If You’re Curious About Juicing, We Tested the Best Ones to See Which Are Worth the Squeeze (2024)

Whether you’re reaching for a glass of green juice to go with breakfast or taking a later approach and mixing up an evening co*cktail, making fresh juice whenever you want is pretty great. But as with most small appliances, there’s plenty to consider when deciding which juicer to buy. From fancy cold press juicers to old-fashioned glass juicing dishes, it can be tricky to know which device is actually worth taking up space in your kitchen.

Types of Juicers

When researching the best juicers, you will come across a few different terms. There are two main types of juicers — masticating (also known as slow or cold press juicers) and centrifugal. Masticating juicers slowly press and crush produce to extract all of its healthy nutrients. If you want to make juices akin to the silky solutions that sell for $10 a bottle in the grocery store, you’ll want to look at a masticating machine. They can sometimes be slower, and the juice will spoil quicker, but the results tend to be more nutrient-dense.

Centrifugal juicers chop produce with blades, which generate heat as the high-powered blades whirr around to chop up your fruits and vegetables. If you’d rather your juice be as free of pulp as possible, a centrifugal juicer might be the better fit for you. The trade-off, however, is sometimes more foam and less nutrients. They also are better at producing higher quantities.

Manual citrus juicers are operated by hand, either through squeezing or twisting. If you’re just looking to squeeze the occasional citrus for a poultry recipe or a lemony dessert, a less complex citrus juicer should suit you just fine.

Our Masticating Juicer Picks

• Best Overall: Omega 43 RPM Vertical Square Low-Speed Juicer at Amazon
• Best Value: Dash Compact Cold Press Power Juicer at Amazon
• Best Splurge: Kuvings Whole Slow Juicer at Williams Sonoma
• Best Compact: Hamilton Beach Masticating Slow Juicer at Amazon

Our Centrifugal Juicer Picks

• Best Overall: Breville the Juice Fountain Eliteat Amazon
• Best Value: Magic Bullet Mini Juicer with Cup at Amazon
• Best Compact: Breville the Juice Fountain Compact at Amazon
  

The Omega 43 RPM masticating juicer is a fantastic piece of equipment. It sets up easily thanks to a clear instruction manual, and the motor is surprisingly quiet as it works through robust produce like carrots, kale, and apples. Our test juices had no separation between juice and pulp, and foam was kept to a minimum — each full of flavor and freshness.

While this is an expensive juicer that is geared towards people who want to make fancy juices a part of daily life, the Omega is very good at what it does, and we believe it fairly commands its price. Oh, and it carries an impressive 15-year warranty.

Weight: 12.5 pounds | Dimensions: 8.5 x 7 x 15.5 inches | Warranty: 15 years | Power: 150 watts

The Dash Compact Cold Press Power Juicer is truly compact — this takes up very little room on the countertop and can even stow away in a cabinet or drawer if you don’t want it on display round the clock. Perhaps more importantly, it’s also darn good at what it does. Though our carrot juice had a gritty texture and some separation, it was still delicious; and we had no resulting grit when testing the Dash with apples. Despite its low price, the Dash Compact feels well-made and durable. It’s also easy to clean thanks to an included brush and dishwasher-safe removable parts.

Weight: 3.4 pounds | Dimensions: 14.2 x 3.9 x 4.9 inches | Warranty: 1 year | Power: 130 watts

If you’re serious about your juice, meet the Kuvings Whole Slow Juicer. We had great fun testing this machine, watching it reduce whole apples to bright, fresh juice — among lots of other produce. The Kuving doesn’t really struggle with anything, even tough kale and fibrous ginger. It’s easy to use and relatively simple to clean — a brush and pipe cleaner are included to make the process easier — and though it can feel intimidating to piece together right out of the box, referring to the user manual helped a lot.

This isn’t a budget juicer by any means, but it’s a professional-quality appliance, and sometimes you really do get what you pay for.

Weight: 16.8 pounds | Dimensions: 8 x 10 x 19 inches | Warranty: 15 years | Power: 240 watts

This juicer checks all the boxes for most at-home juicing needs: The price is reasonable, it looks nice, it won’t take up your entire counter, and it works well. The Hamilton Beach produced smooth, velvety juices during our tests; each with minimal pulp and very little (if any) separation. It runs quietly, it cleans easily, and it’s compact enough to store elsewhere if you prefer not to leave it out. This juicer will prove an excellent all-rounder for most households.

Weight: 9.92 pounds | Dimensions: 7.44 x 12.6 x 13.46 inches | Warranty: 1 year | Power: 150 watts

Breville’s Juice Fountain Elite aced our tests by whirring through kale, apples, carrots, and much more with ease. This juicer impressed us with its ability to separate pulp from juice, creating a nearly dry pulp that had truly been squeezed for all it was worth. Though we did notice the Breville taking a bit of extra time to work through fibrous produce like ginger, it ultimately got the job done for us every time.

Our only objections are how large and audible the Juice Fountain Elite is — it takes up a lot of counter space, and it’s not an appliance you’ll want to use in the middle of the night while everyone else is sleeping. But it works extremely well and, like most Breville products, is durable and made to last. We’d be happy to keep this juicer in our kitchen.

Weight: 14.4 pounds | Dimensions: 13.1 x 12 x 10.6 inches | Warranty: 1 year | Power: 1000 watts

We were pleasantly surprised by this little juicer. Not only is it a great value and perfect for small spaces, it works really well — much like the brand’s personal blenders. The Magic Bullet Mini flew through our carrot and apple tests and even extracted more juice from ginger than significantly more expensive juicer models. We did find that it struggled with kale — likely due to its one-speed limitations — but condensing leafy greens into small balls helped considerably to extract maximum amounts of juice. The Magic Bullet Mini is easy to clean, and all of its removable parts are dishwasher-safe — always a plus.

Weight: 6.69 pounds | Dimensions: 7 x 6 x 11.5 inches | Warranty: 1 year | Power: 400 watts

We were impressed with the quality of Breville’s compact version of the Juice Fountain right away. It’s well-built and solid — nothing about this juicer feels cheap. And fortunately, it has the performance to back up its build. We liked how we didn’t have to chop our fruits and vegetables into small pieces — there’s plenty of space in the chute to accommodate whole selections and break them down with relative ease. Though the motor could benefit from two speeds, the single speed is more than capable.

Weight: 6.68 pounds | Dimensions: 10.5 x 10 x 16 inches | Warranty: 1 year | Power: 700 watts

Our Favorite Juicer

For centrifugal juicers, we like Breville the Juice Fountain Elite for its quality and performance. When it comes to masticating juicers, we’ll tip our hat to the Omega 43 RPM Vertical Square Low-Speed Juicer for the same reasons. As these two juicers sell for a similar price, you can choose based on preference for juicer type rather than budget.

Factors to Consider

Masticating versus Centrifugal

The juicers we’ve tested here are either masticating or centrifugal. The main difference is that masticating juicers — also known as cold press juicers — produce a thicker, fuller juice which tends to retain more nutrients. Centrifugal juicers generate heat as they process fruits and vegetables with blades, whereas masticating juicers simply crush (or press) produce to extract juice. If you’re an avid juice drinker and prefer your juice with more of a smoothie-like texture, a masticating juicer is a great choice. If you prefer pulp-free juicers or if you’re regularly juicing, a centrifugal model is a great option.

Manual juicers, usually used for juicing citrus, are handy if you need to squeeze a lemon or lime, but they’re not effective for processing a variety of fruits and vegetables.

Size and Capacity

Juicers can be large countertop appliances or small enough devices to fit in a drawer. It all comes down to what you need, so factor in your available space and intended use when deciding.

It’s also important to consider the quantity of juice you’ll need to make at one time. Fresh juice is best consumed within one or two days, so ideally, you won’t juice enough produce to last a whole week — but most standard juicers will yield enough for 2-4 servings. Compact juicers may be better suited to single-serve situations.

Vertical or Horizontal

Vertical juicers tend to work best with softer produce, while horizontal juicers can better tackle tough produce like celery, kale, or carrots. Consider what type of fruits and vegetables you plan to juice most often, and go from there.

Level of Sound

Some juicers can be incredibly loud when in use. While testing each model, we evaluated each one’s sound quality and loudness. If you have sensitive neighbors or sleepy households, look for one that doesn’t make as much noise.

Ease of Cleanup

With all the pulp, seeds, and stringy bits that can result from juicing, it’s important to thoroughly clean your juicer after each use. Look for a juicer that is easy to disassemble (for you) and put back together — bonus points if parts are dishwasher-safe.

Warranty

Be sure to check the warranty on your juicer of interest prior to purchase — at a minimum, it should be covered for one year.

What We Looked for While Testing Juicers

A good juicer is one you’ll want to reach for — as opposed to being intimidated or annoyed by its setup and cleanup. We tested a total of 9 masticating and 13 centrifugal juicers. With each test, we examined pulp for residual moisture, whether fibrous bits got stuck during processing, and how well the final juice turned out. We also looked at separation and foam as well as tasting for flavor and mouthfeel. During testing, we paid special attention to the following areas:

• How loud it is: We evaluated each juicer’s loudness using decibel tests and whether a conversation could be had while the juicer was running, as well as whether the juicer would be likely to wake a sleeping household.
• How well it juices various types of produce: We ran carrots, kale, ginger, and apples through each juicer to assess how well the appliances extracted juice. Carrots were used to first test the juicer’s performance with hard, dense produce, recording the output temperature and weight. We tasted each glass, noting observations about the mouthfeel and consistency. We then ran kale through the juicer to assess the juicer’s performance with tough, leafy greens. Again, we looked at the temperature, weight, and volume of the juice. To test the juicer’s performance with fibrous produce, we used ginger. Finally, we juiced apples to try the juicer’s performance with high-water produce that oxidizes quickly. With each test, we used a stopwatch to measure the amount of time it took to fully extract.
• How much effort it takes to clean: Per manufacturer instructions, we dismantled each juicer for a thorough cleaning, evaluating how easy or difficult the task was and whether removable parts were safe for the dishwasher.

Other Juicers We Tested

Strong Contenders

Beautiful by Drew Barrymore Electric Juice Extractor ($79 at beautifulbydrew.com)

We were happy with the performance of this well-priced juicer. It has a large juice jug and pulp container, which makes it easy to both collect and clean. The machine itself is a little on the bulky side, but it’s not a dealbreaker for us.

Nutribullet Juicer Pro ( $150 at nutribullet.com)

This juicer works fairly well, but we found it tricky to clean. It especially struggled with whole pieces of ginger, with fibrous bits getting caught in the strainer. That said, if you’re not into ginger and don’t mind a larger machine, the Nutribullet Pro may be worth a closer look.

Kuvings Centrifugal Juicer ($150 at kuvingusa.com)

Easy to assemble and straightforward to clean, we liked the Kuvings Centrifugal. In particular we were pleased with the pulp container’s ability to be removed without dismantling the whole machine.

Nutribullet Slow Juicer ($200 at nutribullet.com,)

We found that this juicer works well with minimal prep required, but the resulting juice has quite a lot of pulp, and the quality degrades quickly. If you like pulp and plan to drink the juice as soon as it’s ready, this is a strong contender for sure.

Ninja NeverClog Slow Juicer ($130 at ninjakitchen.com)

While this one doesn’t feel like the most durable, long-lasting juicer we’ve tested, it does work very well and is a breeze to use. It’s easy to clean and lives up to its name — even with pesky ginger.

Hurom Easy Clean Slow Juicer ($399 at hurom.com)

This one felt a little overpriced, particularly as it struggled with kale and yielded slightly gritty-textured juices. If you’re only an occasional juicer and aesthetics are a priority, the Hurom could be worth a second look.

What Didn't Make the List

While we were impressed by some juicers, others left us slightly disappointed. We tested some that were easily clogged by pulp or required frequent plunging. Other times, they were too challenging to assemble and reassemble. And sometimes, we just didn't love the taste of the juice. Some of these models include the Mueller Ultra-Power Juicer, Gourmia 6-Speed Juicer, and the Dash Compact Centrifugal Juicer.

Frequently Asked Questions

Is a cold press juicer better than centrifugal?

It really depends on what you want from your juicer. Cold press (or masticating) juicers do tend to retain more nutrients in the produce due to lack of heat exposure and the aforementioned fuller, thicker juice — but not everyone enjoys this. The best juicer is the one you’ll actually use, so buy according to your budget and preferences above all else.

What are the health benefits of juicing?

How long does fresh juice last?

“Fresh juice will only last a few days in the refrigerator after juicing. And even before the 3-day max, you’ll probably notice some separation or discoloration,” says Harbstreet. “But the good news is that you can easily freeze juice in ice cube trays or larger, freezer-safe containers, which can stretch the storage life up to 6 months or longer.”

How do you clean a juicer?

Each juicer will have cleaning instructions outlined in the user manual. Always refer to this first, but generally speaking, you’ll want to be sure to remove all bits of pulp and debris and make sure the parts have a chance to dry thoroughly. Many juicers have dishwasher-safe removable parts, which helps make cleaning easier, but again, refer to your user manual first.

Our Expertise

This article was written by Summer Rylander, a food and travel journalist who has written about food, beverage, and cooking products for Food & Wine, Allrecipes, Serious Eats, and The Kitchn. Product selections were made based on Food & Wine’s own juicer tests. For this piece, we also spoke to expert Cara Harbstreet, MS RD LD, of Street Smart Nutrition.