Simple Tips for Calculating Toilet Paper Price Points
Use these tips to figuring out your toilet paper price!
Let’s roll! 🧻
When it comes to toilet paper, price comparisons can be confusing because no two rolls or packages are alike. Not only are there a myriad of different roll sizes to choose from; there are other factors to consider like square footage, layers (ply), softness, thickness, and more.
So, how do we calculate the best deals and steer clear of total rip-offs (see what we did there? 😉)? Check out the following tips below that will help you know if you’re getting the best price.
1. All rolls are not created equal.
You may be used to calculating the price of toilet paper per roll to see if it’s a great buy, but unfortunately, that’s just not a very cost-efficient method anymore. That’s because each manufacturer uses their own terminology to label the sizes of their rolls – and it differs greatly. In other words, a regular Charmin roll just doesn’t equal a Cottonelle regular roll.
There are single, regular, double, big, jumbo, mega, triple, family-size, and now even a huge Charmin Forever roll! Huh!? Talk about confusing! So what are you supposed to do?
2. Always calculate price per square foot.
Since the price per roll varies greatly by brand, the best way to calculate the price is per square foot. To do this, take the price of the toilet paper and divide it by the total square feet, which is usually listed right on the package.
However, some online manufacturers don’t always include square foot information in their listings. If that’s the case, the next best way to calculate the unit cost is by sheets per roll. This won’t be as accurate, but it’ll give you an idea.
The only thing you can’t take into consideration with either of these methods is 1-ply, 2-ply, or 3-ply rolls. However, you can pretty safely assume that you’re going to use fewer sheets of multi-ply toilet paper rolls than you will with single-ply ones, so you can slightly adjust the price accordingly (more for single-ply and less for multi-ply).
As a guideline, here’s an idea of how much you should pay for 2-ply name-brand toilet paper:
- 👍🏻 Great – 1.4¢ or less/square foot
- 👍🏻 Good – 1.4¢-1.7¢/square foot
- 👎🏻 Average – 1.7¢-2.1¢/square foot
- 👎🏻 Poor – 2.1¢ and up/square foot
In general, you should never pay more than 2¢ per square foot for 2-ply toilet paper. You can also aim to pay less than 1¢ per square foot for 1-ply toilet paper and less than 3¢ per square foot for 3-ply toilet paper.
3. Don’t discount store-brand toilet paper.
Name brands aren’t always better! In fact, you might be surprised by the price and quality of store-brand toilet paper. For instance, as you can see below, Costco’s Kirkland Signature brand is a better deal when compared to the same count/ply of Charmin toilet paper (based on in-club prices)!
- Kirkland Signature 2-ply toilet paper 30ct | 1,425 sq. ft. | $22.99 = 1.6¢ per sq. ft.
- Charmin Ultra Strong 2-ply toilet paper 30ct | 861 sq. ft. | $31.19 = 3.6¢ per sq. ft
Even when Costco offers Instant Savings on their Charmin toilet paper (it usually goes on sale for around $17.99), you’re still getting a better price per square foot by buying the store brand! And it works just as well!
And, you may be interested to know that store brand toilet paper ranks higher than many name brands when it comes to overall quality!
Here are several store brands that have previously ranked high in quality tests:
- Great Value Ultra Strong Premium Bath Tissue | Walmart
- Total Home Premium Ultra Soft toilet paper | CVS
- Up & Up Ultra Soft toilet paper | Target
- Kirkland Signature toilet paper | Kirkland Signature brand
Be sure to keep an eye out for in-store and online toilet paper sales and use coupons to lower the cost. Also, be sure to watch for gift card offers (i.e. spend $30 on household items, get a free $5 Target gift card), in-store promotions (i.e. Costco’s Instant Savings), and clippable coupons on Amazon to save even more!
Here are all the places you can buy toilet paper!
Thanks for breaking this down. I always struggle to understand which is the best toilet paper deal. Very helpful post!!
Ditto! I haven’t seen a post on tp like this and feel like it is always mind boggling trying to get the best deal on it. My husband always says just get what’s cheap we are just wiping our butts with it and throwing it away anyway! Ha. Thanks for the post!
You’re very welcome! SO glad this was helpful!
I’ve been calculating by sq ft for years! Because all rolls aren’t equal. And store brands definitely give the brand names a run for their money. My default is Scott ComfortPlus, for when I don’t want to do the math 😆😆
Thanks Allison! 🙂 I’ll have to try Scott ComfortPlus next time!
You guys should put the Great, Good, Average or Poor in the top of the post, where you guys typically put Go, Go, Go…or Run…or Stock up. That would be even more helpful seeing as i am not a math fan !! Just a suggestion 😊
This is suuuper helpful though. Some things are just “crappy” (see what I did there 🤣) to over apend on.
LOL! Thanks for the suggestion, k80! I’ll be sure to pass that along to the team!
I love the Sam’s Club Member’s Mark brand toilet paper. I’m wondering if it’s similar to Cosco’s Kirkland’s toilet paper.
Probably similar?! It’s got fantastic reviews on their website!
FWIW my household far prefers Sam’s Club TP to Costco’s :). I know lots of people like it, but we found it to be linty and of a lower quality than what we usually get from Sam’s.
In our house we use both. I find that Costco’s TP is slightly softer and Sam’s is a little rougher but honestly the difference is negligible in my opinion. I do find that Costco’s roll is thicker and has a hard time rolling on my builder grade TP hold the first few days because it is rubbing on the wall.
I just bought the smiths brand (home sense) today for 1.2 cents per square foot 😊 and I’m pretty sure that’s their normal price! Plus I like it! It was 9.99 for 30 rolls
Awesome deal Elissa!
Yikes! I have been doing this wrong for a long time. LOL. I always figured a quarter per 2-ply roll was a good deal. and then assumed that would be $0.50 for a double roll, etc. Never stopped to think that different brands would be different size rolls.
Pretty crazy, huh!?
Just starting to read this post, I feel like I need to get out my abacus to keep up😊
Toilet paper math is hard, ResseCup!
Wow thanks hip2save!!
I like Safeway’s store brands of paper towels and toilet paper. There are frequently sales and coupons in the app, too.
I just take the package over to the produce section and weigh it. Price per pound is a way to evaluate how much total paper is in that package, no matter how thick, thin, or how many ply. $2.50/pound is about right for a good deal.
Good idea 👍🏼 And online stores give item weight!
YES YES YES!!! WEIGHT is the only way to figure it out! Nobody ever realizes this. Sq footage or number of squares means absolutely NOTHING.
It’s like comparing the price of bologna, or sausages, or bacon. You don’t compare the price based on the number of slices in the package….some are thin, some are thick. You figure it on the price per pound, or ounce.
Square footage or sheets is a waste of math and MONEY
I literally have a spreadsheet named Comparison. Each tab is a different item (paper towels, TP, Tide, ICY Hot Patches. In each tab I compare different stores. So when you post a deal, I plug in the numbers and see if it hits MY price points to buy. If its an insane deal like when lowes super discounts Tide, I will buy all the store has. Sometimes for Target dog treats/food deals, I will go to CouponFleaMarket and purchase a few extra coupons. There is always a local person that will sell me 10 coupons and I get them quick. I have Great Danes and treats can be pricey. They love Busy Bones.
Good idea 11c!!! Maybe you could share your spreadsheet setup with H2S and they could do an article on that. I LOVE LOVE LOVE these types of posts. I always get so many new tips from H2S and the comments on these type posts. BTW I’m not a “newbie”. I’ve been bargin shopping and following H2S close to 10 years now. I’m always open to new ideas/ ways to find bargains. Keep up the GREAT work H2S team (and followers)!!!!
That’s a great way to buy at your best prices, llc! Thanks for telling us how you price compare! PS. I also have a Great Dane and understand about those prices!
Thanks. I’ve always had a hard time figuring toilet paper deals
I shopped at Costco last week, there was a sale on Charmin, the wife says to her husband, it’s better. I’m picking up my Costco tp, the young Costco guy says, that is a goal in life, to afford Charmin? My 80 year old mom thinks Charmin is better, also. Oh! Life’s choices…
So if we’re in a hurry, looks like the best “go to” deal is the Costco 30 count package, right?
I really appreciate this calculation chart.
I’m not a math genius, by NO means, and y’all always simplify things for me. : )
I love it! So Costco (Kirkland) brand just went to $16.99 for the 30 roll 1594sq ft.
That’s all we buy, even though it went up a dollar it saves my butt and there’s not lint!
Wouldn’t change a thing!
I have to disagree with you on the Kirkland TP. I had heard good things and bought it and my family hated it compared to our usual Charmin Ultra Soft.
Could you send me your spreadsheet ? How can I get it without posting my name and phone number or email here? Could you send it to Collins # that she texts us on, and she can put it on here somewhere??? OMG, I would LOVE LOVE LOVE to have it. I did one once years ago, but have given up, it had gotten so confusing. I love spreadsheet…..
SO sorry, Debra. We do not have a current spreadsheet on Toilet Paper Pricing. Hoping the tips above might be helpful. 🤗❤️
I just buy when you post a deal or Kroger Krazy posts a deal. LOL I use my free amazon cash so either way it is a deal. LOL
WEIGHT is the only way to figure it out.
Nobody ever realizes this. Sq footage or number of squares means absolutely NOTHING.
It’s like comparing the price of bologna, or sausages, or bacon. You don’t compare the price based on the number of slices in the package….some are thin, some are thick. You figure it on the price per pound, or ounce.
Square footage or sheets is a waste of math and MONEY
The cheapest toilet paper is always Walgreen’s 1-ply 1000-sheet Big Roll. Regular price is 50 cents (if you buy 10), or 4-packs online. Wait for a Walgreens deal to get free shipping and at least 20% off of regular price items. At 105 sq ft per 40 cent roll, that’s a price under 0.4 cents per sq foot (the equivalent of 0.8 cents double ply).
Just get a bidet!!!
I just bought 4 packs of 6 mega rolls of Cottonelle on Amazon, originally $27.59 but paid $15.85 after subscribe and save and a gift card. I thought it was a great deal but calculated it was 1.9 cents per square foot, which according to the chart is average. Guess it wasn’t as great a deal as I thought but it seems very hard to hit that lower price point these days.
During the great TP shortage of 2020, I was going to Home Depot to get my secret stash of TP in bulk. I always bought it there and it seemed no one else thought to get it there, go figure! Their store brand has always seemed to last the longest after years of using Walmart brands, all varieties of Scott brands, Cottonelle and yes even Angel Soft using multiple coupons.
I also prefer Sam’s TP because Costco’s is linty. I’m surprised it wasn’t mentioned specifically. TY for the formula!
Sadly “shrinkflation” has been going on for years with toilet paper manufacturers. They didn’t reduce the number of sheets per roll but instead narrowed the width of the rolls. So I agree with Jodi above ^^ that weight is probably your best way to calculate whether you are getting a deal or not.