Oral-B Pro 500 vs 1000

Detailed comparison: what’s the difference between the Pro 1000 and 500?

The number of differences between these 2 brushes is fairly limited in comparison to some other models.

However, of the differences a couple stand out as being quite important.  They affect the cleaning results, but also your experience using the brush on a daily basis.

Both the Pro 500 and 1000 are at the lower end of the Oral-B product range in terms of features and price.

This isn’t necessarily as negative.  You don’t need lots of features in a good toothbrush.  Our top recommended brushes are those that deliver the best performance and features for the price.

The Pro 500 is certainly the inferior brush here.  To be fair, it isn’t terrible.  It is perfectly satisfactory. But satisfactory isn’t really enough when there are many better brushes available, the Pro 1000 is a perfect example.

The first and most obvious difference between the 2 is the handle design.

Both have a cylindrical handle and a removable brush head.

However, the Pro 500 has a tapered design to the handle, wider at the top than the bottom, compared to the consistent cylindrical shape of the Pro 1000.

From a size and weight perspective, here is how they compare:

Pro 1000:

• Height (without head) – 19.5cm/7.68 inches
• Height (with head) – 23.2cm/9.13 inches
• Width – 2.5cm/0.98 inches
• Thickness – 2.9cm/1.14 inches
• Weight (without head) – 118g/4.1oz
• Weight (with head) – 123g/4.3oz

Pro 500:

• Height (without head) – 18cm
• Height (with head) – 22cm
• Width – 3.2~2.5cm
• Thickness – 3.2~2.5cm
• Weight (without head) – 99g
• Weight (with head) – 105g

The Pro 500 is definitely the more grippy toothbrush and feels more secure in the hand.  It has a grip that covers approximately two thirds of the brush handle, with only the lower third of the handle not covered, exposing gloss white plastic body.  

This grip wraps 360 degrees around the handle, it isn’t limited to just the front or just the back of the handle.

The 1000 on the other hand has an all plastic body with little in the way of grip on the front of the handle.  There is a small silicone/rubber panel around the power button, but this is not significant enough to make a big difference.

The back of the handle does have a dimpled texture running top to bottom which is better than being completely smooth, but if wet the 1000 definitely feels less secure in the hand.

The pro or con, depending on how you look at it, is that the Pro 1000 is easier to keep clean.  A simple wipe or rinse of the plastic bodied 1000 washes away a lot of the grime that otherwise builds up within the textured grip of the Pro 500.

Linked to the design is the handle colours.  

The grip on the handle of the Pro 500 is typically black in colour.  It is normally this 1 colour option only. 

The Pro 1000 on the other hand is available in 3 colours, white, black and pink, although white and black are most common.

Depending on the colour variant, the rubber panel around the power button does differ in colour slightly.  

It is worth noting that the black, green and pink variants of the 1000 actually have a white coloured base to them. Therefore the whole unit is not black or pink. The images best demonstrate this.

A more significant difference is the cleaning action of the 2 brushes.  Although similar, there is a difference.

The Pro 500 has 2D cleaning action compared to the 3D cleaning action of the 1000.

What this means is that the 1000 benefits from pulsations, another word for vibrations that aid in the cleaning of the teeth and gums.

A form of ‘non contact’ brushing. the high frequency pulsations generated by the Pro 1000 agitate fluids that surround the teeth and can loosen and remove dental plaque in locations that are beyond the physical touch of the toothbrush.

In addition, the available movements from the brushes motor is a little different. The Pro 500 enjoys 7,800 oscillations per minute, but that 1000 has an extra 1000 oscillations, so 8,800 in total. 

There is then the 20,000 pulsations which are not present on the 500.

Both models use Oral-B’s small round brush heads, which have been clinically proven.

Typically, both come with 1 brush head in the box.

The style included does differ.  The Pro 500 tends to come with a Precision Clean brush head whereas the 1000 comes with a CrossAction head.

Although they come with different heads, they are interchangeable.  This means you can use any of the click-on style Oral-B heads on either the Pro 500 or 1000.  Certainly don’t base your purchasing decision on the brush head alone.

Another extra feature the Pro 1000 has, is a pressure sensor.

What happens is if the brush detects too much pressure, the speed of the motor and in turn, the number of movements the brush head makes is reduced.

Such a response by the brush limits the potential damage the brush can do to your teeth and gums. Full speed is resumed when the pressure is no longer detected.

The 1000 does not have a visible pressure sensor like some other models in the range.

Unfortunately, it is difficult to actually know when the sensor has been activated with the 1000 though, s it is not perfect in that regard.

The last difference between these 2 models is the battery.

You don’t necessarily need weeks of usage time from the built-in rechargeable battery, but the average is now about 2 if not 3 weeks.

Both these brushes fall below that, but the Pro 500 has 8 days or 16 brushing sessions compared to the 10 days or 20 brushing sessions of the Pro 1000.

Both use a Nickel Metal Hydride (NiMH) battery and will take 12-16 hours to recharge.

If you are a regular traveler, neither of these are ideal as you would likely need to take the charging stand with you.

However, what does make a difference is the inclusion of a battery status icon on the brush handle of the Pro 1000.

You will get a notification when power is low when the brush is charging and when charging is complete. 

The 500 offers no LED to give feedback on the battery.  You don’t know the battery is low until such time as you hear, see and feel the movements in the brush head slowing, or it just stops working.

Because you don’t get a warning you need to remember to recharge regularly or hope it does not run out mid clean.

If you always leave your toothbrush on the charger after use, it might not be a big issue, but it is a frustration that can play out in real life for most people.

Does one clean better than the other?

Yes, it is the Pro 1000 is capable of cleaning the teeth better.

Where there is little difference between the cleaning abilities of most electric toothbrushes, the difference here is more significant.

Both brushes provide a more consistent cleaning action than a manual toothbrush and will be beneficial for your dental health if you use them correctly.

What sets these 2 brushes apart, is whilst they both use the clinically superior small round brush heads, the Pro 500 has only an oscillating-rotating (2D) cleaning action compared to the oscillating-rotating and pulsating (3D) cleaning action of the Pro 1000.

Pulsations offer a more sophisticated motion and give another dimension to the brushing.

Whereas the 2D cleaning requires the physical movement of the brush head against the teeth, pulsations are essentially a ‘non contact’ form of brushing.

It is a non contact brushing as the high frequency pulsations generated by the brush agitate fluids that surround the teeth and can loosen and remove dental plaque in locations that are beyond the physical touch of the toothbrush.

Pulsations are essentially Oral-B’s description for sonic technology.

The 500 offers 7,800 oscillations per minute, whereas the 1000 is more powerful with 8,800.

0 pulsations are available on the Pro 500, whereas the Pro 1000 offers 20,000.

If you brushed your teeth with each brush, it is possible to tell the difference.

Although the Pro 500 is perfectly usable as a daily toothbrush, the Pro 1000 will longer term help deliver a much better cleaning experience.

Given the whole point of a toothbrush is to clean the teeth, it is well worth benefiting from the extra cleaning ability the 1000 offers if you can.

Do remember your brushing time, how often you brush and your brushing technique play a big part too.  To get the best clean, make sure you learn how to brush your teeth properly.

Is one better priced than the other?

Yes, typically, the Pro 500 is the cheaper of the 2 models.

It has a retail price of around $50-55 compared to the 80-100 of the Pro 1000.

A $30-50 premium for the 1000 seems hard to justify.

But, when you factor in the actual selling prices, things change.

Both models will typically sell quite a bit less than their retail price.

Expect to pay around $40 for the Pro 500 and $64-80 for the Pro 1000.

That difference of $30-50 is reduced to just $24-40.

Given the benefits of the 1000, I believe this is a justifiable additional spend unless you are on a really tight budget.

The ongoing cost to use these brushes is the same because both use the same Oral-B brush heads.

Please note that all prices quoted are approximates and will vary based on location, supplier and time of purchase.  These figures were correct at the time of writing and should not be relied upon as hard fact, but used as a guide during your decision process.