Best Electric Toothbrush for 2021 & What to Look out for on Black Friday
If you have been brushing manually for years and fancy upgrading to an electric toothbrush, you may be surprised just how techy and expensive these things get.
Is a toothbrush worth £500? Is it better than a £25 option? I will let you decide.
Electric Toothbrush RRP Scam
If it wasn’t immediately obvious, the RRP listed for electric toothbrushes is a massive marketing con. I don’t know why they bother to do it because the initial prices are so high I can’t understand why anyone would take them seriously.
Examples include the Oral-B iO9, which was launched in late 2020 with an RRP of £499. Half a grand for a toothbrush. You could buy a OnePlus Nord 2 and still have £100 left over to spend on a decent toothbrush.
However, by Christmas, it was already available at Boots for £250. Looking on Amazon, the product page has only been live for around 90 days, and it was in fact sold for £499 for a whole month before it dropped down to £249.99
Philips Sonicare 9900 surprisingly hasn’t done this. It launched at £299 and still sells for £299, perhaps they realised that claiming an RRP of £600 was a bit ridiculous. However, the older DiamondClean 9000 launched at £340 and quickly dropped down to £170.
Black Friday 2021
I am writing this post because Black Friday is a month away, and if you want a toothbrush, it is a good time to buy. Writing this now allows me to highlight the current price, so it is hard to be misled when the discounts arrive. I suspect the discounts won’t be quite as impressive as the brands make out (thanks to that RRP).
Philips Sonicare DiamondClean 9000
- C3 Premium Plaque Control brush head uses a cluster of dense, stiff bristles at its center to whiten and polish your teeth; it helps remove up to 10x more plaque¹ and up to 100% more stains²
- Gentle yet effective clean with up to 62,000 bristle movements per minute; Sonicare Fluid Action supports the bristles to clean by driving fluid deep between teeth and along the gumline
- This electric toothbrush for adults has a light ring at its base that gently lets you know if you're overdoing the pressure; simply ease off when it lights up to help your gums stay protected
- Enhance your oral care routine with 12 brushing settings; select from 4 modes − Clean, White+, Gum Health, and Deep Clean+ − and adjust to one of three intensity levels for a personalised clean
- Achieve your oral health care goals with the Sonicare toothbrush and app: the two pair seamlessly to deliver guided brushing, tips and tricks, and content personalised to you
Approximately £130-170 (currently £170, £130 low in September 2021)
I refuse to recommend the flagship toothbrushes from the two biggest brands, I have no doubt that they are amazing, but you can pick up the older models for over £100 less.
The Philips Sonicare DiamondClean 9000 is well-reviewed on Amazon and claims to offer whiter teeth in as little as one day, and you have four cleaning modes with clean, white+, gum health, deep clean+. It comes with a handy USB powered charging case, and it has Bluetooth with a companion app that will track your brushing progress. The more expensive 9900 model claims to have AI-powered SenseIQ, which senses pressure, motion, coverage, duration and frequency up to 100 times per second.
Currently, you can get a two-pack on this toothbrush for just £199.99
Battery life is 2 weeks
Oral B iO8
- REVOLUTIONARY TECHNOLOGY: Experience Oral-B's clean with innovative magnetic iO technology of the Oral B iO toothbrush, offering a professional clean feeling and gentle brushing experience
- DISTINCT ROUND BRUSH HEAD: The Oral-B electric toothbrush combines the distinct round brush head from Oral-B with gentle micro-vibrations for a fresh, clean mouthfeel and healthier gums in one week
- INTERACTIVE COLOUR DISPLAY: The electric toothbrush Oral B features an interactive colour display that signals vital information, including brushing modes and head replacement reminder, and greets you as you power up
- ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE: The Oral B iO8 toothbrush's artificial intelligence recognizes your brushing style and guides you to cover all your teeth, so no spot is missed
- ENHANCED SMART PRESSURE SENSOR: The Oral-B electric toothbrush has an enhanced smart pressure sensor that signals red, white or green to alert you whether you're brushing too hard, too softly or with just the right amount of pressure
Approximately £160-£250 (was £159.99 between 4-18th of October)
Currently, the price has been jacked up to £450, I would expect this is them gearing up for the big Black Friday discount. However, this older flagship toothbrush typically switches between £160 and £250. So I’d expect Black Friday to be at or just below the £160 price point.
There is not a great deal of difference between the iO9 to justify the cost. You have 3D Clean Track, 1 extra cleaning mode, and tongue cleaning.
The Oral B iO8 also has more favourable reviews on Amazon than its upgraded model
Both the Oral B iO8 and iO9 have a two-week battery life.
Oral-B Genius 9000 or twin pack Genius 9900
- Proffesional clean and healthier gums with the position detection
- Round head removes up to 100 % more plaque along the gum line for cleaner teeth and healthier gums
- Comes with a premium charging travel case that can be used to charge your brush while traveling
- 100% brushing coverage so you never miss a spot
- Battery powered
Approximately £100-135
Pricing is all over the place for this one, and it looks like the best thing to do is go for the twin pack, assuming you have two people wanting an electric toothbrush.
You can typically pick up the two-pack Genius 9900 for around £150. £75 each seems reasonable.
There is no artificial intelligence to help guide you on how to brush your teeth, I don’t know how you will cope without it. It does have Bluetooth connectivity for app pairing and 6 cleaning modes.
Again, two weeks battery life.
Philips Sonicare ProtectiveClean Model 4300
- Removes up to 7x more plaque than a manual toothbrush
- Pressure sensor alerts you when are brushing too hard
- Travel case enables you to take your Sonicare wherever you go
- Smart brush head replacement reminder alerts you when to replace your brush head for effective cleaning, every time
- 2 weeks battery life limiting the need for frequent charging
Approximately £50-70
There is no app, AI, or other fancy features. It also only has one cleaning mode. Shocking. It is, however, affordable and well-reviewed, and it does have two intensities for brushing.
As for the battery, you guessed it, two weeks.
Oral-B Pro 650 CrossAction Electric Toothbrush
- Dentist-inspired round brush head cups and surrounds each tooth
- Removes up to 100% more plaque than a regular manual toothbrush with Oscillating, Rotating, and Pulsating technology
- Time coaching with an in-handle timer helps you brush for a dentist-recommended 2 minutes
- Rechargeable electric toothbrush with 1 mode: Daily Clean
- 30 day risk free trial: if you're not 100% satisfied, receive a full refund, details on pack
Approximately £15-35
The price of this has increased recently, possibly lining it up for a discount on Black Friday. It regularly sells for £25, so about as basic as you get. It is, however, extremely well-reviewed on Amazon.
The worst thing about this is the 7-day battery.
Oclean Flow Sonic Electric Toothbrush
- SONIC TECHNOLOGY – Clean at sonic speed. Three times faster than using a manual toothbrush. 38,000 strokes per minute. Friendly to sensitive gums & teeth.
- EASY TO USE – 5 Brushing modes (Morning, Night, Standard, Whitening, Gentle) Personal brushing routine.
- BATTERY LIFE – Lasts up to 25 plus weeks between charges. Benefits the planet. Charge less for longer. Limits need for frequent charging.
- PRACTICABLE – DuPont bristles. Indicator for customised speeds. Maglev brushless motor. USB type C connector.
- SMART TIMER - 2 minute smart time & 30 second reminder. Improves oral care. Carefree user experience
Approximately £25-35
In recent years, numerous Chinese brands have entered the market, offering affordable electric toothbrushes. One such brand was Fairywill which was one of the most popular brands on Amazon for a while. Recently they have kicked off the site for manipulating reviews.
This has therefore opened up the market for some other brand names to succeed. The Oclean Flow Sonic Electric Toothbrush is one such option and what I have been personally using for the past few weeks.
Similar to Fairywill, this is incredibly affordable, being just £25, currently, and it has a 180-day battery life. Not sure how these brands get 6-months battery when the big brands can only do a couple of weeks.
Apart from the excellent cleaning performance, the stand out feature for me is the USB-C charging. I never have to worry about where the charger is, and I will always have a charger with me even if I am travelling.
Mitimi Electric Toothbrush
- 40,000 VPM Sonic Toothbrush: Power toothbrush equipped with industry-leading maglev motor vibrates 40,000 times per minute. Efficiently remove up to 300% more stains and plaque, with its cleaning ability 10 times that of most ordinary toothbrushes. Get a thorough cleaning with reduced noise and less vibration in your hand during use.
- 5 Brushing Modes: high-performance brushing modes with different indicator lights (whitening, cleaning, sensitive, polish, massage) to meet different demands and improve your dental condition in all aspects. Thanks to a memory function, the toothbrush can automatically switch to the last mode used when turned on.
- Smart Timer And IPX7 Waterproof: 2 minutes smart timer with interval pausing every 30 seconds for each quadrant of the teeth, cultivating scientific recommendations brushing habits. With the sonic toothbrush being IPX7 waterproof, you can even brush your teeth when taking a shower.
- Easy To Charge: 4 hours to be fully recharged the battery supports 21 days of normal usage. The electric toothbrush charging port has a unique cover to protect the charging head from the water and makes the electric toothbrush‘s life longer. It uses a standard USB-to-micro-USB charging cable.
- 5 Brush Head: The long, fine and intensive bristles are made with dupont nylon, to suit thorough cleaning of crevice between teeth and other hard-reaching areas for other toothbrushes. Blue indicator bristles fade to remind toothbrush head replacement, usually every 3 months with normal usage.
Approximately £20-25
This has more reviews on Amazon than the Oclean, it is cheaper, and you get 5-replacement heads.
However, it uses microUSB to charge, which is much less convenient for me and it only lasts 30 days. While the price is good, I think I’d sooner spend a touch more on the Oclean
I am James, a UK-based tech enthusiast and the Editor and Owner of Mighty Gadget, which I’ve proudly run since 2007. Passionate about all things technology, my expertise spans from computers and networking to mobile, wearables, and smart home devices.
As a fitness fanatic who loves running and cycling, I also have a keen interest in fitness-related technology, and I take every opportunity to cover this niche on my blog. My diverse interests allow me to bring a unique perspective to tech blogging, merging lifestyle, fitness, and the latest tech trends.
In my academic pursuits, I earned a BSc in Information Systems Design from UCLAN, before advancing my learning with a Master’s Degree in Computing.
I’m proud to share that Vuelio has consistently ranked Mighty Gadget as one of the top technology blogs in the UK. With my dedication to technology and drive to share my insights, I aim to continue providing my readers with engaging and informative content.
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