Mini | Great for light chopping, quick salsas, and thinner smoothies. |
| Original Magic Bullet | Ideal for small portions and smoothies without tough ingredients. |
| Nutribullet Personal Blender | Mid-range of power can handle tougher ingredients but struggles with frozen. |
| Nutribullet Pro & Pro Exclusive | High power, ideal for to-go smoothies with tough ingredients and ice. |
| Nutribullet Rx | Extremely powerful, can do thick smoothies and heat soup. |
| Nutribullet Pro 1000 & Nutribullet Select | Most powerful single-serve blender. Great for to-go smoothies. |
NutriBullet and Magic Bullet Blenders
Magic Bullet Mini
The Magic Bullet Mini Blender only has a 200-watt motor. It is a great little machine for a quick morning smoothie whether at home, in the office, or on the road. Its compact size is only possible because its low-power motor is very compact, but the downside is it is only suitable for fresh smoothies.
Original Magic Bullet
The original Magic Bullet has a 250-watt motor despite having difficulty with vegetable flesh, frozen fruit, and other tough ingredients. It is considered by many blending enthusiasts to be the perfect machine for making smoothies from soft ingredients, grinding coffee, and other light-duty jobs.
Nutribullet Personal Blender
With a 600-watt motor, the smallest blender in the Nutribullet family offers more than twice the power of a Magic Bullet. Its higher-powered motor provides greater motor speed and more cutting power. The tradeoff is that a bigger motor requires a larger power base. This is the first bullet model that excels at crushing ice on the plus side.
Nutribullet Pro & Pro Exclusive
Both these Nutribullet Pros come with a 900-watt motor, and to be honest, the only difference that we have been able to decern between these two blenders is the matt-black finish on the Pro Exclusive model. They both can make single-serve smoothies from the toughest of ingredients and perform most of the basic food processor functions that a blender would normally take on.
Nutribullet Rx
Nutri’s largest and most powerful personal blender, the Nutribullet Rx, supplies a full 1700-watts of power. Intended to bridge the gap between personal and countertop models, it’s high-powered motor makes it possible for you to prepare a wide variety of delicious dishes.
Nutribullet Pro 1000 & Nutribullet Select
Next in line in terms of power are the Nutribullet Pro 1000 and Nutribullet Select. As the name implies, the Pro 1000 provides a full 1000-watts of power. This single-serve blender is suitable for most blending jobs, from making smoothies with fresh or frozen fruits to whipping up a margarita. It is ideal for making baby food from whole vegetables or creating liquid fuel green smoothies.
A Brief History of Bullet Blenders
Bullet blenders first entered the public consciousness in the early 2000s when Homeland Housewares first introduced the Magic Bullet in a series of late-night infomercials. These entertaining and informative minishows touted all of the benefits that drinking smoothies made from fresh fruits and vegetables could bring to a person’s life.
Many of these early shows featured David “Avocado” Wolfe, a man that Forbes Magazine described as “a cross between Kenny G and Howie Mandel.” While many found Wolfe to be a rather comical character, his boisterous methods of explaining how the Magic Bullet could extend your life and grind coffee beans or make nut butter simultaneously were effective.
In short order, millions of Magic Bullet blenders were sold, and in 2007 the Nutribullet was introduced. With a more powerful motor base, this bullet blender soon built a following, and the debate over which was the best bullet blender was born.
As of this writing, over 50 million bullets have been sold and used daily worldwide. Their ability to crush ice, make green smoothies and baby food, or perform other duties normally reserved for much larger appliances have made them a favorite in kitchens, offices, and gyms.
Nutribullet vs. Magic Bullet Comparison
When making a comparison between Nutribullet blenders and Magic Bullets, the first thing that needs to be remembered is we are not just looking at two bullet blenders but at two families of blenders.
The Magic Bullet line contains two different blenders, and the Nutribullet family has six options in personal blenders. Beyond this, the Nutribullet brand also contains full-size blenders, juicers, and food processors.
Virtually all personal-sized models in both lines can be purchased alone or as parts of sets that come with multiple accessories, blades, and cup sizes.
As much as is possible, we will limit ourselves to comparing the two most popular models in each family.
Price of Magic Bullet Blender vs. Nutribullet Blenders
Both blender families are manufactured by the same company, Homeland Housewares, LLC.
They both offer superb performance for their intended uses but are targeted at different market sectors and have different price points. With careful shopping, though, this last line can become blurred.
As a general rule, though, when buying a Nutribullet, you can expect to spend forty dollars or more even when found on sale. At the top end, you can spend over a C-Note for a Nutribullet Set with all the available bells and whistles.
A Magic Bullet is somewhat less expensive, with starting prices often between twenty and thirty dollars even in sets. Larger sets with more accessories naturally carry higher price tags.
The two are very similar in terms of build quality, durability, and functionality. What buying a higher-priced model from the Nutribullet blender line gets you is more power and greater versatility.
Based on studying online reviews and personal experience, our opinion is that both are more than worth their price tags. Which one delivers more bang for the buck and is the best bullet blender for the money you’ll spend depends entirely on what tasks you are hoping to accomplish.
Nutribullet Cups vs. Magic Bullet Cups
One of the secrets to both the Magic Bullet’s and Nutribullet’s success is the variety of cup sizes that they come with. This is one area in which the Magic Bullet will, in most cases, have a slight edge on its more powerful son.
Both machines will come with at least one short cup and one tall cup. The difference is that with an entry-level machine, you will also get a measuring cup with the original Magic Bullet and either an extra-tall cup or a short cup.
This is, of course, dependent on the specific model chosen, and cups are easily supplemented by buying packages.
All the bullet blender cups used by this company are dishwasher safe, but they also differ in size. It should be no surprise that more powerful models come with larger cups.
The Magic Bullet comes standard with twelve and eighteen-ounce cups. The Original Nutribullet offers eighteen and twenty-four-ounce tumblers, and when you step up to the Nutribullet Pro with its 1000-watt base, twenty-four and thirty-two-ounce mugs become the standard sizes.
In many cases, cups are interchangeable between models but not all. The manufacturer’s website should be consulted before using any Nutribullet cups or Magic Bullet cups on any blender other than the one they came with.
Failure to do so could place you at personal risk and may void your warranty.
Blades
All of the personal blender models manufactured by Nutri come with two different types of blades; an extractor blade and a grinding blade.
Extractor Blades
Extractor blades are the workhorses of the entire line. They are intended to break down everything from soft fruits and vegetables to seeds and stems with the aim of creating the most nutritious smoothies, salsas, and soups possible.
While the blades are similar in design, Magic Bullet vs. Nutribullet, they function slightly differently due to the machines operating at different speeds and power levels.
We will discuss these factors more shortly, but the general difference is that blades that spin at a higher rate in more powerful machines cut more and crush less.
The extractor blades intended for models like the Nutribullet Pro 1000 and Select have sharper edges than those for a Magic Bullet. There are special ice crusher blades made for the Magic Bullet, while the standard extractor blades can perform the same function in most any Nutri Bullet blender.
It is also why Nutri Bullet compact blender performs better with frozen fruit and hard-to-blend vegetables like kale and other leafy greens than a Magic Bullet.
Milling Blades
All Magic Bullet and NutriBullet blender models also come with a milling blade. This is a flat blade that grinds herbs, nuts, coffee beans, grains, and in the case of the Magic Bullet, turns ice cubes into crushed ice for frozen desserts.
This is a greatly underutilized feature based on personal experience and reading reviews. If you enjoy peanut butter or like to make fresh nut milk in single servings, this is a jewel in your kitchen.
Regardless of the model, it is used with, this blade grinds nuts much faster than regular blenders and provides a more consistent texture.
Motor Power
Motor power and speed are where the differences between using a Magic Bullet and Nutribullet become apparent.
Nutribullet vs. Magic Bullet – Which Performs Best?
Asking which blender performs best is like asking which is more beautiful, the sea or the mountains. You will get a dozen different answers if you ask a dozen people. Because of this, we have looked at some of the most common uses that people put their Magic Bullet and Nutribullet blenders to and look at which performs best based on internet reviews and our personal experience.
Making Smoothies
Smoothies are what a bullet blender was originally intended for, so it seems like a good place to start.
Both the Magic Bullet blender and the Mini are excellent for making fresh fruit smoothies. Still, their lower-powered motors make them problematic for tougher ingredients like frozen fruit, ice, or hard-to-blend vegetables.
If green smoothies are your thing, you will be better served by any Nutribullet blender than a Magic Bullet. If you are satisfied with fruit smoothies, then a Magic Bullet blender will provide all the service you need in a smaller, more convenient and generally lowered-priced package.
Making Nut Butters
Making nut butter is one of the more difficult tasks you can ask of a blender system. Nuts are hard and require a lot of power to break up, and since you generally don’t want to add any liquid to your mix, they can be difficult to get to blend smoothly.
Nutribullet Pros or models with more power make quick work of peanut butter and similar tasks. That being said, Magic Bullet blender owners have proven time and again that their little jewels are more than up to the task.
The secret is patience. Because of the hardness of most nuts, you should use a slow setting and pulse your Magic Bullet, then give it a shake and pulse again. This can be time-consuming but yields more satisfactory results.
Making Hot Soups and Sauces
It is not recommended to place hot ingredients in any Magic Bullet or Nutribullet blender. Hot liquid can release steam and cause pressures to rise in their jars, leading to explosive results. You can use any magic Bullet blender or Nutribullet to liquefy ingredients to create soups and sauces and then heat them on a stovetop.
The one exception to this is the Nutribullet RX Personal Blender. It has a heated blend cycle and pitcher attachment that is specifically intended for just these purposes.
All you have to do is place your fresh ingredients in the 34 oz souper Blast pitcher, attach the vented cap to the lid, and in no time, you will have healthy, chemical-free soups and sauces faster than you can heat them from a can or jar.
Making Frozen Drinks and Desserts
The Magic Bullet isn’t the best choice for anything that requires grinding ice or harder ingredients, and you shouldn’t even attempt it with a Mini. If you want to make frozen desserts or drinks, it is recommended that you look at a 1000-watt model Nutribullet or a blender with even more power.
Chopping Ingredients for Cooking
Depending on the ingredients you need to process, any Nutribullet or Magic Bullet blender should perform satisfactorily. The difference in the Magic Bullet vs. Nutribullet line is, again, the amount of power that is available.
A Magic Bullet chops soft ingredients without any problems, but if hard or tough-skinned vegetables, nuts, or seeds are being used, you will undoubtedly appreciate the larger Nutribullet motor.
Making Purees
As long as the power considerations already been mentioned are kept in mind, any magic Bullet or Nutribullet with an extractor blade will deliver silky-smooth purees on demand.
One word of caution: Ensure that any ingredients you have cooked are sufficiently cool not to cause pressure issues in the blending cup. If you must puree warm or hot ingredients, then only the Nutribullet Rx Cooking Blender should be used and then only with the vented cap properly installed.
Magic Bullet vs. Nutribullet Best Blender Overall
The Nutribullet family of blenders and the Magic Bullet blender pair both come from the same manufacturer, so there is little difference in fit and finish. They are both built to a very high standard, and their quality shows in every area, from how they function to how they are put together.
Rather than pick which of the eight models is the king of the hill, we will list the pros and cons of each line and let you decide for yourself.
Magic Bullet Pros
A favorite of blending enthusiast for almost twenty years
A very affordable price point for the quality
Ideal size for making single servings
All cups come with a to-go lid
Light and compact can be carried with you everywhere you go
Easy to operate and clean, dishwasher safe
One of the quietest blenders on the market
It comes with a recipe book and user manual
A wide range of accessories are available
Excellent for baby food, salsa, and egg salad type dishes
Magic Bullet Cons
250-watt motor is light for the class
Has trouble blending hard vegetables
You can’t really crush ice even with a cross blade
Cup size limited
Plastic lid tabs are known to snap over time
NutriBullet Pros
Mid to high powered motors
Come standard with mixing cup
It easily crushes ice and nuts
Simple to use
Wide range of glasses and jars available
Easy to clean and care for
Can make almost any type of smoothie you could ever want
All models are an excellent value for the money
Larger capacities
5-year extendable warranty on all models
Rx model can be used for hot soups and sauces
Nutribullet Cons
Plastic drive socket wears over time
Plastic tabs on cups break with extended use
Noisey blenders for their size
Hidden gasket rings require warranty work to have replaced
Magic Bullet vs. Nutribullets – Which Should You Buy?
It is difficult to tell anyone which blender delivers more bang for their buck when looking at machines of equal quality but intended for different market sectors. It comes down to what you are looking for from the blender, your lifestyle, and your budget.
It would be simple to tell you to purchase the most powerful bullet offered with all the bells and whistles its higher price tag brings to the table. That might not be the best choice for you, in all honesty, though.
If you already have a large countertop blender that you are happy with, you will not need to spend that much. The same could be said if all you want is to grind coffee beans and make basic smoothies. In that case, a simple to use Magic Bullet might best suit your needs.
By the same token, if you are a hardcore foodie and looking to replace your old blender with a more compact appliance, then the top-of-the-line Nutribullet Rx Cooking Blender would be ideal for you. It can handle any task you could ask of a blender and even make hot soups and sauces, a feature normally only found in machines costing hundreds more.
The point is, It is not our place to tell you what is best for you. That would be presumptuous on our part and do you a disservice.
Our mission is to present you the facts as best we can and offer an educated opinion on what is both good and bad about the appliances we discuss in our guides and articles.
We sincerely hope that the information we have provided here has answered any questions you may have had and helped you make an educated decision about the best bullet blender to suit your needs.
Magic Bullets and Nutribullets are all great kitchen appliances. Choosing which is best in your home is now up to you.
Hey, I’m Joey. I’ve been cooking since I was a little kid and love everything about it. You can find my writing about food, kitchen appliances (such as blenders) and much more. Thanks for stopping by!
