There's nothing quite as satisfying as finding out that one of the cheapest products on the market is also one of the best.
And that's exactly what happened during our latest round of dishwasher detergent testing: expensive big-name brands took out the top spots, but dirt-cheap supermarket products were hot on their heels.
Big-name brands took out the top spots, but dirt-cheap supermarket products were hot on their heels
Our experts tested 42 products in our labs and rated their cleaning performance on food stains such as egg yolk, baked-on cheese, rice starch, red wine and bolognaise sauce.
The best products power through even the most stubborn, dried-on food stains, while the worst will leave you scrubbing the bits that your detergent couldn't handle – which kind of defeats the purpose of having a dishwasher in the first place.
Here are the products that'll give you the best wash overall, the best clean for the least cash, and the washed-up duds that'll leave you with crusty crockery.
The top three
These dishwasher detergents all tied for first place. If, like 90s R&B band TLC, you don't want no scrubs, these are the products to load into your best friend's ride.
Effective but expensive: Powerball Ultimate Plus tablets.
Finish Powerball Ultimate All In 1 Tabs
- CHOICE Expert Rating: 80%
- Cost per wash: $1.18
Finish Powerball Ultimate Plus All in 1 Tabs
- CHOICE Expert Rating: 80%
- Cost per wash: $1.42
- CHOICE Expert Rating: 80%
- Cost per wash: $0.75
These tablets deliver top shelf performance – but at a top shelf price. The Finish Powerball Ultimate Plus tabs are the most expensive per wash of all the detergents in our review, and the others aren't far behind.
But that doesn't mean you need to dish out a fortune to get your crockery clean.
The cheaper alternatives
Three supermarket-brand detergents also performed well and will give you a great wash without straining your wallet. The cheapest of these costs just 15 cents per wash – almost a tenth the price of the Powerball Ultimate Plus.
This is great news for shoppers: you can scrub dollars from your grocery bills without sacrificing cleaning power.
This is great news for shoppers: you can scrub dollars from your grocery bills without sacrificing cleaning power
"This goes to show that if you shop smart, you can get a great clean while saving money," says Matt Steen, CHOICE head of reviews and testing.
Coles Ultra Advanced tablets: ultra cheap and ultra effective.
Want to save dollars on doing the dishes? These dirt-cheap detergents are also recommended by our experts:
Coles Ultra Advanced Dishwasher tablets
- CHOICE Expert Rating: 76%
- Cost per wash: $0.15
Aldi Logix Platinum Dishwasher Capsules
- CHOICE Expert Rating: 75%
- Cost per wash: $0.25
Woolworths Shine Optimum All in 1 Ultimate Clean Dishwashing Pods
- CHOICE Expert Rating: 75%
- Cost per wash: $0.26
Other winning washers
Coming in just a few points behind the top scorers, these dishwasher detergents are also definitely worth considering. They're all recommended by our experts.
The cleaning Fairy really does exist – and it'll do a great job on your dishes.
- Fairy Platinum Plus 30 Minute Miracle Dishwasher Capsules (CHOICE Expert Rating: 77%)
- Finish Powerball Quantum All In 1 Tabs (77%)
- Finish Powerball Ultimate Plus Material Care All In 1 Tabs (77%)
- Coles Ultra Advanced Dishwasher tablets (76%)
- Eco Planet Automatic Dishwasher Tablets Tarata and Kaffir Lime (76%)
- Finish Powerball Ultimate 0% All In 1 Tabs (76%)
- Aldi Logix Platinum Dishwasher Capsules (75%)
- Koh Dishwashing tablets (75%)
- Woolworths Shine Optimum All in 1 Ultimate Clean Dishwashing Pods (75%)
How important is choosing the right dishwasher detergent?
Buying a good dishwasher detergent is important – and since detergent makes up a significant proportion of your dishwasher's running costs, you'll want to make sure you're not spending too much on products that don't work.
But detergents aren't the be-all and end-all: your dishwasher matters too.
A high-performing dishwasher will do most of the grunt work of cleaning, so if the detergent you're already using is affordable and does the job, then there's no need to switch.
If you have a good dishwasher, you won't necessarily need to buy the best performing detergent
Matt Steen, CHOICE head of reviews and testing
"If you have a good dishwasher, then you won't necessarily need to buy the best performing detergent – you can opt for a cheaper product instead, or one that aligns with your ethical or environmental priorities," says Matt.
However, if you're using a good detergent but your dishes are still coming out dirty, your dishwasher could be the issue, or it might just be how you're stacking it.
You could also try cleaning your dishwasher to make sure there aren't any blockages.
Dishwasher detergent sheets
A relatively new entry to the market, dishwasher detergent sheets are touted as being biodegradable, plastic-free, gentle on sensitive skin and less allergenic than traditional dishwasher detergents.
We tested four detergent sheet products alongside traditional dishwasher detergents.
These Earth Choice detergent sheets scored just 34%.
So, how did they stack up? Not well, unfortunately.
They were some of the lowest scoring products overall, with CHOICE Expert Ratings ranging from 34% to 49%.
To their credit, one sheet detergent we tested in 2023 has improved significantly since then, where it scored just 12% – the same as plain water.
With some development, detergent sheets may end up being great, but for now our test results suggest they need work
Detergent sheets are a relatively new product, so with some development they may end up being great, but for now our test results suggest they still need work.
However, as we've mentioned above, your dishwasher is the key factor in how clean your dishes will be, so if you have a great dishwasher and you love the idea of detergent sheets, then by all means give them a try.
The dishwasher detergents not to buy
Earning a CHOICE Expert Rating of 43% or less, these dishwasher detergents listed below leave a lot to be desired (and definitely wouldn't get no love from TLC).
Buying these products to save money is a false economy: you'll end up having to wash your dishes twice
While some of them are much cheaper than others in our test, buying them to save money is a false economy: you'll end up having to wash your dishes twice, unless you've got a great dishwasher.
The lowest scoring product scored just 11%. Considering that plain water scored 5%, TLC would recommend you don't go chasing this water-fail and stick to the tablets and the capsules you're used to.
A waterfall will probably clean your dishes better than this OzKleen gel.
- Plain water (CHOICE Expert Rating: 5%)
- OzKleen Dishwasher Power Gel Detergent (11%)
- Simply Clean Dishwasher powder (32%)
- Earth Choice Ultra Concentrate Dishwashing Detergent Sheets (34%)
- Earth Rescue Dishwasher Detergent Sheets (39%)
- Earth Choice Dishwasher Powder Lemon Fresh (43%)
- Cleaner Days Dishwasher Detergent Sheets (43%)
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Stock images: Getty, unless otherwise stated.
