Broomsticks in the Wizarding World are continuously upgraded to include new features and go faster than ever before, like Harry Potter's Nimbus 2000.

Broomsticks are introduced to wizards at a very young age. A witch or wizard getting their very first broomstick is on par with a young Muggle child getting their first bicycle. Harry Potter actually received his first toy broomstick (that still flies) on his first birthday as a gift from his godfather. In a letter thanking Sirius, Lily tells him that James says that Harry is a natural broom rider and that he will be the next great Quidditch player.

A number of other broomsticks are introduced throughout the saga of the wizarding world. Namely, the Nimbus 2000, which is Harry’s cardinal broomstick when he joins the Gryffindor Quidditch team. Sirius then gives him an upgraded broomstick—the esteemed Firebolt. Like most things coveted, the broomsticks in the Wizarding World are continuously upgraded, meaning there is an assembly of different types of broomsticks, each with its own set of features. If fans wonder which ones are the best of the best, the main broomsticks in Harry Potter have been ranked by speed.

Updated by Amanda Bruce on August 29, 2021: Though there are more than 10 brooms that exist across all of the Harry Potter related media, many of them exist as illustrations only in volumes like Quidditch Through The Ages, and their performance hasn't been seen on screen. As a result, only the brooms with a significant presence in the Harry Potter movies, or ones that have been mentioned specifically as associated with different characters have been ranked.

10 Toy Brooms

Toy broomsticks are the most docile type of broom. For safety reasons, these brooms do not accelerate very fast. Instead, they simply levitate small children off the ground. It is usually just enough so that their feet don’t touch the floor (about two feet).

Ron Weasley once spoke about a time that he broke his brother’s toy broomstick in revenge. Toy brooms were also seen at the Quidditch World Cup when Harry makes note of little kids flying around on them.

9 Bluebottle

The Bluebottle is made to be a traveling broom, perfect for the entire family. As such, the speed of these brooms remains conservative, but faster than the toy brooms above.

The Bluebottle's key concepts are that it is safe and reliable. But where it lacks in speed, the Bluebottle makes up for it with fancy features like the Built-In Anti-Burglar Buzzer. It gets a mention in an advertisement at the Quidditch World Cup, but the audience doesn't get to see it in action.

8 Silver Arrow

The Silver Arrow was mentioned by Madam Hooch, the Hogwarts Quidditch instructor, as the first broomstick she ever owned. Before the mass production of racing broomsticks, these vehicles were handmade by witches and wizards.

This was also before the Cushioning Charm was invented, which prevents witches and wizards from sustaining heavy injuries if they were to fall off their broom. Instead, broomsticks like the Silver Arrow were designed purely for craftsmanship, so its speed range was extremely low.

7 Shooting Star

The Shooting Star is an affordable broomstick option. It’s used primarily as a learning broomstick, and it's the broom used to teach students at Hogwarts. Ron once commented that his first broom was the Shooting Star and it was so slow that butterflies were able to pass by him.

Harry, Fred, and George are also forced to use these brooms in Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix. They all comment on the brooms’ tendency to swerve to one side and often complain about the Shooting Star’s lack of speed. It’s not an ideal broom to use for Quidditch players.

6 Cleansweep

The Cleansweep has seven models, each one with varying speeds. The Cleansweep One was the first-ever broomstick intended for sporting use, with a focus on speed and velocity. The latest, the Cleansweep Eleven, was manufactured and released in 1995.

Ron Weasley gets this broomstick when he becomes a Prefect. He uses the broom as acting Keeper for the Gryffindor Quidditch team, which helped him in winning two Quidditch Cups.

5 Comet Two Ninety

The Comet Two Ninety is the latest racing broom from the Comet Trading Company. Before the Two Ninety, this broomstick manufacturer’s best-seller was the Comet Two Sixty. Cho Chang used the Two Sixty as a Seeker for Ravenclaw and Tonks also mentions that she uses this broom.

However, in 1995, the Comet Two Ninety came out, making speed alterations better than its predecessor. Which Broomstick published a piece on the broomstick, highlighting its ability to jump to 60 miles per hour within a manner of seconds. To this, Ron defends his own broomstick, the Cleansweep Eleven, indicating that his broom was superior to the new one.

4 Nimbus 2000

The Nimbus 2000 was named the fastest broom in the world when it was released in 1991. Its predecessor, the Nimbus 1000, is said to have reached 100 mph. The Nimbus 2000 was technically Harry’s second broomstick, gifted to him by Professor McGonagall after making Seeker for the Gryffindor Quidditch team.

The Nimbus 2000 was praised for its light feel and speed. It was the ideal broomstick for Seekers, though it was topped just a year later by its successor, the Nimbus 2001.

3 Nimbus 2001

In Harry’s second year at Hogwarts, Draco Malfoy becomes Harry’s top competitor both on and off the Quidditch field. After becoming the Slytherin Quidditch team’s new Seeker, Draco’s father gives the entire team the newest brooms on the market: the Nimbus 2001. As one of the wealthiest Wizarding families, the Malfoys can afford to buy the entire team the expensive brooms.

The Nimbus Racing Broom Company released this updated racing broom after the success of the 2000 model. They made the Nimbus 2001 faster than the previous model, and it remained the most agile on the market until the Firebolt’s premiere in 1993.

2 Firebolt

The Firebolt became the most prominent and expensive racing broom in 1993. It was given to Harry in the same year by Sirius Black after the Whomping Willow destroyed his Nimbus 2000. The Firebolt can go up to 150 miles per hour in ten seconds. It was named a world-class broom and was used by professional Quidditch players during the 1994 Quidditch World Cup.

It became the fastest-selling broom on the market, surpassing both the Nimbus 2000 and the Nimbus 2001. It was eventually eclipsed by the Firebolt Supreme, which the entire Bulgarian National Quidditch team played on during the 2014 Quidditch World Cup.

1 Thunderbolt VII

The latest in development for racing brooms is the Thunderbolt VII, which came out around 2014. It was quickly manufactured in Manchester, England as a direct competitor to the recently released Firebolt Supreme.

It was used by the Nigerian National Quidditch team during the 2014 Quidditch World Cup. However, their Nigerian Seeker’s Thunderbolt VII was destroyed by a Bludger, though all brooms should have been able to withstand these collisions. Because its addition to Harry Potter canon comes long after Harry's days in school, the audience has yet to see it in action, but it seems like just the thing future professional Quidditch player Ginny Weasley would have wanted.

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