Our recommendations are made independently through Research & Testing. We may receive commissions from purchases made via our links.

Ninja BL480D Nutri vs Hamilton Beach 51101AV Side-by-Side Comparison

Tina Pham
Reviewer
Nguyen Ntk
Visual Specialist
Updated
Tested Using Methodology v1.0
Updated Mar 21, 2023
Tested Using Methodology v1.0
Updated Mar 22, 2023
The Ninja Nutri Auto-IQ personal blender 1000-Watt standing on a gray table with its accessories, including two to-go lids, an additional blending cup, a recipe book & user guide, and a paper carton box, by its sides.
The Hamilton Beach Personal Blender standing on a table with its user’s manual and paper carton box by its sides.
Blenders type
personal
personal

Our Verdict

9.2
Overall Score
  • Performance (60%)
    8.8/10
  • Design (25%)
    9.7/10
  • Usability (15%)
    9.7/10
2.9
Overall Score
  • Performance (60%)
    1.4/10
  • Design (25%)
    5.0/10
  • Usability (15%)
    5.7/10

From delivering to the health-conscious community on the path to a well-balanced life, to creating pre-and post-workout shakes for sports enthusiasts, the high-powered motor of the Ninja BL480D Nutri will make all the difference.

And the high power isn't the only element that makes this blender a better option. There are other luxury features including the intelligent programs aimed at giving you a quick way to get healthy beverages into your routine.

The Hamilton Beach 51101AV however, feels really inferior, from the flimsy blending cup, to the dull four-pronged blade assembly. In addition, we often found it a misery to use and clean this blender.

Top-Rated Results

Ninja Nutri Auto iQ Personal Blender Performance

Hamilton Beach 51101AV Personal Blender Performance: Very Lackluster
8.8
Performance Scores
  • Protein Shake (40%)8.8/10
  • Frozen Fruit Smoothie (30%)9.5/10
  • Fibrous Greens (20%)8.0/10
  • Crushed Ice Cubes (10%)8.0/10
1.4
Performance Scores
  • Protein Shake (40%)3.4/10
  • Frozen Fruit Smoothie (30%)0/10
  • Fibrous Greens (20%)0/10
  • Crushed Ice Cubes (10%)0/10
8.8

Protein Shake

3.4
  • Blending Time: 1 min 10 seconds
  • Result: Silky Smooth

The Ninja Nutri is essentially a single-serve blender but refinements to its blades and motor’s power have brought it many advantages over the competition. 

You might notice the blade assembly looks like nothing else in the market. Design-wise, it is attention to detail with four sharp, sophisticated prongs. Beyonds spinning extremely speedy, the prongs are towards various sides to allow for more food contact at a time. And such combos did make our Ninja Nutri among the fastest blenders in this test, taking one minute and ten seconds to yield a serving of protein shake. Not to mention the 1000-watt motor which helped churn through ingredients like almonds, dried berries, oatmeal, with super ease. 

As efficient as it was, this blender still underperformed by a few seconds against two top competitors (the Ninja Fit and the NutriBullet), though. The texture it delivered also had room for improvement since while the oatmeal was completely broken down, small amounts of almonds and berries remained solid. Considering the price, we had wished for a chunky-free texture which was exactly similar to those we got from its counterparts. 

Overall, unless you’re really interested in its professional look and hi-tech features, there are some alternatives that can actually blend your drink better and do so at less than half the price.

  • Blending Time: 3 mins 45 seconds
  • Result: Coarse

In this test, the Hamilton Beach took 3 mins 45 secs to yield a portion of protein shake, which is far longer than average. The mixture came out slightly coarse due to a smattering of unblended dried blueberries, but since all the oatmeal and almonds were entirely liquified, it wasn’t too lumpy or unpleasant to drink. For the most part, we agreed many fitness enthusiasts would consider this texture to be acceptable. 

Blending time was a little bit of a compromise, though. Personal blenders are designed to produce quick-blended results so the blending time of nearly four minutes was clearly too long in this regard. Even if you’re willing to blend a bit longer for an acceptable result, running this blender in excess of three minutes will cause its motor to overheat, thus impairing its longevity.

Moreover, to activate the blender, you’ll need to press the Power button continuously until the desired texture is achieved. This means the prolonged processing time will also make your hands tired or even numb.

9.5

Frozen Fruit Smoothie

0.0
  • Blending Time: 1 min 5 seconds
  • Result: Silky Smooth
  • Suction:

The Nutri Ninja was excellent at this test. Again, its distinctly-designed blades and higher-powered motor were good things for a quick, even outcome. They allowed the blender to power through all the frozen mango, strawberries, raspberries, and blueberries to perfection in just over one minute. And we remember everything was very easy and simple here, which you will rarely experience with other weaker personal blenders. Just noting that the process was fifteen seconds slower than that of the NutriBullet, but this wasn’t a huge gap. You might be willing to wait a bit longer as long as you get good results. 

Initially, we intended to use the Auto-IQ Ultra Blend setting, but the testing trials then suggested us shifting to the regular one. When running on the Auto-IQ Ultra Blend mode, your blender will blend in short intervals in 60 seconds and there will be a unique pulsing and pausing pattern after each interval. This is meant to force all the clogged ingredients back down onto the blades to even out the blend. That being said, we don’t think this is highly necessary in making icy smoothies; frozen fruits need to blend as fast as possible, but the pausing intervals give them time to thaw and then dilute the consistency. Perhaps, the Auto-IQ technology is better for dry-grinding harder ingredients like whole ice cubes and raw nuts.

  • Blending Time: 2 mins
  • Result: Chunky
  • Suction:

We began the test by tossing all ingredients into the blending cup, then blending them until they came out smooth or until we hit the time limit (2 minutes). As such, we found this Hamilton Beach to be just mediocrely capable of preparing frozen fruit smoothies. 

The final result appeared visually smooth, but when we used a spoon to stir it back and forth, we noticed a few fruit chunks still remained intact. Considering that such residual solids might be a good compromise for the cheap price, you might think this blender’s performance wasn’t half bad. 

The real problem here, however, was that throughout the whole 2-minute blending procedure, it struggled considerably to break down the ingredients while its counterparts, in contrast, got the job done quicker and more easily (for instance, the Oster and the Ninja Fit). Not to mention its longer-than-average blending time.

Speaking of the blending time, we can’t say for sure if longer processing would have resulted in a silkier smoothie but we can assert that this would have failed to achieve the

thick, ice-cream-like texture we were after. This is because frozen fruits thaw quickly at room temperature, causing the overall consistency to be diluted if a blender isn’t able to blend fast enough.

8.0

Fibrous Greens

0.0
  • Blending Time: 20 seconds
  • Result: Fine

The blender’s ability to process leafy vegetables was above average. The final drink came out acceptably uniform but with a gritty texture. We don’t think you’ll get too many complaints if you run everything through a mesh strainer before drinking. Given its high-end price tag, however, we expected better results with fewer leafy chunks.

  • Blending Time: 20 seconds
  • Result: Very Coarse

After blending all the leafy greens with water in 20 seconds — our time limit for this test, we drained the liquid through a mesh strainer and disappointedly ended up 

with a considerable amount of pulp. Not only that, but we also noticed the pulp was very coarse. This suggested that the extraction ability of this blender is too weak to help you get the most nutrients and flavor out of your veggies. 

Actually, the mixture would’ve had a finer consistency if we had blended it for longer, but this didn’t matter nor wasn’t worth the labor since we have already found several other models that can produce perfect high-fiber extractions, namely, the NutriBullet.

8.0

Crushed Ice Cubes

0.0
  • Ice Fineness: Coarse
  • Unblended Ice: 0% of 6 oz

As a personal blender, this Nutri Ninja didn’t perform half bad, grinding 6 oz of whole ice cubes in just 22 seconds. None of the other blenders we tested could do the same; some took longer to entirely break up the ice while others were simply not powerful enough to churn through such a solid ingredient. (For example, the KOIOS Pro and the Oster)The crushed ice didn’t have a snow-like texture, but would be good enough for your cocktails.

  • Ice Fineness: Chunky
  • Unblended Ice: 75% of 6 oz

The Hamilton Beach wasn’t able to power through ice cubes, causing the final outcome to come out almost pristine, but this is typical for this type of personal blender. If you want fluffy, snow-like crushed ice or desire to incorporate ice into your smoothies, we recommend considering a higher-powered blender, such as the NutriBullet.

Ninja BL480D Nutri Personal Blender Design

Hamilton Beach 51101AV Smoothie Blender Design: Just Average
9.7
design Scores
  • Blades (20%)10/10
  • Build Quality (60%)9.5/10
  • Blending Cup (20%)10/10
5.0
design Scores
  • Blades (20%)5.0/10
  • Build Quality (60%)5.0/10
  • Blending Cup (20%)5.0/10

In the Box of the Ninja Nutri Auto iQ Personal Blender

In the Box
  • Motor base 
  • Extractor blade
  • Two blending cups 
  • Two to-go lids
  • Recipe book & user guide
  • Motor Base 
  • Blending Cup

Dimensions

Hamilton Beach Mini Personal Blender Dimensions
  • Height:
    14.2" (36.1 cm)
  • Width:
    6.4" (16.3 cm)
  • Weight:
    5.4 oz (153 g)
  • Shaft Length:

The Ninja Nutri is larger and bulkier than your average single-serve blender. The motor section looks more like a full-sized countertop version, coming in at 14.5 inches tall by 6.2 inches wide. At 5.4 pounds, it’s also heavier than most, so you may find it difficult to move your blender in and out of storage.

  • Height:
    12.0" (30.5 cm)
  • Width:
    3.8" (9.7 cm)
  • Weight:
    1.7 oz (48 g)
  • Shaft Length:

The Hamilton Beach is a relatively low-capacity personal blender. It’s therefore small and compact enough to fit anywhere. At 1.72 pounds, it is lighter than average, allowing for easier transportation. The light weight, however, also means your blender lacks the necessary sturdiness to help it stand firm during intensive tasks.

9.5

Build Quality

5.0

Build quality does match the price point. It’s good, with many parts — to include the entire exterior — made of anti-scratch plastic. We haven’t had to deal with problems like discoloration, paint peeling, or inner components wearing out. Additionally, the construction is sturdy enough to hold up frequent use, so you will get stable performance and consistency for many years.

The Hamilton Beach is of flimsy construction with a substantial amount of plastic components whose quality seems to be inadequate for high durability. We tested it over the course of a month, and after such a period of use, we shockingly found its quality doesn’t hold up well over time. 

The blending cup became cloudy with use, losing the shiny appearance we originally liked. Plus, we noticed multiple little scratches somehow appearing on its inner surface despite the fact that we never used a scouring pad or scrubbed it vigorously when cleaning. 

The motor’s build quality is a little bit better but doesn’t look as sturdy as other blenders we’ve tested and lacks the firmness to ensure optimal stability.

10

Blades

5.0
  • Material:
    Stainless Steel
  • Type:
    Sharp Blade
  • Guard Material:
  • Blade Count:
     6
  • Removable:
    No
  • Dishwasher Safe:
    Yes

The blade features 6 hardened stainless steel prongs. It is super sharp and has a high-quality feel. Unfortunately, the blades can’t be removed from the base, so cleaning their undersides is pretty tricky.

  • Material:
    Stainless Steel
  • Type:
    Sharp Blade
  • Guard Material:
  • Blade Count:
    4
  • Removable:
    No
  • Dishwasher Safe:
    Yes

The Hamilton Beach has a stainless steel blade assembly, which is too short and not particularly sharp, unlike other personal blenders. We wondered if this awkward design was able to ensure a good contact between blades and ingredients to produce quick, even blending and as it turned out, this blender is definitely not as life-changing as it would seem to be on paper.

Ninja Nutri Auto iQ 1000 Watts Motor Base

Hamilton Beach Small Smoothie Blender Motor Base
  • Rated Voltage:
    110 - 120 V
  • Rated Power:
    1000 Watt
  • Working Time:
    ≤ 1 minute
  • Protection:
    No
  • Weight:
    4.5 lbs (2.0 kg)
  • Cord Length:
    2.6 ft (0.8 m)
  • Extra Feature:
    Silicon feet, cooling fan, anti-slip pads

The motor comes with many user-friendly components. They include a cooling fan to prevent overheating, suction feet to help the blender stand firm against heavy-duty tasks, and small anti-slip pads to minimize the risk of sliding on wet surfaces. We’re also impressed with the inner parts which are all well-made and detailed. 

Just be aware that the motor should not run for more than one minute continuously. If your recipes demand longer than this timeframe, blending for 1-minute intervals can help you avoid overheating. In the event your machine gets too hot, a built-in thermal switch will engage and stop the motor from running. To reset, you’ll have to unplug and let it cool down for 30 minutes before blending again.

  • Rated Voltage:
    120
  • Rated Power:
    175
  • Working Time:
    N/A
  • Protection:
    No
  • Weight:
    1.2 lbs (0.5 kg)
  • Cord Length:
    2.1 ft (0.6 m)
  • Extra Feature:
    Ventilation holes

The motor peaks around 175 watts, which is relatively low so it’s best to avoid using this blender for dry ingredients like coffee beans. Typically, each personal blender has a maximum continuous runtime varying from 1 to 4 minutes. This is to prevent the motor from overloading, resulting in permanently damaged components. However, there is no clear information about this blender in that regard. Despite that, since our Hamilton got hot after the smoothie test of 4-minute blending, we recommend not running it longer than 1 minute per interval.

Speed and Controls

Speed and Controls of the Hamilton Beach 51101AV Personal Blender
  • Control Type:
    Button
  • Min Speed:
  • Max Speed:
  • Presets:
    No
  • Noise Level:
    103 dB
  • Digital Display:
    No
  • Pulse Mode:
    No

The front interface is intuitive, featuring four buttons that correspond to four different options. As a visual aid, this model also has a digital display which indicates the elapsed blending time or counts down to the end of a preset program. 

If you want continuous blending, press the Start/Stop button. To avoid chopping ingredients too finely, use the Pulse function. For fresh or softer ingredients, the Auto-IQ Blend button will help you create consistent results without relying on guesswork. There is also the Auto-IQ Ultra Blend button, which runs the blender at its fastest speed tobreak ice cubes, fibrous greens, whole grains, or frozen mixtures down to a lump-free consistency. 

We found that the speed settings work very well. Each step gives you a noticeable change in power level. For the most part, however, we agree with some reviewers that it feels a bit gimmicky because single-speed blenders generally work just as well.

Note that regardless of the speed setting, this Nutri Ninja is terribly noisy. If noise is a major factor in your buying decision, this one’s not for you.

  • Control Type:
    Button
  • Min Speed:
    N/A
  • Max Speed:
    N/A
  • Presets:
    No
  • Noise Level:
    98 dB
  • Digital Display:
    No
  • Pulse Mode:
    No

The Hamilton Beach allows you to get its single-speed through a simple button, which demands just a slight pressing pressure to activate. It doesn’t have a particular setting for the pulse function, but you can simulate pulse mode by pressing and releasing its button in short intervals.

10

Blending Cup

5.0
  • Material:
    Plastic
  • Capacity:
    18- and 24-oz
  • Weight:
    0.5- and 0.58-lb
  • Dishwasher Safe:
    Yes
  • Measurement:
    No
  • Suitable For:
    Small and medium batches
  • Accessories:
    2 to-go lids

This set includes two blending cups which can be used interchangeably with the extractor blade. Each cup comes with a tight-seal lid featuring a flip-top spout for mess-free drinking on the go.

  • Material:
    Plastic
  • Capacity:
    14 Oz
  • Weight:
    0.4 oz (11 g)
  • Dishwasher Safe:
    Yes
  • Measurement:
    Yes
  • Suitable For:
    Small batches
  • Accessories:
    No

The set only includes a 14-oz blending cup with lid. More often than not, the lid is easy to screw on but demands a great force for unscrewing. In our tests, it didn’t seal tightly to the cup, causing the ingredients to leak out and spill onto the countertop.   

The lid also has a slide-top spout, allowing you to sip straight from the cup easily and mess-free. However, we don’t think this add-on is necessary, given the awkwardly-designed blending cup. As mentioned above, unlike most other personal blenders, the Hamilton comes with a

fixed blade assembly rather than a removal one. This makes us feel unsafe; we tremble thinking these parts could come apart when we are drinking.

Excellent Blending Comfort

Nutri Ninja Auto iQ Personal Blender Usability Review

Hamilton Beach Mini Personal Blender Usability Review: Too Much Problems
9.7
usability Scores
  • Hands-Free Operation (60%)10/10
  • Assembly (20%)9.5/10
  • Cleanability (20%)9.0/10
5.7
usability Scores
  • Hands-Free Operation (60%)4.6/10
  • Assembly (20%)6.0/10
  • Cleanability (20%)8.5/10
10

Hands-Free Operation

4.6

This blender is more convenient to use than others because the cup can be locked in place; you won’t need to hold the cup continuously to engage the motor. Additionally, once activated, it draws almost everything toward its blades, creating a homogeneous mixture without extra shaking or stirring.

Disappointingly enough, this Hamilton doesn’t provide the ease and convenience of hands-free blending. It, instead, delivers a frustrating way to puree and pulverize food. Beyond the need to continuously hold its button during the operation, this blender also demands you to pay attention to the blending process at all times so you can detect and intervene timely if food gets clogged in the blade and stops it from turning.

9.5

Assembly

6.0

To set up the blender, simply attach the extractor blade to the cup, turn the whole assembly upside down, and place it on the motor base. Once the display reads “0,” press one of the buttons to start blending. When your drink is complete, simply pull the cup out from the motor base and serve. Note that you must pull with quite a bit of force compared to other blenders we tested, so it may be tougher to remove when your hands are wet or oily.

To set up this blender, you’ll need to place the jar on the base, aligning the unlock icon with the line on the base, then turn it counterclockwise. Removing the jar is a lot easier; just turn it clockwise and lift it up. The trade-off is that it takes time to get the hang of it.

9.0

Cleanability

8.5

We cleaned the cups, lids, and blade manually with soapy water, but they’re also safe to put in the dishwasher. Of all those parts, the blade’s backsides were the trickiest to clean, so make sure you have a straw-cleaning brush available. 

The motor base only took us a couple of minutes to wipe down. Unplug the device and use a dish cloth dampened (but not soaked) with soapy water to wipe down exterior surfaces and the inside of the cup receptacle. We never had any leakage during our tests, so we didn’t have to contend with stubborn food on the actuator tabs or other components.

You can put the jar in a dishwasher, but we recommend hand washing so as to reduce the risk of discoloration. That being said, hand cleaning is a relatively frustrating process. Since the blending cup is quite narrow, we had a hard time getting our hands inside, especially under the blade’s backside. Letting the blender clean itself, on the other hand, is less stressful. We simply added soapy water into the jar, then let the blender run for 30 to 60 seconds. After dumping out the solution and rinsing the jar thoroughly, we found there wasn’t any remaining gunk.