6 Best Bidets (2023): Luxe, Budget, and Nonelectric

Martin Cizmar

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Bidet seats are one of those luxuries you can live happily without until you realize what you're missing. My first encounter came at a ramen spot on the West Coast of the US that had imported a high-end Toto washlet from Japan, where they've been a part of daily life for decades. I might have been an early adopter, but bidets are getting more common in the US. Toto’s American sales doubled in the first quarter of 2020 and have continued to climb since. (The pandemic and the infamous toilet paper outage surely played a role.) But maybe more people are starting to realize that American bathroom habits are … gross. Think about it: When you get something on you that smells foul and is full of germs, do you want to wash it off or smear it off with a piece of paper?

OK, I convinced you. So what should you buy? Never fear. The WIRED team has swapped out plenty of toilet seats in search of the best bidets. We spent at least a week using each model—some for far longer—and managed the installations ourselves without the help of a professional plumber. We've got budget bidets, bidets with heated seats, and ones that automatically open up, happily inviting you to empty your bowels. We've got your bum covered.

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Think of the shape. Most American home toilets come in one of two standard sizes: round or elongated. A round toilet bowl is 16.5 inches long while an elongated bowl is about 18.5. The bidets on this list are generally made for one or the other. Measure twice, buy once. All bidets we reviewed are attachments that go on existing toilets, but there are also toilets with built-in bidet seats.

Electric seat or simple sprayer? The bidets on this list are either whole seats that you attach and connect to an AC outlet or, in the case of Tushy, a sprayer that mounts below your existing seat and taps into your water lines. The seat-top bidets are generally more expensive and have more features, but they also require electricity. You need to have a shock-blocking GFCI-protected outlet within a few feet of the toilet to use them safely.

What's your budget? You can get an attachment that fits on your current seat and taps into the cold water line filling your toilet for about $100. Some high-end bidet attachments can cost $2,000. The sweet spot tends to be at a price point between $500 and $1,000, where you get a sturdy seat with nice features but without over-the-top extras like voice commands (yes, really) and a backup battery.

After a decade of happily using Toto washlets, I was surprised to find that my favorite bidet came from Wisconsin-based Kohler. The C3 455 looks sleek and is several hundred bucks cheaper than Totos, and it has the same extra features, including backup buttons on the seat itself and a UV sanitization light. The sprayer and dryer work well and will leave you feeling fresh and clean after use. The blue UV nightlight is a game changer for using the bathroom in the wee hours too. The seat is comfortable and sturdy, and the minimalist design with almost no branding allows it to blend in anywhere. Installation is easy, and some may find the included stainless steel splitter you use to attach the bidet and toilet to your water supply more trustworthy than the plastic splitters included with the Toto.

There are some negatives. For starters, the controls aren't super intuitive. There are five water settings controlled by one button—I could never tell whether I was making the water hotter or cooler. The placement of the hose and power plug in the middle of the right side of the seat instead of the back is also awkward, and the magnet on the remote isn't strong, and you may worry about it falling off.

Toto’s large line of washlets includes models with a dizzying array of features, and they can cost as much as a total bathroom remodel. The S550E is on the lower end of the luxury class—think of it as a sensible midsize Lexus sedan. However, among the premium features are a much appreciated auto-lift seat that senses your presence and rises to greet you, plus water that’s heated on demand so you're never shocked by a cold jet stream. The S550 is also semi-self-cleaning, using a mist to make the bowl more slippery before use and spraying it clean afterward. You will still need to use a toilet brush on your bowl, but the difference was immediately evident when I switched the S550E out for a more basic bidet after two weeks of testing.

The S550E's remote control system has been dialed in perfectly and shows off Toto's expertise—it's extremely intuitive to use. You can set up preferred oscillation patterns and pressure for two users (!) that activate at the touch of a button. The water stream is adjustable but never too hard or soft, as was common on some cheaper models I tested. The S550E is a nice bidet seat with every feature most people will want, and the brand’s long track record suggests it will be durable over the long haul. If you’re torn between this and the Kohler and won’t miss a few hundred bucks, it’s a great upgrade.

This Moen electric bidet came with an overwhelmingly big manual, but after watching a YouTube video, the installation was pretty easy and took less than 20 minutes. The seat does not automatically lift up, but that's the only feature it's missing. It has it all—temperature controls for the seat, water, and dryer, where you can change it from cool, lukewarm, and warm. There's also a night light, along with varying water pressures and nozzle positions. There are even backup buttons on the side of the seat in case the remote dies at the worst time. The highest water pressure setting is a little choppy, and my wife and I both wish we could adjust the nozzle a tiny bit more, but we've been thoroughly happy not relying on toilet paper anymore.

You can mount the remote holster onto your wall, and the remote sits in the cradle, with a bit of magnetism to keep it in place. It's super intuitive to use, and there are beeps that change the tone to indicate when you're already at the highest or lowest setting. Speaking of, the bidet does beep when you sit down on it. I've seen some customers complain about this, but after several weeks of using it, I barely even register the sound. —Julian Chokkattu

Adrienne So

Julian Chokkattu

Medea Giordano

Reece Rogers

The Bidetmega 400 (8/10, WIRED Recommends) packs a lot of features into a bidet that often costs under $500. WIRED reviewer Parker Hall says it awes every visitor who enters the tiny bathroom in his home. The high-end, heated (both seat and spray) bidet is friendly and easy to use, plus it has a night light so you don't need to blast your eyes with harsh bathroom lighting for a late-night tinkle. Three seat and water temps (cold, medium, and medium-hot) allow you to customize your experience à-la-commode, with front and rear spray options for the ladies. The remote is easy to use and intuitive, so you don't need an instruction manual.

The Bidetmega comes up short, however, in its chunkier size. It’s not nearly as sleek as others on this list. The build quality also isn't as sturdy as those from legacy fixture-makers like Kohler and Toto.

The Tushy is minimal in both its setup and features. It doesn’t require hot water or an electrical outlet, so it’s a great choice for anyone who doesn't have an outlet in the bathroom. Even with simple controls—it has a single knob for water pressure—it’s a great bidet that packs a lot of water power. It comes with a few different colors and knob finishes to best fit your bathroom (though we’d be shocked if anyone found the blue or pink a perfect match to their toilet).

Since it’s nonelectric, there's no warm air dryer. After a year of use, WIRED reviewer Nena Farrell says the Tushy is showing some cracks on the rotating flanges inside of the housing (which you’d only see if you removed it), and the foam cushion surrounding those flanges is falling out. But it still works great.

The Brondell Thinline T44 could almost pass as a standard toilet seat. That's really the primary reason to go for it. Besides the light on the side of the bidet, it has a super low profile at just under 4 inches tall and is a great choice for anyone who doesn’t like the look of a bidet attachment. The Thinline is easy to install, taking just a few minutes to get everything placed and the hose hooked up. It fits well on a round toilet too—except for the back lid, which has to be gently placed in the upwards position and will try to fall. It comes with a myriad of features, including a drying fan, and it's more powerful than the Brondell BL97 (see below), but not more powerful than the low-cost, low-tech Tushy Classic.

Adrienne So

Julian Chokkattu

Medea Giordano

Reece Rogers

We'll continue to test more bidets as they find their way into our bathrooms, but not every one of them deserves a spot above. Given the current competition, this one doesn't quite make the grade.

Toto C5 for $399: This is the successor to the C200, which is what I happily used for a decade. The C5 has a great reputation—other sites have named it the best bidet—with a strong record of reliability. But after testing the new class of bidet seats on the market, I was left underwhelmed. For $400 or more, you’re getting only the most basic features. The pre-mist function wasn't effective, and my toilet required far more cleaning. Without a night light, I had to turn on my bathroom lights and blind myself to pee in the middle of the night. The C5 is a fine classic bidet, but you can do better these days.

Not every bidet is a winner. Stick with our recommendations above.

Brondell Swash BL97 for $282: WIRED reviewer Nena Farrell swapped her personal bidet out for this entry-level electric model from Brondell, and she was not a fan. The seat is tiny, and the water is weak and slow-reacting compared to bidets like the Tushy. The BL97 hose also fit poorly on her toilet and caused a leak. It does, however, have a warm seat, and the controls work well, albeit slowly.

If you’re handy and your toilet is a few inches from the wall, a bidet installation can be done in less than 15 minutes. Follow your model's instructions, but you're essentially disconnecting the water hose that feeds your toilet tank and attaching a splitter that sends some of the water to the seat and the rest to the tank. In the case of Toto and our other top picks, the seat heats that water. If your toilet sits snugly against the wall, it will be a tougher job. (This short YouTube video takes you through the complete process on a Toto.) Then, it’s a matter of removing the bolts that attach the seat to the toilet and affixing the new plastic mounting plate. The bidet will click on and off this plate. That's it!

Installing these toilet-top bidets is a job anyone can do, but most people would probably prefer to do it only once, given that there are toilet water and bath towels involved. That just means you want to choose wisely. You can also hire a plumber or TaskRabbit to install these seats, but it will cost more.

If you're worried about your electricity bill, you can always plug your bidet into a smart plug and shut off power to the whole thing when it's not in use. This might eliminate certain features though, like a heated seat right when you plop down.

Adrienne So

Julian Chokkattu

Scott Gilbertson

Louryn Strampe

Michael Calore

Erica Kasper

Julian Chokkattu

Scott Gilbertson

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