A hand blender — or stick blender — is the quiet hero of the kitchen: it purées soup straight in the pan, whips up smoothies, blitzes sauces and crushes ice without dirtying a full jug blender. The best combine real power with fine control and easy cleaning. An extensive test of 52 hand blenders sorted the winners, and these are the top picks, checked against current UK prices.
What to Look For
Power — but not power alone. Motor wattage spans a wide range, from about 140 W on a quiet premium model up to 1200 W on the muscular flagships, and more power generally means faster, finer blending. But watts are not the whole story: in testing one 250 W motor still spun its blade at 19,000 rpm, and a keen 1000 W budget model puréed a vegetable soup in just 5 seconds. Look at real-world blending speed, not only the headline figure.
Speed control. The best blenders meter their power intuitively through a stepless pressure switch — press harder for more speed — which beats fiddly button steps for delicate jobs. A gentle start also stops soup splashing up the shaft.
Attachments. A basic blender comes with a beaker; step up and you gain a whisk for cream and egg whites, a chopper for onions and herbs, and sometimes a potato masher or dicing insert. Decide which you will actually use, as they add to the price.
Handling and cleaning. These are held for minutes at a time, so weight matters — the chunkier units tip the scales at around 800 grams. A head that clicks on and off easily, ideally right after blending without regripping, makes cleaning far quicker; a one-piece shaft that goes straight in the dishwasher is ideal.
The Winner: Braun MultiQuick 7
The Braun MultiQuick 7 (around £62) is the best for most people. It is well made and plenty powerful, but what sets it apart is control: an intuitive stepless pressure switch doses the power precisely, and a clever sprung head noticeably eases the work as you blend. The shaft clicks off easily, even straight after puréeing without shifting your grip, and it purées quickly and finely. At a fair price, it does everything right. Check the price on Amazon
Best Premium: Braun MultiQuick 9
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If you want maximum muscle and a full kit, the Braun MultiQuick 9 (around £94.99) steps up to a 1200 watt motor that purées anything in a flash. Depending on the version it arrives with a generous set of accessories — a measuring beaker, a whisk, and a multi-chopper with inserts such as a dice cutter and a potato masher — turning it into a mini food-prep station. The automatic safety locking can occasionally irritate, but for power and versatility it leads the range. Check the price on Amazon
Best Non-Braun Alternative: Philips ProMix
The Philips 5000 Series ProMix (model HR2534, around £62) is the pick if you would rather not buy Braun. It packs a strong 1200 W motor of its own, uses Philips's ProMix blending-shaft design for smooth, splash-resistant results, and matches the winner on price. It is a capable, well-priced all-rounder and a genuine alternative to the class-leading Brauns. Check the price on Amazon
Also Tested
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The ESGE Zauberstab M122S is a cult classic. The Swiss-made stick blender has been produced for decades and has a devoted following, and in testing it puréed everything to full satisfaction despite drawing only 140 W — proof that design beats raw wattage. It is comparatively quiet, comes with a wall mount, a long cable and various interchangeable blades. The catches are a high price, a head you cannot unscrew, and small pieces that cling to it — and, frustratingly for UK buyers, it is not cleanly stocked on Amazon UK, so there is no lookalike substituted in its place. The budget Arendo Miko, another strong-value option abroad, is likewise a German-market model.
How to Choose
Start with how much you blend and what you make. For everyday soups, smoothies and sauces, the Braun MultiQuick 7 is all most people need, and its pressure-switch control is a joy. If you batch-cook or want chopping and whisking in one box, the Braun MultiQuick 9 with its accessory kit earns its keep; if you prefer Philips or want to save, the ProMix matches the winner for less outlay. Prioritise intuitive speed control and an easy-clean, detachable head over a big wattage number, and pick the attachments you will genuinely use.
Verdict
The Braun MultiQuick 7 is the hand blender to buy for most people at around £62: powerful, beautifully controlled through its stepless pressure switch, and keenly priced. Step up to the 1200 watt Braun MultiQuick 9 (around £94.99) for maximum power and a full accessory kit, or choose the Philips ProMix (about £62) as the non-Braun all-rounder. Get the control and the cleaning right and a good stick blender will earn its place in your kitchen for years.
