If you’re looking for an honest Smol review, you’re in the right place. Smol has quickly become a popular name in eco-friendly cleaning, offering laundry capsules, dishwasher tablets, and household sprays that are delivered straight to your door. But do they actually work? And how do their prices compare to supermarket alternatives? In this product review, I’ll share my real experience using smol products, what I loved, what didn’t quite work for me, and whether they’re worth switching to.
One of my goals for this year was to make small lifestyle changes to become more sustainable and toxin-free. As a family, we already do many environmentally friendly things, such as recycling, but I believe there is more we can and should be doing. My first product switch on our journey to becoming more sustainable was trying smol.
Firstly, I would like to note that this post is not sponsored by smol in any way, and I have no obligation to share only the positives. This is an honest review from a Mum who is trying to do her best for the environment and her family! However, later in the post, I will share my referral link. If you choose to purchase through my link, I will earn a store credit.
In this review, I will discuss these sustainable household products, how effective smol’s eco-friendly products are and how they compare to leading brands. I’ll also look at the cost of smol compared to their leading high street competitors. Ultimately, is switching to smol worth doing? So let’s go!
What is smol?
Smol is an eco-friendly household brand committed to helping our planet without compromising quality. They aim to cut down the amount of plastic ending up in landfill sites, reduce carbon emissions and eliminate harsh chemicals that cause harm to our bodies and our planet.
They offer a range of products including dishwasher tablets, laundry detergents, cleaning products and hand soaps. Some come in plastic-free packaging, while others are tablets to which you add water at home.
Smol is run on a subscription service, meaning it’s sent straight to your door. It isn’t available in supermarkets such as Tesco.
smol environmental impact report – 26th Jan 2025
Why I Chose to Try Smol: My Honest First Impressions
I had already made the decision to focus on clean, eco-conscious living in 2025, but why smol in particular?
- They advertised to me A LOT via social media
- They offer a range of products. I saw a lot of eco brands that just offer laundry detergent (for example). As a busy mum, it’s easiest to get a range of great products from the same place if possible.
- They claim it’s an easy-to-manage subscription – I will go into this in more detail below.
- They also claim to be cost-effective compared to leading retailers – again, I will share thoughts on this below.
- All products are also vegan and cruelty-free
- They did a great trial deal – you can try a range of their items for just £6 including delivery, just click here to try. Again, I will discuss this more below.
The Cost of Smol: Price Comparison With Supermarket Brands
I’ve been specifically looking for affordable, eco-friendly household products for families. While it’s great to support our planet, I appreciate that a lot of families don’t have the budget to increase their outgoings just to be more sustainable. Here I’ve broken down the cost of smol compared to their leading competitors.
| smol | Leading High-Street Brand | |
| Laundry Detergent Capsules | £6 for 24 = 0.25p each | Fairy Pods £12 for 51 = 0.24 each or £8 for 33 = 0.24p each |
| Dishwasher Tablets | £6.50 for 30 = 0.22p each | Finish Ultimate £13 for 92 = 0.14p each or £9 for 34 = 0.26p each |
| Washing Up Liquid | £2.50 per 500ml (shipped as 4x packs) | Fairy £2 for a 645 ml bottle |
| Cleaning Spray | £7 for 6 tablets you mix with water = £1.17 per bottle | Detol £1.99 per bottle |
| Foaming Handwash | £10.50 for 6 tablets you mix with water = £1.75 per bottle | Meathod Foaming Handwash £3.25 or Carex standard handwash £1.50 |
| Stain Remover Gel | £6.25 for 500ml (shipped as 2x packs for £12.50) | Vanish Oxi Action £6.70 for 500ml |
| Fabric Conditioner | £5.75 per 500ml (shipped as 2x packs for £11.50) | Comfort Sensitive £2 for 990ml |
| Bathroom Spray | £7 for 6 tablets you mix with water = £1.17 per bottle | Flash £2.49 |
*All prices are taken from the Tesco website at the regular RRP. Note: Supermarkets often have offers on these products, reducing the price further, and stores’ own brands will also be cheaper.
So far, I haven’t seen any discounts on smol products. Note: you don’t have to subscribe to all of smol’s range, you’re free to choose which ones work for you.
Overall, I feel smol is competitively priced. I would like it if they did a larger discount for bulk orders, though!
The only product that stood out as expensive was the fabric conditioner. I looked into this a little further and smol claims their 500ml bottle will last 62 washes (0.09p per wash) while Comfort states 33 on their bottle (0.06p per wash), which makes them more comparable.
Update:
In 2025, smol increased its prices. I have amended the table above to reflect that.
Smol Review: How Do Smol Products Compare to Supermarket Favourites?
So, do these eco-friendly cleaning products actually work as well? This was my main concern: if the products don’t work, then I don’t want them, even if they’re cheaper! I have been testing out smol products for a couple of months now. Below, I’ll discuss whether smol cleaning products are worth it.
Smol Laundry Pods Review
Smol tablets do not smell as nice as my Fairy pods did, but they do clean just as well. My son suffers from eczema. I was really hoping to see an improvement due to the lack of harsh chemicals used by other brands. So far, his skin has improved, but hasn’t fully cleared.
The pack has a handy child-safe feature, which I liked. My husband struggled with it and just tore the box open, so I feel like this feature sounds cool, but is actually not that useful.
As a mum, the below section in the smol newsletter hit me quite hard. The fact that some families struggle to send their children to school with clean uniforms is so sad, but I think it is amazing that smol is working hard to change that!
Smol Dishwasher Tablets Review
These do just as good, if not a better job than my Finish tablets did. I can’t fault them. As they are also priced the same, this really is a no-brainer when trying to be more sustainable.
Smol Washing Up Liquid Review
The liquid bubbles seem to clean as well as my Fairy Liquid did. I don’t think it lasts quite as long as Fairy Liquid, making it not as good value for money. However, it is definitely a superior product compared to cheaper / store’s own brand washing-up liquids.
Smol Cleaning Spray Review
I have been pleasantly surprised by how well this cleaning spray works. Even in tough areas such as the hob, it has cleaned well. I especially love that this product comes from a tablet you mix with water, and I will be keeping this from now on.
Smol Foaming Handwash Review
I love the foaming handwash and so do my kids! Unbelievable that it comes from a small tablet you mix with warm water! It smells good and leaves hands smiling clean. Again, I don’t think it lasts quite as long as the regular hand soap I previously used, but the sustainability savings of plastic bottle waste here are huge. I will be sticking with smol’s handwash.
Update: the pump mechanisms on both my smol soap bottles have broken, so you have to pull them up before pumping every time, which is really frustrating!
Smol Stain Remover Gel Review
So far, this has tackled stains well! I have two small children, so it has been thoroughly tested on stains including pen, mud and all sorts of food. It has even removed some set-in stains my previous Oxy spray couldn’t manage.
Smol Fabric Conditioner Review
Due to my son’s eczema, I didnt use fabric conditioner before, so I don’t feel like I can compare here accurately. I will say that with smol, you do need to add the fabric conditioner if you want your laundry to smell nice.
Smol Bathroom Cleaner Review
This cleaner works fine as a general cleaner; however, it won’t replace any heavy-duty cleaners such as mould & mildew or limescale remover. I also don’t think it works so well on glass and mirrors.
How Do You Try Smol Products?
Smol products are sold exclusively through their website as a subscription-based service.
I initially placed two orders with smol. The first one was for their home starter bundle. This includes:
- 9 x dishwasher tablets, in plastic-free packaging
- 9 x non-bio laundry capsules, in plastic-free packaging
- 500ml recyclable carton of washing up liquid and a reusable bottle
- 500ml recyclable carton stain remover gel and reusable bottle
- 500ml recyclable carton fabric conditioner and reusable bottle
- 1 x tablet of cleaning, say you mix with warm water and a reusable bottle
Future products will be shipped without reusable bottles, avoiding extra plastic waste. I paid £10 for this bundle and I thought it was great value. Smol have since given me a referral code so you can try this bundle for just £6!
GET YOUR HOME STARTER BUNDLE FOR JUST £6 HERE.
Using my link also gives me a £6 smol store credit. I believe this referral link is given to all customers, so if you sign up and refer friends, you’ll also get this saving!
Other Smol Products to Try
The second order I placed was for some additional products I wanted to try. This was for 2x foaming hand soaps (£3 each) and a foaming bathroom cleaner for £2. I now realise it would have been smarter to only order 1 soap as it’s easy to add an additional one later if you like it.
They also have a floor cleaner you can try for £2. I didnt do this as I use a steam mop.
Alternatively, you can order a trial pack of 9 dishwasher tablets, laundry pods or cleaning spray for free; you just pay £1 shipping for each item.
NOTE: smol is a subscription service. Purchasing a trial will sign you up for regular deliveries. The frequency is made clear when you order, and you can cancel/amend this at any time free of charge.
Smol Personal Care Products Review
Disclaimer: After I published this post, smol kindly gifted me some products from their personal care range to try and add to this review. As always, all opinions are honest.
Products from smol’s personal care range.
Smol also have a range of sustainable personal care products, which are designed to be as toxic-free as possible, with no unnecessary ingredients. They are also all plastic-free and designed to be as sustainable as possible.
To purchase smol personal care products, you do need to have a smol account, meaning you need to have purchased at least one of their household product trials (which start from just £1).
Below, I will share the personal care products I tried and my thoughts on each one.
Smol Toothpaste Review
I am a huge fan of smol’s toothpaste. Most high street toothpaste brands use an ingredient called Sodium Lauryl Sulfate to make them foam; however, it can cause gum irritation. Soml is flavoured with natural mint oil. I was surprised at how minty it is, and it really left my teeth and mouth feeling clean.
The tube is also fully recyclable.
Price: £12 for 3 x 75ml tubes.
Smol Shampoo Bar Review
I am quite particular about my hair products. Unfortunately, I wasn’t a fan of this shampoo bar (I haven’t tried any other brand bars to compare it to). It did seem to work; however, it took a long time of lathering up to get enough product to wash my hair properly.
I also like a shampoo and conditioner that matches, and smol currently doesn’t offer a conditioning bar.
Price: 2 bars for £8.
Smol Body Bar Review
The smol body bar soap is great. It works like regular soap but is designed with nearly completely natural ingredients and has a lovely, fresh sea-spray scent. It left my skin feeling clean, and this feeling lasted throughout the day.
This is also a great product for travel as it’s lightweight and doesn’t create any mess, unlike regular plastic shower gel products that can easily leak.
Price: 3 bars for £8.
Smol Handsoap Bar Review
Switching to a bar soap is so much better for the environment than using a single-use plastic soap. Smols hand soap works like any other hand soap; however, it contains no unnecessary ingredients or microplastics.
Smols hand soap contains lemon verbena, soothing oatmeal and green tea to cleanse and moisturise your hands while cleaning them! This is another switch I’ll happily make!
Price: 3 bars for £8.
Is the Smol Subscription Easy to Manage?
As long as you remember to log in and amend it, the smol zero-waste cleaning solutions are very easy to customise the delivery to suit your needs. You get a helpful email a couple of days before your order is due to be dispatched, so if you need to change anything, you can.
In your account, you can see your upcoming deliveries and their dates/costs. By clicking on any product, you can amend the delivery. You can edit the date of the next delivery to whichever date you like. This is perfect if you’re going to be away for a while.
NOTE: The next order date is the date it will be dispatched, not the date it will arrive.
You can also amend the automated date to any number of days. So if you find your products constantly lasting longer, you could make it 35 days rather than 28, for example.
Finally, you can pause your plan for up to 6 months. To cancel a product, you do need to email customer service, so this isn’t quite so convenient.
My address blanked out for privacy reasons!
Smol Review: Final Thoughts
To conclude this review of smol products, smol is doing something great here. While some products are slightly more expensive than the leading competitor, many actually work out cheaper.
I am going to delay some of my smol subscriptions to allow us to use up the partly finished previous products we have, then will be using smol where possible going forward.
If you want to start with a few products, I would recommend the dishwasher tablets, stain remover, fabric conditioner and cleaning spray!
Thank you for reading my honest smol review. I believe they are one of the best sustainable alternatives to traditional cleaning brands!
YOU’LL ALSO LOVE:
A London mum sharing stylish, family-friendly travel guides.
I In our travel guides, I show you that you can still travel as a family and create beautiful memories, even when trips aren’t full of kid-centric activities.
When I’m not planning our next adventure, I also share timeless style inspiration and ideas for living more thoughtfully and sustainably.