The short answer (prices checked 8 November 2026)
- Best overall is the Oral-B Vitality Pro, the number one electric toothbrush on Amazon UK this week. Over five years, with a new Oral-B head every three months, it costs about £68.98 in total, or 1.89p a brush.
- The heads cost more than the handle. On every pick here, five years of replacement heads cost more than the toothbrush itself.
- The head system decides the bill. Oral-B's iO range takes iO heads only, at about £4.62 a head against £2.40 for the standard Oral-B heads. Over five years that adds about £44 to any iO brush before you count the higher handle price.
- The NHS says it does not matter whether you use an electric or a manual toothbrush, as long as you clean every surface with fluoride toothpaste. The Oral Health Foundation says electric brushes can slightly reduce plaque compared with manual ones.
- Audit finding: twelve of the top twenty electric toothbrushes on Amazon UK, read on 8 November 2026, claim a percentage advantage over a manual brush, such as "100% more plaque removal". None of the twelve names the study behind the figure.
If you are buying an electric toothbrush in the Black Friday sale or as a Christmas present, the handle price is what the deal is about. The handle is also the smaller part of what you will spend. Every brush head needs replacing every three months, so over five years you buy twenty of them, and the brush you choose decides which heads you are locked into. So we ranked these on the five-year cost of owning each one: the handle plus twenty heads.
How this page was made
Prices and specs last checked by Look Into on 8 November 2026 · next check 1 January 2027 · how we picked
Prices in this table come from Amazon and are refreshed at least once a day, with the date of the last update under the table. The cost-per-use and running-cost figures on this page use prices Look Into read on 8 November 2026, so they can differ from today's price.
The five-year cost of a toothbrush
The Oral Health Foundation, the UK oral health charity, says to change an electric brush head every three months, or sooner if the bristles spread out. That is four heads a year and twenty over five years. The NHS advises brushing twice a day for about two minutes, which is 3,650 brushes over the same five years.
We priced the heads from Amazon UK on 8 November 2026. The standard Oral-B Pro CrossAction heads cost £2.40 each in the ten-pack. Oral-B iO Ultimate Clean heads cost £4.62 each in the eight-pack. A compatible third-party pack that fits standard Oral-B handles works out at about 85p a head. We have assumed you buy all twenty heads, and not counted any that come in the box, because most listings do not say how many are included.
| Toothbrush | Heads it takes | Twenty heads | Five-year cost, handle plus heads | Per brush |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Oral-B Vitality Pro | Standard Oral-B | £47.98 | £68.98 | 1.89p |
| Oral-B Pro 1 | Standard Oral-B | £47.98 | £72.98 | 2.00p |
| Oral-B iO2 | iO only | £92.42 | £127.41 | 3.49p |
| Oral-B iO3 | iO only | £92.42 | £147.41 | 4.04p |
| Oral-B iO6 | iO only | £92.42 | £202.41 | 5.55p |
We have not costed the electricity. None of the listings we read gives the charger's power use, and recharging a toothbrush battery is small next to a head bill of £48 to £92.
How we picked these
We read the top twenty of Amazon UK's electric toothbrush Best Sellers chart on 8 November 2026 and opened all twenty listings, reading the title, bullet points and specification tables. Eighteen of the twenty are Oral-B, twelve of them from the iO range, and four are children's brushes. We picked five adult Oral-B brushes that span the range from the cheapest handle to a premium iO model, and checked which heads each one takes against Currys' Oral-B head listings, which state that standard heads fit most Oral-B handles except Pulsonic and iO. We have not used any of these brushes.
As an Amazon Associate, Look Into earns from qualifying purchases. Product prices and availability are accurate as of 8 November 2026 7:36 pm and are subject to change.Compare live prices for every pick
Oral-B Vitality Pro
Price: check the live price on Amazon · standard Oral-B heads · about £68.98 over five years · number 1 in Electric Toothbrushes, 8 November 2026
The best seller and the cheapest five-year cost of any pick, because it is the cheapest handle and it takes the standard Oral-B heads, which cost about half as much per head as iO heads. Those standard heads also have the most third-party alternatives, which can bring five years of ownership down to under £40. For most people who simply want an electric brush, this is the one to buy.
The catch: it is a basic brush. If you want the features of the dearer models, this is not it, and the NHS view is that technique and fluoride matter more than any of those.
Oral-B Pro 1
Price: check the live price on Amazon · standard Oral-B heads · about £72.98 over five years · number 5 in Electric Toothbrushes, 8 November 2026
A step up from the Vitality Pro in Oral-B's standard range, on the same standard heads, so the five-year gap between them is only the difference in handle price, about £4 on 8 November. If you want the Pro range's extras, it costs very little more to own.
The catch: check what the listing actually adds over the Vitality Pro before paying more, because the heads, which are most of the cost, are identical.
Oral-B iO2
Price: check the live price on Amazon · iO heads only · about £127.41 over five years · number 3 in Electric Toothbrushes, 8 November 2026
The entry point to Oral-B's iO range, which uses a different head and drive from the standard Oral-B brushes. If someone you are buying for has asked for an iO, this is the lowest-cost way in, and the handle is cheap enough to be a sensible Black Friday buy.
The catch: it only takes iO heads, at about £4.62 each, so five years of heads cost about £92, nearly twice the standard range. That is about £58 more than the Vitality Pro over five years. Its listing also claims "100% cleaner teeth than a regular manual toothbrush" with no study named.
Oral-B iO3
Price: check the live price on Amazon · iO heads only · about £147.41 over five years · number 2 in Electric Toothbrushes, 8 November 2026
The second best seller and the most bought iO model this week. It comes with a travel case and a refill holder, according to its title.
The catch: the same £92 of iO heads over five years as the iO2, on a dearer handle. Its title lists "1 Refill Holder", which is not the same as saying how many heads are in the box.
Oral-B iO6
Price: check the live price on Amazon · iO heads only · about £202.41 over five years · number 9 in Electric Toothbrushes, 8 November 2026
The premium iO in the top ten, and the one most likely to be bought as a gift. It comes with a travel case and a spare head, according to its title, so the five-year head bill will be slightly lower than our figure, which counts all twenty.
The catch: at 5.55p a brush it costs almost three times as much to own as the Vitality Pro, and its listing's headline claims, "100% more plaque" and "190% healthier gums" in one week against a manual brush, come with no study named. The Oral Health Foundation describes the advantage of electric brushes as slight.
What the twenty listings actually say
- Twelve of twenty claim a percentage advantage over a manual brush. The figures include "100% more plaque removal", "100% cleaner teeth", "100% healthier gums", "190% healthier gums" and "600% more" stain removal.
- None of the twelve names the study, the number of people, or who carried it out. The most any gives is a time period, "in just 1 week".
- One headline and its own text disagree. A TEETHEORY brush heads a bullet "Clean 6X More Plaque", then says in the next breath that it removes up to 600% more tooth stain. Plaque and stain are not the same thing.
- Twelve of the twenty are Oral-B iO models, which take iO heads only, at about twice the price per head of standard Oral-B heads.
- Most do not say how many heads are in the box. Four give a count in the title: three say one head, and a twin pack says two.
Set those claims against what UK health bodies say. The NHS says it does not matter whether you use an electric or manual toothbrush, and that both are equally good as long as you clean all the surfaces of your teeth and use fluoride toothpaste, though some people find an electric brush makes that easier. The Oral Health Foundation says research shows electric brushes can slightly reduce plaque and gum inflammation compared with manual ones, and that teeth can be cleaned well with either.
Buying one in the sale or as a gift
Work out the heads before the handle. A cheap iO handle in the Black Friday sale can still cost more to own than a full-price standard brush, because of the heads. If you are buying for someone who already has an Oral-B, check which heads they use: an iO and a standard brush cannot share heads. Our electric toothbrush heads guide ranks the heads themselves on cost per brush, and the Black Friday deal checker tests a sale price against its 90-day low.
Questions people ask
Is an electric toothbrush better than a manual one?
Not necessarily. The NHS says both are equally good as long as you clean all the surfaces of your teeth with fluoride toothpaste, though some people find an electric one easier. The Oral Health Foundation says electric brushes can slightly reduce plaque compared with manual ones.
How often should you change an electric toothbrush head?
Every three months, or sooner if the bristles spread out, according to the Oral Health Foundation. That is twenty heads over five years, which costs more than the handle on every brush in this guide.
Do Oral-B iO heads fit other Oral-B toothbrushes?
No. iO handles take iO heads only, and standard Oral-B heads fit most Oral-B handles except the iO and Pulsonic ranges. On 8 November 2026 iO heads cost about £4.62 each against £2.40 for standard Oral-B heads.
What does an electric toothbrush cost over five years?
From about £69 for an Oral-B Vitality Pro to about £202 for an Oral-B iO6, counting the handle and twenty Oral-B heads at 8 November 2026 prices. With compatible third-party heads, the Vitality Pro can come in at under £40.
Sources
- NHS, How to keep your teeth clean, checked 8 November 2026.
- Oral Health Foundation, Electric toothbrushes, checked 8 November 2026.
- Currys, Oral-B replacement brush heads (compatibility statements), checked 8 November 2026.
- Amazon UK, electric toothbrush Best Sellers, top twenty, and each of the twenty listings, read 8 November 2026.
- Amazon UK listings for Oral-B Pro CrossAction heads (10-pack), Oral-B iO Ultimate Clean heads (8-pack) and Yanaboo compatible heads (8-pack), read 8 November 2026.
