The best overall and budget beard trimmer

The Philips Norelco Multigroom 3000 is a budget trimmer, but you wouldn't know that from the strong performance and included attachments.

I have been using older variants of the Philips Norelco Multigroom 3000 for nearly eight years because of how reliable they have been — even though I originally bought them because of the low price and they carried the Norelco name, and not so much for longevity. It's proof that you don't need to spend a lot for a good trimmer.

The Multigroom 3000 comes with three interchangeable trimmer heads: full size, precision, and nose and ear. To clean, just pop the head off the trimmer and rinse it. For the full-size trimmer head, there are seven guards with varying lengths, including three for trimming head hair. An included bag helps keep everything in one place.

Regardless of beard style, this trimmer does the job: tackle a full face of hair and shave down for a stubble look. The precision head is handy for creating that professional look.

What I like about the Multigroom 3000 are the high-quality steel blades and contoured shape that allows for a comfortable hold. Be careful: The blades are sharp, so make sure you use a guard or exercise care. The rechargeable battery is rated for 60 minutes of continuous use, but as someone who only needs to trim his facial hair every other week, I find these trimmers to have enough standby power. If you trim on a regular basis, you may need to charge it once a week.

While reliable, the motor can die on you — as it did with my first trimmer. For the price, you will get good use out of it before you would need a replacement. — Les Shu

Pros: Inexpensive, bag full of guards and attachments

Cons: Difficult to clean, not a ton of attachments