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Regardless of how you wear your facial hair (or how many styles you cycle through), you’ll need a reliable beard trimmer. That’s because having facial hair—any amount of it, really—requires upkeep every few days in order to stay tidy and intentional. (By intentional, we mean to say that you are sporting something that is your own style, rather than sporting everything exactly as it’s sprouted from your face; any ol’ fool can do that!)
The best beard trimmers offer something more than the baseline—they’re a cut above the rest, literally, and will put customization, ease and precision in your hands. You want a device that does it all, so that you don’t have to invest in a new beard trimmer every time you want to try a different look or length. That being said, you might even want more than one device, in the event you want something simpler for travels or gym cleanups. Read through our favorite beard trimmers below, to find the device (or two) that can help you achieve the style (or two) that you want to intentionally show to the world.
The Best Beard Trimmer Overall
Panasonic Beard Trimmer ER-SB40-K
With 19 trimming lengths built into a single device (0.5-10mm), and the muscle to mow at 9,800 cuts per minute, Panasonic’s powerhouse remains unparalleled. It delivers up to an hour of use when it’s fully charged and unplugged, but you can also leave it plugged in. Its wide-tip blades are optimal for all hair types, especially thick, coarse styles, and it is entirely waterproof for an easy, fast flush. (It’s worth the reminder: don’t run this thing under a tap when it’s plugged in.) It has automatic universal voltage, to adjust to any country’s standards, and an attachable guide comb adds additional customization with the touch of a dial.
Best Vacuum Beard Trimmer
Wahl Vacuum Trimmer Kit
The sink-ledge cleanup is one of the great hurdles to a stress-free trim—not to mention, it can bring tension into your household if you don’t tidy up properly. Wahl’s vacuum-powered beard trimmer will help avoid some of those hassles while also delivering a great trim. It suctions up the large majority of clippings as they fall away from your mug, and is easily emptied and rinsed after the fact. It comes with 12 guide combs, ranging in length from 1/32” to 3/8″, and maintains a 1:1 charge-runtime ratio. You can even tidy up errant nose hairs with the respective attachment.
Best Beard Trimmer for the Gym or Travel
Ritter O-CUT Compact Beard Trimmer and Hair Clipper
Some guys may prefer to have a separate, dedicated trimmer for their gym bags, or for their Dopp kits when they travel. Ritter’s bite-sized trimmer is a big thing in a small package. It can be zero-gapped for a bald shave, and holds a 4-hour charge (with its globally friendly USB charger). The 4.5-inch palm-sized device tucks easily into your gym bag or carry-on, and it is significantly quieter than its larger brethren. It has three guide combs (1mm, 3mm and 6mm) and draws clean, precise lines.
Best Barbershop-Caliber Beard Trimmer
Andis Slimline Pro T-blade Trimmer
There’s a good chance your barber uses this guy to clean up your neckline, and any edge work around the sides of your head. But it’s just as clutch for beards, and not just for drawing clean lines. It mows through thick, dense hair (up to 6,000 strokes per minute), and keeps a nearly 1:1 charge-to-runtime ratio. It can be zero-gapped for the closest possible electric shave, and it has four guards so that you can fade a beautiful tapered beard neckline (or cheek line), not to mention maintain a lovely uniform-length short style. (The guards range from 1/16” to 1/4″.) This isn’t a device for maintaining long beard styles, aside from the clean edges and taming flyaways, but it is the strongest and closest at what it sets out to do.
Best Entry-Level Beard Trimmer
Suprent Beard Trimmer
You can’t mess things up with this device—and that includes keeping your bank account tidy. Surrent’s beard trimmer is a steal, especially considering it allows up to 19 different lengths with the twist of a dial (in 0.5mm increments). It’s got a nearly 1:1 charge-to-runtime ratio, and charges via USB (making it ideal for international travel, no less). If you trim infrequently or are looking to learn the ropes on a low-cost, high-return device, this is it.
Best Beard Detailer and Trimmer
King C. Gillette Style Master Beard Trimmer
Amazon
With a trimmer head that mimics the maneuvering of a cartridge razor, King C. Gillette’s Style Master draws careful, clean lines—without obstructing your view of the canvas. (If you want to get in real close with a standard beard trimmer, the head of the device can block your view of what you’re doing, which puts you at the risk of over-trimming.) By trimming at the top and bottom edge, this one makes those tiny details easier to draw and maintain. Plus, three guide combs allow you to snip at 1mm, 3mm or 5 mm lengths, and the device is completely waterproof, making it an ideal option for guys who prefer to trim in the shower.
Best Multitasking Beard + Body Trimmer
Philips Norelco Multigroomer All-in-One Trimmer Series 5000
Amazon
If you’re set on having a singular device for your head-to-toe needs, this is your trimming kit. It’s got 17 trimmer attachments. First are the swappable heads: a standard trimmer, a T-liner for detailing and edges, a spot-snipper for eyebrows and finetuning and a nose- and ear-hair clipper. Then there are two body hair guards, two hair fading guards, four hair clipping guards and five beard and stubble guards. Not only can it tame any and all hair on your person, but it also holds a three-hour charge and can run continuously while plugged in.
Best Beard Trimmer + Hair Clipper Combo
Bevel Pro All-in-One Clipper & Trimmer
Bevel
We sung the praises of the Bevel Pro when it launched—it is the supreme device in the hair-cutting category, especially for anyone looking to mind head hair and facial hair alike. Its pivot-lock magnetic guards feel as futuristic as the sleek, sexy device itself, and offer barbershop standard #0-4 clipping options (from bare skin to half an inch) with #5-8 available separately (up to 1 inch). An LED dial allows you to adjust the clipper gap from 0-2.5mm at 0.1mm increments. But its most impressive stat may be that it holds over four hours of juice per charge.
Best Waterproof Beard Trimmer
Hatteker 5-in-1 Waterproof Beard Trimmer
This is one of those does-it-all devices, delivering a surprising amount of muscle and detailing options for such a low cost. And on top of that, Hatteker’s LED-display trimmer is also fully waterproof. It’s not like trimming your beard in the shower is efficient (and certainly not recommended), but the waterproofness does make it much easier to rinse clean (or to trim up body hair and stubble in the shower, if you like to wear things close to the skin).
Most Durable Beard Trimmer
Panasonic MultiShape
Not only has Panasonic’s latest beard trimmer changed the game in terms of customization (from the consumption perspective, since it allows users to opt into the attachments they need and the battery they prefer), but this device is also so reinforced from base to guard teeth. You’ll get years of unencumbered use, while drawing clean lines with each pass—not to mention, it’s waterproof and rinses clean. Tote it for weekends away, and rest assured that arrives in the same condition as when you packed it.
Best Electric Shaver + Beard Trimmer Combo
Dollar Shave Club Double Header Electric Razor and Beard Trimmer
The newest launch on this roster is also the first device from Dollar Shave Club. The brand gives its customers a terrific 2-in-1 “Double Header” device that seamlessly shears stubble and details whiskers. It has 6 guards to optimize length in each part of the face, which is especially useful for guys who like to cycle through different lengths (or a high-contrast style that uses two or more lengths at the same time).
Best Beard Trimmer on a Budget
Remington All-in-One Grooming Kit
For a low cost, you’d think that this tool would have a fixed head and few detailing options. Instead, you get four graduated guard heads along with two supremely useful detailing heads—a tiny tooth-wide snipper that can zap single hairs at a time, as well as a thin-set electric shaver that can help clean up the perimeter of your facial hair style, to help the rest of your whiskers really shine.
Best Travel Beard Trimmer
Wahl Peanut Hair Clipper and Beard Trimmer
The cutely named Wahl Peanut is just a quarter pound in weight, and fits snugly into your dopp kit or carry on, so that you can stay tidy on the road. It comes with a detachable blade head for easy cleanup and oil upkeep, as well as four cutting combs to help you trim a variety of styles. It can even keep your buzz cut or fade fresh, and for this reason is a favorite travel tool for many barbers.
Best Electric Razor with Beard Trimming Attachment
Braun Electric Razor Series 5 5050cs with Beard Trimmer and Body Groomer
Instead of just suggesting you beard trimmer-forward tools that feature secondary clipper or shaver functionality, we also wanted to recommend Braun’s terrific foil-head electric shaver. It is foremost that, but it has trimming attachments that can help tidy up stubble (and body hair, too), for the guy who usually sports a clear shave but who sometimes want a pop of ‘stache or stubble and.
Beard Detailing Pen
Remington MPT-3400 Detail Trimmer
Beard_Trimmers_Refresh_Remington
This lil guy helps clean up the mustache line, the neckline, cheek lines… pretty much any and all lines. (You can even use it to clean up your line-up hairstyle!) Its thinness and precise trimmer make for easy spot checks, including around the eyebrows.
