Which hair dryer should you buy?
If you can get one, a Philips. Repair cafés fix 81.5% of the Philips dryers they see, more than any other brand we rank, and write off the fewest. But we couldn't find one on amazon.com, and the ones on amazon.ca are European imports built for 220 to 240 volts.
So of the dryers you can buy here, get the Braun Super-Ionic or the BaBylissPRO Nano Titanium. Both come from brands repair cafés fix about two times in three, and Amazon sells both in the US and Canada.
- Braun Super-Ionic: ~$98 · Check price on Amazon
- BaBylissPRO Nano Titanium: ~$105 · Check price on Amazon
If you want a dryer to last, skip the Dyson. It has the lowest repair record of the brands we rank.
Which hair dryer brands get fixed most?
Philips, by a distance. Repair cafés fix 81.5% of Philips dryers, against 68.6% for BaByliss, 67.5% for Braun, 62.6% for Remington and 50.5% for Dyson. Repair cafés also write off the fewest Philips dryers, 13%, and Philips dryers come in older than any other brand's with enough recorded ages, typically almost 10 years old.
Two things to know before you buy by brand. Conair has owned BaByliss since 1995, and BaBylissPRO is its salon line. And Conair has made Braun's hair dryers under license since about 2022, so Braun's record may say little about a Braun dryer you buy today.
Repair cafés fix only about half the Dyson dryers they see.
Repair figures come from Open Repair Data, which logs repairs at volunteer repair cafés, nearly all of them in Europe. Brands need 100 or more records to be ranked: BaByliss has 385, Philips 276, Braun 203, Dyson 198 and Remington 155. Fix rates less than 3 points apart count as a tie. Ages are recorded for 153 BaByliss and 116 Philips dryers; we only compare ages for brands with 100 or more.
Which hair dryers last?
Philips Series 3000 (BHD360). From the Best-Rated Brand - Brand fix rate: 81.5% · Durability: 9/10 - Price: on Amazon here, European imports only
The dryer we'd buy if we could get it here. It comes from the brand repair cafés fix most, and retailers list a two-year Philips guarantee. Its ThermoProtect attachment mixes warm and cool air so it dries at a lower temperature.
Trade-offs: You can't buy it from Amazon in the US. The ones on amazon.ca come from third-party sellers, and they're the European model, built for 220 to 240 volts, not North America's 120. Don't buy one to use here. That's why there's no link.
Braun Super-Ionic. The Cheaper Pick - Brand fix rate: 67.5% · Durability: 7/10 - Price: ~$98 · Check price on Amazon
A good-value dryer from a brand repair cafés fix about two times in three, and Amazon sells it in both stores. It has an 1875-watt motor and a light that reminds you to clean the air filter.
Trade-offs: Conair makes it. Conair has made Braun's hair dryers under license since about 2022, so the brand's repair record may say little about this one. We haven't found its warranty term.
BaBylissPRO Nano Titanium. Salon-Style Pick - Brand fix rate: 68.6% (BaByliss) · Durability: 7/10 - Price: ~$105 · Check price on Amazon
A 2000-watt salon-style dryer Amazon sells in both stores. Conair has owned BaByliss since 1995, and repair cafés fix about two in three BaByliss dryers. The rear filter comes off for cleaning, which its Amazon listing says keeps the motor going longer, and the cord is 9 feet long.
Trade-offs: The BaByliss repair records are almost all from Europe and describe the brand, not this model. Amazon.ca sells the Canadian version, the BNT5547C. Sellers quote anything from one to four years of warranty, so check what yours comes with.
Parlux 385 Power Light. For Salon Fans - Durability: 6/10 · Repair records: too few to rate - Price: ~$372 · Check price on Amazon
Parlux's long-running salon dryer. Retailers list it at about 500 grams with a two-year warranty.
Trade-offs: Amazon doesn't sell it, so it comes from third-party sellers, and in the US they were asking more than its US$225 list price when we checked. Parlux has too few repair records for us to rate, and the motor-life figure we found came from a seller, not Parlux.
Panasonic nanoe EH-NA67. For Even Heat - Durability: 6/10 · Repair records: too few to rate - Price: ~$210 · Check price on Amazon
Its nozzle swings back and forth to spread the heat, so there are no hot spots, its Amazon listing says. Amazon sells it in both stores, and Best Buy's spec sheet lists an AC motor.
Trade-offs: There aren't enough repair records for Panasonic dryers for us to say how long they last, and we haven't found its North American warranty term.
Dyson Supersonic Origin. Skip It for Longevity - Brand fix rate: 50.5% · Durability: 5/10 - Price: ~$500 · Check price on Amazon
Dyson's Amazon listing says it checks the air temperature more than 40 times a second to avoid heat damage.
Trade-offs: Dyson has the lowest repair record of the brands we rank: repair cafés fix about half the Dyson dryers they see. It also cost four or more times as much as the Braun or BaBylissPRO when we checked, and amazon.com was out of stock for much of the last three months.
Durability scores are our editorial ratings, not measurements. Fix rates are each brand's, from repair cafés, not this model's. The Braun and BaBylissPRO are on DurableFinds with our other durable picks.
What breaks on a hair dryer?
Of the faults we can sort, the cord, plug or switch, by far. That's the good news: it's the easiest fix. A dead motor is the worst news.
- Cord, plug or switch: the most common fault we can sort, fixed 79% of the time.
- Heating, including overheating and burning smells: fixed 49% of the time, and 39% are written off.
- Broken or damaged: fixed 49% of the time, and 42% are written off.
- Motor: the worst odds. Only 36% get fixed, and 57% are written off.
Repair cafés typically see hair dryers at 7 years old, and the middle half are between 4 and 11.
Fault types are sorted from volunteers' notes by keyword, so they're approximate. About half the records don't name a fault we can sort. Cord, plug or switch covers notes about the cable, plug, switch, fuse or wiring; heating covers heat, overheating, burning and the element. Cord, plug or switch: 1,480 records; heating: 249; broken or damaged: 166; motor: 155. Ages are recorded for 1,345 dryers.
What we looked at
Repair records. How often repair cafés fix each brand's dryers, how many they write off, and how old the dryers are when they come in.
What the maker says. Motor, filter and warranty, from the maker or the listing, and we say which.
Where you can buy it. Whether Amazon itself sells it in the US and Canada, and at what price.
Disclosure: Some product links on Sundr are affiliate links. If you buy through them, we may earn a small commission. This doesn't influence our analysis. See our full affiliate disclosure.
What should you look for when shopping?
A filter you can take off and clean. BaBylissPRO's listing says cleaning it keeps the motor going longer, and the Braun has a light to remind you.
A brand that gets fixed. Repair cafés fix 81.5% of Philips dryers and about half of Dyson's.
North American voltage. Most European dryers are built for 220 to 240 volts. Check the listing before you buy an import.
Before you replace one, check what broke. If it's the cord, plug or switch, repair cafés fix 79% of those. See if yours is worth fixing.
Compare Brands
See how hair dryer makers compare on repair records:
- Hair dryer brand reliability rankings. Philips, BaByliss, Braun, Dyson and more, ranked by repair success rate
- Dyson vs Philips: which brand is more reliable?
- Braun vs Philips: which brand is more reliable?
- BaByliss vs Braun: which brand is more reliable?
- Braun vs Dyson: which brand is more reliable?