nutribullet® Ultra Personal Blender, 1200W, Gunmetal Gray, NB50500

Why it's worth it

The Ultra runs a 1200-watt motor, the brand's most powerful single-serve base, and NutriBullet designed it to produce lower-frequency sound. It adds an automated smoothie cycle with auto-stop, a pulse option, and a 5-year warranty on the titanium-coated blade.

Noise is the complaint that follows every bullet blender, and this is the one NutriBullet built to answer. The company calls it their quietest single-serve blender, with a design tuned to produce lower-frequency sound rather than the high whine of the older bases. It's still a blender. But if you make smoothies at 5:30 a.m. in an apartment with thin walls, that shift in pitch is worth something.

The automated cycle is the feature you'll actually use. A glow interface lights up the moment your cup meets the base, offering a full circle for the hands-off smoothie cycle or a pulse circle when you want control. Set it and walk away to find the mug; it stops itself. On the Pro 900 you stand there holding the cup down and guessing when it's done.

From our review of 6 nutribullet blenders

What we like

• +Noise is the complaint that follows every bullet blender, and this is the one NutriBullet built to answer
• +The automated cycle is the feature you'll actually use
• +The 1200-watt motor and the Rapid Extractor Blade — stainless platform, titanium coating — are built for the ingredients that…
• +The footprint is genuinely small: under 8 inches tall and about 5 inches wide at the base

What to know

• –Reliability reports are the most mixed in this lineup
• –It's heavy — around 10 pounds — so it's not the model to toss in a suitcase or move between a dorm and home
• –You pay a clear premium over the Pro 900 for power most smoothie drinkers won't need