Philips Sonicare DiamondClean Smart 9300 vs 9500 vs 9700: Differences Explained

There’s no question about the importance of brushing your teeth. But there is still a vast number of people not cleaning their teeth well enough to avoid issues in the future. If you are still brushing teeth with a normal toothbrush, you are missing out on essential upgrades that make brushing more effective than ever before.

Sonicare offers a variety of high end, electric toothbrushes that really do surpass the standards of your old fashioned toothbrush. Today, we are comparing the 9300, 9500, and 9700 Sonicare toothbrush models which have different features, add-ons, and price tags, so that you can find the best model for your teeth, lifestyle, budget, and toothbrushing routine.

Philips Sonicare DiamondClean Smart 9300 vs 9500 vs 9700 At A Glance

• All three models are connected to the Sonicare app, which will allow you to see what areas of your mouth have not received enough attention so that you can get a deeper clean.
• The 9300 has 3, 9500 has 4 and the 9700 model has 8 brush heads respectively.
• The 9300 electric toothbrush has 4 cleaning modes; clean, white+, deep clean+, and gum care, while the 9500 and 9700 offer a fifth; tongue care.
• The 9300 model has 3 color options, the 9500 model has 4 colors to choose from, while the 9700 is only available in 1 color.
• Both the 9300 and 9500 models have a battery life of around 3 weeks, while the 9700 only offers around 2 weeks on a full charge.

Philips Sonicare DiamondClean Smart 9300 Advantages

• Four Different Cleaning Modes

The Sonicare 9300 model offers 4 different cleaning modes including clean, white+, deep clean+, and gum health. The different modes work together, targeting every aspect of toothbrushing separately, offering an overall deeper clean and more effective performance than your traditional toothbrush.

The strategy of separating cleaning modes into clean, deep clean gum health functions are not only good in theory, they are actually proven to remove 10 times more plaque than a normal toothbrush. The white+ function will begin showing the results of whiter teeth in around two weeks.

• Light-Up Feature

Though it never is explicitly taught to us, brushing of teeth is most effective and safe at a certain pressure. With a normal toothbrush, this pressure can be extremely hard to find. However, with the Sonicare toothbrushes, the ring on the end of the brush will light up when you’ve got the pressure wrong, making finding that middle ground easy.

• Ergonomic Handle

Even though we are supposed to brush our teeth every night, traditional toothbrushes are really not designed to be comfortable in our hands. The Sonicare toothbrushes are designed with an ergonomic handle which will not only offer more comfort than a traditional toothbrush, it also looks sleeker sitting in your bathroom.

Philips Sonicare DiamondClean Smart 9300 Disadvantages

• Glitchy App

While the app does provide more control and a deeper look at the effectiveness of your toothbrushing session, it can glitch, which may make teeth brushing experience more frustrating.

• Three Brush Heads

Though the three brush heads do offer a deeper clean than the singular, smart brush head offered by a traditional toothbrush, the 9300 model is certainly lacking in comparison with the 9500 and 9700 which offer 4 and 8 brush heads respectively.

• Fewer Modes

The 9300 model not only has fewer brush heads than its counterparts, but it also has one less brushing mode.

Philips Sonicare 9500 Advantages

• 4 Color Options

Your electric toothbrush is traditionally something that is most effective when it sits out in the open, reminding you through a visual symbol that cleaning your teeth is a necessary task. This means that your toothbrush is constantly on display, for all to see.

The 9500 model offers more colors than its counterparts, made to match any bathroom decor the 9500 is available in white, gray, pink, and black.

• Tongue Care Mode

The Philips Sonicare 9500 model offers all of the same modes of the 9300, with an addition of a fifth mode, tongue care. Brushing your tongue is an essential part of brushing teeth that is often skipped or rushed.

Many dentists actually attribute a badly cleaned tongue to the main culprit for bad breath, so don’t skip out on tongue cleaning with this fifth cleaning mode.

• Four Brush Heads

The 9500 model offers an array of four gum care brush heads, one more than the previous 9300 model. Since each brush head is optimized to make every toothbrushing task more effective, that extra brush head provides a more specific and therefore arguably a deeper clean.

Sonicare 9500 Disadvantages

• More Expensive

Though the extra cleaning mode and brush head explain the added price tag, the 9500 is more expensive than the earlier 9300 model, without offering too much extra incentive for the investment.

• Glitchy App

Unfortunately, the app for the 9500 model is still extremely glitchy adding stress to your tooth-brushing session, which is certainly not ideal early in the morning or right before bed.

• Tongue Brushing Function

Though tongue brushing is extremely necessary, a tongue cleaner is pretty affordable and provides as deep of a clean as the tongue cleaning mode on the 9500 model. Since the main upgrade between the 9300 and 9500 is tongue cleaning, it is up to you to decide if it is worth the price.

Philips Sonicare DiamondClean Smart 9700 Advantages

• 5 Cleaning Modes

The 9700 model comes with all of the same effective cleaning modes of the 9500 model, providing a deeper clean with a singular product than the 9300 model or a traditional brush.

• 8 Brush Heads

The Sonicare 9700 electric toothbrush comes with 8 different gum care brush heads, which only offer a deeper and specialized clean than its earlier counterparts. The increase is convenient as it also means your toothbrush will last longer before you need to go out and buy new brush heads to continue cleaning your teeth.

• Travel Charger

If you are traveling, it may just seem more convenient to bring along an old fashioned, normal toothbrush. But being away from home does not mean you cannot get the same deep clean. The 9700 toothbrush actually comes with a travel charger which allows you to charge both your toothbrush and phone at the same time.

Since you will already likely be USB charging your phone while away, this means your electrical toothbrush will really not be any less convenient than a normal toothbrush while traveling.

Philips Sonicare DiamondClean Smart 9700 Disadvantages

• Only 1 Color

Though this may not be a major disadvantage for all, the 9700 toothbrush only comes in Lunar Blue, which may not match everybody’s bathroom decor.

• Traveling with Extra Premium Gum Care Brush Heads

While the extra brush heads are definitely an advantage with the 9700 DiamondClean Smart series, 8 brush heads is certainly too many to bring while traveling. The brushes all come with nice traveling charging cases that are just not equipped to hold that many brush-heads, meaning you may have to leave some of them at home.

• Less Battery Life

With more features comes lower battery life, and with the 9700 model, the difference in battery life is actually quite large in comparison to its counterparts. The 9300 and 9500 models’ battery lasts around 3 weeks, while a fully charged 9700 toothbrush will only last 2 weeks.

Winner: Don’t want to read the full article? The editor’s choice is Philips Sonicare DiamondClean Smart 9500.

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What’s The Difference Between Them?

As one of the top toothbrush brands, Sonicare has been on top of brushing technology for years which is both fantastic and difficult. It can be hard to know what the differences are between the 9300, the 9500, and the 9700.

All three are fantastic toothbrushes that will certainly get your teeth cleaned, but one may specialize in a preferred aspect while the others may not. Sonicare has certainly not skimped on the technology included or the extra features.

What’s nice about all of these Sonicare toothbrushes, whether it’s the Philips Sonicare DiamondClean Smart 9300 or the 9500 or the 9700, is that you’ll get all the relatively same features although there are some differences between them that do affect the cost of each version.

Brush Heads & Modes Included

The most obvious difference between all three of Sonicare’s brushes is the number of brush heads included. All three include the Clean, Gum Health, White+, and Deep Clean+ brushing modes upon your first purchase. After that, there can be more brush heads depending on which Sonicare toothbrush you buy: the 9300, the 9500, or the 9700.

The 9300 features all four of the above mentioned cleaning modes: Clean, Gum Health, White+, and Deep Clean+. As this is the earliest version of the three, there are only three brush heads included. However, you don’t necessarily need the extra brush heads if you aren’t planning on brushing your teeth super vigorously.

When it comes to the 9500, you get an extra brush mode for Tongue Care. You still receive the Clean, Gum Health, White+, and Deep Clean+ brush modes, but the fifth mode is added as part of the price increase. The 9500 comes with four different brush heads, one extra than the 9300.

Again, as long as you don’t put a ton of pressure on the brush heads, they will last you a long time in regards to usability.

The 9700 comes with a total of eight brush heads and all five of the same brushing modes the 9500 has. It’s quite a bit more expensive and even though it does include eight extra brush heads, we’re not sure it’s totally worth the price.

You’ll still have all the same features as the 9700 with the purchase of the 9700, so it’s up to you if you feel the extra cost is worth it for the eight included brush heads.

All five of the brushing modes on the Sonicare brushes are well crafted and designed for their specific care areas. The White+ mode is great for whitening your teeth in under a week and we were extremely impressed with it.

The Tongue Care mode was great for cleaning your tongue without making it hurt or being too aggressive. Both the regular Clean and the Deep Clean+ were great as well and made our teeth feel super shiny and clean. If you feel like your teeth aren’t always clean after a regular brush, then either of these two modes (but especially the Deep Clean+) will change that.

Even the Gum Health mode was soothing and made our mouths feel clean.

Verdict: The 9500 wins this one. It has all five brushing modes included and a good number of brush heads as well. The 9700 is great only because of how many brushing heads it comes with, but I think four is plenty fine, so the 9500 is the winner in this category.

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Charging Capabilities & Extras

Charging an electric toothbrush can be a pain. The cord gets tangled and in the way when traveling or at home. Fortunately, all of Sonicare’s toothbrushes come with super cool and easy chargers and travel cases.

All of the toothbrushes come with a charging glass. It resembles a regular cup, but has a place to easily charge your toothbrush. This is great because it provides a nice stand for your toothbrush to dry on and you don’t have to worry about a cord tangling or getting in your way.

The unique cup charger is a super easy way to make your bathroom look just a little bit more classy too. It’s a win-win. All the toothbrushes also come with a travel charging case. The case resembles a regular glasses case and is small enough to easily slip into your traveling bag wherever you’re going.

Between the three toothbrushes, the travel case does change a little. The 9300 lacks a USB port, however, so you’ll only be able to charge the toothbrush with the travel case. This is pretty typical, though, so you’re not really missing out on much there.

When you look at the 9500 and the 9700, things do change a bit and get a tad bit fancier. Both the 9500 and the 9700 have a USB charging port on the travel case. With this, you can charge not only your toothbrush with the case, but also your smartphone or other USB powered device.

This comes in super handy when you are traveling around and may not have access to multiple outlets. Sonicare really does give their case this little extra advantage and once you’ve been able to use it, you’ll never want to go back.

Keep in mind that either travel case can’t hold more than the brush and one head. It’s not very large which is what makes it great for traveling, but you certainly won’t be able to take two or three extra brush heads along on your trip.

Verdict: It’s a tie between the 9500 and the 9700. The extra USB charging port was a win and both versions come with this case.

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Cost Effectiveness

Since all of these toothbrushes have advanced technology and features, the price for them is certainly higher than for manual toothbrushes or some that don’t have as many functions.

Take the time to determine which brush can fulfill your brushing needs and then determine how much you’re willing to pay for it.

As expected, the Sonicare 9300 is the cheapest option of the three we’ve been reviewing. It has the fewest features and included brushes, but that doesn’t mean it’s a poor choice.

For those who aren’t vigorous when brushing and looking for something that’s electric, easy to travel with, and a good investment, the 9300 toothbrush is a great way to go. It’s reasonably priced for the 3 extra brushes it includes and the 4 brushing modes available.

The Sonicare 9700 smart brush is the most expensive of the three. It has all the same modes and features as the 9500, but instead of a mere 4 brush heads, you’ll receive 8 extra brush heads.

If you tend to go through toothbrushes quickly or like to replace your toothbrush heads often, then the 8 brush heads could be a good investment for you.

However, it is one and a half times the price of the 9300 and quite a bit more spendy than the 9500, so unless the 4 more brush heads are important to you, we definitely feel like the 9500 is a better buy.

Also Read: Burst Sonic Toothbrush: Review & Buying Guide

Verdict: The 9500 wins here. It’s closely priced to the 9300, but it has an extra brushing mode and a total of 4 extra brush heads. Again, it’s unlikely you’ll go through brush heads so quickly so rather than paying a fortune and then losing a brush head or two, it’s worth it to purchase the same toothbrush with fewer heads.

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Conclusion

All of these electric toothbrushes are certainly a step above a traditional toothbrush, offering a proven deeper cleanse, better plaque control and removal, and an enhanced whitening.

While the toothbrush that is best for you really depends on your needs, budget, and tooth brushing routine, we definitely have a favorite model. The 9500 model comes in 4 color choices, has more cleaning modes than the 9300 model, and comes in at a more affordable price, and has a longer battery life than the 9700 model.

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