The Best Electric Shavers for Men

This is the shaver that most reliably lands at the top of published foil-shaver comparisons. Tom's Guide's lab work ranked the Series 9 Pro+ first for closeness among the foil shavers it evaluated, and — the part that matters more — it also scored among the lowest for post-shave irritation. Closeness and comfort usually trade off against each other. Getting both in one head is the reason this sits at the top of our list.

The head does a lot of work. You get two gliding foil blades, a SkinGuard element, plus separate Direct&Cut and Lift&Cut blades for hairs lying flat and hairs growing sideways. Braun says the extra element on the Pro+ captures up to 40% more hair per stroke than the standard Series 9. In practice that means fewer passes over the same patch of neck, which is where most irritation comes from anyway.

Pro SensoAdapt reads beard density 300 times per second and adjusts power on the fly. That sounds like marketing, and partly it is. But it's the reason this thing doesn't bog down when you move from your cheek to the dense growth under your jaw, and why owners who skip a couple of days don't come back complaining that it stalled out. Braun rates it for a 7-day beard, and owner feedback broadly backs that up.

The 6-in-1 SmartCare center is the feature we'd miss most. It cleans with an alcohol solution, dries the head, and charges the shaver, all while it sits on your counter. Blades stay sharp longer when they're not caked with skin oil and stubble. If you shave daily, a station is the single easiest thing you can do to extend the life of an expensive shaver.

It's fully waterproof, so you can shave in the shower with gel or rinse it under the tap. Cordless runtime is about 60 minutes, which is roughly a month of shaves for most people. Braun builds these in Germany, and the long warranty tells you something about how confident they are in the housing and the motor.

Flaws but not dealbreakers

This is the most expensive shaver in our lineup by a wide margin, and the gap in shave quality between it and the Series 7 is real but not enormous. If your beard is light and your skin isn't fussy, you're paying for headroom you may never use.

The built-in ProTrimmer is narrow. Owners who use it to edge a neckline or clean up sideburns report it's fiddly for drawing a straight line — it's fine for touch-ups, less good as your only trimmer. And the SmartCare station takes up real counter space and needs cleaning cartridges, which is a small recurring cost on top of foils.

Braun backs the Series 9 PRO+ with a warranty of up to five years, subject to its terms.

Motor speed is the spec that actually matters on coarse hair, and this is where the ARC5 wins. Panasonic rates it at 70,000 cross-cutting actions per minute, driven by a 14,000 CPM linear motor across five blades. A slower shaver on a thick beard doesn't cut the hair so much as grab it, and grabbing is what leaves your neck sore. Speed is the fix.

The 16-direction pivoting head is the other half of the story. Foil shavers historically struggled under the jaw, where the surface curves in two directions at once. This head moves enough to keep all five blades against your skin through that transition. You'll notice it most on the tricky stretch between chin and Adam's apple, where you'd otherwise be going back for a second and third pass.

A beard sensor adjusts motor power to density as you move around your face, so the shaver isn't running flat out on your cheeks and struggling on your chin. The bundle also includes a clean and charge station plus a separate rechargeable beard and mustache trimmer, which covers the edging job that the Braun's narrow built-in trimmer does poorly.

It's fully waterproof to the IPX7 standard, which per IEC 60529 means submersion in a meter of water for half an hour. Practically, that means shower shaving with foam and rinsing the head under the tap without a second thought. Panasonic's foil heads have a long-standing reputation for durability, and replacement cassettes are widely available.

Flaws but not dealbreakers

The ARC5 is loud. Panasonic's linear motors have a high-pitched buzz that some people find grating compared with the lower hum of a Braun, and it's the most common complaint about the line.

This particular listing is a bundle, which is good value in principle but means more boxes and accessories than some people want. And the head is large — if you have a small face or you're trying to shave a tight spot under the nose, the ARC5 feels bulky next to a three-blade shaver.

Comfort is where the Series 7 punches above its price. Good Housekeeping Institute's blind testers scored it level with the Series 9 for skin comfort in head-to-head trials. That's a striking result, because comfort is the reason most men give up on electric shaving in the first place. You give up some closeness and some power against a heavy beard — but not the thing that makes shaving pleasant.

The 360° ContourFlex head is the practical upgrade over cheaper Braun models. It tilts and swivels to stay flat against your jaw and neck, so you're not pressing harder to make contact. Pressing harder is exactly what produces razor burn. The SkinGentle foil and the SmoothShave blade handle hairs that have grown out a few days without yanking them.

Three shave modes — Turbo, Gentle and Standard — let you dial in what your skin can take. Turbo helps on the dense patch under your chin; Gentle is what you want on a hot morning when your neck is already irritated. The SmartMotor also adapts power to beard density automatically, so the modes are more of a nudge than a chore.

It comes with the 4-in-1 SmartCare center, a precision trimmer attachment, a spare shaver head and a travel case. Getting a replacement head in the box is genuinely useful, since that's the consumable you'll otherwise be buying in a year or so. It's fully waterproof for wet or dry use, same as the Series 9.

Flaws but not dealbreakers

The current Series 7 is a redesign, and some owners coming from older Series 7 models report it feels less powerful on growth beyond a couple of days. If you shave every other day or less, that's worth weighing — the Series 9 PRO+ or the ARC5 handle long stubble more confidently.

The setup instructions are widely described as confusing, particularly around the cleaning station. It's a one-time annoyance rather than a lasting one, but expect to spend a few minutes figuring it out. A handful of owners have also reported units that underperformed out of the box.

Braun backs the Series 7 with a warranty of up to five years, subject to its terms.

The F5 has been around for years and sells in enormous volume, which tells you the fundamentals are sound. Pivot & Flex foils follow your jaw, and the intercept trimmer sitting between the foils pre-trims longer hairs so the cutters aren't fighting them. On a daily shave with short stubble, the result is close enough that most people stop thinking about it.

Sensitive skin is where this one keeps surprising people. Owner feedback from men who get razor bumps with blades — a group that gets very little relief from most shavers — consistently points to the F5 as a workable alternative. Remington's own guidance is short circular strokes and light pressure, and to give it a few weeks of daily use before judging. That advice matches the 21-day adaptation window Consumer Reports describes for anyone switching from blades.

It runs about 60 minutes cordless and takes 100–240V, so it works on a trip abroad with just a plug adapter. There's a five-minute quick charge for one shave when you've forgotten to plug it in, a battery gauge so you're not guessing, and cord operation as a backup. The head is fully washable under running water.

Buying cheap also changes the math on replacement parts. Remington recommends swapping heads and cutters every six months, and at this price a fresh set costs a fraction of what a premium cassette runs. Some men prefer replacing the whole shaver every few years over maintaining an expensive one — this is the model that makes that approach reasonable.

Flaws but not dealbreakers

It's noticeably noisier than the premium shavers here, and it isn't fully sealed the way an IPX7 model is — this is a rinse-the-head shaver, not a shower shaver. Owner reports of moisture getting where it shouldn't turn up occasionally.

Against a heavy or fast-growing beard, the F5 needs more passes than the Braun or Panasonic flagships, and more passes means more irritation. If you shave every third day, you'll feel the difference. Build quality is decent for the price but plainly a step below the German-made units.

The Remington F5 comes with a limited two-year warranty.

Rotary and foil aren't better and worse; they're different tools. Foils cut in straight lines and get closer on flat planes. Rotary heads spin and pivot independently, so they follow a curved neck or a sharp jaw without you contorting your face. If you've tried foil shavers and always end up with an irritated throat, this is the direction to move.

The Prestige is the most sophisticated rotary Philips makes. The Ultra Flex Suspension lets each of the three heads move independently, DualSteel Precision blades run up to 165,000 cutting actions per minute, and a facial-hair sensor reads density 500 times per second to adjust cutting power. Philips rates the ceramic-coated SteelPrecision blades for up to two years of daily use before replacement, versus the 12 to 18 months typical elsewhere.

That blade life matters more than it sounds. Replacement heads are the hidden running cost of electric shaving, and doubling the interval between swaps meaningfully changes what the shaver costs you over five years. It also means you spend less time wondering whether a mediocre shave is your technique or a dull blade.

The Hydro SkinGlide coating — a layer of microtech beads between the heads and your skin — is meant to reduce drag, and Philips claims a 50% improvement in glide. Owners who've come from older Norelco models routinely describe this one as the closest a rotary has gotten for them. The package includes a cleaning system and a premium case.

Flaws but not dealbreakers

The head is big. Owners with smaller faces report trouble getting into the area under the nose and along a tight jawline, and it's the most common structural complaint about this model. Try to gauge your own face before committing.

Rotary shavers want a circular motion, which is a genuine relearning process if you've spent years going up and down with a foil. Expect a few frustrating shaves. And even at its best, this doesn't quite match a top foil shaver for absolute closeness on flat cheeks.