Whether you’re keeping your fade looking fresh between barber appointments or giving yourself a full trim at home, the best hair clippers can make the job so much easier. If you’re new to cutting your own hair, choosing a model that’s powerful, accurate and comfortable to use can help you avoid patchy results and frustrating mistakes.

With so many options available, one of the biggest decisions comes down to corded or cordless. Corded clippers tend to offer reliable power for longer grooming sessions, while cordless models give you more freedom to move around, especially those with long-lasting lithium-ion batteries.

Features like adjustable guards and taper levels are worth considering if you want more control when blending hair or creating a fade. Celebrity hairdresser Luke Benson recommends cutting hair when it’s dry, starting with a longer guard and gradually working your way shorter to avoid taking off too much too soon.

As a men’s grooming expert who has tried countless hair clippers over the years, I’ve been testing a range of designs at home to find the best models. My top pick is the Wahl colour pro lithium ion, but there are plenty of great options below to suit different budgets and skill levels.

Read more: Best electric shavers for men, tested

The best hair clippers for 2026 are:

  • Best overall– Wahl colour pro lithium ion: Was £24.66, Boots.com
  • Best budget buy– Braun HC5010 hair clipper: £46.58, Amazon.co.uk
  • Best cordless model– BaByliss men super-X metal series cordless hair clipper: £59.99, Amazon.co.uk

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  • Besthair clippers overall
  • Why we love it- Impressive battery life
  • Stylish design

As fun to look at as it is to use, Wahl’s cordless colour key clipper is robust, features a taper lever for precision cuts and comes with tapered ear guards to make it easy to trim around your lugholes. In a clever touch, all the comb guards are individually coloured to prevent you from accidentally using the wrong length guard (the shortest is sensibly coloured red) while each is clearly labelled with grade numbers to make choosing a length super easy – you can choose from 0.8mm to 25mm.

The Lithium-Ion battery provides 120 minutes cordless use on a three-hour charge, offers a 15-minute chick charge and is designed to lose virtually no power during storage. It’s a little noisier than the others here and you certainly feel it vibrate in the hand but its overall performance is superb. It even comes with a handy barber-style haircutting cape too!

Key specifications

  • Battery life:2hrs
  • Charge time:3hrs
  • Corded/cordless:Cordless
  • Grade lengths:3mm-25mm

  • Additional accessories:Ear taper combs; haircutting cape; soft storage pouch; scissors; barber comb; blade oil; cleaning brush; instruction booklet

  • Bestbudget hair clippers

  • Why we love it- Entry level

  • No-frills design

  • Take note- Long charging time

As you might expect from the hair clipper with the lowest RRP here this no-frills model from Braun eschews fancy functionality, add-ons and accessories in favour of does-what-it-say-on-the-tin simplicity, which is its strongest suit.

It’s cordless and washable like many of the other clippers here but has fewer length settings (just nine ranging from 3-24mm) but that’s fine if you’re not after pinpoint precision fades. A great entry point clipper for beginners and those on a budget though I’m not sure the comb guard would survive a dropping. It provides 40 minutes of cordless action but be warned – for that you need to charge it for a full eight hours.

Key specifications

  • Battery life:40mins
  • Charge time:8hrs
  • Corded/cordless:Cordless
  • Grade lengths:3mm-24mm

  • Additional accessories:Shaver oil

  • Bestcordless hair clippers

  • Why we love it- Sleek design
  • Handy USB charging stand

This premium hair clipper for men from BaByliss Men is the coolest-looking of all the trimmers I reviewed. It’s sleek, elegant and a dream to use, while super-sharp Japanese blades allow for cuts from 0.8mm-25mm. Comb guards, left and right ear taper guides and a five-position taper control for graduated fades are also included, meaning you can cut with confidence.

In a cool touch, there’s a pulsating blue battery charge indicator down the side which gives it a space-age feel, while a handy USB charging stand marks it out from the other clippers here.

Key specifications

  • Battery life:3hrs
  • Charge time:3hrs
  • Corded/cordless:Cordless
  • Grade lengths:0.8mm-25mm

  • Additional accessories:Ear taper guides, blade oil, storage pouch, information booklet

  • Besthair clippers for facial hair

  • Why we love it- Designed for beard, head and body
  • Best for those wanting super short cuts

Leeds-based shaving company Barbarossa Brothers might be better known for its superb shaving equipment, but its commitment to quality and style is just as evident in this multi-purpose clipper. Designed for beard, head and body it features just three length guards (from 1mm to 3mm) so it’s strictly for those wanting super short crops (think Jason Statham), neat stubbly beards or trimmed back body hair but we loved how this low-noise clipper performed.

I loved how it looked even more though. Taking its design cues from top-end safety razors, its knurled handle not only looks great but provides great grip too. Not much fatter than a fancy cigar, it’s fantastically compact and portable too. Style and substance in one sleek tool.

Key specifications

  • Battery life:2hrs
  • Charge time:2hrs
  • Corded/cordless:Cordless
  • Grade lengths:1mm-3mm

  • Additional accessories:Cleaning brush, blade guard

  • Besthair clippers for travel

  • Why we love it- Can shave in any direction

  • Compact design

  • Take note- Stainless steel blades need replacing every four months

The Philips oneblade is one of those grooming tools that you don’t think can be bettered until it is. Genuinely groundbreaking, it’s an electric hybrid styler, with a two-sided blade allows you to shave in any direction and this upgraded model features a blade that moves in all directions, allowing you to reach difficult bits with fewer passes.

Though primarily designed for beards and body hair, you can also use it to cut the hair on your head too as long as you’re going for something super short (its maximum 5mm cutting length is just shy of a standard No 2 crop). A small gripe is that you have to replace the stainless steel blades every four months or so, with a replacement blade costing around £11.49 (Boots.com) but other than that, I loved it.

If you’re a guy who likes his hair as closely cropped as his beard – or shave your head completely – this is a perfect compact device. Since it’s not much bigger than a fat cigar, it’s great for travel or for gym bags too.

Key specifications

  • Battery life:60 mins use on a 1hr charge
  • Corded/cordless:Cordless
  • Grade lengths:0mm-5mm
  • Special features:USB charging

  • Additional accessories:Protective cap; charging cable

  • Besthead shaver

  • Why we love it- Closer shave
  • Better for facial hair
  • No snagging

If you’re a guy who likes a totally smooth pate, Remington’s new ultimate series RX7 rotary head shaver – an improved version of the popular RX5 – is the boy for your bonce.

This model has blades that flex more than its predecessor, allowing them better contact with the skin and hence a closer shave (it cuts to a barely perceptible 0.2mm). It also features a turbo speed function which makes shaving faster and more efficient when ploughing through thicker growth. Five blades mean you need to pass over the scalp less to get the job done and a pop-up trimmer allows for detailing, though this is for facial hair rather than head hair.

It takes minutes to get the job done, I didn’t experience any snagging as I shaved and its compact, palm-sized handle design means it’s easy to manoeuvre over the scalp and much more comfortable in the hand than a traditional hair clipper is. It’s certainly easier on the scalp than razors or clippers with their guards removed.

Key specifications

  • Battery life:60 mins use on a 4hr charge
  • Grade lengths:0.2mm
  • Special features:USB charging, turbo speed function, waterproof

  • Additional accessories:Travel pouch, blade protector, cleaning brush

  • Besthair clippers for buzz cuts

  • Why we love it- Combines for buzz cuts and complete shaving
  • Useful haircutting accessories

This handy buzz cut clipper cleverly combines options for short buzz cuts and, thanks to a special foil shaver head, for complete head shaving too. It can also be used cordless or corded (you can just plug it in and cut if you’ve forgotten to charge it), though the battery charge indicator warns you when you’ve less than 10 per cent battery power left).

I found the foil shaver attachment took a while to get the job done – you do need a few repeat passes to get a completely smooth pate – but couldn’t fault its ability to power through hair for an all-over crop and the shortest guard delivers perfect Jason Statham-style scalp stubble. It’s not washable and you do need to oil the blades, but as with many Wahl clippers, you get loads of useful haircutting accessories and, because the company builds things to last, an impressive five-year guarantee.

Key specifications

  • Battery life:120 minutes cordless run time from only a 3-hour charge
  • Corded/cordless:Cordless
  • Grade lengths:0.2mm – 13mm
  • Special features:Left/right ear taper combs; dual foil shaver head

  • Additional accessories:Cleaning brush; scissors; blade oil; barber comb; soft storage case

  • Bestpremium multifunction clipper

  • Why we love it- Robust design
  • Adjustable attachments
  • Built to last

It took Panasonic forever to come up with a multifunction grooming tool to compete with ones offered by its rivals but when you hold it’s modular personal care system you can see why: a lot of care and attention has gone into it. Unlike other kits around you start with the hair and beard trimmer and buy different heads depending on your needs – as well as a nose and ear hair head, for example, there’s a foil shaver head and even an electric toothbrush one.

Sleek and minimalist, with a matte back finish, it’s beautifully designed and feels robust and solid in the hand. The two separate hair styling guards (one for short cuts and one for longer ones) offer lengths from 0.5mm (with the guards removed) to 20mm. Best of all you can adjust the lengths in tiny 0.5mm increments via a little dial, so it’s great for graduated fades. What’s more, the blades are specially angled to cope with curly hair as well as the straight stuff.

It’s not the cheapest hair clipper on the market, for sure, but it’s definitely one of the most stylish and feels like it’s been built to last.

Key specifications

  • Battery life:50 mins use on a 1hr charge
  • Corded/cordless:Cordless
  • Grade lengths:1mm – 20mm
  • Special features:Interchangeable heads

  • Additional accessories:Protective cap, travel pouch

  • Besthair clippers for battery life

  • Why we love it- Can be washed under a tap
  • Impressive battery life (five hours)

  • Easy to grip

  • Take note- Dial-controlled length guard feels toy-like

Remington’s award-winning answer to Braun and Panasonic’s multifunctional offerings differs in part thanks to its design, with gold-coloured blades and accessory detailing marking it out from the other styling kits on the market. Otherwise, it does pretty much the same things, except this one focuses on the face and hair, with a foil shaver attachment included so you can shave too.

The pros of this model are the fact it can be washed under a tap after use (it’s 100 per cent waterproof and can also be taken into the shower) and that it has an impressive five-hour battery life, along with a five minute quick charge option for a quick hair trim. Of course, it also cuts hair well, with minimum noise and vibration and the main unit feels solid and is easy to grip. If it has one con its that it’s let down slightly by the pasticy, toy-like feel of the dial-controlled length guard for shorter styles.

Key specifications

  • Battery life:5hrs use on a 4-hour charge
  • Corded/cordless:Cordless
  • Grade lengths:1.5 – 25mm
  • Special features:Quick charge option; 100 per cent waterproof

  • Additional accessories:Cleaning brush; travel pouch

  • Besteasy-clean hair clippers

  • Why we love it- Fast cut
  • Beard comb attachment

Lightweight but solid, Philips’ cordless hair clipper offers an impressive one hour and 30 minutes cutting from a single one hour charge, has self-sharpening blades and 28 separate length settings. It also features special “trim-n-flow” technology (yes, the brand actually went there and used “n” in the description) to channel hair clippings away from the blades, which minimises the risk of clogging. This helped it deliver a slightly faster cut because there wasn’t so much stopping to remove clipped hairs.

There’s a no-frills air to it, which isn’t necessarily a bad thing, and it comes with a beard comb attachment which is a bonus. It’s 100 per cent washable too, which is handy hygiene-wise should other members of the family be brave enough to sample your barbering skills.

Key specifications

  • Battery life:2hrs
  • Charge time:1hr
  • Corded/cordless:Cordless
  • Grade lengths:0.5mm-28mm

  • Additional accessories:Cleaning brush, beard comb, two hair combs (long and short), storage pouch, barber kit

  • Besthair clipper for buzz cuts

  • Battery life40mins
  • Charge time4hrs
  • Corded/cordlessCordless
  • Grade lengths1.5mm – 15mm
  • Additional accessoriesTravel pouch, cleaning brush
  • Why we love it- Curved design to follow shape of your hair
  • Best for those wanting single length

This novel, washable palm-sized clipper doesn’t look like conventional clippers and doesn’t cut like them. Not only are the blades curved to follow the shape of your head, but the blades are also over 50 per cent bigger than those on other clippers. The upside of this is that it offers a super quick cut; the downside, however, is that it lacks the accuracy smaller blade surfaces allow. What’s more, its guide combs only offer cutting lengths of 1.5mm-15mm and feels a little fragile.

It certainly feels odd in the hand at first, though you quickly get used to it, and its shape actually makes it easier to use on the back of the head and around the nape. Although you can grade and taper, this clipper is probably best for those wanting single length, all-over buzz cuts.

Key specifications

  • Battery life:40mins
  • Charge time:4hrs
  • Corded/cordless:Cordless
  • Grade lengths:1.5mm – 15mm
  • Additional accessories:Travel pouch, cleaning brush