SWAPPING branded products for supermarket own-brand versions is a great way to save money on your weekly shop.
But how can you tell which own-brand products match up to the quality of brands?
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To save you from guessing, we’ve tested everyday loo rolls from all the major supermarkets to find out which ones are the best quality and value for money.
Here, we compare supermarket own-brand everyday toilet rolls with Andrew Classic Clean to see whether they match it for softness, thickness and strength.
We bought a regular size pack of standard toilet rolls from each supermarket, which varied in size from four double-length rolls to nine rolls in a packet.
To test them, we folded two sheets from each roll together and squirted them with 2ml of water.
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We looked at how well they soaked up the water and how easily the paper split apart, giving them a score out of ten for effectiveness.
To test value for money, we also analysed how many sheets were in each roll and how much you are paying for each 100 sheets.
We gave a separate score out of 10 for value.
Here’s how the toilet rolls scored out of 20 overall:
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Andrex Classic Clean, £4.25 for 6 rolls
- Average roll length = 190 sheets / 23.56m
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The Andrex Classic Clean toilet roll sheets felt soft but were covered in little bits of paper dust that fell everywhere when they came out of the packet, which was annoying.
The paper performed well in the water test as it required a fair bit of effort to split it, even when it was soaking wet.
But at 37p per 100 sheets, the Andrex toilet roll was more than three times more expensive than the cheapest versions we tried.
- Effectiveness = 8/10
- Value = 4/10
- TOTAL SCORE = 12/20
Tesco Luxury Soft, £3.15 for 6 ‘long’ rolls
- Average roll length = 330 sheets / 38.16m
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Tesco’s version wasn’t as soft as Andrex but it was pretty resistant to splitting when wet in the water test.
And at just 16p per 100 sheets, this was one of the cheapest products we tried and was definitely a great value alternative to the branded version.
- Effectiveness = 7/10
- Value = 8/10
- TOTAL SCORE = 16/20
Asda Shades So Soft, £4.50 for 6 ‘long’ rolls
- Average roll length = 360 sheets / 42.48m
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The Asda toilet roll felt luxurious and soft.
It was the most absorbent paper we tested and effectively held the water in a small area instead of letting it spread across the paper.
But it wasn’t as strong as Andrex and split a bit more easily.
And at 21p per 100 sheets, this was the second most-expensive toilet paper we tested. For that, we gave it a lower score.
- Effectiveness = 7/10
- Value = 7/10
- TOTAL SCORE = 14/20
WINNER – Sainsbury’s Supersoft, £2.57 for 4 ‘double’ rolls
- Average roll length = 440 sheets / 53.68m
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The Sainsbury’s version felt soft and thicker than Andrex, although not quite as smooth.
It had average performance in the water test, with the paper splitting under a small amount of pressure when soaked.
But it was really good value because the double rolls were so long, at more than 53m each.
At just 15p per 100 sheets it was less than half the price of the branded version. For that reason, it came out on top.
- Effectiveness = 7/10
- Value = 9/10
- TOTAL SCORE = 17/20
Morrisons Oh So Soft Classic White, £3.85 for 6 ‘double’ rolls
- Average roll length = 380 sheets / 46.38m
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The Morrisons toilet paper felt very smooth and soft.
Unfortunately, it didn’t do well in the water tests as it fell apart easily when it was wet.
But the rolls were the second longest we tested and cost 17p per 100 sheets, making it about average on the cost front.
- Effectiveness = 6/10
- Value = 7/10
- TOTAL SCORE = 13/20
Aldi Saxon Soft White, £1.99 for 9 rolls
- Average roll length = 200 sheets / 24m
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Aldi’s toilet roll felt rough and thin. It quickly disintegrated when wet, meaning you would need to use more for it to work effectively.
At 11p per 100 sheets, the poor quality meant it just wasn’t good value for money despite being the joint-cheapest product we tested.
- Effectiveness = 4/10
- Value = 6/10
- TOTAL SCORE = 10/20
Lidl Floralys Soft White, £1.99 for 9 rolls
- Average roll length = 200 sheets / 24m
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Like Aldi’s loo roll, the Lidl toilet roll felt thin and scratchy to touch.
t fell apart quickly when wet, splitting in multiple directions under very light pressure.
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You would need to use many sheets to get the same effect as the Andrex version, so even though it costs 11p per 100 sheets, it isn’t great value for money.
- Effectiveness = 3/10
- Value = 6/10
- TOTAL SCORE = 9/20
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