The best budget dishwasher tablets from Choice's review as big brands take the top spots

A top-performing dishwasher detergent can often be the difference between clean and sparkling glasses and plates with bits of food still clinging to them.

Choice's review of dishwasher tablets, pods, capsules, gel, sheets and powder found that big brands were the best.

However, supermarket-branded dishwasher detergents weren't far behind, which means you can still get brilliant results at a fraction of the cost.

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Experts put 42 different dishwasher detergents to the test against stains like egg yolk, baked-on cheese and bolognaise sauce.

There was a three-way tie for first place with Finish Powerball Ultimate all in one tabs, Finish Powerball Ultimate Plus all in one tabs and Miele UltraTabs all in one scoring an expert rating of 80 per cent.

The Finish dishwasher tabs cost $40 and $44 a pack respectively. This means the tabs $1.18 and $1.42 per wash.

As for the Miele tabs, it costs $14.90 a pack and therefore $0.75 a wash.

But just four percentage points behind is the budget-friendly Coles Ultra advanced dishwasher tablets with an expert rating of 76 per cent. It costs $6 a box and just $0.15 a wash.

Aldi fan-favourite Logix platinum dishwasher capsules was one point behind with a 75 per cent rating. It costs $11.69 a pack and $0.25 cents a wash.

Woolworths Shine Optimum all in one ultimate clean dishwashing pods scored equal to the Aldi buy with an expert rating of 75 per cent. It costs $11.70 a pack and $0.26 a wash.

"This goes to show that if you shop smart, you can get a great clean while saving money," Matt Steen, CHOICE head of reviews and testing, said.

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If you're wondering whether tablets or capsules are better than powders, the dishwasher detergent review shows they far outperform powders.

The tablet scores ranged from 57 per cent to 80 per cent, while the lowest scoring powder was 32 per cent and the highest was 63 per cent.

Dishwasher detergent sheets also didn't perform as well as tablets, with the lowest scoring product achieving a rating of 34 per cent and the highest 49 per cent.

Choice noted one sheet product had improved its rating from its score in 2023 and that with time and more development, dishwasher detergent sheets could "end up being great".

Gels, meanwhile, had mixed results with one product scoring 58 per cent and the other just 11 per cent.

While dishwasher detergent is an important factor in the cleanliness of your dishes, other factors are just as important.

A good dishwasher makes a big difference and can mean you don't need to use the top performing detergents for good results.

Stacking matters too, because if you've stacked in a way that blocks plates and bowls from the water spray, they don't have a chance of getting properly cleaned.

Dishes also need to be thoroughly scraped – but not rinsed – before being stacked in the dishwasher and using rinse aid helps with the drying process and making glasses sparkle.

And if you're doing everything right and using a good detergent then try cleaning the dishwasher filter and spray arms, as this can impact how your dishes come out after a cycle.

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