Best cheap electric toothbrush 2024

In the US, the equivalent brush is the Smart 1500, so that’s what you’ll see in the links. It’s the same brush with the same features. But, it’s important to note that it’s better value in the UK, where it has a slightly lower price point, than in the US. If you’re in the US, opting for the Oral-B iO3 is probably a better bet.

What’s most important in this brush is its excellent cleaning performance. But it also has all the features we consider to be important. Its timer will tell you to move on to a new section of your mouth every 30 seconds and let you know when your two-minute brushing time is up.

It also has a bright red pressure sensor that lights when you press too hard.

The only design issue is that its shiny on/off button is inset and can get a bit slippery when wet. Since it has a single-button operation, you’ll have to press it hard so that you don’t wind up scrolling through its other brushing modes to switch it off.

There’s no USB charging plug but its two-week battery life means that you should be able to get through a holiday without having to recharge it. But the battery warning light won’t give you much time before you need to plug it in.

Now that the iO2 has launched, there is a cheaper iO around, but we think that the iO3 is still the one to get for the most iO features at the most reasonable price. What you’ll get for your money is top-tier brushing performance, a highly visible red/green pressure sensor and a two-minute brushing timer with alerts every thirty seconds. It has three brushing modes: daily clean, whitening and sensitive.

It also features the fun light ring which cycles through a rainbow of colours when you finish brushing.

But there are compromises to be made. Battery life is 10-14 days (if you tend to brush a little longer than the standard two minutes) and it takes a whopping 16 hours to fully charge. This won’t be a problem if you keep it in the charger.

This is the brush to go for if brushing performance is your priority, but if you travel a lot and battery life is key – or if you need USB charging – this may not be the brush for you.

If you’re in the UK, this brush isn’t as well priced, so you might want to skip this entry. But US readers take note: this stylish brush packs in a lot of features for its price point, with five brushing modes and a two-minute timer. That’s pretty unusual, but its six-week battery life has to be its outstanding feature.

If you wanted to bring a charger along when you travel, just to be on the safe side, the petite stand and USB plug make it a portable option.

But it’s not flawless. It lacks a pressure sensor, so you should avoid this product if you tend to press too hard when you brush.

The other thing to bear in mind is that, like many smaller brands, replacement brush heads can be expensive. You can save if you opt for a subscription, with a pair of brush heads for $11.99, otherwise a two-pack costs $14.99.

The Prism is more expensive than many of the other brushes in this round-up but it’s one of the best available for under $/£100, so we wanted to include it. It’s a gentle sonic brush made by independent Swedish brand Be Lucent.

It’s strikingly designed, in white to green ombré, with a subtly integrated white LED display that shows a brushing timer, battery life and brushing mode. It charges via USB and comes with two brush heads.

It has three brushing modes (daily, whitening and sensitive), a two-minute brushing timer with vibration alerts every thirty seconds, and a visible pressure sensor. The sensor isn’t quite as responsive as we’d like, however.

One of the brush’s big selling points is its two-month battery life, which makes it one of the longest-lasting available. When it’s time to charge it’ll take a non-inconsiderable eight hours, though.

If your budget is tight but you want to upgrade from a manual brush, this is probably the best cheap brush you can buy. However, you’ll have to make a couple of compromises.

On the plus side, it has quadrant alerts and a two-minute brushing timer, as well as three brushing settings: Sensitive Plus, Sensitive, and Daily. It gives teeth a good clean as well, although it’s not quite as effective as iO models, which vibrate as well as oscillate for improved plaque removal.

In terms of the brush itself, it has a thick, grippy handle and you can buy generic replacement heads very cheaply. But it’s lacking a pressure sensor. It’s fairly quiet in use, although its motor noise is rattly, with a high-pitched buzz on the highest setting.

On the minus side, it doesn’t feature any kind of battery lights. This means that it’ll just stop working when the battery runs out, without any warning. Then, when it’s on the charger, there’s no indicator to show that it’s charging properly, or when it’s fully charged.

But it’s the battery life that’s the real compromise. The Vitality Pro has a maximum battery life of 8 days – and that’s if you brush twice daily for two minutes and stop precisely at that point. If you run over a few times, you’ll get around a week of use. If two people are sharing, that gives you only 4 days before you need to recharge. It also needs 22 hours to charge from flat to full.

If you’re happy to keep it on its stand so it can continuously charge, then it won’t be a problem and we’d recommend it as a budget-friendly step-up from a manual brush.

Quip isn’t a plug-in-and-charge electric toothbrush. It’s battery operated (although it’s not disposable – the battery can be changed when it runs out) and as such, its vibrations are so gentle that it’s more of a manual-plus brush.

It would be a good option for people who find electric toothbrushes too intense but who want to take better care of their teeth.

It has a brushing timer that will help to ensure that you’re brushing for long enough, although it doesn’t have a pressure sensor.

But it’s travel-friendly and comes with a toothbrush holder you can stick to a mirror or tile, remove and re-use. It’s beautifully designed and you can separately buy matching dental care accessories – including gum, mouthwash and floss – that may encourage you to improve your dental care regime.

If you’re looking to get a lot for your money, you can’t do much better than the AquaSonic Duo Pro set, which would be ideal for a couple. For the price, you’ll get two sonic electric toothbrushes, five brush heads for each brush and two travel cases. You’ll also get the dual charging stand, which also features a UV sanitising chamber for used brush heads.

The brushes have four modes: clean, soft, whiten and massage (for gums). They also have a two-minute brushing timer, with alerts to start on a new section of your mouth every thirty seconds. The only key omission is a pressure sensor, so these brushes won’t work for you if you need a reminder not to brush too hard.

AquaSonic does not advise keeping the brushes charging in the stand when they’re not in use, so you’ll need to remember to drop them in to charge every couple of weeks to keep them topped up. But as they have an impressive, month long battery life, you won’t need to remember too often.

However, the design of the charging stand could prove divisive – it’ll only work well in modern, minimalist surroundings – and it’s bulky as well.

The iO2 is now the least expensive model in the iO line – but it’s more like an iO-lite as there are some key differences between it and other iO models. For a start, it doesn’t have the big, highly visible red/green pressure sensor. Instead, there’s a tiny pressure indicator light, which is much harder to see when you’re brushing. Second, it has a less powerful motor, which means the brushing performance is noticeably more gentle than other iO models.

But it does have some points in its favour, the most obvious one being the battery life. Oral-B reckons you can get a month of use between charges. Most other iO brushes will only give you two weeks of use. But when the battery is flat, it’ll take a whole 24 hours to charge to full, so you might want to keep it on the stand.

The iO2 has quadrant alerts and a two-minute brushing timer. It has three brushing modes to choose from: super-sensitive, gentle and everyday cleaning. To be honest, all are very gentle – but if you find the vibrations from more powerful brushes too intense, it could be a good option for you.

It’s a little pricier than some of the other brushes in this round-up, but it’s absolutely feature-packed and represents one of the best value ways to get incredible battery life, a colour screen and smart functionality in one slim package.

For your money, you’ll get a quiet sonic brush with 32 possible brushing settings. If that seems a bit daunting, an in-app quiz will help you to choose the right settings for you, depending on whether you’re a coffee or wine drinker, smoker or wear braces.

Its battery life will last for over a month and when it’s time to charge, it fast charges via wireless USB in just 3.5 hours.

It also has a full colour screen on its handle, with a brushing countdown timer and brushing feedback delivered both via the screen and the app. 

We didn’t find the app feedback to be as reliable or accurate as Oral-B iO models, but we thought it was a pretty good add-on feature for this price point.

However, there’s no pressure sensor, which is the only reservation we have in recommending it.

The Ordo Sonic+ is good value, although replacement brush heads can be expensive. However, if you get the subscription service, it may be worth it to get a delivery of toothpaste, floss, interdental brushes and mouthwash.

It brushes well and has a brilliantly designed head that gives great coverage. And you can choose from four brushing modes. Battery life is good as well, with comfortably over the promised three weeks if you brush twice a day for two minutes.

However, there’s no pressure sensor and no battery warning light, which are features we missed while using it.