Table of Content
- Which paper shredder do you want to use at Home?
- What can you put in a paper shredder?
- AmazonBasics 6-Sheet Cross-Cut Home Paper Shredder
- Upgrade pick: Amazon Basics 12-Sheet Micro-Cut Shredder
- Best Paper Shredder for Home Office in 2022
- Best Splurge Paper Shredder: Fellowes Powershred LX20M Micro-Cut Shredder
Besides paper shredding, it can also destroy many papers, newspapers, plastic cards, CDs... Keep an eye on the amount of paper in your shredder's wastebasket. These cost about $90 to $200 (though you can pay much more for commercial-grade models). These models have all the bells and whistles, shred quickly, can take on a large amount of sheets per pass, have long duty cycles, and fast cool down periods. These have much longer duty cycles and can shred more sheets at once than basic models, but most still won't be quite heavy-duty enough for office use. A home shredder can tackle between 5 and 10 FPM, on average, whereas heavy-duty models designed for office use may be able to shred 30 FPM or more.

These are questions our readers have before they select a model to suit their needs. This simple micro-cut choice has a dedicated feed slot for credit cards and CDs. Shreds paper, credit cards, and CDs, and should be able to deal with paper clips or staples.
Which paper shredder do you want to use at Home?
If you only have a few documents to shred, you should buy the more affordable one. Should you be an accountant or lawyer, you can also buy it for home use. It will be a bit time-consuming if you need to shred a lot of documents. This space-savvy design tucks away beneath desks and even boasts a 5-minute run time. Most of these models are more than sufficient for home use, and some may even be fast and powerful enough for use in a small office. Some of these use special attachments for dealing with plastics, and only cut them into thin strips.

Bonsaii's paper shredder cuts up to 12 sheets at a time into 4-by-12-millimeter pieces—an impressive six times smaller than standard cross-cut shredders. Thanks to its internal cooling system, this paper shredder can run for 30 minutes straight before it needs to cool down for 20 minutes. It can handle credit cards, paper clips, staples, and more without jamming. Once we had a basic list of features to look for, we called in all the hardware that met the requirements. Then, we turned the reins over to a frequent partner in crime, Jim Shapiro. Jim has a physics degree from MIT, as well as a Master of Science and a PhD in mathematical physics from UCLA.
What can you put in a paper shredder?
They also report that it's relatively quiet when in use, and that it's an excellent choice for home office use. Of course, those with bulk shredding needs might want to consider something a little more heavy-duty. The pack of 12 shredder lubricant sheets is necessary to have if you have a shredder at home. You only need to use one every couple of months to keep the cutters working and is not as messy as oiling.
It offers a medium security level rating of P-3, shredding your documents into 5mm x 35mm pieces — find out more about how security ratings work in our paper shredder buying guide. You can shred up to 5 sheets of paper at a time, with all cuttings collected in a 13-litre bin. When it comes time to empty your bin, there's a convenient carry handle to help make the process as easy as possible.
AmazonBasics 6-Sheet Cross-Cut Home Paper Shredder
You will no longer have to clear paper jams like some cheap paper shredders on the market. The Aurora AU870MA is one of the best home shredding machines in 2021. 【3.4 Gal Transparent Wastebasket】The crosscut shredder with 3.4 gallon wastebasket can hold 180 sheets of A4 paper for less frequent and easy emptying. Our research includes comparing the prices of paper shredders, which vary widely depending on features such as shredding capacity and performance speed.
And micro-cut shredders dice paper into tiny diamonds or bits of confetti, and are suitable for shredding confidential—and in some cases secret—papers. Micro-cut shredders can shred a letter-size page into more than 2,000 pieces versus 400 or fewer pieces for a cross-cut shredder. They’re also more likely to have a higher, P4 security-rating level. Cross-shreds 18 sheets of paper per pass and won't choke on paper clips and staples. Users say it works more quickly and efficiently than pricier models. If you have a busy home office, you will appreciate the help of the EverShred Pro 12-sheet crosscut shredder.
In general, it’s best to spend some time getting to know your shredder and how much paper it can handle at once. When we conduct our assessments, we want to know if a shredder can shred more than just paper. Pricier, more powerful models can often shred items such as plastic, DVDs, and credit cards. Some shredders are compact in size and suitable for small spaces.

This model also jammed four times during our tests when we stuffed in a thick batch of folded sheets or pages with a large paper clip, so don’t expect it to take the abuse of a busy office. If the shredder does jam, you can easily clear it by throttling the gears into reverse . In the past, when we overloaded other shredders, we were unable to clear similar jams, even when they had both reverse and forward jam-clearing options.
The shredder is not according to their expectation, requirements or needs. The Fellowes AutoMax 130C Auto Feed Shredder can automatically shred a stack of up to 130 sheets, and you can manually feed twice as many sheets as it is rated for. The Fellowes Powershred 99Ci 100% Jam Proof Cross-Cut Shredder is an excellent heavy-duty shredder. It's speedy, has high paper capacity, can shred a variety of materials, and can operate for a long time before needing a break.
Similar to the Fellowes the 18-sheet Bonsaii crosscut shredder offers you multiple uses to shred from paper to discs. All this made possible with the advanced cooling system protecting the controls and motor from overheating. The appliance shreds up to 5.3 feet per minute and the motor works quietly without a grinding noise. Another fantastic thing is the jam detection system reverses automatically when the paper is stuck. Here we have another heavy-duty paper shredder you can use at home. You can rip through paper, discs, plastic cards, and paper clips.
With the micro-cut shredder, you get great security when in need of taking care of shredding jobs. For the home office, it is perfect and shreds eight sheets of paper with a single pass. Not only can you rip up the document you can use it to destroy credit cards and other plastic cards.

This probably isn't a big issue for home use , but for office use, a long cool-down time can be prohibitive. Luckily for anyone who has to shred a lot of paper in one go, shredders process more than one sheet of paper at a time. The amount of sheets a paper shredder can deal with is referred to as "sheets per pass." If you want the gold standard of paper shredders, opt for a micro-cut shredder.