The built-in cleansing wand is an instant hit with first-time users.
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The phrase "game changer" gets tossed around a little too freely in the world of product reviews. But in the case of smart toilets, our experts are seeing a genuine paradigm shift. "For well over a century, Americans have reached for toilet paper to clean up in the bathroom," says Dan DiClerico, director of the Home Improvement & Outdoor Lab at the Good Housekeeping Institute. "All of our testers who experience a smart toilet's built-in bidet feature swear they'll never be a toilet paper-only household ever again." (As DiClerico explains, most smart toilet users still grab a few sheets of paper at the end, if only for a spot check or to pat themselves dry.)
Over the last five years as smart toilet sales have picked up (the pandemic gave the category a huge bump), our experts have gotten hands-on with more than two dozen models from leading brands like American Standard, Kohler and Toto. The top smart toilets from our tests not only do a stellar job at personal hygiene, they also keep themselves clean, which means less time scrubbing the toilet bowl. Many smart toilets will automatically flush after you're finished as well as automatically close and open the lid ("solving a huge pet peeve in my house full of guys!" noted one of our testers).
The following smart toilets earned a spot on our winner's list by excelling at five key criteria: installation, ease of use, performance (cleansing and drying), feature set and design.
After our reviews, keep reading to find out whether a smart toilet is worth considering for your home, and check out our latest Home Renovation Awards for more expert-vetted product recommendations. And don't miss our expert picks for a slew of other bathroom products, including the best towel warmers, drain cleaners, showerheads and bathroom scales.
Kohler has been a top-performing brand in our toilet tests for decades and it's bringing that same quality and reliability to its expanding line of smart toilets. The Innate is the latest model to pass through our Lab for testing and it aced our tough evaluation process. Our product experts like that it combines sleek contours with a long list of enhancements, including precision water pressure and temperature control, plus electrolyzed pre-rinsing of the bowl to minimize stains.
The Innate has fared equally well in extended home testing. "I really appreciate the bidet features," our tester noted, adding that "the auto-flush is amazing, it's nice to look at and it's much easier to clean than a regular toilet." The one-piece Innate can even flush on its own and lift and lower its seat automatically, for start-to-finish hands-free control. It also has all the specs our engineers look for in a top-performing toilet, starting with a 1.28 gallons-per-flush efficiency rating that qualifies it for the EPA’s WaterSense certification and a dual flush. Its comfort-height design makes sitting down and getting up easier, another "aging in place" benefit of smart toilets, along with the hands-free hygienic cleaning.
Make no mistake: This is a luxury purchase, even by smart toilet standards, plus the heated seat and warm water are an added energy cost and the toilet does have a large footprint. But if the Innate is in your budget, it won't disappoint.
This smart toilet from Woodbridge comes with many of the same great features as the more expensive options on the market. Automatic flush, auto open and close, claimed air purification and a heated seat are just a few of them. Our experts like that you can choose from multiple wash options (posterior wash, feminine wash, etc.) and that the included touch screen remote can be either handheld or wall-mounted for ease of use.
The integrated tank and one-piece construction makes for a streamlined look, though the materials may not be as durable as other smart toilets on our list. The larger tank also makes the toilet somewhat bulky at the bank, which could make sitting awkward at first, at least until you get used to being pitched forward. To help ensure the unique toilet will work with your space, our home-improvement pros advise taking note of the specifications, the location of the angle valve on the toilet and access to a power supply.
While smart toilets are still a luxury category, our market analysts are seeing more models below the $1,000 price point. This model from EPLO is one of the best when it comes to bang for the buck. We're impressed by its expansive feature set, which includes innovations normally reserved for top-of-the-line smart toilets — the instant warm water on the cleansing wand, for example, and the built-in deodorizer to neutralize odors before they escape into the room. The EPLO even includes innovations we haven't seen elsewhere, like foot sensor-activated flushing and an LED display that indicates air and water temperature. One note: Unlike most smart toilets our experts have tested, this one has a standard seat height of 15.6 inches, meaning it's not as easy to get on and off of as a comfort-height smart toilet.
As for performance and reliability, our testing team hasn't gotten hands-on with the smart toilet, but the model is backed by third-party certifications from several industry groups, including the International Association of Plumbing and Mechanical Officials (IAPMO). It has also amassed a 4.5 star rating on Amazon, with many users praising its value in a market largely dominated by four-figure price tags.
Though our experts haven't tested this particular model yet, in prior tests, we've found American Standard toilets to be of exceptional quality and come with abundant useful and intuitive features, and we expect this toilet to deliver the same.
Featuring a heated seat with five temperatures, adjustable water temperature, a warm-air dryer, auto-flush technology and multiple nozzles for a unique cleansing experience, there's a lot to like. We particularly appreciate that the toilet seat automatically opens and closes (no more leaving the toilet seat up!) and that there's a soft light to guide you in the middle of the night.
There's also a convenient deodorizer to help clean the air in the bowl and keep things fresh. It may not come cheap, and the low-height design might be a deal-breaker for some, but this ultramodern smart toilet is a worthy investment for those looking for advanced features and increased comfort. Our pros are fans of the elongated shape, which means you have an oval-shaped design with several more inches for comfort and convenience — and a more contemporary aesthetic.
The Japanese manufacturer Toto invented the bidet-style toilet seat in 1980. Our experts have tested several iterations of the brand’s flagship model, the Washlet, including the recently launched S7A. It’s our top overall bidet on the strength of its easy installation and feature-rich performance. The heated seat, night-light and water temperature controls were favorites with our testers, as was the pre-mist feature that helps keep waste from sticking to the bowl.
“I also love how easy the seat is to remove for a deep clean,” noted one tester, who installed the S7A as part of a bathroom renovation. Several design tweaks to the S7A give it a particularly sleek, streamlined profile compared with other bidets we’ve tested. We also like that the S7A's seamless seat design minimizes gaps and crevices for dirt and grime to collect. Though our tester added that the auto open/close lid isn't ideal for her small-ish bathroom, since it would be triggered any time a family member entered the space (the feature can be turned off through the remote).
If you're looking for the biggest savings on your water bill, this smart toilet beats most of its competitors by using a single gallon of water per flush. Though it's one of the most expensive models on the market, this luxurious smart toilet offers many other delightful features beyond water efficiency, such as multiple customizable cleansing options, adjustable temperatures, two user memory settings, an easy-to-access wall-mounted remote control, an automatic open and close seat and auto flush.
The toilet is also made by a brand you can trust. In fact, Toto is one of the toilet manufacturers that our experts have tested the most over the last decade. While we haven't gotten hands-on with this particular model, we're confident recommending it. The brand constantly gets top scores in our tests and has time and time again proved its durability and high-quality flushing capabilities.
Sleek and compact, this smart toilet from Kohler will look minimalist in any bathroom.
We love that it comes with a self-cleaning wand, air dryer, adjustable temperature settings, hands-free seat opening and closing and an LED light that illuminates the bowl at night. The single-flush toilet, certified by the EPA's WaterSense program, uses only 1.28 gallons of water per flush, which is on par with most smart toilets featured on our list.
Though we're longtime fans of Kohler toilets in general, our experts did note that the instructions they were able to find weren't as helpful as other instructions for installation purposes. The modern design may also not appeal to everyone.
Designed by renowned industrial and interior designer Philippe Starck, Duravit's Sensowash Starck F model is sleek and modern and can be hung on the wall to save space.
Our testers like that the toilet can be operated via remote control or an app on your phone that allows you to program profile settings. Plus, this smart toilet offers automatic open and close, auto flushing, various washing settings, a heated seat, a warm-air dryer and more. “I love the style and design of the toilet, which is spectacular to look at,” says the general manager of the Good Housekeeping Institute Laurie Jennings, who installed the Sensowash in her home. “The bidet for back and front really delivers a sense of clean that you might find surprising at first, but then really love. The night-light feature is cool, and the powerful heated seat is next-level awesome.” She also appreciates the wall-mount, robust remote control and invisible bidet feature.
While wall-hung toilets are still relatively new to the U.S. consumer market, the style has been around for decades and is particularly great for urban dwellers or others who are tight on space. However, the installation is more complicated because it requires opening the wall, rerouting the waste pipe and possibly reconfiguring the wall studs.
Engineers and product experts at the Good Housekeeping Institute have been testing smart home devices for more than two decades, even before they started to go mainstream in the early- to mid-2010s. As a result, we were able to get out in front of the smart toilet market surge, which started during the pandemic. It remains a fairly niche category, given the higher price point, but we have now evaluated two dozen smart toilets from all the leading brands.
Most of our testing takes place in the homes of our testers, which allows us to assess the smart toilets in real-world conditions. In the last five years, we have conducted comprehensive categorical tests and at-home reviews of toilets from Duravit, Kohler, Toto, Bio Bidet and American Standard. Our testers first assess installation and ease of use, since smart toilets are more complicated than traditional toilets. Next they evaluate performance over several weeks of operation, with an emphasis on hygienic cleansing and drying. Finally, they rate each toilet's feature set, including things like heated seats, night lights, auto open and close lid and UV sterilization.
Though smart toilets are fairly new to the U.S. market, they've been around long enough that you'll find a breadth of options as you shop around. Here are the key factors to consider:
✔️ Smart toilet vs. smart bidet seat: If you're tackling a bathroom remodel or willing to replace your existing commode, a smart toilet makes sense, since it will tie directly into the plumbing and deliver the cleanest look. But full-size toilets are expensive, often costing between $2,000 and $5,000. A smart bidet seat can be retrofitted to just about any toilet for fast, easy installation; there are even manually operated seats that don't require a power hook-up. Bidet seats are less expensive, ranging from $500 to $2,000, but they don't deliver the fully integrated look and feel of a smart toilet.
✔️ Size and shape: As with traditional toilets, smart toilets come in all shapes and sizes. The two main shapes are rounded and elongated. If you're retrofitting a bidet seat, make sure it matches the shape of your existing toilet bowl. Our engineers also caution that if you have a one-piece toilet with little to no space between the toilet and tank, some bidet seats won't fit; measure the gap between the bowl and tank, and check that it meets your bidet's minimum requirements. If you're starting from scratch, our tests have found elongated bowls to be more comfortable, while rounded bowls are the most space-efficient.
✔️ Height: Many models come in "comfort height," whereby the seat is 17 to 19 inches off the ground, versus the 15 inches of traditional toilets. Those extra few inches make it easier to get on and off, good for older homeowners or those with knee issues.
✔️ Feature set: If this is your first smart toilet, you won’t believe how far the humble commode has come. Here are the features that our experts say are worth it:
A smart toilet works just like a standard toilet when it comes to its primary function of flushing away liquid and solid waste. The key difference is the built-in bidet that is used in place of toilet for both rear and front cleansing. "While most smart toilet users still use a bit of toilet paper at the end for a spot check or to pat dry their private areas, the experience is very different from what they're used to with a traditional toilet," says DiClerico.
Beyond the bidet feature, smart toilets have a range of features that expand as you move up in price point. The highest-end smart toilets have adjustable water and air-drying temperature, automatic flushing, lids that go up and down as you enter and leave the bathroom, motion-sense lighting to illuminate the way at night and self-cleansing features that cut down on how often you'll need to manually scrub the bowl yourself. There are even smart toilets with built-in smart speakers, so you can play music or check the weather while you're tending to your morning routine.
Of course, the answer is relative. When you can spend under $200 on a perfectly capable toilet from our round-up of best standard toilets, dropping $1,000 or more on a smart toilet is a massive leap. But if a smart toilet is in the budget, our experts say it is worth the investment, since they deliver such a better cleansing experience. The bidet feature also reduces the need for toilet paper use, saving you a few extra bucks a month.
Many smart toilets are also low-flow models, meaning they use 1.28 gallons per flush, compared with the maximum allowed by law of 1.6 gallons. That helps offset the extra water the toilets consume during cleansing. Some smart toilets also come with self-sanitizing features, so you don't have to clean your toilet bowl as frequently.
Another big difference between smart toilets and traditional models is that they need to be plugged in. "If you don't already have an electrical outlet behind the toilet, you'll need to pay an electrician a few hundred dollars to put one in," says DiClerico. And of course, the extra power consumption, especially on models with heated seats and water, will be reflected in higher electricity bills.
Bottom line: Smart toilets cost more to buy and operate, but most people who make the investment are happy they did.
Media & Tech Reviews Analyst Olivia Lipski covers everything from consumer electronics to appliances, health, home and fitness. Olivia brings years of product review experience to the Good Housekeeping Institute and continues to stay on top of the industry's latest innovations to help readers make better buying decisions.
For this round-up, Olivia worked closely with Dan DiClerico, Director of the Institute's Home Improvement & Outdoor Lab. Dan has written about home improvement for nearly 25 years, including thousands of product reviews and articles on home maintenance for Good Housekeeping, as well as magazines like This Old House, Martha Stewart Living and Consumer Reports.
Olivia (she/her) is a media and tech product reviews analyst at the Good Housekeeping Institute, covering tech, home, auto, health and more. She has more than five years of experience writing about tech trends and innovation and, prior to joining GH in 2021, was a writer for Android Central, Lifewire and other media outlets. Olivia is a graduate of George Washington University, with a bachelor's degree in journalism, political science and French, and she holds a master’s degree in communications from Sciences Po Paris.
Having written thousands of product reviews and how-to articles on all aspects of home ownership, from routine maintenance to major renovations, Dan (he/him) brings more than 20 years of industry experience to his role as the director of the Home Improvement & Outdoor Lab at the Good Housekeeping Institute. A one-time roofer and a serial remodeler, Dan can often be found keeping house at his restored Brooklyn brownstone, where he lives with his wife and kids.
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