Top 10 Best Paper Shredders (Reviews & Buyers’ Guide 2022)

We have a long list of reasons for voting Fellowes Powershred 99Ci Shredder as this year’s best shredder. Aside from its powerful shredding capacity, this machine comes with four user-friendly technologies that make it great for both homes, schools, and offices: patented SafeSense technology, SilentShred technology, Anti-Jam technology, and an Energy Savings System.

With all these technologies combined, it’s not surprising that the 99Ci shredder has won the trust of thousands of buyers—just check out the paper shredders reviews and ratings on Amazon as proof. This powerful machine guarantees hassle-free, noise-free, and jam-free shredding.

It can shred up to 18 sheets of regular paper per pass and turn them into 4-millimeter x 38-millimeter cross-cut particles. This particle size passes for a P-4 security level, which is ideal for safely getting rid of confidential files like contracts and financial documents. Cross-cut particles hide sensitive information more effectively than strip cuts.

Plus, this product goes beyond the typical paper shredding. It can also cut up staples, paper clips, credit cards, old ID cards, and even CDs and DVDs—all these without any issues with jamming, safety, or disruptive noise. You’d also be saving on electricity because of this machine’s savings system that regulates energy consumption during use and shuts down the machine after a long period of inactivity.

If you want the best home paper shredder and you live with pets or kids, don’t worry, this Fellowes shredder is built with a safety sensor that automatically stops the machine when it senses a touch on or near the paper entry opening.

Plus, it can run continuously for up to 30 minutes--not bad for bulk shredding needs.

This AmazonBasics PBH-49976 cross-cut shredder is high performing yet incredibly easy to use. With a 4-mode control switch and an automatic anti-jam function, using this shredder causes no hassle—even for people who are using the shredder for the first time.

Aside from this, this shredder offers a P-4 level of security, which is ideal for businesses as well as government offices. It grinds materials into roughly 4.7 by 31-millimeter particles, making them impossible to piece together thereby protecting confidential information from getting stolen.

This shredder is great for medium-level use. It can accommodate up to 15 sheets of regular paper per pass and run continuously for up to 20 minutes. If the device is used non-stop beyond 20 minutes, the machine will automatically shut down to prevent overheating and to protect you from untoward incidents.

Not only that, but this shredder can also grind other materials aside from paper, including staples and paper clips. No need to detach papers or unstaple them one by one—leave the clipped or stapled papers in the entry feed and let the AmazonBasics shredder do its job.

If you need to get rid of old credit cards, CDs, or DVDs, you’d find it convenient that this shredder comes with a dedicated slot for these materials. As long as you place materials in the appropriate slots, the cutters will stay sharp for a long period of time.

In terms of design, PBH-49976 shredder undoubtedly has a competitive edge. With a sleek, black exterior, it’s perfect for any modern or contemporary office. It’s LED indicators also offer convenience, showing different shredder status like power on, door open, bin full, overload, and overheat. This shredder also comes with casters, sporting better portability which is convenient for medium and large workplaces.

If you’re looking for an affordable micro-cut paper shredder with a good continuous run-time, Aurora AU1210MA shredder might be your best bet. It can run non-stop for up to 60 minutes and turn waste files into particles that pass for P-4 security level.

It has a sleek, modern, and portable design that’s easy to integrate into any home, home office, or office set-up. It’s also ultra-quiet, so you can keep doing what you need to do while the machine unobtrusively does its own thing.

If paper jamming makes you forsake paper shredders, don’t worry: this Aurora paper shredder has preventive technologies, such as anti-jam auto-reverse function and overload auto-reverse function. In case you end up inserting a material that the shredder cannot destroy, you can use the machine’s Forward/Jam Remover function.

As with most modern paper shredders, this paper shredder can also destroy paper clips, credit cards, CDs, and DVDs. But for safety purposes, both for you and the shredder, it’s best to feed these materials one item at a time into the machine. Once the shredder stops grinding, it means that the material is completely destroyed and that the shredder is ready to accept the next item.

If you are working from home, choosing your equipment can be tricky, especially if you have pets or children. Fortunately, some devices are made to be pet- and children-friendly, just like the Fellowes 62MC shredder built with a patented Safety Lock.

This lock automatically shuts the shredder down when it isn’t being used. That way, even if a child accidentally or intentionally touches the shredder or inserts their fingers into the paper entry, no untoward incident will happen.

Aside from this, this shredder is also highly reliable. Although its sheet capacity is only 10 sheets per pass, its confetti shredding power grinds materials six times better than ordinary cross-cut shredders can. They turn materials into tiny micro-cut particles, which is ideal for getting rid of confidential files, old IDs, and debit or credit cards.

Another thing that makes this 62MC shredder ideal for a home office setup is its quiet operation. Regardless of the material being shredded—thin or thick paper, staples, plastic cards—this machine can grind them without creating disruptive noise. Additionally, this shredder has built-in casters, allowing you to easily move the device from one room to another.

Next in our list is the Fellowes Powershred 79Ci. This product has all the important features of a 99Ci model, except for its maximum feed capacity and continuous run-time. In a single go, this shredder can accommodate up to 16 sheets of paper as well as paper clips, staples, credit cards, and CDs/DVDs.

Although it has a lower sheet capacity per pass, its performance is not any less efficient. In fact, it can cut up to 3.3 meters of material per minute while maintaining an ultra-quiet and 100% jam-free operation. What’s more, its pull-out bin can accommodate up to 6 gallons, so you can shred all that you need to shred without interruption.

The 79Ci paper shredder is best for medium-volume shredding and is ideal for small offices and home offices. Just like our top 1 shredder, this machine is built with SafeSense technology, SilentShred technology, Anti-Jam technology, and Energy Savings System. It makes an affordable option for companies that comply with the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) or those that simply want to safeguard their privacy.

This shredder can run continuously for up to 20 minutes and requires a 40-minute cooldown time. If you need to use it for high-volume shredding, the manufacturer recommends keeping the activity within 250 sheets per day.

If you need a shredder for personal or deskside use, the Fellowes Powershred W11C is for you. It cuts materials into roughly 3.9 by 34.9-millimeter cross-cut particles, offering a P-4 security level that fits most offices as well as personal needs.

Additionally, this shredder comes with a patented Safety Lock feature which automatically disables the device when not in use. With that, you wouldn’t have to worry about placing a shredder beside your desk—you may enjoy the convenience of having a deskside shredder without being concerned about your safety. This feature is also especially useful for home offices where there are pets or children.

Like any modern shredder, this Fellowes Powershred machine can cut through various types of materials, namely, paper, staples, old IDs, credit cards, and other plastic cards. It can run continuously for five minutes straight before taking a cooldown time of 20 minutes—an interval that’s usually enough for small to medium-volume shredding.

When the shredder’s waste bin is full, you’d find it easy to take out the shredded pieces by lifting the built-in handle and retrieving the bin. The bin can accommodate up to 4.7 gallons of particles.

Want a cheaper yet powerful and heavy-duty paper shredder? Consider the Bonsaii C169-B model. It has all the advanced technologies of trusted Bonsaii shredders, but with a lower sheet capacity (14 sheets) and security level (P-3).

It’s great for offices, schools, and homes. Plus, its solid cutters can perform just as well as more expensive models—they can grind credit cards, paper clips, CDs, and DVDs without risks of damages.

If you’re worried about jamming, don’t be. This machine comes with an auto-reverse function that allows you to easily pull excess materials back out. Of course, it’s always best to avoid stuffing too many papers in the shredder’s feed to prevent jamming.

Quiet-operation is also guaranteed. As per actual quality assurance tests, this Bonsaii paper shredder produces up to 58-decibel sound only. That level is lower than what most heavy-duty shredders make, so if noise is a big issue for you, this C169-B shredder might be worth a try.

Bonsaii shredders are almost always in popular paper shredder reviews. If you want more information before making a buying decision, do read real-customer paper shredder reviews on Amazon and see for yourself what customers are saying.

Bonsaii paper shredders have a competitive edge that many brands do not have: an Advanced Cooling System. This system is built-in in C222-A shredders models, protecting them from risks of overheating and overheat-related damages. With that, it’s not surprising that Bonsaii shredders are known for having a long service life and minimal maintenance or repair requirements.

This heavy-duty shredder can destroy up to 20 sheets of regular paper per pass and can run nonstop for up to 20 minutes. It can also accommodate materials like staples, paper clips, credit cards, CDs, and DVDs while maintaining a smooth and ultra-quiet operation.

The very appearance of the Bonsaii C222-A shredder shows sophistication—much more the technologies inside that work together to achieve high-performance shredding. If noise is a big concern for you, don’t worry, this machine generates only up to 60-decibel noise, which is as soft as a normal, casual conversation.

It makes a great opinion for homes as well as small to large offices. It also has removable casters that allow for mobility as well as steady positioning.

It also comes with a big, 6.6-gallon wastebasket so you can keep shredding and just mind the waste later. The bin has a semi-transparent window, allowing for a quick check of the waste level.

It’s common knowledge that micro-cut particles offer far better security than strip and cross-cut ones. The downside, however, is that most micro-cut shredders are costly—except for this AmazonBasics AU1265MA shredder.

This shredder by AmazonBasics cuts up materials into 4 by 12-millimeter particles—a size that meets the P-4 security level standard. It makes a great option for high-security but low-volume shredding needs, which is mostly what small offices and personal shredding needs look like.

With a 12-sheet per pass capacity, this micro-cut shredder can grind powerfully within its 10-minute continuous run time. The resulting particles are up to 6 times smaller than what ordinary cross-cut shredders can produce, so even though the cooldown time is fairly long, the wait and the results are worth it.

Additionally, this shredder boasts of several user-friendly features. For one, it has a 4-mode control switch that allows users to easily switch the machine from one mode to another—on, off, reverse, and forward. It also has an LED status indicator that shows when the device is on, when the waste bin is full, when the door is open, when the feed is experiencing overload, and when the device needs to cool down.

When you’ve used the device longer than the set continuous run time, the built-in thermal protection shut-off the device to avoid damages and to protect you from overheat-related injuries.

If you need hours-long shredding with minimal interruption, Bonsaii 3S23 will do the job for you. With a capacity of 120-minute continuous run-time and an impressive 9-minute cooldown time, this heavy-duty paper shredder can accomplish a lot in a short period of time.

It’s undeniably one of the best office shredders in the market today. Plus, unlike most heavy-duty shredders, this cross-cut shredder operates with very little noise—58 decibels at most—so your office stays quiet and conducive for productive work during the shredding process.

Aside from this, Bonsaii 3S23 has a feature that fascinates many users: a high-performance cooling system. This system expels hot air from the device and circulates cool air in the machine during operation, thereby keeping the shredder at an ideal temperature.

This advanced system also serves as an overheat protection, which explains how this shredder has a very short cooldown time requirement, unlike most shredders.