Vitamix A3500 vs. Blendtec Designer 725: A Head-to-Head After 90 Days

If you're spending $500+ on a blender you've already accepted that this is a forever appliance. The question is which forever blender to live with. After 90 days with a Vitamix A3500 and a Blendtec Designer 725 in side-by-side daily duty, here's what we learned.

The smoothie test

Both made identical-textured smoothies once we matched recipes and run-times. The Blendtec hits speed faster and finishes a 16 oz smoothie in roughly 35 seconds; the Vitamix takes 50–55 seconds but lets you ramp the speed gradually, which matters more for hot soup than smoothies.

The nut butter test

This is the Vitamix's home-court advantage. The included tamper makes a 1 lb batch of cashew butter possible without stopping to scrape; the Blendtec's flat-bottom container does not have a tamper port and you cannot push down on the contents during a run. We managed nut butter on the Blendtec eventually — by stopping every 30 seconds to scrape — but it's a workflow we got tired of in week two.

The cleanup test

Blendtec wins. The flat-bottom container holds together with no center post or gasket assembly to clean around. A drop of dish soap, fill with warm water, run on Clean for 20 seconds, rinse — done. The Vitamix's center post is a slightly fussier rinse and the gasket needs a wipe-down weekly.

The verdict

If you make nut butter, pesto, or anything that needs a tamper to keep the contents on the blades, the Vitamix is the right call. If you mostly make smoothies and you want the easiest cleanup of any blender we've tested, get the Blendtec. There is no wrong answer here, and either one is a 10-year buy.