I don’t want that darn juicer hogging up all the space on my countertop, is what I remember saying. And that sentiment is shared by many (unless you have the privilege of a gigantic kitchen).
Since we usually use our juicers pretty often, they’re sitting in front of our eyes all the time. And god forbid if you want to take it with you somewhere, a large juicer will be a nail in that dream’s coffin.
That’s when the search for the best small juicer began. And I, fortunately, did not return empty-handed. This article will provide you with some of the best compact juicers on the market and guide you toward the right choice.
Comparison Chart of Top 4 Best Compact Juicers
Our Top Picks
- Centrifugal Juicer: Dash Compact Centrifugal Juicer
- Best Compact Juicer: Cuisinart CJE-500
- Masticating Slow Juicer: DASH Deluxe Compact
- Stainless Juicer: Cuisinart CCJ-500P1
- Ultem Plastic Material: Kuvings B6000S Whole Slow Juicer
Top-Rated Best Small Juicers I Recommend
So, we’ve looked at some of the necessities to remember when making the purchase. I’m sure this little guide will aid you when choosing between a centrifugal, citrus, and a masticating juicer. Even then, you’ll need some guidance when it comes to picking the ideal machine. I understand. Hence, Let’s now move on to the main act and discuss the options at hand.
1. Hurom HP Slow Juicer
The very first pick we have here is a slow juicer from Hurom. People often opt for vertical juicers when it comes to compactness and portability. The reason behind that is this vertical design allows them to take significantly less space. You could even fit it under your cupboard with ease.
Let’s start with power. This juicer comes with a 150-watt motor, which manages to juice most ingredients with ease. It doesn’t matter if you want the best small juicer for celery or kale or spinach — the results were pretty consistent and impressive.
The only time you may have some trouble is with the more challenging ingredients, and that’s when the yield may be lower. Other than that, the outcome was remarkable, with pulps getting out of it as dry as bones.
The feeding chute may feel a bit cramped, but that’s entirely normal for this genre of juicers. It’s pretty convenient in terms of cleaning despite the smaller size. All of the parts are easy to take off, and they’re safe to clean with a dishwasher as well. The strainer, the chute — nothing seemed challenging to clean up.
I did feel annoyed by the prepping part sometimes, however. Cutting and chopping everything up for the juicer seemed time-consuming. But none of it is the juicer’s fault, as a smaller chute is somewhat obvious given the small form factor we’re working with.
What I really enjoyed about this juicer was its versatility. In most cases, a juicer manages to work well with a distinct genre of ingredients. However, this one can juice a variety of them with ease — it could be celery, nuts, oranges, and everything in between.
What might seem a tad steep is the pricing. The price tag on this juicer is far from being at the entry level, which may be out of budget for some. Nevertheless, I would argue that it provides the right form and functionality to justify that price. Given how you can use this juicer for different sorts of ingredients, that price point doesn’t seem too bad.
2. Black+Decker CJ625 Citrus Juicer
The previous pick was ideal for ingredients that you can chop up and prepare for the small chute. However, you can’t do that for many fruits, and that makes things tougher. That’s when a press juicer can come in handy for things like oranges.
But it’s not one of those juicers where you have to do everything by hand. Instead, there is a cone at the top, against which you hold the fruit. The cone is activated by pressure, meaning it will start turning once you press the fruit on top of it. That’s quite a nifty feature!
Another benefit is that the cone is auto-reversing, which ensures an even higher juice yield. About that — the yield seemed to be pretty decent for a juicer like this. What’s unique is that there is a variable control for the pulp. Users can control the amount of pulp they want in their juice, which is a feature I appreciate.
It’s also possible to create mixed juices, thanks to that bit. The container also comes with measurement markings to make it effortless for you to create the perfect blend. The pouring spout didn’t get in my way of pouring the juice either.
What’s even better is the price tag here. Given how minimal the design is, this is one of the most affordable juicers on this list. However, you should remember that it’s niche-based, and you can only juice certain fruits on it.
You cannot juice ingredients like celery or kale with this juicer. It’s only suitable for fruits that can be pressed with the cone to extract the juice. Therefore, this juicer may not be the best pick if you want something more versatile.
Cleaning this juicer was surprisingly effortless, however. There are only three central portions to this design, which makes maintenance so much easier. The container is well-designed with a spout, meaning there won’t be any mess to clean up either.
Now, for the crucial aspect — the size. This juicer manages to be surprisingly compact, and I could put it anywhere on the countertop without feeling like it’s taking up any significant space. Given all this, this is a remarkable little product if you are in the right demographic for it.
3. Cuisinart Pulp Control Citrus Juicer
The previous juicer makes a lot of sense for people looking to juice things like oranges or grapefruits — or most of the citruses. And buying such juicers makes a lot of sense if you don’t require juicing other ingredients, especially the greens. The next pick is yet another one of those juicers.
Let’s begin with the yield. This product from Cuisinart features a unique feature called final spin that managed to wring out more juice out of my fruits. It also comes with an auto-reversing cone, meaning it doesn’t move in one direction only. That gets more juice out of any ingredient. All in all, the yield of this juicer was pretty impressive.
This one also can control the amount of pulpit lets in. There’s a control that has three levels of control — high, medium, and low. I sometimes like a bit of pulp in the juice, and having this capability proved to be beneficial. Moreover, many people use the pulps for other purposes.
The cone’s movement is automated, meaning it will start working once you press the fruit against it. You do need to place it near an electric outlet, which might make placement an issue for some users.
But this thing doesn’t hamper its position as the best small juicer candidate on my list. You could place it anywhere in the kitchen without hogging up the space. It only weighs 4 pounds, meaning the portability aspect of things is just as impressive.
One caveat I’ve faced with many electric citrus juicers is when pouring the juice in a hurry. It’s such a simple aspect, yet it turns into a headache. Fortunately, this juicer comes with a well-designed long spout that prevents any accidental dripping.
It comes with a brushed stainless finish, making it effortless to clean the base of the juicer. Furthermore, all of the removable parts are dishwasher-safe to make that whole process much simpler. I could get the parts out and ready for the dishwasher within a minute. Even if you don’t have one, cleaning this juicer doesn’t take long.
While this product costs a tad more than the previous option, it’s easy to see why. The slightly higher price tag accounts for a range of different features. That’s why it is an easy buy once it matches your requirements.
4. Dash Deluxe Compact Masticating Slow Juicer
I mentioned that vertical juicers are usually very compact in terms of width. The next juicer I have here is only 4″ wide, which is bonkers. If you’re running out of space in the kitchen, this is one of the easiest picks by far.
However, there is a caveat with this size. This juicer is much taller vertically. That means you may be in trouble if you were planning to put it under your cupboard, as it may not fit. The cord is around 3 feet long, which should be enough for most — although you won’t get to be too far from the outlet.
Moving on, this juicer uses a pressing mechanism to extract juice from ingredients. The chute is pretty thin, as we’ve come to expect from products of this category. Therefore, you would have to prepare the fruits or greens to go through this opening with ease.
Other than small ingredients like nuts or grapes, I had to chop everything up to accommodate them within this chute. This process is a pain in the neck, and whether you want this trade-off depends on how compact you need your juicer to be.
Its motor is pretty powerful for its size, and I found decent results with most foods. Be it nuts, wheatgrass, fruits, or greens — the end result was smooth and tasty. Then comes the question of the pulp and filtration.
To my pleasure, that part fared just as well. The juice yield was remarkable, and it didn’t have any pulp in it. This is a good thing if you only want the nutrient and none of the bulk or prefer a smoother taste. Moreover, the pulps were as dry as you’d expect.
I was content with the cleaning process as well. The parts were effortless to remove, and the design made it simpler to clean them up. The package also comes with a cleaning brush and two cups, which is appreciated.
It’s also possible to work with frozen ingredients with this juicer — a feature that can come in handy. And as you know, the slower speed of the auger ensures that there is no oxidation and the nutrition remains intact. Hence, this is a great choice if you require versatility.
5. Kuvings B6000S Whole Slow Juicer
People looking for some of the best small juicers often look at the aesthetic side of things as well. Since I’m on that side of the arena too, the next pick intrigued me. It comes with a bunch of color options along with a unique design language.
Once again, I’ve picked a slow masticating juicer. The first benefit of that is that you won’t have to worry about losing the health benefits. There will be less chance of oxidation or any of the concerns that come with heat. Moreover, you’ll be able to preserve the juice for a longer period if necessary.
The motor is pretty powerful as well. This 240W motor managed to juice even the comparatively tougher ingredients with comparative ease. The biggest proof of that was the dry pulp, which barely had any juice left in it. Although, greens like wheatgrass didn’t achieve that same level of efficiency.
Nevertheless, the juice yield manages to be pretty impressive in my eyes. The chute is of decent size as well, meaning I didn’t have to chop everything into tiny pieces to get them in there. It’s 3 inches — a pretty wide opening for a juicer this compact. This is rather crucial if you want to juice ingredients like apples.
The overall height for this juicer is 17.6″ and 9″ from one side to the other. While that isn’t the smallest of them all, we need to consider how much we’re getting in return for that little bit of real estate. There are no hygienic risks due to the BPA-free materials that the manufacturer uses here.
This juicer did not disappoint me in terms of cleaning either. The parts were all effortless to disassemble and cutting down the time required to clean them. Moreover, crucial parts like the strainer have unique designs to make cleaning easy.
However, the caveat is that it won’t be as portable as the rest of the juicers here. While the form factor is decently compact, this product ends up weighing 15 pounds. Other than that, there isn’t much to complain about in this juicer.
6. Cuisinart CJE-500 Compact Juice Extractor
While it’s completely natural for electric juicers to make some noise, that should stay within a tolerable limit. The next one I’ve picked for this list — the Compact Juice Extractor — did pretty well in maintaining a decent noise profile. The reason this is a concern is that it’s a centrifugal juicer, and they’re notorious for noise.
Well, let’s begin with the feeding tube. In most juicers, this tube is barely wide enough for some ingredients. That didn’t seem to be the case in my experience, and I did not have to spend half of an eternity preparing the vegetables. The food pusher also plays a crucial role in guiding the fruits and veggies right where they belong.
We do need to remember that this is a centrifugal juicer, though. Hence, the possibilities you’ve heard about losing a bit of the nutritional value are accurate. And you may not be able to preserve the juice for as long because of the possibility of oxidation.
Nevertheless, I would still recommend it if you’re a user who’s constantly running low on time. You can get things done quicker than a sluggish masticating juicer, as not everyone can afford to wait that long. But let’s move on to the juicing process.
One part I quite liked was how the blades were assembled. This unique design separates the pulp efficiently from the juice. As a result, the juice yield was pretty remarkable. While it may not have the same level of output as a dual-gear slow juicer, it does extremely well for its size and price.
There’s a 40-ounce pulp container that makes it easier to juice a bunch of ingredients at once. For the juice, we get a 16-ounce container at the front. It’s large enough for two people, and the spout made pouring pretty easy. If you don’t want the container, you can just remove it and use a glass or cup of your own.
It does ensure the user’s safety too. Since centrifugal juicers have fast-moving parts, there is a safety bar that you must leave in place to get the juicer to work. This is a crucial feature, especially if others will be using the juicer.
Lastly, this centrifugal juicer manages to be pretty affordable, considering all its features. All in all, this is an excellent option if you want something quick to get through your day fast.
7. Kuvings Silver Pearl Whole Slow Juicer
Let’s get back to the masticating juicers again. Unless you’re running low on time, going for a lower-speed juicer is usually a good thing. For example, this slow juicer from Kuvings comes with a 60 RPM motor, which is pretty slow.
As a result, the oxidation process isn’t as quick, and the enzymes and health benefits remain intact for longer. The only drawback is the slowness, which isn’t an issue for many of us.
The 240W brushless motor is plenty powerful for most of the tasks too. Even when I put in more challenging ingredients, it returned smooth results. The pulps were pretty dry for the most part, and the juice was smooth because of the quality filtration process.
As a bonus, there is also a sorbet-maker attachment, which utilizes the black strainer. This juicer also comes with a smart cap that plays a significant role in preventing any dripping. Thanks to that, the clean-up process afterward wasn’t as tedious. You can also utilize it to make mixed juice with ease, which I loved doing.
Then comes the cleaning portion. It comes with a cleaning tool from the manufacturer that made cleaning the strainer so much easier. It’s not a necessity, however. You could use any tool you want to clean it. And the disassembly process was pretty effortless to aid in that process.
Another huge benefit is the 3″ x 3″ whole chute. Most small juicers have tiny chutes where you have to chop the ingredients into tiny pieces for optimal results. In this case, you can put in larger ingredients like apples without cutting them up into pieces.
Noise is another issue that I have with juicers. A benefit of slow juicers is that they’re comparatively silent. Furthermore, the quality motor in this juicer takes that a notch higher, and the result is a surprisingly quiet juicer.
You probably have guessed by the plethora of features that the price tag will be bigger. And you’d be right — this juicer is much costlier than any other options I’ve talked about. But the juice’s quality and ease of usage and maintenance made that pill easier to swallow for me.
8. Dash Compact Centrifugal Juicer
There are times when I feel like the juicer can’t work fast enough. Well, having a centrifugal in those situations does make sense. That’s what the Dash Compact juicer is — a tiny centrifugal juicer that works quickly and efficiently.
First off, it comes with a 2″ chute. I’ll have to admit that I could’ve used a larger chute. I prefer being able to juice larger fruits without prepping them, as that saves a lot of time and work. But this chute size is pretty decent once you consider the limitations of a small form factor.
From there, we get to the juicing process. The motor is sufficiently robust for most ingredients. It also has two power levels to allow for better control with softer and tougher ingredients. The materials are of decent quality, and the stainless steel bits ensure that the performance remains constant over the years.
As expected, the pulp separation process is pretty efficient. I got a lot of juice from the ingredients, and there was no pulp in it. The juice yield was satisfactory compared to other centrifugal juicers. Of course, the oxidation process may be a tad quicker due to that very property.
Then comes the cleaning process. Getting all of the parts off was pretty easy, and I didn’t have a hard time cleaning the strainer up. The parts are all dishwasher-safe, as expected.
It manages to be quite compact, though. The height is only 10.25″, and the width is 9.5″. I could place it anywhere I wanted with ease. Additionally, the power cord is long enough to conveniently place it wherever you want.
Finally, the pricing here manages to be reasonable and affordable, making it a solid buy overall.
9. Herrchef Stainless Steel Centrifugal Juicer
When juicing ingredients like apples, most juicers require you to chop them up. While that’s not necessarily an issue, it annoys me to some extent. Hence, I think a 3″ wide chute is usually an excellent place to be, and that’s where the next pick is.
The first thing I should discuss is how powerful the motor is. It comes with a 600W motor, which can absolutely crush fruits or leaves to pieces. Even carrots barely took seconds to turn into juices. There’s also the option to control the speed between low and high speed, which helps to adjust the power depending on which ingredient you’re juicing.
The low-speed gear stays around 13000 to 17000 RPM, while the high-speed gear goes up to 17000 to 21000 RPM. This number is absolutely crazy when you compare it against the 100 RPM slow juicers.
There is an obvious caveat, though. It produces a bit of heat and returns comparatively less nutritional value than a masticating juicer. But the speed and power are a bonus you get here, so the trade-off may be worth it for many.
Something as powerful needs to come with an anti-slip base and safety lock, which this one does. Even though it weighs below 6 pounds, the base was as stable as a rock, even at higher speeds. Regarding the blades, there are 12 rows of grinding teeth made of stainless steel and are pretty sharp.
That may make you wonder about the cleaning process. Fortunately, disassembling the parts was surprisingly effortless, and cleaning everything up only took minutes. The removable components were all dishwasher-safe to save more time. And since the base is made of stainless steel, cleaning that up is just as effortless.
I managed to get a decent amount of juice in one go. There’s a 1200 ml container for the pulp, and the juice cup is 350 ml. Thanks to those, juicing a few servings for multiple people didn’t seem like a challenge.
Despite the power, this juicer manages to be pretty small and only 5.77 pounds. Setting it up even in a cramped kitchen didn’t seem like an issue. Unlike a few ‘compact’ options, it doesn’t take too much space vertically either. When you combine the reasonable pricing with that, this is a decent buy for sure.
10. Omega VSJ843QS Vertical Slow Masticating Juicer
You may recall that I said going slow with your juicer has no drawbacks other than the time taken during the process. Well, the final product is the epitome of that example. This here is a juicer with a 43-RPM motor!
So, how much time does that take? Well, compared to a centrifugal juicer — ages. But that’s entirely fine unless you need things to be fast. This 150-watt motor does a great job of juicing all sorts of ingredients, from citruses to carrots.
The benefit of this sluggishness is that it won’t create any heat that a centrifugal juicer would. As a result, the enzymes remain intact, and the possibilities of quick oxidation are significantly lower.
It ensured clean and smooth juice without any pulp. And thanks to the speed, I could preserve it for much longer as well. It utilizes a dual-auger design to ensure an exceptionally-high juice yield. As a result, the pulp remained very dry, and I got the most out of the ingredients.
The vertical design doesn’t only look sleek, but it also makes the whole thing surprisingly small. Putting it up on the countertop made things look classy without taking up space. Plus, the cord was long enough to reach the outlet without issues for me.
Another great feature is the no-drip tap that it has. For one, it won’t result in a mess like it does with many juicers. Secondly, you can use it to create mixed juices with ease, which is a fun capability to have.
This juicer comes with an automatic cleaning system, which does a decent job of keeping the screen clear. While that doesn’t do all of the cleanings, it certainly makes the work a lot easier. I didn’t have a hard time finishing the rest of the cleaning because of that initial boost.
There’s also an anti-clog feature that moves the augers in reverse to prevent them from clogging. This bit is especially beneficial when you’re juicing vegetables and greens. And given the rather reasonable price tag, this juicer certainly is a capable contender if you want the best compact juicer.
Things to Look Out For
Yes, a “Compact Juicer” needs to be… You guessed it! “Compact.” However, that’s not the only characteristic we should be worrying about. The rest of the properties and mechanisms are just as vital. Let’s get a sneak peek at those.
Types of Juicers
There are different types of juicers, depending on how they approach the juicing process. Centrifugal juicers, masticating juicers, press juicers, and so on.
Centrifugal Juicers
These are the high-speed juicers that we mostly see. Instead of only extracting the juice out of the fruits (or whatever you’re juicing), these shred the ingredients. These juices contain a bit of pulp, and whether you want that bulk is up to you.
However, the objective issue with these juicers is the speed and heat. As you may know, heat can reduce the nutritional benefits of the ingredients.
That creates a problem since centrifugal juicers have blades that move at hundreds of revolutions per minute. There are some compact centrifugal juicers where you can lower the speed, however.
Masticating Juicers
Also known as slow juicers, masticating juicers use gears that crush the ingredients. That means they don’t have to move at higher speeds, and that number usually remains somewhere around 60-120 RPM. As a result, there is no production of heat in it, and the nutrition is preserved for the most part.
However, the lack of speed may be an issue for some. Furthermore, the openings or chutes in these juicers are pretty small, which further slows down the process.
You can also find press juicers, where there is no auger, and the only juicing is done by pressing the ingredients with a lot of pressure. However, these may not work with all sorts of ingredients. For example, you wouldn’t be able to juice wheatgrass with such products, so that’s a trade-off you should be mindful of.
Twin gear juicers are somewhat similar to slow juicers — but with two augers. The best thing about these is that they have the highest amount of yield. However, these also tend to be pretty expensive and may contain a bit more pulp.
Manual or Automatic Juicers
No matter which type of juicer we get, the very first choice would be between manual and automatic.
- First off, we need to figure out the frequency and the amount of juice required. Manual juicers rely entirely on you to do the grunt work, meaning you would be in trouble if you had to make a lot of juice every day. In that aspect, an electric juicer fares much better because it does all of that through an electric motor.
Although some manual juicers have commendable efficiency and you don’t have to work too much, an electric juicer is always convenient.
- The second concern is with the juice’s quality. Some electric juicers (especially centrifugal ones) are surprisingly fast and produce a lot of heat. Consequently, that affects the nutritional value. The benefit is that you get the juice in a fraction of the time, and that’s a trade-off you’ll have to decide.
The slower speed of manual juicers ensures that there is no possibility of that. Although, a masticating juicer doesn’t lose the benefits even if it’s electric, as it’d operate at around 100 RPMs or so.
- The third aspect is noise. Electric juicers are notorious when it comes to creating a ruckus — centrifugal ones being the worst. Since these have fast-moving blades, noise is unavoidable. Masticating juicers are far better in that aspect since they usually operate at below 200 RPM. If you have to buy a centrifugal juicer, look for the level of sound and the ability to change the speed to keep that ruckus at a minimum.
As expected, manual juicers are the ideal path if you don’t want any noise at all. Since these don’t have any motors, the sound level is minimal.
Cleaning the Juicer
Cleaning a juicer is one of those tedious tasks everyone hates, and I can see why. Disassemble the whole thing, clean every part separately and put things back again — quite an annoying chore. Therefore, a juicer should allow for effortless disassembly at first.
Moreover, dishwasher-safe parts are another bonus. Many modern juicers come with parts that you can wash with a dishwasher without any issue, which is a bonus. Even if you can’t afford that feature, make sure that everything is easy to reach, clean, and put together.
Chute Size
Purchasing a small juicer means you’d have to sacrifice the chute size. Consequently, you’d have to cut everything into smaller pieces to account for that (for instance, chopping an apple up into pieces before juicing it).
That’s why I suggest looking at the chute’s size beforehand. The larger you can get, the better. However, a larger chute size will typically accompany a bigger juicer, so it’s up to you to find the right balance. If you’re only going to juice leafy greens, the chute size doesn’t matter as much as it would with apples and oranges.
Juice Yield Vs. Pulp — The Efficiency
A juicer’s efficiency relies on the combination of multiple elements. For one, it requires a powerful motor (or the cranking system if you have a manual juicer). Having that ensures that you’ll get the most out of the ingredients and be returned with pulps as dry as bones.
The filtration system also plays a significant role in this process, which separates the juice from the pulp. Many juicers even allow users to control the amount of pulp they want in the juice — a handy feature, but not a mandatory one.
What’s mandatory is the assurance of milking the fruits and vegetables in a way that you don’t lose any of the nutritional benefits.
How to Clean a Small Juicer
While a small juicer doesn’t have many differences compared to a typical one, there are some distinctions. The smaller parts require more attention while cleaning the intricate parts. Hence, here’s a small guide on cleaning the juicer.
- Once we’re done juicing, the first step is to unplug it from the outlet (if it’s an electric juicer). The next step is disassembly — take all of the removable parts out and separate them. This is even more crucial for a small juicer, as it’s hard to reach all of the tight spots in those.
- Now that the parts have been disassembled, we need to get them ready for cleaning. That just means we need to get rid of the pulp and residue from the strainer and pulp container. You don’t need to scrape it to death — cleaning it up moderately should suffice. If you intend to store the pulp for future use, now is the time to store it properly.
- It’s time to give everything a wash now. This step would have two options — with or without a dishwasher.
- If you have a dishwasher, mildly rinse the parts with a bit of warm water. This ensures that the larger pieces of residue won’t be there. Moreover, the dishwasher would have less of a hassle in cleaning the small components, as reaching everything with your hands is trickier.
- If you don’t own a dishwasher, this step has to be a bit in-depth. If it has been a while since you used the juicer, you may find that the pulp isn’t coming off as easily. In that case, you can just keep the parts soaked in water for a little while to get things to loosen up.
Once that step is done, take a soft brush (or even a sponge, if that’s what you prefer) and start cleaning everything gently. The gentleness is even more crucial for the strainer, as it’s usually made of delicate parts.
After you’ve cleaned up all of the parts, rinse them once again, and that’s about it for the parts.
- However, that isn’t the end of it. There’s still one part that we cannot rinse — the juicer’s base. But cleaning this part is fairly straightforward. Get a slightly wet piece of cloth or towel and start wiping down the whole base.
Remember to double-check if you’ve disconnected it from the electric outlet for safety purposes. Moreover, be wary not to get any water inside the motor. As we’re working with a small juicer, the risks of that are somewhat higher.
That’s about it for the cleaning process! It helps to regularly clean the whole juicer to ensure that the process takes little time. Otherwise, you’ll be dealing with more stubborn marks and spots. Furthermore, it’s the right thing to do from a hygienic perspective.
Final Thoughts
There we have it, some of the ideal options if you want the best small juicer. There are variations between the technologies they use, and that’s to give you the option to choose from whichever suits you the most.
You can get a centrifugal juicer if you want quick results, a masticating one if time isn’t your concern, and so forth. Choose wisely!
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