Dyson Supersonic and 3 alternatives: which hair dryer to buy
Hair dryers under €350
A hair dryer is no longer a simple "hotter and stronger" device. Today the dryer decides both how fast your hair dries and how healthy it stays. Too much heat dries the strands out. A weak airflow leaves you standing over the sink for twenty minutes, and a heavy dryer slowly tires your arm. Manufacturers answered with intelligent heat control, compact high-speed motors and ionisation. Those three features now separate one class of dryer from the next.
Four dryers stand in this hair dryer comparison, and each of them answers the same question differently. Two are full-size Dyson dryers: the Supersonic with its whole set of magnetic attachments, and the plainer Origin built around the same motor. The third is Dyson's travel dryer, made for a suitcase and for foreign sockets. The fourth is the Laifen Mini, a much lighter dryer from another brand that follows the same recipe — a fast brushless motor plus ionisation — at a different price level.
None of the four is put forward here as the one to buy. They are close enough in class to be compared honestly: in most stores each one stays under $360, and the group sits near $320. So the question is not which dryer is best in the abstract, but which of these four fits your hair, your bathroom shelf and your morning. We go through them one at a time and say plainly whom each dryer suits and who should skip it.
Models in this comparison
Typical price across these models: about €262. Rough figures from store prices converted at fixed rates: what you pay also depends on the store and the region you order from. With our browser extension you can compare every Amazon store at once, right on the product page.
Much of what separates these four dryers is printed on the box in words the box never explains. The short list below is worth a look before the models themselves.
Words on the box, explained
The terms you will meet in the sections below — open the one you need.
Air Multiplier
Dyson's name for the way its motor pushes a small jet of air that pulls the surrounding air along with it, so the stream leaving the dryer is larger than the motor alone would produce.
Intelligent heat control
A sensor that measures the outgoing air many times a second and cuts the heater back before the air gets hot enough to damage hair. Dyson and Laifen both use it.
Cold setting
A button that drops the air to room temperature. Used at the end of a blow-dry, it sets the shape you have just made.
Negative ions
Charged particles added to the airflow. They neutralise the static that makes dry hair fly apart, so the finish looks smoother.
Brushless motor
A small motor with no carbon brushes to wear down. It spins far faster than an old-style dryer motor, which is how a light body can still move a lot of air.
Universal voltage
The dryer accepts both the 110 V and the 230 V mains, so with the right plug it works abroad without a converter.
Dyson Supersonic: the full-size dryer with the whole attachment set
Dyson Supersonic™ Haartrockner
ASIN: B0DT4XSTRW
- ✓Strong, controlled airflow for fast drying and precise styling
- ✓Intelligent heat control keeps hair shiny without overheating
- ✓Magnetic attachments swap in one move for different hair types
- ✓Three airflow speeds and four heat settings, including a cold shot
- Power
- 1600 W
- Airflow speeds
- 3
- Heat settings
- 4 (8 modes)
- Max temperature
- 100 °C
- Weight
- 655 g
- Warranty
- 24 months
This is the standard Dyson Supersonic, model HD07. The dryer works through a powerful stream of air rather than aggressive heat. Its intelligent heat control holds the temperature steady, so the shine of your hair survives the routine. Three airflow speeds and four heat settings, including the cold setting, give eight combinations in total, and the aluminium body weighs 655 grams.
The kit is what sets this version apart from the other Dyson dryers here. Dyson lists three attachments in the box: a styling nozzle for a directed stream, the Flyaway attachment for pulling short loose hairs back under the top layer, and a gentle-airflow attachment for fine hair and for scalps that dislike a strong blast. They are magnetic, so they come off a hot dryer without a burnt finger and go back on in one move. The listing also names overheat protection and a removable end cap, which matters more than it sounds: the filter behind that cap collects hair and dust, and a clogged filter is the usual reason a dryer starts running hot and loud after a year.
With 379 ratings at an average of 4.6, this is the most reviewed dryer of the four, and it sits inside the top hundred hair dryers on Amazon. It suits anyone who dries their hair every day, wants the full attachment set and is happy to pay for it. What it does not offer is universal voltage — it runs on the 240-volt mains — so for regular trips outside your own region the travel edition below fits better.
An expensive dryer and a budget one: the real difference
The gap between a plain and a premium dryer is more than the logo on the handle. A budget hair dryer ships with a weaker motor, so it makes up for the missing airflow with raw heat. Constant heat is exactly what leaves long hair dull and brittle at the ends. A premium dryer instead moves a large volume of air and holds the temperature under control. That is why such dryers also arrive with a lighter body, a quieter note and better attachments. The good news is that this technology grows cheaper every year. High-speed motors with ionisation already appear in mid-range dryers like the one at the end of this selection.
The Dyson Supersonic alternatives on this page follow two different routes out of that gap. One route stays inside the brand and changes the packaging: a smaller body for travelling, or the same motor with fewer nozzles. The other route leaves the brand entirely and buys the engineering idea from someone else. Both are worth a look, and they suit very different buyers.
Dyson Supersonic Travel: a travel hair dryer for foreign sockets
When the standard Supersonic feels too bulky for a suitcase, Dyson offers a travel dryer. It is 32% more compact and 25% lighter, yet it keeps the same intelligent heat control. Its headline trick is the universal voltage with swappable plugs. It adapts to the mains in almost any country, a real advantage for frequent travellers. Attachments from the regular Supersonic fit here as well, so a household that already owns one can move its nozzles between the two dryers. The power drops to 1220 watts against the original 1600. Thick or long hair dries a little more slowly, but for travelling that is a fair trade.
The compact body is 22 centimetres long and made of ceramic rather than aluminium, and Dyson claims 138 per cent more shine from the same intelligent heat control the full-size dryer uses. Two things argue against making it your only dryer. It ships with three settings instead of the eight combinations of the standard model, and it is the newest of these four dryers, with only 40 ratings behind its 4.4 average — a thinner basis than the several hundred opinions the other Dysons carry. Buy it as a second dryer for the suitcase, or as a first one if you are away more weeks than you are home.
Dyson Supersonic Travel™ Hair Dryer - Compact & Lightweight, Quick Drying, 1220 W, Universal EU Plug, Intelligent Temperature Regulation, Ideal for Travel, Ceramic Pink/Rose Gold
ASIN: B0GNSD368S
- ✓32% more compact and 25% lighter than the full-size Supersonic
- ✓Universal voltage and swappable plugs — works in any country
- ✓Compatible with regular Dyson Supersonic attachments
- ✓Intelligent temperature control to protect the hair
- Power
- 1220 W
- Settings
- 3
- Body material
- Ceramic
- Dimensions
- 22.2 × 7.1 × 6.8 cm
- Warranty
- 24 months
Dyson Supersonic Origin: the same motor, one nozzle
Origin is Dyson's answer to buyers who want the same motor in a simpler wrapper. Technically it barely trails the standard Supersonic. It keeps the full 1600 watts, the Air Multiplier technology, the cold-shot button and four speeds. The difference lives almost entirely in the kit and the styling. Instead of several magnetic attachments there is a single styling nozzle, and the body is plainer. There is still overheat protection and a removable back cover for cleaning the filter. If you never planned to use the full set of nozzles, this dryer delivers nearly identical drying quality. The choice between it and the standard model comes down to attachments.
Two details deserve a second look before you decide. The Origin is the lightest of the three Dysons at 620 grams, twenty-five less than the standard body, because there is less hardware inside the same aluminium shell. And the plainer kit does not make it the cheaper buy: across the stores in this comparison the Origin is the dearest dryer of the four. Skip it if you have curls or a fringe you shape, since a diffuser and a wide comb are exactly what its box leaves out.
Dyson Supersonic Origin Hair Dryer (Nickel / Copper)
ASIN: B0FJFHY3QC
- ✓Air Multiplier technology and a cold-shot button
- ✓Four airflow speeds and precise temperature control
- ✓Plain, balanced body with a styling nozzle
- ✓Overheat protection and a removable back cover for cleaning
- Power
- 1600 W
- Airflow speeds
- 4
- Max temperature
- 100 °C
- Weight
- 620 g
- In the box
- Styling nozzle
- Warranty
- 24 months
Open this product on Amazon
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Laifen Mini: a budget ionic hair dryer
The Laifen Mini is the outsider of this group and the one that changes its shape. It is not a Dyson, yet it clearly borrows the same engineering idea. The compact brushless motor spins at 110,000 rpm and pushes the airflow to 19 metres per second. Around 200 million negative ions cut the static and smooth the hair as it dries, which is what an ionic hair dryer is for. A microprocessor reads the temperature a hundred times a second to guard the strands against overheating.
Two numbers explain most of its appeal. At 299 grams it is a genuinely lightweight hair dryer — less than half the weight of any of the Dyson dryers here, and Laifen puts it at 27 per cent lighter and a third more compact than conventional dryers. At 61 decibels it is also a quiet hair dryer, quiet enough to use early without waking the rest of the flat. The controls are simple to the point of being blunt: two speeds, and an LED ring that shows what the air is doing by colour — red for the hot setting at about 80 °C, yellow for the milder 50 °C and blue for cold air. Hold the button for two seconds and it alternates hot and cold by itself. A double click drops it into a children's mode with two gentler levels, which owners of nervous pets also use.
In the box are a magnetic smoothing nozzle, a travel bag and a manual, with a 24-month warranty that Laifen says covers a free replacement for a manufacturing fault. The drawbacks are plain enough. The listed peak temperature is far below the Dyson figure, thick or waist-length hair takes noticeably longer, there is one nozzle rather than a set, and 1100 watts is the smallest motor of the four. As an everyday dryer for someone who will not pay a brand premium, or as a second one for a bag, it makes solid sense.
Laifen Mini Hair Dryer, 110,000 RPM Powerful Motor with 200 Million Negative Ions, 299 g Lightweight & 61 dB Quiet, Kids Mode, Quick Drying, Travel Hairdryer (Glacier Blue)
ASIN: B0DZD3PT5B
- ✓Brushless 110,000 rpm motor and 19 m/s airflow
- ✓About 200 million negative ions against static and frizz
- ✓Only 299 g and a quiet 61 dB in use
- ✓Kids mode and an LED ring that shows the temperature by colour
- Power
- 1100 W
- Speeds
- 2
- Ionisation
- ≈200 M ions
- Max temperature
- 48 °C
- Weight
- 299 g
- Noise level
- 61 dB
Hair dryer comparison by the specifications
To make the gaps between the four dryers obvious at a glance, the key parameters sit in one table below.
| Parameter | Dyson Supersonic | Dyson Travel | Dyson Origin | Laifen Mini |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Power | 1600 W | 1220 W | 1600 W | 1100 W |
| Airflow speeds | 3 | 3 | 4 | 2 |
| Max temperature | 100 °C | — | 100 °C | 48 °C |
| Weight | 655 g | ≈1.1 kg boxed | 620 g | 299 g |
| Ionisation | — | — | — | ≈200 M ions |
| Body material | Aluminium | Ceramic | Aluminium | Nylon + fibreglass |
| Rating | 4.6 (379) | 4.4 (40) | 4.5 (109) | 4.5 (172) |
| Warranty | 24 mo. | 24 mo. | 24 mo. | 24 mo. |
Among these four dryers, the standard Dyson Supersonic is the all-rounder of the group. It combines strong airflow, the richest set of attachments and by far the most ratings. The travel dryer appeals to people who are constantly on the road and will trade some power for a smaller shape. Origin targets Dyson fans who care about the motor and shrug at the extra nozzles, and it is the plainest of these dryers. The Laifen Mini is the dryer for readers who want a light, modern option with ionisation and no badge premium.
How to choose a hair dryer for your hair
Weigh several criteria together, not just the single figure of power in watts. Budget dryers lean on heat, while premium dryers lean on airflow.
- Hair type. Thick, long hair needs dryers with strong airflow, in the 1400 to 1600 watt range. Thin or damaged hair responds better to a moderate temperature with ionisation.
- Heat control. Intelligent regulation matters more than the advertised maximum. It keeps the strands from drying out and preserves the shine.
- Weight and balance. If you style your hair every morning, a light dryer with a comfortable grip lifts a real load off your wrist. Here the 299-gram Laifen stands alone among these dryers.
- Attachments. A concentrator sharpens your styling and a diffuser tames curls. The standard Dyson arrives with several nozzles; the Origin ships with one.
- Trips. For travelling, prioritise universal voltage and a small footprint. That is the strong suit of compact travel dryers.
The most common mistake is picking dryers purely by their top temperature. Overheating actually damages the hair, and quick results come from the volume and speed of the moving air. The second mistake is ignoring the bundle, because shaping curls without a diffuser is awkward. The third is dismissing weight, since a heavy dryer wears the wrist down over years of daily styling.
Frequently asked questions
- Is a Dyson worth the extra money when alternatives exist?
- A Dyson gives you a well-judged grip, a rich set of attachments and steady heat control. If the budget is tight, a model such as the Laifen Mini, with its high-speed motor and ionisation, covers most everyday needs for far less than the Dyson dryers here.
- How does the standard Supersonic differ from the Origin?
- The motor and the power output are almost identical, so the real difference sits in the kit. The standard Supersonic carries several magnetic attachments, while the Origin has one styling nozzle and a plainer design. If you never wanted the extra nozzles, the Origin is the simpler of the two dryers to live with.
- Can the travel Dyson serve as your main hair dryer?
- It can, but the lower 1220-watt output means thick or long hair dries more slowly than with the full-size dryers. Its real strengths are the compact size and the universal voltage for trips abroad.
- Is a high temperature bad for hair?
- Yes, because constant strong heat gradually dries the strands out. A dryer with intelligent temperature control, finished with the cold shot to set the style, is the safer routine.
- What does ionisation actually do?
- Negative ions neutralise static electricity and smooth the hair cuticle, so the finished style shows less frizz and looks sleeker. The Laifen Mini claims roughly 200 million ions.
Verdict
Every model on the same criteria
Score against price
- Dyson Supersonic4.6 at about €313
- Dyson Travel4.3 at about €281
- Dyson Origin4.4 at about €325
- Laifen Mini4.4 at about €130
The overall score divided by the typical price, with the best in the group as the full bar. A rough guide, not a verdict — a cheap model that misses the feature you need is no bargain.
Read the bars as trade-offs, not as a ranking. All four dryers here hold their temperature under control, so that row is nearly flat and it is the other four criteria that decide anything. The full-size Supersonic leads on airflow and on the kit, and pays for it in grams and in the fact that it stays at home. The travel dryer wins the trips row outright and gives up a third of the wattage to do it. The Origin keeps the strong motor and drops almost everything around it, yet it is the priciest of the four in these stores. The Laifen Mini is the lightest by a wide margin and the only ionic hair dryer of the group, with the smallest motor as the price of that.
So the order of your questions matters more than the order of the scores. Decide first how thick and long your hair is, because that sets the airflow you need. Then decide whether the dryer lives on one shelf or in a suitcase. Then count the nozzles you would honestly use. Two of those three answers already remove half of this list, and only after that is it worth comparing what each store charges for these dryers.