The Bidet Revolution: A Life-Changing Bathroom Upgrade
Moments of significance can separate our lives into a “before” and “after.” For one of our reviewers, life before introducing a bidet into the home is starkly different from every moment after. Now, they cannot imagine life without a bidet toilet seat and mourn the absence of the innovation on every business trip. When it gets to the point where you’re installing a bidet in the guest bathroom at your in-laws’ house, you know something existential has shifted. These devices have changed lives for the better.
Though bidets date back to 17th-century France and bidet seat attachments have been around since the 1980s, the fixture may still be new to many Americans. However, bidets are growing in popularity stateside as more folks realize that standard bathroom habits are sort of gross. A bidet’s pressurized water is highly preferable to simply smearing oneself with wadded clumps of paper.
It was our honor—seriously—to test the latest bidet-industry innovations, including a simple toilet seat add-on and an all-new modern masterpiece of all-in-one toilet technology. Call it a modern marvel, call it “buttmaxxing”—whatever you call it, we’re in (especially if the bidet includes advanced features like a heated seat and precision oscillation). Looking for more ideas? Check out our guides to the best bathroom scales, best electric toothbrushes, and best air purifiers.
Updated July 2026: We’ve added the Kohler Veil One-Piece and PureWash E930 Set and ensured up-to-date links and prices.
Best Bidet for Most People
Brondell Swash 1400
For functionality, simplicity, and effectiveness, the Brondell Swash 1400 is best-in-class, offering everything a novice bidet enthusiast could desire at an attractive price point. The Swash performs its functions perfectly: a warmed seat, an adjustable nozzle, a persistent but not invasive flow rate, and an effective deodorizing option. The simple design is approachable, and the included remote control is intuitive from the first go. You can program two users. The Swash’s drying capability is prompt and effective. After testing, this is the one that was reinstalled for personal use.
Best High-End Bidet Seat
Toto S7A
The S7A is the flagship model from Toto, the Japanese bidet maker that invented the bidet seat attachment. The lid lifts and the night-light clicks on when the device senses your presence. Controls work intuitively with buttons to adjust position, intensity, angle, and oscillation. The slim, 4-inch remote allows preprogramming for four people. The weak point: the drying fan seems a little weaker than the previous model (S550e), likely due to design compromises when shaving down height. Toto improved their pre-misting system with Ewater+, which uses a mild electrical charge to turn chloride in municipal tap water into a slightly alkaline cleaner. You could likely get away with not scrubbing the bowl for months. Given Toto’s track record of reliability (the reviewer’s previous washlet lasted a decade), the S7A is a solid investment.
Best Bidet for Water-Pressure Enthusiasts
Bio Bidet BB-2000
While some want a comfortable gentle cleanse, others prefer a more strident approach. The Bio Bidet BB-2000 ranks highest in terms of “maximum spray pressure,” essentially the bidet’s ability to hydro flush with sheer water-pressure strength. It features Bio Bidet’s patented vortex wash technology, shooting a corkscrew-helix stream of warm water with sniperlike accuracy. Engaged at full pressure, the BB-2000 offers astonishing deep-cleaning ability and may even aid with constipation. It includes a warmer, dryer, adjustable nozzle, night-light, deodorizer, and auto-raising seat lid. There is a slight learning curve with the remote. If you want thoroughness and intensity, you’ve met your match.
Best Fully Installed Bidet Toilet (if Money Is No Object)
Toto Aurora Washlet+ S7A with Integravity System
The Toto Aurora Washlet+ S7A with Integravity System is sleek, stylish, whisper-quiet, and fully integrated. It integrates seamlessly with Toto’s S7A bidet, providing automatic seat lifting and lowering and auto-flush—allowing you to use the toilet without ever touching a button. The nozzle, heated seat, air-dry, and oscillation are outstanding. You can pair oscillation with a pulse action for a noticeably more thorough experience. Installation required a plumber, specific parts (a 10-inch rough-in instead of the standard 12-inch), and a new electrical outlet. The toilet is the widest the plumber had ever seen, yet contoured to fit narrow spaces. The bowl appears small but uses the innovative Integravity System with “dual phase cleaning” that uses the time between flushing and the next use to ensure the bowl sparkles. It uses only one gallon per flush, well below the EPA standard of 1.6 gallons per flush. The price is high and professional help is likely needed, but worth the cost and effort.
A Bidet No One Will Ever Notice
Kohler Veil One-Piece and PureWash E930 Set
The Kohler PureWash E930 is a direct competitor to the Toto S7A. Two reasons to prefer Kohler’s all-in-one option: first, a small cut-out in the toilet hides the cord and water hose completely from the top of the tank; second, UV sanitization of the wand adds peace of mind, especially for women. This bidet is ultra-slim and hardly noticeable. There’s an effective night-light, intuitive controls with all expected adjustments, plus crucial auto-open of the seat cover and seat. The feature can end domestic disputes for those who have developed a phobia of touching toilet seats. There’s also an app that duplicates controls and allows setting up two available user profiles.
Best Value Bidet
Kohler PureWash E820
After a decade of using Toto washlets, our reviewer was pleasantly surprised to love the Kohler PureWash E820 (formerly C3455). It looks sleek and is several hundred bucks cheaper than Totos, with many extra features including backup buttons on the seat itself and a night-light which is a game changer for late-night bathroom trips. The sprayer and dryer work well. The seat is comfortable and sturdy with minimalist design and almost no branding. Installation is easy; the included stainless steel splitter may be more trustworthy than plastic splitters from Toto. Negatives: controls aren’t intuitive—five water settings by one button, and the reviewer could never tell whether making water hotter or cooler. The hose and power plug placement on the middle of the right side instead of the back is awkward, and the remote’s magnet isn’t strong.
A Must-Have Bidet Accessory for Tight Spaces
THU9090R Toilet Extension Hose by Anjoes
Former WIRED commerce director Martin Cizmar replaced an old-fashioned round toilet with a modern elongated one in his 80-year-old house. To fit a longer seat, he ended up with a taller tank snug to the wall. For installing an elongated toilet in an older home, this short hose extension saves hours of headache. The THU9090R hose has male and female ends of the same size, screws onto the inflow valve coming out of the bottom of the toilet tank, and offers the same connection 8 inches away, providing space to maneuver when connecting the T-shaped splitter.
Other Bidets We Like
- Brondell Swash SE400: Easy to install with a warm water jet, but side-arm control felt uncomfortable and less luxurious. A fine $200-range option.
- Brondell Swash 1000: The thinnest of Brondell’s products, designed for light commercial or public use. Great for office, bar, or restaurant, but not superior for home.
- Toto Washlet G5: Undeniably luxe with automatic flush, auto open, adjustable water jet, customizable temperature, user profiles, and easy cleaning. Lacks the Integravity System of the Aurora. (Review: Jaina Grey)
- SmartBidet SB-3000: Lacks auto-lift seat, loudest bidet tested, weakest fan. Controller design is nice but prompts unintuitive; “turbo” mode is disconcerting. —Martin Cizmar
- Toto Washlet C5: Successor to C200, great reputation, but underwhelming compared to newer models. For $400+ only basic features; pre-mist ineffective; no night-light. A fine classic but you can do better. —Martin Cizmar
- Alpha UX Pearl: Gets you clean but default spray intense—reviewer thought it might be a colonic machine. Turned down, it works fantastically with multiple heat settings, front/rear wash, adjustable nozzle, night-light, wireless remote. —Martin Cizmar
- Moen Electric Bidet: Thick manual but easy installation under 20 minutes. No auto-lift seat but has temperature controls for seat, water, dryer, night-light, varying pressures, backup buttons. Highest pressure setting a little choppy; nozzle adjustment slight limitation. Remote holster with magnetism is intuitive with changing beep tones. Beeps when you sit down (barely noticeable after a year). —Julian Chokkattu
- Tushy Aura: Includes instant heater, night-light, auto raise/close lid, intuitive remote, backup controls, digital display showing water temperature. Lacks spray adjustments; drying fan loud but not powerful. —Martin Cizmar
- Tushy Classic (Nonelectric): Minimal setup, no hot water or electrical connection needed. Single knob for water pressure, packs water power. Comes in colors but none likely match. No warm-air dryer. After a year, some cracks on rotating flanges and foam cushion falling out, but works great. —Martin Cizmar
Bidets to Avoid
- Duravit SensoWash: Uncomfortable seat, noticeable delay in warm water (initial cold blast), warm-air function wafts air from bowl to nose.
- Brondell BL97: Entry-level electric model from Brondell: tiny seat, weak and slow-reacting water, hose fit poorly causing leak. Has warm seat and works slowly. —Martin Cizmar
- LUXE Bidet Neo 120: Thin profile and easy installation, but hardware thin and snapped after few months. Our top-pick Brondell Swash 1400 or Tushy Classic are better alternatives. —Martin Cizmar
FAQs
What Kind of Bidet Should You Buy?
Pick the right shape and size. Most American toilets are round (16.5 inches) or elongated (18.5 inches). Bidets on this list fit one but not the other. Measure twice, buy once. Some bidets are attachments replacing the seat; others are full toilets like the Toto Aurora. For a full toilet, measure the “rough in” distance from bowl to wall (may differ in older homes). When in doubt, call a plumber.
Electric or just a sprayer? Electric bidet seats connect to the tank and an AC outlet (must have a GFCI outlet within a few feet). The Tushy Classic is nonelectric, does not heat water, and may feel cold. Cheaper electric bidets start with room-temperature water then warm up. Best bidets start warm with temperature control. Most electric bidets have drying fans, but you’ll still need a few squares of toilet paper for drying.
What’s your budget? A basic attachment tapping into cold water line costs about $100. The complete Toto Aurora system inches closer to $3,000 before install. The sweet spot is $500 to $1,000, offering sturdy seat with nice features and steady warm water.
How to Install Your Bidet
Bidet installation is often one of the least technical home-upgrade projects. For a toilet from the 1980s or later, if it’s situated a few inches from the wall, installation can take less than 15 minutes. You disconnect the water hose, attach a splitter sending water to the seat and tank. Toto and other top picks heat that water. If the toilet sits snug against the wall, it’s tougher (a YouTube video walks through the process on a Toto). Then remove seat bolts, affix the new mounting plate, and click the bidet on and off. It’s a job anyone can do, but choose wisely. If worried about electricity bill, plug into a smart plug to shut off power when not in use, though this may eliminate features like a pre-warmed seat.