Relaxing showers make for one of the small joys of life. And life’s too short to put up with a showerhead that makes the experience unsatisfying. Good news is, replacing a showerhead (or reinforcing it, in some cases) is one of the easiest bathroom upgrades you can make, with most showerheads able to install in just a few minutes’ worth of elbow grease. From elevated looks and higher flow rates to more relaxing spray patterns and adjustable settings, a new showerhead can upgrade your shower experience in ways you may not have even imagined possible.
These are the best showerheads to instantly upgrade your shower game at home.
Hopopro High-Pressure Showerhead
The low price and stylish looks of this showerhead alone make it an easy choice to install in any bathroom. More so when you try out its strong and steady spray, which delivers an impressive aerated stream that’s just satisfying. It has a wide showerhead measuring 7 inches in diameter with a whopping 57 individual jet nozzles, which, the outfit claims, are self-cleaning and non-clogging to further cut down on any maintenance requirements. There are no shower settings, but the default stream is so good, we don’t really mind the lack in variance, although it does have a brass ball join that lets you adjust the showerhead’s direction, so you can angle it exactly to your ideal showering position.
High Sierra High-Efficiency Low Flow Showerhead
This shower is designed with efficiency in mind, delivering a strong high-pressure spray even while maintaining a low flow rate. That means, it maximizes the spray, regardless of how much water actually flows through your pipes. It does that by maintaining a small size that allows it to concentrate the water flow to deliver a strong and steady pressurized stream with large drops that’s ideal for rinsing. Of course, coming with a smaller head means it doesn’t have the same coverage as other showerheads in this list, but if you want to prioritize water savings, this offers one of the best options out there. It’s available in four different maximum flow rates, from 1.25 GPM to 2GPM. If you want to really save water, stick with the 1.5GPM version for a good balance of low flow rate and strong shower pressure.
Kohler Flipside
This shower has a head that can be flipped over to change the spray setting into one of the four available. There’s full coverage, which is you standard full-body stream, as well as a “cotton” setting that creates a dense downpour that’s ideal for rinsing. A setting called “commotion” creates a circular water pattern that’s supposed to be soothing, while a “massage” option creates a more targeted stream that’s meant to hit hard on any aching tissues. While we’re not a big fan of the flipping mechanics (it just seems prone to failure), it seems sturdy and works well enough. There are two flow rate options, 1.75 and 2.5 GPM, so you can go with the latter if you have particularly strong water pressure in your area, but for most people, the 1.75GPM will probably suffice. There’s no shower arm included, by the way, so you need to have one already in place.
Kohler Forte Multifunction Showerhead
This showerhead aerates its stream of water at a rate of two liters of air per minute, creating larger droplets that combine to create a fuller and more powerful spray that clings to the body. It has three spray settings, namely full coverage, pulsating massage, and silk spray, that you can switch among by simply turning the tab on the shower head. Full coverage is the general shower stream, while pulsating creates a massage-like spray that hits a little harder. The silk spray is our favorite of the bunch, as it creates a dense mist that’s ideal for quickly and thoroughly rinsing after covering your body in lather. It has a ball joint that lets you pivot the head for pointing the stream into your desired direction. The shower, by the way, is available in two flow rates: 1.75 GPM, which is the one we’ve tried, and an even stronger 2.5 GPM.
Moen Attract Magnetix Rainshower Combo
We like this combo shower, which combines a regular showerhead with a handheld unit that docks on a magnetic mount right below the main head. Sure, the addition of the handheld unit makes it look a bit too busy, so overall appearance is not quite as sleek as standard showerheads. However, what it loses in style points is more than made up for in versatility, as the inclusion of a handheld shower allows you to send streams to areas typically more challenging for fixed shower designs.
It comes with six shower settings, including standard wide coverage, rain-style downpour, a rinsing stream, a continuous intense narrow stream, and two massage settings. We’re particularly fond of the stronger massage setting, as it’s probably the best of all the massage settings we’ve tried in every shower. Both the fixed shower and the showerhead can be used separately or together, giving you maximum options for the kind of water treatment you can get in the shower.
Nebia by Moen Spa Shower
Designed to deliver a steamy spa experience from the comfort of your home shower, this unique design works by atomizing water as the six nozzles turn the droplets into a fine mist that spreads out across an impressive coverage area. Even more impressively, it does that while using less water than a typical shower, making it a more efficient way to soak your body in a steady stream of water. Do note, the shower requires you to have a hot water heater that can reach and maintain a temperature of 115 degrees Fahrenheit, lest the shower won’t be able to deliver its spa-like experience. If you have that, though, then this showerhead offers arguably the easiest way to turn your shower into a veritable steam room.
The showerhead can be moved to face outwards, inwards, left, and right, all while also adjusting in height as much as 17 inches, so you can position its stream to go towards any direction of your choosing. The shower, by the way, is joined by a connected spray that can be used to direct two separate streams directly to your body for an even more complete experience. While installation looks daunting, it’s actually not, as most of the mounted components are designed to install using an adhesive backing. Sure, it’s not as simple as simply screwing on a new showerhead, but it’s well worth the half hour or so it will probably take.
