Consumer group Choice has tested 48 laundry detergents — powders, liquids, and capsules — in both front loader and top loader washing machines. Aldi's Trimat Advanced Laundry Powder Concentrate and two Omo powder products tied for first place in the front loader category at 82%. The Aldi product came out on top in top loader testing at 66%. The results were published on 5 August 2026. The Guardian

In the front loader test, Aldi Trimat Advanced Laundry Powder Concentrate, Omo Active Clean Powder and Omo Ultimate Powder each scored 82%. Omo Ultimate Liquid followed at 81%, and Cold Power Advanced Clean Laundry Powder rounded out the top five at 80%. Choice

The top loader category told a slightly different story. Aldi Trimat Advanced Laundry Powder Concentrate led with 66%, ahead of Omo Ultimate Powder at 62% and Cold Power Advanced Clean Laundry Powder at 60%. Choice notes that detergents generally score higher in front loader machines. The organisation tests each product in both machine types because the two kinds of machines clean clothes differently. The Guardian

The price gap between the top performers is stark. Aldi Trimat Advanced Laundry Powder Concentrate retails at $10.49 for a 2kg box, or 44 cents per wash, making it the best value detergent in the test. Omo Active Clean Powder costs 71 cents per wash. Omo Ultimate Powder retails at $36 for a 2kg box, or $1.16 per wash, making it the most expensive laundry powder Choice tested. Omo Ultimate Liquid sits between them at $1.00 per wash. The Guardian

At the bottom of the rankings, five detergents scored below 50% in top loader testing, barely better than plain water. To set a baseline, Choice washed soiled laundry using only water in a top loader machine, which scored 43%. Earthwise Sensitive Laundry Liquid was the overall worst-ranked product at 47%. Active Expert Laundry Capsules and Earthwise Orange & Eucalyptus Laundry Liquid both scored 48%. The two Earthwise liquids cost 50 cents per wash, while Active Expert capsules cost 33 cents per wash. The Guardian

In front loader testing, Ecostore Laundry Powder Lemon and Biozet Attack Plus Softener Liquid tied as among the worst performers, each scoring 57%. Ecostore cost 21 cents per wash; Biozet cost 76 cents per wash. Choice

Choice ran the testing in an outside laboratory. They stained pieces of fabric with things like sweat, grass, mud, olive oil, tomato, chocolate ice-cream, baby food, makeup and blood. After washing, they used a machine called a spectrophotometer to measure how much light bounced back off the fabric. The more light that comes back, the cleaner the fabric — so this reading tells you how much stain was left behind. The Guardian

Choice household expert Chris Barnes said the results were "not surprising." He noted that Omo and Aldi Trimat laundry powders have historically performed well in Choice tests at different price points. Omo has had at least one product recommended by Choice experts in every laundry detergent test over the last decade. In this round, three Omo detergents — Active Clean Powder, Ultimate Powder and Ultimate Liquid — received Choice expert recommendations for front loader use. The Guardian

The broader context here is a persistent gap between how well a detergent cleans and how much it costs per wash. The front loader category's top scorer at 44 cents per wash matched a product costing $1.16 per wash. Meanwhile, several of the worst-performing products in the top loader category cost more per wash than the best overall value product. Active Expert Laundry Capsules, at 33 cents per wash, scored 48% in top loader testing — five points above the water-only baseline. The Earthwise liquids, at 50 cents per wash, scored only four points above plain water.

Choice's testing methodology has stayed consistent enough year over year to allow direct comparison. In its 2024 media release, Choice reported Omo Ultimate Powder at 86% in front loader testing, taking the top spot that year. The same product scored 82% in the 2026 front loader test, a four-point drop, though it retained a share of first place in a more competitive field. Whether that reflects formulation changes, test-protocol adjustments, or normal variance is not addressed in the published results.

For anyone weighing cost-per-wash against how well a detergent removes stains, the 2026 results reinforce a pattern Choice has seen across multiple test cycles. Concentrated powders from budget and premium brands consistently outperform liquids and capsules at comparable or lower per-wash cost. The price premium attached to certain brands does not reliably correlate with measurable cleaning performance.