The best juicers in 2024, tested by editors

If you’re craving the sweetness of freshly squeezed orange juice or the bright, earthy tang of green juices on a regular basis, it might be time to think about purchasing a juicer. Having fresh juice on demand can elevate everything from brunch to cocktails and mocktails, or just help you make the most of fruits and vegetables that are languishing in your crisper.

To find the juicers that are worth the money and counter space, we squeezed juice out of everything from kale to oranges to find the best options for you, whether you’re looking for a heavy-duty model capable of handling any vegetable or fruit or just looking for something simple for occasional use.

The Nama J2 Cold Press Juicer is about as convenient as a juicer can get. Yes, you’ll still need to do some chopping and you’ll have to clean it after each use, but a few thoughtful design touches lessen the amount of time you have to spend on each step. It is the most expensive juicer we tested, so you’re paying for that convenience, but if you can afford it, we think the great design justifies the cost.

The oversized hopper was a clear plus, as we could fit six navel oranges inside the cylinder with a bit of room to spare. Carrots or taller veggies like celery still need to be halved but don’t have to be cut into lots of pieces to fit, as with some of the less capacious models we tested. Once the auger started spinning, the upright masticating juicer was quieter than the other juicers in our testing pool too.

The Nama J2 created full-bodied orange juice and bright, clean carrot juice. The pulp left behind was left a bit wet and piled up close to the chute, which meant it stayed inside the bucket, but it backed up a bit inside the chute. That said, the chute is very easy to clean. The back pops off, and a rubber gasket can be removed so you can flush the chute with water, making it easier to dislodge fibrous fruits and vegetables. The strainer took a bit more work — orange and celery strings needed some hard scrubbing to remove — but overall maintenance was easier and more convenient than that of any other juicer we tested.

If you make juice or smoothies (a set of juice and smoothie strainers is included) daily, the Nama J2 Cold Press Juicer could be worth the investment, as it also comes with a 15-year warranty on the motor and parts. An optional pulp strainer (we didn’t notice a lot of pulp) and sorbet attachment are also available.

Other juicers we recommend

How our recommendations compare

How to choose a juicer (and why you can’t get away with using a blender so easily)

There are two main types of juicers. Masticating juicers — sometimes called cold press juicers — use a slow-turning auger to squeeze juice out of fruits and vegetables. Centrifugal juicers — or juice extractors — operate at a higher speed, pushing fruits and veggies through rapidly spinning blades.

Both types are capable of making good juice, though masticating designs typically achieve better results, with less foam since they aren’t agitating the liquid as much and more juice yield since they’re more effective at separating out dry, fibrous material from the juice. Masticating juicers are typically more expensive, however.

Juicers differ from blenders in that they separate out the pulp and leftovers you don’t want using a filter (typically a mesh screen). A blender doesn’t really make “juice” since everything stays in the same container, though it can achieve a fine-enough consistency for a thicker drink such as a smoothie. You can, of course, strain blended material after the fact, using cheesecloth or a sieve, but that’s a lot more work.

How we tested

We tested juicers over the course of a month. Each juicer was unboxed and assembled with an eye toward how much effort it took to get ready to juice.

We rinsed each juicer and then made four different juice recipes: orange, watermelon with mint and lime, carrot ginger and green juice (kale, ginger, lemon, Granny Smith apples and celery). After juicing, we washed each piece by hand or ran it through the dishwasher if it was labeled as dishwasher-safe.

Overall, we considered the design and build of each juicer, how it functioned, the process of cleaning and what accessories were included. We compared the performance of each juicer against the other models and then weighed those factors alongside the warranty and price to determine the products we would recommend.

We looked carefully at the size of the feed chute and whether that meant more or less prep time in advance of juicing. We also monitored the extruder and juice nozzle where pulp and juice were produced to look for clogs and drips. We considered if a strainer — if part of the design — effectively caught and separated out pulp, and we considered the volume of a juicer in operation to see if we could hold a conversation or it sounded like the motor was straining.

Since juicing can be a messy process, we considered if attachments were dishwasher-safe, if pulp got trapped inside the strainer or chute and if the juicer leaked on the counter when it was being taken apart to be cleaned.

We looked at the materials used and if the juicer felt sturdy; noted how easy it was to put together and break down the components, in particular the strainer or grinder; and considered the availability of color options, as well as what attachments or accessories were included that might change the functionality of the juicer. And since juicers can be expensive, we noted the length and terms of the warranty.

Other juicers we tested

Hurom H-AA Slow Juicer

$399 at Walmart; $439 at Home Depot

The Hurom H-AA consistently produced juice with a deep, clean body, leaving behind extruded pulp that was more compact and less wet than other models — unsurprising since the Hurom was able to make more juice on average from fruits and vegetables than the majority of the other models we tested.

The stylish Hurom seems to have a lot of parts when you remove it from the box, but the setup is intuitive, and small touches like the arrows indicating where pieces snap together made the process quicker with each round of juicing. It’s heavy but has a slim design that takes up little space on the counter.

The Hurom’s narrow chute and slow rotating auger mean you need to do a lot of chopping to add smaller pieces to avoid clogging the juicer. But the reality is that juicing will always require more effort than grabbing a container from the fridge, and we didn’t feel that the Hurom required undue effort, especially given the consistently good results — just more effort than the Nama J2.

The juice from the Hurom was clear and mostly free of foam, thanks to the spinning brush that rotates in the opposite direction from the auger. Masticating juicers, which use pressure to extract juice from the fruit and vegetables, introduce less air (and correspondingly, less foam) into the juice, as opposed to the high-speed action of the rapidly spinning blades inside centrifugal juicers. And the Hurom was among the best in class when it came to producing juice with body and lovely flavor.

With softer fruits like the orange and watermelon, the juice had a depth of color and flavor that earned the Hurom top marks. But the real difference was the juice extracted from leafy greens, carrots and ginger. The juices felt full without being pulpy because of the stainless steel screen and had a roundness that was satisfying. Though the kale juice from the Hurom did have a bit more foam than other models, it didn’t impact the volume of juice or flavor.

While the Hurom’s parts need to be handwashed after use, the included tools are well-suited to the task. The pair of brushes made quick work of carrot pulp on the strainer and cleaned celery strings out of the extruder.

A long warranty — 10 years on the motor and two years on parts — means you can feel confident that you’re getting more for your money from the Hurom, even given its higher price. It’s a great juicer, even though we give the edge to the newer Nama J2.

Nama J1 Cold Press Juicer

$399 at Nama

The Nama J1, formerly called the Vitality 5800, is sleek and crafted with intention. The waffle design and smaller profile of the base make this one of the few juicers you’d want to leave out on display.

If the interior mechanisms look familiar (and the quiet hum sounds familiar), that’s because the Nama is made, on a contract basis, by Hurom. The juicer is all the better for that relationship, producing brilliant juice that is light and bright and exactly what you’d fork over $8 to someone else to make.

But the juice exacts a heavy price when you’re the one at the counter. We did a lot of chopping to fit produce inside the slim feed tube and to make sure the auger didn’t clog with pulp. Greens and carrot bits occasionally bottlenecked in the filter because of the narrow pulp chute.

The Nama J1 was fussier than the Hurom. The main drawback was that everything needed to be cleaned by hand, and there were lots of places for pulp to get snagged. Attempting to fish out strings of the celery from the back of the extruder was as frustrating as any carnival game. While it’s one of the most expensive juicers we tested, it does come with a 10-year warranty on the motor and two-year warranty on parts, just like the Hurom.

Breville Juice Fountain

$200 at Amazon

If you’re daunted by daily fruit and vegetable prep, the Breville Juice Fountain deserves a look. The three-inch wide chute means that big pieces of fruit, like half a Granny Smith apple, fit easily, and that’s less chopping for you. The juicer snapped together fairly quickly, but some of the connections — the top of the pitcher and where the plastic housing met the pulp container — were clunky.

The Breville produced juice quickly, a benefit if you’re regularly juicing for more than two people. It handled oranges, carrots and watermelon well, though some carrot juice and pulp was trapped around the rim of the strainer. The juice was a bit foamy with slightly more body than the other centrifugal juicers. The flavor wasn’t as clean as the juice extracted by the masticating juicers we tested.

The Breville did struggle with kale, as several leaves sat atop the strainer when we opened it up. The juice also came out violently. Thankfully, the massive 70-ounce pitcher came with a snap-on top, which prevented juice from spraying on the counter. The juicer does need to be washed by hand, and while the parts are larger, there are plenty of curves that can snag bits of pulp.

Hamilton Beach Big Mouth Juicer

From $70 at Amazon

It felt like magic watching an entire carrot disappear down the oversized, 3-inch-wide feeding tube of this budget juicer. And the carrot juice it produced was rich and earthy without being foamy.

Yet, the magic didn’t last. The centrifugal juicer snapped together quickly and stayed in place, thanks to rubber feet, but it doesn’t come with a container for catching juice. While it’s less than 15 inches tall, the added height of the tamper meant we had to use it at the front of our counters to keep it from bumping up against the bottom of our upper cabinets. When we clicked it on, it was loud enough to wake a sleeping dog in the next room.

The orange juice was too thin, with a bit of pulp, and the flavor of the watermelon juice was muddy. The juicer struggled to break down leafy greens, and the green juice was foamy and slightly bitter. Pulp got trapped along the rim where the strainer snapped in place, and stringy pieces of carrot were difficult to remove from the strainer. We also found whole leaves, pieces of apple skin and thin carrot slices among the wet pulp, which means less juice was extracted from fruits and vegetables.

All the components, except the base, are dishwasher-safe, so the juicer was easy to clean. The blades were sharp, which we unfortunately discovered with the tip of a finger when we were trying to clean out some of the kale leaves by hand. The juicer does come with a 3-year limited warranty.

Kuvings Masticating Slow Juicer

$300 From $248 at Amazon

While the Kuvings masticating juicer was easy to assemble and clean, the act of juicing had a bit of a learning curve. The Kuvings was on the quieter side of the models we tested, only slightly louder than the Hurom.

The auger did a nice job of slowly pulling in fruits and vegetables. Softer fruit like watermelon and orange slices tended to hang out in the main chamber, though. This took more time and use of the reverse button to keep the fruit pulp moving.

This balancing act fell apart with carrots, as the dense, slightly wet pulp gummed up the works and had to be cleaned out in the middle of juicing. The leafy green juice was clean, if a bit foamy, but the foam was nicely kept out of a drinking glass by the included pour shield.

The juicer is compact, about the size of a small toaster. As a result, the feeding tube is narrow, and the juice container would need to be poured into another vessel if you were to make a large batch of juice. The Kuvings does have a 5-year limited warranty and is available in three colors: chrome, white and silver. The juicer also comes with seven different nozzles designed for extruding fresh pasta or grinding meats and nuts.