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: a big-name brand took out the top spot, but dirt-cheap detergents were hot on its heels – and even ahead of more expensive ones.
A big-name brand took out the top spot, but dirt-cheap detergents were hot on its heels
Our experts tested 34 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 off the bits that your detergent missed – 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, or the best clean for the least cash. Plus, we warn you off the washed-up duds that’ll leave you with crusty crockery.
The top three products
These dishwasher detergents took out first and second place.
If, like 90s R&B band TLC, you “don’t want no scrub”, these are the products to load into your best friend’s ride (TLC were singing about dishwashers, right?).
The Finish Powerball detergents deliver top-shelf performance – but at top-shelf prices.
They’re some of the most expensive per wash of all the detergents in our review, with the Ultimate Plus tabs costing $1.26 per wash, but the equal-second scorer Earth Choice is just 42 cents a tablet – a third of the price for the same result.
1st: Finish Powerball Ultimate 0% tabs
Effective but expensive: Powerball Ultimate 0% tablets.
CHOICE Expert Rating: 77%
Cost per wash: $1.07
Equal 2nd: Earth Choice All-in-1 Dish Tablets
CHOICE Expert Rating: 76%
Cost per wash: $0.42
Equal 2nd: Finish Powerball Ultimate Plus Tabs
CHOICE Expert Rating: 76%
Cost per wash: $1.26
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 Coles Ultra tablets deliver extra bang for your buck, costing nine times less than the Powerball Ultimate Plus Tabs for only the tiniest difference in performance.
Bosisto’s Supreme Plus Dishwasher Capsules Eucalyptus Oil
CHOICE Expert Rating: 75%
Cost per wash: $0.83
Coles Ultra: Nine times less than the winner for virtually the same result.
Coles Ultra Dishwasher Tablets
CHOICE Expert Rating: 75%
Cost per wash: $0.14
Ecostore Ultra Power Dishwasher Tablets Lemon Fresh
CHOICE Expert Rating: 75%
Cost per wash: $0.68
Finish Powerball Ultimate Tabs
CHOICE Expert Rating: 75%
Cost per wash: $1.07
Undo This Mess Super Ultra Pro Infinity Plus Dish Tablets
A number of affordable detergents also performed well and will give you a great wash without straining your wallet.
The cheapest of these costs just 13 cents per wash – a tenth the price of the most expensive detergent in our test, Fairy 5 Power Action Dishwasher Capsules Lemon.
Paying extra for the fancy capsules won’t do anything magical for your wash, either: the Fairy product scored just two percentage points more than Aldi’s bargain banger.
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,” saysChris Barnes, CHOICE test expert.
Cheap and cheerful: Best buys
There’s more than one way to be a winner.
These products didn’t top the charts, but they’ll give you a great clean without taking you to the cleaners.
That’s why 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% in our dishwasher detergent test.
Coles Ultra Dishwasher Tablets
CHOICE Expert Rating: 75%
Cost per wash: $0.14
Aldi’s Power Force tablets are about a tenth of the price of the most expensive detergent in our review.
Aldi Power Force Platinum Dishwasher Capsules
CHOICE Expert Rating: 73%
Cost per wash: $0.24
Woolworths Shine Optimum All in 1 Ultimate Clean Dishwashing Pods
CHOICE Expert Rating: 73%
Cost per wash: $0.26
Eco Planet Automatic Dishwasher Powder Tarata and Kaffir Lime
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
Chris Barnes, CHOICE test expert
“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 Chris.
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.
Earning a CHOICE Expert Rating of 49% or less, these dishwasher detergents listed below leave a lot to be desired (and definitely wouldn’t get no love from TLC).
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.
Buying these products to save money is a false economy: you’ll end up having to wash your dishes twice
The lowest scoring product got just 40%, and even though it only costs around 8 cents per wash, TLC would recommend you don’t go chasing this “water-fail” and stick to the tablets and the capsules you’re used to.
Housebrite Brite Dishwasher Powder
This Housebrite powder is cheap, but not cheerful.
CHOICE Expert Rating: 40%
Cost per wash: $0.08
Earth Choice Dishwasher Powder Lemon Fresh
CHOICE Expert Rating: 47%
Cost per wash: $0.21
Aldi Power Force Dishwasher Powder
CHOICE Expert Rating: 49%
Cost per wash: $0.07
Know the products to avoid before you shop. Get our free guide and buy smarter.
Pru Engel is the Audience and Engagement editor at CHOICE. Her job is to ensure as many Australians as possible know about the great work we do at CHOICE.
She works closely with our testers and experts to find the gems of information in our data and research that will resonate with Australian consumers and help them make the best decisions, whether they're purchasing an air fryer, looking for a new mattress or trying to find the cheapest car insurance. She also helps to drive meaningful change for consumers by collaborating with our Campaigns team on content covering issues such as grocery pricing, product safety and scams.
Prior to CHOICE, Pru worked as an editor at many of Australia's leading food and lifestyle titles.
Pru has a Bachelor of Arts in Communication (Journalism) from the University of Technology, Sydney.
LinkedIn
Pru Engel is the Audience and Engagement editor at CHOICE. Her job is to ensure as many Australians as possible know about the great work we do at CHOICE.
She works closely with our testers and experts to find the gems of information in our data and research that will resonate with Australian consumers and help them make the best decisions, whether they're purchasing an air fryer, looking for a new mattress or trying to find the cheapest car insurance. She also helps to drive meaningful change for consumers by collaborating with our Campaigns team on content covering issues such as grocery pricing, product safety and scams.
Prior to CHOICE, Pru worked as an editor at many of Australia's leading food and lifestyle titles.
Pru has a Bachelor of Arts in Communication (Journalism) from the University of Technology, Sydney.
LinkedIn
Alice Richard is a Content creator and marketer. Alice writes on a range of topics, from health insurance to heaters and BBQs to bargain-hunting, always with the aim to help consumers find the best products to buy, and which to avoid.
Alice can take vast amounts of data from CHOICE product tests and turn it into content that is easily digestible and fun for readers.
Alice has a Bachelor of Arts from the University of Queensland.
Alice Richard is a Content creator and marketer. Alice writes on a range of topics, from health insurance to heaters and BBQs to bargain-hunting, always with the aim to help consumers find the best products to buy, and which to avoid.
Alice can take vast amounts of data from CHOICE product tests and turn it into content that is easily digestible and fun for readers.
Alice has a Bachelor of Arts from the University of Queensland.
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