Best shredders 2024

Shredders serve an important role in home offices and businesses, providing an easy way to dispose of personal data and avoid identity theft.

We’ve tested shredders from popular brands and retailers - including Fellowes, Rexel, Ryman, Argos and ProAction - to find out how easy they are to feed and empty, how many sheets you can shred before emptying the bin, how fast and noisy they are, and whether you can shred other items, such as credit cards and CDs.

Our results revealed two shredders worthy of our Best Buy recommendation, as well as a lower priced shredder that we've named great value.

The best shredders

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The shredders we tested

All the shredders we've tested are listed in alphabetical order below. 

Only logged-in Which? members can view the best shredders from our tests. 

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Amazon Basics Strip Cut Shredder

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Warranty 1-year limited warranty

Need to know Strip-cut, two minutes claimed runtime, 12 litre bin (approx. 25 sheets A4 paper), accepts staples, paper clips, CDs and credit cards

Bonsaii Paper Shredder

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Warranty 1-year machine warranty 

Need to know Cross-cut, three minutes claimed runtime, 13 litre bin (approx. 45 sheets A4 paper), accepts staples, paper clips and credit cards

Duronic Paper Shredder PS410

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Warranty 1-year guarantee

Need to know Micro-cut, three minutes claimed runtime, 22 litre bin (approx. 100 sheets A4 paper), accepts staples, paper clips, and credit cards 

Fellowes AutoMax 90M

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Warranty Up to 3-year warranty - register for an extra year (2+1)

Need to know Cross-cut, 10 minutes claimed runtime, 17 litre bin (approx.140 sheets A4 paper), accepts staples, paper clips, and credit cards 

Fellowes P-30C Shredder

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Warranty 1-year product and service; 3-years cutters

Need to know Cross-cut,three minutes claimed runtime, 15 litre bin (approx. 40 sheets A4 paper), accepts staples, paper clips and credit cards

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Fellowes Powershred 6M Micro-Cut Shredder

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Warranty 1-year product and service; 3-years cutters

Need to know Micro-cut, five minutes claimed runtime, 13 litre bin (approx.90 sheets A4 paper), accepts staples, paper clips, and credit cards 

ProAction Micro Cut Shredder

Available from Argos (£43.99)

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Warranty Manufacturer's 1-year guarantee

Need to know Micro-cut, two minutes claimed runtime, 15 litre bin- (approx. 60 sheets A4 paper), accepts staples and credit cards 

Rexel Momentum X308 Shredder

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Warranty 2 years

Need to know Cross-cut, three minutes claimed runtime, 14 litre bin (approx. 45 sheets A4 paper), accepts staples and paper clips

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Rexel Secure X8 Shredder

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Warranty 2 years

Need to know Cross-cut, three minutes claimed runtime, 15 litre bin (approx. 70 sheets A4 paper), accepts paper clips and staples

Ryman Micro Cut Shredder

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Warranty No information listed

Need to know Micro-cut, 15 minutes claimed runtime, 26 litre bin (approx. 200 sheets A4 paper), accepts staples and credit cards 

How we test shredders

We independently select and purchase shredders sold at UK retailers. We regularly revisit the shredders on sale to see if there are any more popular models that need testing and when we find them we do. 

Find out more about how Which? is not influenced by product manufacturers or retailers and how your support helps us to stay editorially independent.

Each shredder is assessed on the following:

Ease of use

We rate how easy the shredder is to set up, feed paper into, empty the bin, and clear out any loose paper.

Maximum number of pages per feed

We determine the maximum number of pages that can be fed in simultaneously and whether the manufacturer's claims stack up. All are able to exceed this figure, except one which failed.

Shredding ability

We test each machine's ability to shred paperclipped documents, credit cards and CDs. All were able to manage paper clips and cards, but one failed the CD test.

Clearing blockages

We create a paper jam to determine how well the shredder can clear it with the reverse function.

Speed and noise

We measure how fast each machine shreds paper and how noisy it is while doing so.

Continuous shredding

We shred paper continuously until the bin is full and record how much shredder paper it can fit inside.

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How to unblock a shredder

Many shredders experience a blockage at some point. 

Sometimes, this can be cleared by cycling between the reverse and go functions. Alternatively, it may be that the bin is full and needs emptying.

Clumps of paper sometimes get caught in the blades, which need to be removed carefully when the shredder is unplugged. A tough bit of card can sometimes be effective.

Sometimes, the overheat function kicks in and you will need to let the shredder cool down before clearing the jam.

Find out more detailed information about how to unjam a shredder.

Types of shredder 

There are three main types of shredder:

• Strip-cut - Also known as ribbon-cut - models that shred the paper into thin strips, which are less common now as they are less secure than the other types and it may be possible to reconstruct the strips into a legible document.
• Cross-cut - Sometimes known as diamond-cut, these shred the paper into small pieces a bit like wedding confetti, so it would be much harder for someone to reassemble them.
• Micro-cut - The most secure type slice paper into such tiny pieces that a criminal would find it extremely difficult, near impossible, to put them back together. 

We'd advise you to go for either a cross-cut or micro-cut shredder to maximise your security.

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