The CHOICE laundry lab has conducted its latest round of detergent testing, analysing more than 90 popular laundry powders, liquids, capsules and sheets for their cleaning prowess – or lack of.
And the results have delivered some big surprises, especially when we compare performance against price.
Want to know if your detergent is a winner or a wash-out? We reveal the best and worst cleaners from our tests below.
On this page:
- Best detergents for front loaders
- The best front loader detergents for your wallet
- Worst detergents for front loaders
- Are laundry detergent sheets any good?
- Are laundry capsules any good?
- Best detergents for top loaders
- Best buys for top loaders
- Worst for top loaders
CHOICE's head of reviews and testing Matthew Steen in the laundry lab.
No, you're not seeing double – our detailed laundry detergent test results have two entries for each product. So why the double-up?
When we test any product in our labs, we leave nothing to chance: our testers are a diligent bunch. Not only do we test each detergent on multiple types of stains, we also test each one in a top loader and a front loader.
"Top loaders and front loaders perform quite differently: front loading machines generally give you a better wash, so the detergents score higher in front loaders," says CHOICE head of reviews and testing Matthew Steen.
"We test detergents in both top and front loaders so you can see which detergent will work best in your washing machine."
Read more on how we test laundry detergents.
Best detergents for front loaders
Omo has really cleaned up in our latest laundry detergent test, with three of its products topping the results, and a total of nine Omo detergents recommended by our experts.
Historically, Omo has performed well over the last 10 years, with at least one product recommended by our experts in every test.
Omo Ultimate Powder was the front runner with a CHOICE Expert Rating of 86%, followed by Omo Laundry Powder and Omo Ultimate 3 in 1 Capsules, which earned CHOICE Expert Ratings of 84% and 82% respectively.
But those kinds of results don't come cheap. The top performing Omo product is one of the most expensive in our test – it costs a whopping $32 per 2kg, or $1.23 per wash.
Omo has really cleaned up, with three of its products topping the results, and a total of nine Omo detergents recommended by our experts
In other unfortunate news for our hip pockets, only four out of the recommended detergents are supermarket own-brand products, which are priced much lower than big-name brands.
Woolworths' and Coles' laundry capsules really punched above their weight in our test, earning scores high enough for a recommendation and delivering great results.
Coles Ultra Concentrate Laundry Capsules will set you back just 40 cents a wash, but they scored as highly as products costing more than twice as much.
And Woolworths Clean Ultimate Sensitive Laundry Capsules are also recommended by our experts but cost just 31 cents per wash.
Omo products dominated in our front loader test.
Top performers for front loaders
- Omo Ultimate Powder (86%)
- Omo Laundry Powder (84%)
- Omo Ultimate 3 in 1 Capsule Front Loader (82%)
- Biozet Attack Power Capsule + Eliminator 8 in 1 Clean (80%)
- Dynamo Professional Discs Deep Clean 7 in 1 Action (80%)
- Dynamo Professional Discs Deep Clean Odour Eliminator (80%)
- Omo Ultimate Liquid (80%)
- Omo Ultimate Sensitive Liquid (80%)
- Omo With A Touch of Comfort Freshness 3 in 1 Capsule (80%)
Read the full results in our detailed laundry detergent review.
The best front loader detergents for your wallet
There's more than one way to be a winner. These products might not be at the top of the class, but that doesn't mean they're not a smart buy.
While they may not have made the cut to be recommended by our experts, they offer great value for money and are well worth considering. We call them our Best Buys.
They all cost less than 30 cents per wash and have a CHOICE Expert Rating of at least 70%.
Aldi's Laundrite Laundry Powder: Good for your wash and your wallet.
Best buys for front loaders:
- Aldi Laundrite Laundry Powder (79%)
- Coles Tropical Paradise Concentrate Laundry Powder (76%)
- Woolworths Clean Laundry Powder Fresh Getaway (75%)
- Aldi Almat Laundry Powder Concentrate Sunshine Fresh (74%)
- Aldi Trimat Advanced Concentrated Laundry Liquid (74%)
Worst detergents for front loaders
While Aldi products often perform well in our tests, the bargain retailer bombed with its Laundrite Laundry Liquid, which took out the wooden spoon in our tests.
While you may be tempted by its low cost per wash of just 6c, it was the worst performer out of all the liquids and powders we tested, scoring just 50% – no better than plain water.
Aldi's Laundrite Laundry Liquid took out the wooden spoon in our tests
And it's not just liquids and powders that disappointed – detergent sheets and capsules were also represented at the bottom of the table.
If you're using one of the products below, you might want to rethink your next purchase. Here are the detergents to avoid:
Aldi hit high and low notes in our tests, with its Laundrite liquid coming last.
- Water only: 50%
- Aldi Laundrite Laundry Liquid (50%)
- Re.stor Pre-measured Laundry Detergent Sheets Tropical Breeze (52%)
- Surf Tropical Capsules (53%)
- Earth Choice 3 in 1 Triple Action Laundry Capsules Fresh Burst with Eucalyptus Oil (54%)
- Coles Lemon Laundry Liquid (54%)
- Biozet Attack Sensitive Liquid (54%)
- Coles Ultra Concentrate Sensitive Laundry Liquid (55%)
- Lucent Globe Ultra Concentrated Laundry Detergent Sheets Ocean Breeze (56%)
Can't see your brand? See the full laundry detergent test results.
Re.stor laundry detergent sheets scored just 52% in our front loader test.
Are laundry detergent sheets any good?
You might've noticed two laundry detergent sheets in the list above – so what are they?
A relative newcomer to the laundry scene (and highly featured on your preferred social platform), laundry sheets are sheets of dissolvable paper embedded with detergent.
When they come into contact with water, they disintegrate, releasing the detergent into your wash.
They're marketed as an 'eco-friendly' option to traditional laundry detergent: they're lightweight and don't contain any water so they create fewer emissions to package and transport; they come in cardboard rather than single-use plastic; and they oven tout 'chemical-free' ingredients lists with 'no nasties'.
The laundry detergent sheets we tested didn't knock (or wash) our socks off
So how well do they work? From what we've seen in our testing, not very.
The laundry detergent sheets we tested didn't knock (or wash) our socks off: they were some of the lowest scoring detergents overall.
- Re.stor Pre-measured Laundry Detergent Sheets Tropical Breeze (52%)
- Lucent Globe Ultra Concentrated Laundry Detergent Sheets Ocean Breeze (56%)
- Earth Rescue Laundry Detergent Sheets Fresh Linen (60%)
If sustainability is vitally important to you, then you might be quite happy with laundry detergent sheets – not having perfectly-white whites may seem like a reasonable tradeoff for the environmental benefits.
"The concept is great, but the execution isn't quite there yet," says Matthew.
"With some more development they may live up to their potential, but for now we don't think they're a great buy."
Some capsules don't perform well in our tests, such as these Surf capsules that scored just 53%.
Are laundry capsules any good?
Laundry capsules are single-use capsules, or pods, of liquid laundry detergent concentrate in a dissolvable plastic wrapper.
They're designed to be dropped straight into your washing machine.
Capsules can be hit and miss in terms of performance: some capsules are among the best performers, but others sit at the bottom of the table.
In our previous tests, capsules generally haven't performed well but this time around we've seen a big improvement, with a total of 18 products recommended by our experts.
Capsules are convenient with no messy pouring or measuring required – but there are some downsides
They're certainly convenient with no messy pouring or measuring required – but there are some downsides.
"Although some top-performing laundry detergent pods in our latest test cost less per dose than some powder and liquid products, there are plenty of pods that were more expensive," says Matthew.
And as the dose is fixed, you can't save money by using less.
"We've found that you can get just as good a wash using half the amount of powder or liquid detergent, which can reduce your cost per wash, but you can't change the amount of detergent in a capsule."
Best detergents for top loaders
You may notice that ratings for top loader detergents are much lower than for front loader detergents. That's because our testing has found top loading machines don't wash as well.
"With that in mind, choosing a high performing detergent is even more important for people with top loaders," says Matthew.
Supermarkets scooped the top spots, with Aldi taking out first and third places and Coles just missing out on tying for third
Supermarkets scooped the top spots in our top loader testing, with Aldi taking out first and third places and Coles just missing out on tying for third by one percentage point.
Omo made an appearance once again, claiming second place with a score of 65%. But while it'll leave your clothes clean, it'll also clean out your wallet: it costs a huge $1.23 per wash. That's more than seven times the cost of the Aldi Laundrite powder!
"The performance of the Aldi powder in our tests goes to show that you can get a great wash for a fraction of the cost of the leading brands," says Matthew.
Aldi took out two podium spots in the top loader testing.
Top products for top loaders
- Aldi Laundrite Laundry Powder (69%)
- Omo Ultimate Powder (65%)
- Aldi Trimat Advanced Concentrated Laundry Powder (63%)
- Aldi Trimat Advanced Sensitive Concentrated Laundry Powder (63%)
- Coles Lemon Fresh Laundry Powder (62%)
- Biozet Attack Ultra Concentrate (61%)
- Cold Power Advanced Clean Powder (60%)
- Coles Tropical Paradise Concentrate Laundry Powder (60%)
- Coles Ultra Concentrate Laundry Powder (60%).
Best buys for top loaders
These discount detergents will give you a great clean without taking you to the cleaners.
To achieve Best Buys status, these products must cost less than 30 cents per wash and have a CHOICE Expert Rating of at least 60%.
- Aldi Laundrite Laundry Powder (69%) – Recommended
- Coles Lemon Fresh Laundry Powder (62%) – Recommended
- Coles Tropical Paradise Concentrate Laundry Powder (60%) – Recommended
Another Aldi detergent dud: this time it's the Green Action Laundry Liquid.
Worst for top loaders
Our testing revealed plenty of dud detergents that rated below 50%, including some big name brands.
And laundry detergent sheets once again make an appearance at the bottom of the ladder:
- Water only (45%)
- Aldi Green Action Laundry Liquid (46%)
- Re.stor Pre-measured Laundry Detergent Sheets Tropical Breeze (47%)
- Lucent Globe Ultra Concentrated Laundry Detergent Sheets Ocean Breeze (47%)
- Ecostore 3x Concentrate Laundry Liquid (47%)
Can't see your brand? See the full laundry detergent test results.
Stock images: Getty, unless otherwise stated.
