Best Tin Openers: should you buy an electric tin opener? – Which?

Discover the best tin openers that impressed us most in our tests of manual, electric and left-handed tin openers. 

The best we found was highly rated by all who tried it but it’s relatively pricey. 

However, we also found a great-value option that impressed for just a few pounds.

We rated all the tin openers for ease of opening (even if you have limited grip), disposing of the lid and compactness.

The best tin openers

Only logged-in Which? members can view the tin opener test results below. 

Join Which? to get instant access to our test results and Best Buy recommendations below.

Tin opener

Cheapest price

Compactness

Ease of opening a tin

Ease of disposing of the lid

Where to buy

Excellent

Very easy

Very easy

Average

Easy

Easy

Average

Easy

Easy

Average

Average

Average

Average

Average

Average

Excellent

Difficult

Difficult

Average

Difficult

Average

The tin openers we tested

All the tin openers we tested are listed in alphabetical order below. 

Only logged-in Which? members can view the best tin openers from our tests. 

Join Which? to get instant access to our results and Best Buy recommendations below. 

Chef Aid Butterfly Can Opener

Cheapest price: £2 available at Lawsons, also available at Amazon.

Pros: Log in or join Which? to instantly reveal.

Cons: Log in or join Which? to instantly reveal.

Need to know: Bottle opener on handle

Culinare MagiCan Can Opener

Cheapest price: £5.50 available at Amazon, also available at Argos, John Lewis.

Pros: Log in or join Which? to instantly reveal.

Cons: Log in or join Which? to instantly reveal.

Need to know: This tin opener has no additional features

Ikea Koncis

Cheapest price: £4 at Ikea, also available at Amazon

Pros: Log in or join Which? to instantly reveal.

Cons: Log in or join Which? to instantly reveal.

Need to know: Bottle opener included

Joseph Joseph Can-Do Compact Can Opener

Cheapest price: £13 at Light in the box, also available at Joseph Joseph (out of stock). 

Pros: Log in or join Which? to instantly reveal.

Cons: Log in or join Which? to instantly reveal.

Need to know: Quick-release button included

Joseph Joseph Pivot 3-in-1 Can Opener

Cheapest price: £10 available at Amazon, also available at Joseph Joseph.

Pros: Log in or join Which? to instantly reveal.

Cons: Log in or join Which? to instantly reveal.

Need to know: Ring pull opener and bottle opener included

Kuhn Rikon Auto Safety Master Opener

Cheapest price: £17.47 available at Kuhn Rikon, also available at Amazon 

Pros: Log in or join Which? to instantly reveal.

Cons: Log in or join Which? to instantly reveal.

Need to know: Ring pull opener, bottle opener, stuck jar opener, one-press lid ejection all included

Oxo Good Grips Magnetic Can Opener

Cheapest price: £19 available at Amazon, also available at John Lewis.

Pros: Log in or join Which? to instantly reveal.

Cons: Log in or join Which? to instantly reveal.

Need to know: Magnetised top to hold tin lid, quick-release button all included

Oxo Good Grips Soft Handled Can Opener

Cheapest price: £14.56 at Amazon, also available at Lakeland.

Pros: Log in or join Which? to instantly reveal.

Cons: Log in or join Which? to instantly reveal.

Need to know: Bottle opener included

ProCook Can Opener

Only available at ProCook: £12.95

Pros: Log in or join Which? to instantly reveal.

Cons: Log in or join Which? to instantly reveal.

Need to know: Bottle opener included

Red Handled Left-Handed Can Opener

Cheapest price: £9.95 at AnythingLeftHanded.co.uk, also available at Amazon.

Pros: Log in or join Which? to instantly reveal.

Cons: Log in or join Which? to instantly reveal.

Need to know: Bottle opener included

Discover the the best saucepans we’ve tested

The best worktop electric tin openers

Electric tin openers could be your choice if you don’t have good dexterity or strength in your hands. We tested four worktop electric can openers to see how they compare. These sit on your worktop to make it easier, in theory, to open tins. 

Only logged-in Which? members can view the electric worktop tin opener test results below. 

Join Which? to get instant access to our test results and Best Buy recommendations below.

Worktop electric tin opener

Cheapest price

Compactness

Ease of opening a tin

Ease of disposing of the lid

Where to buy

Poor

Easy

Easy

Poor

Easy

Very difficult

Poor

Average

Easy

Poor

Average

Easy

The worktop electric tin openers we tested

All the worktop electric tin openers we tested are listed in alphabetical order below. 

Only logged-in Which? members can view the best worktop electric tin openers from our tests. 

Join Which? to get instant access to our results and Best Buy recommendations below. 

Cookworks Can Opener

Cheapest price: £17 available at Argos, also available at Amazon.

Pros: Log in or join Which? to instantly reveal.

Cons: Log in or join Which? to instantly reveal.

Need to know: Bottle opener included

Kenwood Electric Can Opener

Cheapest price: £23.16 available at Kenwood, also available at Amazon, Robert Dyas.

Pros: Log in or join Which? to instantly reveal.

Cons: Log in or join Which? to instantly reveal.

Need to know: Bottle opener and knife sharpener included

Morphy Richards Multifunction Can Opener

Only available at Amazon: £25.49.

Pros: Log in or join Which? to instantly reveal.

Cons: Log in or join Which? to instantly reveal.

Need to know: Jar opener, bottle opener, twist cap bottle opener, ring pull can opener, packaging opener all included

Swan Electric Can Opener

Cheapest price: £21.99 at Amazon, also available at Swan 

Pros: Log in or join Which? to instantly reveal.

Cons: Log in or join Which? to instantly reveal.

Need to know: Bottle opener and knife sharpener included

The best handheld electric tin openers

Handheld electric tin openers are another type of can opener you might reach for if you don’t have good dexterity or strength in your hands. They tend to be smaller, so take up less storage space than worktop electric tin openers, although they’re still usually more bulky than non-electric tin openers. 

We tested five handheld electric tin openers to see how they compare. 

Only logged-in Which? members can view the electric tin opener test results below. 

Join Which? to get instant access to our test results and Best Buy recommendations below.

Handheld electric tin opener

Cheapest price

Compactness

Ease of opening a tin

Ease of disposing of the lid

Where to buy

Good

Easy

Very easy

Poor

Very easy

Very easy

Poor

Very easy

Very easy

Poor

Very easy

Average

Good

Average

Average

The handheld electric tin openers we tested

Handheld electric tin openers are another type of can opener you might reach for if you don’t have good dexterity or strength in your hands. They tend to be smaller, and so take up less storage space than worktop electric tin openers, although are still usually more bulky than non-electric tin openers. 

All the handheld electric tin openers we tested are listed in alphabetical order below. 

Only logged-in Which? members can view the best tin openers from our tests. 

Join Which? to get instant access to our results and Best Buy recommendations below. 

Culinaire One Touch Can Opener

Cheapest price: £20.89 available at Amazon, also available at John Lewis.

Pros: Log in or join Which? to instantly reveal.

Cons: Log in or join Which? to instantly reveal.

Need to know: No additional features

Darmai Electric Can Opener

Only available at Amazon: £15.99 (out of stock).

Pros: Log in or join Which? to instantly reveal.

Cons: Log in or join Which? to instantly reveal.

Need to know: No additional features

JML Hands Free Automatic Can Opener

Cheapest price: £14.99 available at Amazon, also available at Argos, Wilko.

Extra features: None

Pros: Log in or join Which? to instantly reveal.

Cons: Log in or join Which? to instantly reveal.

Need to know: No additional features

Kitchen Mama Electric Tin Opener

Only available at Amazon: £31.25.

Pros: Log in or join Which? to instantly reveal.

Cons: Log in or join Which? to instantly reveal.

Need to know: No additional features

Zyliss Easican Electric Can Opener

Only available at Amazon: £14.95.

Pros: Log in or join Which? to instantly reveal.

Cons: Log in or join Which? to instantly reveal.

Need to know: No additional features

How we tested tin openers

A good tin opener will feel effortless to use, bite easily onto the top of a can and also allow for easy disposal of the lid into the bin. 

• Two left-handers and two right-handers put all these tin openers to the test on a tower of tins of tomato soup.
• Our testers wore a pair of Cambridge Gloves (see photo above) to identify any tin openers that are particularly easy to use for those who have limited movement in their hands.

Ease of opening a tin

Each tin opener was used to open four tins of soup. The best tin openers require less effort, bite into tins easily and leave the lid with no sharp edges. 

Disposing of the lid

• The best tin openers grip the lid firmly until you eject it over the bin, whether with a button or by opening the arms of the tin opener. 
• The worst require you to get your fingers messy and potentially cut them on the lid.

Cleaning

After the test, each tin opener was cleaned in a washing-up bowl, and marks were awarded to those that were easier to clean than others. 

Compactness

The more compact the tin opener, the better. 

Build quality

All tin openers were rated for the quality of the materials and how well they were put together. 

We purchased all the tin openers we tested. 

What’s the best way to open a can?

During testing, a keen debate ensued on the best way to open a tin can. 

Should you place the cutting wheel inside the lip of the tin so it cuts around the inner circle or to the underside of the lip so that it slices off the entire lid? 

Most tin openers will allow both methods, but some are better at one method than the other. 

The truth is, it doesn’t really matter which way you do it – both methods work. But ask your nearest and dearest how they open a tin, and you might be surprised by their answer.

Should you buy an electric tin opener?

Manual tin openers can be difficult to use if you don’t have the dexterity or strength in your hands to operate them.

We tested several worktop electric can openers and ome handheld ones too, and found several good options.

If you don’t have countertop space to spare for a worktop tin opener, then the manual electric tin openers we tested are a brilliant alternative and will store snugly away in a kitchen drawer. 

Do you need a left-handed tin opener?

Not really. While it’s true that left-handed people sometimes need to perform an annoying manoeuvre where they need to cross their hands to open a tin with some tin openers, we found that the best tin opener in our test was just as suitable for right or left-handers. 

We even tested a tin opener that’s specifically for left-handed use, and it wasn’t preferred by the left-handed members of our panel.