On the hunt for the best shredder, for use at home? Whether you have a tonne of paperwork you need to sift through, and dispose of safely, or you're channelling your inner Marie Kondo to get your home more organised, our pick of the best are sure to get you on your way.
While shredders aren't exactly the sexiest of purchases, they're an essential in most households, so we've compared the best options currently available to ensure you invest your money in an option that best suits your needs.
When you've finished browsing our pick of the best shredders, head over to The Hub, our home page for all things technology. And see all our home office buys and design advice on our dedicated hub page.
What is the best shredder?
Why you can trust Real Homes Our expert reviewers spend hours testing and comparing products and services so you can choose the best for you. Find out more about how we test.
What to look out for to buy the best shredder
Cross cutter shredding
Unlike traditional shredders, which produce strips of paper, cross cutting reduces your documents to particle sized pieces, safely disposing of confidential documents.
Automatic shredding feed
Saves you having to feed in single pages one at a time.
Can handle other materials
Some can shred confidential materials other than paper: think credit cards and CDs.
Our recommended retailers for the best shredders
John Lewis & Partners shredders
Argos shredders
Currys PC World shredders
Amazon shredders
The best shredder is the , thanks to its highly functional and versatile design. Whether you're looking to destroy paperwork or credit cards, this model's cross cutting functionality can cope.
An automatic shredding feed – capable of handling up to 130 sheets – means you won't have to manually process sheets of paper. In fact, it's capable of handling up to eight sheets of paper at once, staples and paperclips included. On top of all that, its large, 32 litre design means you won't have to think about emptying it, too regularly. Read on for more about this and our other top picks.
Building a home office set-up? Browse more of our handy buying guides:
The best shredders you can buy right now
Our top rated item is the , which boasts a whole host of impressive features. Here's everything you need to know about it:
Cross cut shredding
Perfect if you intend on using your shredder to safely dispose of confidential documents, this model produces particle sized, cross cut pieces of paper, as opposed to strips which could easily be pieced back together by the more dedicated fraudsters.
No need to remove staples or paper clips
Those who are time poor will be pleased to know that this model does not require staples or paper clips to be removed, prior to use.
Capable of handling credit cards
While many of us pay particular attention to the disposal of our paper documents, it can be hard to know where to start when it comes to effectively disposing of old, or unwanted credit cards. Luckily, this model from Fellowes, has you covered.
Automatic shredding feed
Save time (and frustration) with a handy automatic shredding feed, which allows users to pre-load up to 130 sheets, or manually shred 8 sheets in one go.
Large capacity
Thanks to its 32 litre capacity, this model will not require regular emptying.
Shop the full range of shredders available from Argos
Our second pick is the powerful , which offers an impressively large capacity of features for an at-home shredder. Here's everything you need to know about it:
Cross cutting
As mentioned previously, cross cutting shredders are much more effective, when it comes to protecting your privacy, than standard models. Expect to see your documents turned into small, confetti size pieces of paper, as opposed to the more traditional strips of paper.
Impressive capacity
Despite being relatively small in size, this model can tackle an impressive amount of paper, in one go. Up to 14 pieces, in fact.
Cut through credit cards
Much like the AutoMax, this model not only cuts through paper, but through paper clips, credit cards, CDs and more, making it perfect for easy disposal of a variety of confidential items.
Factors worth considering
Users have noted that this machine can get a little hot and overheat if used for too long, but for frequent everyday shredding in standard quantities this machine holds up well and gets the job done quickly and efficiently.
Browse more shredders available from Amazon
If you're buying a shredder for a small office, home office, o to store in a cupboard for occasional use, the might be just what you've been looking for. Here's why it's one of our top picks:
Cross cutting
Despite being small in size, this model offers cross cutting, meaning you won't have to worry about fraudsters piecing together your confidential documents.
Cuts through credit cards
Just like the other models in this list, the Rexel Style+ can cut through credit cards, staples and paper clips, as well as paper. It's worth noting that it cannot tackle CDs.
Auto start/stop function
Designed to help clear paper jams, this model comes with an auto start/stop and reverse function, which means you'll never have to worry about losing your fingers in the process of unclogging a backed up machine.
Shop the full range of shredders available from John Lewis & Partners
If you’ve got masses and masses of documents that need to be destroyed, then the will serve you well. Here's everything you need to know about it:
Continuous running time
With a continuous running time up to 30 minutes, this model is perfect for those on a mission to destroy a lot of documents, in one go. By a lot of documents, we mean up to 3500, consecutively.
Cross cutting
What's more, this model doesn't cut any corners when it comes to shredding, effectively. Much like the other models in our round up, it's capable of reducing whole sheets of paper to small, confetti sized pieces.
Large capacity
Our largest capacity shredder, this model is more than capable of handling up to an impressive 17 litres, before it requires emptying. Plus, a small, transparent window built into its design makes it easier than ever before to see when it's reaching max capacity.
Overheating and overloading protection
With all the shredding that's about to go down, you'd think overheating might be a problem. But that's simply not the case, thanks to handy overheating and overloading protection technology. So, you can shred to your hearts content, safe in the knowledge that you won't run into issues.
Browse more shredders available from Currys PC World
Designed for those on a budget, the Amazon Basics Cross Cut Shredder is compact and does everything you'd expect a good quality shredder to do. Here's why it made our round up:
Cross Cut
Just like the more expensive models in our round up, this offering from Amazon is effective in cutting paper into tiny, confetti like piece of paper. If you're concerned about safety and leaked documents, it certainly won't let you down.
Credit card slot
Plus, it's designed with a handy credit card slot to safely decline of bank cards.
Factors worth considering
This model doesn’t have a very long run time, and requires 30 minutes of cool down before you shred again. So, if you're anticipating taking on mass shredding sprees, this may not be the model for you.
Want more home office advice?