Citrus press vs centrifugal vs masticating
Three machines called juicers that do three different jobs. What a citrus press is for, what it will never do, and which machine your shopping list actually needs.
Three machines, one word
"Juicer" covers three unrelated machines. A citrus press squeezes halved citrus against a cone. A centrifugal juicer shreds whole produce and spins the juice out. A masticating juicer crushes produce slowly through an auger. They share a shelf in a shop and nothing else.
The single most common bad review in this whole category comes from buying one and expecting another. That is a wasted purchase and a bad afternoon, and it is avoidable in two minutes of reading.
What a citrus press does
It presses halved citrus: oranges, lemons, limes, grapefruit. On a manual lever press it also presses pomegranates. The cone works the ribs of the fruit, the strainer holds back seeds and most pulp, and the shell comes out light.
It does not shred, grind or chew. There is no chute to feed and no pulp bin to empty. That is why a press cleans in ninety seconds and a centrifugal juicer does not.
What it will never do
No citrus press will juice an apple, a carrot, a beet, a stick of celery, a handful of kale or a knob of ginger. Not slowly, not with effort, not with a trick. The fruit has to be halved and it has to give up its juice under pressure against a cone. A carrot does neither.
We would rather you read that sentence here than write it in a review.
The comparison, plainly
| Citrus press | Centrifugal | Masticating | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Made for | Halved citrus (and pomegranate on a lever press) | Apples, carrots, beets, hard produce | Greens, celery, soft and hard produce |
| How it works | Pressure against a turning cone | Shreds and spins at speed | Crushes slowly through an auger |
| Speed | Seconds per fruit | Fast, loud | Slow, quiet |
| Cleaning | Three or four parts, dishwasher | Basket, blade, pulp bin, lid | Auger, screen, bowl, plunger |
| Citrus quality | Best: no bitter pith unless you press the peel | Fine, more foam | Fine, slower |
| Typical price | Entry to mid | Mid | High |
Which one is yours
Write down what you actually want to juice this month. If the list is citrus, buy a press: it will be faster, cheaper and simpler to clean than any machine that can also handle apples. If the list is apples and carrots, buy a centrifugal juicer and skip our range entirely. If it is kale, wheatgrass and celery, buy a masticating juicer.
If the list is citrus plus one apple, buy the press and eat the apple.
Where to go next
About the author
Casey Whitmore writes the guides on this site. Casey squeezes citrus most days of the week, on every juicer we make, and keeps notes on what works, what breaks and what is worth the counter space. No certificates, no titles: just a lot of juiced limes.