The best electric shavers (2024)

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Following the discovery of fire, it soon became necessary to remove our erroneous body hair, as we no longer required it to stay warm. Whether it’s beards, legs, genitals, heads, arms, that little bit in-between eyebrows, or armpits, we shave it all.

Some people shave their beards into creative masterpieces, while some ensure nary a hair shall grace their legs. And as with the advancement of time and technology, we can do it all with electric shavers.

Sure, the standard straight razor still has its place, and many of us prefer it over electric. But electric razors are quick and convenient, less messy, and built to last.

Some claim to provide a razor-close shave, while others work in the shower. Regardless of specific features, all of them will remove hair from your body, which is the end goal after all.

So, the best electric shavers are the ones that satisfy your hairless needs while remaining functional and effective.

Find the best electric shaver for you

Choosing the best electric shaver often comes down to cost and features, such as waterproofing. However, some shavers are intended for other areas besides the face, so that’s a consideration as well.

Do you need one mostly for your legs or private areas? Then, an intimate shaver is probably best. Do you need a workhorse for daily shaves? Then, a more powerful razor is probably better.

Or do you just need one for travel? Then, go with a portable electric razor. Regardless, the best electric shaver is the one that fits within your budget and keeps you smooth and clean.

Philips Norelco Shaver 9800 (Best Overall)

So the Philips Norelco Shaver 9800 has some sort of AI built-in, but really, it’s a smart hair sensor that reads hair density and auto-adapts as you shave. That’s not exactly AI, but it’s marketing, so it checks out.

What this razor does have is self-sharpening blades that make 150,000 cutting actions per minute. So you spend less time shaving and more time not shaving.

The shaver is also capable of wet shaves, but it doesn’t really have much of a shower grip, just rubber on the sides. Ok, that’s technically a grip, but the entire front is smooth metal, so it could fall out of your hands.

Regardless, you really can’t go wrong with the Philips Norelco Shaver 9800, a long-time brand-building reliable razor.

Philips Norelco Shaver 3900 (Best Value)

The Philips Norelco Shaver 3900 is a bit better of a wet-use razor than the 9800 because it has a rubber grip under the blades. Aside from that, it’s a bit cheaper and lacks the smart razor functionality.

But if you don’t need all that fancy AI stuff, then it certainly covers the basics. The pivoting head has 27 self-sharpening blades that give you the closest shave possible.

A strange downside of these razors is the battery. While an hour’s battery life on a single charge is great, if it dies mid-shave, you have to wait for the battery to charge a bit.

It won’t work while charging. Most things work while charging. Get with it, Philips Norelco.

Anyway, the Philips Norelco Shaver 3900 is a solid value buy for an electric shaver due to its good battery life and traditional shaving function.

Wahl Waterproof Rechargeable Electric Shaver (Best Budget)

If you’ve ever had your head shaved in a barbershop, it was likely a trimmer like the Wahl Waterproof Rechargeable Electric Shaver.

This is a much more utilitarian shaver at a totally budget price. But it does what it’s supposed to do for the most part, as we do get what we pay for. As far as close and sharp shaves, reviews are mixed. But nothing beats a straight razor anyway.

For the price, you get a 90-minute battery charge for the flexible foil cutters and pivoting head. The non-slip grip is fairly competent, and it has a travel lock so it doesn’t start up while in your luggage. That’s always awkward.

And it’s fairly ergonomic, which makes sense because Wahl is a barbershop brand. The Wahl Waterproof Rechargeable Electric Shaver might be a budget buy, but it’ll last you a while and do the job.

Braun Series 9 PRO+ (Best Splurge)

With the Braun Series 9 PRO+, cleaning can be a bit of a chore, which is a negative and a positive. Mostly a positive because cleaning these things can often be a pain in the butt.

However, the 6-in-1 SmartCare center hygienically cleans, protects the blade, optimizes performance, dries, and charges. All at the same time.

This is a durable cordless shaver built with German ingenuity and titanium coating. It’s 100% waterproof and has about a 60-minute runtime on a single charge.

The shaving head isn’t a slouch either, offering comfort as it lifts and releases hair from under the skin. The Braun Series 9 PRO+ is a quality shaver that routinely receives glowing reviews and praise from the newly hairless.

Gillette Venus Intimate (Best for Bikini Bits)

The Gillette Venus Intimate is designed specifically for your bits and nibbles. It’s not that strong, and it only uses a single AA battery.

But if you’ve ever put an electric anything near your genitals, you don’t want something strong anyway. Things can get hurt. This gentle shaver even handles thick hair and is easy to clean.

It’s also waterproof, but you’d think that with a waterproof electric razor being held precariously between your legs in the shower, it’d have a better grip.

Instead, it’s smooth and plastic, so it can get a bit awkward. Are rubber grips that much of a design problem they don’t exist on a razor like this?

Regardless, the Gillette Venus Intimate is one of the best, kindest razors for your trots, rocks, and lady lawns.

Panasonic Close Curves (Best For Legs)

If you really want a smooth shave with the Panasonic Close Curves, then you’ll have to take your time. And it’s better to moisturize first, hold skin taut, and be patient.

Or go fast, and it’ll still shave fairly close. It’s kind of a contradiction, but certainly avoids irritation caused by straight blades. And it comes with a travel pouch and cap.

As for the waterproof aspect, once again, it suffers from not enough rubber gripping on the sides. It’s like these engineers rarely hold smooth things in the shower.

If you’ve got a good grip and can reach all the skin that composes your legs, then it shouldn’t be too much of an issue. But the Panasonic Close Curves is a smooth, compact electric shaver perfectly suited for below-the-waist areas.

MANSCAPED Lawn Mower 5.0 (Best for Balls)

The MANSCAPED Lawn Mower 5.0 is clearly marketed toward those with meaty clackers, but let’s be honest, it’s an electric shaver.

And it’s not too shabby a shaver with its dual-head trimmer and foil blades. Plus, it has a nice LED light to show what you are doing down under. The 700mAh Li-ion battery holds a charge for about 60 minutes, and it charges via USB-C.

The dual-head system includes a SkinSafe trimmer blade to start, then you swap it with the SkinSafe foil blade for finish. But the downside to this is it’s not a perfect system, and a footnote says it doesn’t guarantee cut protection.

Flappy sack skin is tough to shave, and you’ll want to keep this razor clean a lot. But the MANSCAPED Lawn Mower 5.0 is at least built for the job.

Norelco Travel Shaver (Best for Travel)

The Norelco Travel Shaver fits in your pocket, but you probably don’t want to keep it there. Rather, keep it in your suitcase because this is one of those shavers you see dudes using in the middle of the airport, their tiny hairs flying everywhere.

The self-sharpening blades last about two years, and the batteries last about 60 minutes.

This is a true on-the-go razor for shaving while stuck in traffic, in the bathroom at work, or, yeah, in the airport. It doesn’t have a shut-off switch for travel, but you can just remove a battery, and that’ll do it.

The Norelco Travel Shaver is the ultimate travel shaver.

Panasonic ARC5 Electric Razor (Best for Speed)

The Panasonic ARC5 Electric Razor is a lightweight but very powerful electric razor. The boss linear motor delivers 14,000 cuts per minute (that’s 70,000 crosscutting actions per minute), and as the battery dies, the power doesn’t.

The active shave sensor technology detects differences in your beard density and adjusts the power flow to compensate. All that power is channeled into five ultra-sharp precision-honed Nanotech blades and ultra-thin Arc Foil.

This is basically the Corvette of modern electric shavers. All power and speed are not really intended for stop-and-go traffic in the city.

So you better have some hair ready to shave when you bust out the Panasonic ARC5 Electric Razor.

BaBylissPRO METALFX (Best for Bling)

The BaBylissPRO METALFX isn’t that much of a practical shaver, as it’s not waterproof and doesn’t give the best shave when compared to competitors. However, it comes in gold, rose gold, and silver. So it’s all about the bling.

This is the electric razor you buy when you need to keep something in the glove compartment of your Lambo next to your gold-plated .45.

It’s the closest thing you’ll get to a bedazzled electric razor. Why you’d want something like that is a mystery, but at least the BaBylissPRO METALFX is the closest thing to shaving with actual gold.

How to pick the best electric shaver

Even if you prefer a manual shave, you can appreciate that sometimes there isn’t enough time, and that’s when electric shavers come into their own.

The thing is, while battery life and safety have improved over the years, the basic design is still the same. You can get a great shave from a more affordable shaver or bump up the budget to get more bells and whistles.

The only thing is, if you want to shave your more delicate areas, it’s worth investing in an electric shaver that was designed with that in mind.

The industry has been dominated by the big names for decades, so you can’t really go wrong with anything from Philips, Wahl, Braun, or Gillette. They will all cut your facial hair with the minimum level of fuss.

Use an electric shaver we missed? Prefer the minor danger of a manual razor? Drop us a line in the comments below, or carry the discussion to our Twitter or Facebook.

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Just a heads up, if you buy something through our links, we may get a small share of the sale. It’s one of the ways we keep the lights on here. Click here for more.