10 best dishwasher tablets for sparkling clean glasses and crockery

Neat’s dishwasher tablets come in water-soluble PVA wrappers and arrive in a compact, fully recyclable cardboard box. The brand is a certified B-Corp, and claims these tablets offer a powerful clean with minimal waste. I found they performed well on everyday grime: plates with dried-on sauces, mugs with tea stains, and slightly greasy pans all came out clean.

The tablets were consistently reliable during both standard cycles and lower-temperature eco washes. The only thing to note is that these are not all-in-one tablets (they don’t include dishwasher salt). This means you might need to use a separate dishwasher cleaner every few months to prevent product buildup, especially if you live in a hard-water area. The £15 price point at Amazon looks high, but that price is for a 60-pack; a 30-pack is £7, which is expensive, but not unusual. The 22p per wash price is a lot higher than the cheapest options, but far from the most expensive I’ve tested. These tablets may be pricier than many supermarket brands, but I think they’re worth the extra spend.

Tesco's budget-friendly dishwasher tablets are great for anyone looking for reliable cleaning without breaking the bank. For a supermarket brand, the tablets have a surprisingly premium feel. I tested the tablets on everything from greasy pans and plates covered in pasta sauce to tea-stained mugs and glassware with wine residue.

The tablets did a solid job on everyday loads, cleaning off grease and tea stains without leaving any residue behind, but performed less impressively on tougher, dried-on stains from the likes of spaghetti bolognese. There’s no discernible scent, and they don’t claim to be the best for the environment, but for about 9p per wash, they're a solid choice for everyday use.

While these tablets are quite thin, don’t let looks deceive you. If you've got a mountain of dirty dishes with the remnants of a Sunday roast clinging on for dear life, these dishwasher tablets are a solid choice. I put them through their paces with everything from lasagne trays with baked-on cheese crust, rice hardened onto the bottom of a paella pan and greasy frying pans. During longer cycles, the tablets shifted all these dried-on stains, rivalling big-name brands such as Fairy.

The Waitrose tablets also performed well on everyday grime. Plates smeared with pasta sauce, tea-stained mugs, and wine glasses all emerged from the dishwasher looking pristine. The only downside is that the box didn’t seem to keep the tablets as fresh as I’d hoped. By the end of the pack, I noticed they weren't dissolving as easily as when they were first opened.

Ecover has developed an invisible, plastic-free coating for its dishwasher tablets, helping to cut down on plastic waste. However, although the cardboard box the tablets come in is recyclable, it does contain a very thin plastic lining to help keep the tablets fresh. I was impressed by the fact that 24 tablets are packed tightly inside. In contrast, Bio-D’s packaging held 30 tablets but was nearly twice the size.

My dishes and cutlery came out sparkling clean, with these tablets rivalling the performance of leading chemical-based brands. I also loved the scent – the blend of mandarin and lemongrass is a treat when you open the dishwasher. However, at 35p per load, they rank at the more expensive end of all the dishwasher tablets I tested.

Available in most supermarkets, these dishwasher tablets had my dishes coming out clean and shiny, even with a quick 45-minute cycle, meeting the claim on the front of the packet. Cutlery was streak-free, crockery gleamed without residue, and glassware had a beautiful, streak-free shine.

Even dried-on stains, such as those from lasagne, were removed during a standard cycle, with no need for extra washing. However, these tablets are on the pricier side, especially compared with budget options such as Morrisons’s and Tesco’s all-in-one tablets. 38p per wash is the most expensive option I’ve tried.

Although this option may seem pricey, there are 50 tablets included, working out at 26p each, which is on a par with many other brands’ offerings. These tablets did extremely well at tackling dirty dishes during shorter cycles, unlike some of their competitors. Performance-wise, they’re comparable to the Fairy platinum plus tablets, but without phosphonates, polycarboxylates, sulfonate-based surfactants, and nonylphenol ethoxylates.

Ocean Saver donates money for each pack sold to the Blue Marine Foundation, helping restore vital marine habitats in the Solent.

However, I found the occasional stubborn bit of baked-on cheese clinging to a dish or two. For the most part, the performance was faultless, but if you cook heavy, cheesy meals, you might be better off with something else.

Working out as just 10p per load, the Morrisons all-in-one dishwasher tablets are among the most affordable I tested. They promise a thorough clean, degreasing and shine in one go, with added salt and rinse aid, and I found the tablets performed impressively for their price. Everyday mess, light grease and tea-stained mugs were all cleaned.

These tablets didn’t quite match the cleaning power of more-premium brands, such as Fairy, when it came to tackling tougher, baked-on food, though. I also found that plastic items occasionally came out with faint water marks. However, for routine loads, these tablets delivered solid, reliable results.

I was less impressed with the packaging, however. The tablets come in a soft plastic pouch that is only 30 per cent recycled – I would have loved to see these boxed in cardboard like the Ecover or Neat tablets included in this list.

These tablets handled everyday loads well, leaving glasses clear and plates streak-free. Heavily soiled pans needed a longer wash to get fully clean, but results were consistently good overall. Smol tablets also contain rinse aid and salt, which means they perform well in hard-water areas. However, I’m not a fan of the smell. Instead of a fresh, zingy scent, I was hit with a whiff of damp steam when I opened the dishwasher.

That being said, you can sign up on the Smol website for a free trial and pay £1 for postage before committing to regular deliveries. If you start a subscription, the tablets will arrive every month in neat, letterbox-friendly packaging. The brand also provides a free, reusable storage tin when you sign up for a subscription, which I thought was a thoughtful extra.

If you're trying to clean up your dishes and your carbon footprint, Bio-D is a great place to start. I really like the fact that the brand’s dishwasher tablets come in no-nonsense, minimal packaging – a cardboard box with a water-soluble inner bag. It’s also a win that Bio-D is free from synthetic fragrances, dyes and unnecessary chemicals.

During testing, the tablets handled day-to-day loads well. Tea-stained mugs, cereal bowls, and greasy plates all came out clean on a standard cycle. Glassware looked good, too, although not quite as sparkling as with tablets that include rinse aid. These tablets weren’t as strong when it came to tackling baked-on food, though – cheesy oven dishes and dried-on rice needed a hotter wash or pre-rinse, but that’s often the trade-off with gentler, more planet-friendly formulas.

For those sensitive to scents or who simply prefer a fragrance-free wash, turn to Kit & Kin’s unscented dishwasher tablets – I found the lack of fragrance didn’t result in a damp or musty smell when the dishwasher cycle was complete.

The tablets come in fully recyclable packaging and are made from plant-derived ingredients, making them a great option for those looking to reduce their environmental footprint while still achieving a decent clean. While the tablets performed well when it came to the day-to-day cleaning of mugs, plates and crockery on a standard cycle, they weren’t as effective on heavy-duty stains and dried-in food, such as porridge. I would never use them on an eco cycle again, as my mugs still appeared tea-stained afterwards. If you don’t mind using standard cycles, though, these tablets are still worth considering.