I’m a big fan of foaming hand soap. It’s gentle on my hands (really important for the cold, dry winters we get here), easy to use, and kids love it. I also love concentrated cleaning products— instead of buying a whole new bottle, you buy small concentrated refills. Concentrated refills are good for the environment and easier to store. I’ve been using Blueland’s foaming Hand Soap for awhile and I am very happy with the quality and the scents. However, I use Dropps products for my laundry, so when they came out with a new foaming soap product, I thought it was worth trying to potentially consolidate my cleaning product orders.
So I tried Dropps foaming hand soap and here’s how it compares to Blueland’s.
Foaming Hand Soap Dispensers
The Blueland foaming hand soap dispenser is slightly larger at 9 oz. vs. the Dropp dispenser’s 8 oz. They also look quite different style-wise. Blueland has an advantage as it offers several different style dispensers in different colors and with different decorative accents.
That said, my Blueland dispenser broke within a year and was always much harder to press than the metal dispenser that Dropps offers.
Winner: Tie
Refill Type
Blueland foaming hand soap refills come as small tablets in compostable packaging. Dropps foaming hand soap refills are in the form of pods (kind of like laundry or detergent pods).
I prefer the Blueland refills because they are less delicate (if a pod breaks it’s a mess) and more compact for storage. The foaming action is a bit more fun to watch too.
Winner: Blueland
Scents
Blueland’s foaming hand soap comes in Iris Agave, Perrine Lemon, and Lavender Eucalyptus scents, plus a few seasonal scents (I’m a fan of the winter Evergreen scent). I have tried all the scents and find them really nice, though I prefer some more than others. None are too strong.
Dropp’s foaming hand soap offers 3 scents: Jasmine Honeysuckle, Lemon Verbana, and Lavender Camomile. They also offer an unscented option which is nice.
The only scent of Dropps I tried was Lemon Verbana. Unfortunately I had to stop using it almost immediately because I found the scent too strong. My boyfriend didn’t like it either. It had a strong detergent odor that lingered long after washing my hands. I would describe it as smelling like laundry detergent. I would try other scents but I think the smell I didn’t like was coming from the basic detergents in the product rather than the scent.
Winner: Blueland
Texture
It’s a shame I hated the Dropps scent so much because it had a much more lush texture than Blueland’s. Dropps also contains multiple moisturizing ingredients like marshmallow extract, aloe, shea oil, and Vitamin E. Blueland only has two moisturizing ingredients: algin and sorbitol.
Winner: Dropps
Price
It’s hard to compare price because the dispenser and texture are a factor. One reviewer on the Dropp’s website said they needed more pumps of Dropps vs. other foaming hand soaps though I didn’t find this to be the case myself.
That said, based on ounces:
- Dropps: $12 for 4 refills, 8 oz bottle = 32 oz. = $0.38 per oz.
- Blueland: $10 for 5 refills, 9 oz bottle = 45 oz. = $0.22 per oz.
Blueland is slightly cheaper. Each company offers significant discounts for subscriptions and for buying larger amounts.
Winner: Blueland
Eco-friendly
Both Dropps and Blueland offer recyclable paper packaging, but Blueland’s refills come in a compostable packaging, which has advantages over just recyclable packaging (you can recycle yourself in your own compost pile).
Dropps does offer carbon-neutral shipping, which is not offered by Blueland.
Blueland is Leaping Bunny Certified, which is a third-party that verifies cruelty free claims. Dropps FAQ says they are cruelty-free but do not list any certifications.
In general Blueland seems to have more certifications:
- B Corp (social responsibility)
- Leaping Bunny (cruelty free)
- Cradle to Cradle (sustainability)
- Climate Neutral (climate impact)
- EPA Safer Choice (safety for people + environment)
- EWG (ingredient transparency)
The only one I could find for Dropps is:
- Forestry Stewardship Council (sustainable paper)
Winner: Blueland
The Winner: Blueland
I really wanted to love the Dropps foaming hand soap but the strong detergent scent was a deal breaker. While Dropps has a very nice dispenser and texture, Blueland wins out in price, scents, eco-friendliness and refill types.
