PopBabies Portable Blender vs. NutriBullet Pro 900W Personal Blender Side-by-Side Comparison

The testing of the PopBabies blender resulted in a disappointing outcome. Despite the blending session lasting for three minutes and twenty seconds, the oatmeal and almonds were blended well but the almonds remained largely intact, resulting in a chunky and texturally inconsistent shake.

One potential reason for this subpar testing performance is the blender's 175-watt motor, which appears to lack sufficient power to churn through such a tough ingredient. An inadequate blade design and jar shape can be factors that hinder the blender's efficiency as well. 

However, it is important to note that the PopBabies blender had a notable advantage compared to other blenders. During the test, it did not become clogged with food, allowing the blades to turn smoothly and continuously, with minimal disruptions, except for the required idle blending time. Considering this, the PopBabies seems to be not a bad choice for those seeking a quick and convenient solution to make fruity work-out treats. To ensure the best possible results, just make sure to use only soft ingredients.

The NutriBullet Pro is amazingly capable when it comes to preparing protein shakes. In this test, it was the fastest contender, mixing a silky-smooth workout drink in only 40 seconds. It blended well enough that we didn't need to shake the cup to promote contact between the food and blades. The blade spined extremely fast and together with the mighty motor, it allowed the blender to draw everything toward the blades and tear apart each at the same time without any struggle. You might notice there even wasn’t a time that food clinged to the sides of the cup.

There were also blenders that delivered the same result, such as the Ninja Fit, but they all demanded extra shaking or stirring to dislodge chunks trapped on or around the blades during the blending process. Efficiency aside, it’s apparent that your NutriBullet Pro will also outperform its rivals in terms of use ease.

The smoothie-making capability of the PopBabies was put to the test using four varieties of berries. Eventually, we found that this blender could achieve a smooth mixture within the allotted time of 2 minutes. That said, the final product did not meet our desired outcome of a thick, icy consistency due to the dilution caused by the fast-thawing nature of frozen fruits. Some other blenders we tested completed the task in only 1 minute so the smoothies they produced were perfectly ice-cream-like (for instance, the Ninja Fit, the NutriBullet, and the Ninja BN401). 

Even worse, the blender itself couldn’t run smoothly, as opposed to the prior test with protein shakes. The fruits were so solid that the blades couldn’t power through so we had to intervene multiple times by shaking the cup vigorously. Nonetheless, we believe this blender still makes sense for all of us when it comes to preparing small batches of smoothies as long as our ideas of drinks involve fresh fruits instead of frozen ones.

The NutriBullet completed our smoothie in less than a minute, and its results were unparalleled. Our smoothie came out exceptionally velvety. Although there were still tiny flecks of raspberry skin and strawberry seeds, this is a common occurrence when it comes to processing such ingredients. 

It’s worth noting here that no other personal blender we tested could produce such an ideal texture in the same time frame; some couldn’t even break down strawberries after a full minute. Again, this blender never demanded that we shake the cup or stir the contents, and we really couldn't be happier.

Aside from the high-speed rotation and powerful motor, we supposed the blade assembly is a factor creating this outstanding performance. Personal blenders typically feature a blade assembly with two or four prongs, but the NutriBullet is an exception. Made of first-grade stainless steel, its blade is a clear step above those of the competition, including even the pricey Ninja Nutri Pro. It isn’t super sharp, but looks thicker than most and has up to six prongs. More prongs allows for more food contact at the time so the final drink will come out faster and finer.

It is unclear why the PopBabies blade failed to spin at the outset of our test, but it is possible due to the small size of the blending cup and the large amount of greens we used. To get the food to circulate properly, we had to shake the cup vigorously, which was time consuming and left us underwhelmed, though, after several attempts, we finally got the blender to run for the required 20 seconds. Following this, we strained the mixture through a mesh strainer and were dismayed to find a significant amount of pulp still remained. This indicated that the blender didn’t extract the full range of nutrients and flavors from the greens. Apparently enough, if your aim is to maximize the nutritional value of your vegetables, this blender may not be an ideal choice.

Liquifying high-fiber whole food like leafy veggies is always a challenging task for personal blenders, but the NutriBullet’s performance really made it stand out from the rest. 

It could break all the ingredients down into their finest state in only 20 seconds. We drained the completed drink through a mesh strainer and noticed it left behind very few leafy chunks. It could produce an even better result if we blended longer. 

Actually, we didn’t expect such good results so quickly. Most of the machines we tested turned out very coarse blends on this test, such as the Magic Bullet.

Given our experience with the blender in previous performances, it would have been reasonable to have low expectations for its capability in this test. However, we still gave it a fair shot. 

And again, this blender became obstructed by the ingredients even when we had tried hard to shake the cup repeatedly. To be fair, though, personal blenders like this one are not designed for heavy-duty tasks like crushing ice due to their lack of power. Pushing your device beyond its limits can cause wear and tear that will inevitably impact its overall performance, even in more standard blending tasks. If you want fluffy, snow-like crushed ice or desire to incorporate ice into your smoothies, it may be worth investing in a high-performance blender, such as the Ninja Nutri Auto-IQ.

The NutriBullet Pro is not only capable of crushing ice cubes, it excels at it! We tested a myriad of personal blenders, and so far haven't found a single machine that can crush ice as fluffy as this one. 

It finished the test in about 40 seconds. A couple of ice chunks still remained solid, but it didn’t look like the blades would be able to grab them. Nevertheless, this NutriBullet performed wonderfully and is very deserving of the top score.