# Philips Sonicare electric toothbrush

20 Hacker News commenters recommended Philips Sonicare electric toothbrush and 6 criticized it, November 2025 to November 2026. It was recommended in 4 of 13 months; owners who said how long report a median of 17 years (8 owners). It meets the Hacker Approved badge rule.

**Verdict:** Long-lasting electric toothbrush people say still works for many years, and better than cheap models. Critics say low-end and recent models often fail within a few years.

## Why people recommend it

- Lasts many years, often a decade (7 comments): "I'm at 20 years on a Sonicare (pushing 25 now that I remember it is 2026, damn...) and it still works fine." ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48909530)) "All of mine still work. The NiMH is good for 1000s of deep cycles." ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48913165)) "my first Sonicare lasted 10 years, next one 5 and last one 2" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48918262))
- Better than cheap models (2 comments): "Sometimes the overpriced brand names are simply the best options on the market" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48921142)) "the cheap models are far inferior" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48914852))

## What people warn about

- Units fail after a few years (4 comments): "I find Philips Sonicare toothbrushes break after about a year, long before the battery gives up." ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48914821)) "mine died after a few years to the point where it would only go a few days between charges" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48913110)) "I've had the topline ones fail on me three times after a couple of years." ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48917754))
- Recent low-end models disappoint (2 comments): "Philips knows how to penny pinch. Don't buy the more recent low end models." ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48913085)) "$20 Sonicare can't do that!" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49528437))

## Alternatives hackers recommend

- [Oral-B electric toothbrush](https://hackerapproved.com/p/oral-b-electric-toothbrush.md): 8 recommend

## Where to get it

- [See price on Amazon](https://www.amazon.com/s?k=Philips+Sonicare+electric+toothbrush&tag=hackerapprove-20) (affiliate link)
- [Official site](https://www.usa.philips.com/c-m-pe/electric-toothbrushes)

## Cite as

Hacker Approved, "Philips Sonicare electric toothbrush", https://hackerapproved.com/p/philips-sonicare-electric-toothbrush/ (counts from 1,795,640 Hacker News comments, November 2025 to November 2026).