Manual or Electric Binding for the Volume You Have

The honest way to choose is to count how many documents you actually bind in a month.

Manual

Fewer parts, nothing to fail electrically, no power needed, and cheaper. For a few documents a week it is entirely adequate, and many manual machines punch as cleanly as powered ones.

Electric

The motor removes the physical effort of punching, which matters once the volume is regular. It is faster and much easier on the hands and shoulders across a long session.

The hidden factor

Repetitive punching is genuinely tiring. If one person does all the binding, that argues for electric well before the volume figures alone would.

Either way, check the die

Disengageable pins let you punch odd paper sizes without stray holes at the edge. That is more useful day to day than the power source.