Ninja versus Vitamix??

 Hello, I am officially tired of ice chunks in my protein shakes.  Hence, I am going to replace my blender.  I saw on Consumer Reports that the Ninja was rated almost as high as the Vitamix, but for a quarter of the cost.  Has anyone out there tried both and can comment on if the Vitamix is worth the extra money?  The only difference I can see at the moment is that the Vitamix will heat the soup... but what if I just put ho****er in the Ninja??  The soup thing is not a make or break it option, as I figure I can just make the soup then mic it for a minute in a bowl to heat it.  Does the Vitamix actually freeze the ice cream, or just blend it so you can pop it in the freezer?  I want to try to make protein ice cream and sorbet (hopefully with protein in it).  

I did read through old posts on the Ninja, but it appears they were not on the complete system that retails for about $160.  Not sure if it is worth the extra money for that given you can just get the blender portion for $99, but it would get my enormous Kitchenaid mixer off of my countertop so I am thinking that I will probably go for the more complete package.  

Any comments about the Ninja (like or dislike and why) would be also greatly appreciated.  

Just bought the Vitamix -- haven't used it yet -- but it is just a blender, it does not freeze!
I bought one reconditioned from Vitamix, and it was less expensive and came with a 7-year warranty.

Many of the reviews of the Ninja were great, but it seemed like some pieces were made of plastic and didn't hold up.  But I couldn't find info that gave the "life" of the machine.  My understanding is that a Vitamix will last basically forever!  So, with teh 7-year warranty, I just went for it!

HOWEVER --on the web site, it showed that there weren't any reconditioned ones available, so I called to find out when some might be available, and they had a couple.  So it might be worth a call if you are interested in the refurbished ones -- I don't remember the cost -- but the cost noted on the website for refurb was that cost quoted when I called.

Good luck!

 Thanks- had no idea that refurbished is an option.  I will look that up!

Hi!

How much did you pay for your reconditioned Vitamix?

Thanks.

I have a reconditioned VitaMix I bought about 19+ years ago, it's still on my counter and seeing a lot of love. It's a beast. They don't die, or at least the ones built 20years ago don't. I also have a bullet style one, not the Ninja, no comparison. Friend has the Ninja, I've not used it- but it's kinda plasticy and I don't think she uses it much either.. she always uses her glass blender next to it? I can't blend ice in the bullet- number one, it's a huge racket, but it never gets smooth without taking forever, it is good for some small tasks.. but honestly a food processor would work better for what I use it as..

Be careful ever trying to blend anything hot, the pressure builds super fast if there's not a release (my Vitamix has a top made so you can blend hot) and without this- at best your ceiling will get some nice new color- worst, you get burned.

You'd need an ice-cream maker to make protein ice cream and sorbet.. or else you'd just have protein ice-pops, hard as rocks.. there's a lot of tricks to make smooth soft protein ice cream that doesn't freeze into an ice-block. I read that Swerve is good for the sugar-substitute to help the consistency stay soft, as is of course some fat in the form of cream and eggs. I have used the Vitamix to blend frozen cubes of protein shakes into soft-serve, that's pretty cool.

I love my Ninja!

.. adding, something I don't know if you'd be interested in- but I use my VM to make nut flours at home.. and grind chia or other seeds to a fine powder. That's something I never was able to do in my old Oster. There's a dry container, and you can process wheat or corn into flours at home with it.. it's a workhorse for sure. Needless to say, ice doesn't stand a chance.

There was a cute series of vids on youtube called "will it blend?" I got a kick out of them. They were for Blendtec, but it's basically the same as a Vitamix.

I have both the Vitamix and the Magic Bullet. I use the Vitamix almost exclusively. It is SO powerful and will definitely take care of the ice and anything else you put in it. And it does freeze - in a way. With enough ice and the higher power you can make what they term ice cream, but it also works with the things we drink if you ever want them in frozen form. I have used it for soups and it does work, but that is done infrequently.

The Vitamix is pricy, and I thought long and hard before buying it. I finally bought mine at one of the Costco road shows which they do pretty frequently. Don't remember the price, but a lot less than elsewhere.

 Thank you everyone... my hubby is tiring me of buying gadgets.  Between the fitbit, the aria, the clothes...  it is so hard for me to warrent $500 on a vitamix, but it is what i really want.  I was just hoping the Ninja did well enough to save the money.  If I think about how many blenders and processors I bought over the years I bet I spent $500... so in the long run perhaps it would actually save money?

Bed Bath and Beyond has them and you can get 20% off one item coupons. Just sign up for their e-mails. I have had a Vita mix for about 3 years, it's a beast, well worth the money.