450 bucks is a lot for a blender. I know the are nice, but is there anything out there that is almost as nice?
Worth it though. Got one for my wife two x-mas ago and she uses it at least twice a week. More in the spring/summer.
I use the magic bullet, works well, I think it was 99 bucks
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Blendtec Still not cheap but a couple hundred bucks less and just as powerful.
Very nice try, but nobody here will admit to buying the WTC-branded blender…
You can save some money on the refurb models. I was hesitant to go that route, but the warranty is 5 years and it came looking new (the container/blades are new). This might be an option to save some bucks.
IMO, Blendtec is better than Vitamix. They are both great, but there’s a reason that Blendtec gets the nod by most expert reviewers. It’s still not cheap.
Really surprised nobody mentioned the Ninja yet http://www.amazon.com/Ninja-NJ600-Professional-Blender/dp/B003VWXXXK
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Got the Ninja Ultima from Bed Bath and Beyond. It has the 2.5 hp motor and you can use a 20% coupon. With their no questions asked return policy you cant go wrong. Had it a few months, use it daily and have zero complaints
I still don’t get why someone would spend that much money on a blender. I bought one at Costco for $50 3-4 years ago and its been able to handle everything I throw at it. Yes, sometimes I need to help it out a bit cause the top doesn’t blend, but is that really worth an extra $400 bucks?
I’d rather use that for when I get a power meter.
In short… yes 
I can’t speak for how much better a Vitamix is better than a Ninja or Blendtec… but compared to a blender, worth every penny. Of course, this depends greatly on your intended use. If a banana protein smoothie is what you like to use it for, a blender will do just fine.
Another vote for Ninja - it does everything we needed it to do – Bed Bath and Beyond coupon helps.
Another Ninja vote. I think they took the wood chipper from movie Fargo and just made it smaller, pretty sure it would chew up a human body pretty good.
450 bucks is a lot for a blender. I know the are nice, but is there anything out there that is almost as nice?
I can’t speak to the Vitamix, but I recently bought a NutriBullet. It’s a bigger more heavy duty version of the Magic Bullet. My wife and I were on a 10 day fruits/veggie clense last month and it took everything I threw at it and turned it into a smoothie with no chunks whatsoever. Again, I don’t know exactly what a Vitamix does, but I strongly reccomend the Nutribullet for doing smoothies.
Take a look at their factory certified options. They are just as good as the new one and come with 7-year warranty.
Both blendtec and vitamix will give you great blend power but I personally love the Blendtec for many reasons.
+1 for the Ninja. My law partner has both a Vitamix & Ninja and told me to get the Ninja for the cost savings in that the blending difference between the two is negligible. Got the Ninja a few months ago and no complaints by either myself or the Missus. We use it ~3-4/week.
I went with a refurbished Vitamix from the website. Didn’t pay the big bucks for a new one, came with a brand new recipe book too. Had a slight problem with it (was noisier than my old one) and Vitamix took it back and gave me a new refurbished one. Excellent customer service and love the blender!
Eat a banana, then do http://www.thesufferfest.com/video-sufferfests/blender/
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BlendTec is cheaper (by $50). And better. But there’s nothing that really comes close to either at a lesser price.
You are on a tri site asking if something cheaper is better? The irony 
As mentioned, other then Blendtec which is a bit cheaper, the others are just imitators.
I’d splurge for the Vitamix, know that it will never break and can blend up your used car parts if you become iron deficient My wife really loves making hot soup with the thing, but I have to leave the room since the thing is louder than my Harley!