Home » Appliances » Vitamix - S30

Vitamix S30 Review: Is It Worth It?

Updated April 7, 2021

After spending 40 plus hours testing the Vitamix S30 (now discontinued) and six of the best personal blenders on the market, we’ve come to the conclusion that for most, the S30 is not worth the price tag. For the value, the NutriBullet 900 is a comparable if not better product at a third the price.

The Vitamix reputation

Vitamix is known for their world-class blenders. And world-class they are… especially at the family sized Classic and Next Generation levels.

It’s my estimation that the personal blender line Vitamix has created, in the S30 and the S55, is an effort to appeal to the single-serve segment of the market, while also retaining the luxury brand identity they’ve established. They do, but when creating a product at $350, it only really “fits” in the bigger blender area in terms of features and need… and that’s where I think this segment of their product line breaks down.

When we tested the Vitamix S30 against six of the best personal blenders available, it not surprisingly lived up to reputation. We created a static, consistent blending test across the seven blenders, inserted the ingredients in the same order, and tested time to even blend.

These were the ingredients we tested:

The Vitamix powered through the mix, generating the third best time in our sample. However, the NutriBullet Pro 900, priced at a third the cost, managed to blend the mix in a third the time:

To be fair, in the instruction guide, the Vitamix recommends starting for a bit on the 1-2 blending speed level and then ramping up to 10. We did that, but it was still surprising to have it get blown away so significantly by the NutriBullet.

In other areas, the Vitamix either leads or close to leads the pack. It’s relatively quiet, has a good sized blending cup (with a bigger option the other blenders didn’t have), and has significantly more features in the speed modes and pulse option no other blender did.

To see how the S30 performed against the six other blenders in our test, check out the chart below. Click the image to see it full size.

The extra features Vitamix offers also come with a cost — size. Out of its personal blender counterparts, the Vitamix will take up the most room on your counter. It’s by no means gigantic, but it is one the largest blenders in the single-serve niche.

The Vitamix S30 vs the NutriBullet

If you’re considering the S30, you probably want a power-packed personal blender. Our recommendation is actually to go with the NutriBullet, which offers a more enjoyable product at a third the cost.

The NutriBullet has more blending power and is slightly easier to clean than the Vitamix. On the negative side, the NutriBullet only has a one year warranty compared to the Vitamix’s impressive five year warranty. If we’re being fair and assume the NutriBullet might break once over the five years, you’re still paying half the cost of the Vitamix S30.

And if it breaks twice, the comparison is getting a lot closer, but with two one year warranties to back it up, you’re probably likely to get the similar long-term value at around half the price.

Who should buy the Vitamix S30

The Vitamix S30 is still an amazing product for the right person. To me, it fits perfectly into the need set of a young professional with a kid or two, who wants to be able to make on-the-go smoothies and also have the option to make bigger ones with the 40 ounce container if the need arises.

Similarly, said professional should probably have or be starting to develop some passion for cooking/precision, and want to utilize the speed and pulse functions to create thicker or smoother smoothies or other ingredients, such as pesto, that the NutriBullet can’t compete with.

In essence, we’d best describe the Vitamix S30 as an entry-level performance blender for the on-the-go smoothie lover.

If that’s not you, check out the NutriBullet. You can also consider the Black & Decker Fusion Blade (now discontinued), our best pick under $30, a solid choice for a fraction of the cost.

The Vitamix S30

A world-class blender, the S30 is a product you really can't go wrong with. However, at its current price, we can't recommend it over the NutriBullet 900.

Bryan Vu, Editor

Bryan is our cooking and kitchen expert, with more than 15 years of experience of cooking and testing kitchen products. When outside of the kitchen, he enjoys woodworking, photography, videography and figuring out how to live a more eco-friendly lifestyle. He thoroughly enjoys discovering the best, whether it’s ingredients or equipment, and finding products that can stand the rigors of daily use.