The two most common kinds of juicers are centrifugal juicers and masticating juicers. The former pulverizes ingredients with tiny teeth on a quickly spinning basket, these work quicker but can be loud and make more foam. (Many come with lidded pitchers and built-in strainers so you can’t taste the difference.) Masticating juicers use augers with metal teeth to “chew up” produce, which takes longer but extracts more juice from the pulp. Citrus juicers, meanwhile, are simple to use and streamlined, but they can only be used for citrus, so they’re limiting. “When considering a juicer, pay attention to the dimensions of the juicer and the length of the cord. Ensure that you have the proper space to store this kitchen appliance and a nearby outlet to plug into,” says Jamie Hunt, a celebrity chef in New York City. “Juicers with minimal parts will be easier to clean, and you should choose a powerful juicer that can easily tear through foods like beets, apples, carrots, and other firm fruits and vegetables.” Juicing can involve a lot of clean-up although the leftover pulp can be used in other recipes to minimize food waste. For example, our top choice—the Kuvings Whole Slow Juicer—is super easy to clean and you don’t have to worry about seeds and pulp splashing onto the counter. When you pick out a juicer, you’ll want to think about the type, as well as how many people you’ll be serving, how much storage/kitchen counter space you have, and how much you want to invest. We did send a few of our top picks out for home testing where our editors judged how their juicer handled carrots, oranges, strawberries, and pineapple. They also evaluated how easy or not it (and their counter) was to clean afterward. With that in mind, here are the best juicers for pretty much everybody. We’ll raise a mimosa with fresh-squeezed OJ to that. What We Don’t Love: Expensive This snazzy, compact masticating juicer from Kuvings has some brilliant bells and whistles, from a wide-mouthed 3.2-inch feed tube that can still juice small ingredients, to multiple strainers for juice, smoothies, and ice cream. You can switch out the strainer to make delicious frozen desserts with your favorite fruits (hi there, sorbet!) and it juices at a low speed of 60 RPM. Its smoothie and sorbet attachments will even work well with leafy greens and nuts, and a removable smart cap makes it easy to do a quick clean-up between batches of juice. There’s a 10-year limited manufacturer’s warranty and a convenient carrying handle that lets you move your juicer around easily. Though this comes with a mesh sleeve to hold back seeds and pulps, our tester literally couldn’t see why you’d need it. Whether she tested carrots, oranges, or strawberries, the juicer quickly-less than 60 seconds quick—made a fresh cup of juice. And the Kuvings didn’t stop being impressive there. “I was worried that clean-up was going to take a long time because there are so many different parts and I was worried things would get stuck in the filter of the juicer, but it was so easy to clean,” she says. More pros: It was also extremely easy to remove the pulp for composting, no scraps ever flew out of the chute, and this is small enough to have a spot on your countertop without being obtrusive. “I had no problems using the juicer at all, and I was blown away by the minimal/no amount of pulp and seeds in the juice. It was relatively quiet and very fast. The only major downside to this juicer is the price.” — Ariel Knutson, Associate Editorial Director Price at time of publish: $600 Dimensions (LxWxH): 9.5 x 8 x 19 inches | Weight: 16 pounds | Wattage: 240 W What We Don’t Love: A lot of plastic in the design, lid doesn’t latch onto pitcher Juice everything from firm apples and ginger root to delicate strawberries in this centrifugal juicer—or use this Hamilton Beach juicer to make soy, almond, or rice milk. The 1.1-horsepower motor is capable of two speeds to easily handle firm and soft foods. “A good juicer is easy to assemble, clean, and use,” says Hunt. “I recommend [this] Hamilton Beach juicer since it has an extra-large feed shoot, allowing for larger pieces of fruits and vegetables. Juicers with small feed shoots require you to dice your fruits and vegetables before juicing them, which is a time-consuming task.” The 40-ounce BPA-free juice pitcher means there is no need to stop every few seconds to empty the container. Just juice and pour yourself a glass of homemade goodness. A froth separator keeps the foamy froth in the pitcher and out of your glass. (If you like the froth, just remove the lid from the pitcher, stir and pour.) A whole apple will fit into the wide chute, and the patented Easy Sweep cleaning tool cuts strainer cleaning time in half with dishwasher-safe parts make cleanup easier, too. When we sent this home to our tester, she found that whether you’re juicing firm or soft product, the juicer performs as well as higher-end options. No pulp from the orange juice or seeds from strawberries passed through to the final juice, and the contents in the pulp container were dry, signaling that it extracted all that it could. A downside: this juicer did skid around on the countertop a bit when on high, the recommended setting for firm produce. “It’s very versatile, easy to use, and reasonably priced. The pulp container was a bit awkward to put in place, but I got the hang of it pretty quickly. The pitcher lid has a standard pour spout as well as a froth separator lip—a nice touch for those who don’t love foam.” — Taysha Murtaugh, Editorial Director Price at time of publish: $130 Dimensions (LxWxH): 14.5 x 8 x 14.5 inches | Weight: 9.3 pounds | Wattage: 850 W What We Don’t Love: Bulky Not a fan of pulp or foam? The Aicok Slow Masticating juicer separates out the solids, so you’re just left with pure juice. With 80 RPM, it makes your juice without creating too much friction. This option features a 60-decibel quiet motor that is ideal for early risers who want to make a fresh glass of juice without disturbing the family (the sound is quieter than a ringing phone). This machine is especially well suited to extracting ginger, celery, wheatgrass, carrots, apples, oranges, and other fibrous fruits and vegetables. This makes it perfect for preparing food for babies and toddlers. Price at time of publish: $76 Dimensions (LxWxH): 17.1 x 8.9 x 13.1 inches | Weight: 12.1 pounds | Wattage: 150 W What We Don’t Love: Very loud, scraps can fly out of chute This easy-to-use juicer has a heavy-duty 850-watt motor that extracts eight ounces of juice in only five seconds. It is so powerful that pineapple can be juiced in large chunks with the rind on. The Breville Juice Fountain Plus has two speeds for custom juicing. The lower 6,500 RPM speed works for leafy vegetables and soft fruit, while the higher 12,000 RPM speed is great for denser fruits and more robust veggies. The titanium-reinforced disc and Italian-made micro-mesh filter basket are made out of stainless steel and are designed for optimum juice extraction. When it comes to storing, the cord neatly wraps around the base. Our tester did confirm that the speeds due translate to fast juicing. Each test only took a few seconds from input to final glass. She found that nothing but pure orange juice came out, though there were a few seeds from the strawberries. “The input tube is large enough to fit fruits and veggies without cutting them up too tiny, which reduces work,” she says. “I was able to fit a large orange half as well as whole carrots without cutting them up.” There were a few downsides, though. Cleanup ended up being a little time-consuming since this does get quite messy, both inside and out. The speed ended up translating to food scraps flying out of the chute. She also couldn’t get it to thoroughly juice her kale, no matter how much she threw in. “Performance was pretty smooth. The fruits juiced impressively quick and there was no pulp in the juice. I liked that there were High and Low speed functions, depending on if you were juicing harder or softer products. This ensured that any texture you put into the juicer was taken care of.” — Rachel Lee, Editorial Commerce Producer Price at time of publish: $180 Dimensions (LxWxH): 14.1 x 12.6 x 16.4 inches | Weight: 3 pounds | Wattage: 850 W What We Don’t Love: Only for citrus, expensive This chic juicer from Smeg is perfect if oranges, lemons, limes, and other citrus fruits are what you have in mind for juicing. It even comes in an array of cheerful colors so you can match it to your kitchen or bar cart. The Smeg’s motor has a built-in sensor that automatically activates when pressure is applied. The Tritan plastic cover even doubles as a bowl for fruit. Its stainless steel, anti-drip spout dispenses the juice directly into your glass. You’ll have lemonade, Palomas, and classic daiquiris whenever your heart desires. Price at time of publish: $200 Dimensions (LxWxH): 7.5 x 6.5 x 11 inches | Weight: 6 pounds | Wattage: 80 W What We Don’t Love: No strainer to hold back pulp The mess can be one of juicing’s main drawbacks. So the folks at Huron created this machine with scrub-free cleaning in mind. The low-speed, squeezing action juices fruits and vegetables at 60 RPM. Instead of small holes on the strainer that you have to scrub to remove the pulp, this juicer has strainers with large, elongated grooves. You can simply rinse the parts in water, and you’re ready to juice all over again. A bonus, especially if you have kids around: there are no sharp edges in this juicer, and all the parts are 100 percent BPA-free. This masticating juicer rotates at a speed of just 43 revolutions per minute to mimic the motion of a hand squeezing juice, for slow-squeezed perfection. Price at time of publish: $500 Dimensions (LxWxH): 6 x 6 x 18 inches | Weight: 12 pounds | Wattage: 150 W What We Don’t Love: Pricey This juicer from Cuisinart has a sleek look and conveniently small footprint while making smooth juice without too much foam. True to its name, cleanup is relatively easy with most all of the parts being dishwasher safe, and it has plastic baskets rather than mesh. This means you can whip up delicious beverages, from pressed juices and nut milk to spritzers and shakes without much hassle. Its large 3.5-inch diameter chute is big enough for whole fruits, and its powerful motor operates with quiet efficiency. Price at time of publish: $160 Dimensions (LxWxH): 10.2 x 7 x 18.3 inches | Weight: 11 pounds | Wattage: 200 W What We Don’t Love: Only for small quantities This is the simplest juicing tool that really works. OXO’s wooden reamer is solid beechwood with a natural oil finish combined with a large comfortable grip to make this kitchen tool a great way to juice your favorite citrus fruits. You’ll need to use a strainer as you pour the juice into your recipe (or gingerly pick out the seeds), and it must be hand-washed, but this is a great kitchen essential. Price at time of publish: $8 Dimensions (LxWxH): 1.6 x 1.6 x 6.3 inches | Weight: 2.5 ounces

What to Look for When Buying a Juicer

Masticating vs. Centrifugal

Masticating and centrifugal are the two most common types of juicers. These describe how the juice is extracted from the fruits and vegetables. Masticating juicers crush and squeeze food, which releases the juices. This method is believed to retain the most nutrients in the food and doesn’t use heat, which could destroy some of the nutrients. It takes longer to juice food this way, but you get the most juice out of the food. By the end, the pulp is nearly dry. These juicers tend to be more expensive and require more preparation time since the feed chutes are smaller. Centrifugal juicers use blades similar to a blender to chop fruits and vegetables. The juice is separated from the pulp, though the pulp is usually wetter than that of a masticating juicer since it’s not crushed. If you’re looking for the quickest way to make juice, centrifugal juicers are fast. They also have a larger feed chute, which requires less time to prep fruits and vegetables. However, they heat the food slightly, which could diminish some nutrients.

Power

Any time a kitchen appliance runs on a motor, power is important. A juicer’s power is measured by its wattage. Most juicers have between 150 and 850 watts. Since a masticating juicer is slower, it doesn’t need as many watts. Centrifugal juicers that have high-speed spinning blades will require higher wattage. 

Maintenance

Some kitchen tools are more difficult to clean than others, and juicers tend to be among them. Juicers have many parts that require cleaning after each use. Opting for a juicer with dishwasher-safe parts can help cut back on cleaning time. Masticating juicers tend to be easier to clean than centrifugal juicers since the mesh strainers aren’t as fine. The exterior of the unit can be wiped down with a microfiber towel on a regular basis.

What do you do with leftover pulp?

Leftover pulp is inevitable after juicing fruits and vegetables, but it doesn’t have to go to waste. You can incorporate the leftover pulp into recipes like muffins, veggie burgers, and crackers. You can also compost the unused pulp.

Do juicers remove seeds?

If you juice fruits with seeds, the seeds are strained and do not end up in your juice. You should remove apple seeds before juicing them because they contain a naturally occurring compound called amygdalin, which can be poisonous when digested.

Why Trust Simply Recipes?

Hannah Howard has been writing about food and beverages for over a decade, including the memoirs “Feast” and “Plenty.” She lives in Brooklyn and spends too much money on fancy juice. Read Next: The Best Reusable Water Bottles