Is a safety razor cheaper to use than a traditional cartridge razor?
The short answer is yes! The answer used to be, “yes, but it will cost more in year one”. However, thanks to The Wet Shaving Club, that answer has changed.
Keep reading for details.
Safety Razors Are Cheaper To Use In Year One And Beyond!
In most cases, using a safety razor will save you money in the long term versus using a cartridge razor. For example our Safety Razor Deals start at $40 for one year of shaving. And The Wet Shaving Club does not sell you proprietary blades. So we do not have subscriptions, monthly fees, or proprietary blades. You can buy replacement blades anywhere and anytime.
The examples below assume you shave 7 days a week, 365 days a year. Click Here to see how often we recommend you change your safety razor blade.
YEAR ONE – The Triple S Safety Razor Deal
Your initial purchase is $40 It includes a 100% stainless steel safety razor handle with a one year supply of blades. It all comes in one box, and ships free to you.
Therefore, your total out of pocket (excluding tax) is only $40!
YEAR TWO – Blade Replenishment
After a year, or after you have used all of your blades, all you have to do is replenish those blades. Your 100% stainless steel handle should still be in perfect shape.
So all you need is another one year supply of blades? What does that cost?
A 100 Pack only costs you $10 at The Wet Shaving Club.
Shipping is free!
Your total out of pocket(excluding tax) is only $10!
So now you have shaved every day for two years for only $40!
CHECK OUT OUR ONE YEAR SAFETY RAZOR PACKAGES
How Much Does It Cost To Shave With Harry’s?
This analysis assumes Harry’s prices stay the same during this 2 year period.
With Harry’s Razors, you buy the handle first. For this example, we will assume you buy their least expensive handle The Truman. That currently (as of 5/21/2021) costs $9 and you get one cartridge with the handle.
We are also going to assume that you are paying $1.88 per cartridge. That means that you are buying 16 cartridges at a time for $30. That is currently the best price we found that did not require signing up for a periodic billing.
We are also using the cartridge replacement timing that Harry’s says many of their customers use.
Note: This is not an official recommendation from Harry’s. But is the only thing we found that gave an indication on how often you should replace your blades.
This is a screenshot from Harry’s Website (5/10/2020).
As you can see, they point out that “most folks” replace their blades once every 6-8 shaves. Therefore for our example, we will assume that you need to replace your cartridge at Harry’s one time a week. Again, as we did with The Wet Shaving Club offering, we will assume that you shave 7 days a week, 365 days a year.
Year One
You pay $9 for the handle, you get 1 cartridge, and if you shave every day, and you replace your cartridge once a week, you will need to buy another 51 cartridges to get their lowest (non-subscription billing price) of $1.88 per cartridge. Of course you can buy them all at once, or you can buy them as you need them.
$9 for the handle plus $95.88 (1.88 X 51 Weeks) for the blades = 104.88for the first year of shaving.
You should have 1 to 2 cartridges left over at the end of the year under these assumptions.
Year Two
You have the handle. From everything we can tell, their handles (although they are plastic) are well made and will last you quite a while. Therefore we assume you will only have to buy the cartridges for the remaining four years of this cost study. That means 52 cartridges per year. Again, 52 X $1.88 per cartridge. That costs you $97.76 per year.
So the year two cost? $97.76
Therefore the two year cost of shaving with Harry’s is $202.64
How Much Does It Cost To Shave With The Dollar Shave Club?
This analysis assumes The Dollar Shave Club prices stay the same during this 2 year period.
The Dollar Shave Club math is pretty simple.
Their entry level package is $8 per month for their handle and their 4 bladed cartridges. It is called “All Terrain”.
They ship you those four cartridges monthly for $8. Therefore we will assume they are recommending that you use all four cartridges monthly if you shave every day.
Interestingly the only thing that we found on their site about how often you would need to change your blade says that they recommend changing cartridges weekly.
This Is A Screenshot From The Dollar Shave Club (5/10/20)
Again, they are sending you 48 cartridges annually with the All Terrain Package
So for $8 per month or $96 per year, you get a year’s worth of shaving with the Dollar Shave Club.
Year One = $96
Year Two = $96
$96 X 2 = $192 for two years of shaving.
Why are they called The DOLLAR Shave Club?
Conclusion – The Safety Razor @ The Wet Shaving Club Is Cheaper To Use
We have shown that the safety razor is cheaper to use than the cartridge razor. It is cheaper in the both the short term and long term. What are you waiting for then?
Questions about the shave quality difference between a safety razor and a cartridge razor? In our opinion, you will upgrade the quality of your shave if you choose to start shaving with a safety razor. For more on this, check out our article “Safety Razor vs Cartridge Razor”
What do you have to lose by trying us out? The way we see it, you only have dollars to gain!
™The Dollar Shave Club™ is a registered trademark of Unilever. Harry’s™ is a registered trademark of Harry’s. The Wet Shaving Club is not affiliated in any way with The Dollar Shave Club™ or Harry’s™. Pricing quoted above is subject to change.
