By Zach Pozniak, VP of Operations at Jeeves of Belgravia New York and fourth-generation dry cleaner · @jeeves_ny
Last reviewed October 2026 · Kirkland pods and liquid lab-tested in March 2026 · As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.
Tide Odor Refresh liquid is out of stock on Amazon, so its links go to the pods version; the score is for the liquid I tested.
Quick answer: Costco's Kirkland detergent is one of the best values I have ever tested. In my March 2026 lab test the Kirkland pods scored 97.4, the third-best detergent and the second-best pod I have tested, and the Kirkland liquid scored 80.0. Both cost 15 cents a load, 5 cents under the 20-cent average.
Buy the pods if you want the stronger clean and do not mind a scent, because they only come scented. Buy the liquid if you need free and clear: the version I tested had no dye and no perfume.
| Products tested | Kirkland detergent pods and Kirkland liquid detergent (free and clear), tested March 2026 |
|---|---|
| Pods score | 97.4, the third-best detergent I have tested and the second-best pod |
| Liquid score | 80.0, the fourth-best liquid on my board when I tested it |
| Measured against | Tide Hygienic Pods ↗ at 100, washing with water alone at 1 |
| Cost per load | 15 cents for both, against a 20-cent average |
| Free and clear? | The liquid, yes: I tested the free and clear version, and there is also a regular one. The pods only come scented. |
| My verdict | I definitely recommend both. The performance-to-cost ratio is insane. |
The question was the one I have been asking since 2023: can it Kirkland? Yes, it freaking can. The pods scored 97.4, which puts them behind only Ariel 2X powder ↗ at 102.4 and Tide Hygienic Pods ↗ at 100. That knocked Tide Odor Refresh ↗ and its 96.9 off my podium, and it is always nice to see Tide get knocked down in the rankings a little bit.
The results were good enough that I ran a water control test straight afterwards to make sure they were accurate. Put the swatches from a water-only wash next to the swatches from a Kirkland pod in hot water and you can see how wildly different they are.
The liquid scored 80.0. I called both results incredible, but the gap between them matters, because the two cost the same.
Every detergent goes through the same lab test, built on the AISE industry-standard method. White cotton swatches get 18 different stains across five categories, they are washed at cold, warm and hot water temperatures, and a spectrometer reads the colour of each stain before and after the wash. The difference becomes a percentage of stain removed, which is scaled into the score. I do not judge stains by eye, because I consider my eyes unreliable.
The scale has two fixed points. Washing with water alone scores 1. Tide Hygienic Pods ↗ score 100, and my whole board is built around that number. A score can go past 100, and one has: Ariel 2X powder ↗ at 102.4. So 97.4 for a Costco house brand is very close to the top of what I have measured.
One caveat goes with every score I publish: this is purely performance. Price, formulation, ingredient safety and packaging belong in your decision too, and with Kirkland the price is a large part of the appeal.
On cleaning alone the pods win easily, 97.4 to 80.0 at the same 15 cents a load. The problem is that the pods only come in a scented version, which is disappointing. I want to see a free and clear formulation of them.
The liquid I tested was the free and clear version, meaning no dye and no perfume, which makes it quite safe. It also comes in a regular version, which I did not test. Of the two, the liquid is the one I see myself using in my regular routine. If you have sensitive skin, my tested free and clear picks go through the options that clean harder.
Costco sells a second pod, Oxy Power. I did not buy or test it. The reviews on Costco's website carry a lot of complaints about those pods not dissolving, and at this point I am going to steer clear of them. If pods are leaving residue on your clothes, here is why pods fail to dissolve.
For years the answer was Henkel, the German company behind Persil and All. That was my explanation in 2023 for why a Costco house brand cleaned this well: it was made by a powerhouse in the laundry space.
That changed when Henkel quit the retail brand business in North America, which meant Kirkland had to find a new manufacturer. In March 2025 I told Kirkland fans to stock up before they changed it. By January 2026 Henkel no longer made Kirkland's laundry products, and in my 2025 award show I said I thought Kirkland was going through formulation changes.
So when I tested the pods and liquid in March 2026, I did not know who was making them, and I still do not. I asked in that video for anyone who knows to say so, because I do not want to give you the wrong information by guessing. What I can tell you is how the Kirkland products performed in March 2026, and that is what the 97.4 and the 80.0 measure.
Kirkland has been on my value list since my 2022 Laundry Olympics. In that test, seven detergents went through nine common stains on three fabrics, washed in cold water and read with a spectrometer. Tide Hygienic Clean took gold, Persil took silver and Kirkland took bronze, with a 48% chance to finish in the top three and two outright wins. My line at the time was that when it comes to value, Kirkland can't be beat. That was a smaller, earlier version of my test, so those numbers do not compare directly with today's scores.
A few weeks later I called it the best value detergent I could find: it performed almost as well as Tide and Persil, it came in a free and clear version, and it cost 22 cents a load back then. In 2023 I described it as a really solid detergent that rips apart stains. It was one of the notable products in my 2024 round-up, and in my 2025 award show Kirkland liquid was one of my three best value products, alongside Ariel 2X powder ↗ and Foca.
Against Member's Mark. Sam's Club's house brand is the other wholesale brand I have tested, in May 2026. The Member's Mark pods scored 92.8 and the liquid 55.3, both at 16 cents a load. Those pods are a great choice too, but among the wholesale brands I think Kirkland still has a slight edge, especially in the liquid category, where 80.0 against 55.3 is not close.
Against Tide Odor Refresh. Tide Odor Refresh ↗ scored 96.9, it only comes free and clear, and it is what I use. The Kirkland pods beat it slightly on performance and on price, but they are scented. If you need free and clear and want top-tier cleaning, Tide Odor Refresh scores well above the Kirkland liquid. My full Tide Odor Refresh review goes through it.
Against Ariel 2X powder. Ariel 2X powder ↗ scored higher, 102.4, and costs less, about 7 cents a load. It is also heavily perfumed, and if you have sensitive skin you should not use it. And it is a powder, which is heavy and messy. The details are in my Ariel 2X review.
Against Gain Plus. If you do not shop at Costco and want a cheap strong liquid, Gain Plus ↗ scored 95.2 at about 12 to 15 cents a load. It is extremely fragrant, which is the whole point of the brand.
Every product I have scored, with the numbers, is in my tested laundry detergent rankings.
You shop at Costco and want close to top-tier cleaning for 15 cents a load. Get the pods if a scent does not bother you, and the free and clear liquid if it does.
You need free and clear and you want the strongest clean available. The free and clear Kirkland liquid scored 80.0, and Tide Odor Refresh ↗ scored 96.9 with no dye or perfume either. And skip the Kirkland Oxy Power pods, which I have not tested and am steering clear of because of the complaints about dissolving.
Yes. In my March 2026 lab test the Kirkland pods scored 97.4, against Tide Hygienic Pods ↗ at 100 and washing with water alone at 1, which makes them the third-best detergent I have tested. The Kirkland free and clear liquid scored 80.0. Both cost 15 cents a load, below the 20-cent average, and I recommend both.
For cleaning, yes: the pods scored 97.4 and the liquid 80.0, at the same 15 cents a load. The pods only come in a scented version, though. If you need free and clear, the liquid is the one to buy.
The liquid comes in a free and clear version, with no dye or perfume, and that is the one I tested. It also comes in a regular version. The Kirkland pods only come scented.
Henkel, the maker of Persil and All, used to make it. Henkel left the North American retail brand business, and by January 2026 it no longer made Kirkland's laundry products. I do not know who makes it now, and I do not want to guess.
The Kirkland pods scored 97.4, ahead of Tide Odor Refresh ↗ at 96.9 and behind Tide Hygienic Pods ↗ at 100, so in my test they sit right in among the best Tide products, for less money. The Kirkland liquid, at 80.0, is a step below the top Tide liquids.
When I tested it in March 2026, both the pods and the liquid came in at 15 cents a load, 5 cents below the 20-cent average.
Slightly, and mostly on the liquid. The Kirkland pods scored 97.4 against 92.8 for the Member's Mark pods, and the Kirkland liquid scored 80.0 against 55.3. Member's Mark costs 16 cents a load against Kirkland's 15.
Kirkland has been one of my value picks since 2022, and the March 2026 test backed that up: 97.4 for the pods, the third-best detergent I have tested, and 80.0 for the free and clear liquid, both at 15 cents a load. I definitely recommend both. Choose the pods for cleaning power and the liquid if you need free and clear.
The one thing I cannot tell you is who makes it now. Henkel no longer does, so the scores on this page belong to the Kirkland products I bought in March 2026.
Or ask about any laundry or garment care question
Zach Pozniak is VP of Operations and co-owner of Jeeves of Belgravia New York, the Madison Avenue dry cleaner serving New York since 1979, and the fourth generation of his family in the trade. Zach posts garment care techniques as @jeeves_ny on TikTok to over 900,000 followers, and his book The Laundry Book, co-written with his father Jerry Pozniak, was featured on Good Morning America in October 2024. Jeeves NY's clients include the Metropolitan Opera, the Met Museum, and FIT, and the business has been featured in The Wall Street Journal and New York Magazine.