These 8 Amazon Subscribe & Save Products Are Really the Best Deals For Parents

Like many families, ours has been feeling the financial squeeze lately. We are a family of seven, and while I do my best to meal plan, shop in bulk, and have the privilege of doing things like raising our own beef and chicken to cut costs (#ruralliving), I’m also pretty guilty of convenience shopping.

So last weekend, I got serious and decided to do a financial audit of some of our spending. First up? I took a good, hard look at some of the staples I have delivered through Amazon’s Subscribe & Save program. I signed up for a lot of household staples, like toothpaste, shaving cream, soap, and toilet paper years ago, but I’ve never actually checked if they were really saving me money. 

With the help of my kids and a calculator, I finally did the math—and I was pleasantly surprised to find out that Amazon subscriptions really are cost-effective. Not only do they save me time and mental energy because they arrive right to my front door, but I found that their prices on some items beat out other low-cost options through Walmart and Costco. Here are the key products I found that really are the best deals.

And as a reminder, all of the prices I discuss are for the Subscribe & Save options only on Amazon—if you buy the product as a one-time purchase, you will pay a higher price. And the more subscriptions you have, the steeper the discount, so the prices below are for when you choose auto-delivery for five or more products.

Charmin Ultra Gentle Toilet Paper

Listen, I’m going to level with you: this is not cheap toilet paper, so I fully admit this is a luxury buy. And you can judge me all you want, but after living through a pandemic when I was forced to use paper towels as toilet paper for longer than I’d like to admit, I am committed to buying the best toilet paper I can afford, okay? 

One more disclosure: this subscription is just for the adult bathroom—my kids are still stuck with the cheap stuff. But since I’m splurging on this Ultra Gentle Charmin, I wanted to be sure I got the best price and for this one, Amazon wins again at $18.99 for 18 Mega Rolls as compared to $19.97 for the same product through Walmart, while Costco doesn’t even offer this version. 

To buy: Charmin Ultra Gentle Toilet Paper 18 Mega Rolls, $18.99 with Subscribe & Save; amazon.com 

Seventh Generation Dish Soap

Another pandemic leftover purchase for me is dish soap. For whatever reason, dish soap was incredibly difficult to find and in a family of 7, we run out very easily. So I finally signed up for Amazon’s Subscribe & Save program, which delivers 6 bottles of soap at once. I love having it stocked and at $0.13/ounce it’s still cheaper than buying individual bottles from Walmart at $0.18/ounce. 

To buy: Seventh Generation Dish Soap, 6-Pack $15.25 with Subscribe & Save; amazon.com 

Tide Laundry Detergent Pods

I subscribe to Tide pods for one reason and one reason only: I know with laundry pods, all of my kids are capable of helping with the laundry. In our house, our older four children rotate chores weekly and one of those weekly chores is doing the laundry. The pods ensure even my 8-year-old daughter and my 10-year-old son who spills everything can do laundry easily and without a mess. Plus, I admit I love their convenience myself too. 

At $18.10, these pods come out to $0.22/load of laundry with the Subscribe & Save price through Amazon. In comparison to the price through Walmart online of $33.09 for the same item, Amazon is by far the better deal.  

If you have a Costco membership, I did find a very similar bulk pack option that comes out to $.21/pod. However, the pods aren’t the 3-in-1 and the price is dependent on where you live; plus, you have to be sure to hit the minimum order to avoid a delivery fee. 

To buy: Tide Pods, Spring Meadow 81-Count, $18.27 with Subscribe & Save; amazon.com 

Gilette Shaving Cream

Nothing is worse than being dripping wet in the shower, about to shave your legs, only to reach for the shaving cream canister and realize that you are out. And with many shaving people in my house, I like being fully stocked so whomever needs shaving cream can easily take a can or two with them out of the bathroom cupboard. 

I didn’t get too fancy with this one, but went with my childhood staple and subscribed to Gilette’s 2-pack. At $4.74 for a pack of 2, the Amazon subscription price definitely beats out Walmart’s price of $7 for the same pack of 2. 

To buy: Gillette Satin Care Ultra Sensitive 7 Oz. Shave Gel For Women, Pack of 2, $4.74 with Subscribe & Save; amazon.com

Hefty Garbage Bags

Garbage bags are another one of those pesky items that are horrible to run out of, because the moment you realize you’re out is the same point you’ll have something terrible that needs to go out in the trash.

I get the Hefty Ultra Strong 80-count option for $12.72, which boils down to $0.16/bag. In comparison, the same product costs $0.18/bag at Walmart.  

To buy: Hefty Ultra Strong Tall Kitchen Garbage Bags, Lavender and Vanilla Scent, 80 Count $12.72; amazon.com

Toothbrush Head Replacements

In another attempt to simplify my life as my kids get older and I seem to spend more time endlessly re-stocking our home, I bought everyone electric toothbrushes and subscribed to have the replacement heads shipped to us through Amazon. That way, I am reminded to regularly change them and we have extra if those of us who are extra-vigorous brushers need a change more often—or if a virus runs through the house and I want to swap out the heads for fresh ones. 

The Amazon pack gives me 5 replacement heads at once for just over $4 per head, while Walmart only offers a 3-pack that boils down to over $6 per replacement head. No brainer here. 

To buy: Oral-B Sensitive Gum Care Electric Toothbrush Replacement Heads $24.34 with Subscribe & Save; amazon.com

Huggies Wet Wipes

I have a weird preference for Huggies wipes but Pampers diapers for my little ones, and if you’re also a fan of Huggies wet wipes, you cannot go wrong with Amazon’s subscription price. After five kids, I also prefer the individual flip-tops instead of refill packs so they don’t dry out and I can stash them all around the house/car/diaper bags/toilets to use for cleaning random gross spots, but they can be pricier, so it’s nice to save where you can!

Amazon’s subscription price for 11 flip-tops is just over $14, while the same product costs over $22 through Walmart online. Score!

To buy: Huggies Simply Clean Fragrance-Free Baby Diaper Wipes, 11 Flip Lid Packs (704 Wipes Total) $14.56; amazon.com 

Pampers Swaddlers Diapers

Speaking of baby items, Pampers diapers are also cheaper through Amazon’s Subscribe & Save. And keep in mind that Swaddlers are a “luxury” diaper, so if you don’t want Swaddlers you can save even more. To compare, the same diaper pack through Walmart online will set you back just under $70. There's even an extra $6.14 off coupon right now, really making this a steal of a deal!

To buy: Pampers Swaddlers Size 2 Diapers, 186 Count $47.55; amazon.com 

What’s Not Cheaper with Amazon

As a final closing note, if you’re wondering what’s not cheaper through Amazon, I discovered that I’ve been wasting well over $10 an order for 2-ply toilet paper. (You know, the kind I have the rest of the family use.) 

Walmart is the clear winner here, with 420 sheets per roll in a 24-roll pack for $15.88 as opposed to Amazon’s 313 sheets per roll 24-pack at $24.51. So I canceled this subscription and will be sticking to Walmart for our non-fancy toilet paper needs.

To buy: Great Value Soft & Strong 2-Play Toilet Paper, 24-Pack $15.88; walmart.com

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