The Independent’s journalism is supported by our readers. When you purchase through links on our site, we may earn commission.
8 best juicers for squeezing in your five a day
From fresh OJ to smoothies and sauces, whizz up a storm with these handy gadgets
Few of us manage to eat enough fruit and vegetables each day, however hard we try.
Drinking a few makes it a lot easier and counts towards the recommended five portions, although the NHS advises a maximum of 150ml of juice a day, which is the equivalent of a small glass. If you are partial to a refreshing juice in the morning, it’s far better – and cheaper – to blitz up your own than rely on a shop bought one, which may include added sugar and be less fresh. It’s also a great way to use up that extra fruit and veg that often ends up in the bin when we buy too much, plus it can encourage children to experiment with food they would never normally try.
A juice differs from a smoothie as it extracts the liquid from fruit and vegetables rather than blending whole ingredients together for a thicker drink. Though juicers differ wildly in cost, there are essentially two types to choose from. Centrifugal juicers are the most common as they’re usually cheaper and quicker, using a fast-spinning blade to shred fruit and vegetables to produce clear, though often frothy juice.
Often called slow juicers, cold-press masticating machines work – unsurprisingly – more slowly, pressing the juice from fruit and vegetables. This is far more effective than a centrifugal machine with ingredients like leafy greens and berries. These juicers are also believed to produce a more nutritious drink as they do not expose the fruit and vegetables to enzyme-destroying heat like centrifugal juicers do. However, they are usually far more expensive and much slower to operate, which might get on your nerves if you’re rushing to work in the morning.
How we tested
We used the same organic fruit and vegetables from Organibox (Juicing Box: From £19.95, Organibox.org) with all these juicers, making drinks from a range of fruit and vegetables including oranges, apples, beetroot, carrots, ginger, kale and cucumber. For each, we considered ease of use, noise, the amount of juice each machine extracted and how tasty the juices produced were. We also took into account how much space each juicer would take up on our worktop or in the cupboard and, crucially, how difficult it was to wash up after use. With all, we’d recommend removing pulp from the juicer straight after use or it can become very difficult to clean later.
The best juicers for 2021 are:
- Best overall – Ninja cold press juicer: £99.99, Ninjakitchen.co.uk
- Best affordable masticating juicer – Progress EK4573P slow cold press masticating juice extractor: £69.99, Amazon.co.uk
- Best for speed – Braun IdentityCollection spin juicer J700: £178, Braunhousehold.com
- Best for those who can’t make up their mind – Magimix 18082 juicer: £238, Ao.com
- Best centrifugal juicer –Sage the nutri juicer cold plus: £239.99, Lakeland.co.uk
- Best for on-the-go juicing – Nutribullet juicer pro: £99.99, Highstreettv.com
- Best citrus juicer – Smeg citrus juicer: £149.95, Smeguk.com
- Best hybrid model – Innoteck 3-in-1 juicer and blender set: £84.99, Innoteck.co.uk
Ninja cold press juicer
Best: Overall
Rating: 10/10
Type: Masticating
If you’re keen to try cold press juicing, this machine is a fool-proof way to up your vitamins. This masticating juicer uses a nine-segment auger and a powerful high-torque motor to extract juice using pressure and minimal heat transfer. We were gobsmacked at how much less pulp it produced than the centrifugal juicers we tested, making it a lot easier to clean than many others, while removable parts are dishwasher-safe. We were also impressed at the juice yield from our go-to apple, orange, carrot and ginger juice. It had no trouble tackling healthy green juices either, making this a great all-rounder.
We especially liked the three interchangeable filters for making juice exactly as you like it – smoother or with bits. It’s considerably less noisy than centrifugal models too, although it does take longer to produce a glass so you’ll need to factor in extra time to whip up a wellness shot each morning. Prep takes longer too as fruit and veg should be cut into 5cm pieces before juicing.
The main reason it’s our number one? The juice from this machine was by far our favourite, with no foam or separation and a lovely clear, vivid colour. It kept us coming back for more each day, making this a fantastic investment and our new favourite kitchen appliance.
Price comparison
-
{{/hasItems}}
{{#items}}
- {{ merchant }} £{{ price }} Buy now {{/items}} {{#hasItems}}
Progress EK4573P slow cold press masticating juice extractor
Best: Affordable masticating juicer
Rating: 7/10
Type: Masticating
This is very reasonably priced for a masticating juicer so we weren’t expecting much, but were pleasantly surprised. It uses a rotating auger system for maximum juice extraction and is straightforward to use with a simple on/off button. There’s also a useful reverse function to prevent pulp clogging and we definitely needed this on occasion to keep the whole thing operating smoothly. The fairly wide feed chute means we didn’t have to cut ingredients too small to fit them in, though we did find the machine couldn’t manage seeds or pips very well so preparation took a little longer with some fruit.
It makes a decent sized 0.7l of juice and has a pulp container that holds a decent 1.5l. This was blissfully easy to clean, with no annoying ridges to retain pulp. We did find the juicing mechanism a bit more fiddly to wash afterwards but the included cleaning brush really helps. Overall, it’s a great way to try cold press juices without blowing the budget.
Price comparison
-
{{/hasItems}}
{{#items}}
- {{ merchant }} £{{ price }} Buy now {{/items}} {{#hasItems}}
Braun IdentityCollection spin juicer J700
Best: For speed
Rating: 8/10
Type: Centrifugal
If you’re often pressed (sorry…) for time in the morning, this juicer won’t slow you down. It’s astonishingly fast with a super-powerful 1,000W motor and a fantastic 75mm wide feeding tube that means small apples can be put in whole – a godsend if you want juice in a hurry. In fact, an entire glass of juice can be made in around 15 seconds.
It has two speeds too, so you can adjust depending on whether you’re using soft or harder fruit, and hardly any pressure is needed when feeding the fruit in. It makes a really impressive amount of juice too and we loved the anti-drip mechanism which prevented a sticky mess on our worktop. It is on the large side but still looks quite sleek so it won’t be an eyesore if you leave it out all the time. Though you can juice straight into a glass of your choice, we much preferred pouring a glass from the included 1.25l jug. This has a foam separator and stainless-steel mesh to remove the foam a centrifugal juicer usually produces and makes a huge difference to taste.
The only downside is that although the removable parts can be thrown in the dishwasher, we did find the pulp a bit of a faff to remove first. However, this is a very common problem with all juicers and the included cleaning brush did help.
Price comparison
-
{{/hasItems}}
{{#items}}
- {{ merchant }} £{{ price }} Buy now {{/items}} {{#hasItems}}
Magimix juice expert 3
Best: For those who can’t make up their mind
Rating: 8/10
Type: Centrifugal, citrus press and cold press
Not sure whether you’ll get your money’s worth from a juicer? Maximise your chances with this ingenious 3-in-1 machine that can be used to juice almost anything. It comes with three separate lid attachments so can be used as a centrifugal machine with hard fruit and vegetables, a cold press juicer for softer fruit or to make nut milk or a citrus press to whip up an OJ either with or without pulp.
Once you’ve added the right attachment, there’s just one button to press, plus a huge chute for adding ingredients so you won’t need to waste time cutting everything up. It also handles pips and seeds brilliantly and is Quiet Mark accredited, so it’s a great choice if you have an open plan kitchen or live with others who won’t want disturbing every time you juice.
Although you do need to store the different lids, the juicer has a surprisingly small footprint so could easily be left out on a worktop. We did find it dripped a little after juicing though, so it’s a good idea to leave a glass under the spout for an extra minute or so once you turn it off. Our major gripe is that we found it quite difficult to clean the pulp out of this machine after juicing, even with the included spatula.
Price comparison
-
{{/hasItems}}
{{#items}}
- {{ merchant }} £{{ price }} Buy now {{/items}} {{#hasItems}}
Sage the nutri juicer cold plus
Best: Centrifugal juicer
Rating: 9/10
Type: Centrifugal
Want the speed of a centrifugal juicer but the extra vitamins produced by a cold-press machine? If you have the cash to splash, this model from Sage is the perfect compromise. Though the stonking 1,200W motor will mean you have juice in moments, it also uses innovative cold spin technology to allow juice to flow up and through the stainless-steel cutting disc surrounded by a mesh filter, so there is an insignificant temperature increase when juicing.
The drinks we made certainly tasted fantastic, though they were occasionally on the frothy side. Two speeds also make sure you get the maximum juice out of food as you can adjust it to suit softer fruit and harder vegetables. It’s a dream to get started too, as you can throw whole ingredients straight in the 88mm-wide chute without cutting first. When you’re finished, simply invert the nozzle to avoid any pesky drips.
Call us shallow but we also loved this juicer’s chic stainless-steel exterior and the fact the pulp bin fits behind the base to take up less room. We found it handy as it can juice straight into a 2l sealed jug too, so we could juice enough for the whole family in one go or store leftovers in the fridge for another day. A brilliant buy.
Price comparison
-
{{/hasItems}}
{{#items}}
- {{ merchant }} £{{ price }} Buy now {{/items}} {{#hasItems}}
Nutribullet juicer pro
Best: For on-the-go juicing
Rating: 8/10
Nutribullet is already renowned for its market-conquering smoothie making machines, but now they’ve got their eye on budding juicers too.
If you’re new to juicing and want a straightforward machine that won’t let you down, this is a great choice. It has a powerful 1,000W motor, a wide 76mm feeding chute so there’s very little prep needed, and the three speeds are great to get the most out of your ingredients. The low setting was excellent for kiwis and berries while turbo worked a treat on tougher vegetables like carrots. The juice seemed less frothy than with some other machines too, though there’s a jug with a foam separator lid included if you want to eliminate it entirely.
We especially loved the added accessories including a freezer tray to store leftover juice and a glass bottle for drinking on the go. The angled cleaning brush was also excellent at removing pulp, although we found this juicer easier to clean than most as there are no awkward places for pulp to hide and components are dishwasher safe. Just one word of warning: it is on the loud side. Although the noise is over in seconds, it’s worth considering if you’re planning on juicing first thing while everyone else is still asleep.
Price comparison
-
{{/hasItems}}
{{#items}}
- {{ merchant }} £{{ price }} Buy now {{/items}} {{#hasItems}}
Smeg citrus juicer
Best: Citrus juicer
Rating: 7/10
Type: Citrus
Juicers are often bought and left on the worktop gathering dust once a health kick passes, but this machine is such a looker, we’d be happy just to keep it as a style statement.
Available in a range of covetable colours including this gorgeous pastel blue, it’s extremely easy to use and the 700W motor starts automatically as soon as you apply pressure with an orange or lemon. We were wowed by just how much juice it managed to get out of our fruit and loved the fact the high spout meant we could use any glass of our own underneath. There was no need to remove pips or peel either – a real bonus in our book. Parts are dishwasher safe but it was just as easy to wash by hand, and we’d have no qualms about using it every day.
It lost a point with us purely because we would prefer to juice more than just citrus fruits, but if you’re devoted to your freshly squeezed morning OJ, you won’t go wrong with this.
Price comparison
-
{{/hasItems}}
{{#items}}
- {{ merchant }} £{{ price }} Buy now {{/items}} {{#hasItems}}
Innoteck 3-in-1 juicer and blender set
Best: Hybrid model
Rating: 8/10
Setting up home for the first time? If you don’t already have gadgets gathering dust in your cupboards, this is a great way to get three in one to save space and cash. This Innoteck set combines an 800W centrifugal juicer plus a blender and grinder, so you can also whizz up smoothies and sauces or blitz coffee beans or nuts.
The juicer can hold its own with far more expensive models too. It has two speed control, a wide 75mm feeding chute we could just about squeeze a whole small apple into and an anti-drip spout to prevent a post-juicing mess. The sizeable 1.1l jug meant we could make enough juice for the whole family in one go as well, although the juice was a little frothy. Like most juicers, it was a bit of a pain to clean, though the parts could all go in the dishwasher once the pulp had been removed. Still, it’s a good price for all three machines and we reckon it would make a great wedding present.
Price comparison
-
{{/hasItems}}
{{#items}}
- {{ merchant }} £{{ price }} Buy now {{/items}} {{#hasItems}}
The verdict: Juicers
For maximum vitamins, minimal noise and exceptional-tasting juice, the Ninja cold press juicer can’t be beaten and makes the longer prep time well worth it. If you’d prefer a centrifugal model, the Nutribullet juicer pro is fast, powerful and comes with a great range of accessories.
Voucher codes
For the latest discounts on juicers and offers on home appliances, try the links below:
For more handy kitchen gadgets, read our edit of the best food steamers for quick, easy and healthy meals
Subscribe to Independent Premium to bookmark this article
Want to bookmark your favourite articles and stories to read or reference later? Start your Independent Premium subscription today.