It really depends on how much you actually use the pestle and mortar at the moment.... If you use it every day for say 5 minutes to grind up your spices, or use it on a large scale basis for say catering, then it would definitely be worth having an electric one.... However, if (like me) you only occasionally grind up spices, then getting out the pestle and mortar is not too much like hard work. I do have a small electric coffee grinder that I keep just for spices but haven't used it in months (in fact I don't even know if it still works !). I tend to buy my spices ready ground from the local asian shops which have a high turnover, so they are very fresh anyway.