Objective Although ingrown toenails are a common health problem, there is no consensus about a standard first-choice treatment. Different non-surgical and surgical interventions for ingrown toenails are available. Our aim was to compare two surgical treatment methods for ingrown toenails; matricectomy with electrocauterization (ME) and surgical matricectomy (SM). Materials and Methods A total of 111 patients with ingrown toenail were randomized into two groups: surgical matricectomy and matricectomy with electrocauterization. All cases were evaluated 1 day, 1 week, 3 and 6 months after treatment. Recurrence rates, visual analog scale (VAS) scores were compared. Results Postoperative 1st day mean VAS score in ME group was higher than SM group (1.94 vs 0.93), and our result was statistically significant, but there was no difference in 8th day VAS scores. Mean recurrence rate was higher in ME group compared to SM group (33.96% vs 1.72%) and this result was also statistically significant. Conclusion SM is more effective method compared to ME method in terms of postoperative pain and recurrence in the treatment of ingrown toenail.