Top 5 compared
The best electric toothbrushes
A cleaner feeling than a manual brush, with a timer that keeps you brushing for the full two minutes.
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The top 5 at a glance
An electric toothbrush does the scrubbing for you: hold the head against each tooth, let it work, then move on around the mouth. Oscillating brushes, Oral-B’s kind, turn a small round head back and forth to cup each tooth; sonic brushes vibrate a conventional head at tens of thousands of strokes a minute. Both clean well, and they feel quite different.
The heads are the running cost: Oral-B and Philips both say to replace them every three months, so what spares cost matters as much as the handle, and the Aquasonic puts eight in the box. Heads don’t always cross over within a brand, either: Oral-B’s iO handles take only iO heads.
What matters
- A pressure alert, if you tend to brush hard.
- A gentler or sensitive mode for tender gums.
- Days per charge, and whether a travel case comes with it.
#1Aquasonic Black Series Electric Toothbrush (8 heads)
$30–$50
A sonic brush that comes with eight heads, a hard travel case and a wireless charging base in the box, which is two years of brushing before you buy anything else. It carries the American Dental Association’s Seal of Acceptance, and one charge runs about four weeks.
What owners say: Teeth feel squeaky clean after it, owners say, the charge lasts a long time and the modes give it range, though some find the vibration stronger than they expected, and a few units haven’t lasted as long as they’d like.
Heads up: It has no pressure sensor, so go easy: let the bristles do the work and just glide the head along the gumline.
A closer look: Start on the gentlest mode for the first week, then step up; the whitening and gum-care modes change the vibration pattern rather than the head. The case holds the handle and two heads, so it packs for a trip without the base.
- ADA Seal of Acceptance
- Wireless charging base
- 40,000 vibrations a minute
- Whitening and gum-care modes
Best for: Sonic brushing without buying spare heads
- Type
- Sonic
- Modes
- 4
- Pressure alert
- No
- Battery per charge
- About 4 weeks
- Travel case
- Yes
- Heads in the box
- 8
#2Philips Sonicare 5950 Series Electric Toothbrush
$100–$150
Philips’ current mid-range Sonicare pairs its C3 two-in-one head with a pressure sensor that pulses the handle the moment you press too hard, and six settings (Clean or Gum Health at three intensities) to suit sore gums or a thorough scrub. Up to 21 days per charge, and a travel case comes with it.
What owners say: Owners say it leaves their mouth feeling like they’ve just left the hygienist and is gentle on the gums, and many notice healthier gums within weeks; the gripes are a charging stand that is USB only, with no wall adapter in the box, and a few whose brush stopped charging or broke within months.
Heads up: The charging stand is a USB-A cable with no wall adapter, so plug it into a phone charger or a USB outlet.
A closer look: Gum Health mode at the lowest intensity is the one to start on if your gums bleed, then work up as they settle. The BrushPacer buzzes every 20 seconds to move you around the mouth, and the handle tells you when a head is worn. Twist a head off and rinse the stem each week to keep paste from building up inside.
- BrushPacer buzzes every 20 seconds
- Handle flags a worn head
- 62,000 bristle movements a minute
- USB-A stand, no wall plug
Best for: Sensitive gums and a thorough clean
- Type
- Sonic
- Modes
- 2 modes, 3 intensities
- Pressure alert
- Yes
- Battery per charge
- Up to 21 days
- Travel case
- Yes
- Heads in the box
- 2
#3Oral-B Pro 1000 Electric Toothbrush
$30–$50
The round head is what sets Oral-B apart: it cups each tooth and oscillates around it, a feel many people prefer to a sonic sweep. The Pro 1000 keeps it simple, with a timer that pulses every 30 seconds and pressure control that cuts the pulsing when you push too hard.
What owners say: Owners find the 30-second pulses make the full two minutes easy to stick to and say their mouth feels cleaner than with a manual brush; it’s on the loud side, some wish the on/off button were easier to press with wet hands, and a few had the battery stop holding a charge or the brush give up early.
A closer look: Hold the head still on each tooth for a second or two and let it do the work, then move on; the brush slows its pulsing if you lean on it. Any Oral-B round head fits, so you can switch to a Sensitive or 3D White head later without changing the handle. Leave it on the stand between uses and it’s always ready.
- Round head cups each tooth
- Timer pulses every 30 seconds
- Takes any Oral-B round head
- 2-year warranty
Best for: Anyone who prefers a round head
- Type
- Oscillating-rotating
- Modes
- 3
- Pressure alert
- Yes
- Battery per charge
- About 10 days
- Travel case
- No
- Heads in the box
- 1
#4Philips Sonicare 1100 Series Electric Toothbrush
$10–$20
A real Sonicare with the same sonic sweep as the pricier models, a 30-second pacer and a two-minute timer, and EasyStart, which builds the power up gently over the first 14 brushes so the buzz doesn’t put a first-timer off.
What owners say: It cleans well and is a good value, owners say, and the pacer keeps them honest about the two minutes; a few complain that it charges only by USB, opinions differ on how strong the vibration feels, and battery life gets mixed reports.
A closer look: One button, one mode: press it and brush, moving to the next quarter of the mouth each time it buzzes. The USB charger plugs into any phone charger or laptop, and a full charge covers two weeks away. Standard Philips click-on heads fit, so spares are easy to find.
- Power builds over 14 brushes
- 30-second pacer, 2-minute timer
- Charges from a laptop’s USB
- Standard Philips click-on heads
Best for: First-timers and two-week trips
- Type
- Sonic
- Modes
- 1
- Pressure alert
- No
- Battery per charge
- 14 days
- Travel case
- No
- Heads in the box
- 1
#5Oral-B iO Series 5 Electric Toothbrush
$75–$100
Oral-B’s iO handle drives the round head with a magnetic motor for a smoother, gentler motion than the Pro 1000, and a small display plus the Oral-B app show where you’ve brushed and where you’ve missed. The ring around the head glows red for too hard and green for just right.
What owners say: Owners describe teeth that feel cleaner than ever and like switching modes for sensitive days or whitening; the app divides them, some finding the coaching useful and others ignoring it, and a few report the battery fading after months.
A closer look: Pair it with the app for the first couple of weeks and it will show the spots you keep skipping, then most people leave the phone in the other room and just watch the ring. It only takes iO heads, not Oral-B’s standard round ones, so keep a spare or two in the drawer. The charger is a small magnetic puck that rinses clean.
- Magnetic drive, smoother motion
- App shows spots you miss
- Display on the handle
- Takes iO heads only
- Magnetic charger rinses clean
Best for: Coaching from an app
- Type
- Oscillating (iO)
- Modes
- 5
- Pressure alert
- Yes
- Battery per charge
- Up to 2 weeks
- Travel case
- Yes
- Heads in the box
- 1
How they compare
Swipe sideways or rotate device to see all 5.
| Feature | #1Aquasonic Black Series | #2Sonicare 5950 | #3Oral-B Pro 1000 | #4Sonicare 1100 | #5Oral-B iO Series 5 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Best overall | Best premium | Best oscillating | Best budget | ||
| Picked Rating | 8.9 | 8.8 | 8.8 | 8.6 | 8.6 |
| Price | $30–$50 | $100–$150 | $30–$50 | $10–$20 | $75–$100 |
| Type | Sonic | Sonic | Oscillating-rotating | Sonic | Oscillating (iO) |
| Modes | 4 | 2 modes, 3 intensities | 3 | 1 | 5 |
| Pressure alert | No | Yes | Yes | No | Yes |
| Battery per charge | About 4 weeks | Up to 21 days | About 10 days | 14 days | Up to 2 weeks |
| Travel case | Yes | Yes | No | No | Yes |
| Heads in the box | 8 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 1 |
| Best for | Sonic brushing without buying spare heads | Sensitive gums and a thorough clean | Anyone who prefers a round head | First-timers and two-week trips | Coaching from an app |
| Buy now | Amazon | Amazon | Amazon | Amazon | Amazon |
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