Cordless vs Countertop Waterpik water flossers: which one is better?

Cordless and Countertop Waterpiks are very different. And if you haven’t used any Waterpik before, it may be hard to decide which one is better and which one to choose.

Both Cordless and Countertop models have their pros and cons. I have some good experience with Waterpik and water flossers in general, so I hope I can give you some useful information to make the right choice.

Waterpik Countertop models are the primary water flossers in the Waterpik line. They are the most powerful water flossers.

Most Countertop Waterpiks have several features in common:

• High water pressure. Countertop Waterpik water flossers provide high water pressure of 100 PSI. This is enough to do a decent cleaning and remove bacteria, plaque, and food from your teeth and along the gumline. This is the main advantage of countertop models over cordless ones.
• 10 pressure settings. Countertop models mostly have many pressure settings. I like it because with a Countertop water flosser I can choose the exact setting, that is comfortable for me and cleans my teeth as well.
• Big water reservoir. Typical water tanks provide 90+ seconds of work and have around 22 Ounces capacity.
• Big Tips Storage. I believe that Countertop Waterpiks are the most suited for the whole family exactly because of Big Tips Storages. The biggest Tips Storages can store 5 tips(in Waterpik Complete Care) or 4 tips(in Waterpik Ultra). So you can keep personal tips for every family member.
• Convenient handle. The handle is small and comfortable. It has a pause button(or a slider like in Waterpik Aquarius.) The handle is attached to the base with cord.
• Works from a socket outlet. Countertop models need a socket outlet to work, and they are compatible with US only Voltage.

Those features are common for all the Countertop Waterpiks with maybe few exceptions(e.g. Aquarius has a smaller Tips Storage, for example.) So if you look at the list of the features, you can see that countertop Waterpik water flossers are best suited for the whole family and for home use.

On the other hand, Cordless Waterpik water flossers have a different set of features:

• Compact and cordless. Those water flossers are more compact and smaller in size. It makes them better suited for travel. They are allowed on the airplanes as well. You can also take one for going somewhere out.
• No socket outlets. Cordless Waterpiks work from either AA batteries(Waterpik Freedom) or a rechargeable battery(Waterpik Professional.) So you don’t need a socket outlet and you also don’t have to carry around cords. Though, if the rechargeable battery died you would need to charge it and in this case you need to use the charger.
• Lower water pressure. This is the main disadvantage of Cordless Waterpiks over Countertop Waterpiks. The water pressure is lower pressure compared to Countertop Waterpiks.
• Less pressure settings. Cordless Waterpiks typically have 2 pressure settings with the highest one providing the water pressure of 75 PSI which is equivalent to the 7th setting on Countertop water flossers.
• Smaller water reservoir. Water tanks have capacity about 7 Ounces(210 ML). That gives you 30-45 seconds of work(depending on the model.) So to do a decent cleaning you would need to refill the water tank.
• No tips storage. This makes Cordless water flossers more suited for individual use. And indeed when you travel by yourself you probably don’t need a big Tips Storage. And of course, it would be very inconvenient to use one for a family.
• Thick handle. Cordless Waterpiks play the role of the handle itself. So the handle also contains the water reservoir which makes it thicker and not very convenient to use. It feels especially awkward when you just filled it with water, and it’s heavy and then it becomes more lightweight when the water reservoir empties. So this weird feeling makes it slightly inconvenient to use, in my opinion.

Conclusion

So here you have them: main differences in the features of Countertop and Cordless Waterpik water flossers. And I hope it is easier now to choose which one is best for you. If you opt for a Countertop model, I would recommend Waterpik Ultra.

In case you want a Cordless one I would recommend JetPik(see JetPik review) instead of Waterpik. I believe JetPik makes better cordless water flossers than Waterpik. If you still prefer Waterpik, then I would recommend buying Waterpik Cordless Freedom(Cordless Freedom review.)

It would be great if you could share this article wth your friends. Please note that neither Waterpik nor JetPik pays me. If you have any questions, feel free to hit me on Twitter.