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There are kitchen tools that make tasks easier, and there are kitchen tools that make tasks possible at all. Juicers fit into the latter category, as human hands have not yet evolved to wring green juice out of kale. While there is a dizzying number of juice machines on the market, the contraptions do their work in one of two ways: by masticating (for “cold-pressed” juice) or by employing centrifugal force with a high-speed spinning blade (more on that below).
We tested the top juicers on the market and also interviewed juicing experts to come up with this list of high-performing, easy-to-use juicers.
What we’re looking for
Type
The two most common types of juicers are centrifugal and masticating. Centrifugal juicers, which are higher speed and usually less expensive, use a spinning blade to shred a piece of produce, then push the pulp against a mesh screen to extract the juice. They’re great for juicing multiple fruits and vegetables at once because they work relatively quickly. However, some studies suggest that the heat produced by the blade destroys some vitamins and minerals. Masticating or “cold press” juicers work by slowly crushing and pressing produce with a rotating auger, separating the juice without any heat. The juicing process with masticating models takes a bit longer because the machines can usually only handle one piece of produce at a time, but the resulting juice is smoother, less foamy, and closer in taste to the fresh ingredients. These machines usually cost several hundred dollars more than their centrifugal counterparts.
Size
For home juicers, size matters. A large, heavy machine is not ideal for someone with limited counter and cupboard space. We’ve noted dimensions as well as weight. Note that smaller, more compact machines tend to have smaller hoppers, which means they’ll only fit so much produce before you have to add more (if you’re doing larger quantities of juicing.)
Speed
The speed of juice machines is measured in RPM, or revolutions per minute. Masticating juice machines, i.e., cold-press juicers, typically operate below 100 RPM, while centrifugal juicers have blades with incredibly high RPMs to generate centrifugal force, typically in the thousands. Some machines offer a range of RPM settings. While higher RPMs mean your juicer works more quickly, it does generate some heat, which people feel impacts the flavor and nutrients preserved in the juice.
Best juicer overall
Type: Masticating | Size: 9.8” x 9.0” x 17.7”; 12 lbs. | Speed: 50 RPM
The Nama J2 has long been the gold-standard machine for cold-press home juicing, but it has always been a big investment, both counter-space-wise and price-wise.
That said, there are plenty of bigger and pricier masticating juicers (like the Hurom and Kuvings), so if you’re ready to go all in on cold-press juicing, this is the perfect place to start. Before I even tasted the beautifully crisp-tasting juice it produced, I was impressed by just how much could fit in the J2 hopper, allowing me to add kale, apple, and watermelon all at once without having to stand over it and keep refilling. Jen Hansard, a cookbook author and the recipe developer behind Simple Green Smoothies, agrees, and she feels that the machine basically removes all the pain points of juicing. “It’s super-easy to clean, which has always been my biggest hurdle.” The J2 actually makes her look forward to juicing, she says.
While the Nama J2 is sleek and compact, simpler masticating models like the Ninja NeverClog take up less space, clock in at nearly half the weight, and cost over $400 less. There’s also the newer, more compact Nama J3 model (more on that below), which is small enough to comfortably travel with. However, the Ninja’s small hopper makes juicing large batches a much longer, hands-on process, and the Nama J2, along with the Hurom and Kuvings, runs at much lower, slower RPMs.
Best less-expensive juicer overall
Type: Masticating | Size: 8.9” x 6.5” x 15.4”; 9.7 lbs. | Speed: 50 RPM
If you are interested in the Nama J2 but know that you would want to travel with your juicer (or at least store it in a cabinet when you’re not juicing), the Nama J3 is a better bet. In 2024, Nama dropped this portable model, which shrunk the J2 a couple of inches and reduced it from 12 pounds to under ten without sacrificing any of the original’s functionality. More portability, however, means a smaller hopper that you need to spend more time filling and a smaller juice yield (up to 16 ounces compared to the J2’s 32 ounces), but it also costs more than $100 less than the J2. If you’re just planning on making juice for yourself, rather than big batches for a family or company, the J3 is a smart option.
Best even less-expensive juicer overall
Type: Masticating | Size: 12.11” x 7.15” x 15.93”; 7.93 lbs. | Speed: 116 Max RPM
Easy to set up and even easier to use — in part thanks to it having fewer functionalities than other masticating models, which takes away some bulk — this juicer is an amazing value. It works quickly and effectively, and it’s the lightest weight of all the juicers I tested while still producing really delicious and crisp juices that punch way above its weight. (The juices I made with the Ninja didn’t taste quite as “pure” and cold pressed as its competitors that cost hundreds of dollars more, but I truly cannot say if that was my brain tricking me because of the lower price point and higher speed.) For people (like me) who don’t need their juicing experience to be overly complicated, this machine has just two programs: Start/Stop and Reverse. You can’t really get it wrong. The machine works remarkably quietly — it was only slightly louder than the Hurom, Nama, and Kuvings, but quieter than my microwave. It was still easy to have a conversation while it was running.
The NeverClog has some useful features, like two pulp filters for customizing the amount of pulp in your juice. Even better, the auger consistently pushes pulp through the filter system to ensure that the machine lives up to its name. The length of the hopper is narrower than all of the other masticating juicers on this list, which means you have to add produce in smaller pieces and need to refill the chute more often. That can get pretty annoying if you plan on making large batches of juice or are making juice for an entire family. Additionally, the juice cup that catches the juice is pretty small at 24 ounces, which is less than half the size of the juice jugs for the other masticating models we liked and is less ideal for large quantities.
Best masticating juicer
Type: Masticating | Size: 9.7” x 8.8” x 18.2”; 13.7 lbs. | Speed: 50 RPM
This compact machine is nearly identical to the Nama J2 in its construction, with only small design differences you may not notice unless you were taking apart the two machines to find them. But because the J2 is usually less expensive, I named it the best overall pick, and if it’s not available, this would make a great alternative. This machine justifies its elevated price point with extreme user-friendliness, sleek design, and excellent juice making — just like the J2.
When testing it, I started with watermelon, drank a glass, and was completely delighted by the incredibly crisp, pure watermelon flavor without a shred of pulp. I then tried carrot and cucumber (without peeling, the ultimate luxury) and marveled at the smoothness and clean flavor of the juice. The machine has a large hopper that can hold two liters (roughly the same as the Nama J2’s and a bit larger than the Kuvings’s), so you can continually plop in ingredients as the machine is working (but usually my first plop was enough and I could just walk away as the machine juiced hands-free). The ejected pulp was quite dry, a testament to the efficiency and thoroughness with which the juice is extracted.
The juicer comes with a large juice container, pulp container, pusher, and cleaning brush. I found it worked virtually silently and disassembled easily for cleaning. It has a smaller counter footprint than the Kuvings, which is heavier and $100 more expensive. While the Hurom is bigger and significantly more expensive than the Ninja, I appreciated the larger hopper that didn’t require me to cut fruit into smaller pieces and constantly refill the chute, as you have to with the Ninja. The quality and flavor preservation of the juice is really excellent and comparable to juice you get from the Nama and Kuvings.
Best splurge juicer
Type: Masticating | Size: 10” x 8” x 19”; 16.5 lbs. | Speed: 50 RPM
Kuvings juicers are among the most respected machines in the category, and the brand’s latest model, the Revo830, is a juiced-up version of its cult-favorite Evo820 with some additional new features. The intuitive, powerful, and relatively quiet machine has a one-size-fits-all main chute and also a secondary “Auto-Cut” chute that makes easy work of more awkwardly shaped produce, such as longer, stalkier items like carrots and celery, by cutting them into perfectly sized pieces. The Revo830 also has a heavier-duty motor that can handle up to 45 minutes of nonstop juicing, if someone out there is interested in that. That motor is probably why the juicer is roughly three pounds heavier and $100 more than its main competitors (the Hurom H320 and the Nama J2). However, its added features, like the auto-cut chute for stalky produce, make it a worthy splurge for serious juicers who are interested in making more complicated juices. You can also purchase specialized attachments for citrus juice, sorbet, and smoothies.
Best less-expensive centrifugal juicer
Type: Centrifugal | Size: 17.6” x 14.5” x 10.5”; 11.1 lbs. | Speed: Low (6500 RPM) and High (13,000 RPM)
This intuitive, user-friendly centrifugal juicer from Breville is exactly as fancy as it needs to be — and at a very reasonable price point. (Plus, it was by far the easiest to set up of the models I tested because it came in the box with a few parts already clicked into place.) While the new Juice Fountain Plus has a few additional features, like a more powerful motor, the original Juice Fountain Cold is nearly $100 less, making it a great option for home juicers who want something reliable and easy to use. Both models have high-capacity two-liter juice jugs (the Nama, Hurom, and Kuvings jugs come closest and are about half that size), pretty wide chutes (at three inches, just slightly smaller than most of the other models we tested), and “Cold Spin” technology designed to minimize heat transfer. “It’s a great entry-level option,” says recipe developer Carolyn Gratzer Cope. “Especially if you plan to drink your juices right away.”
A small downside is that it does sound like a rocket is going off; it was the loudest model I tested. In general, centrifugal juices are louder because of their high speed, while most masticating models you can count on to be pretty quiet.
Best commercial juicer
Type: Centrifugal | Size: 19.75” x 16.5” x 9.25”; 16 lbs. | Speed: 3450 RPM
Quick-working and large, the Robot Coupe juicer is ideal for commercial operations for many reasons, including its powerful motor and a 6.5-quart waste container that collects peels and solids. “I love this model mainly because of the pulp-ejection feature, which creates a better juice to work with behind the bar,” says Tyler Ledbetter, bar manager at TH/RST Hospitality Group for concepts Sweetbriar and Roof at Park South. “I primarily juice cucumbers, which do produce a lot of pulp, but because we can separate it out, we are able to craft cocktails that have a more enjoyable texture for drinking without sacrificing any flavors.”
Other tools that are handy for produce
Our experts
• Carolyn Gratzer Cope, recipe developer and founder of Umami Girl
• Jen Hansard, cookbook author and recipe developer.
• Tyler Ledbetter, bar manager, TH/RST Hospitality Group
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