Here is what to look for when shopping for paper shredders.

Strip-Cut paper shredders (Conventional Security)

Strip-cut shredders, also known as straight-cut, slice the paper into long, thin strips. Strip-cut shredders generally handle a higher volume of paper with lower maintenance requirements. Shred size may vary from 1/8 to 1/2 inch. Narrower strips provide better security. Because the strips don't compress well, you'll need a larger basket (or more frequent emptying).

 

Cross-Cut paper shredders (Higher Security)
Cross-cut shredders, also known as confetti-cut shredders provide more security by cutting paper vertically and horizontally into confetti-like pieces. The security is higher since the paper is cut into more pieces and also the shredded paper compresses better so the catch basket holds more cut paper. The trade-offs are fewer pages can be fed in at a time, may require more maintenance and generally cost a little more. With patience someone could reconstruct any strip cut shredded document. Cross-cut shredders just make the job a lot more tedious.


High Security/Micro Cut paper shredders (Highest Security)
High security shredders include paper shredders designed for shredding top-secret documents, micro film and more. These are all confetti cut shredders that shreds paper into much smaller pieces making it virtually impossible to put together. Security level 5 shred size is 1/32" x7/16".  Security level 6 shred size is 1/26" x 1/5", almost dust.  Both level 5 and 6 are approved by the United States  NSA/Department of Defense (DOD) and Canadian R.C.M.P.

Volume/Capacity

Small personal shredders it's easy to burn out by overworking. Almost all of the lower end shredders are "not continuous" which means you will have to wait for it to cool down if you are shredding for more than 5 minutes.  For low-volume users, personal shredders designed for about 100 sheets per day are fine. For higher volume look beyond personal shredders. It will save you time and headache to invest in a higher volume shredder.  They are faster, jams less, handle more paper and most importantly are "continuous".

Throat

The opening where you feed the paper into the shredder needs to be large enough to accommodate the size of paper you typically shred. An 8.75 or 9 inch throat handles unfolded letter size paper nicely. A smaller throat size requires folding the paper but if most of your shredding is of credit card or ATM receipts, it works fine.

Basket Size

This is important because of how often you will have to empty the basket.  If you are doing a good deal of shredding you should get a bigger shredder to avoid having to empty the shreddings constantly throughout the day.

Extra Features

Shredders come with various combinations of features. With Automatic start/stop the shredder detects the presence of paper. Some shredders provide a light or buzzer to alert you to paper jams or a full shredder basket. Reverse Feed is useful for helping to clear out paper jams. A clear basket or window also helps you see when the basket needs emptying.

Supplies

There are shredder bags made to custom fit specific size shredders.  Oil to lubricate the blades is necessary for long runs, particularly on cross cut models.   Automatic oilers are available for the larger models.