Best Sharpener For Home: Bostitch Personal Electric Pencil Sharpener

What’s the best electric pencil sharpener?

That depends on what your pencil needs are—is this for occasional use at home for schooling or office work?

Or do you need a sharpener for many different pencil sizes (drafting, artwork) . . . and need a heavy duty sharpener for more intense use?

What about a portable charger for use on the go?

As we looked at the top electric pencil sharpeners recommended by our readers, one stood out as the best sharpener for home use: Bostitch’s model EPS4-BLUE. It combined the best performance with a price that is easy on the wallet. Here’s why:

What We Liked

• Easy to clean.

• Works well—this sharpener gets the job done.

• Affordable.

• Compact size.

• Lightweight. 

• Safety switch to prevent use when tray is removed.

What Needs Work

• Loud.

• The cord could be longer.

• Only works with standard size pencils—not the larger size pencils used in preschool/kindergarten. Or smaller pencils used for artwork. If you need a sharpener for different size pencils, we’d recommend the next pick.

Best Classroom Sharpener: X-ACTO School Pro Classroom Electric Pencil Sharpener

If you need a heavier-duty pencil sharpener (that is, more than occasional use at home), we’d recommend X-ACTO’s School Pro Classroom sharpener. When we talked to teachers, this is the model that came up time and time again as the go-to sharpener.

Also helpful: this electric sharpener fits various size pencils, including the larger size ones used in preschool or kindergarten.  Here’s more:

What We Liked

• Great if you need to sharpen specialized pencils (artwork, drafting, etc).

• Heavy duty design = more pencils can be quickly sharpened.

• Automatically stops when pencil is sharp. 

• 6 different pencil sizes.

• Fast!

• Quieter than the Bostitch model recommended earlier.

• Stays in place thanks to suction cup under the unit.

What Needs Work

• Uneven sharpening. Sometimes the cutter gets misaligned, causing uneven sharpening.

• Pricey!

• Can get jammed. The maker has troubleshooting tips on how to deal with this, fortunately.

Best Portable Sharpener: CNASA Pencil Sharpener

Going on a road trip? Need a portable electric pencil sharpener that can work on batteries, A/C power or USB power? We’d recommend CNASA’s simple travel sharpener. Here’s why:

What We Liked

• Easy to use.

• Compact size is easy to transport.

• Affordable.

• Auto stop when the compartment is opened—that’s a nice safety feature.

• Flexible: you can run it on AA batteries, USB power or plug it in the wall.

What Needs Work

• Not as powerful or fast as desktop models. That’s true for many portable electric pencil sharpeners, however. This isn’t the right model if you need to sharpen 20 pencils in a hurry!

• Could be more durable.

Best For Pointy Pencils: JARLINK Electric Pencil Sharpener

If having a sharp pencil point is important, we’d suggest this model: JARLINK’s model 43180-128965. Unlike other models that can be inconsistent or only produce semi-sharp pencils, this one stands out for its consistency . . . and pointy results.

Here’s more:

What We Liked

• Portable. This model works on AA batteries (not included), USB power or A/C adapter.

• Fast!

• Produces long, sharp pencil point.

• Compact size.

• Auto stop when pencil is sharp.

• Large shavings reservoir.

What Needs Work

• Not the best choice if you need to do many pencils. We’d recommend this sharpener for home or office (that is, the occasional use)—it isn’t designed for the demands of classrooms, in our opinion.

• Could be more durable.

Why Trust Us

We’ve been rating and reviewing products for the home and families since 1994. We do extensive research (surveying our readers, consulting with experts) with an eye toward quality, ease of use and affordability.

Here’s another key point: we don’t take money from the brands we review. No free samples, no sponsors, no “partnerships.” Our work is 100% reader-supported!