Our Paper Towels Buying Guide is Here | We Compare Name Brands & Where to Buy for the Best Price!
Looking for paper towels on sale? Know how to shop smart.
Stop throwing your money away.
Even when you can’t find paper towels on sale, we know the best places to buy them at all times, or what to use instead! If you use paper towels, read this…you’re going to need them eventually!
First, we compared the top 3 best name brand paper towels:
Click here to shop the chart above.
*Prices may vary.
A note on our price comparison findings:
We compared these paper towel prices nearly two months after creating this chart. Despite some pricing fluctuations, Sam’s Club remained the best price on Bounty and Walmart held the best price on Viva. However, Amazon took over with the best price on Brawny. Originally, Sam’s Club’s smaller Brawny pack (now sold out) had the best price even without Instant Savings, so be sure to keep an eye out in the future if you’re a Club member.
Here are the best places to buy paper towels:
- Best prices – Sam’s Club
- Most convenient – Amazon Subscribe & Save
- Best selection – Amazon & Walmart
- Best alternative – Swedish Dishcloths
Overall, Sam’s Club was the best place to buy paper towels.
Regardless of the retailer, you’ll get the best price on paper towels with the more you buy. So, it’s no surprise one of America’s biggest club stores has the best prices on just about every major brand you can shop.
Bounty
Sam’s Club overall had the best price on Bounty paper towels and even beat Amazon’s Subscribe & Save paper towels on sale.
Consider store rewards to ensure the best price when you shop. I’ve seen extra incentives such as a 25¢ reward at Walmart if you buy one Bounty pack or a $1 credit back when you choose to Subscribe & Save, so these extra savings could help you out in the long run.
Nonetheless, Sam’s Club still had the best paper towels on sale and there’s potential for Instant Savings to make them even more affordable.
Viva
Sam’s Club and BJ’s don’t carry Viva, so if this is your go-to brand, you’ll get the best price per sheet at Walmart. Of course, Target’s Viva pack of paper towels is still the same price per sheet, but a total cost of just 1¢ more.
Brawny
Target, BJ’s, and Costco don’t carry Brawny paper towels. so if they’re your go-to then Sam’s Club could potentially be your best choice if Instant Savings are available. However, at the time of posting, Amazon has the most competitive price even without Subscribe & Save.
Amazon has a plethora of Brawny paper towel packs to choose from so price comparison can be pretty overwhelming. However, even the priciest Brawny pack on Amazon for $57 with over 4,000 sheets is still currently the cheapest.
Here’s how each retailers store brand compared in price:
Click here to shop the store brand chart above.
*Prices may vary.
Store brands
Sam’s and BJ’s had the best prices on paper towels per sheet at just 0.9¢ each.
During my two-month price check-in, Amazon had raised the prices on their store-brand paper towels (even among price drops elsewhere) kicking them out of the best price category among Sam’s and BJ’s. That said, they’re a brand to keep your eyes on for a price drop if you like taking advantage of Subscribe & Save.
Overall, if you’re looking for the absolute BEST prices on paper towels, purchasing a store brand is the way to go considering they’re priced lower than any of the name brands. Plus, big club stores proved that buying in bulk pays off (with the exception of Costco’s prices being the highest).
If you find yourself still grabbing paper towels at Target for the next cheapest price, make sure you buy their Everspring brand since their prices beat their Up & Up brand at 1.1¢ per sheet.
Hip Tip: We found the best Sam’s Club membership deal if you’re not a member and need to sign up!
Love convenience? Amazon’s Subscribe & Save allows you to never think about buying paper towels again.
I noticed Amazon had the biggest fluctuation in prices when price comparing paper towels across the board. However, compared to the winners in each category the price difference overall isn’t very much and they currently hold the best price on Brawny.
Amazon’s Subscribe & Save will be your best bet if you’re simply looking for convenience. Plus, chances are if you’re driving to any of the other big box stores, you’ll spend more on gas getting there or you could potentially pay extra for delivery fees.
Even better, you can save up to 15% OFF with Amazon Subscribe & Save with five repeat deliveries or more so you could potentially save the MOST on paper towels, in the long run by choosing this route. You can even Subscribe & Save to items as frequently as every 2 weeks in the chance you need paper towels that frequently.
Hip Tip: Ready to shop with Amazon Subscribe & Save? We round up many grocery deals under $3 and practical under $2 filler items to meet your minimum order total.
Amazon also has the best selection of paper towels.
Looking for the best variety? Most consumers have one brand they love, but if you simply want to try a new brand, we found Amazon to have the best variety to choose from. From bamboo paper towels to name brand they truly do have it all.
However, if you’re looking for a smaller pack of paper towels because you simply don’t have the storage space or maybe you’re on a trip, then we found Walmart to have the second-best selection in regard to quantity.
With Target, Sam’s Club, BJ’s, and Costco being more limited with their inventory, these aren’t the retailers we’d recommend shopping at if you want the biggest selection to choose from.
Or consider going a more eco-friendly route! Swedish dishcloths are endlessly reusable and the perfect replacement even for the best paper towels on sale.
Swedish Dishcloths – $17.99 (regularly $24.99)
*Price remained the same during our 2-month comparison, and typically drop even lower on certain colorways!
A bulk pack of Bounty paper towels will run you well over $20, but you can buy a pack of Swedish dishcloths for even less and use them so much more! Swedish dishcloths are biodegradable, useful on many different surfaces, endlessly reusable, and easy to clean by throwing them in the dishwasher or washing machine!
I personally have used the same pack of 10 Swedish dishcloths for well over two years and haven’t bought paper towels since! In fact, over 3,500 Hip readers have already made the switch with us, so what are YOU waiting for?!
If a family of four gets in the habit of using an environmentally-friendly alternative to paper towels on sale, you could potentially save around 3,200 rolls of paper towels or about $4,048 over the next 10 years! 😱🤯
To learn more, head over to our post where our team shared everything you need to know about Swedish dishcloths!
There are even more alternatives to consider, such as Zap cloths, microfiber cloths, bar mops, and more. In fact, Collin’s mom is a huge fan of Zap Cloths, here’s what she has to say about them:
“I’m forever hooked on Zap Cloths! It’s impossible to screw up with the Zap cloth and amazingly easy to use. No more sloppy window cleaning! Simply wet it in water, wring it out a bit, and wipe the window. I am constantly in awe of how it works!”
Do you have a favorite brand or place to buy paper towels? We’d love to hear in the comments!
These other household swaps could change your life (and your budget).
To conserve on Paper Towels, I use newsprint-type packing paper for cleaning windows. It actually works better than paper towels and never leaves lint. I find tons of other uses for the packing paper too: like to protect surfaces during messy craft projects.
Thanks for sharing about your alternative, Lisa! When I would received newspapers in the mail, I would always use them for cleaning mirrors and windows – so I agree with you! ❤️
Colin- Have you looked at Amazon’s paper towels? Amazon basics 2 ply- 12 value rolls. I have found this to be the best per sq ft!
Thanks for the recommendation, Taylor S! We’ll check into that option too! 🤗
The Member’s Mark paper towels and toilet tissue from Sam’s Club are my picks over the brand names!
Thanks for sharing your recommendations, Malinda! Good to know you prefer them over the popular brand name ones! 💕
I swear by the heavy duty ones at Aldi! They are the best is so affordable!
Awesome! Thanks for sharing that option with us, Britt! We’ll check that one out! 💞
Me too!
Yes! We love their toilet paper and paper towels!
Thanks for the breakdown. I always do the math in-store to see… Also, I never used them but someone recommended Costco brand paper towels as a good alternative to Bounty. I always buy select a size to minimize the use and have also bought the Swedish Dish clothes you guys always rave about. They work great.
You’re welcome, Mike! So happy this post was helpful for you! I personally purchase the select-a-size version of Kirkland brand of paper towels from Costco and love them. I’m not sure that they are always the most cost-effective, but it’s nice that they come individually wrapped for storage, and I do think they are comparable to Bounty! Glad you’re loving those swedish dishcloths too! 🙌❤️
Does anyone know which is the cheapest, Sams Club Brand or Costco brand paper towels?
Hey Lindsey! According to the chart in the post, it seems that Sam’s Club has the best price on paper towels – priced a few dollars less with more sheets. Hoping this helps! ❤️
Lindsey, that really depends on which one you already have a club membership to (and has a convenient location located near you). Also, FYI, I was just in OfficeMax, and they had the huge packs of papertowels (sorry, cannot remember the brand, but it was a name brand) on special for $10 a pack. Check your local OfficeMax/Office Depot too.
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What a helpful article! Thanks so much for doing the hard work. I have a stash of rags from cut up old 100% men’s cotton undershirts which are like gold and some microfiber cloths. Of the paper towels Viva by far is my favorite for its strength and softness. Thanks for a great post.
You’re welcome, JD827! 🥰 Thanks for sharing your paper towel recommendation – and an alternative you use! My husband typically has cut-up old shirts that he uses for shop rags – he’s always asking around for those! 😆❤️
Viva’s quality has dramatically changed for the worse. About 15 years ago, Viva as the only paper towel I would buy. It used to be similar to a shop towel in strength, texture and absorbency. Now they’re just like a regular paper towel. I noticed the change about 5-6 years ago. I don’t bother buying them since the price is premium but the product is not.
Great post! Thanks so much! This was a real research project, and I so appreciate all the effort that went into making life more economical for H2S families! Your whole team rocks!
You’re so welcome, and thanks for the sweet comment! We sure appreciate YOU!🥰
I love the paper towels from Costco. Not sure ifbits cheaper than Sam’s, as I’ve only bought the Costco brand for years.
Hey Riss!!! About the middle of the post you can see the comparison of retailers store brand in price! There you can see that Sam’s has the best price. Hope that helps. 💕
Thanks Hip2Save for this comparison!!!
You’re most welcome!🥰
I was wondering about the price of the Kirkland brand of paper towels on this chart. How do they compare per sheet?
Hey Deb! It seems those are 1.2 cents per sheet. The chart for that comparison is here. ❤️
I like the fact that the Sam’s Club paper towels are wrapped individually in the large pack. Hey, we like what we like. 🙂
Yes!!! I always send an individual pack back to college when my kids visits.❣️