Focusing on ply count alone can be misleading, as lower-ply paper necessitates the use of more sheets per sitting, which quickly negates its lower cost. Conversely, while higher-ply paper is more expensive, its superior absorbency may lead to less consumption. The ideal metric for true value is the price per kilogram, as it accurately standardizes the amount of product purchased, though this figure is rarely provided by retailers. Honestly, if you are asking yourself this question it's probably time for a bidet.

For many essential household cleaners, the performance difference between brand-name and home-brand versions is minimal or non-existent, especially for basic chemical compounds like bleach or common all-purpose sprays. Brand names often have a higher price due to extensive marketing and packaging, not necessarily superior quality. Tests have frequently shown that generic or store-brand products, especially in categories like multipurpose cleaner or dish soap, work just as effectively as the premium brands, allowing consumers to save between 30% and 60%. However, certain specialty products, such as heavy-duty trash bags or complex detergent formulations, are sometimes worth the extra cost for their superior strength, thickness, or specialized performance.

The performance difference between brand-name and home-brand dishwashing tablets is often present but generally marginal. While the most expensive tablets, particularly premium all-in-one formulations, may achieve a slightly superior wash, many home-brand or mid-tier alternatives offer comparable cleaning power for a fraction of the cost. The quality of the wash is often influenced less by the tablet brand and more significantly by the efficiency of the dishwasher itself and yes even proper dish stacking technique. Given this context, brand-name tablets are frequently an unjustifiably expensive choice, as the premium cost rarely delivers a proportionate increase in results.

Our price comparisons are based on all products shared by two companies in our system for a category. This 'product overlap' is why you'll sometimes see more items compared between companies like Coles and Woolworths then stores that have a more unique range, such as IGA or Aldi. Sometimes the range is so unique for a category that there is not enough product overlap to do a fair comparison. In such a case, we will omit the results entirely. Aldi, Coles and Woolworths generally have nationally consistant pricing but for IGA prices differ store to store, therefor we take the average price for IGA stores.