In the absence of significantly new features, it may seem like toilets these days are the same as ever. But manufacturers are always finding ways to make toilets that flush better, use less water, and feel more comfortable to sit on. So if you find yourself flushing the toilet multiple times, hoping against hope that you won’t have to break out the gloves and a scrub brush, you need to know: You don’t have to live like this.
In this article
- Best Toilets
- What to Consider When Buying a Toilet
- How CR Tests Toilets
More on Toilets
Best Toilet Paper
Busting Myths About Water-Efficient Toilets
Are Flushable Wipes Flushable?
Best Toilets for $200 or Less
The best toilets in CR’s tests can clear out solid waste and clean the bowl well with one flush. Stronger flushing mechanisms make this possible even as toilets use less water (measured in gallons per flush, or gpf) than they historically have. Some toilets also have nonstick coatings that help with bowl cleaning. A number of our top toilets have elongated bowl shapes, which tend to be more comfortable for most people, though you may favor a round bowl depending on the size of your bathroom and the spot where the toilet goes.
CR members can read on to find a handful of our top-ranked models across a few popular styles and prices. Dozens of other great toilets have earned CR’s recommendation as well, all tracked in our full toilet ratings of over 50 models. And for more information as you shop, check out our toilet buying guide.
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Best Toilets
The toilets below perform impressively in our tests, evacuating waste and cleaning the bowl well—with minimal noise. Most are single-flush models, though the top-rated Glacier Bay model is a dual-flush toilet, meaning you can use minimal water for most flushes. All of the models below are WaterSense certified by the Environmental Protection Agency, so they’re 20 percent more water efficient than average products in this category and meet certain other performance standards.
What to Consider When Buying a Toilet
It’s easy to overlook key considerations when buying a toilet, such as extra accessories or hardware needed for a complete assembly, or even regulations that may restrict which type of toilet you can buy, depending on where you live.
Here’s what’s important to us:
- State-level restrictions: A small number of the toilets tested by Consumer Reports aren’t available in a handful of states. California, Colorado, New York, Texas, Washington, and others have banned the sale or installation of toilets that don’t meet the Environmental Protection Agency’s WaterSense standard of 1.28 gallons, on average, per flush. It’s worth noting that the top-rated toilets listed here all meet the EPA standard, including our highest-rated model—a dual-flush toilet that allows you to choose between 1.1 or 1.6 gpf for each flush. (If you’re on a budget, check out our compilation of the best water-saving toilets for $200 or less.)
- Variants: Double-check that you’re getting the exact model you want. We’ve seen toilets with similar model names or numbers that are available in multiple variants. For example, one version of the Kohler Kelston meets the WaterSense standard, while another doesn’t. Similarly, the Glacier Bay N2420 has an elongated bowl and the Glacier Bay N2428R-DF has a round bowl.
Kathleen Halevah, who oversees CR’s testing for toilets, says that when it comes to variations in water use or bowl shape in toilets that seem similar, “sometimes there’s no difference, sometimes there is, so we have to take it on a case-by-case basis.”
- Seats and hardware: Some toilets recommended by CR don’t come with a seat, a wax ring, or mounting hardware, so you’ll need to buy those separately. Expect to pay at least $40 more for all the necessary accessories.
How CR Tests Toilets
To develop our in-depth toilet ratings, Consumer Reports’ test engineers put the fixtures through a battery of tests involving waste removal, bowl cleaning, and drain-line clogs. We also measure how loud a toilet’s flushes are using a decibel meter. Based on performance in these tests, we give each toilet an Overall Score.
To test solid-waste removal, we dump marble-sized plastic beads, weighted sponges, and water-filled condoms into the bowl and measure how well each flush handles the simulated waste.
We use a combination of methods to assess how well a toilet gets the entire bowl clean. First, we use a water-based red paint to create a solid rectangular shape above the waterline in the front bottom of a clean bowl. A picture is taken of the red rectangle, then the toilet is flushed two times. After the second flush, a second picture is taken to record how much of the paint has been removed.
A second way we test to see how well a toilet cleans waste: We let the bowl fill up, then we draw a line using a water-soluble pen around the bowl about an inch under the rim. Next, we flush. We then measure how much of the pen marking is left. The better a toilet cleans, the less marking and paint are left. We repeat the pen test three times and calculate the average to arrive at a score.
To gauge soil and odor potential, we measure the length and width, as well as how deep the water is in the bowl. The deeper and wider the bowl, the better solid waste odors will be trapped by the water.
We also look at how well a toilet moves waste from bowl to sewer and whether there’s enough force to make sure the waste doesn’t get stuck, especially if waste travels a long way to the sewer.
@consumerreports #answer to @drerikaup A toilet that gets the job done with one flush = bliss 🥰. We test to see which toilets make that happen—the rest is up to you. Learn more at cr.org/toilets 🚽 #toilettok #cleantok #cleaningtiktok
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Molly Bradley
As a home and appliance writer at Consumer Reports,Molly Bradley covered a diverselineup of products, ranging from coffee makersto carpet cleaners and strollers to steam mops.
