Supplies & equipment
In short
Best overall: Fellowes LX Series LX201 paper shredder Micro-cut shredding 23 cm Black, £299.99 at Back to the Office. Best value: Fellowes Powershred 10M paper shredder Micro-cut shredding 65 dB Black, £196.99. Premium pick: Fellowes AutoMax 600M - Shredder - micro-cut - 2 x 12 mm - P-5, £1,356.99.
Across the 644 matching listings we screened from 4 UK suppliers, most cost £132–£789 and the middle price is £368. Prices checked 27 October 2026.
Most shredder reviews rank a handful of machines on speed and bin size. For an office, the first question is different: what security level do the papers you destroy actually need, and can the machine keep up with a whole team?
This shortlist is drawn from UK trade catalogues, so you can compare security level, sheet capacity and bin size side by side. Use the notes below to match the machine to your documents before you look at price.
| # | Product | From | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Best overall Fellowes LX Series LX201 paper shredder Micro-cut shredding 23 cm… | £299.99 | Details |
| 2 | Rexel Momentum Extra P420+ Jam Free Cross Cut Paper Shredder P4 | £475.99 | Details |
| 3 | Fellowes 79CI paper shredder Confetti shredding 23 cm Black | £398.99 | Details |
| 4 | Best value Fellowes Powershred 10M paper shredder Micro-cut shredding 65 dB Black | £196.99 | Details |
| 5 | Fellowes Powershred 99Ci paper shredder Cross shredding 23 cm Black,… | £562.99 | Details |
| 6 | Fellowes AutoMax 550C - Shredder - cross-cut - 4 x 38 mm - P-4 | £1,261.99 | Details |
| 7 | Premium pick Fellowes AutoMax 600M - Shredder - micro-cut - 2 x 12 mm - P-5 | £1,356.99 | Details |
| 8 | Fellowes Powershred 225Ci - Shredder - cross-cut - 4 x 38 mm - P-4 | £957.99 | Details |
1 · Best overall
Fellowes · Sold by Back to the Office
SUPERIOR SECURITY SHREDDING - The Fellowes LX201 micro-cut paper shredder can shred 12 sheets per pass into tiny 2 x 12mm micro-cut particles (Superior Security DIN P-5), so you can be sure that your confidential documents have been shredded securely.
2
Rexel · Sold by Back to the Office
Shreds up to 20x A4 sheets (80 gsm) at once.. P-4 cross cut (4x35mm). Jam-free active sensing technology measures the number of sheets being fed in real-time to stop paper jams and misfeeds; indicated by a red LED on the control panel..
3
Fellowes · Sold by Back to the Office
HIGH SECURITY SHREDDING - The essential shredder for any small or home office, the 79Ci cross-cut paper shredder shreds 16 sheets (70gsm) of A4 paper per pass into 4x 38mm cross-cut particles (High security P-4), so you can be sure that your confidential work…
4 · Best value
Fellowes · Sold by Back to the Office
SUPERIOR SECURITY SHREDDING - The Fellowes 10M micro-cut paper shredder can shred 10 sheets at once per pass into tiny 2 x 12 mm micro-cut particles (Superior security DIN P-5), so you can be sure that your confidential documents have been shredded securely.
5
Fellowes · Sold by Back to the Office
HIGH SECURITY SHREDDING - The essential shredder for any small or home office, the 99Ci cross-cut paper shredder shreds 18 sheets (70gsm) of A4 paper per pass into 4x 38mm cross-cut particles (High security P-4), so you can be sure that your confidential work…
6
Fellowes · Sold by Back to the Office
SHRED A LARGE NUMBER OF DOCUMENTS AT ONCE - The 550C auto feed paper shredder can shred 550 sheets automatically and manually shred 14 sheets of 70gsm paper per pass into 4 x 38mm cross-cut particles (High Security DIN P-4), so you can be sure that your…
7 · Premium pick
Fellowes · Sold by Back to the Office
SHRED A LARGE NUMBER OF DOCUMENTS AT ONCE - This hybrid paper shredder can shred 600 sheets automatically and manually shred 14 sheets of 70gsm paper per pass into 2 x 12mm micro-cut particles (Superior Security DIN P-5), so you can be sure that your…
8
Fellowes · Sold by Back to the Office
HIGH SECURITY SHREDDING - The 225Ci cross-cut paper shredder can shred 24 sheets (70gsm) at once per pass into 4 x 38mm cross-cut particles (High security DIN P-4), so you can be sure that your confidential documents have been shredded securely.
Shredders sold in the UK are rated on the DIN 66399 scale, from P-1 (long strips) to P-7 (very fine particles). The higher the number, the smaller the pieces and the harder they are to piece back together.
Fellowes groups the levels into three protection classes: class 1 (P-1 to P-3) for internal data, class 2 (P-3 to P-5) for confidential data, and class 3 (P-5 to P-7) for highly confidential and secret material. It advises businesses not to go below P-4 and suggests P-5 for most needs.
The ICO's guide to data security says physical security should cover how you dispose of paper and electronic waste, and lists hard-copy records that are incorrectly disposed of as a type of security incident. It does not name a P-level, so the choice is yours to justify.
A simple rule many offices use: anything with a name, address, bank detail or HR information goes through a P-4 or higher machine. Write that rule into your data protection policy so staff know which bin or shredder to use.
Reviews list sheets per pass and bin size, but a shared machine is limited by its run time. Many desk-side models run for a few minutes and then need a long cool-down; Which? notes cool-down can take from 20 minutes up to an hour. If several people shred at the end of the day, look for a longer run time or an auto-feed model you can load and leave.
Higher security costs throughput. Micro-cut and P-5 machines usually take fewer sheets per pass than a P-4 cross-cut, so a busy team may be better served by a large P-4 auto-feed unit plus a smaller P-5 machine for HR or finance.
On our shortlist, the Fellowes LX Series LX201 paper shredder Micro-cut shredding 23 cm Black is the best overall pick at £299.99 from Back to the Office. For a tighter budget, the Fellowes Powershred 10M paper shredder Micro-cut shredding 65 dB Black (£196.99) is our best-value choice.
Most of the 644 UK listings we screened sit between £132 and £789, with a middle price of £368. Trade suppliers often show prices before VAT, so add 20% if you can't reclaim it.
A VAT-registered business can usually reclaim the VAT on equipment bought for business use, as long as it holds a valid VAT invoice from the supplier. Ask the seller for one at checkout.
The picks here come from Back to the Office. Most UK trade suppliers offer next-day delivery and VAT invoices; some offer credit accounts for regular orders.
UK GDPR does not set a level. Fellowes recommends businesses avoid anything below P-4 and use P-5 for most confidential papers, which is a sensible baseline for personal data.
Not for anything containing personal or company data. Strip-cut machines are rated P-1 or P-2, which Fellowes describes as suitable only for paper with no personal or company data.
If people shred in batches, yes. An auto-feed machine lets someone load a stack and walk away, which avoids queues and stops staff hitting the run-time limit on a manual model.
Cross-cut and micro-cut machines usually need regular oiling to keep cutting well. Check the manual for the interval and budget for shredder oil or oil sheets.