Products at a Glance
How We Picked the Best Office Shredder
Considering most offices use large paper volumes on a daily basis, we included high-volume shredders with long runtimes, large sheet capacity, and fast shredding speeds. On top of that, we reviewed both micro-cut and cross-cut shredders to accommodate all security needs.
For more convenience and time-saving, we chose shredders with large waste baskets to minimize emptying trips. Additionally, we prioritized paper shredders with quality-of-life features: anti-jamming technologies, quiet operation, and transparent bin windows all earn kudos with us.
With these features in mind, we settled on five products across different price ranges, so that businesses of any size can find the right shredder for their needs.
Product Reviews
- Quiet operation
- Overheating compensation
- Portable
- Cumbersome build
Thanks to patented cutting technology and an advanced cooling system, the Bonsaii C149-C is the easy choice for “best office shredder”. This shredder is ideal for offices of any size with a great design and highly useful features.
In terms of user-friendliness, the C149-C doesn’t disappoint. Our favorite feature of the C149-C is its quiet operation: producing cutting noise lower than 62dB, and it’s equipped with overheating protection technology to lengthen its lifetime. The shredder has a 6-gallon (or 400-sheet) wastebasket that pulls out easily for emptying. For better portability, the shredder has four lockable wheels that you can use to roll it anywhere without lifting it from the ground. This way, you can move it from cubicle to cubicle or from office to office without too much of a hassle. The C149-C can take 18 sheets at a time, and it cross-cuts your paper into tiny strips of 5 x 25 mm. As a bonus, it shreds debit and credit cards and staples.
However, a noteworthy drawback of this shredder is its bulky build: at over 20 pounds, you’ll be glad of the wheels if you need to frequently move this shredder. It’s a small issue, however, and the C149-C is still the best office shredder on the market!
- Safety features
- Intuitive LED displays
- Destroys paperclips and staples
- Premium Pricing
For the ultimate shredding solution, the Fellowes Powershred LX22M is the right choice. Offering a gamut of high-quality features, this premium office shredder is the best for the office that wants top-quality document disposal.
The Lx22M utilizes a micro-cutting mechanism for shredding paper, ensuring that sensitive information is rendered unrecognizable once disposed of. This allows the shredder to have a P-4 security rating, and additionally allows the unit to destroy paperclips, cards and staples with ease. The SafeSense Protection technology automatically detects hands or body parts nearing the shredder to minimize chances of injury. The smart features don’t stop there: LED indicators provide clear and simple metrics on when the paper bin needs emptying or when the shredder is overheating. On top of all these top features, the LX22M runs quietly and smoothly, to keep your office near-silent.
However, all these great features aren’t cheap. Even with the smallest 12-sheet model, expect to pay above the odds for this premium office shredder. If your business can afford the expense, then the LX22M is definitely worth it!
- Smart features
- Versatile shredding options
- Form factor limits productivity
If you’re working with a limited space for your shredder, consider Aurora’s AU1210MA shredder. Compact and quiet, this office shredder works highly efficiently and is ideal for small businesses.
The AU1210MA is a micro-cut shredder that can take up to 12 sheets at a time, along with DVDs, CDs, credit cards, and paper clips. With an active runtime of over an hour, you can shred large volumes of paper without having to wait for it to cool down. Similar to the LX22M, the shredder also comes with LED status indicators – though it’s worth noting that the AU1210MA is nearly half the price. And like the C149-C, the AU1210MA is highly portable with 4 wheels for easy movement.
So with all the strengths of our other top picks, why isn’t this the best office shredder on the market? Unfortunately, the size of the AU1210MA is it’s main limiting factor. Though it runs quickly and effectively, you’ll have to empty the small wastebasket far more frequently. If size is more of a concern than efficiency, however, the AU1210MA is the best compact office shredder on the market – and one of the best office shredders in its own right!
- Highly efficient
- Intuitive LED displays
- Small wastebasket
Combining a large sheet capacity, extremely quiet operation, and long runtime, the Bonsen S3102 stands out as one of the best shredders for more hectic offices. The shredder is a productivity powerhouse, ideal for fast document disposal in large quantities.
In its top-rated duty cycle, the S3102 can shred more than 4800 documents in an hour – before leaving a mere 20 minutes of cooldown time. Including a lot of features of our other favorite office shredders, such as LED indicators and roller wheels for portability, there’s a lot to like about the S3102.
However, we dislike the fact that the wastebasket is so small. Capable of holding around 420 sheets of shredded paper, emptying this office shredder reduces it’s highly efficient running back down in the most frustrating of ways. This can be overcome, and if done so the S3102 is still one of the best office shredders for high-efficiency document disposal!
- Secure and versatile shredding
- Can shred staples and paper clips
- Small design is limiting
Our final pick is suitable for mid-range offices: businesses that need a budget shredder but it isn’t expected to be in constant use. For that, we recommend Amazon’s Micro-Cut series of office shredders. Coming with a variety of capacities and sizes, there are a range of productivity options for mid-weight office needs.
The shredder can take up to 12 sheets at a time, and it deals with paper clips and staples seamlessly. As a bonus, it shreds credit cards, DVDs, and CDs – thought it can take only one at a time. The paper shredder micro-cuts paper into tiny pieces up to 4 x 12 mm in size, guaranteeing a P-4 security level. It can run continuously for 20 minutes before needing a 20-minute break – and will sleep or shutdown automatically to save energy when not in use.
However, the overall small nature of even the largest model limits this shredder to mid-range offices. If you only infrequently need an office shredder, consider the Amazon offerings!
Features and Considerations
Here are the general discussion points we look at when choosing the best office shredders:
Runtime
Paper shredders have different runtimes. Some can only run for a maximum of 10 minutes, while some can work tirelessly for an hour. This feature is important to consider when buying an office shredder because it decides how productive the device will be. If you get a shredder with a short runtime, you’ll have to take a break after shredding a small volume of paper, which will cost you precious time. Meanwhile, a long runtime with an advanced cooling-down system will minimize the time lost and give you better productivity.
Wastebasket Capacity
Emptying a paper shredder’s wastebasket is a pretty simple task, but if done a lot in a short time, it can be daunting and time-wasting. To avoid this, you should look for a wastebasket size suitable for your shredding needs. For example, if you shred large volumes of paper every day, 400 documents or more, you should get a wastebasket larger than 6 gallons. On the other hand, if you shred a maximum of 200 sheets or less daily, you’ll do well with a 5-gallon basket.
Sheet Capacity
As you’ve seen above, each paper shredder has its unique sheet capacity. The range goes from 6 documents all the way to 20 or more documents, leaving you to choose what’s best for you. For large-volume shredders, a 14-sheet or larger capacity is the way to go for ultimate productivity. However, small-volume shredders can settle for any number less than that.
Cutting Method
Paper shredders are either cross-cut or micro-cut. Cross-cutting transforms documents into tiny strips of paper on which some information might be readable. Meanwhile, micro-cutting gives you tiny shards of paper that are impossible to connect back together. Naturally, micro-cutting gives you more security if you deal with sensitive documents. Depending on your field of work, you should choose a cutting method that doesn’t jeopardize your privacy.
How do I clean my office shredder?
You can maintain your office shredder and prolong its lifespan by lubricating it regularly, cleaning its blades, and running it in reverse to remove tiny paper shreds from the blades. Also, avoid overloading it with paper or leaving it to run longer than its recommended maximum runtime.
What is a P-4 rating?
If a shredder has a P-4 security rating, it means that it cuts paper twice as much as a standard shredder, ensuring that documents are completely destroyed. This is useful for protecting sensitive information such as employee personal data or protected company data.
Our Verdict
Though it’s bulkier and heavier than we would’ve liked, the Bonsaii C149-C is unmatched for value-for-money: offering discreet document disposal at a great price point. That said, our choices today serve a range of budgets and office requirements, so any that you choose should earn their place among the best office shredders!
On the other hand, if you’re looking to improve the printing instead of the destroying of documents, check out our buyer’s guide on the best office printers on the market!