With more and more people working remotely, your home office must have a tool to destroy sensitive documents both from a work and personal data perspective. I rarely have to print sensitive data, so I did not need a super-fast powerful machine. I started looking for the best home paper shredder under $100.
FAQs To Consider When Buying a Paper Shredder
Amazon groups shredder sheet capacity into four groups; up to 9, between 10-14, 15-19, and 20-24. Of course, some models can shred over 100 sheets at a time. This may not be typical for a small home office.
The price varies based on features and brand. While researching paper shredders, I found some that cost over a thousand dollars. On the other hand, you can find models that cost less than fifty dollars.
There are manual shredders available. But this article focuses on the automatic ones. With most automatic shredders, you can shred for a finite time before the machine will overheat and shut off. The range of the paper shredders listed below are from 3 to 10 minutes.
Once the automatic shut-off is invoked, you must not use the paper shredder for a finite number of minutes, called the cool-down period. This time can range from 5 to 45 minutes depending on the machine.
If you shred a lot, you will probably want a basket that holds more paper. How often you empty the basket depends on its capacity. Most are usually represented in gallons or sheets. The bin capacity depends on the bin size.
Paper shredders use a security level classification from P-2 to P-7, with P-2 being the largest to P-7 the smallest. P-2 is the least secure and P-7 is the most. Unless you have very, very sensitive data, a P-2, P-3, or P-4 paper shredder is appropriate for home or small business use.
You will find shredders listed as strip cut, crosscut, and micro-cut. As the name implies, a strip cut shredder shreds in strips. Cross cutters shred lengthwise and crosswise. Micro shredders cut paper into minuscule pieces. Cross cutters are most common for normal home use. Cross cut shredders are ideal for shredding everyday documents. Micro-cut shredders offer increased privacy.
Be sure to read the specifications. Some machines can cut credit cards, CDs, DVDs, staples, paper clips, and junk mail. The less expensive machines often do not handle CDs or discs.
You can lubricate the blades to sharpen and clean the shredder blades. You can use special oil or purchase paper shredding, sharpening, and lubricating sheets. Sheets are definitely less mess than oil.
Home Paper Shredder Under $100 – Top 5
We did our research and came up with our list of the best home paper shredder under $100. Most are cross cutters, but one is a micro cutter if you have that need. We selected based on most common sheet capacity. They are listed by capacity and all are under $100.
#1 – Best 6 Sheet Micro Cut Shredder
Amazon Basics 6 Sheet Micro Cut Paper and Credit Card Home Office Shredder
Amazon Basics 6 Sheet Micro Cut Paper and Credit Card Home Office Shredder
Specifications
- Cut Type: Micro Cut Paper Shredder
- Shreds: Paper, credit card and small paper clips
- Sheet Capacity: 6 Sheets
- Bin Capacity: 4.1 Gallon Bin
- Run Time: 3 minutes
- Security Level: P-4
- Dimensions: 12.76 x 7.32 x 15.94 inches
- Weight: 9.7 Pounds
#2 – Best 6 Sheet Cross Cut Paper Shredder
Bonsaii C237 B Cross Cut Paper Shredder
Bonsaii C237 B Cross Cut Paper Shredder
Specifications
- Cut Type: Cross Cut
- Shreds: Paper, credit cards and small paper clips
- Sheet Capacity: 6 Sheets
- Bin Capacity: 3.4 Gallons
- Run Time: 4 minutes
- Security Level: P-3
- Dimensions: 11.8 x 7.1 x 14.3 inches (LxWxH)
- Weight: 6.39 Pounds
#3 – Best 10 Sheet Cross Cut Shredder
Bonsaii C209D 10 Sheet Cross Cut Paper Shredder For Home Office
Bonsaii C209D 10 Sheet Cross Cut Paper Shredder For Home Office
Specifications
- Cut Type: Cross Cut
- Shreds: Paper, credit cards and small paper clips
- Sheet Capacity: 10 Sheets
- Bin Capacity: 5.5 Gallons
- Run Time: 4 minutes
- Security Level: P-3
- Dimensions: 12.64 x 7.91 x 18.5 inches(LxWxH)
- Weight: 11.86 Pounds
#4 – Best 12 Sheet Cross Cut Shredder
Aurora AU1230XA Cross Cut Shredder Office
Aurora AU1230XA 12 Sheet Cross Cut Shredder
Specifications
- Cut Type: Cross Cut
- Shreds: Paper, credit cards and small paper clips
- Sheet Capacity: 12 Sheets
- Bin Capacity: 5.2 Gallons
- Run Time: 5 minutes
- Security Level: P-3
- Dimensions: 13.31 x 8.46 x 15.87 inches(LxWxH)
- Weight: 13.01 Pounds
#5 – Best 14 Sheet Cross Cut Shredder
Fellowes Powershred 14C10 14 Sheet Cross Cut Home Office Paper Shredder
Fellowes Powershred 14C10 14 Sheet Cross Cut Home Office Paper Shredder
Specifications
- Cut Type: Cross Cut
- Shreds: Paper, credit cards, paper clips and staples as well as unopened junk mail
- Sheet Capacity: 14 Sheets
- Bin Capacity: 5 Gallon Bin
- Run Time: 10 minutes
- Security Level: P-4
- Dimensions: 13.44 x 9.69 x 19.69 inches(LxWxH)
- Weight: 18.11 Pounds
Recommended
Identity theft is real and you need a tool for destroying your private documents. The products selected are some of the best paper shredders under $100. If you need a product that shreds more than 14 sheets at a time, the Amazon Basics Shredder is a best seller.
As stated previously, to keep your shredder working properly, you need to sharpen and lubricate the blades. Oil works well, but is messy. These sheets are a better alternative.
To keep your important documents, use a portable scanner prior to shredding them. Read how.
