If you’ve ever looked at Vitamix blenders, you may have been shocked at the price. These legendary blenders, renowned for their stainless steel blades and quality parts, are quite often far out of the average budget. Are they really worth the price, though?
In this Vitamix 5300 review, we’ll be diving deep into a specific model. We’ll talk about its features and whether or not it’s really worth the cost nowadays.
Let’s jump right in.
Don’t have time to read? Here’s a quick summary of the products we recommend.
Product Name | Grade |
Vitamix 5300 Blender | A+ |
Vitamix Refurbished 5300 | A+ |
E310 Explorian Blender | A+ |
Professional Series 750 Blender | A+ |
Vitamix 5300 Blender
The Vitamix 5300 blender is a classic example of Vitamix quality. With a vigorous 2.2 HP motor, low profile container, and variable speed controls, this blender makes it easy to get consistent blends time after time.
Like other Vitamix blenders, it also comes with a lengthy 7 year warranty that undoubtedly gives most owners priceless peace of mind. Given the fact that it’s made from quality material, though, there’s a good chance you wouldn’t need to make use of the warranty anytime soon.
Review of Important Features of the Vitamix 5300
Variable Speed Control Knob
The variable speed control knob is the knob on the front of the blender the user turns from left to right to increase power. It’s arguably the most important feature on any high-quality counter-top blender because it allows you to control how finely you want to pulverize ingredients.
Also, by starting slow and increasing over the blend cycle, it’s much easier to make the ingredients form a vortex. When you create a vortex, you can ensure that food falls into the blades instead of being flung away.
The average Vitamix blender gives users control over the speed. Of course, the Vitamix 5300 blender is no exception to that high standard.
Pulse Switch
Also on the front of the Vitamix 5300 blender, you’ll find a pulse switch. Pulsing is a great way to chop ingredients instead of blending to a complete puree.
Say, for instance, that you wanted to add some tortilla chips to a hot southwest soup you just made. Doing a light pulse on the low setting would allow you to keep the chips chunky without fully liquefying them. It’s also great for salsas and pesto.
A pulse function comes standard with many Vitamix blenders. The pulse feature gives you total control and finesse over the texture of the blend.
Low-Profile Container
One amazing thing about the average Vitamix blender is that they usually have large capacity containers that still maintain a low profile. With a low profile container, the blender doesn’t take up much space, but still allows you to make large batches in the jar, thanks to the generous size.
You get the same large capacity pitcher on the Vitamix 5300 blender. The 64 oz low profile container is shorter than the classic container and comes with a wider base. As a result, it also has longer blades (2.8 inches on the classic vs 4 inches on the wide).
The wide bottom and longer blades make it slightly better at processing larger amounts of ingredients, but less efficient at smaller amounts. It’s also an easier fit under cabinets and in small spaces.
If you plan on doing really small batches, you can always get a separate smaller container for the C-series blenders.
7 Year Warranty
It’s not a “feature” per se, but it’s one of the things that makes Vitamix great. I’ve had very positive interactions with their warranty department over the years. They really stand by their blenders so you can trust you’ll have it for a long time.
Plus, there’s nothing more frustrating than investing money in a high-end blender, only to have it fail shortly after purchase. The 7 year warranty really gives you time to report any issues you might experience with the 5300 blender.
Read Also: Vitamix 7500 vs 5300: Which Should You Buy?
2.2 HP Motor
One thing we say quite frequently is that the motor is the heart of the blender. That’s a statement we can stand by, because the strength of the motor directly impacts your blending. As such, the motor has one of the most important functions in any blender.
The 2.2 hp motor in the Vitamix 5300 blender is one of the most powerful motors used by this company to date. Their newer home lines tend to go up to 2.2 horsepower, which is more than enough with the tamper to blend anything up in a superb way.
Color Options
If you buy a renewed one, the 5300 comes in two different color options:
- Red with a black interface.
- Black with a silver interface.
This has no effect on the color of the container. No matter which color you choose to purchase, the container will look precisely the same.
Furthermore, this obviously won’t have an impact on how you use the blender, but it is a nice extra touch. It allows you to choose a version that accentuates or fits in to the color scheme in your kitchen.
Accessories
So what else do you get when you purchase the 5300? As it turns out, you get a small supply of accessories to help you ease the model into your cooking routine. Here’s what you get in the standard package:
- Motor base
- Container
- Getting Started Plus Guide
- Low-Profile Tamper
It’s a C-series blender, which gives you some options for other accessories, namely other container options, if you so choose.
These are some of the other container options offered by Vitamix that are compatible with C-series blenders:
- 32-ounce dry grain container
- 48-ounce container
- 32-ounce container
- Classic 64-ounce container (not the low-profile)
As we mentioned earlier, it’s not a bad idea to invest in a smaller jar at some point if you want to do smaller batches.
Read Also: Ninja BL770 vs Vitamix: Which One Should You Choose?
Vitamix Background Information
So what kind of background does the Vitamix 5300 come from? Given that Vitamix is such a popular name in blending, you might understandably be curious about what they did to earn such a reputation in the blender world.
We did some digging on the history of Vitamix as a company to answer that inquiry. Vitamix was founded in the 1940s by a man named William Barnard. He created the first infomercial for the company in 1949, and even from that early on, it was clear that Vitamix was intended as a way to make healthy eating accessible to all.
Their goal is to create the highest quality blenders, and we believe they have continued to meet that goal since their inception. In general, each Vitamix blender sets a new bar for competition to meet.
Is it Worth it? (What Others Have to Say)
At the time of writing this, the Vitamix 5300 has received an overall positive reception from customers who bought it online. Both the reviews on Vitamix’s own site and other popular online retailers are around 80-90% favorable.
The few issues we have seen are the refurbished models not working properly or dying out. There are always flaws in any manufacturing or refurbishing process, but it seems rather uncommon.
It’s certainly annoying if this happens to you and you need to send it back, but I don’t think it occurs enough to justify not going with a refurbished blender.
It’s still guaranteed under warranty.
Our Conclusion: Is the Vitamix 5300 Good?
It shouldn’t come as any surprise that we say the Vitamix 5300 is still a wonderful blender to choose. Its features hold up even now in 2020.
The 64 ounce container is immensely helpful. A 64 ounce capacity is typically more than enough for daily blending tasks. Furthermore, the low profile nature of the container means that this blender will not take up your entire counter. You won’t need to struggle to find space for the Vitamix 5300.
We also think the pulse setting is phenomenal. With the pulse setting on this blender, you’re easily able to customize the texture of the resulting mixture.
The motor passes muster, too. This is one powerful motor, with an impressive 2.2 hp at its disposal. It can easily propel the stainless steel blades at a high speed so you can make all sorts of recipes, including nut butter, vegetable purees, ice cream, juices, and thick smoothies.
Not to mention the variable speed settings. If the pulse function gives you control, the variable speed settings simply increase the power you have over blending.
Where Can You Buy a Vitamix 5300?
Having discussed at length the features of the 5300 blender, you might be wondering where you can get one yourself. The 5300 is available through many online retailers, including the Vitamix official site.
You can also find the 5300 through Amazon, Wal-Mart, and Target. If you’d like to check it out on Amazon, you can find it here.
Should You Buy a Refurbished Vitamix 5300?
Vitamix Refurbished 5300
As we mentioned earlier, the 5300 can seem hopelessly out of reach to anyone on a budget. If that’s the case for you, then an alternate option you could consider is buying a reconditioned or renewed 5300.
On Amazon, renewed simply means that the product has been used or the box opened before. Before selling it once more, however, a renewed item undergoes rigorous quality testing to ensure that it functions perfectly.
Everything, from the container to the blades, should work just fine on a renewed 5300. This could be a viable option for you if you otherwise would not be able to fit a new 5300 into your budget.
Vitamix FAQs
A lot of buyers have questions when it comes to buying one of these blenders. We’ll spend some time in this review answering some of the most common questions.
What is the difference between the Vitamix 5200 and 5300?
Given the similar names between the Vitamix 5300 and the Vitamix 5200, you might have some questions about what the difference between them is. Furthermore, you might be wondering which one is better.
There are some slight differences between these two blenders. The first one is that the 5300 has a slightly stronger motor than the 5200. Specifically, the 5300 has a 2.2 hp motor, while the 5200’s motor is 2 hp.
Furthermore, although the container on the 5200 has the same 64 oz capacity of the 5300, it is taller and narrower. This means that it is not low profile, like the low profile 64 ounce container on the 5300.
However, Vitamix 5200 blenders are compatible with smaller containers than the standard 64 oz one. If you’re concerned about it taking up too much space, you could simply buy a more compact container.
What Can You Use the Vitamix 5300 for?
Another question some might have about the 5300 is what you can use it for. Well, this wouldn’t be a detailed review if we didn’t dive into the many functions of this blender, would it?
You can obviously use this blender for standard blending jobs. Smoothies, nut butters, baby food, batters, sauces, and salad dressings are all things that are effortless for this blender. However, there’s really no blending task that you can’t do with it.
To give you examples of what those harder tasks could be, you can blend banana ice cream, hot soups, and even nut milks. Traditionally tough food ingredients, like ice, are entirely possible with this amazing blender.
Let’s not forget about chopping. The variable speed dial, long stainless steel blades, and wide container make this blender excellent at getting a coarse or fine chop on almost anything.
Is Vitamix really worth the money?
We couldn’t do this review without addressing another common question many shoppers have: is Vitamix really worth the money?
The short answer is yes – just about any blender from Vitamix is worth the investment. We know the price tag can be intimidating for some, but the high performance coming from a Vitamix model can provide a means to healthy living and delicious homemade recipes for wholesome family meals.
Additionally, the power of the motors in them tends to give them a lot of versatility. Regardless of what blending job you need completed, you can usually rest assured a Vitamix can do it. These are some of the toughest blenders on the market today, with a generally long lifespan.
It certainly helps that these blenders are typically covered by generous warranties, too. If anything goes wrong with your Vitamix, you can reach out to the manufacturer for support and replacements if necessary.
Which is the Best Vitamix?
When you look at Vitamix, you’re already looking at some of the best of the best. This leaves quite a few people curious which blender from Vitamix truly is the best, though.
There are a lot of options to choose from here. Of course, the 5300 could easily be on the list, but we’ll show you a couple of the other best options on the market today…
But for more blender options, check out our guide to the best Ninja blender.
E310 Explorian Blender
Unlike the Vitamix 5300, the Explorian starts with a 48-ounce container. This makes it perfect for blending medium-sized batches, and also means that it will take up less space on your counters.
Like the average Vitamix, it’s also self-cleaning. You can just add some dish soap and hot water to the jar, then blend it at its highest setting to give it a quick and easy clean.
It also has an impressive radial cooling system that keeps the blender nice and cool, even during periods of intense and extended use.
Professional Series 750 Blender
One of the things that sets the Professional Series 750 Blender apart from its brethren is the fact that it comes with five pre-programmed settings. That makes it incredibly easy to use, because you can just switch on any of these pre-programmed settings and let the blender handle the rest for you.
Those pre-programmed settings include smoothie, frozen dessert, soup, and puree options. There’s also a fifth cleaning option that you can switch to when you want a quick and effortless clean.
Wrap Up
As you can see, the 5300 is an excellent blender to choose. Even today, we think it’s a solid blender that can hold up to even some of the most rigorous blending jobs you could put it through. It has a powerful motor, long warranty, low-profile container that won’t take up too much room, and is even available renewed if you need a more affordable option.
If you’re looking for other alternatives, check out my Blendtec Total Blender review.
There are also other models to choose from, such as the Professional Series 750 Blender or the E310 Explorian Blender. Any one of these models would perform well, becoming an essential part of your kitchen.
Of course, we also understand that, even if you were looking at renewed options, Vitamix simply isn’t affordable for everyone. These blenders tend to be costly because of their abundance of high-quality components. If you’re looking for something more budget-friendly, but still comparable, try checking out our list of the best Vitamix alternative options.
If you want to learn more about detailed comparisons of nutribullets, you can read my reviews for the best nutribullet options.
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!