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Auger & Pulp

Masticating vs Centrifugal Juicer

One question decides it: will you be juicing leafy greens or celery? Everything else follows from the answer.

By Brijon M. · Last reviewed October 2, 2026

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Buy masticating if you will juice celery, kale, chard, spinach or wheatgrass -- the mechanism is the only one that handles long fiber. Buy centrifugal if your list is apples, carrots, beets and peeled citrus and you want a glass in two minutes instead of twelve. That is the whole decision, and it is about produce rather than budget or quality.

The mechanical difference

A masticating juicer turns a tapered auger slowly inside a perforated screen. Produce is dragged forward and crushed against the holes. Our registry runs 43 to 110 RPM. The names cold press and slow juicer describe the same machine.

A centrifugal juicer shreds produce against a flat toothed disc and throws the fiber outward against a fine mesh basket, which spins with it. Breville states 6,500 and 12,000 RPM for the JE98XL; Mueller states up to 18,000 RPM.

That difference -- crushing along fiber versus cutting across it -- produces every consequence below.

Side by side on the four criteria

CriterionOmega J8006HDSHurom H400 Easy CleanBreville Juice Fountain Plus JE98XLHamilton Beach Big Mouth Juice Extractor
YieldOmega markets high juice yield; no numeric figure is publishedManufacturer claim: Omega Juicers · checked 2026-10-02Hurom claims the highest yield and least pulp of any Easy Clean model; no numeric figure, and no independent verification we could findManufacturer claim: Hurom · checked 2026-10-02Not availableNot sourcedNot availableNot sourced
PulpNot availableNot sourcedHurom claims the least pulp of any Easy Clean model; no comparable figure publishedManufacturer claim: Hurom · checked 2026-10-02Breville states the carafe includes a froth separatorManufacturer claim: Breville · checked 2026-10-02Not availableNot sourced
Cleanup timeNot available - no published cleanup time in minutesNot sourcedHurom markets it as Scrub-Free Cleaning; no cleanup time in minutes is publishedManufacturer claim: Hurom · checked 2026-10-02Not available - no published cleanup time in minutesNot sourcedHamilton Beach states the food pusher, cover, strainer, pulp bin and strainer bowl are dishwasher safeManufacturer claim: Hamilton Beach · checked 2026-10-02
Price$200–400Band from retailer listings, checked 2026-10-02
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$400+Band from retailer listings, checked 2026-10-02
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$100–200Band from retailer listings, checked 2026-10-02
Check price on Amazon
Under $100Band from retailer listings, checked 2026-10-02
Check price on Amazon
SpeedOmega states 80 RPM, 200 W, triple-stage augerManufacturer claim: Omega Juicers · checked 2026-10-02Hurom states 90 RPM, 150 WManufacturer claim: Hurom · checked 2026-10-02Breville states dual speed: 6,500 RPM low and 12,000 RPM high, 850 WManufacturer claim: Breville · checked 2026-10-02Hamilton Beach states an 800 W motor; no RPM publishedManufacturer claim: Hamilton Beach · checked 2026-10-02
WarrantyOmega states a 15-year limited warrantyManufacturer claim: Omega Juicers · checked 2026-10-02Hurom states a 15-year warranty on motor and partsManufacturer claim: Hurom · checked 2026-10-02Breville states a 1-year limited warrantyManufacturer claim: Breville · checked 2026-10-02Hamilton Beach states a 3-year limited warrantyManufacturer claim: Hamilton Beach · checked 2026-10-02
Scroll the table sideways on a narrow screen. Every figure above is labeled with where it came from; “Not available” means we could not find a published source, not that the machine performs badly. How we pick.
MasticatingCentrifugal
Celery, kale, wheatgrassThe reason to buy oneThe wrong mechanism, at any price
Apples, carrots, beetsWorks well, slowerWorks well, much faster
Speed, glass to glassAbout twelve minutes including cleanupTwo to five minutes
Chute widthMostly narrow: Hurom states 45 mm. Kuvings' 3.5 in is the exceptionWide as standard: 3 in to 3.5 in
FoamMinimal at 43-110 RPMSubstantial. Breville ships a froth separator
NoiseQuiet. AMZCHEF claims under 60 dBLoud. No brand publishes a figure
Parts to washThree to four on a vertical, more on a horizontalUsually four, and the basket is the slow one
Warranty range1 to 15 years; the premium end quotes 151 to 3 years
Price entry pointUnder $100 for one model, realistically $100-200Under $50

Choose masticating if

  • Celery or leafy greens are in the plan. This is not a preference, it is the mechanism. A spinning basket cuts across a celery strand rather than crushing along it, so the strand arrives in the pulp bin still wet.
  • You batch and store juice. Less aeration means slower color and taste change. Omega claims juice from its 80 RPM machines can be stored up to 72 hours.
  • Noise matters. 43 to 110 RPM against 6,500 to 18,000 is not a subtle difference in a quiet kitchen.
  • You want drier pulp. Mechanically the crushing action extracts more from fibrous material, though no manufacturer publishes a figure for it.

Choose centrifugal if

  • Your list is hard watery produce. Apples, carrots, beets, cucumber, peeled citrus. On these the mechanism gap narrows dramatically.
  • Speed is the deciding factor. A 3 in chute takes a whole apple and a glass takes minutes. Over a daily habit that time is real.
  • The budget is firm under $100. This is where the capable budget machines live, and Hamilton Beach's 3-year warranty at that price beats Breville's 1-year at four times it.
  • You are unsure you will stick with juicing. Finding out cheaply is a legitimate strategy.

Our independence, stated plainly

Most pages ranking for this comparison are published by companies that sell juicers -- and a company whose catalog is slow juicers will tell you slow juicing is better. We neither make nor sell juicers, we accept no payment or product from manufacturers for a recommendation, and we earn an affiliate commission on purchases through our links, which is disclosed on every page and does not affect the ordering.

Which is why this page says plainly that for apples and carrots a $70 centrifugal machine is a perfectly good purchase, even though we would earn more on a $600 cold press one.

Fresh celery stalks in bright daylight
This is the whole argument. Long fiber is crushed by an auger and ridden over by a basket.

If you cannot decide

Buy masticating in the $100-200 band. It covers both produce lists, the only cost is a slower morning, and the entry price is now low enough that you are not paying a large premium for the flexibility. Best juicers under $200 has the shortlist, and best juicers for beginners frames the same decision around a first purchase.

Questions people ask

Is a masticating juicer better than a centrifugal one?
Better suited to long fiber -- celery, kale, chard, wheatgrass -- because an auger crushes along the strand while a basket cuts across it. On dense watery produce like apples and carrots the difference narrows a lot and a centrifugal machine is faster and cheaper.
How much more juice does a masticating juicer produce?
Nobody publishes a comparable figure, so this cannot be answered from available data. No manufacturer at any price states a yield number and we found no independent test measuring these models in consistent units. The mechanism argument is sound; the specific percentages circulating online are not sourced.
Are centrifugal juicers really that much louder?
Yes. Cold press machines in our registry run at 43 to 110 RPM; centrifugal machines run at 6,500 to 18,000. A spinning basket is also moving air, so it is a fan as well as a juicer.
Which is easier to clean?
Usually centrifugal, because there are fewer parts -- though the mesh basket is as slow as a cold press screen. A horizontal masticating machine is the most work of the common types.
Can I use a centrifugal juicer for celery if I am careful?
You will get some juice and a lot of wet pulp. No technique fixes it, because the problem is that a cutting tooth crossing a fiber at speed does not crush it. If celery is the point, buy masticating.
Which lasts longer?
The warranties suggest masticating, at the premium end: Omega, Hurom and Kuvings all quote 15 years, Tribest 10 to 12. Centrifugal machines range from 1 to 3 years, and interestingly the cheaper ones often quote longer than Breville's 1 year.

Sources

Every figure on this page traces to one of these. Where a source does not publish a number, the page says “Not available” rather than estimating one.