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Charmin Ultra Soft is the best of both worlds - it's soft and strong. You'll feel comfortable and won't have to worry about a mess on your hands.
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This roll is a nice balance of soft and sturdy for its price point. The only downside we could find is that it took a while for a square to dissolve.
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If you value the integrity of your TP, then this definitely meets the mark. It leaves no residue behind, though it does sacrifice some softness.
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Toilet paper may not be the flashiest purchase, but anyone who's ever bought a low-quality roll of the stuff can tell you that it's worth putting some thought into what you get. But is there a way to ensure you buy the best toilet paper roll possible without going through a potentially uncomfortable trial-and-error process? Glad you asked. That's where we come in.
After days of research and weeks of practical testing, we’re confident we’ve found the absolute best toilet paper money can buy. Our favorite pick is Charmin Ultra Soft
(available at Amazon)
, thanks to a balance of unmatched comfort and impressive durability. However, it's not the only great option and after reading our list of best bathroom tissue you’ll be sure to find a winner of your own.
Editor's Note:
The recommendations in this guide are based on thorough product and market research by our team of expert product reviewers. The picks are based on examining user reviews, product specifications, and, in some limited cases, our experience with the specific products named.
Best Overall
Charmin Ultra Soft
Although we're fans of all three types of Charmin toilet paper we tested, Charmin Ultra Soft is the best toilet paper money can buy. The double-ply roll from Charmin combines solid durability with unparalleled comfort. Although the Ultra Strong roll from Charmin is more heavy duty, extended use made it clear that the supreme comfort of the Ultra Soft is more important.
In our objective testing process, Charmin Ultra Soft wasn't perfectly durable, but it was pretty close—and thankfully it didn't tear during use. It took just under a minute to dissolve in water, which means it will fall apart in the toilet (key for avoiding potential septic issues) but not while you're doing your thing.
Sheer comfort and excellent durability combined make Charmin Ultra Soft the best toilet paper to use every day.
Charmin Essentials Soft is up there with our top pick when it comes to comfort, but for a truly excellent value. The surprisingly comfortable and long-lasting product certainly doesn’t cut corners just because it’s a less expensive option. In terms of texture, Charmin Essentials is closest to Charmin Ultra Strong, but it's not nearly as durable. During testing, Charmin Essentials wore out slightly more than Charmin Ultra Strong. Nonetheless, Charmin Essentials is a surprising favorite. While the roll isn’t the most comfortable or durable of the lot, it's a reliable balance of the two that really works.
The only issue we had with Charmin Essentials is that a single square took nearly two minutes to dissolve in water, which means you could potentially end up with plumbing issues if flushes aren’t properly spaced out. Regardless, Charmin Essentials earns its spot as our best value pick because of its affordability, comfort, and sturdiness.
This single-ply roll of toilet paper is our second favorite of all the products we tested. From a texture standpoint, the roll is extremely comfortable to use. It's also surprisingly thick and sturdy considering it’s a single-ply paper. When we ran a square of it against coarse surfaces, it tore apart more significantly than our top pick. Still, you can't really go wrong with the Cottonelle Ultra CleanCare, which was so close to winning the best overall spot.
This product was another favorite, thanks to its comfortable texture and strength. During regular daily use, this paper was as reliable as our top picks and almost as comfortable. When we rubbed a square of it against some coarse surfaces, it left a modicum of piling, but not much at all. Ultimately, this toilet paper was both strong and soft, but it wasn’t quite as comfortable to use repeatedly as the Charmin Ultra Soft.
Charmin’s alternate flagship product to our top pick, Ultra Soft, is exactly what it sounds like—ultra strong. This paper is the sturdiest of any product we tested. It's also pretty comfortable to use, though not as comfortable as the Ultra Soft. When rubbed against coarse surfaces, the Ultra Strong left virtually no residue, further backing its Ultra Strong label. All in all, this is a great product that prioritizes durability and strength over softness. If a sturdy paper is more important to you than one that's soft and pillowy, this is the product you’ll want to use.
The Quilted Northern is the only triple-ply toilet paper we tested, and it really is ultra-plush. On the durability side of things, however, the paper didn’t stay intact as well as the top Charmin options did. Although it held together well on the coarse surface, it didn’t hold up perfectly on the everyday tests. It also took a minute and forty seconds to dissolve in water, making it the second longest dissolving product in our list behind Charmin Essentials.
Regardless, this was a fantastic roll of toilet paper and was ultimately one of the most comfortable rolls we tested. If you’re looking for a luxuriously comfortable roll and don’t want to go the Charmin route, we definitely recommend you try Quilted Northern Ultra Plush.
Store brands can be hit or miss, but Walmart’s Great Value toilet paper is a comfortable and sturdy roll of toilet paper.
The roll is similar in texture to our top value pick, the Charmin Essentials toilet paper, and is fairly equivalent in comfort. Throughout our everyday testing, this paper was comfortable and reliable. However, where it fell behind Charmin Essentials was durability.
When we tested Great Value Ultra Strong on a coarse surface, it left a slight residue and wore a small hole. It also dissolved in water after only 30 seconds, which means it won't last long when wet.
Although it’s double-ply, we found the Angel Soft to be somewhat thin, making it less durable than the competition. In our subjective testing, we also found Angel Soft to be less comfortable after lengthy usage than some of our top brands. It didn't hold up for long when wet, either, dissolving in just over 30 seconds. Still, even though it didn’t stack up to the competition, it’s not a bad roll of toilet paper. You could do worse.
Target’s Up & Up Soft & Strong toilet paper was the weakest of all the store brands we compared. It tore slightly on the coarse surfaces, but still got the job done. In our personal testing, the roll was fairly comfortable but not as durable as we'd like. If you’re a Target loyalist and looking to save a few bucks, the Up & Up brand is worth trying. If not, this store brand isn’t worth going out of your way for.
Rubbing a single square of toilet paper over a cast iron pan helped us test for strength and durability.
How We Tested Toilet Paper
To find the best toilet paper, we started with extensive research and purchased every popular brand—that's 17 different types of toilet paper that I tested, compared, and narrowed down to the 12 products in this review.
Testing had a number of components. First, I tested toilet paper the old-fashioned way: by using it regularly over the course of multiple weeks. This kind of subjective testing allowed me to develop a less clinical opinion about the durability and comfort of each roll. I wanted to be sure that any toilet paper we recommended would be reliable and comfortable over time.
I also ran the rolls through a number of objective tests to score them for strength and durability. To accomplish this, I rubbed one square of each roll against coarse surfaces, including a cast iron skillet and rough outdoor carpet. I took note of any piling, residue, or tears that were caused by a normal amount of pressure against the coarse surfaces.
Finally, I placed a square of each roll in a container of water and swirled the paper until it dissolved to determine how long each brand would hold up when wet. However, I also paid attention to any toilet paper that took too long to dissolve, as those rolls are more likely to lead to plumbing issues.
Credit:
Reviewed / Jessa Rose Photography
Testing also included seeing how quickly the toilet paper would dissolve while submerged and swirled around in water.
How long is a toilet paper roll?
One of the most common sizes for a sheet of toilet paper is 4.5 x 4.5 inches. That said, the size of a sheet of toilet paper is shrinking, and you can now frequently find them up to a half-inch shorter.
On average, a one-ply roll of toilet paper provides 1,000 sheets per roll. For two-ply, you can expect roughly 500 sheets per roll. However, the reduction in toilet paper sheet size from 4.5 x 4.5 to 4 x 4 is allowing companies to quietly raise the cost per unit for toilet paper, which has increased by nearly 2% in 2013 alone. Ultimately, the environment and consumers themselves may get the most benefit from this as the narrower rolls are proving more effective for saving money as well as trees.
How long does toilet paper last?
A single roll of toilet paper can [last up to 5 days] in an average-sized household. Most consumers use 8.6 sheets, per use. This adds up to 57 sheets, per day, and 20,805 sheets, per year. Each person in your home will use an average of 42 two-ply rolls per year or 21 rolls of one-ply.
Popular brand Charmin recently came up with “the Forever Roll,” a gigantic roll of toilet paper the company claims can last up to 2 or 3 months. The Forever Roll is likely designed for people who rent and live in tight spaces, as it is advertised as a “space saver” and is sold in two sizes: the 12-inch multi-user roll and the 8.7-inch single-user roll. Despite being touted by Charmin as a “space saver,” we found that the Forever Roll and its accompanying kit make an apartment bathroom feel crowded, and recommend simply buying in bulk for a traditional household.
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Our team is here for one purpose: to help you buy the best stuff and love what you own. Our writers, editors, and lab technicians obsess over the products we cover to make sure you're confident and satisfied. Have a different opinion about something we recommend? Email us and we'll compare notes.