Two questions decide it: what goes in, and how much feeding and cleaning you will put up with on a Tuesday. Pick the sentence that sounds like you. Every answer is a kind of juicer first and a model second, because the kind is the decision that sticks.
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"Green juice or celery, most mornings"
A cold press with a hopper: the Nama J2, or the Hurom H400. Slow augers get juice out of leaves and celery that a fast juicer shreds into foam, and a hopper means you load the recipe and leave. The Hurom trades a little clarity for a chamber with no mesh to scrub. If a hopper is more than you want to spend, the Omega MM900HDS is the celery specialist.
Vertical slow juicer, self-feeding hopper
Nama J2
Nama J2 Cold Press Juicer
The juicer that changed the chore: a lidded hopper takes a whole recipe at once, cuts and feeds it on its own at 50 rpm, and lets you walk away. Nama says the J2 yields up to 60 percent more juice than a high-speed juicer from the same produce, and that each part needs only a light scrub.
Speed
50 rpm, 200 W
Feeding
Self-feeding hopper with lid; load the recipe and walk away
Juice
Juice and pulp containers, coarse and fine strainers included
Cleaning
Light scrub, soap and water; brush included; hand wash (listing)
Size
9 × 9.8 × 17.7 in; 12.1 lb (listing)
Materials
Tritan chamber, stainless strainer (listing)
Suits: Daily green juice or family batches, especially when feeding and cleanup have made juicing a chore.
Weigh: The hopper is the point and the price. The J2 is tall at 17.7 in, hand wash only, and like every slow juicer it is slower than a centrifugal machine for a single glass of apple juice.
Vertical slow juicer, self-feeding hopper, no mesh strainer
Hurom H400 Easy Clean
Hurom H400 Easy Clean Slow Juicer
Hurom's answer to the J2: the largest self-feeding hopper Hurom has made, a wider inlet you can top up while it runs, and an Easy Clean chamber whose two-part auger strains the juice itself, so there is no fine mesh to scrub. A gauge window shows how full the chamber is.
Speed
150 W motor (listing)
Feeding
Self-feeding hopper, Hurom's largest, with an inlet for adding produce while running
Straining
Easy Clean chamber: two-part auger, no mesh strainer
Chamber
550 ml (18.6 oz) (listing)
Size
10.3 × 6.6 × 18.5 in (listing)
Cleaning
Parts separate; no scrubbing of a mesh; hand wash
Suits: Batch juicing for a household; the person who hates scrubbing a strainer more than anything else about juicing.
Weigh: Easy Clean chambers leave a little more pulp in the glass than a mesh strainer does; Hurom says the H400 has the least pulp of its Easy Clean models, which is not none. Hand wash.
"A glass of apple or carrot juice, fast, a few times a week"
A centrifugal with a whole-fruit chute: the Breville Juice Fountain Cold Plus. Whole apples down a 3.5 in chute, a glass in under a minute, a 70 oz jug for the fridge. The foam and the wetter pulp are the price of the speed. The Hamilton Beach Big Mouth does the same job in plastic for much less.
Centrifugal, 3.5 in chute, 70 oz jug
Breville Juice Fountain Cold Plus
Breville BJE530
Breville's mid-size fast juicer: a 3.5 in chute for whole apples, two speeds, Breville's Cold Spin design with an Italian-made mesh filter, a sealed 70 fl oz jug for a batch, and the pulp bin tucked behind the base so the footprint stays small.
Chute
3.5 in, whole fruit
Power
1000 W, 2 speeds (listing)
Jug
70 fl oz, sealed for the fridge
Filter
Italian-made precision mesh; Cold Spin
Size
8.6 × 13.15 × 17.64 in; 13.6 lb (listing)
In the box
Cleaning brush, recipe book (listing)
Suits: A quick glass of fruit juice or a family batch, with whole-fruit feeding to reduce prep.
Weigh: Centrifugal machines foam, run loud, and leave a wetter pulp than a slow juicer; drink the juice soon. Hand wash per the listing.
The long-running budget centrifugal: an 800 W motor, a 3 in chute that takes a whole apple or a handful of carrots, an extra-large pulp bin, dishwasher-safe removable parts, a strainer brush in the box, and a three-year limited warranty from Hamilton Beach.
Power
800 W, 1 speed
Chute
3 in
Pulp
Extra-large bin, about 80 oz (listing)
Size
14.4 × 7.8 × 11.5 in
Warranty
3-year limited (Hamilton Beach)
Cleaning
Removable parts dishwasher-safe; brush included
Suits: An inexpensive way to try juicing firm produce, or a second machine for a cabin or office.
Weigh: One speed, a plastic body, and the foam and noise of any fast juicer. The juice goes directly into your own glass.
A citrus press: the Breville Citrus Press Pro, or a hand squeezer. A lever press with a one-size cone does a bag of oranges without peeling; a stainless hand squeezer does the single lemon and lives in a drawer.
Lever citrus press, motorized cone
Breville Citrus Press Pro
Breville 800CPXL
The lever press: a triple-hinged arm with a power-assisted lever holds the fruit down while a die-cast, acid-resistant Quadra-Fin cone spins, so one cone does limes through grapefruit. A dual safety switch keeps the cone still until the arm is down, and a drip-stop spout holds the juice back between glasses.
Power
110 W (listing)
Cone
Quadra-Fin, die-cast, acid-resistant; one size for all citrus
Zulay Kitchen Extra Large Stainless Steel Lemon Squeezer
The drawer tool: an all-stainless (18/8) hand press with an extra-large bowl that takes limes, lemons and small oranges, no paint to chip, and a dishwasher-safe body. Juice for a dressing, a drink or a recipe without plugging anything in.
Material
18/8 stainless steel (listing)
Fits
Limes, lemons, small oranges
Size
9.05 × 3.34 × 1.96 in; about 0.95 lb (listing)
Power
None, hand press
Cleaning
Dishwasher-safe (listing)
Suits: Small amounts of citrus for cooking or cocktails, including a single lemon when you already own an electric juicer.
Weigh: A hand squeezer, so a bag of oranges is a workout and seeds need a strainer underneath.
The Hurom H70, or the Ninja NeverClog. The H70 is the H400's hopper and no-mesh chamber in an 8 × 8 in footprint. The Ninja is a small, plain cold press with two pulp filters and dishwasher-safe parts, at an entry price.
Vertical slow juicer, compact, self-feeding hopper, no mesh strainer
Hurom H70 Easy Clean
Hurom H70 Easy Clean Slow Juicer
The H400's mechanism in a smaller body: Hurom places the H70 between its H310 and H400, with a large self-feeding hopper, a wider inlet, the same strainer-less Easy Clean chamber, and fewer parts to assemble.
Feeding
Self-feeding hopper with a wider inlet
Straining
Easy Clean chamber, no mesh strainer
Chamber
450 ml (15.2 oz) (listing)
Size
8 × 8 × 16 in (listing)
Assembly
Fewer parts than the H400, simplified internals
Cleaning
Parts separate; hand wash
Suits: A small kitchen that still wants a hopper and the no-mesh cleanup; one or two glasses at a time.
Weigh: Smaller chamber than the H400 (450 ml), so a family batch means emptying mid-run. Hand wash.
Ninja's small cold press: a 150 W high-torque motor, two interchangeable pulp filters (less pulp or lots of pulp), a reverse button for jams, a 24 oz jug and a 36 oz pulp container. Ninja lists it at under 8 lb with dishwasher-safe juice-contact parts and a one-year warranty.
Power
150 W, 120 V
Filters
Two: less pulp, lots of pulp
Controls
Start/Stop and Reverse
Containers
24 oz juice jug, 36 oz pulp
Size
12.11 × 7.15 × 15.93 in; 7.94 lb
Warranty
1 year (Ninja); dishwasher-safe parts
Suits: A first slow juicer, an apartment counter, and anyone who wants to choose the pulp level without a strainer swap.
Weigh: Small chute and no hopper, so prep is a knife job; capacity is one or two glasses. Entry-level build.
The Kuvings AUTO10, or the Breville Cold XL. Slow: the AUTO10's hopper and 100 oz chamber run up to 30 minutes continuously. Fast: the Cold XL's 1200 W motor, 3.5 in chute and 70 oz jug, with a Quiet setting for the early morning.
Vertical slow juicer, self-feeding, large batch
Kuvings AUTO10
Kuvings AUTO10 Cold Press Juicer
Kuvings' self-feeding machine: load whole fruit and vegetables, a double-crushing blade cuts and feeds them, and a 240 W motor at 50 rpm runs up to 30 minutes continuously. The chamber holds about 100 oz (3 L), the largest batch of any juicer here.
Speed
50 rpm, 240 W; up to 30 min continuous
Feeding
Self-feeding hopper, auto-cut
Capacity
3,000 ml (about 100 oz)
Size
8 × 9 × 17.5 in (listing)
Warranty
15-year assurance (Kuvings)
Cleaning
Simplified parts, cleaning tools included; hand wash
Suits: Juicing for a whole household in one run; the person who wants a hopper and chose Kuvings over Nama and Hurom.
Weigh: The biggest and heaviest of the hopper juicers; make sure the counter and the cabinet height allow 17.5 in plus the lid. Hand wash.
The big one: a 3.5 in chute, a 1200 W motor, the 70 fl oz jug, and a Quiet setting Breville says cuts mechanical noise by 40 percent. Breville's own line is that it extracts juice up to five times faster than a cold press machine.
Chute
3.5 in, whole fruit
Power
1200 W (listing)
Noise
Quiet setting, 40 percent less mechanical noise (Breville)
Jug
70 fl oz
Size
8.7 × 13.39 × 17.44 in; 15.5 lb (listing)
Filter
Italian-made precision mesh; Cold Spin
Suits: A household that juices whole bags of produce in one session.
Weigh: The largest and dearest centrifugal here; the same foam and wet pulp as any fast juicer. Hand wash per the listing.
The nutribullet Slow Juicer, or the Dash. A compact cold press with dishwasher-safe parts, or the smallest centrifugal there is. Either tells you in a month whether you juice; if you do, the hopper machines are where the money goes next, and the first machine becomes the travel one.
Vertical slow juicer, compact, 3 in chute
nutribullet Slow Juicer
nutribullet Slow Juicer
A compact vertical auger with a 3 in chute, a steel-tipped auger and a stainless sieve, spinning at 65 rpm. nutribullet says the spout does not drip and the components are dishwasher-safe, which is rare among slow juicers.
Speed
65 rpm, 150 W (listing)
Chute
3 in
Juice
710 ml container (listing)
Size
7 × 6.25 × 17 in; 11 lb (listing)
Warranty
1 year (nutribullet)
Cleaning
Dishwasher-safe components (nutribullet)
Suits: A first cold press for someone making a single glass, with limited counter space and a smaller budget.
Weigh: You feed produce piece by piece and brush the mesh sieve after use. nutribullet provides a one-year warranty.
Rinse the parts the moment you finish, before the pulp dries; it is the single habit that keeps a juicer on the counter. The five-minute clean has the order. And read cold press vs centrifugal before you spend on either, for an explanation of how each machine affects the juice and how long it keeps.
