It’s no secret that ditching the heavy plastic jugs of messy liquid laundry detergent is a smart choice for the environment. But are pods that much better, or could another product be right for you? In this comparison, we’ll break down the qualities, benefits, and potential drawbacks of using detergent sheets vs. pods in your laundry routine and see why we believe you should take laundry detergent sheets for a spin.

A Brief Overview

Laundry detergent pods are a popular choice when it comes to saving space in your laundry room and making measuring a breeze. Millions of people across the globe have started regularly using pods to avoid over-measuring and over-sudsing their laundry, which helps prolong the lifespan of fabric.

But these concentrated packs aren’t necessarily all they’re cracked up to be, leading many consumers to seek out more eco-friendly alternatives like laundry detergent strips. To find out which is better, we dove into all the important facts you need to know about these two types of laundry products before buying.

Comparing Laundry Sheets and Pods at a Glance

We’ve compiled a quick overview of how sheets and pods compare in various categories. These are our average findings based on extensive research, but it’s important to note that certain products on the market may be exceptions.

*True for select brands or products.

Laundry Detergent Sheets vs. Pods: What’s the Difference?

We’ve compared these two laundry products across seven major categories, including cleaning power, eco-friendliness, gentleness, ease of use, versatility, and cost. Explore the similarities we uncovered and why we recommend sheets from HeySunday as the better option.

Cleaning Power

The whole point of washing your laundry is to get it, well, clean. The powerful formula of detergent pods will absolutely clean your clothes and help remove stains, and so too will laundry strips. If you’ve loved the performance of your pods, it can be hard to make the switch. But some detergent pods are known for actually introducing new stains onto your clothes from their bright dyes.

When it comes to laundry detergent sheets, there’s truth to the rumor that some brands don’t clean as well as they should. At HeySunday, that’s an assumption we’ve worked hard to prove wrong. Our sheets are made with seven plant-based surfactants that remove dirt and tough stains for a powerful clean as good as, if not better than, your tried-and-true detergents.

Eco-Friendliness

Although laundry pods originally took the industry by storm for offering a more “eco-friendly” option, consumers soon learned that their concentrated formulas, which have less water filler than traditional liquid detergents, are not actually better for you or the environment.

Pods are often packaged in wasteful plastic containers that will also likely end up in landfills, though you can find better alternatives sold in plastic resealable packages instead. Dropps pods thankfully offer a plastic-free packaging option—that comes with a premium price.

What’s more concerning, though, are the pods themselves, which are regularly made with phosphates. Intended to enhance the cleaning power of detergent, phosphates that enter our water supply create harmful algae blooms with disastrous effects on the environment.

Laundry detergent sheet brands like HeySunday have set out to change this problematic way of doing laundry. Our sheets come in biodegradable, compostable packaging that is 100% plastic-free and lightweight, therefore reducing carbon emissions in shipping. More importantly, our concentrated formula is plant-based, environmentally friendly, and requires less water to make.

Gentleness

For this category, we can’t avoid the elephant in the room that many pods are toxic! From synthetic dyes and fragrances to bleach and harsh chemicals like 1,4-dioxane, many pods have a chemical cocktail that can cause rashes, allergic reactions, and irritation.

And while there are some pods out there advertised for sensitive skin, the eco-friendly ingredients of detergent sheets are far gentler than most pods on the market. HeySunday’s sheets, for example, are vegan, formulated for sensitive skin, and free of phosphates, phthalates, dyes, and other nasty ingredients.

Ease of Use

When it comes to making laundry easier, both laundry detergent sheets and pods are seemingly tied for their convenient pre-measured portions. Unlike liquid detergent, they both make it a breeze to get the right amount of detergent with a standard wash. Unfortunately, though, pods can’t be easily used to pre-treat stains, and because pod detergent dosage cannot be adjusted to the dirtiness or size of a load, you might end up using too much or too little detergent.

We also can’t forget that pods can leave a mess. All it takes is one little blue laundry pod to explode sticky goo throughout the packaging or your laundry room to be reminded of the old liquid jug days. Pods may also stick or clump together, forcing you to potentially burst one open as you pry off a pod for laundry day.

On the other hand, laundry detergent sheets are liquidless, mess-free, and will never clump or get sticky. It’s easy to grab a single strip every time or rip off smaller amounts for handwashing, pre-treating, or small loads.

Versatility

While pods are versatile for all machine types, many customers complain that pods can leave a sticky residue on their clothes or the insides of their washing machines because they struggle to dissolve. Typical pods require more water than sheets (or only hot water) to dissolve their concentrated laundry detergent packs—unless you use them in just the right way.

Although some laundry detergent sheets have a similar issue with dissolvability in different water temperatures or machines, HeySunday’s versatile, concentrated sheets dissolve every time. No matter if you use hot or cold water, front-load or high-efficiency machines, or place your sheets in a detergent drawer or somewhere else in the drum, you’ll get a great clean without any residue.

Cost

It’s a common misconception that eco-friendly laundry detergent sheets (like many green products) cost more than your average store-bought items, but pods and sheets are somewhat neck-and-neck here.

Depending on where you shop and what brands you use, detergent pods cost anywhere between $0.25 and $0.43 per load of laundry. For example, Tide Pods, one of the most well-known options, costs $40.99 for a 96-count pack on Amazon (or $0.43 per load). Eco-friendly pods sit at this more expensive side of this range as well, but if you decide to opt for cheaper pod options, you’ll most certainly have harsh ingredients.

Conversely, the most popular laundry detergent brands range in price from $0.20 to $0.33 per load. HeySunday costs $19.99 for a single pack of 60 sheets (plus free shipping), but with a regular subscription, that price drops to only $14 a pack or $0.23 per load. With all factors considered, you don’t have to sacrifice on sustainability, cleaning power, OR cost when you switch to sheets, making them the more economical choice over pods.

Why Choose HeySunday Laundry Sheets?

When we formed HeySunday, we set out to create the best laundry detergent sheets available, offering the biodegradable formula and package you deserve but with the cleaning performance and cost you can rely on. Even outside of the sheets market, we know that our product ensures a safer and more convenient experience than liquid or detergent pods for you, your family, and the planet.

Don’t just take our word for it. Give HeySunday a try, and if you’re at all unsatisfied with our product, there’s absolutely no risk. We offer a 100% money-back guarantee because we believe our laundry detergent sheets can deliver in every category. Just let HeySunday bring a little easiness back into your Sunday mornings