4 Best Facial Tissues From Our Tests

We’ll even let you know which tissue is the easiest and which is the most difficult to pull out of its box (because we understand that frustration). Here are our top picks—and the tissues we don’t recommend.

Member’s Mark Ultra Soft is a Sam’s Club unscented and hypoallergenic brand. It’s a 3-ply tissue made without dyes, toxins, or irritants (according to the manufacturer) and scored the highest marks as one of our softest tissues in testing. Its softness ranked equally with competitors Kleenex Ultra Soft Hypoallergenic and Kirkland Signature Facial Tissue, but Member’s Mark scored much higher than the two brands in absorbency and tensile strength. Its tensile strength was slightly below-average, and when we rubbed this tissue against sanding paper to test its abrasion resistance, it also ranked somewhat below-average. When I opened my box of tissues and pulled one out, several tissues came out along with it, and a few ripped in the process. But there was no denying how soft it felt on my nose and face. 

This brand’s overall quality and soft texture won us over. “Members Mark Ultra Soft is my pick,” Amézquita says. “It is a top scorer that felt soft on the nose and it was decent to very good across the board. At about 1.5 cents per tissue, it is priced reasonably.” This tissue pick comes in a pack of 12 colorful cube boxes with 80 tissues per box, for a total of 960 tissues.

If you don’t have a Sam’s Club membership, our runner-up facial tissue pick is Walmart’s Great Value Ultra Soft, a three-ply tissue that is among the lowest-priced tissues we tested. It had an overall above-average score and stood out most for its softness and absorbency. Although it wasn’t as soft as Member’s Mark Ultra Soft, Kirkland Signature Facial Tissue, or Kleenex Ultra Soft Hypoallergenic, I found it soft enough not to irritate my sensitive skin. I also found it easier than Member’s Mark to effortlessly remove tissue from its box.

Each box contained 120 tissues. It also comes in packs of 12 with 80 tissues per cube (960 tissues) and packs of 24 with 56 tissues per box (1,344 tissues). The boxes have a colorful design that varies from box to box. 

Up&Up Ultra Soft Facial Tissue is a three-ply tissue with a decent Overall Score. It scored above average in absorbency and softness and just slightly below average tensile strength, according to Amézquita, who also says that it is priced below the average at 1.8 cents per tissue. This Target brand claims its tissues are free of dyes or fragrances and the tissue boxes feature assorted colors and designs. It comes in rectangular or square boxes. The rectangle boxes come in packs of four or one with 110 tissues in each box (or 440 total tissues) while the square option comes in packs of six or four with 65 tissues per box (390 or 260 tissues, respectively). I found it to be abundantly soft and easy enough to remove from its box.

Caboo Facial Tissue is an eco-friendly tissue made from viscose from bamboo that was a top scorer in our tests for strength, absorbency, and abrasion resistance. This is an impressive feat, but there are two major caveats: It had the worst score for softness of all the tissues we tested and felt distinctly rougher on the nose. It was much stiffer in my hand than the Member’s Mark or Great Value facial tissues, with a texture that reminded me more of a flimsy dinner napkin than a soft tissue. Caboo is also the most expensive tissue on our list; to top things off, it was the most difficult to get the first tissue out of the box (subsequent tissues came out of the box just fine). 

According to the manufacturer, Caboo tissues are made from sustainable bamboo and are free of toxins and lint. According to the Natural Resources Defense Council, when you buy bamboo, it’s important to ensure it’s from a sustainable source (certified by the Forest Stewardship Council) because it could otherwise come from areas that were deforested to grow bamboo. Caboo claims it is FSC-certified for both its product and packaging. The three-ply Caboo tissues arrived in four boxes with 120 sheets per box (480 total tissues).

Presto Ultra Soft is priced above average for an about-average performance compared with the price we paid for other tissues we tested. The only category in which it truly stood out was absorbency, but the three-ply tissue didn’t live up to its “ultra soft” name, nor was it as strong or resistant to abrasion as other tissues. When I pulled out a tissue from its box it slid out without effort, and felt soft in my hand. But after using one to blow my nose, it felt rougher on my skin than any of our top choices, with the exception of Caboo. It comes with four colorfully designed boxes, each of which contains 66 tissues for a total of 264 tissues.

Like everyone else, we expected more from the household name Kleenex. Its Ultra Soft Hypoallergenic tissues scored major softness points and received the highest marks possible in this testing category. It felt like a cloud in my hand and against my nose and was easier to remove from its box than the Member’s Mark tissues. However, they proved only average in absorbency and below average in strength and abrasion resistance. They had the lowest tensile strength of all the tissues we tested and were the most likely to fall apart when in use. 

The three-ply tissues are priced below average. They come in a pack of three colorfully designed boxes with 120 tissues per box for a total of 360 tissues.

The second facial tissue we tested by Kleenex did not score as well as the Ultra Soft Hypoallergenic. Kleenex Anti-Viral Facial Tissue was the three-ply tissue with the lowest Overall Score in our tests. It only ranked above average in softness and received below-average marks for strength, absorbency, and abrasion resistance. Even worse, it was priced above the average among the three-ply tissues evaluated, so you’re paying more for inferior quality. When I tried these tissues, I was able to pull them out of their box easily, and other tissues (including Kleenex Ultra Soft Hypoallergenic) felt softer.

According to the brand, this tissue kills 99.9 percent of cold and flu viruses, though we could not test this claim. It comes in a package with 18 colorfully designed boxes, each containing 55 tissues for a total of 990 tissues.

Costco’s Kirkland Signature Facial Tissue is the first of three two-ply tissues we tested and ranked, which means it is designed with two layers of paper instead of three. Within the two-ply category, it ranked the highest, but it’s still among the lowest overall performers in our tests. When rubbed against our noses and faces, we found this tissue incredibly soft, but below average in strength and abrasion resistance and our overall worst tissue for absorbency. According to Kirkland, this tissue is fragrance-free and fits most commercial dispensers. It comes in a 30-pack (in six diversely designed boxes) with 110 tissues per box, for a total of 3,300 tissues.

Puffs Ultra Soft Non-Lotion is another two-ply tissue at the bottom of the list. It has a good softness score and decent abrasion resistance (it scored just below average) but poor tensile strength and absorbency. This pick came in packs of 10 colorfully designed boxes with 56 tissues per box, for a total of 560 tissues.

Scotties Everyday Comfort was our overall worst performer. This two-ply tissue scored below the average in all categories and was the lowest in abrasion resistance. Also, it was the second highest in price. “Thin” was the word that came to my mind as I repeatedly pulled these tissues out of their box and used them. I felt like I needed to use two tissues for every Member’s Mark or Great Value tissue I used. On the bright side, it was the easiest when getting the first tissue out of the box—but you’re compromising on quality for that perk. According to the manufacturer, it is hypoallergenic with no added fragrances. It comes in four colorfully designed boxes with 92 tissues per box, for a total of 368 tissues.