Best electric toothbrush UK, 2024 — tested & compared (2024)

How we tested

We specialise in reviewing dental health products and we’ve been consistently testing them since Electric Teeth launched 8 years ago.

When a new brush is released, we buy it, test it and compare it to what’s already available. We then update our reviews and recommendations accordingly. We publish in-depth written and video reviews to share our findings and opinions.

We’ve included the most relevant details below, but we go into more depth in our detailed hands-on reviews. To make our recommendations, we test and consider the features that dentists recommend as the most important: a pressure sensor, timer and pacer.

But we also take into account the finer details like how easy it is to keep a brush clean, how difficult the heads are to pull on and off, and whether or not it’s easy to accidentally turn the brush off during use. You can find out more about our testing process here. Not only do we test products ourselves, but we take on feedback from our community. We have open comment sections and a popular YouTube channel.

Best overall

The following three brushes, the Pro 3 3500, the iO3 and the 4100 Series, are what we regard as the best brushes for the majority of users. They've got the key features, but don't inflate the price with unnecessary extras.

Oral-B Pro 3 3500

Oral-B Pro 3 3500

£44.99 Amazon Oral-B - check price

Cleaning modes: 3 | Battery life: 14+ days | Bluetooth: No | Noise: 78dB | Head cost: £3 | Cost to own - 3 yrs: £78

Who it's for:

Someone who wants a reliable brush with dentist-recommended features (a timer, a pacer and a pressure sensor) for a fair price.

Why it's our main choice:

We love how it has just what you need at a reasonable price. You’re not paying for extra features that have limited benefits.

After each brushing session, our teeth felt like they had just had a scale and polish at the dentist.

More on why we chose it...

It is one of the easiest brushes to keep clean — a quick rinse or wipe is all you need. Although there’s a bit of texture to the back of the handle, it’s not as grippy as a soft touch rubber grip, particularly when wet. Unless you struggle to hold things, it’s not a big issue.

At 78 decibels it's one of the louder brushes we’ve tested, although typical for Oral-B. If you’re brushing whilst someone sleeps, you’ll want to shut the door. The vast majority of brushes operate at 60-70dB. Unless you have a need for a very quiet brush (see our recommendations below), this isn’t a big issue.

Another minor annoyance is the lack of cleaning mode labels on the handle. You don’t know what mode is selected unless you learn the order or the sound. It always defaults to Daily Clean. If you want a different mode, you’ve got to press the power buttons multiple times.

Read our Oral-B Pro 3 3500 Review.

What we like	Worth noting
Easy to keep clean	No cleaning mode icons/labels
Small round brush head cleans the teeth well	Defaults to the daily clean mode
Dentist recommended features

Runner up

Oral-B iO3

Oral-B iO Series 3 (iO3)

£75 Amazon Oral-B - check price

Cleaning modes: 3 | Battery life: 14 days | Bluetooth: No | Noise: 64dB | Head cost: £8 | Cost to own - 3 yrs: £168

Who it's for:

Someone who wants a good value brush with an advanced pressure sensor

Why we picked it:

The iO3 is comparable to the Pro 3 3500, but it’s slightly more expensive.

Having tested both thoroughly we think the Pro 3 3500 hits the sweet spot of best value for money, but a quieter and softer brushing experience makes the iO3 worth consideration.

More on why we recommend it...

The sound of the iO3 is notably quieter than the Pro 3 3500. It is a little less mechanical sounding and is roughly 14 decibels quieter. We recorded it at a maximum of 64dB during our testing.

We’ve had readers comment that slightly older Oral-B brushes like the Pro 3 can feel like a jackhammer in the mouth. Whilst we don’t quite agree, we understand the sentiment. The iO3 feels quite a bit different in that respect; it’s far less aggressive and we found it noticeably softer on the teeth when brushing. If you’ve got gum recession or tooth sensitivity, the iO3 is a good choice.

Exclusive to the iO Series is an advanced pressure sensor. We particularly like how it shows with a green light when you’re applying the correct pressure, rather than just showing a red LED when you brush too hard. The iO is the only range that has a pressure sensor like this.

The iO3 is the cheapest in the iO range, but still requires iO-specific brush heads, which are around 2 times the cost of those for non-iO brushes like the Pro 3. We do prefer the feel of iO brush heads, but if you’re on a budget the difference isn’t worth stretching for.

Read our Oral-B iO3 Review

What we like	Worth noting
Premium looking handle that is easy to keep clean	No icons on the handle to show which cleaning mode is selected
Quieter than other Oral-B brushes	Requires iO specific heads which are more expensive
Reminds you when to replace the brush head

Best Sonicare

Sonicare 3100 Series

Philips Sonicare 3100 Series

£35.15 Amazon Philips - check price

Cleaning modes: 1 | Battery life: 14 days | Bluetooth: No | Noise: 60dB | Head cost: £7 | Cost to own - 3 yrs: £117

Who it's for:

Those who want a reputable brand, sonic cleaning action and don’t want to spend a fortune.

Why it's worth considering:

The Sonicare 3100 is the Philips equivalent to the Oral-B Pro 3 3500. It’s a slim and quiet brush with good cleaning results at an affordable price.

We like how it tracks brush head use and alerts you when a replacement is needed. The additional e-waste doesn’t sit well with us, though.

More on why we chose it...

Compared to the Oral-B Pro 3, the 3100 felt more gentle on our teeth. The vibration of the handle felt a bit more ticklish at times, but we soon got used to it.

The motor configuration is slightly less powerful and doesn’t feel quite as intense. Having tested lots of Sonicare brushes, we did notice this, but overall it's not a big issue. The cleaning results are still just as good as more powerful brushes.

The matt finish of the 3100 looks smarter in our opinion than the gloss plastic of the Pro 3.It’s a little bit lighter in the hand too.

We found the 3100 noticeably quieter than the Pro 3 – we could hear music clearly or hear someone talking. The same can't be said for the Pro 3.

The charging stand is plugged in via USB. This was convenient for us because we already had other gadgets that charge in this way, but it does mean that the brush can't be charged in the bathroom.

Read our Sonicare 3100 Series Review.

What we like	Worth noting
1 cleaning mode makes it nice & simple to use	Battery life isn’t as good as most other Sonicare brushes
Slim handle design – stylish & easy to keep clean	USB charger prevents in bathroom charging
Reminds you when to replace the brush head

Most environmentally-considerate

SURI

SURI S1 Toothbrush

£95 Amazon SURI

Cleaning modes: 2 | Battery life: 40 days | Bluetooth: No | Noise: 54dB | Head cost: £54 | Cost to own - 3 yrs: £133

Who it's for:

Someone who’s willing to pay a bit more for a good quality brush that considers the planet

Why we like it:

Our team has been thoroughly impressed by the quality, travel-friendly design, cleaning results and company ethos of SURI — several have made it their daily toothbrush since its original testing in 2022.

See Also

10 Best Electric Toothbrushes for Receding Gums of 2022Oral-B iO Series 7 Electric Toothbrush, Sapphire BlueBest Electric Toothbrush for Receding Gums7 Best Toothbrush for Sensitive Gums Reviews in 2023 - OC Dental Center

More on why it's good...

Unlike most other brushes SURI’s handle is made of metal, which gives it a premium look and feel. We find its weight and shape balance nicely in our hands and give it a solid, well-built quality.

It’s a brush that’s easy to keep clean and doesn’t need charging regularly. We’ve found the cleaning results to be just as good as brushes from major brands.

SURI has made simple design choices that work. The compact travel case feels sturdy and allows the brush to charge in the case. We’ve also enjoyed reduced clutter in the bathroom thanks to the effortlessly simple magnetic wall mount.

The main downside is that SURI doesn’t come with a pressure sensor. As experienced toothbrush users, this wasn’t a problem for us. But if you’re a first time toothbrush user or if you know you brush too hard, this may not be the brush for you.

The brush heads can also be a bit stiff to pull off, which you need to do every so often to rinse the brush thoroughly. This is only likely to be a problem if you’ve got dexterity issues or have trouble gripping things tightly.

For many, the main appeal of SURI will be its better focus on environmental impact than its competitors. It’s designed to be easily repaired, albeit by SURI rather than the user. This is commendable and something we look at more closely in our SURI review.

Read our SURI Toothbrush Review

What we like	Worth noting
Environmentally considerate materials and design	No pressure sensor to alert you when brushing too hard
Slim handle	1 year warranty if not subscribed
The timer and pacer encourage brushing for the recommended time	USB charger makes it less convenient for some

Best technology

Sonicare 9900 Prestige

Philips Sonicare DiamondClean 9900 Prestige

£549.99 Amazon Philips - check price

Cleaning modes: 5 | Battery life: 14 days | Bluetooth: Yes | Noise: 71dB | Head cost: £7 | Cost to own - 3 yrs: £317

Who it's for:

Someone who wants the very best and doesn’t mind paying for it.

A fantastic brush, but more than you need:

We love how it looks, how it feels and how it performs. It has certain refinements and extras that you don’t get with more affordable models. It’s the best smart toothbrush we’ve used.

More on why we chose it...

The smooth touch materials are good quality and we found it easy to keep clean.

To address past reliability issues, Philips has implemented a seamless power button design. The intention of this is to reduce grime build up and, from our testing, this seems to have worked. It does mean that the feedback isn’t as tactile — it’s a bit firm — but this wasn’t a big issue for us overall.

To some it might feel a bit overbearing, but the Sonicare app and tracking technology can improve your oral care routine. It shows and logs where you have and haven’t brushed, which really helps if you like to learn visually. It tells you if you’re brushing too hard and it even monitors, alerts and adapts if you move the brush head too much.

During our testing, we didn’t find the smart features to be annoying, but we stopped checking the app for feedback after a while, which defeats the point of having a premium smart brush. Unless you’re dedicated enough to spend the time using it, it’s not worth paying for the extra tech.

Something we did find frustrating was having to use the app to change cleaning mode. Unlike other toothbrushes, you can’t do it using the handle itself. Then again, the extra modes have little benefit in our experience.

The compact USB-C enabled charging case feels robust and we’ve enjoyed its smaller-than-average profile when travelling. The strap on the case is a little impractical — it’s too tight to go over most hands and onto the wrist — but it’s a minor complaint in the scheme of things.

Read our Sonicare Prestige 9900 Review.

What we like	Worth noting
Premium look & feel	Expensive
Visible pressure sensor alerts you when brushing too hard	No place to store the detachable USB cable
Reminds you when to replace your brush head	Pressure sensitive buttons
Stylish & compact charging travel case

Best for sensitivity

Sonicare 4100 Series

Philips Sonicare 4100 Series

Philips - check price eBay - check price

Cleaning modes: 2 | Battery life: 14 days | Bluetooth: No | Noise: 60dB | Head cost: £7 | Cost to own - 3 yrs: £132

Who it's for:

Those who want a gentle but effective clean. See this section below if you've got receding gums or sensitive teeth.

Why it's good for sensitive teeth and gums:

We like the slim profile, the less intense brushing sensation and the opportunity to buy it with a travel case.

More on why we chose it...

The 4100 Series offers a low and high power setting. Both intensities feel less harsh on the teeth and gums than the oscillating-rotating action of Oral-B models. Importantly, we haven’t found this to have a negative impact on cleaning results.

A Clinical study has found evidence that Sonicare’s sonic cleaning action can deliver better results long term than an Oral-B brush, particularly for more advanced gum disease.

If your sensitivity was caused by brushing too hard, the pressure sensor in the 4100 will alert you if you fall back into old habits.

The fact that the 4100 alerts you when it's time to replace the brush head is quite handy. The notification isn’t too annoying and you’re not prevented from using the head for longer if you want to.

When you do replace it, the 4100 detects the new head automatically. There’s no need to reset the tracking facility, like there is with app-based brush head trackers on some other brushes. It’s an effortless process. The only thing we don’t like is that more e-waste is created each time you use a head.

Managing tooth sensitivity can require brushing at times you wouldn’t normally — after lunch, for example. Having the option of buying the 4100 with a travel case is useful as the basic but functional plastic case makes it easier to take your brush with you. It’s typically a few pounds more expensive and worth investing in.

Read our Sonicare 4100 Series review.

What we like	Worth noting
Slim, stylish & easy to keep clean	No indicator lights to show which mode is selected
2 cleaning modes – choose between clean & sensitive	USB charger makes it less convenient for some
Reminds you when to replace your brush head

Best budget

Oral-B Vitality

Oral-B Vitality

£25.95 Amazon eBay - check price

Cleaning modes: 1 | Battery life: 8 days | Bluetooth: No | Noise: 73dB | Head cost: £3 | Cost to own - 3 yrs: £53

Who it's for:

Someone who wants a reliable brush for as little money as possible. If that's you, see our advice below on choosing a budget brush.

Cheap, but still reliable:

We love that for a fair price you get a really grippy handle that delivers perfectly adequate cleaning results. Impressively, the Vitality doesn’t look or feel cheap — the reduced cost comes from excluding some features.

More on why we chose it...

The Vitality would suit a lot of different users, but from our testing, those with arthritis or dexterity issues come to mind in particular. The large rubber grip wraps around the whole handle and doesn't feel slippery, even when wet. The tapered design is a bit thicker than most brush handles, which helps if you can’t form a tight grip.

A slight negative is that toothpaste residue and grime can collect on the dimpled surface, but it’s a worthwhile tradeoff. The Vitality does not include a pressure sensor, but that is understandable at this price point.

Another downside is that there is nothing to indicate battery status. The Vitality has one of the shortest usage times of a rechargeable toothbrush, so it would be useful to get a warning when it needs a top-up. Unless you charge it after most brushing sessions, there is a good chance of it power off mid brushing. Depending on the convenience of your charging set up, this is a worthwhile trade off for the cost saving.

Read our Oral-B Vitality Review.

What we like	Worth noting
Simple to use – 1 cleaning mode	No pressure sensor
The grip on the handle helps to securely hold the brush	No battery status feedback
The small round brush head reaches tighter spaces

Best for travel

Philips One by Sonicare

Philips Sonicare One – Rechargeable

£31.9 Amazon Philips - check price

Cleaning modes: 1 | Battery life: 30 days | Bluetooth: No | Noise: 71dB | Head cost: £5 | Cost to own - 3 yrs: £95

Who it's for:

Those looking to travel extremely light, particularly backpackers.

Why it impressed us:

It’s not much bigger than a manual toothbrush and comes with a useful travel case whilst giving a little extra cleaning power.

More on why we chose it...

You will barely notice this toothbrush in your bag. You could even slip it in your pocket if you so desired.

We prefer the rechargeable variant over the AA battery option — you get the same good battery life, but you also get feedback on the remaining power via an LED.

Because it uses a USB Type-C connector, you can probably use the same cable to charge your phone and your brush.

The One is a crossover between a manual and electric brush and we did find the cleaning action to be a bit weak as a result, but we found that plaque removal was still good if we made sure to use the correct technique. It doesn’t feel as thorough as other electric toothbrushes, but that’s the trade off for a slim, lightweight brush. If you’re looking to use it as your main brush, you may be disappointed if you’ve had a more powerful brush in the past.

The travel case has been designed to be as small as possible, but we found that it still offers adequate protection of the bristles and power button.

Read our Philips One review.

What we like	Worth noting
Slim, light and grippy in hand	The cleaning power is a little weak
A travel case is included	No pressure sensor

Quietest

Oclean X Pro Elite

Oclean X Pro Elite

£79.99 Amazon Oclean - check price

Cleaning modes: 4 | Battery life: 35 days | Bluetooth: Yes | Noise: 45dB | Head cost: £5 | Cost to own - 3 yrs: £114

Who it's for:

Those who want an almost silent tooth brushing experience.

Quiet, without compromise:

It’s the quietest brush we’ve tested and makes no compromises to achieve it.

More on why we chose it...

The X Pro Elite doesn’t look or perform differently to any other regular electric toothbrush, yet it is 15-25 decibels quieter than bigger brands like Oral-B and Sonicare.

You do pay a slight premium, but it’s well within the lower mid-tier price range and you actually get valuable extras.

The X Pro Elite comes with 4 cleaning modes and 32 different intensity settings, which is overkill in our experience. We tended to use it on the maximum setting, which was comparable to Sonicare. We can’t imagine a need for such granular control over intensity, but if you suffer from sensitivity it might be useful.

A timer and pacer are included. There is a pressure sensor, but it’s not visual, nor does it vibrate. It does slow the motor to limit the damage though. We didn’t find it to be as good as pressure sensors from Oral-B and Sonicare, but if you want the quietest brush possible, it’s something that can be overlooked.

See Also

Top 7 Best Toothbrushes for Receding Gums in [year] - Straight.com

If you have a small bathroom and limited countertop space the magnetic wall mount really helps. 1 month of usable battery life meant that we only needed to get the USB charging stand out once a month during testing. It doesn’t need a permanent home on the worktop.

We liked how it tracks in real-time to give feedback on brushing via the touchscreen display. It’s far from perfect, but better than nothing. It’s great to get this without a silly price hike to pay for it.

Read our Oclean X Pro Elite review.

What we like	Worth noting
Stylish handle with colour touchscreen display	Bluetooth & smartphone app – Doesn’t work in real-time
The grip on the handle helps to securely hold the brush	Can’t be charged whilst mounted on the wall holder
Easy to use magnetic wall mounted holder

Best removable battery

Oral-B Pro Battery

Oral-B Pro Battery

£9.05 Amazon £8 Boots.com

Cleaning modes: 1 | Battery life: 90 days | Bluetooth: No | Noise: 71dB | Head cost: £3 | Cost to own - 3 yrs: £47

Who it's for:

Someone who doesn’t want to plug their toothbrush in to recharge.

Why we picked it:

It gives 3+ months of battery life, it’s grippy, easy to use and really affordable.

More on why we chose it...

You can’t really fault the ease of use of the Pro Battery. It’s one of the most textured and grippy handles we’ve used. It’s got a shorter and wider profile than most brushes.

We found cleaning results to be perfectly adequate. You can get better results from other brushes, but as long as you use it correctly it’s not a night and day difference.

We enjoyed the simplicity of only having 1 cleaning mode to choose from. Other than a sensitive mode, the additional cleaning modes that other brushes have aren’t really necessary.

Given it costs about the same as 2 cups of coffee, it lacks all the other bells and whistles of other electric brushes.

It’s a cheap long term option because it uses Oral-B’s standard brush heads which are half the price of iO heads or those from other brands.

Replacing the 2 x AA batteries can add to the ownership cost, but you do have the option of using rechargeable AA’s. Replacing them can be quite tricky — the cap doesn’t glide on and off as well as we would like — but a quick fix is a bit of oil on the rubber o-ring.

Watch our Oral-B Pro Battery review.

What we like	Worth noting
1 cleaning mode that’s easy to use	No timer, pacer or pressure sensor
The grip on the handle helps to securely hold the brush	No battery status feedback

Recently tested

We are always testing new brushes from a variety of brands and of varying prices to ensure our recommendations are up to date.

The R2 and D2 from Bitvae are budget-friendly options that are closely matched for features to the Pro 3 and Sonicare 3100. It’s hard to quibble with what you get for the price — they are quite a bit cheaper. Although it doesn’t impact daily use, material quality is one compromise — we could feel the difference. Subsequently, long term reliability is a concern. As a newer brand, Bitvae is yet to prove itself.

The Silk’n Toothwave brush has DentalRF technology but we couldn’t feel it working, nor could we see or notice any meaningful results. It has some clinical backing, but that’s been paid for by the manufacturer. This shows it is potentially a less abrasive way to achieve deeper cleaning, much like an ultrasonic toothbrush. More study is ideally needed to say if it really works. Pricing and availability for this brush are mixed. We’re not yet sold on it.

We’ve been really surprised by the power and performance of the very compact and travel-friendly Sonisk Pulse, which is powered by removable batteries. Whilst we considered it as a contender for best travel toothbrush, the material quality isn’t the best and we didn’t get the same feeling of durability as you do with the Philips One.

Buyer's guide: useful tips from years of toothbrush testing

In the following sections we've included things we've picked up from reviewing the full spectrum of electric toothbrushes over the last decade.

We cover the features we think are the most important to pay for, as well as others that are worth considering but not critical for the majority of users. We also give some advice on how much to spend.

A pressure sensor, a timer and a pacer are the features worth paying for

These three features help to make sure you brush correctly and for the right amount of time. Generally, you can get a good brush with these features for around £40-50. They are particularly useful if you're a first time toothbrush user, or if you know you brush your teeth too hard.

We have a post that looks at electric toothbrushes with pressure sensors in more detail, but below we have included an overview of why they're important, and here are our main recommendations at a glance:

How pressure sensors vary (and why they’re important)

Brushing too hard can damage your teeth and gums. A pressure sensor helps prevent this. Consequently, it's a key feature recommended by our in-house dentists.

If you know that you brush too hard, or if you’ve never used a toothbrush with a pressure sensor, it’s a feature worth strong consideration.

Most brushes have a timer and a pacer

For 2 minutes twice a day is how long you should spend brushing your teeth according to the likes of the British Dental Association, Oral Health Foundation and the NHS. It’s the optimum time for effective plaque removal.

A timer lets you know when you’ve brushed for this long, whilst a pacer encourages even brushing of the teeth.

All of the brushes we've recommended above have a timer and pacer included. The only exceptions are the Pro Battery which has no timer or pacer, and the Vitality which has a timer but no pacer.

These are features that are really useful and we've found that the way they work tends not to vary much from one product to another. Don’t worry too much about these when choosing a brush. The main thing is to make sure your brush does include them, if your budget can stretch that far. There can be some nuance to them, which we explain in the toggle sections below.

Some brushes are easier than others to keep clean

It’s important to keep your brush clean. The last thing you want is to be putting unwanted bacteria into your mouth.

We’ve found that a quick rinse after each brushing session and then leaving the brush to air dry is typically the best approach. UV lights and sterilising processes can help but are not essential or as recommended as you might think.

During our long-term testing of brushes, we have found that grime can build up more easily on some than on others — we've included some examples in the next section. If you’re often in a rush when you brush your teeth, it’s a good idea to have a brush that’s simple to clean.

From those we’ve recommended above, the easiest to keep clean are: Oral-B Pro 3 3500, SURI, Sonicare 3100, 4100, 9900 Prestige and Philips One.

Some brushes collect grime easily

We’ve found the Oral-B iO series to be one of the worst offenders for grime build up. That’s not to say it can’t be kept grime free — it can — but it takes more effort than other brushes that just need a quick rinse under the tap.

The design of the iO motor and heads makes it easier for muck and mould to build up within the neck where the brush head attaches. Even with thorough rinsing after each clean, we still find that grime tends to build up after a few weeks. We’ve found the most practical way to remove it is with a used interdental brush.

Brushes with large textured rubber grips do tend to be worse for dirt build-up than the smooth, all plastic handles of some brushes — examples here are the Vitality, Genius and Smart models from Oral-B. Residual toothpaste and gunk dries to leave white streaks. Cleaning from the textured surface can be much harder, particularly if you don’t keep on top of it. We advise prioritising grip and comfort over ease of cleaning, though.

Battery life isn’t that important

Unless you are away from mains power frequently, don’t worry about battery life. The majority of rechargeable brushes last 3-4 weeks or longer on a full charge.

We’ve found Oral-B’s battery life to be the worst of the major brands. Expect 2 weeks on average, including from premium models. We’ve seen first hand how iO models with displays can suffer from excessive battery drain and give just 10-12 days use on average.

An overnight charge is sufficient for most brushes, but some can take as much as 24 hours if completely flat.

For most people noise isn’t an important factor, but some brushes are significantly quieter

For each brush we review, we use a decibel metre to take a reading of its noise level. So far we’ve found the range sits from 48 db to over 80 db, which is quite a variation.

Noise may be an important consideration if you’ve got young children that you don’t want to disturb, or light sleepers in the house who won’t appreciate the sound of a noisy motor.

That being said, noise isn’t the biggest consideration for an electric toothbrush. Even with the noisiest brushes, we’ve found that a closed bathroom door drowns out most of the sound. But if you have thin walls or do have a need to be very quiet, it’s a worthwhile consideration.

We’ve got a post on the quietest electric toothbrushes that ranks from quietest to loudest. The winner so far is the Oclean X Pro Elite. From our list above, SURI is also particularly quiet.

What we regard as a 'budget' electric toothbrush

When it comes to categorising 'budget', 'cheap' or 'affordable' the boundaries and expectations are different from one person to another. For the sake of simplicity, we roughly group prices into five brackets based on their selling price:

• £0-15: Too Cheap — these products should be avoided.
• £15-30: Budget — they do the job, but it's worth spending slightly more if you can.
• £30-50: Optimal — these products have the essential features, but no extra bells and whistles.
• £50-150: Mid-range — extra features that may be nice to have, but aren't strictly necessary
• £150+: Premium — the most capable if you want the very best, but overkill for most

These are not hard and fast rules and there are always exceptions.Years of testing and insight has given us a deep understanding of what makes a good brush and what you can realistically expect at different price points.As a result, we consider the best budget electric toothbrush to be one that is available for £30 or less. Our current pick here is the Oral-B Vitality:

You can get a good brush for less than £50 — spending more doesn't mean cleaner or whiter teeth

We’ve tested brushes that cost as little as £10 and as much as £500. Truthfully, you don’t need to spend more than £50 to get a reliable brush with the most important features. Our main recommendation, the Pro 3 3500, is a good example of this.

The key features our in-house dentists recommend are a pressure sensor, a timer, and a pacer. Generally, you can get these from around £30 to £40. Many of the brushes we’ve tested in this price range are more than adequate.

Spending more money on a toothbrush may provide things like travel cases and better battery life, but these aren’t going to actually help brush your teeth better.

Don’t go too cheap, though

Based on the above advice you may be tempted to spend as little as possible. We would caution against this because we have noticed there are reliability issues with cheap brands.

And whilst you can get by without a pressure sensor, timer and pacer, ideally your brush should include them because they help you to brush properly and for the right amount of time.

There is such a thing as going too cheap with an electric toothbrush. In the years we have been testing brushes, we have yet to test an electric toothbrush that is less than £15 that really captures our attention in any serious way. Yes, inevitably there are some that are impressive options for the price, but there is always a compromise. What that compromise is depends on the brand and the particular model in question.

The big question that needs to be asked is how can something be produced this cheap; are cheap labour sources being exploited? What quality of materials are being used? Are the appropriate taxes being paid to sell such a product?

It does vary from one product to another, but our experience is that quality and reliability are often the biggest compromises. The product looks and feels cheap and rarely lasts longer than the 1 year warranty, if that long.

And because it is so cheap, it is easier and more convenient to throw away the faulty one and replace it with a new one, rather than repair it. Manufacturers know this and exploit this opportunity. Many work on the basis of making a profit by selling much higher volumes than their more expensive counterparts. The saying ‘pile it high and sell it cheap’ comes to mind.

We are not saying this is a dishonourable tactic, but it is one that doesn’t sit particularly well with us considering the environmental impact electric toothbrushes have. Selling a product really cheap isn’t typically sustainable long term. Keeping a high sales volume is particularly challenging and given the levels of competition in the market today it is far from easy.

This is something that the Chinese brand Fairywill has experienced. They did and still do make some exceptionally cheap products. But where they were once selling thousands through the likes of Amazon, they are now selling very few. We don't recommend Fairywill products because of high rates of the product failing, and the company's abuse of reviews leading to a ban from selling on Amazon (we talk about that more here).

Ignoring the shady tactics and what it takes to sell on Amazon, the biggest losers are the existing owners of Fairywill products. With their main sales outlet now closed, Fairywill has been unable to sustain support for customers. It has gotten a bit better since, but for many months after being kicked off the platform Fairywill brush owners couldn’t get replacement brush heads or spare parts.

We have had many complaints of poor or no response to warranty claims. We can comment from first-hand experience on how communications with representatives from the company went unanswered. There is a cost to offering something cheap and that cost often is more impactful long term than paying a few extra pounds initially to get a better quality product.

Smaller companies and new brands don’t have the overhead costs of the major players like Oral-B, Philips and Colgate.They can bring better value products to market more rapidly. But the vast majority don’t have the same reputation, reliability and infrastructure in place.

You may well get an absolutely fantastic deal on a brush from a relatively unknown brand online, but when you need replacement brush heads where are you going to go? How can you be assured the replacement heads will be there in the future? And what if the brush goes wrong?

We don’t recommend smart toothbrushes for the average user

We’ve been testing smart (Bluetooth enabled) toothbrushes since they first launched around 2016.

Whilst we’ve found that the technology in the latest models like the Oral-B iO Series 10 and the Sonicare Prestige 9900 does work very well, it is overkill for the average user.

We generally don’t recommend them. You don’t need the tech to be able to clean your teeth well — plaque disclosing tablets work just as well — and to get the most from them you often need to have your phone with you when you brush.

A survey of our YouTube audience found that 57% had a smart toothbrush, yet 69% don’t use the features after 3 months.

Apart from the ‘smart’ technology, these brushes often come with additional cleaning modes and a travel case.

In our experience, there is little difference between most cleaning modes. Having a sensitive mode is useful, but this is included with far cheaper brushes.

A travel case can also be a good addition, but again, you don’t need to spend £300 to get one. We rate SURI as having the best travel case and that is far cheaper than a smart toothbrush.

Unless you are willing to spend the time and effort using the brush tracking technology that a smart brush offers, save yourself some money and go for a cheaper model.

Brush head styles aren’t that important, but do affect cost

Brush head ranges are unnecessarily complicated. There is no definitive evidence to say one head is better than another. Studies will claim to have found important differences between them, but this is always in comparison to a manual brush. We’re yet to see 2 Oral-B heads compared to one another in a clinical study.

We’ve tested the full range of brush heads from Oral-B, Sonicare and Colgate and found little to separate them. We’ve also tested generic heads, which are cheaper but still of an acceptable standard.

Sonicare’s premium heads have a silicone backing to them, which feels noticeably softer on the cheeks and reduces that harsh irritating sound if they come into contact with the teeth. But, we find it difficult to justify the price increase when normal heads work just fine.

The main thing you do want to watch out for if you’re buying generic heads is that you don’t get cheap counterfeits as they won’t do as good a job.

Sonic brush heads tend to be larger than the small circular brush heads found on Oral-B’s oscillating-rotating toothbrushes. Sonic heads have an oval shape to them.

We have found that Oral-B’s heads can sometimes make it easier to reach right behind the back molars and other tight spaces because their necks have a shorter length. This isn’t a factor worth giving too much importance to unless you have a particularly small mouth.

As a side note, if you are finding it difficult to reach certain parts of the mouth, it’s better to brush with your mouth almost closed. Having your mouth open extends your jaw and can make it harder to reach certain areas.

The brush you choose will affect how much you spend on brush heads

Pay attention to this because it could save you £100 over the lifetime of your brush.

If you’re buying official heads for a well-known brand, Oral-B heads for non-iO brushes (Vitality, Pro, Genius Series models) tend to be the cheapest.

Oral-B iO brush heads are almost twice the price of other Oral-B heads. The cleaning results are not twice as good. As it stands there aren’t many generic options available as an alternative for iO models. Those that do exist cost considerably less. You can get as many as 6 generic heads for the price of 1 iO Series manufacturer original. Sonicare brush heads tend to be more expensive than Oral-B, but there are good generic options available to bring the price down.

Try to buy heads where the bristle tips are rounded or smoothed off, like the manufacturer’s own. We found that cheaper generic heads often have ‘rough cut’ bristles. They still clean well but can be a bit more abrasive on the teeth and gums.

You can save money if you buy an electric toothbrush and heads from a lesser-known brand, but the caveat to this is reliability issues. We go into this in more detail in our post on the best cheap and budget-friendly brushes.

A word of caution though: sometimes there is such a thing as too cheap. We’ve read and heard stories of brush heads cracking, falling apart and bristles falling out as people use them.

Soft brush heads and sensitive cleaning mode are good if you have sensitive teeth or receding gums

Generally speaking, we haven’t found that cleaning modes and brush head styles make much difference to brushing experience. A standard cleaning mode and brush head do the job just fine. The exceptions, though, are soft brush heads and sensitive cleaning modes.

We have at times found it useful to switch to a soft head or cleaning mode during times of tooth or gum sensitivity. If you have sensitive teeth or gums, or some form of gum disease, these are particularly useful features.

Even if you don’t have sensitive teeth and gums, a sensitive cleaning mode or soft brush head can help to ease you into a new brush. This was the case for one of our team when we started testing the Oral-B iO range. The cleaning action of the brush felt more intense than previous Oral-B models, so we used the sensitive mode for the first week or so to get used to it.

Oral-B and Sonicare both make soft brush heads for their full range of brushes, so this is something that you can add on afterwards if needed. Many brushes do come with a sensitive mode, but you’ll want to double check your prospective brush has it if it’s a feature you think you’ll benefit from. We’ve found the feeling of gentle cleaning modes doesn’t vary much from one manufacturer to another, so you don’t need to scrutinise this too much.

There is some variation in the way that gentle / sensitive modes are named. Some manufacturers instead refer to them as ‘intensity’ settings. A high and a low intensity settings are usually comparable to standard clean and sensitive mode.

Oral-B sensitive clean heads

For receding gums or sensitive teeth, I recommend you try the Sensitive Clean brush head for an Oral-B brush.

We have a post on the best Oral-B brush heads that explains the range in detail.

Sonicare (BrushSync) gum care heads

For Sonicare BrushSync brushes try the G2 Optimal Gum Care head. It is BrushSync heads that have Sonicare's reminder technology built in. They are more expensive than the non-BrushSync heads.

Some brushes are now charged via USB

The set up of your bathroom and the brush you choose will dictate how convenient it is to charge it.

Most toothbrushes are charged via a 2-pin charger. This is great if you have a shaver socket in your bathroom. If not, you need an adaptor so that you can charge it via a mains plug elsewhere in the house.

Some newer brushes are charged via USB only, which rules out the opportunity to charge them in your bathroom. This may or may not be an inconvenience for you.

The Sonicare 1100, 2100, 3100 and 4100 are examples of this. They do fit and charge on the older style Sonicare charging stands too, so if you prefer your existing Sonicare charging stand, you can still make use of it.

Some brushes can be charged in the travel case they are supplied with, which can add another option and more flexibility.SURI, as an example, is charged via USB Type-C. It can be charged within its case, using the same cable that charges many Android phones and the latest iPhone 15. We’ve found this to be a convenient way to charge the brush, especially as it only needs charging every few weeks.

If you don’t have a shaver socket and would rather not fiddle about with adapters. You can buy aftermarket charging stands with built in 3 pin plugs or USB cables.

It’s an extra cost, but might be more convenient for you. Of the ones we’ve tested we’ve found the quality to be pretty good.

A travel case is a useful accessory

In our experience the most useful extras to be supplied with a toothbrush are additional heads and a travel case.

Brush head stands and storage compartments can be convenient if you share a toothbrush with others, but are far from essential.

You don’t need to be a regular traveller to benefit from a case. Even if you occasionally go away for a night or two, a case protects the bristles from damage and dirt. Not to mention preventing other things in your wash bag from getting wet. It can also prevent that awkward buzzing sound in your luggage as you pass through customs!

It’s well worth spending an extra £5 if you can afford it to get a case included. It’s harder to buy official cases afterwards. Third party cases serve a purpose but tend not to be as good.

Jon found a travel case useful during his recent Invisalign treatment. He was having to brush more regularly, often away from home, and having a case made things more convenient.

For those always on the go, charging travel cases are great. SURI’s is particularly slim and uses the same charger as most phones. Oral-B’s charging case is less convenient as it requires a bulky proprietary power adapter.

Things to consider if you’ve got dexterity issues

The majority of toothbrushes have a clean and minimal look with minimal textured surfaces for gripping onto.

Oral-B’s Smart 4 and Genius models use different materials and textures to aid with grip. Although slimmer, the Philips One has a really textured handle, which makes it easy to grip. The Hydrosonic Pro from Curaprox is all smooth plastic, but the squarer design really helps with grip.

Aftermarket add-ons do exist but none are particularly pretty and do look like an add-on. Examples are:

The vast majority of brush heads are pushed onto a brush handle to attach and pulled off to remove. Few require twisting or locking into place. You don’t typically need lots of force to attach or remove them.

We’ve found that SURI brush heads are some of the tightest fitting and can at times require an extra firm grasp to pull them off. This might be tricky if you struggle to grip or have limited strength in your joints.

Power buttons are something to consider too. Colgate’s Smart Hum and Hum Rhythm are 2 examples that we've found to have firmer buttons than other brushes and make for a less enjoyable user experience.

Many brands have money back guarantees, so you can buy online, try and return if they don’t work for you.

More detail: our electric toothbrush reviews

In order to gather the advice and recommendations above, we've extensively tested and compared a wide range of electric toothbrushes. For the vast majority of brushes we test, we either complete a written review, a video review, or both.

In the sections below we've grouped our written reviews. You can see our video reviews and comparisons on our YouTube channel.