Compare toilet paper brands Quilton, ALDI Confidence, Sorbent, Kleenex, Who Gives a Crap, Woolworths Select, Woolworths Essentials, Coles, Coles So Soft and Coles 100% Recycled on their softness, strength & quality, packaging options, value for money and overall satisfaction.
See our Ratings Methodology.
Quilton has floated back to the top of our toilet paper ratings, with five-star reviews for softness, strength & quality, packaging options and overall satisfaction.
Toilet paper isn’t a very luxurious item on your shopping list, but it’s a necessary one, especially if you don’t want to be stuck in that awkward situation where you run out at the time you need it most. There seems to be two options when it comes to toilet paper – the ‘cheap and nasty’, or ‘lush and pricey’. But with supermarket private labels now seriously competing with big-name brands, plus the growth in demand for recycled toilet paper, picking up a ‘cheap’ pack doesn’t always mean you’re buying an inferior product. Likewise, buying the most expensive brand doesn’t always mean you’re getting the best value for money. That’s why we want to help you find the best toilet paper at the right price.
To get things rolling, we’ve surveyed more than 2,400 Aussies on the toilet paper they’ve bought and used in the last month. Consumers rated their brand of choice on its softness, strength & quality, packaging options, value for money and overall satisfaction. The idea is to give you a good idea of which brands scrub up best, so you’ll have an easier decision to make when you next stock up. So, which brand ended up number one?
Quilton is back in the top spot since first winning our overall customer satisfaction award for toilet paper in 2018. The Aussie-owned brand scored five-star reviews in most categories.
Here are the best toilet paper brands in Australia, as rated by consumers in Canstar Blue’s latest review:
Quilton was rated best for overall satisfaction and five stars for softness, strength & quality and packaging options. Runner-up Who Gives a Crap, similarly rated best for variety of packaging options and strength & quality. Meanwhile, ALDI Confidence took the crown for best value for money and got full marks for its packaging options, similarly to Kleenex.
Let’s now consider what each of the 10 brands in our latest review have to offer.
Australian-owned and made, Quilton toilet paper is manufactured by ABC Tissue from local and imported materials in mills in Sydney, Brisbane and Perth. All Quilton packaging is recycled in Australia as part of the ‘REDcycle program’ – take your soft plastic wrappings to a participating Woolworths or Coles store with REDcycle collection bins. Quilton is also Forest Stewardship Council certified, and the brand’s Ecoply toilet paper is said to be manufactured in Brisbane from high-quality waste paper involving a de-inking process that doesn’t use bleach so that all wastewater can be recycled.
The original 3-ply comes in rolls of 180 sheets, but if you really hate changing the roll regularly then you can also buy double length (360 sheets) and even triple length (540 sheets) rolls. The Quilton King Size variety has sheets 25% larger than the standard size, in rolls of 175. For extra luxury, the Quilton Gold range is a 4-ply toilet paper available in original and shea butter. Finally, the eco-conscious can choose Quilton Ecoply, a 3-ply toilet paper with a 100% recycled middle layer in rolls of 190 sheets.
Who Gives a Crap is stated to be ‘good for your bum and great for the world’. This eco-conscious online brand makes 100% recycled toilet paper and tissues, with 50% of profits being donated to help build toilets in the developing world. Who Gives a Crap offers 24-pack and 48-pack recycled double length bamboo toilet paper rolls, as well as standard ‘eco’ toilet paper in 24 and 48 packs.
The brand offers free shipping on most orders over $30, which means you can say goodbye to lugging your bulky loo rolls home from the supermarket and get them delivered to your door instead. Winning!
From the home of hidden supermarket bargains, ALDI Confidence toilet paper comes in three different varieties. The standard 3-ply toilet tissue comes in packs of four or 24. ALDI Confidence Hypoallergenic is a 2-ply toilet tissue sold in packs of 12 rolls of 260 sheets. For a little extra comfort, the 4-ply Hypoallergenic Quilted Softness toilet tissue comes in packs of eight rolls of 140 sheets. All are FSC Mix certified and Australian-made.
Coles So Soft is the more premium of the supermarket giant’s private labels – still cheap but a bit more comfortable than the very budget 2-ply. Coles So Soft is a 3-ply toilet paper (with each roll containing 190 sheets) and 4-ply for additional thickness. So Soft is sold in packs of four, eight or 24 rolls. The sheets are the traditional white colour, but with embossed patterns.
Another brand famous for its packaging and advertisement featuring cuddly Labrador puppies, Kleenex has a few different toilet paper products. Kleenex Complete Clean – designed with a unique CleanRipple texture – is available in packs of four, nine, 16, 18, 24 or 32, with 180 sheets. The packaging for packs of more than 18 include carry handles. There is also a long roll version of the Complete Clean toilet paper, with 270 sheets per roll (50% more than the standard rolls), available in packs of 12.
For a ‘luxurious’ experience, Kleenex Softest offers embossed toilet paper infused with a choice of shea butter or aloe vera. These lightly scented rolls come in packs of six rolls of 150 sheets.
The higher tier of Woolworths’ private labels, Woolworths Select Luxury Soft is a 3-ply toilet paper, offered in standard rolls of 190 sheets in packs of four, eight or 24 rolls. For those who want to reduce the hassle of changing rolls, Woolworths Select offers double-length rolls (380 sheets) in packs of four. Luxury Soft is FSC Mix certified, meaning the wood used is from FSC-certified material, recycled material, or controlled wood.
An Australian brand owned by Asaleo Care, Sorbent produces two types of toilet paper, both 2-ply. Sorbent Silky White comes in a choice of a regular roll, with 180 sheets in packs of four, 12, 20 or 24, or King Size with 33% larger sheets than its regular toilet paper in packs of four. Sorbent Hypoallergenic is stated to contain no inks, dyes or fragrances, and is dermatologically tested to be safe for sensitive skin. This variety comes in rolls of 180 sheets, in packs of 12 or 20 rolls. It’s also stated to be made from sustainably sourced materials.
As Woolworths’ budget brand, Woolworths Essentials toilet paper keeps things simple to save you money. Woolworths Essentials toilet paper includes two options – a 2-ply roll of 260 sheets, sold in packs of 12, or a 1-ply roll of 1,000 sheets, sold individually. The 2-ply toilet paper is FSC Mix certified while the 1-ply toilet paper is FSC Recycled certified, meaning it’s made entirely from recycled material.
For tight budgets, Coles 2-ply toilet paper offers an affordable option with FSC certification. Coles 2-ply comes in rolls of 260 sheets, available in packs of six or 18 rolls. There’s also a 12 pack of 100% recycled toilet tissue. It’s simple stuff designed to get the job done without costly extra frills and padding.
Coles also sells 2-ply recycled toilet paper through its Coles 100% Recycled range, which is available in 12 rolls of 220 sheets. It’s sold at the same price as the brand’s own 2-ply option, and might be a suitable budget alternative for anyone searching for recyclable toilet paper.
In addition to finding out which brands are keeping Aussies happiest on the loo; our research also identified the following drivers of satisfaction when it comes to toilet paper:
It seems that once consumers find a toilet paper they get on with, it’s difficult to wipe away their favourite brand from the shopping list. A third of survey respondents (33%) tend to buy in bulk, while 41% of Aussies always buy the same brand.
While more than a quarter (28%) usually buy whichever brand is cheapest, our results also show that it’s more than just price that keeps everyone happy, with strength and quality and softness of toilet paper being the two biggest drivers of satisfaction.
It makes sense, considering nearly one in four consumers (23%) said they’d choose recycled toilet paper if the quality was better and a fifth (20%) purchase the thickest ply toilet paper possible.
To conclude our review, here are some of the light-hearted outcomes from our survey.
The age-old debate – should you scrunch up your toilet paper or fold it up before wiping? Scrunchers argue that their method gives better grip and keeps your hand further away from the ‘danger zone’, while proponents of folding claim that they are more efficient and can cover more ground… Both sides have good arguments, but which way is best? According to our survey, the answer is clear – fold it. Most Aussies (68%) said that they fold their toilet paper, while only 24% scrunch (and 9% were unsure).
Another toilet paper debate – and one that can cause some ‘serious tension’ in households – is toilet paper roll orientation. When you put a new roll on the holder, do you position it so that it rolls over the top, or underneath from the bottom? We found that most Australians roll toilet paper over the top (61%), while a good chunk of respondents don’t have a preference (21%). Only 13% of people are dedicated under side rollers.
Going to the bathroom is not anyone’s favourite pastime. That explains why almost one in five (18%) adults said they usually take their phone with them to the toilet – it’s reasonable to prefer to play games or browse Facebook rather than stare blankly at the back of a door. Unfortunately, though, taking your mobile phone into the bathroom is risky business as 6% of people admitted to having accidentally dropped their device into the toilet bowl. If this stinky situation happens to you, you might be able to salvage your phone by immediately dunking it into a bowl full of rice to draw out the moisture – hopefully before it does any damage.
This report was written by Canstar Blue’s home & lifestyle journalist, Tahnee-Jae Lopez-Vito. She’s an expert on household appliances, grooming products and all things grocery and shopping. In addition to translating our expert research into consumer-friendly ratings reports, Tahnee spends her time helping consumers make better-informed purchase decisions on all manner of consumer goods and services, while highlighting the best deals and anything you need to be aware of.
Picture credits: Lopolo/Shutterstock.com, Zyn Chakrapong/Shutterstock.com, Smit/Shutterstock.com.
Our latest customer satisfaction ratings on toilet paper saw the following results:
Canstar Blue surveyed 3,000 Australian adults across a range of categories to measure and track customer satisfaction, via ISO 26362 accredited research panels managed by Qualtrics. The outcomes reported are the results from customers within the survey group who have purchased toilet paper in the last month – in this case, 2,429 people.
Brands must have received at least 30 responses to be included. Results are comparative and it should be noted that brands receiving three stars have still achieved a satisfaction measure of at least six out of 10. Not all brands available in the market have been compared in this survey. The ratings table is first sorted by star ratings and then by mean overall satisfaction. A rated brand may receive a ‘N/A’ (Not Applicable) rating if it does not receive the minimum number of responses for that criteria.
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