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juicing on a budget: the full gear roundup
everything you need, tiered by price, starting at almost nothing.
juicing has a reputation for being expensive. it doesn't have to be. here's the actual cost floor, and what's worth spending on as you go.
$0 tier: what you probably already own
a blender and a fine mesh strainer or cheesecloth is the whole starter kit — see our full breakdown of the blend-and-strain method. a decent knife for prep and glass jars for storage round it out, and most kitchens already have some version of both.
our two-dollar juice recipe exists specifically to prove this tier works: cucumber, celery, apple, lemon, ginger, no dedicated juicer required.
sub-$100 tier: your first real juicer
a budget cold-press juicer gets you real pressing (better yield, less oxidation, handles greens) without the $300 jump. this is the single highest-leverage purchase if you're juicing more than once a week — it pays for itself in produce savings versus buying bottled juice.
at this tier, don't expect the fastest or quietest machine — you're trading some speed and convenience for a meaningfully better juicer than the $0 tier, at a fraction of the premium-tier price.
$100-300 tier: the daily driver
this is where most people juicing regularly land — faster than entry cold-press, better build quality, easier cleanup, and usually a wider feed chute so you're doing less pre-cutting.
worth it if juicing has become a real habit rather than an experiment. not worth it if you're still figuring out whether you'll actually keep doing this three months from now — start cheaper first.
storage and prep, cheaply
glass bottles don't need to be fancy — a multi-pack of basic 16oz glass jars covers storage for a household without a big spend. 2oz shot bottles are worth adding separately if you're doing ginger shots or anything else you're not sipping slow.
skip anything marketed as a "juicing-specific" cutting board or knife set — a regular sharp kitchen knife and any cutting board you already have does the job.
what we use
heads up — links below may earn us a lil commission. costs you nothing extra.
the broke-but-works pick
AMZCHEF cold press juicer →sub-$100, still cold-press.
the daily driver
Ruckae 16oz glass bottles, 10-pack →covers storage without a big spend.
frequently asked
what's the actual cheapest way to start juicing today?
a blender you already own plus a fine mesh strainer. zero new spend if you have both, which most kitchens do. see our do-you-need-a-juicer piece for the full method.
is a $50 juicer worth buying, or is it a waste of money?
the very cheapest centrifugal juicers can work fine for simple juices but tend to struggle with greens and produce more pulp waste. if budget is the main constraint, a blend-and-strain setup often outperforms a bottom-tier juicer for less money.
how much should I expect to spend on produce per week?
this varies a lot by recipe and region, but budget-focused recipes like our two-dollar juice are built specifically around cheap, reliable produce (cucumber, celery, apple) to keep the ongoing cost low, not just the equipment cost.