How to compare toilet paper prices without losing the plot

Ignore the number of rolls

A package with 18 rolls is not necessarily larger than one with 12. “Mega,” “double,” and “family” are brand-defined labels, and brands can change what those labels mean. The reliable starting point is the total number of sheets in the package.

• ✓Total sheets = rolls × sheets per roll
• ✓Price per 100 sheets = package price ÷ total sheets × 100

Use square footage as a second opinion

Sheets vary in width and length. When two products have unusually different sheet dimensions, price per 100 sheets can flatter the smaller sheet. Total square footage corrects for that. It is especially useful when comparing store brands with national brands.

Do not forget ply and texture

Two-ply and three-ply products use more paper per sheet than single-ply products, but more ply does not automatically mean better value. The useful question is how much product your household actually uses per visit. A cheaper single-ply roll that disappears twice as quickly may be a false economy.

Our practical buying rule

Choose the quality tier your household prefers, calculate a normalized unit price within that tier, and record the lowest three prices you see over several weeks. That becomes your personal good-buy range. The TP Score automates precisely this sort of unglamorous but profitable arithmetic.