REASONS TO BUY
Good at making smoothies
Great at crushing ice
REASONS TO AVOID
Less convenient to use
No presets
Vitamix 5200 Review
While this blender is still very high performing, it is slightly inferior to the other Vitamix models that we tested
The Vitamix 5200.
Credit: Jenna Ammerman
By David Wise ⋅ Senior Review Editor ⋅ July 22, 2025
Contributions From: Austin Palmer
RELATED: The Best Blenders of 2025
Our Verdict
Has your heart been set on a Vitamix blender, but you find yourself getting sticker shock from the price? The Vitamix 5200 isn't necessarily cheap, but costs a little less than the other Vitamix models from our blender review. The 5200 performs very well across the board, only delivering a somewhat lackluster performance in our convenience metric. This appliance excels at making smoothies and blended drinks for a slightly lower price than the other top-tier Vitamix models.
Our Analysis and Test Results
To determine which of these kitchen appliances came out on top, we bought the best and put them head-to-head to find our winners, judging their performance in five weighted rating metrics. These were Grinding, Pureeing, Smoothies, Ice, and Convenience.
The 5200 makes excellent super blended smoothies.
Credit: Jenna Ammerman
Smoothies
This blender is a smoothie maker's dream, landing at the top of the pack in this metric. The 5200 made an awesome green smoothie that essentially poured right through the sieve without any issue.
The 5200 easily broke down the tough cell walls of the kale.
Credit: Austin Palmer
The texture was exceptionally smooth, with no flakes or chunks of unblended greenery and a consistent flavor profile throughout the drink.
The berry smoothie was also fantastic, with no unblended chunks of fruit in the final drink and an incredibly consistent texture.
The 5200 also completely destroyed the seeds, a task that only the top-performing blenders can tackle, with the finished mixture cleanly pouring through the sieve.
The 5200 had no problem crushing up the seeds.
Credit: Austin Palmer
We had to use the blender's tamper to get the fruit and oat smoothie to blend, but this is what the tamper is for. The final mixture was a bit grainier than some of the other products' fruit and oat smoothies, but it was still very good. The 5200 also produced an exceptionally smooth and creamy Oreo malt milkshake. We employed the tamper here too, and there were one or two little clumps of ice cream that the blade missed, but all in all, it was an excellent shake.
The 5200 made deliciously smooth frozen drinks with minimal effort.
Credit: Jenna Ammerman
Pureeing
The 5200 did very well here, just slightly behind the other premium blender models.
The 5200 did superb in our flour test, only missing a few kernels.
Credit: Austin Palmer
The 5200 created an excellent and silky-smooth tomato soup that effortlessly poured right through the sieve in just under six minutes.
The 5200 made the ideal tomato soup: hot and well blended.
Credit: Austin Palmer
It easily heated the soup to the point that it was hot enough to be served, reaching just over 153°F at the conclusion of its blending cycle. Unfortunately, though, the 5200 severely struggled with making nut butter. The mixture remained thick and grainy, never becoming smooth and creamy like the other Vitamix models. The motor also became exceptionally warm — enough for us to feel the need to give it a rest. We even added a little extra oil and never got satisfactory results.
If you plan on doing a lot of dry grinding consider getting an extra pitcher or the pitcher with the dry foods blade.
Credit: Jenna Ammerman
Frozen Drinks
Ice? Snow problem.
Credit: Austin Palmer
The 5200 took a little bit more time when blending a margarita and required us to vary the speed and stop and shake the pitcher occasionally to keep the mixture blending.
Like the other Vitamix brand models, the 5200 also comes with a tamper.
Credit: Jenna Ammerman
Controls
The 5200 does not include a digital timer and preset functions as we would hope. However, the controls are clearly and intuitively labeled.
There are no presets or a digital timer, but everything is clearly labeled and easy to read.
Credit: Jenna Ammerman
It's also very easy to remove the lid, but this blender is a little on the loud side compared to the rest of the pack.
Ease of Cleaning
We had a bit of difficulty cleaning this model. It's not recommended for the dishwasher, and it's a bit tougher to manually clean than other Vitamix models due to its taller and narrower pitcher.
This model's narrow pitcher is more difficult to clean.
Credit: Jenna Ammerman
Should You Buy the Vitamix 5200?
The 5200 is a great choice if you want a Vitamix and can deal with the lack of presets. It's more affordable than the other Vitamix models we tested and performs similarly; just note that the pitcher on this model is taller and slimmer than the other Vitamix blenders. However, if you're okay moving outside of the Vitamix brand, there are comparably priced models that matched or even outperformed this one.
The 5200 had some trouble making a smooth and creamy nut butter.
Credit: Jenna Ammerman
What Other Blenders Should You Consider?
If you're sold on the Vitamix brand, the A2500 Ascent Series is our favorite of the bunch. We think it's one of the best blenders on the market today. With a similar overall score, the Cuisinart Hurricane Pro 3.5 is an excellent model that comes highly recommended, and it's a bit more affordable than the A2500 Ascent. These models are outside of the price range for many, though, and if that's the case, we recommend the NutriBullet Combo, which also lands high on our list and scores very well in smoothie making and pureeing.
Side-by-Side Comparison
Compare Vitamix 5200 versus top competing products:
—David Wise and Austin Palmer
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