Best Dishwasher Detergents From Consumer Reports' Tests
Packs, pods, and tablets outperform gel detergents when it comes to cleaning power
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You don’t need a pricey dishwasher detergent to get clean dishes. The best formulas from popular brands like Cascade and Seventh Generation do a fantastic job of removing food and resisting residue in Consumer Reports’ tough lab tests. But plenty of store-brand detergents, which often cost much less per use, also do an excellent job.
Our ratings include almost 30 detergents tested in our labs, including single-dose packs and gels. (Powder detergents are increasingly unpopular, so we didn’t include them in our latest tests.) The performance ranges widely between the best and worst of the bunch, and there’s a huge span in prices, too—anywhere from 5 cents to a little over 60 cents per load.
But here’s the bottom line: The best-performing detergent packs clean better than most gels, according to our tests. That’s because they contain a wider mixture of ingredients that can boost cleaning, including enzymes, degreasers, bleach, and rinse aids. Different combinations of those substances can make a big difference.
“Generally, enzymes do help,” says Larry Ciufo, the engineer who oversees Consumer Reports’ dishwasher detergent testing. “But it’s too complicated to pin it on one ingredient.” These single-dose units—also known as pacs, packets, pods, tabs, and tablets—are easy to load into the detergent tray, with no squirting or scooping required. But gels and even powders still have their place, depending on your dishwasher’s performance and your personal preference. If you don’t need to wash away much stuck-on food, for example, a good gel might be all you really need.
Below, you’ll find a selection of the best dishwasher detergents we’ve tested, grouped as single-dose packs or gel, and listed alphabetically. All of the single-dose packs (or pods) contain enzymes but not bleach. But if your dishwasher does a decent job and you’re not dealing with baked-on messes, there are plenty more options that may work for you. You’ll find those, along with detailed results from our tests, in our dishwasher detergent ratings. If it’s time to replace your dishwasher itself, check out our dishwasher guide for information on how to choose a new one, as well as how specific models stack up in our testing.
Best Single-Dose Detergent Packs
These top-rated single-dose detergent packs excel at cleaning dishes and preventing mineral deposits that can lead to discoloration.
Amazon Basics may not be a brand name you’re used to seeing among detergents, but its Dishwasher Detergent Pacs do an excellent job of cleaning dishes and preventing film and discoloration, which occur when mineral deposits remain on dishes. They also resist water spots, which not all dish detergents do.
If you prefer detergents without heavy perfumes or dyes, consider Cascade Free & Clear ActionPacs. These single-use packs earn top scores for cleaning dishes and resisting residue and discoloration. We also find they resist water spots. But it’s one of the pricier dishwasher detergents we test, at 31 cents per pod.
Cascade’s Platinum ActionPacs with Dawn is the most effective dishwasher detergent we’ve tested among pods and gels, earning the highest score. It excels at both cleaning dishes and resisting film and discoloration; it also resists water spots. It’s pricier than many other detergents—a little over 30 cents per use—but far less expensive than detergent formulas with extra additives to fight tough mineral deposits.
Costco members should consider the Kirkland Signature Platinum Performance UltraShine packs. The formula performs excellently in both our food-removal and film-resistance tests, and it resists water spots. It also outperforms the other Costco store-brand detergent packs, like the Kirkland Signature Premium.
Like Cascade Free & Clear ActionPacs, Seventh Generation’s Power+ Packs are free not only of bleach but also of dyes and artificial fragrances. They also come in 90 percent plastic-free packaging, presenting a more sustainable choice than many other brands. And they don’t sacrifice performance for eco-friendliness. This detergent performs impressively in terms of cleaning power and resisting film and discoloration, though it doesn’t resist water spots well.
Best Gel Detergents
These highly rated gel detergents do a good job of cleaning dishes and resisting discoloration.
If you prefer a gel detergent—whether because of the low price, dosage control, or your personal preference—consider Cascade Gel with Dawn, which scores very well in both our cleaning test and in our assessment of how well it resists film and discoloration. It’s about as bare-bones as a detergent can get; no bleach for lightening stains and no enzymes for breaking down stuck-on foods, and it doesn’t resist water spots.
Great Value Dishwasher Gel (from Walmart’s store brand) lives up to its name, earning our overall top-rated gel detergent. It doesn’t remove food quite as well as the Cascade with Dawn gel, but it excels at resisting film and discoloration (though it doesn’t resist water spots). It doesn’t have enzymes but does have bleach. Again, gels generally don’t clean as well as packs, but this Great Value formula outscores many single-dose packs we’ve tested.
How CR Tests Dishwasher Detergents
CR’s test engineers smear eight dinner plates with a carefully measured portion of starchy goop (it’s a secret recipe), then bake each plate until the goop gets crusty (and very difficult to remove). After running the plates through a normal wash cycle, we use imaging analysis to determine precisely how clean each dish is and whether any water spots are present.
Then we run a set of clear drinking glasses and aluminum plates through 10 consecutive wash cycles, all with very hard water (we use well water, with a wealth of minerals, to make the test extra challenging). After that, we use a spectrophotometer to assess whether any haze or film has formed on the glasses and note whether the aluminum plates have begun to discolor.
The best dishwasher detergents we’ve tested are able to get the dirtiest dishes spotless while resisting water spots and white film. The worst dishwasher detergents, mainly gels, are barely better than water for removing baked-on messes.
