Ninja Professional Plus (BN701).

The Gavler Review.

Ninja Professional Plus BN701 Review: Big-Pitcher Ice Power for About $120

The Ninja Professional Plus BN701 ranks fifth on our Best Blenders list with an 8.5, and the reason is simple: for about $120 it delivers a 72-ounce pitcher, 1,400 peak watts and three Auto-iQ programs that handle ice and fruit smoothies far better than its price suggests. Tom's Guide's Cassandra Brooklyn called its price and performance "one of the best blenders you can regularly buy for under $100." Buy it for family-size frozen drinks and fruit smoothies. Skip it if you want silence, silky green smoothies, or a machine that makes hot soup and nut butter, because the trade-offs there are real.

What it actually is

The BN701 is Ninja's value-power full-size blender. Gavler's data lists 1,400 peak watts (Ninja also states 1,200W operating), a 72-ounce Total Crushing pitcher with a 64-ounce maximum liquid line, stacked blades, and three Auto-iQ programs for smoothies, frozen drinks and ice cream. It measures 11.3 by 9.8 by 16.22 inches and carries a one-year limited warranty. Ninja's list price is $119.99.

Think of it as the opposite design philosophy from a Vitamix. Stacked blades snow ice in a wide pitcher; they do not build the tall-jar vortex of a Vitamix, and you should not run this as a friction-soup pot. It is an ice-and-smoothie machine, and it is honest about being one.

In use

Tom's Guide ran the most useful hands-on test we could read, covering smoothies, oat milk, ice crushing, noise and a hummus-and-protein-powder cleanup. The headline result: "The end result is milkshake-like smoothies that are thick, frothy, and free of chunks or clumps of protein powder." Per the review, only the Vitamix A3500 and Breville 3x Bluicer beat it on smoothies in that test, which is a strong showing for a machine at roughly a quarter of the A3500's price. Tom's Guide also reported that the blades crushed ice in about 20 to 30 seconds to a texture like Hawaiian shaved ice.

Not every tester saw it that way. TechGearLab, which scored it 68 overall and ranked it 10th of 15 in its testing (a review dated June 2022), found that "the Pro Plus struggles to create a truly smooth texture when leafy greens are introduced to the mix," and clocked crushed ice at 60 seconds. Its bottom line was that it is "great for smoothies and margaritas but not so great for flour grinding or making soup." ShouldIt, which tested it with video-recorded trials, was blunter, calling its performance "average at best" and concluding, "if you want to make green leafy smoothies, this is not the blender for you." Tom's Guide's fruit-and-protein-powder smoothies and these leafy-green failures are not contradictory. They describe the same machine on different jobs.

Noise is the consistent complaint. Tom's Guide wrote that "the blender produces a painfully loud and sharp noise during the one-minute ice-crushing mode," and measured 94.9 dB overall. ShouldIt reported an average near 99.7 dB, comparable in its words to a vacuum cleaner. Different microphones and methods, same conclusion.

Where it shines

• Thick fruit and protein smoothies. Tom's Guide's "milkshake-like" result is the best single data point for this blender.
• Frozen drinks at family scale. The 72-ounce pitcher (64 ounces of liquid) suits batches, and TechGearLab scored frozen drinks as its strongest category at 7.5.
• Simple controls. TechGearLab praised the presets as "very easy to use, with a few clearly labeled presets."
• Price. Tom's Guide notes it retails for $119 but often sells near $100.

The trade-offs, and who should skip it

• You blend leafy greens daily. Two separate testers found gritty results. A Vitamix-class machine is the safer buy.
• You make soup or nut butter. TechGearLab reported grainy soup and nut butter that needed repeated stirring and added oil. There is no heating function.
• You are noise-sensitive. Ice mode is loud enough that Tom's Guide made it the center of the verdict.
• You hate cleanup edge cases. Tom's Guide found hummus still required handwashing, and the blade assembly can slide out. TechGearLab also noted the pitcher cannot air-dry on the base because it locks in place.
• You want a long warranty. One year is short, and Tom's Guide listed it as a con.

How it compares

On our list, the Vitamix 5200 at rank four costs roughly four times as much but is the machine to buy for soups, nut butters and smooth greens. The Vitamix E310 Explorian at rank one, our top pick at $379.95, is the more affordable way into Vitamix and the one to choose if you also want hot-soup and nut-butter capability. Below the BN701, the NutriBullet Pro 900 at rank six is the personal-cup alternative for one-serving smoothies, and the Ninja Professional BL610 at rank seven shares the pitcher idea without Auto-iQ.

Caveat on sources: the TechGearLab review is from 2022 and the ShouldIt and Tom's Guide pages do not all specify the exact retail SKU variant, so treat noise figures as indicative rather than exact. We could not read RTINGS' review, which sits behind a membership wall, so nothing from it is used here.

The Gavler verdict

An 8.5 for the best value full-size blender on the list if frozen drinks and fruit smoothies are the job. It makes thick, clump-free smoothies and snows ice at about $120, backed by Tom's Guide's hands-on testing. It is also loud, mediocre with leafy greens, unsuited to soup and nut butter, and covered by a short warranty. Buy the BN701 for family-size frozen drinks. Spend more on a Vitamix if greens, soup and nut butter are why you are buying a blender.

Common Questions

Is the Ninja Professional Plus BN701 worth it?

For frozen drinks and fruit smoothies at about $120, yes. It ranks fifth on Gavler's Best Blenders list with an 8.5. Tom's Guide called its price and performance 'one of the best blenders you can regularly buy for under $100.' It is a weaker pick for leafy-green smoothies, soup and nut butter, where TechGearLab and ShouldIt both found it lacking.

Is the Ninja BN701 loud?

Yes. Tom's Guide found a 'painfully loud and sharp noise' in the one-minute ice-crushing mode and titled its verdict around the noise. Measurements differ by tester: Tom's Guide recorded 94.9 dB overall, while ShouldIt reported an average of about 99.7 dB. Either way, plan on a loud machine.

Can the Ninja BN701 make hot soup or nut butter?

Not well. It has no heating function, and TechGearLab found it made a grainy soup and that nut butter needed repeated stirring and added oil. Gavler's data notes the stacked blades do not build a Vitamix-style vortex. If soup and nut butter matter, look at the Vitamix E310 Explorian instead.

Is the Ninja BN701 dishwasher safe?

TechGearLab reports the lid, pitcher and blades are dishwasher safe. Tom's Guide, however, noted that sticky jobs like hummus still needed handwashing after the one-minute rinse cycle, and that the blade assembly needs careful handling because it can slide out.

Ninja BN701 or Ninja BL610 Professional?

The BN701 is the step-up: Ninja lists 1,400 peak watts and three Auto-iQ programs, while the BL610 (rank 7 on our list) uses the same big-pitcher idea without Auto-iQ. If the price gap is small, the BN701 is the easier pick.