Toto Washlet S5 vs Toto Washlet S7A

Toto

Toto Washlet S5

$649

4.7★ (20)

Toto

$1,299

4.6★ (150)

Quick take: The Toto Washlet S5 costs $650 less.

✓Four user presets on the remote (up from two on the old C5) store position, pressure, and temperatures per person — the single best shared-bathroom feature at this price
✓Instantaneous heating ends the C5's notorious 35-45-second warm-water window; wash for five minutes straight and it never runs cold
✓Gained a bowl-illuminating night light the C5 never had — genuinely useful at 3 a.m. and one less reason to pay up for the S7 tier
✓EWATER+ sanitizes the wand with electrolyzed water before and after each use, and PREMIST keeps the bowl slick so waste doesn't stick
✓Heated seat spans 82-97°F across five settings, and the seamless seat molding has no crevice seam for grime to collect in — a real cleaning-day upgrade over the C5
✓Warm-air dryer adjusts 95-140°F — a wider, hotter range than the Brondell Swash 1400's famously tepid dryer
✓Slim wall-mountable remote with illuminated touchpad replaces the C5's chunky wand — easier for guests to decode mid-visit
✓Elongated and round versions in Cotton White plus a Sedona Beige elongated option — the channel-exclusive KS6 twin comes in white-elongated only

✗You're paying roughly $300 over the S2 for a remote and presets — the wash hardware underneath is otherwise identical
✗Several early owners note the seat sits tall with a slight forward slope ('feels like it's pushing you forward'), a byproduct of the 7.4-inch rear housing
✗The 1,271-watt draw needs a dedicated GFCI within reach of the 3.93-ft cord, and TOTO's manual warns against extension cords
✗The dryer, though adjustable, is still TOTO-gentle: plan on 1-2 minutes or a courtesy dab of paper where a Bio Bidet BB-2000 finishes in about 40 seconds
✗One-year warranty on a $650 seat, while Brondell backs the cheaper Swash 1400 for three years
✗Round version comes only in Cotton White, and mounting the remote bracket means two anchors in your drywall — renters take note
✗New-for-2025 platform means clearance C5s flood the used market at ~$300 — tempting, but that's buying into the known cold-water-window complaint
✗MSRP is $780 and 'sale' pricing is perpetual — legitimate street price floats $570-670, so treat anything near list as a ripoff

✓The proximity-sensor lid opens as you approach and closes when you leave — the definitive hands-free experience, and it can be toggled off from the remote when you don't want it
✓EWATER+ here mists the bowl itself after every use, not just the wand — an S7-family exclusive that keeps the bowl visibly cleaner than the S5's wand-only system
✓At 4.1 inches rear height it's one of the slimmest bidet seats on the market — dramatically lower-profile than the S5's rear hump
✓The new horizontal remote has large backlit tactile buttons — a genuine upgrade over the S5's touchpad in a dark bathroom or for older eyes
✓Two-year warranty doubles TOTO's standard one-year coverage on the rest of the Washlet line
✓Nothing is optioned out: instant heat, heated seat, 95-140°F dryer, night light, and a boosted 'power deodorizer' mode are all standard
✓Auto-flush capable on WASHLET+ compatible TOTO toilets (kit sold separately) for a fully touch-free approach-wash-flush cycle
✓Classic (beveled) and Contemporary (rounded) lid versions cost the same, so you can match your toilet's design language instead of compromising

✗$1,150-1,400 street is S5-money-times-two for the same wash quality — TOTO's own S7 is identical minus the motorized lid, so you're paying ~$300 for the party trick
✗The proximity sensor can't tell a toilet visit from a walk-past — owners with open bathroom layouts report the lid yawning at them every shower until they disable auto-open, defeating the point
✗Elongated bowls only; there is no round version anywhere in the S7 family
✗Auto-flush needs both a compatible WASHLET+ TOTO toilet and a separately-sold kit — on an ordinary toilet you're still flushing by hand
✗Motorized hinges are one more assembly to fail after the 2-year warranty, and the lid isn't a user-replaceable part
✗Only 2 user presets feels thin when the $500 KS6 stores 4
✗1,290-watt draw plus the lid motor requires a dedicated GFCI, and TOTO's manual prohibits extension cords — plan the outlet before the seat arrives
✗Sedona Beige carries a $200+ premium and long lead times — Cotton White is the only readily stocked finish