How many watts does a good smoothie blender need?

For daily smoothie use with frozen fruits and leafy greens, 600 to 1000 watts (peak) is the sweet spot for budget blenders. Under 500 watts struggles with frozen ingredients and leaves chunks. Over 1000 watts is nice but rarely necessary for smoothies alone because that power level matters more for nut butters, hot soups, and crushing whole ice cubes at speed. Many budget blenders advertise "peak" watts, which is 30 to 50% higher than "running" watts.