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Best electric shavers for men: top razors for a close and comfortable shave
Sam – an ex-science teacher – uses his physics degree and four years of experience at Which? to test everything from electric bikes to beard trimmers and trampolines.
The best electric shavers leave our testers rubbing their chins in amazement at the smoothness of the result.
We tested more than 30 of the most popular foil and rotary electric shavers from Manscaped, Braun, Panasonic, Philips, Remington and more.
We put them through their paces, enlisting a diverse panel of volunteers to rate each model on everything from manoeuvrability to ease of use, so we can find the best electric shaver for a close and smooth shave.
As well as eight Best Buys, we also found five fantastic Great Value electric shavers for men, so you don't need to spend a fortune.
How we test to find you the best
We've tested over 30 electric shavers
We assess products from the big brands and at different price points to ensure you get the best value and performance.
Quality of trim
One person's view just doesn't cut it. We use a panel of volunteers with varying hair types and stubble lengths to try every single shaver.
Maneuverability
Fed up of stray hairs? We assess how well each shaver performs close to sideburns, on the top lip, and around and underneath the chin.
We also test...
Ease of use, skin irritation, noise, ease of cleaning and durability, so you know which ones are brilliant both during and after shaving.
The electric shavers we tested
The biggest brands and the most popular 16 electric shavers are listed below.
Only logged-in Which? members can view the electric shaver test results below.
Join Which? to get instant access to our test results and Best Buy recommendations below.
| Electric shaver | Price | Score | One-day stubble close shave | Three-day stubble close shave | Type | Precision trimmer included? |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Sign up to reveal Get instant access to this and all our scores and recommendations Unlock tableDigital Access for £8.99 a month, cancel at any time. Already a member? Log in | 96% | |||||
| 96% | ||||||
| 95% | ||||||
| 94% | ||||||
| 90% | ||||||
| 89% | ||||||
| 88% | ||||||
| 87% | ||||||
| 84% | ||||||
| 84% | ||||||
| 83% | ||||||
| 82% | ||||||
| 79% | ||||||
| 78% | ||||||
| 75% |
Sign up to reveal
Get instant access to this and all our scores and recommendations
Unlock tableDigital Access for £8.99 a month, cancel at any time.
Already a member? Log in
Date tested: June 2025, September 2023, August 2022. Page last checked: June 2025. We are not able to show every retailer and cheaper prices may be available. Great Value based on RRP of electric shavers sold on their own, or with the fewest additional accessories.
Some of the electric shavers we tested are listed in alphabetical order below.
Only logged-in Which? members can view the best electric shavers from our tests.
Join Which? to get instant access to our test results and Best Buy recommendations below.
Braun Series 9 Pro+ (96 generation)
Most recently tested June 2025
Type Foil
Accessories Pop-up precision trimmer, travel case, cleaning brush, charging stand
Cost to replace shaver head £57.99 at Braun
Braun Series 9 Pro+ (94 generation)
Most recently tested September 2023
Type Foil
Accessories Charging cable, charging stand, charging case, cleaning brush, pop-up trimmer
Cost to replace shaver head £42.99 at Braun
Carmen Titan 3-in-1 (C81085ORG)
Most recently tested September 2023
Type Rotary
Accessories Charging cable, charging stand, precision trimmer, nasal trimmer
Cost to replace shaver head Not easily available
Manscaped The Chairman Plus
Most recently tested June 2025
Type Foil
Accessories Charging cable (usb type-c), precision trimmer
Cost to replace shaver head £30 at Manscaped
Panasonic 5 Blade (ES-LV97)
Most recently tested September 2022
Type Foil
Accessories Charging cable, charging station, pop-up trimmer, carry case, cleaning brush
Cost to replace shaver head £51.39 at Amazon
See our pick of the best beard trimmers, best epilators and best nose hair trimmers
Panasonic series 900s (ES-PV3B)
Most recently tested June 2025
Type Foil
Accessories Charging cable, carry case, plastic guard to cover blades
Cheapest cost to replace shaver head £52.99 at Amazon
Philips i9000 Prestige Ultra (XP9405)
Most recently tested June 2025
Type Rotary
Accessories Charging cable (usb type-A), carry case, cleaning brush, charging stand, precision trimmer, can connect to the GroomTribe Styling and Shaving app
Cost to replace shaver head £49.99 at Philips
Philips OneBlade Pro 360 (QP6552)
Most recently tested June 2025
Type Rotary
Accessories Charging cable (USB type-A), travel pouch, two blades, two body combs and two skin guards, one adjustable comb (0.4 to 10mm)
Cost to replace shaver head £13.49 at Philips
Remington F9 Ultimate Series (XF9000)
Most recently tested September 2022
Type Foil
Accessories Precision trimmer, charging cable, wireless charging base, soft brush
Cheapest cost to replace shaver head £22.67 at Amazon (Out of stock)
Wahl Clean & Close Plus, Wet & Dry (7064-017)
Most recently tested September 2023
Type Foil
Accessories Charging cable, cleaning brush, carry case
Cheapest cost to replace shaver head £22.67 at Amazon (Out of stock)
More electric shavers from our tests
Here’s how the rest of the electric shavers from our test measured up, listed in alphabetical order.
| Electric shaver | Price | Score | One-day stubble close shave | Three-day stubble close shave | Type | Precision trimmer included? |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Carmen Titan 3-in-1 (C81085ORG) | SQUIRREL_TEXT_50001549 | Rotary | Yes | |||
| Panasonic 4-Blade (ES-RF31) | SQUIRREL_TEXT_50001547 | Foil | Yes | |||
| Panasonic (ES-RT37) | SQUIRREL_TEXT_50001552 | Foil | Yes | |||
| Panasonic Series 900s (ES-PV3B) | SQUIRREL_TEXT_50021140 | Foil | No | |||
| Philips i9000 Prestige Ultra (XP9405) | SQUIRREL_TEXT_50021142 | Rotary | Yes | |||
| Philips OneBlade 360 (QP2834) | SQUIRREL_TEXT_50021143 | Foil | No | |||
| Philips Series 3000 (S3145) | SQUIRREL_TEXT_50017102 | Rotary | Yes |
Date tested: June 2025, September 2023, August 2022. Page last checked: June 2025. We are not able to show every retailer, and cheaper prices may be available.Great Value based on the RRP of electric shavers sold on their own, or with the fewest additional accessories.
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Which? Don't Buy electric shavers
Our tests uncover the best and the worst. If a product performs so poorly that we think you should avoid it, we call it a Don't Buy.
We've tested one electric shaver that we've named a Don't Buy. It did a poor job of shaving, leaving our testers with streaky patches all over the face, plus it broke in our durability test.
To find out which they are and which electric shavers earned our Best Buy and Great Value recommendations, log in or join Which?.
How we test electric shavers
Which? is a not for profit organisation and has been testing products and calling out rogue businesses for almost 70 years.
Brands can't buy their way onto our testing or influence what we write. We buy every product we test, and we'll tell you the worst as well as the best electric shavers.
We also regularly revisit the electric shavers on sale to see if there are any more popular models that need testing, and when we find them, we do so.
Quality of trim
- We don't just get one person's view. To get a true and fair comparison of all shavers, three testers spend six weeks comparatively testing them all at home.
- We also recruit a panel of volunteers from a mix of ethnic backgrounds to try out three to four shavers each. That's so that each shaver gets fully tested on a variety of different hair types, and the best electric shavers are rated by many people.
- Each shaver is tested for how close the shave is, manoeuvrability and skin irritation. This is done on one day of stubble and three days of stubble.
- Best Buy shavers will leave you smooth all over your face. In contrast, the worst shavers will leave you with scratchy patches for the rest of the day.
- Our tests found that rotary shavers were favoured with stubble growth of a week or longer. They were better at catching the long hairs, and testers found them more comfortable. You'll have to read our reviews to see the best type for one to three-day stubble growth.
Ease of use
- We use a Cambridge Simulation glove, which allows the wearer to empathise with those who have hand mobility issues, to assess each shaver for how easy it is to use.
- All our Best Buys are easy to use, even if you have limited hand movement. However, the worst we tested are really tricky to get to grips with and control if you have a condition such as arthritis.
We also test
- Noise. Some shavers make a low, powerful buzz; others make an irritating whine that will wake the house. We assess each shaver for how loud and irritating a noise it makes.
- Ease of cleaning After use, we painstakingly clean each shaver and rate it for how easy this is to do.
- Durability Each shaver is dropped five times from head height to see how robust it is.
Why you can trust us: at Which? we're free from manufacturer and retailer influence. Find out more about our impartiality and how your support helps us to stay editorially independent
Foil vs rotary shavers
The biggest question you'll face when buying a new electric shaver is whether to opt for a foil or rotary model.
Foil shavers
- Foil shavers have straight heads that use blades beneath a fine perforated foil to cut hair.
- According to our testing, three quarters of people either shave every day or every one to three days. If you're one of them, you're likely to get on better with a foil shaver (survey of Which? members, May 2022).
Rotary shavers
- Rotary shavers usually have three circular heads that rotate to lift and then cut stubble captured by the outer, stationary guard.
- According to our testing, those who leave their stubble to grow for a week or more (22%, according to our survey) are more likely to prefer a rotary shaver.
Join Which? for more of our foil vs rotary testing insights
How often you need to replace shaver heads
Most manufacturers recommend that you change the shaving head every 18 months.
Remember to consider the cost of the replacements when buying your electric shaver.
One benefit of a rotary shaver over a foil model is that it's possible to sharpen the blades yourself, if you own a whetstone.
If your rotary shaver allows it, you can remove the three circular blades from the shaving head, swirl each blade face down and with light pressure on a whetstone for five seconds each, to make it almost as good as new.
We've tried this out with an old rotary shaver and it works a treat.
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How to buy the best-value electric shaver
It pays to shop around. You can nearly always find a good deal on our Best Buys somewhere.
If you're looking for a good deal, beware of being influenced by extra features and attachments, such as self-cleaning charging bases, travel cases and even wireless charging bases.
These can make comparing prices difficult, and often add hundreds of pounds to the shaver's cost.
Our testers weren't that impressed with many of these types of extras, as they take up quite a lot of space in the bathroom and weren't considered to enhance the shaving experience very much.
We've found five electric shavers in our tests that offer brilliant bang for your buck and get our Great Value recommendation.
Join Which? to get instant access
How to clean an electric shaver
The vast majority of electric shavers are really easy to clean. You can do this by running the head under the tap and removing the foil protection to expose the blades, which can then be cleaned with the small brush provided.
Some expensive shavers come with their own cleaning stations. However, the majority of our panel found that these were a bit excessive, considering that cleaning a shaver is very easy in the first place.
You can save quite a lot of money, if you want to, by opting for a shaver package that doesn't have extras, such as a self-cleaning station.
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Can you take an electric shaver on a plane?
Yes, as stated on the UK government website you can take an electric shaver in hand luggage and hold luggage.
Non-UK airports may have different restrictions on hand luggage, so if in doubt, check with your airline before travelling.
Can you use shaving cream with an electric shaver?
Yes, you can use shaving cream or gel with electric shavers.
You don't need to use it, though, as most electric shavers are designed for dry shaving, but if you have sensitive skin or coarser hair, it may help make your shave more comfortable.
We recommend you only use a thin layer, thinner than you would use for a manual razor, to avoid the cream clogging up the shaver. You can always rinse the shaver head if it gets a bit too creamy.