Vitamix Blender Comparison Guide

The Drink Machine Two Speed is the most cost-effective blender you can buy and consistently produces delicious, smooth granitas, margaritas, smoothies, milk shakes, malts, whole fruit and vegetable drinks, frozen coffees and teas, every time. Sporting a new 2.3 motor, the revamped Drink Machine Two Speed has improved thermal tolerances which reduces inconvenient shut-offs due to overheating in the middle of a busy bar rotation. The 64oz Tritan® pitcher and standard blade makes quick work blending iced drinks and juices. While the Drink Machine Two Speed is the most affordable blender that Prima offers it is a great all around machine without the "specialty" options included on other Vitamix blenders.

The Drink Machine Advance is the ideal entry level blender for making delicious iced drinks at home or in a cafe. Though, with a 2.3 hp motor, "entry level" is somewhat of a misnomer. The Drink Machine Advance exceeds many commercial blenders and practically all residential blenders in power and is an excellent blender for the individual blending smoothies, iced drinks, or anything else that requires a lot of power. Six pre-programmed blending recipes allows for consistency between shifts. The Drink Machine Advance comes standard with a 48oz Tritan® Polymer pitcher with an advance blade designed specifically for blending iced drinks and smoothies.

The Vita Prep is the most common blender that we sell to residential users. While it is technically a commercial blender, it can be used quite successfully as a home unit and comes standard with a 64 oz container, heavy duty tamper, and a 2.3 hp motor. The Vita Prep is one of only two Vitamix machines we carry (the other being the Vita Prep 3) that comes equipped with a variable speed motor. This allows for more manual control over each drink and how it is blended. The Vita Prep comes with a standard blade and is ideal for a home user or shop owner with a moderate shop volume. It will blend anything from iced drinks to heavier smoothies and coffee drinks and is even used successfully for food processing, soup & salsa making, and other similar kitchen applications .

The Vita Prep 3 is the supercharged version of its younger sibling, the Vita Prep. With a 3 hp motor, the Vita Prep 3 is built to last and is designed specifically to succeed in the normal wear and tear of a busy commercial setting. The Vita Prep 3 also has the handy variable speed setting on its motor and comes standard with a 64 oz container. This is a blender that can be used successfully at home or in most shop settings (although the 2.3 hp motor of the Vita Prep is generally plenty of power for residential users). Its ability to blend iced drinks as well as smoothies and ice cream drinks makes it a versatile and sought after machine in the restaurant and coffee world. Like the Vita Prep, the Vita Prep 3 is often utilized for food processing, soup and salsa making, dough kneading, and other similar kitchen applications.

The Quiet One takes into account all the best attributes from Vitamix blenders and fuses innovative technology with these features, creating an almost unbelievably quiet, consistent blend. Clearly, noise reduction was the reason Vitamix invented this remarkable machine. The Quiet One is dramatically quieter in tone and volume with smoothies, milkshakes, or salad dressings. As a blender is running, a great deal of noise comes from motor vibrations. The Quiet One’s motor is surrounded by intricately designed gaskets which prevent vibrations from reaching the rest of the blender. The motor then “floats” on these gaskets, while the magnetized seal reduces vibration and noise from the high powered rotation of the blade. The Quiet One’s patented seal on the noise reducing cover allows for simple, quick cleaning. No screws, bolts or hinges are used for attaching the cover to the base of the machine, as it is sealed with high powered magnets.

The Quiet One received first place at Coffee Fest 2010, won awards from Star Chefs Contest and Kitchen Innovations 2011, and was a National Restaurant Association winner. The bottom line is that if you are any type of front-of-house store, such as a coffee shop, smoothie store, or bar, you should seriously consider investing in a machine that uses similar sound proofing and sealing technology to what is found in a Lexus or Mercedes-Benz.

In conclusion, it should be noted that the overall differences between these blenders are somewhat minimal. The important thing to remember is that the basic design and motors are generally identical in all of these blenders with the exception of certain programming and operating differences. All containers are made of Tritan polymer which means you can wash the containers in quat sanitizer without taking the printing off the container or causing discoloration.

Vitamix has always been known to make exceptional blenders and their revamped commercial lineup for 2017 is no exception. New, thermally efficient motors with more horsepower and sturdier containers that can hold up to the abuse of a busy cafe or restaurant makes Vitamix a great choice for anyone looking to take their smoothie making or food processing to the next level. To see a quick comparison between these blenders, check out this comparison chart: