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Best kitchen roll
A kitchen roll is essential for everyday tasks, whether it’s dabbing moisture off food, soaking up spills or wiping down tables.
To help you find the best kitchen roll for your kitchen roll holder, we have tested popular brands including Plenty and Regina, alongside supermarket options from Aldi, Asda, Tesco and more.
Our testing goes beyond spill absorption – we also evaluate each roll’s strength to ensure it doesn’t tear easily. And we assess how well it handles everyday messes.
One own-brand roll scored a perfect 100%, and we've found the best eco-friendly choice, too.
How our tests find you the best
We've tested 17 kitchen rolls
We've pitted popular brands against supermarket and eco-friendly kitchen rolls to find out which wipe the floor with the competition.
The cleaning tests
Is one sheet plenty? We find out by cleaning up sticky food.
The strength test
We see how much force it takes to rip the sheets, so you won't have any unwanted tearing accidents.
We also test...
Absorption by seeing how much water each kitchen roll can soak up, so you can rely on it to mop up your spills.
The best kitchen roll
The biggest brands and the 10 most popular kitchen rolls are listed below.
Only logged-in Which? members can view the kitchen roll test results.
Join Which? to get instant access to our test results and Best Buy recommendations.
| Kitchen roll | Price | Score | Absorbency | Strength | Cleaning ability* |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Sign up to reveal Get instant access to this and all our scores and recommendations Unlock tableGet Digital access £8.99 per month, cancel at any time. Already a member? | 100% | ||||
| 95% | |||||
| 85% | |||||
| 84% | |||||
| 81% | |||||
| 75% | |||||
| 71% | |||||
| 65% | |||||
| 65% | |||||
| 62% |
Sign up to reveal
Get instant access to this and all our scores and recommendations
Unlock tableGet Digital access £8.99 per month, cancel at any time.
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Dates tested: November 2024. Page last checked: March 2026. We're not able to show every retailer and cheaper prices may be available.
*Cleaning ability is the average score of how well it cleaned with and without a spray.
A selection of the kitchen rolls we tested are listed in alphabetical order below.
Only logged-in Which? members can view the best kitchen rolls from our tests.
Join Which? to get instant access to our test results and Best Buy recommendations.
Aldi Everyday Essentials Jumbo Kitchen Towel
Available in-store from Aldi (£1.15)
Number of sheets per roll 240
Need to know Size of a sheet, 21 x 19.7cm (H x W); available in one-pack
Asda Shades Kitchen Towels
Available from Asda four-pack (£3.74)
Number of sheets per roll 100
Need to know Size of a sheet, 21.5 x 21cm (H x W); available in two- or four-pack
Costco Kirkland Signature Kitchen Roll Towel
Number of sheets per roll 80
Need to know Size of a sheet, 35.5 x 28cm (H x W); available in packs of three, six or 12
Lidl Floralys Kitchen Towels Ultra Super Absorbent
Available in-store from Lidl four-pack (£2.09)
Number of sheets per roll 100
Need to know Size of a sheet, 23 x 22.5cm (H x W); available in two-pack
Marks & Spencer Ultra Absorbent Kitchen Towels Big Roll
Available from Ocado, one-pack (£2.10); Ocado, two-pack (£3.20) or Marks & Spencer stores
Number of sheets per roll 100
Need to know Size of a sheet, 28 x 27cm (H x W); available in one- or two-pack
Need a different kind of roll? Find out which are the best toilet rolls
Morrisons Savers Jumbo Kitchen Towel
Available from Morrisons one-pack (£1.19)
Number of sheets per roll 120; 240
Need to know Size of a sheet, 20.5 x 19.5cm (H x W); available in one- or three-pack
Plenty Original Kitchen Roll
Available from Morrisons four-pack (£5), Waitrose four-pack (£9.20)
Number of sheets per roll 100
Need to know Size of a sheet, 22 x 22cm (H x W); available in packs of one, two, three, four, six and eight
Regina Blitz Household Towel
Number of sheets per roll 70; 100
Need to know Size of a super-sized sheet, 25.9 x 31.9cm (H x W); 100 sheets per roll available in a one-pack, 70 sheets per roll available in two, three or four
Tesco Kitchen Towel
Available from Tesco, two-pack (£2.50)
Number of sheets per roll 100
Need to know Size of a sheet, 21 x 20.5cm (H x W); available in packs of two or four
Who Gives a Crap 100% Recycled Kitchen Roll
Available from Whogivesacrap six-pack (£16)
Number of sheets per roll 135
Need to know Size of a sheet, 20.5 x 22.5cm (H x W); available in six-pack
More kitchen rolls from our tests
Here are the rest of the kitchen rolls we've tested, listed in alphabetical order.
| Kitchen roll | Price | Score | Absorbency | Strength | Cleaning ability* |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Aldi Saxon Blast Kitchen Towel | Available in-store from Aldi three-pack (£3.99) | ||||
| Asda Just Essentials Kitchen Towel Roll | Available from Asda one-pack (£1.19) | ||||
| Bumboo Wrapped Bamboo Kitchen Towels | Available from Bumboo 12-pack (£27) | ||||
| Flash All-Purpose Handy Kitchen Towels | SQUIRREL_TEXT_50018678 | ||||
| Little Duck Ultra All-Purpose Kitchen Towel | Available from Iceland two-pack (£1.25) | ||||
| Naked Sprout Unbleached Bamboo Kitchen Roll | Available from Naked Sprout six-pack (£14.99) | ||||
| Waitrose Essential Kitchen Roll | Available from Waitrose four-pack (£4.30) |
Dates tested: November 2024. Page last checked: March 2026. We're not able to show every retailer and cheaper prices may be available.
*Cleaning ability is the average score of how well it cleaned with and without a spray.
Which? Don't Buy kitchen rolls
Our tests uncover the best and the worst. If a product performs so poorly that we think you should avoid it, we call it a Don't Buy.
We've tested three kitchen rolls that we've named Don't Buys.
All three of our Don't Buy kitchen rolls are terrible at absorbing liquids and much weaker than the other kitchen rolls we tested.
To find out which they are, and which kitchen rolls earned our Best Buy and Great Value recommendations, log in or join Which?.
How we test kitchen roll
We buy the bestselling kitchen rolls and put them through our tough tests. We don't accept freebies from product manufacturers or retailers, so our reviews are honest and unbiased.
We regularly revisit the kitchen rolls on sale to see if there are any more popular models that need testing. When we find them, we do.
- Absorbency: We submerge 10 sheets of kitchen roll, one at a time, into a litre of water. After letting them soak for a set time, we remove all the sheets together and wait for the excess water to stop dripping back into the bowl. Then, we measure the remaining water to see how much is absorbed.
- Strength: To test durability we place three sheets stretched between two chairs and use a Newton meter to apply force at the centre until the sheets rip. We repeat this process multiple times to calculate an average. The same test is done with sheets that have been dampened with a single spray of water.
- Cleaning ability: We place half a tablespoon of jam on a surface and wipe it with a single sheet, rating its performance. If any jam gets onto our hands, the sheet is marked down. This test is repeated using a spray of the same surface cleaner to see how the sheet cleans when wet.
Why you can trust us: at Which? we're free from manufacturer and retailer influence. Find out more about our impartiality and how your support helps us to stay editorially independent
Can you flush kitchen roll down the toilet?
Unlike toilet paper, which breaks down quickly in water to prevent clogs, kitchen roll resists disintegration. Flushing it can lead to blockages in pipes, damage to plumbing systems and, ultimately, issues in sewage treatment facilities. To avoid these problems, kitchen roll should always be disposed of in your household waste.
We've found the best kitchen bins – and make sure you choose a Best Buy bin bag to go with it
Can you put kitchen roll in the microwave?
Yes, you can use plain kitchen roll in the microwave for short periods. It’s useful for covering food or absorbing moisture, but avoid rolls with prints or metallic elements, and don’t let it overheat to prevent any risk of fire.
Can you recycle kitchen roll?
You can’t recycle used kitchen roll because they’re usually covered in food, grease or liquids, and the fibres are too short to be recycled into new products. Most councils don't accept kitchen towels in food waste. Kitchen towels, dirty or otherwise, should go in your general rubbish bin.
But if you have a home compost bin, you can compost it, as long as it doesn't have chemical cleaning products on it. And you can recycle the cardboard inner tube (in your home recycling) and sometimes the plastic wrap (at supermarkets), depending on what it says on the packaging.