Sonicare vs Oral-B: Which Makes the Better Electric Toothbrush?

The comparison chart above allows you to see the key differences between each model at a glance. But, we have learnt that most people would rather save a bit of money, than have lots of features they may not use, making the Smart 1500 a perfect fit. You can also get a double pack from LookFantastic for £210 (RRP £450) at time of writing.

Some brushes have extra features, and I tested all of these to gauge their effectiveness and usability. I looked for timers that made it effortless to keep brushing for the dentist-recommended two minutes each time. I looked out for alerts, including automatic shutoff and whether the brush nudged me to change quadrants. For pressure sensors, which alert you if you’re brushing too hard, I noted how effective alerts were and whether they were distinct from the timers.

The app tracks things like which areas you’re missing and how long you’re spending on each section of your mouth. Each quadrant lights up white when it’s clean, light blue when you need to spend a little more time there, and dark blue when there’s still more brushing work to be done. Though connecting to the Oral-B app didn’t offer a whole lot of insights beyond the timer, battery life indicator, and brushing coverage, the reward medals for a job well done add a little fun to your everyday chore.

Hopefully, this gives you a good overview of where various brushes fit in in terms of price and features, but if not please leave a comment or question. Below, is a list of models we have compared to one another, plus some that we have compared to their Sonicare equivalents. It does too benefit from a lithium battery meaning it offers oral b genius toothbrush around 2 weeks of use on a full charge. Despite the name, this brush does not have any ‘smart’ (Bluetooth) features and does not connect to your smartphone. Being the flagship toothbrush from Philips means it also has a premium price tag. Cleaning modes generally don’t matter, according to experts we spoke to and research we’ve seen.

This double pack includes two of Oral-B’s Genius 9900 brushes, one in rose gold and one in black. This model has six brushing modes, a gum pressure sensor, and up to two weeks’ battery life. It has five different cleaning modes, and a two-minute timer with vibrations every 30 seconds so you can move the brush to a different area of your mouth. It’s bundled with plenty of replacement heads and a USB connector, so you can charge it via a plug with a suitable USB slot, a power bank, or directly via a USB port on your computer, for example. The iO9 actually made its debut in 2020 and is one of the most advanced electric toothbrushes around.

If you want a high-tech brush with more options for customized brushing, the Oral-B iO Series 7G Electric Toothbrush is the best smart electric toothbrush I tested. (For more on these brushes, read my Oral-B Pro 1000 Rechargeable Electric Toothbrush Review and Oral-B iO Series 7G Review). Dr. Sheri Doniger, an Illinois-based dentist, recommends the Philips’ Sonicare DiamondClean Electric Toothbrush, which pairs with a companion app.

We included electric toothbrushes recommended by dentists and Select staffers. To help you brush for the full two minutes that dentists recommend, Genius toothbrushes also come with a built-in timer. This feature sends a short but obvious vibration into the brush every 30 seconds to tell the user that it’s time to switch quadrants.

In the case of a toothbrush, this might mean it becomes less powerful or doesn’t hold a charge for as many days. For this guide, we focused on electric toothbrushes with rechargeable batteries. Those with replaceable batteries tend to have less-powerful motors and produce more battery waste over their usable lives. Like its predecessor, there are multiple brushing modes to choose from, including whitening, intense and tongue clean. It uses granular mapping that’s been upgraded since the Genius X, so you can pinpoint specific areas of your mouth more accurately and follow progress live via the app. Progress is tracked using sensors in the brush that have been trained via an algorithm and, when used in tandem with the app, can highlight areas for improvement over time.

You can change settings as you brush, though we found it easier to take the toothbrush out, switch settings, and then resume brushing. The dark purple handle of our test model also showed toothbrush stains easily, but was no problem to clean. The pressure sensor will light up red if you go too hard or green when your pressure level is just right, and it’s easy to see your battery life and which mode you’re in via color-coded light on the handle display. The app itself is also packed with features, using AI to show you where you’re brushing in real time and when you’ve fully covered that area, then providing a score at the end of your brushing session.