Dyson might have made its name in vacuum cleaners, but these days it's also become a force to be reckoned with in the market for haircare tools. The two models that are perhaps best known and most highly regarded are the Dyson Supersonic and the Dyson Airwrap.
Both can dry and style your hair, but what's the difference between them? And do you need a Supersonic if you already have an Airwrap (or vice versa)?
The Supersonic launched first, in 2016, and was the product that turned Dyson into a serious name in haircare tech. It's primarily a hair dryer – in fact, one of the very best hair dryers on the market – but its range of attachments means it can also be used for styling hair. You can get all the details in our Dyson Supersonic review, or find out about the newest version in our Dyson Supersonic Nural review.
The Airwrap joined the party in 2018 and is primarily considered a hair curler – although, again, the wide selection of accompanying accessories mean it can be used to create other styles (we rank it among the best hair styler tools around). Crucially, it can also operate as a hair dryer, allowing it to compete more directly with the Supersonic. Read about it in our Dyson Airwrap review.
Neither is especially cheap, and with that in mind, you'll want to be sure about the model you need before investing in either – or, indeed, both. Read on for an in-depth comparison of the Dyson Supersonic vs Airwrap.
Dyson Supersonic vs Airwrap specs
Dyson Supersonic vs Airwrap: price & value for money
- Both are premium products in their respective categories
- Supersonic is typically cheaper than the Airwrap
Neither the Supersonic nor the Airwrap is especially cheap, and both sit firmly in the premium price bracket. Dyson is known for its meticulous engineering and high-quality products, which goes some way to justifying the higher price tags. And despite a proliferation of copycat versions of both, the Airwrap and Sypersonic remain unmatched in terms of quality and performance.
US
Head into the Dyson US hair dryer range and you'll find the regular Supersonic for $429.99 (currently discounted to $329.99) or the Nural for $499.99 (down to $389.99)
Both the regular Airwrap and Airwrap i.d. are available to buy direct from Dyson US. Weirdly, both have a list price of $599.99 (but at time of writing, the older model is discounted to $489.99).
UK
The Dyson UK hair dryer range comprises the Supersonic Origin for £279.99, a regular Supersonic for £329.99, or the Nural for £399.99 (but reduced to £349.99).
Buy the Airwrap from Dyson UK, and you can only get the newest i.d. version. There are a few different attachment bundle options, but they all have a list price of £479.99; over Black Friday, though, we saw prices drop to £399.99. If you want the original Airwrap(list price £399.99), you'll have to head to a third-party retailer.
Australia
At Dyson Australia, there's a Supersonic Origin for AU$549 (down to AU$499), a regular Supersonic for AU$649, or a Nural for AU$749.
In the Dyson AU styling range, pricing for older Airwraps starts at AU$749, but are all out of stock. The Airwrap i.d. has a list price of $849.
Although there's some variety in pricing, even the priciest Supersonic is generally a fair bit cheaper than the Airwrap. However, which will be better value for money depends on the styles you're hoping to achieve. Also note that Dyson deals do pop up on occasion. At the time of writing there were many to be found, because it's right after the Black Friday sales; but even throughout the year, there will be offers cropping up.
Dyson Supersonic vs Airwrap: design
- Supersonic is predominantly a hair dryer; Airwrap is predominantly a styler/curler
- Newest versions are the Airwrap i.d. and Supersonic Nural, both released 2024
Let's start with the Supersonic. There are two main versions: the original model (launched in 2016), and the Supersonic Nural (launched in 2024).
The Supersonic shook up the market by delivering a different shape to traditional hair dryers. The barrel is compact and streamlined, and most of the weight is in the handle, making it easy to wield. It also gained popularly for its fast, efficient airflow.
The Nural looks pretty much the same, but adds some cool new features. For example, there's a Scalp Protect mode, which uses sensors in the barrel to measure how close the dryer is to your head. It will then get hotter or cooler to maintain what feels like a constant temperature on your scalp, so you can get right up close to your head for styling without frying your locks.
The Nural also knows which attachment is clipped on, and remembers your setting preferences for each; it can tell when you've put it down and will drop into low-power mode in response. You can see how the two models compare in more depth in our Dyson Supersonic vs Nural explainer.
Moving on to the Airwrap. This is essentially a tube-shaped dryer onto which you can add various attachments for achieving different styles. The main focus is the curling wand, which uses a phenomenon known as the Coanda effect to encourage the hair around the barrel, shaping it into curls as it dries it – rather than relying on extreme heat, as traditional curling tongs do.
We're now on the third generation Airwrap. The original was launched in 2018 and had separate barrels for clockwise and anti-clockwise curls. In 2022, an updated version included more attachment options and the ability to switch curl direction without having to swap over the barrel.
August 2024 saw the launch of the current version: the Airwrap i.d., which dded a companion app that allows you to create a personalized curling routine by plugging in your hair type, length and skill level. It also included three new attachments.
Dyson Supersonic vs Airwrap: tools & attachments
- Both have a compatible Wide-tooth comb, Flyaway tool, diffuser and concentrator
- Airwrap also has curling attachments and round brushes
- Fast Dryer attachment for the Airwrap enables use as a hair dryer
Both the Airwrap and Supersonic offer a selection of styling attachments that help increase versatility and broaden the range of styles you can create with each.
Supersonic attachments
Let's start with the Supersonic. Here are your attachment options:
- Gentle air attachment (for light diffusing)
- Concentrator (for sleek styles)
- Wide-tooth comb (for coils and tight curls)
- Flyaway attachment
- Diffuser (1-part diffuser, included with Supersonic)
- Wave+Curl diffuser (2-part diffuser, included with Nural)
That's a smaller attachment range than the Airwrap, and the main things missing are curling barrels and volumizing brushes.
All Supersonics come with the full range of attachments. That makes things simple in terms of buying and comparing prices, but also means that most people will end up with at least one or two attachments they'll never use.
Airwrap attachments
The Airwrap has the broader range of attachments. These include different-sized barrels for curling, smoothing brush options, and round volumizing brush options. There's also a compatible fast dryer attachment, for when you just want to dry hair, alongside tools that are similar (or in some cases, the same) as you'll find with the Supersonic dryer.
Note that not all are automatically included; which tools you get will depend on the Airwrap bundle you've opted for. Here are the current Airwrap attachment options:
Barrels:
- 40mm long Airwrap barrel (for curls on longer hair)
- 30mm long Airwrap barrel (for curls on shorter hair)
- 20mm Airwrap barrel
- Conical Airwrap barrel (for tighter curls, closer to the root – new with i.d.)
Smoothing brushes:
- Soft smoothing brush (for fine hair)
- Firm smoothing brush (for frizz-prone hair)
- Small soft smoothing brush
- Small firm smoothing brush
Round volumizing brush:
- Small round volumizing brush
- Round volumizing brush
- Large round volumizing brush
Dryers:
- Dryer+Flyaway smoother
- Fast dryer
- Blade Concentrator (new with i.d.)
- Diffuser
- Wave+Curl diffuser (new with i.d.)
- Wide-tooth comb (to shape/lengthen coily hair)
While the main machine remains the same, you can pick up versions with different sets of attachments depending on your hair type and length – so there's a Straight+Wavy set, a Curly+Coily set, a Complete Long Volumize set, and so on.
The first iteration of the Airwrap simply came with a combination drying and smoothing tool. That attachment has been replaced by the current Dryer+Flyaway smoother, but Dyson has also added a Fast Dryer attachment. Those, together with the Blade Concentrator and Curl+Wave diffuser, allow the Airwrap to compete more directly with the Supersonic.
Dyson Supersonic vs Airwrap: performance
- The Airwrap is better for creating curls or bouncy blow-dry styles
- The Supersonic is better for rough-drying and smooth/straight styles
Both the Airwrap and Supersonic dryer performed very well on test. As a hair dryer, the Supersonic is excellent and the Nural even better (thanks to some useful added features); as a hair styler the Airwrap also impressed.
This aim of this article is to compare the two, so let's focus on which is better for which kind of style. Remember, results will vary by hair length and type – we've mostly tested these tools on mid-to-long, straight or wavy hair.
Hair drying
The Supersonic is more efficient at drying hair. While the Airwrap offers a couple of attachments geared towards drying hair (the Dryer+Flyaway smoother, and the Fast Dryer attachments), if you want to be able to rough-dry your hair, or have thick and/or long hair to dry, you'll probably want the Supersonic. Or, at the very least, a Fast Dryer attachment for the Airwrap.
However, if you're wanting to dry and add volume at the same time, the Airwrap with its brush attachments will be better suited to that. There are no round brush attachment options with the Supersonic.
Curly styles
If you have naturally curly hair, theoretically both the Supersonic and the Airwrap will work on your hair type. Both are compatible with Dyson's two-part Curl+Wave diffuser (although, at time of writing, we couldn't see it as part of any Airwrap bundle, nor available to purchase separately; in contrast, it's included automatically with all Supersonic Nural).
For those with coily hair, both options have a very similar Wide-tooth comb attachment.
If you don't have naturally curly hair, the Airwrap is the clear choice. The barrel attachments are designed to create curls on straight hair, or encourage a curlier look on wavy hair. There's no equivalent on the Supersonic.
Straight / smooth styles
While the Airwrap does have attachments for creating smooth styles (a smoothing/drying attachment, a concentrator), it's really more geared towards curly or bouncy styles. That, plus the relatively low-powered drying means that for smooth, straight styles, a Supersonic is a better choice.
"The Airwrap isn’t strong enough as a hair dryer, so styling my hair straight can be tricky given my hair type. If a person likes wearing their hair straight – like I do – I’d probably opt for the Supersonic," comments TechRadar's Viktoria Shilets, who has frizz-prone, long, naturally straight/wavy hair, and has used the Supersonic Nural and Airwrap side-by-side. "When I bought my Airwrap, it came with the Coanda Smoothing Dryer attachment [now replaced by the similar Dryer+Flyaway smoother], which I thought would be enough to keep my hair straight, but it's not."
