Nearly every wheel sold today is electric, and the useful comparison between them is what happens under load. A wheel that holds its speed while you centre teaches you to centre; one that slows and stalls teaches you that you cannot, which is a lie the machine is telling.
Torque, not speed
Every wheel spins fast enough for anything you will throw. The specification that matters is how much clay it will centre without losing speed, because centring is where the load peaks. Look for the maker's stated centring capacity and treat motor wattage as background information, since it is measured and quoted inconsistently.
Direct drive and belt drive
Belt-driven wheels are quieter and absorb shock through the belt, which needs occasional replacement. Direct-drive wheels have fewer parts to wear. Both are used in good machines and the distinction matters far less to a potter than the pedal quality and the mass of the wheel.
Reverse, and who needs it
Most wheels can run in either direction, which matters if you are left handed or learned on a machine turning the other way. It is worth checking rather than assuming, and it is one of the few features that is genuinely a preference rather than a specification.
Before you buy a used one
Run it. Listen for bearing noise, rock the head gently by hand to feel for play, and check the pedal takes up smoothly from stopped rather than jumping. Bearings and pedals are the parts that age, and both are replaceable on wheels from makers who still supply them.
Questions people ask about pottery wheel
What matters most in an electric wheel?
Stated centring capacity, which describes how much clay it will hold at speed under load, and smooth pedal control at low speed.
Belt or direct drive?
Both are used in good machines. Belts are quieter and eventually need replacing; direct drive has fewer parts.
Can a wheel run in reverse?
Most can, which matters for left-handed potters or anyone who learned on a machine turning the other way.