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Best Paper Shredders In 2023

We look at the best paper shredders for disposing of your confidential data
Last Updated on February 7, 2024
Fellowes Powershred 99Ci Paper Shredder

We’re still a long way from a paperless society, and we still have so much personal data lying around in both paper and plastic form. The best paper shredders let you dispose of your precious personal data safely and effectively.

Invest in a high-quality shredder today to prevent your data from falling into the wrong hands.

Products at a Glance

How we picked the best paper shredders

We picked the best paper shredders using a combination of features such as input capacity, bin capacity, items that can be shredded, and price. We also considered running time, which is important if you regularly need to shred lots of items continuously.

Our Recommended

Best Paper Shredders In 2023

1
PROS
  • Long running time
  • SafeSense feature stops shredder motor if it detects non-paper items
  • Paper thickness sensor prevents jams
  • High bin capacity
CONS

You can shred paper, CDs, DVDs and rogue paper clips and staples with the Fellowes Powershred 99Ci cross-cut shredder. Its 18-sheet input capacity means you can shred decently sized document bundles continuously for up to 30 minutes.

The Powershred 99Ci’s illuminated strip tells you if you are inserting too much paper, which prevents jams. It also tells you if you can add more sheets to get your shredding done faster and save your time.

The SafeSense feature stops the Powershred 99Ci’s motor if it detects hands near the paper input slot, which keeps your fingers safe. A light tells you if SafeSense is active. The Powershred 99Ci’s energy saving mode will save money and energy.

Plus, the Powershred 99Ci’s 7.5-gallon/34-litre bin capacity should mean fewer trips to the dumpster than with a smaller-capacity shredder.

This is the best paper shredder if you want a heavy-duty budget shredder with a large bin capacity, front panel feedback and safety features but don’t want a more expensive continuous model.

2
PROS
  • Continuous use – no rest needed
  • Paper thickness sensor prevents jams
  • SafeSense feature stops shredder motor if it detects non-paper items
  • Very high bin capacity
CONS
  • Not cheap

The Fellowes Powershred 225Ci is a heavy-duty shredder that can devour bank cards, staples, paper clips, CDs and DVDs. It’ll also run continuously, so you don’t have to stop for a while, you can keep feeding it your documents. This is good if you often shred a vast amount in one go.

There’s a special input point for CDs, DVDs and bank cards, and they must be entered one at a time. You can insert up to 22 sheets of 21 lbs/22 gsm paper at a time.

An illuminated strip tells you if the bundle you want to shred is too thick and would cause a jam. This prevents problems before they start and keeps you shredding without incident. The SafeSense feature stops the shredder if it detects something other than paper, which keeps you and your fingers safe.

The bin capacity is 16 gallons/72 litres to maximize time between empties to save your time and effort.

The Fellowes Powershred 225Ci is the best paper shredder if you often to shred a vast amount continuously.

3
PROS
  • Long running time to get more continuous shredding done
  • High-capacity bin for longer time between empties
CONS
  • Small bin window

The Bonsen S3105 can shred up to 24 paper sheets at a time. You can also shred paper, bank cars, staples, paper clips and more continuously for up to 40 minutes. All of which speeds up your shredding duties and saves you time.

The Bonsen S3105 has automatic start and stop functions to speed up shredding and help prevent jams. You can also press the Reverse button to retrieve a document that shouldn’t have been in the bundle. This could help you save precious information depending how far into the shredder it went.

The Bonsen S3105 has a large 7.9-gallon/4.9-litre bin capacity, which means longer time between empties than with a smaller shredder. This is the best paper shredder if you want a long running time and high bin capacity.

4
PROS
  • Long running time
  • Can shred CDs, DVDs and staples
CONS
  • Would prefer a larger bin window

You can use the Amazon Basics 18-sheet micro-cut shredder to shred bank cards, CDs, DVDs, staples and even paper clips. This lets you dispose of digital data safely and not have to worry about rogue staples and paper clips. However, you must shred optical discs and bank cards individually, which is typical for a lot of shredders.

That’s in addition to an input capacity 18 sheets of 20-pound bond/75 gsm paper. Plus, the Amazon Basics 18-Sheet Micro-Cut Shredder has a 30-minute running time. This means you can shred many sheets continuously for a decent length of time without the shredder overheating. The shredder needs 50 minutes to recover once it has overheated.

You can see the 7-gallon/32-litre bin’s remaining capacity through a window, so you can pre-empt when it needs emptying. You shred documents and reverse the shredder to resolve jams. This is the best paper shredder if you want a heavy-duty shredder at a relatively low price.

Features and considerations

You need to consider a few fundamental features when buying the best paper shredders. One is the type of media and the input capacity. Your shredder might shred standard A4 or Letter paper, but what about thicker media such as card? Can it shred booklets, chequebooks, junk mail or even credit cards and CDs/DVDs?

You won’t need to worry about input capacity so much if you only shred a few sheets occasionally. However, it’s worth considering if you shred lots of documents in one go.

You need to check how long a shredder will work before it overheats. An overheated shredder will stop working and you won’t be able to use it for an extended period.

You need a big bin capacity if you shred documents often or you’ll be emptying the shredder more often. Get a shredder with a bin window or some other indicator so you can see how full it is.

You also need to consider:

  • Controls such as forward and reverse
  • Safety controls such as an emergency shut-off when the shredder detects non-paper items
  • Type of shredding action such as cross-cut, micro-cut and so on
  • Price

Do I want a Strip-Cut, Cross-Cut or Micro-Cut shredder?

A strip-cut shredder is the most basic kind, which simply cuts paper, cards, and CDs into thin strips. These don’t offer the best level of security since anyone who finds these shredded strips would be able to reassemble the strips to form the completed original with just a bit of patience and glue. They are fast and cheap, and for low stakes, domestic usage is perfectly up to the task. These are also a convenient way to prepare a waste paper for recycling.

A Cross-Cut shredder offers more robust security, usually at a higher cost. Instead of documents just being cut into thin strips, it will also cut each individual strip into multiple smaller pieces. This would significantly increase the work required to reassemble any shredded documents, so these are a good choice for more sensitive personal or business documents.

A Micro-Cut shredder will turn paper into confetti, turning a single sheet of paper into thousands of tiny pieces. This would take an extreme forensic operation, and a lot of time and effort, to even attempt to reassemble. This is ideal for the most sensitive documents that you would want to be absolutely certain have been destroyed, but it does make it the most expensive type of shredder, and it can take quite a long time to fully shred documents.

Do these Shredders feature protection from overheating?

Each of the shredders featured here features protection from overheating. Thermal overload protection will automatically shut down the shredder if it’s getting close to overheating.

Our Verdict

The Fellowes Powershred 225Ci is great for large departments where multiple workers must shred a lot of items often. However, the Fellowes Powershred 99Ci hits a sweet spot of running time, safety options, shreddable media and bin capacity. This makes it the best paper shredder for us.