If you go to Sonicares website, you will see many toothbrush models that vary in cost by hundreds of dollars, which can be confusing. However, you should know that this does not change their toothbrushes' cleaning power per se. On their website, their high-end toothbrushes all clean at the same frequency of 62,000 movements per minute, or 31,000 vibrations per minute, and all use the same brush heads interchangeably. Sometimes they will use deceptive terms like brushstrokes to make it seem like their lower models do less, but one brushstroke, or vibration, is equal to two movements. You can see from the comparison diagram next to this section that their cost is very different but still brush at the same rate. 

The important thing to note about Sonicare is the amplitude of their sonic vibrations. The amplitude must be enough to remove plaque or all the vibrations mean nothing. Sonicare touts about a 2.5 mm amplitude in vibration. The cleaning power only decreases in Philips electric toothbrushes once you get into the Philips One toothbrushes with lower power and less amplitude in their electric vibrations. It doesn't matter the lower models their vibrations per minute because the amplitude is not enough to loosen much plaque. 

Some of the high-end Sonicare Toothbrushes have different modes. However, once you look up the different modes, you realize they are not different types of movements rather a combination of standard or lower vibration frequencies and amounts of time in those frequencies. For example, each model has a clean mode which 31,000 vibrations a minute for two minutes.

The most significant differences in Philips Sonicare Toothbrush models are bells and whistles that have little to do with their cleaning power. However, one feature is might be worthwhile: the pressure indicator, which tells you if you're pressing too hard while brushing. Pressing too hard while brushing causes gum recession and tooth wear. So the pressure indicator might be worth it, but on the other hand, you can just try not to press too hard and brush lightly.

Brush heads are crucial for the cleaning capability of a toothbrush. While each Sonicare toothbrush may come with a different brush head, all click-on Philips Sonicare brush heads are interchangeable, with a few notes and exceptions. So if the model you want doesn’t have a brush head that you want, you can likely buy a different one that will work.

The exceptions are the Sonicare twist-on brush head models, the Philips One, The Power Up Battery, and Essence model toothbrushes that will not accept the different click-on brush heads.

It is important to note that you can use smart brush heads on most other sonicare brushes for cleaning purposes. But, only the smart brush heads can perform all their capabilities on the smart toothbrushes.