Here are the top ten best-selling electric foil and rotary shavers for men on Amazon.com, with full details on each model, so you can quickly find the best razor for your needs.
Braun and Panasonic dominate the world of foil shavers, while Philips Norelco have almost the entire rotary razor market to themselves.
Braun’s Series 7 can produce one of the closest shaves of any electric razor on the market, and be used wet or dry. Combined with its highly effective cleaning station, it’s no wonder it sells more than twice the number of units of its nearest rival.
- 8600+ customers give it 4 or 5-stars.
- The cleaning station also lubricates the head and works very well.
- Uses a lithium battery, which can be charged to full in an hour.
- Wet or dry shaving, and waterproof up to 5m. So it's safe to use in the shower.
- A powerful auto-sensing motor, to cut through dense beards.
- 30,000 cross-cutting actions per minute.
- Built-in pop-up trimmer for sideburns, beards and mustaches.
- Includes a travel case.
- 2-year Warranty.
- The price.
- Some customers have reported that replacement foil heads don't last as long as the one supplied with the shaver.
- The replacement foil head has been known to seriously fluctuate upward in price in the past.
The Panasonic ES8103S is a budget-priced shaver which uses a 3-blade system. And with it’s pivoting head and 10-stage battery level indicator it’s certainly a nice-looking razor.
- 13,000 cuts per minute.
- Gives a closer and faster shave than the Braun 3 Series razors.
- Built-in pop-up trimmer for sideburns, beards and mustaches.
- 10-stage battery level LCD display.
- Use wet or dry, and it's waterproof for use in the shower.
- Uses a lithium battery, which can be charged to full in an hour.
- Has a sonic vibration mode for cleaning the head. The foil has to be removed first though.
- Great for finer hair – like head hair or women's legs.
- Includes a travel pouch.
- 2-year Warranty.
- Can feel underpowered at times, with shaves taking longer than they should. The Panasonic Arc4 (see below) has dual motors, and would be a better choice if you have coarse facial hair.
- Some customers have reported that the newer version of this shaver is less robust than the original model.
- Replacement foil and blade sets typically cost 40% more than those for the Braun 3 series shavers.
The Braun series 3 is very much the smaller brother to the series 7, typically retailing under $70, and goes head-to-head against the Panasonic Arc3 shavers.
Please note that the 340s was phased out in 2017, and has now been replaced with the Braun 3040s.
- Use wet or dry with foams or gels. Plus, it's waterproof for use in the shower.
- Built-in pop-up trimmer for sideburns, beards and mustaches.
- Gives a slightly more comfortable shave than the Panasonic Arc3 razors.
- Replacement foil and blade sets typically cost 30% less than those for the Panasonic Arc3 shavers.
- Slightly quieter than Panasonic Arc3 Razors.
- 2-year Warranty.
- Uses a Ni-MH battery, rather than lithium.
- No travel case or pouch.
- The pop-up trimmer doesn't work as well as the one on the Panasonic Arc3.
- The head is more difficult to clean than on the Panasonic Arc3.
- Heavier than the Panasonic Arc3 (7.2oz).
The Panasonic Arc4 shaver features 4 blades and a dual motor, and with performance which sits it firmly between the top-selling Braun Series 7 and the Panasonic Arc3. If you want to get the best feature-set for your money, this electric razor could be a smart choice.
- 14,000 cuts per minute.
- Built-in pop-up trimmer for sideburns, beards and mustaches.
- 10-stage battery level LCD display.
- Use wet or dry, and it's waterproof for use in the shower.
- Uses a lithium battery, which can be charged to full in an hour.
- Has a sonic vibration mode for cleaning the head. The foil has to be removed first though.
- Includes a travel pouch.
- 2-year Warranty.
- The dual motor is the only major improvement over Panasonics Arc3 shaver.
- Some customers have reported issues with patchy cutting performance when shaving their necks.
- Has quite a large head, which could potentially make it tricky to shave beneath your nose.
Use this 1970s-inspired Wahl shaver as you cruise over the blacktop in your Lincoln Continental and you’ll feel just like Huggy Bear in a classic episode of Starsky & Hutch. But can you dig it?
- Lithium-ion battery.
- Hypoallergenic foil coating.
- Works well on short head hair of stubble length.
- Can produce a fairly close shave – if you're lucky enough to get a good machine.
- A high percentage of 1-star reviews.
- Doesn't work well on long hairs.
- No trimmer for sideburns and mustaches.
- No battery level indicator.
- No travel case or pouch.
- Only 1-year warranty.
- For dry use only.
- The 1970s retro design may not be to everyone's taste.
The 6100 is the number-one-selling rotary shaver, from Philips Nerelco, which has a sleek and curvy ergonomic design. Its shaving heads flex in 5 directions to ensure close skin contact at all times.
Please note that the 6100 was phased at the beginning of 2019 and replaced with the Philips Norelco 6800, which doesn’t use a large charging dock.
- Use wet or dry, and it's waterproof for use in the shower.
- Lithium-ion battery.
- Comes with a separate trimmer attachment – for sideburns, beards and mustaches.
- 2-year Warranty.
- The charging dock is large, so isn't well-suited for travel.
- No travel case or pouch.
- The area in the head for collecting hair is rather small, so has to be emptied regularly.
- A number of customers with previous Norelco shavers have expressed dissatisfaction with this particular model.
If you’re lucky enough to get a good one, the Remington F5-5800 can represent pretty good value for money, and works well on head hair.
- 60 minutes of cordless run-time.
- 6-stage battery level indicator.
- Built-in pop-up trimmer for sideburns, beards and mustaches.
- Washable under the faucet.
- Lithium-ion battery.
- 2-year Warranty.
- Possible quality control issues. i.e. three quarters of customers rate this Remington at 4 or 5 stars, while a number of 1-star reviewers state that it's the worst shaver they've ever used.
- Hair clippings sometimes fall out of the head.
- Susceptible to foil damage – which can cause the cutting mechanism to become loud and eventually damage the blades.
- For dry use only.
- No travel case or pouch.
The Philips Norelco 2100 is a nice budget-entry rotary shaver with heads which flex in 4 directions to ensure close skin contact.
Please note that the 6948XL/41 has now been phased out and replaced with the Philips Norelco S1560/81.
- 80% of customer give the Philips Norelco 6100 a 4 or 5-star rating.
- Built-in pop-up trimmer for sideburns, beards and mustaches.
- 2-year Warranty.
- 8 hours to full charge.
- Although advertised as having a lithium battery, the 35 minute running-time sounds more like the performance of a NCad battery.
- Quite a weak motor, which can result in time-consuming shaves.
- Not the closest shaving performance.
- Pulls at longer hairs.
- No battery level indicator.
- For dry use only.
- No travel case or pouch.
The Philips Norelco 4100 is a well-rated mid-range rotary shaver which comes with a charging dock and a reasonable feature-set for a reasonable price.
- 80% of customer give the Philips Norelco 4100 a 4 or 5-star rating.
- Gives 50 minutes of shaving time with a 1 hour charge.
- Built-in pop-up trimmer for sideburns, beards and mustaches.
- Suitable for wet or dry shaving.
- Washable under the faucet.
- Lithium-ion battery.
- 2-year Warranty.
- Roughly 1 in 20 units suffer with either a weak motor or charging issues.
- Although it's sold as being 'showerproof', it's not 'waterproof' – to use in the shower
- Basic battery level indicator.
- No travel case or pouch.
The ES8243A Arc4 is essentially a blue, 4-blade version of Panasonic’s popular ES8103S Arc3. However, this difference is enough to make it one of the most highly-rated electric razors you can currently buy.
- 86% of customer give the Panasonic ES8243A a 4 or 5-star rating.
- 13,000 cuts per minute.
- Built-in pop-up trimmer for sideburns, beards and mustaches.
- 10-stage battery level LCD display.
- Use wet or dry, and it's waterproof for use in the shower.
- Uses a lithium battery, which can be charged to full in an hour.
- Has a sonic vibration mode for cleaning the head. The foil has to be removed first though.
- Includes a travel pouch.
- 2-year Warranty.
- Has quite a large head, which could potentially make it tricky to shave beneath your nose.
- Some reports of blades becoming dull wihin 6 months of use.
- Battery and blade problems are the most commonly reported issues. However, these are less common than for most other shavers.
