The Best Electric Toothbrush (UK, 2026)

The Sonicare 4300 is the electric toothbrush most people should buy because it has the two things that actually matter and skips the things that do not. The pressure sensor warns you when you brush too hard, which protects your gums from recession and your enamel from wear, the built-in timer keeps you brushing the dentist-recommended two minutes, and the sonic action cleans excellently. It does all of this for well under half the price of the flagships.

It keeps it simple, so there is no colour display, app or long list of modes, and that is the point: those extras add cost, not clean. The cleaning benefit of an electric brush plateaus quickly, and this is comfortably past that plateau. If you specifically prefer Oral-B's round oscillating head, the Smart 6 is the equivalent; if you want a gentler modern feel, the iO range steps up. But for the best balance of real cleaning, the features that protect your teeth and a sensible price, this is the pick.

If you prefer Oral-B's approach, the round, oscillating-rotating head that many people are used to from the dentist's chair, the Smart 6 is the one to buy. It has the same essentials as our top pick, a pressure sensor that warns against brushing too hard and a two-minute timer, with Oral-B's small round head that surrounds each tooth and the pulsing-rotating action that some people feel cleans more thoroughly around the gumline. It is the Oral-B equivalent of our Sonicare pick.

It is app-connected, which is a nice-to-have rather than a need, the real work is done by the pressure sensor and timer. Whether you prefer this or the Sonicare largely comes down to feel: oscillating round head versus sonic vibration, both clean excellently and the research does not crown a clear winner. If you like the familiar Oral-B round-head feel, buy this; if you prefer sonic or want to spend a little less, the Sonicare 4300 is our overall pick.

The Oral-B iO5 brings the brand's newer iO technology, a quieter, smoother, gentler brushing feel with a magnetic drive, to the more sensible end of the iO price range. It adds a Smart Pressure light that glows green when you are brushing with the right pressure and red when too hard, which is a clearer, more intuitive version of the pressure sensor, plus the two-minute timer. For people who find older electric brushes buzzy and harsh, the iO feel is a genuine, noticeable upgrade.

It costs more than the Sonicare 4300 and Smart 6 for broadly the same core cleaning, so you are paying for the nicer feel and the clearer pressure light rather than dramatically cleaner teeth. But if a gentler, quieter, more refined brushing experience appeals, and it does to a lot of people, the iO5 delivers it without stepping up to the flagship's price. If you just want effective cleaning cheaply, the 4300 is enough; for the modern iO feel at a fair price, this is the pick. (Stock can be limited.)

The Oral-B iO8 is the flagship: the smoothest, quietest iO brushing feel, a colour display, a precise pressure sensor, multiple cleaning modes and app connectivity, here as a two-handle pack. If you want the best-feeling electric toothbrush and the full set of features, or you are kitting out two people, it is a genuinely lovely thing to use and wants for nothing. It is the top of the range for a reason.

But be honest with yourself about value: the actual cleaning is not dramatically better than the mid-range brushes, because the benefit of an electric toothbrush plateaus well below this price. The display, extra modes and app are nice but do not clean your teeth any better than a pressure sensor and a timer. Buy it if you want the premium feel and features and the two-pack suits you; if you just want excellent, protected cleaning, the Sonicare 4300 does that for a fraction of the cost.