When you’re shopping for a beard trimmer, there are a few things to consider. You want to get the most from your budget, of course. But there are design features and functionality that can make a huge difference to how well a trimmer will work for you.
The first question is: can you get a good grip on it? A reliable trimmer should be of a decent weight, comfortable to hold and easy to manoeuvre, even with wet hands.
You also want to check that it has a decent range of guard lengths. Some trimmers also have a precision trimmer for edges.
Then there’s battery life and charging options. If you’re going to take your trimmer away with you, it’s good to know that you can give it a charge and it’ll last you for the duration of your trip.
Many beard trimmers will charge with a three-pin plug. Some will charge via a shaving socket. A few may charge via USB, which is handy for regular travellers as it means you don’t need to pack another travel adapter.
And finally, there’s the question of whether it comes with attachments to help you trim sideburns, nose and ear hair and tidy up body hair.
All of the following products were taken home and tested and are the best of the beard trimmers we’ve tried out. We think they represent good quality and value for money.
1. BaByliss Super-X Metal Series Hair Clipper – Best Luxury Buy
Pros
- Excellent performance
- Precision control
- Great build
- Long battery life
Cons
- Small plastic stand
- USB-C would be appreciated
The Super X-Metal Series is a professional-grade set of clippers for use on hair and beards at home.
Made from precision-engineered Japanese steel, the clippers have an LED display to show battery life and charging time. As for charging, you’ll get 20 minutes of use for each 20 minutes of time plugged in. With a powerful motor and five settings, it’s a quality device, although bear in mind, its high-grade materials make it heavy.
There’s a nice additional feature for people on the move: if you leave your charging base at home, there’s a Micro-USB port on the base, so you can charge it easily on the fly. We’d love to see a USB-C charging option as well though.
Read our full BaByliss Super-X Metal Series Hair Clipper review
2. Philips OneBlade – Best Razor
Pros
- Portable
- Versatile
- Budget-friendly
Cons
- Full charge takes 8 hours
- Slightly garish
The Philips OneBlade is a razor, not a trimmer but it’s so good that we’re including it here as an option for people looking for a tool to trim shorter beards.
With three stubble combs by default and the option for a dedicated body blade, this one razor can cover clean shaving, stylish stubble, or body grooming, all in an unbelievably portable form factor. It’s lightweight, powerful, and gives a great shave even on tricky areas like the jawline.
All that and it’s also one of the most affordable electric razors on the market. Although you’ll have to buy additional blades once every few months, it’s still cheaper than most shaving solutions.
Bear in mind that there are now two models of the OneBlade: the original and the OneBlade Pro 360. There are different variants of each, including a connected model and models with different accessories and add-ons. You can see the different variants at Philips .
Read our full Philips OneBlade review
3. Braun All-in-one Trimmer 7 – Best All-Over Trimmer
Pros
- Precision trim and shaver heads
- Body groomer head
- Wet & dry use
Cons
- Two-pin shaver plug
- Narrow hair combs
- Hair combs need mid-trim sweep
For a reasonable price, this Braun device will cover all of your trimming needs, on your head, face, ears, nose and body.
The kit contains a cordless trimmer with a detachable trimmer head, eight further attachments that will either trim or shave hair, and a Gillette Fusion razor with two five-blade cartridges. Plus, there’s a charging stand, dusting comb, cable and accessories bag.
A full charge takes an hour and from that, you’ll get 100 minutes of trimming time. There’s a quick charge option as well, to give you enough power for a quick trim in a pinch.
You can use the trimmer and seven of the eight attachments wet or dry – you can’t use the body groomer head wet.
You probably won’t use all of the attachments but there’s enough here that you’ll find the right trimmers for all of your needs. However, this is for short hair only and anything over 2cm will need another tool.
Read our full Braun All-in-one Trimmer 7 MGK7220 review
4. Remington G4 Graphite – Trimmer & Compact Shaver
Pros
- Wide range of attachments
Cons
- 3-pin plug charging
If you’re looking for a trimmer that can do just about anything but you don’t have a large budget, then the Remington G4 Graphite fits the bill perfectly. It’s not available in the US, but you can buy the very similar Remington UltraStyle .
Design and build are solid and the interchangeable head system works excellently, allowing you to swap between different attachments in seconds. The G4 comes with a wide range of different options, including a mini foil shaver and a detail trimmer. Combine them all and you can achieve just about any style.
Performance is excellent and battery life is good too, although we would like a power lead that plugs into a shaver point rather than a three-pin plug.
Read our full Remington G4 Graphite review
5. Remington Barba – Best Budget Buy
Pros
- Ergonomic
- Budget-friendly
- Handy ‘zoom’ dial
Cons
- Pop-up trimmer snags easily
The Remington Barba MB320C is a good budget option. It trims and sculpts well. It’s nicely designed, with a great grip and controls you can access during use.
It also delivers in terms of providing different guard lengths, with a handy ‘zoom’ dial you can roll to change the setting.
Its battery will give you – at the very least – the promised 40 minutes of trimming time per charge. But there’s little in the way of extra features and the additional, pop-up precision trimmer is disappointing.
Read our full Remington Barba MB320C beard trimmer review
Author: Emma Rowley, Deputy Editor, Tech Advisor
Tech Advisor’s Deputy Editor, Emma has been a journalist and copywriter for over 20 years and has been testing and writing about home tech and appliances for seven years. She tries out every appliance she writes about at home, and aims to recommend time- and energy-saving products that will last.
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