Which Name Brand Toilet Paper Gives You The Best Bang For Your Buck?
Toilet paper is one of those quintessential household items that most homes really can't do without, even on a tight budget. While there are some dirt cheap toilet paper options out there, the sheets are typically ultra thin, and your home might fly through them so quickly you might as well have invested in higher-quality toilet paper in the first place. The good news is, you don't have to break the bank to have soft, high value toilet paper in your home. Based on factors like durability, roll size, ply count, softness, flushability, and of course price, the name brand toilet paper that offers the most bang for your buck is Amazon's Presto! Ultra Soft.
On Amazon, a pack of 24 mega rolls of Presto toilet paper costs $27.76, which boils down to about 37 cents per 100 sheets. Despite its low sticker price, the toilet paper is still very durable, and it dissolves easily, which will keep your plumbing system (and your wallet) very happy. If your plumbing or septic system is delicate, use this trick to determine if your toilet paper is causing damage to your pipes. Additionally, unlike other lower-priced toilet paper, users report that Amazon's toilet paper is still somewhat soft, although not as plush as more costly options like Charmin Ultra Soft.
Factors to consider
When deciding which toilet paper is the best value, it's not necessarily about just finding the lowest price. At around 20 cents per 100 sheets, Kirkland Signature is a cheaper option than Presto! Ultra Soft at face value. However, you also need to consider the fact that you'll need to purchase a Costco membership to buy the Kirkland brand. Additionally, the Amazon brand sheets are longer and wider than the Kirkland sheets.
Other factors to consider when shopping for the best value toilet paper include dissolubility, ply count, strength, and effectiveness. In toilet paper tests run by GearLab, Amazon's toilet paper passed the dissolubility test with flying colors, outranking all but two of the other toilet paper brands tested. This is particularly important if your home has older plumbing or a septic system, where less dissoluble toilet paper can clog the pipes and cause some serious damage. The Presto! toilet paper is a septic-safe toilet paper, making it the best type of toilet paper for a healthy septic tank. In terms of effectiveness, Amazon's brand trails right behind more high-end toilet papers like Charmin and Quilted Northern.
The ply count of toilet paper is another important metric to consider. While single-ply options might be cheaper, they'll likely also require more sheets per use, diminishing value. Amazon's toilet paper offers two-ply construction, which contributes to its effectiveness, lowers overall potential toilet paper usage, and ultimately saves you money.
User experiences and ratings
Without diving too far into the nitty-gritty, it's useful to know what customers are saying about their experiences using Amazon's toilet paper. Technical specs are helpful in determining which name brand toilet papers offer the best value, but user reviews can really help paint a picture of what to expect when purchasing a product. Users seem to be very pleased overall with the toilet paper, especially for the price. On Amazon, Presto! Ultra Soft has over 123,000 ratings, and an average rating of 4.7 stars. One user described it as "soft and very comparable to expensive brands," while another was "impressed with how long each roll lasts" (via Amazon).
While most reviews are raving, there are a few 1 and 2 star reviews that primarily mention delivery issues and that Amazon's toilet paper is in fact not very soft and not the most absorbent. These factors were also reflected in the tests run by GearLab— the Amazon brand scored lower in terms of softness compared to leading brands and only slightly above average in their absorption tests. Another drawback is that despite the product containing recycled materials, it still received an "F" grade for sustainability for being constructed with virgin wood pulp, like many other popular brands of toilet paper you may want to rethink buying due to their poor sustainability. Despite these downsides, most users still find Amazon's Presto! Ultra Soft to be a quality option that offers plenty of bang for their buck.