Do you hate literally flushing money down your toilet with expensive toilet paper? Are you wondering if you can save some money with cheap toilet paper without hurting your sensitive bits in the process? Me too!

I’m always trying to find ways to optimize our spending and I was wondering if I could find cheap toilet paper that was still pleasant to use. I didn’t realize how complicated my quest would become, though. I wrote posts along the way, hoping to help others who were going through similar cheap toilet paper quests. At the end of the post, I’ll share with you what my family settled on.

Since my family liked Cottonelle, I first wrote about the cheapest place to buy Cottonelle CleanCare toilet paper. Next, since I had a lot of friends who loved Charmin, I wrote about the cheapest place to buy Charmin toilet paper.

Then I wrote about the best store brand toilet paper, hoping to find the best cheap toilet paper out there. I also wrote a post explaining my testing procedures and science experiments with toilet paper. THEN, I found more cheap toilet papers to check out, so I did a post reviewing all the varieties of Willow toilet paper from Aldi and did a comprehensive review of Presto toilet paper from Amazon.

I can understand why some of my readers have been a little overwhelmed by the amount of information about cheap toilet paper on this site. So, this post is here to bring it all together and hopefully help you make some choices for your family!

READER WARNING: This post contains TEN terrible toilet puns that may cause you to groan and roll your eyes. “Butt” it’s also “flush” with great information! Can you find all TEN PUNS?!

Top 5 Ways to Save on Toilet Paper

You ready to find cheap toilet paper for your family? Stick with me, because it’ll “be a gas”! Here are the top 5 ways to save on toilet paper it:

1. Use Less Toilet Paper

The first place to start on saving money on toilet paper is simply to use less of it! Here are some ways to use less toilet paper:

1. Fold instead of wadding up your toilet paper.
2. Use a bidet (cheaper and cleaner too!)
3. Teach your children how much to use (a certain # of squares or make a mark on the wall to show them a length).
4. Use cloth wipes instead (I’m not personally trying this one, but it’s an option!) 

2. Buy Your Favorite Brand In Bulk

If you’re in love with your brand of toilet paper and would rather die than switch brands, it’s ok. You can still save money! Shop around for the cheapest place to buy your brand. Thankfully, I’ve already written about the cheapest place to buy Charmin and the cheapest place to buy Cottonelle.

Where’s the Cheapest Place to Buy Charmin Toilet Paper?

There are a huge number of people who LOVE their Charmin toilet paper and would never consider trying another brand. Are you one of them? 

I certainly don’t want your love of Charmin to “wipe” out your budget, so here are the cheapest places to buy Charmin:

1. Sam’s Club (best regular price)
2. Costco (but, they only carry Charmin Soft)
3. Amazon with Subscribe & Save

Want to know the most expensive way to buy your Charmin? It’s not what you think… Read more in my post about the cheapest place to buy Charmin.

Where’s the Cheapest Place to Buy Cottonelle CleanCare Toilet Paper?

My family used to love Cottonelle CleanCare and it is a good value for a brand name toilet paper. Do you love Cottonelle too?

Here are the cheapest places to get Cottonelle:

1. Amazon with Subscribe & Save
2. Walmart “Bonus Pack” (If you can find these, they’re a good deal)
3. Walmart or Target regular packages.

If you want to read more details, check out my post about the cheapest place to buy Cottonelle. 

3. Switch to a Store Brand Toilet Paper

Are All Store Brand Toilet Papers a Good Deal?

Surprisingly, no, they are not. Don’t worry, I’ve “got your back(side)” and won’t let you make an expensive mistake!

During my comparison of store brand toilet papers, I was surprised to discover that some store brand toilet papers were actually MORE expensive than the brand names. 

Target’s Up&Up brand toilet paper was actually more expensive than Charmin, in the same store!

Walmart’s Great Value Ultra Strong was another toilet paper that was not a good deal, but it wasn’t as outrageously expensive as Up&Up. 

On the other hand, some store brand toilet papers are a fantastic deal!

What’s the Cheapest 2-Ply Toilet Paper?

Since prices fluctuate so this is approximate but here’s a ranking of the best-priced toilet papers I looked at (#1 being the cheapest):

1. Home Store from Dollar Tree
2. Kirkland Signature from Costco
3. Willow So Soft from Aldi
4. Willow Soft & Strong from Aldi
5. Members Mark from Sam’s Club
6. Angel Soft

Of these, based on comfort, I’d personally recommend only:

1. Kirkland Signature from Costco
2. Willow Soft & Strong from Aldi
3. Members Mark from Sam’s Club

Note that Willow Soft & Strong has the advantage of a great price AND being available in inexpensive, easy-to-store small packages.

What’s the Best Value in Toilet Paper?

If I had to give a “best overall” award to one store brand toilet paper, it would definitely be Member’s Mark from Sam’s Club. It’s a “booty-ful” toilet paper that would please almost everyone. It’s:

• Priced very well.
• Soft.
• Moderately strong.
• Moderately absorbent.
• Quick dissolving (easy on your plumbing).

To me, it feels like the “Goldilocks” toilet paper that has what everyone is looking for. I think it’s the best bang-for-your-buck toilet paper. And it’s priced so well that even if you buy it with the 10% non-member upcharge, it’s still a good deal.

Best Store Brand Alternative to Charmin Ultra Strong?

If you love Charmin Ultra Strong and you’re considering trying a store brand to save some money, definitely check out:

• Amazon Presto Ultra-Strong
• Willow Ultra Strong from Aldi

I think you would be pleasantly surprised by how similar those two cheap toilet papers feel to Charmin Ultra Strong.

If you’d like to save a little more and are open to a bit different style, I’d recommend:

• Willow Soft & Strong from Aldi (thinner & less absorbent but better priced than the options above)
• Kirkland Signature from Costco (even thinner & less absorbent than Willow Soft & Strong but even better priced)

Best Store Brand Alternative to Charmin Ultra Soft?

Unfortunately, if you love the feel of Charmin Soft, you’re likely to be disappointed in the feel of any other toilet paper. Honestly, nothing really comes close to the softness of Charmin.

The closest toilet papers to Charmin Soft I could find were:

• Amazon Presto Ultra-Soft (closest feel and most absorbent)
• Members Mark from Sam’s Club (best price and still soft, less absorbent)
• Willow Ultra Soft from Aldi (soft, less absorbent, and higher price than Members Mark)

What’s the Best Toilet Paper for a Septic Tank or Preventing Clogs?

Many readers have asked about which toilet papers are good to use with a septic tank or finicky toilets. My #1 goal is to save you money, but my #2 goal is to save you time, and no one has time for clogged plumbing! (Get it? “#1 and #2″? Bwahahaha)

As part of my science experiments with toilet paper, I tested the dissolvability of each brand. Here’s a quick summary of my results:

• Charmin takes FOREVER to break down. No wonder I’ve heard that plumbers hate Charmin!
• All brand name toilet papers (except Angel Soft) took a long time to dissolve.
• All store brand toilet papers dissolved fairly quickly.

So which brand is best for septics and preventing clogs? Based on my testing, ANY generic store brand is much better for your plumbing than ANY brand name (other than Angel Soft). And if you’re worried about the health of your plumbing, DON’T USE CHARMIN.

4. Use Amazon Subscribe & Save

Amazon Subscribe & Save can be a great way to save on toilet paper. Amazon’s prices are good to start with, but you save an additional 5% if you subscribe or 15% if your subscription includes 5 or more items. That can mean an incredible deal on your favorite brand name or Amazon Presto toilet paper.

5. Watch for Coupons & Sales

Sales and coupons on toilet paper at grocery stores, drug stores, and dollar stores rarely lead to the best overall prices. Although, sometimes the stars align and they can have some good deals. 

If you can catch a sale at Sam’s Club or Costco, then the prices can be pretty amazing. Similarly, if you can get sales or coupons at Amazon and combine it with Subscribe & Save, you can get a great price.

Aldi rarely has sales on their toilet paper, but I have seen occasional bulk packages of their Willow Ultra varieties a few times per year. 

The key to saving on toilet paper with sales and coupons is to be aware of whether it’s truly a good price. Comparing the final price per 1,000 sheets can be a good way to do this.

“Bottom” Line: What Did I Decide For My Family?

As I said in the beginning, my family used to use Cottonelle CleanCare. I ordered it from Amazon with subscribe & save and it was a pretty good deal. I could have continued buying Cottonelle, but the TP dissolving tests were very eye-opening!

I’ve known people who have had to deal with serious plumbing problems and I didn’t want to take any risks in my home. Because of those concerns, I decided that I would never buy any brand name toilet paper again.

After testing out all the store brands, we fell in love with Member’s Mark toilet paper from Sam’s Club. It’s seriously the ONLY BRAND that no one in the house had a single complaint about. We have four very opinionated members of this household, so that’s really saying something!! It’s great that it’s also a very cheap toilet paper!

I am not a Sam’s Club member. I’ve bought Members Mark toilet paper:

• With a warehouse day-pass and the 10% non-member upcharge.
• On their web site with the 10% non-member upcharge.
• On Amazon from a third-party seller because it is sometimes a little cheaper there (but the price varies a lot).

Since I already have a Costco membership, it doesn’t make sense for me to also get a Sam’s Club Membership. It’s not economical for only toilet paper. Since the packages are so big, I just buy 2-3 of them a couple times a year and we’re fully stocked. I may consider a membership if I could get it for almost free (which does occasionally happen). 

“On a Roll” with Cheap Toilet Paper

If you want to read EVEN MORE about cheap toilet paper, be sure to check out the rest of my toilet paper series! I don’t want to “toot” my own horn, but I think I’ve written a lot of great TP content!

• Cheap Toilet Paper: The Ultimate Guide
• Review: Willow Toilet Paper from Aldi
• Review: Presto Toilet Paper from Amazon
• Science Experiments with Toilet Paper
• Which Is the Best Value Toilet Paper?
• Where Can You Buy the Cheapest Charmin Toilet Paper?
• Where Can You Buy the Cheapest Cottonelle Toilet Paper?

P.S. Did you find all ten puns?!