The short answer (prices checked 28 October 2026)
- Cheapest brush on the page: Yanaboo compatible heads, 8 pack at £6.76. That is 84.5p a head, and at two brushes a day on a three month head it works out at 0.46p a brush.
- Cheapest genuine head: Oral-B Pro CrossAction, 10 pack at £20.25. That is £2.03 a head and 1.11p a brush, though the pack was on a half price deal the day we read it.
- Dearest brush on the page: SURI recyclable heads, 3 pack at £15.99. That is £5.33 a head and 2.93p a brush, six times the cheapest for the same twice a day job.
- The audit finding: of the first 20 unsponsored Amazon UK results for electric toothbrush heads, read on 28 October 2026, three state how often to replace the head and none state what a head costs per brush.
Brush heads are quietly one of the steadiest repeat buys in British bathrooms, and the Amazon UK Health and Personal Care chart on 28 October 2026 shows it. Oral-B Pro CrossAction heads sat at fifteen, the Vitality Pro handle at seventeen, iO Ultimate Clean heads at twenty-seven and Pro Precision Clean at fifty-one. A third party compatible head was at fifty-nine and a recyclable one at seventy-nine. Six tiles in the top eighty, for a thing most people buy without looking at the price.
That is the gap this page is for. A head is not sold with a running cost, so nobody treats it as one. It is a consumable you buy four times a year for as long as you own the handle, which makes the price per head a far more useful number than the price per pack, and the price per brush more useful still.
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 28 October 2026, so they can differ from today's price.
As an Amazon Associate, Look Into earns from qualifying purchases. Product prices and availability are accurate as of 28 October 2026 and are subject to change.
Prices and specs last checked by Look Into on 28 October 2026 · next check 23 December 2026 · how we picked
The guidance says two to three months, and the packs are sold in fours
Everyone knows the rule. Change the head every three months. It is printed on packs, repeated by handles that flash at you, and built into the subscription boxes. What is less well known is where it comes from, and how firm it actually is.
Start with the NHS. Its page on how to keep your teeth clean, read on 28 October 2026, gives no replacement interval at all. It tells you to use a brush with a small head and round-end bristles, says medium or soft bristles suit most people, and adds that it makes no difference whether the brush is electric or manual. On when to throw the head away, it says nothing.
The Oral Health Foundation, the UK charity behind National Smile Month, does give a figure, and it gives two. Its page on caring for your teeth and gums says it is important to change your toothbrush "every two to three months, or sooner if the filaments become worn", then summarises at the foot of the same page with "at least every 3 months". Its separate electric toothbrush page says to change the head "every three months, or sooner if the bristles spread out".
Read those together and the real guidance is a range with a condition attached. The number that matters is bristle wear. The calendar is a proxy for it, and the proxy has a lower bound of two months that the packaging has quietly dropped.
That lower bound is worth money. Four heads a year is the three month cycle. Six heads a year is the two month one. On the genuine Sonicare pack here that is the difference between £19.99 and £29.98 a year. On the SURI heads it is £21.32 against £31.98. On the cheapest compatible heads it is £3.38 against £5.07, so following the stricter end of the charity's own advice costs you £1.69.
Put the other way round, the gap between the cheapest and dearest head on this page is far larger than the gap between the two intervals. Brushing twice a day on Yanaboo heads costs 0.46p a brush. Brushing twice a day on SURI heads costs 2.93p. Change your brand and you save more than you could ever save by stretching the calendar, and you keep the bristles the guidance actually cares about.
How we picked these
We started from the Amazon UK Health and Personal Care bestseller chart read on 28 October 2026, took every brush head in the top eighty, then filled the gaps from the first page of unsponsored results for electric toothbrush heads so that each major handle family had a head that fits it. Every ASIN was opened and the title, pack size, buy box price and stock state read on the day. Prices are the buy box price on 28 October 2026 and several were running as limited time deals, which we have said in each case.
Cost per brush assumes two brushes a day, which is the NHS instruction, across a 91 day head for the three month cycle and a 61 day head for the two month one. Price per head is the pack price divided by the pack count. Look Into has not handled these products: every figure comes from the maker, the listing or a named source, read on the date shown.
| Head | Pack price | Per head | Per brush (3 mth) | A year (4 heads) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Yanaboo compatible, 8 pack | £6.76 | 84.5p | 0.46p | £3.38 |
| Oral-B Pro CrossAction, 10 pack | £20.25 | £2.03 | 1.11p | £8.10 |
| Oral-B Pro CrossAction, 4 pack | £9.20 | £2.30 | 1.26p | £9.20 |
| Oral-B iO Ultimate Clean, 8 pack | £34.00 | £4.25 | 2.34p | £17.00 |
| Philips Sonicare C1 ProResults, 4 pack | £19.99 | £5.00 | 2.75p | £19.99 |
| SURI recyclable, 3 pack | £15.99 | £5.33 | 2.93p | £21.32 |
The six we would buy
Yanaboo Replacement Brush Heads for Oral-B, 8 Pack
£6.76 on 28 October 2026 · 84.5p a head · 0.46p a brush · £3.38 a year
Fifty-nine on the Health and Personal Care chart, Amazon's Choice for its search term, and the listing says more than ten thousand were bought in the past month. It fits the common Braun Oral-B handles, the Vitality, Pro, Smart and Genius families, and at 84.5p a head it costs about a quarter of what the genuine CrossAction costs and a sixth of what the Sonicare heads cost. On a four head year you spend less than the price of a sandwich.
The catch: it is not an Oral-B product, and Oral-B's own listings are explicit that only its refills are designed for its handles. The bristle pattern is a copy of the shape rather than the thing itself, and this listing states no replacement interval, no wear indicator and no bristle grade, so you are judging wear entirely by eye. If your handle is under warranty, check the terms before you switch.
Check price on Amazon →Oral-B Pro CrossAction Electric Toothbrush Heads, 10 Count
£20.25 on 28 October 2026 · £2.03 a head · 1.11p a brush · £8.10 a year
Buying genuine Oral-B in tens rather than fours is the single easiest saving here. The same CrossAction head is £2.30 in the four pack and £2.03 in this one, and ten heads is two and a half years of brushing on the three month cycle. The listing says the pack is sized for a letterbox, which matters more than it sounds if you are out at work.
The catch: the £20.25 was a limited time deal against an RRP of £43.49 when we read it, so the 1.11p a brush is a deal figure rather than a standing one. At full price the same pack is £4.35 a head and 2.39p a brush, which puts it above the iO heads. Check the price before you take the per brush number as read. Ten heads is also a long time for bristles to sit in a bathroom cupboard.
Check price on Amazon →Oral-B Pro CrossAction Electric Toothbrush Heads, 4 Count
£9.20 on 28 October 2026 · £2.30 a head · 1.26p a brush · £9.20 a year
Number fifteen on the chart and the best seller badge in its slot, which makes it the default purchase for most Oral-B owners. Four heads is exactly a year at three months apiece, so the pack price is the annual running cost with no arithmetic needed. If you would rather not commit £20 to a cupboard, this is the one to buy.
The catch: you pay 27p a head more than the ten pack for the privilege, which is about 13 per cent. This was also on a deal, £9.20 against an RRP of £19.50, and at full price it is £4.88 a head, dearer than the iO heads we list below. The four pack rewards you for buying little and often, right up until the deal ends.
Check price on Amazon →Oral-B iO Series Ultimate Clean, 8 Count
£34.00 on 28 October 2026 · £4.25 a head · 2.34p a brush · £17.00 a year
Twenty-seven on the chart. If you own an iO handle this is the family you are locked into, because the iO fitting is different from the round Pro one and the cheap compatible heads do not fit it. Of the three iO packs in the first page of results this eight count was the lowest per head on the day. It is also one of only three listings in our audit that tell you when to change the head, with fading indicator bristles and the line that dentists recommend every three months.
The catch: the lock-in is the point. At £4.25 a head you pay five times what an Oral-B owner on compatible heads pays, and there is no 85p escape route, so the cheap handle is the expensive decision. This was a deal price too, £34.00 against an RRP of £92.00, and at RRP it is £11.50 a head and 6.32p a brush.
Check price on Amazon →Philips Sonicare C1 ProResults, 4 Pack, HX6014/87
£19.99 on 28 October 2026 · £5.00 a head · 2.75p a brush · £19.99 a year
Amazon's Choice for Philips Sonicare brush heads, and the sensible genuine option if your handle is a Sonicare rather than an Oral-B. The listing claims the contoured W-profile removes up to twice the plaque of a manual brush and quotes up to 62,000 bristle movements a minute. Four heads is a tidy year at the three month interval.
The catch: £5.00 a head makes this the dearest genuine head here, and the up to twice the plaque claim is measured against a manual brush rather than against another electric head, so it tells you nothing about whether this head beats a cheaper one on the same handle. The pack was on a deal at £19.99 against an RRP of £29.99, which at full price is £7.50 a head and 4.12p a brush.
Check price on Amazon →SURI Recyclable Electric Toothbrush Heads, Pack of 3
£15.99 on 28 October 2026 · £5.33 a head · 2.93p a brush · £21.32 a year
Seventy-nine on the chart, and the only head here that answers the question of where the old one goes. The listing says the head and bristles are made from cornstarch and castor oil and that UK recycling is free, which is a real answer to a real problem: a head is a lump of mixed plastic and nylon that kerbside collection will not take, and four a year for a family of four is sixteen of them.
The catch: it fits SURI Pro and Core brushes and nothing else, so this is only an option if you already own or are buying that handle. At £5.33 a head it is the dearest brush on this page, 2.93p against 0.46p for the cheapest, and a three pack buys you nine months rather than a year. The plant based bristles are described as medium to soft, which is in line with the charity advice, but the listing gives no replacement interval of its own.
Check price on Amazon →What the listings actually tell you
We read the first 20 unsponsored Amazon UK results for electric toothbrush heads on 28 October 2026 and counted claims inside the product title, the About this item bullets, the product description and the specification tables. Nothing from reviews, the Q and A, or the images.
- 3 of 20 state how often to replace the head. All three say three months, and all three are genuine Oral-B listings.
- 4 of 20 point you at faded or colour changed bristles as the signal to change.
- 0 of 20 state what a head costs per brush, per day or per use.
- 0 of 20 mention the two month lower bound that the Oral Health Foundation gives.
- 8 of 20 are sold as compatible with another brand's handle rather than made by it.
One listing nearly tripped our count. It promises "the equivalent of 2 months manual brushing in 2 mins", which is a plaque claim rather than a replacement interval, so we excluded it. It does carry indicator bristles.
The shape of that result is the useful part. The brands that sell you the calendar are the brands that charge most per head, and the sellers charging least say nothing about when to replace anything. Neither group tells you the per brush cost, which is the only figure that makes the two comparable.
Why these are selling right now
Read on 28 October 2026, the Amazon UK Health and Personal Care top eighty carried Oral-B Pro CrossAction heads at fifteen, the Vitality Pro handle at seventeen, iO Series Ultimate Clean heads at twenty-seven, Pro Precision Clean at fifty-one, a Yanaboo compatible head at fifty-nine, Sensodyne at fifty-eight, Oral-B whitening toothpaste at sixty-three, Oral-B floss at seventy-seven and SURI recyclable heads at seventy-nine. Oral care is holding nine of the top eighty slots, which is a bigger share than supplements.
Heads sell in a long slow rhythm rather than a seasonal spike, because they are bought when the last one wears out. What moves them up the chart in late October is the run of deals: four of the six packs here were marked as limited time deals on the day we read them, which is the shape of the pre-Christmas discounting season starting.
Questions people ask
Do I really have to change the head every three months?
Three months is the figure both manufacturers and the Oral Health Foundation give, but the charity's own wording on its teeth and gums page is "every two to three months, or sooner if the filaments become worn". The NHS gives no interval at all. Bristle wear is the thing being measured, and the calendar is standing in for it.
Are compatible heads as good as genuine ones?
We have no way to answer that from a listing, and neither does anyone else quoting a price. What we can say is that the compatible heads in this chart cost 84.5p against £2.03 for the cheapest genuine Oral-B equivalent, that eight of the first twenty results are compatible rather than genuine, and that the genuine listings are the only ones stating a replacement interval or a wear indicator. If you switch, you take on the job of judging wear yourself.
Will an Oral-B head fit an iO handle?
No. The round Pro-family heads and the iO heads use different fittings, which is why the iO heads in this list cost £4.25 each while Pro-family heads start at 84.5p. Check which family your handle belongs to before you buy a ten pack.
What does a year of brushing actually cost?
On the three month cycle, four heads a year: £3.38 on the cheapest compatible heads here, £8.10 on genuine Oral-B bought in tens, £17.00 on iO, £19.99 on Sonicare and £21.32 on SURI. On the two month cycle it is six heads and half as much again.
Can I recycle an old brush head?
Not through most kerbside collections, because the head mixes plastic with nylon bristles and a metal pin. SURI's listing is the only one in this group that offers free UK recycling of its own heads, which is a large part of what you are paying the extra for.
Related reading
- Best interdental brushes UK 2026
- Best denture and retainer cleaning tablets UK 2026
- Best mouth guards UK 2026
Sources
- NHS, How to keep your teeth clean, read 28 October 2026. Gives no replacement interval.
- Oral Health Foundation, Caring for my teeth and gums, read 28 October 2026. Two to three months, or sooner if the filaments become worn.
- Oral Health Foundation, Electric toothbrush guide, read 28 October 2026. Change the brush head every three months, or sooner if the bristles spread out.
- Amazon.co.uk Best Sellers, Health and Personal Care, read 28 October 2026. Chart positions quoted above.
- Individual Amazon.co.uk product pages for B07BTR5353, B0BWNW7H47, B0C1H5XK7D, B0B1DV8KG8, B0DHZQNHHL and B0BHLRS3VD, each opened 28 October 2026 for title, pack size, buy box price and stock state.
Look Into is an Amazon Associate and earns from qualifying purchases. That does not change which products we pick or what we say about them. Prices are the Amazon UK buy box price read on 28 October 2026 and change often, so check before you buy. The comparison table above pulls live prices from Amazon.