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The best electric toothbrushes 2024, according to our testing

best electric toothbrush lead image: oral-b and phillips sonicare toothbrushes on grey background with charger

Looking to upgrade to the best electric toothbrush or replace your old brush? We’ve tested heaps of options to help you get a cleaner smile

The best electric toothbrushes are clinically proven to do a better job at reducing plaque and preventing gum disease than manual brushes and should be part of everyone’s daily dental routine. After all, we would all like squeaky clean teeth and healthy gums.

However, finding the right toothbrush can be a minefield. Most brands, including Oral-B and Philips, have several toothbrush ranges and it can be hard to distinguish between similar products. Thankfully, we’ve tested 30 rotary and sonic toothbrushes to help you pick the right model, no matter your budget.

Our thorough testing makes certain that all our recommendations will get your teeth sparkling and clean. Read on to find a list of our favourites. If you need some extra guidance, the buying guide below will help you decide which toothbrush is best for you.


Best electric toothbrushes: At a glance

Best electric toothbrushOral-B Pro 3 (~£43)Check price at Amazon
Best budget electric toothbrushBitvae D2 Ultrasonic (~£19)Check price at Amazon
Best high-end rotary toothbrushOral-B iO Series 6 (~£147)Check price at Amazon
Best for young childrenPhilips Sonicare for kids (~£45)Check price at Amazon


How we test electric toothbrushes

To test electric toothbrushes, we use them twice a day over a period of at least one week, making sure we get a feel for how they handle and perform when cleaning.
A woman looking into a mirror while testing an electric toothbrush

The most important attribute of a toothbrush is its cleaning power. To test this, we use plaque-disclosing tablets to check that all areas of the teeth are getting a proper clean. This allows us to see if the brush is able to thoroughly clean the teeth in all their nooks and crannies. If any problem areas are flagged, we’ll repeat the test to ensure this wasn’t user error.

Battery life is also a key component of electric toothbrushes, especially if you travel regularly. To check battery life, we leave the toothbrush running and time how long it takes for the battery to run down from a full charge. We then divide this figure by four minutes to get an accurate idea of how many days a single charge should last.

We also test all specific brush modes, attachments and install any apps required to get the most out of built-in smart features. This allows us to evaluate how comfortable the brush is to use as well as how intuitive and useful the smart features are – does the app actually give detailed, personalised brushing advice, or is it just a souped-up timer?

This data is then aggregated into a spreadsheet that allows us to easily compare the performance of each brush with its competition, while taking into account the all-important price.

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The best electric toothbrushes in 2024, according to our tests

1. Oral-B Pro 3: Best electric toothbrush

Price when reviewed: £43 | Check price at Amazon
a product image of the oral b pro 3 electric toothbrush on a blue background

  • Great for: Effective cleaning modes, clear pressure sensor
  • Keep in mind: No smart features

The Pro 3 3000 is Oral-B’s best-value brush, and it is a winner. The sleek new design drops the rubber grip of the old model, making it easier to rinse clean while still being easy to handle. The rear pressure sensor is now a 360-degree ring, which makes it a little more visible while you’re brushing, and Oral-B’s timer works as well as ever. If you don’t need Bluetooth or smart features, this brush covers all the fundamentals in style.

What’s more, it delivered an excellent clean in our tests, with three modes – Sensitive, Daily Clean and Whitening – that take you all the way from a softer brush that’s easy on the gums to a more intense polish to help get rid of staining. Battery life, meanwhile, was exceptional; according to our tests, you will easily get through two weeks of brushing and probably three without a recharge. It’s the new king of sensibly priced brushes and is easily the best electric toothbrush you can buy for under £50.

Read our Oral-B Pro 3 3000 review

Key specs – Cleaning modes: 3; Pressure sensor: Yes; Timer: Yes; Accessories included: One brush head, charger; Cost of replacement heads: £18 for 8; Battery type: Li-ion; Battery life: 1hr 27mins; Warranty: Two years


2. BitVae D2 Ultrasonic: Best budget electric toothbrush

Price when reviewed: £19 | Check price at Amazon
Bitvae D2 Ultrasonic product image on a blue background

  • Great for: Battery life, includes eight replacement heads
  • Keep in mind: No pressure sensor

It’s not hard to find a £25 Philips Sonicare clone on Amazon, but the Bitvae D2 takes things up a notch. Its head pulsates at 40,000 strokes per minute, and despite this, the handle doesn’t transmit as much buzz as similar brushes. Bitvae also throws in eight heads to keep you covered for up to two years of brushing, if you replace them every three months as recommended.

Does it deliver as good a clean as the more expensive Sonic models? In short, no. Even when we tested the most powerful options, we didn’t quite get the power of a mid-range Philips brush. However, your teeth feel clean after brushing and the Soft mode is ideal for first-time electric toothbrush users.

Battery life is also solid for a budget brush and it takes just four hours for a recharge. It’s charged by a USB cable, with a barrel-type plug that slots into a socket on the bottom. Most importantly, though, this is a big step up in cleaning from manual brushes or cheaper battery models, and you can kit out the whole family without breaking the bank.

Key specs – Cleaning modes: 5; Pressure sensor: No; Timer: Yes; Accessories included: Eight brush heads, USB charging cable, holder; Cost of replacement heads: £10 for 4; Battery type: Li-ion; Battery life: 1hr 33mins; Warranty: One year


3. Philips One: Best electric toothbrush for travel

Price when reviewed: £27 | Check price at Amazon

Philips One Electric Toothbrush product image on a blue background

  • Great for: 90-day battery life, slim travel case
  • Keep in mind: No pressure sensor, battery operated

The Philips One is a great entry-level toothbrush that doubles as a brilliant travel brush. Philips has effectively built its Sonicare tech into a brush just 20cm long, weighing only 34g. The grippy, moulded handle packs neatly into a minimalist travel case. It’s basic, with just one brush setting, but you do get a timer which pulsates every 30 seconds and switches itself off after two minutes.

The One doesn’t have the brushing power of a larger Sonicare brush, but it’s ahead of other battery-powered electric toothbrushes and does a great job of leaving your teeth feeling shiny and clean. The relatively gentle movement is also brilliant for massaging along the gumline.

The single AAA battery version we tested keeps it going for up to 90 days, though Philips also sells a £30 rechargeable version that boosts the cleaning power and has a 30-day battery life. We suggest the latter if this was your only toothbrush, but the battery-powered model is perfect for packing in your suitcase or weekend bag.

Read our Philips One review

Key specs – Cleaning modes: 1; Pressure sensor: No; Timer: Yes; Accessories included: One brush head, travel case; Cost of replacement heads: £11 for 2; Battery type: 1 x AAA; Battery life: 6hr; Warranty: One year


4. Oral-B iO6: Best high-end rotary toothbrush

Price when reviewed: £130 | Check price at BootsOral-B iO Series 6 product image on a blue background

  • Great for: App that tracks your brushing and gives instant feedback
  • Keep in mind: Expensive, shorter battery life

If you want a smart toothbrush that can analyse your brushing habits and provide data through an app, the Oral-B iO6 is our top pick. While Oral-B’s iO9 has been deemed the Tesla supercar of toothbrushes, it also has an unrealistically high £250 price tag to match. The newer iO6 is a different story, with nearly all the same core technology, but at a much more approachable price point.

Despite having a few less sensors than the iO9, our tests found that the iO6 still does a great job of tracking where and how you’re brushing and relaying it back to the Oral-B app. Plus, like the more expensive iO brushes, its pressure-sensing indicators and built-in OLED screen give you instant feedback on your brushing.

With Oral-B’s magnetic motor technology, we found that the clean was as quiet as it was extensive, with five different brush modes to cover gum care, whitening and sensitive teeth as well as intense and daily cleans. As long as you can live without fast charging, it’s the best-value smart brush out there.

Read our Oral-B io Series 6 review

Key specs – Cleaning modes: 5; Pressure sensor: Yes; Timer: Yes; Accessories included: One brush head, charger, spare head holder, travel case; Cost of replacement heads: £24 for 4; Battery type: Li-ion; Battery life: 56mins; Warranty: Two years


5. Oclean X Pro Elite: Best value smart toothbrush

Price when reviewed: £80 | Check price at AmazonOclean X Pro Elite product image on a blue background

  • Great for: App that tracks your brushing, long battery life
  • Keep in mind: Tracking isn’t as accurate as the Oral B iO above

Can’t stretch to one of Oral-B’s iO Series brushes? Don’t panic because the Oclean X Pro Elite also has a 0.96in colour OLED touchscreen and a Bluetooth-enabled smartphone app. Its brushless magnetic motor keeps the brush head vibrating 42,000 times per minute, too, so you’ll get a powerful clean.

As well as its four cleaning modes, you can also set the duration and the intensity of your brush, giving you plenty of ways to customise your routine. The screen gives you feedback on where you’re brushing and how long you’ve been brushing for. However, we found that Oclean’s controls and software aren’t quite as polished as Oral-B’s in our tests. The OLED touchscreen can be unresponsive, while the app simply tracks the frequency and efficiency of your brushing, and sometimes struggles to make a stable connection to the brush.

As a toothbrush, though, the Oclean is a real contender. It’s quiet but surprisingly powerful, working effectively along the gumline and doing a good job of keeping the teeth clean. You can charge it using any wireless charger, including one you might already use for your phone, and the battery lasts for over 160 minutes. That’s enough for a solid 40 days or more.

Key specs – Cleaning modes: 4; Pressure sensor: Yes; Timer: Yes; Accessories included: One brush head, charger, magnetic wall mount; Cost of replacement heads: £20 for 6; Battery type: Li-ion; Battery life: 2hrs 47mins; Warranty: Two years


6. Suri Sustainable Toothbrush: Best eco-friendly electric toothbrush

Price when reviewed: £95 | Check price at Amazonan image of the suri electric toothbrush on a wooden table

  • Great for: Recyclable heads, great build quality
  • Keep in mind: No pressure sensor

If you’re concerned about the environmental impact of your toothbrush and the number of heads going to landfill, Suri might have the answer.

The Suri Sustainable Sonic Toothbrush has a coated aluminium handle that feels far more robust than the average plastic brush. Its brush heads are made from castor oil and cornstarch, which you can return to Suri for recycling through the post. While you can buy it as a solo product, you can also purchase a subscription package, with two heads arriving every six months and a lifetime warranty on the brush while you subscribe.

Eco-consciousness aside, the toothbrush is light and very easy to handle. It has a default cleaning mode for everyday use as well as a more intense mode that we thought was great at cleaning the spaces in between your teeth. Unless you’re worried about whitening or stain removal, it does a fantastic job.

The slimline charging case charges the brush within four hours and can provide around 96 minutes of brushing before the battery goes flat. It’s not just a greener type of toothbrush, but a great all-rounder.

Read our Suri Sonic Toothbrush review

Key specs – Cleaning modes: 2; Pressure sensor: No; Timer: Yes; Accessories included: One brush head, magnetic mount, charger, USB charging case; Cost of replacement heads: £14 for 4; Battery type: Li-ion; Battery life: 1hr 36mins; Warranty: Two years


7. Oral-B Vitality Pro: Best cheap rotary brush

Price when reviewed: £25 | Check price at Amazon

Oral-B Vitality Pro product image on a blue background

  • Great for: Low price, clear timer
  • Keep in mind: No pressure sensor, short battery life

The Vitality Pro, formally known as the Vitality Plus, is as basic as electric toothbrushes get, but it’s still a better option than your average manual or battery toothbrush. It features three brushing modes and a 30-second pulse timer but if you want a pressure sensor, you’ll need to go further up the range. What’s more, this is one of the few Oral-B brushes that doesn’t feature any vibrating 3D action to break down plaque – it’s just a simple, back-and-forth oscillation to clean the surface.

All the same, while we thought the action felt a little rough and rattly in comparison to more expensive models in our tests, it still gave our gnashers a thorough clean. You can tailor this by switching out the standard brush head for a Sensitive or Precision Clean head. And while we feared the worst from the NiMH battery, it actually lasted a reasonable 43 minutes in our tests. We would like to see a pressure sensor and a charging indicator, but if you only have around £25 to spend on a toothbrush, this is as good as it gets.

Read our full Oral-B Vitality Pro review

Key specs – Cleaning modes: 3; Pressure sensor: No; Timer: Yes; Accessories included: One brush head, charger; Cost of replacement heads: £18 for 8; Battery type: NiMH; Battery life: 43mins; Warranty: Two years


8.Philips Sonicare for kids: Best for young children

Price when reviewed: £45 | Check price at AmazonPhilips Sonicare for kids product image on a blue background

  • Great for: Interactive brushing app for kids
  • Keep in mind: No pressure sensor, short battery life

Getting young kids to clean their teeth is rarely easy, but a decent electric brush can help and Philips Sonicare for kids can make it fun. The interactive Bluetooth app puts the character ‘Sparkly’, who loves nothing more than cleaning his teeth, at the centre of the action on your device.

The app encourages children to mimic Sparkly cleaning his teeth in real-time, focusing on different sections of the mouth. Do this correctly, and for the required two minutes, and they can gain rewards including food, accessories and new skills for it. It’s like having a Tamagotchi for your toothbrush.

Even if you don’t use the app, it’s a hit with kids thanks to the replaceable stickers and the built-in timer and jingle. It’s durable and has a good battery life – a great way to transform your children’s teeth-cleaning.

Key specs – Cleaning modes: 2; Pressure sensor: No; Timer: Yes; Accessories included: One brush head, charger, 8 customisation stickers; Cost of replacement heads: £17 for 8; Battery type: Li-ion; Battery life: 56mins; Warranty: Two years


9. Philips Sonicare DiamondClean 9000: Best high-end sonic toothbrush

Price when reviewed: £180 | Check price at AmazonPhilips Sonicare DiamondClean 9000 Special Edition product image on a blue background

  • Great for: Insightful app with brushing tips, powerful cleaning
  • Keep in mind: No 3D brush tracking, expensive brush heads

The DiamondClean 9000 gets you the best of Philips’ Sonicare toothbrushes without gimmicky extras that add to the cost. We thought its slim handle, clear indicators and tactile buttons made it an easy brush to use. While you don’t get the position-sensing features of Philips’ more expensive Prestige brushes, you can still track your brushing habits through the companion smartphone app and get tips on how to improve them.

The main reason to get the DiamondClean 9000 is that you’ll get the best clean available in the Sonicare range. The Deep Clean+ mode might even be too intense for some people, but you can turn down the intensity or switch to regular Clean or White+. These modes provided a clean that left our teeth feeling polished, and could even get rid of much of the plaque and debris that can accumulate between our teeth. Meanwhile, the Gum Health mode was brilliant for treating and toughening up soft gums.

Throw in epic battery life (almost two hours) and a neat charging cradle, and you’ve got a fantastic package. If you’re looking for a quiet, comfortable but powerful toothbrush, this is the high-end model to buy.

Read our Philips Sonicare DiamondClean 9000 review

Key specs – Cleaning modes: 4; Pressure sensor: Yes; Timer: Yes; Accessories included: 1 x brush heads, travel case, charger; Cost of replacement heads: £17 for 4; Battery type: Li-ion; Battery life: 1hr 52mins; Warranty: Two years


How to choose the best electric toothbrush for you

What types of electric toothbrushes are there?

Generally speaking, electric toothbrushes are available in two basic types: Rotary and Sonic

  • Rotary brushes, as manufactured by Oral-B, have a small, round head that oscillates at high speed to scrub your teeth and gums. These toothbrushes combine this with a pulsating action, designed to break up plaque along the gum line, making it easier to brush away.
  • Sonic brushes have heads that vibrate very quickly, at frequencies that buff the tooth surface, break up plaque and force toothpaste through the gaps between your teeth and around the gum line. Ultrasonic toothbrushes vibrate even faster, helping to clean and protect them with even greater efficiency.

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What should I look for in an electric toothbrush?

These are the key features you’ll want to consider when purchasing an electric toothbrush.

Battery life

The battery life of an electric toothbrush is impacted by battery type and cleaning power. An old-school NiMH battery runs out faster than a modern lithium-ion battery, which can last up to four weeks and re-charges faster.

That being said, some powerful toothbrushes drain their batteries faster than others. That’s especially true for rotary brushes, according to our battery life tests.

best electric toothbrush battery life picture showing graph

So, if you haven’t got a convenient power socket in the bathroom, or you travel often, look at a model that can handle a few weeks without a refuel. You can find our battery life test results listed in the mini reviews above.

Brushing modes

Most electric toothbrushes come with a range of brushing modes. These give you different speeds and patterns optimised for whitening, deep cleaning or sensitive teeth and gums.

It’s not clear that all of these make a huge amount of difference, but having a slower, gentler mode can be useful when you’re getting used to a new brush, before you’re comfortable switching to a faster mode.

Pressure sensors and timers

It’s worth looking out for pressure sensors that can warn you when you’re pressing too hard while brushing. This can prevent you from irritating your gums over time.

A brushing timer that sends a pulse through the brush when it’s time to stop brushing, or move to another quadrant of your mouth is always useful to ensure you’re brushing for the correct amount of time every day.

What about the cost of replacement heads?

Dentists recommend changing brush heads every three months, which means you should get through four brush heads every year.

Replacement brush heads generally come in packs of two, four or six. These are linked in the mini reviews above, and typically cost around £15 for two or £25 for four, depending on the brand.

To complicate things, brush heads come in different types designed for different dental requirements, so you’ll find Sonicare heads for gum care, deeper cleaning or plaque defence, and Oral-B heads with slightly different brushing actions.

Any Sonicare head can be used with any Sonicare brush, but Oral-B’s standard heads can only be used with its Pro-series brushes, while its iO heads only work with iO series brushes.

What extra features are available?

You might be able to get some extra features with your electric toothbrush, such as:

  • A travel case, some of which allow the brush to charge in situ via a USB cable
  • Bluetooth-enabled “smart” features, which work with companion apps to time your brushes, keep a diary of your activity and provide oral hygiene tips. More advanced models have sophisticated pressure and motion sensors to allow them to track your brush’s progress around the mouth and make sure you’re reaching every corner.

These features aren’t essential – they come at a price and not everyone is prepared to take their smartphone to the bathroom to monitor their brushing. If you can develop a good routine that covers all your teeth and around the gums, then you probably don’t need a smart brush.

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