Toilet Paper Length & Width: All You Need To Know!
Last Updated on August 25, 2022 by Alex Cubias
Do you know how we talk about things that you don’t truly appreciate until they are gone? Toilet paper has to be considered one of those things; there is nothing quite like sitting in the bathroom and realizing you have run out of toilet paper. While trying to stock up on toilet paper, so it doesn’t happen again, you may have been overwhelmed by all the different types of paper and all of the numbers, but don’t be!
The size of toilet paper depends on the brand, but almost all will be between 3.8” and 4.5” per sheet (length and width). Most brands will be between 160 and 500 sheets long, so expect to have around 600 to 2000 feet of toilet paper per roll. Consider the thickness of the toilet paper when buying.
While it can seem like a lot, you know most of what you need about toilet paper length and width. Here are some common brands you may see and how they stack up against one another.
How to Tell How Big a Toilet Paper Roll Is
One of the first things you might notice is that it can be difficult to tell how big a toilet paper roll is. Part of this is due to how companies label their toilet paper, and part may be due to a couple of terms people don’t generally understand.
In order to determine the truth about toilet paper length and width, we need to be able to understand both of these things. In order to do so, first, we will look at how certain terms are used by the toilet paper industry and have a quick crash course on reading a package of toilet paper.
Most toilet paper brands won’t tell you outright how long their rolls are but instead focus on their “sheets.” What are these sheets? Toilet paper sheets are squares of toilet paper that you can tear off of the roll. The industry focuses on these sheets, so most brands will tell you how big each sheet is and how many of them are found on each roll.
The size of a sheet of toilet paper has varied over the years. In the early 1900s, a sheet could be 4 inches wide and 10 inches long. By the 1950s, a standard sheet was 4.5” by 4.5”. In 1980, smaller “cheater” sheets that shrunk the sheets down to 4.25” were used. Nowadays, you can expect to find sheets varying in width and length from just under 4 inches to the old standard of 4.5 inches. (Source)
The important thing while reading a package is to determine what the information is talking about. Look for language that may be trying to confuse you. If the package that has 8 rolls in it says “contains 1000 sheets”, you can expect each roll to have 125 sheets. Others might say that they are “mega” or “oversized”. This isn’t a specific term about the length of the roll and generally just means that it is a larger roll. With that in mind, let’s look at some popular toilet paper brands and their sizes.
Popular Toilet Paper Rolls (and Their Sizes)
In order to determine which brands of toilet paper are the most popular, I went on Amazon and looked at the top-selling brands in the toilet paper category. I found two popular brands that I will talk about below. I’ll provide links to each of the products as well.
Presto!
Presto! is a top-selling item, and this package has 24 rolls. Each of the rolls is a mega roll, each containing 308 sheets per roll. Presto claims that each of their mega rolls will last 4.5 times as long as a standard roll of toilet paper (with 66 sheets per roll). Made with high-quality 2 ply paper to help keep you clean.
- IN THE BOX: 24 Mega Rolls (4 Packs of 6 Mega Rolls) equal to 120 regular rolls (based on a standard roll with 66 sheets)
- SHEETS PER ROLL: with 313 ultra soft sheets per roll
- ULTRA SOFT: Leaves less lint behind (versus the leading Ultra-Premium Soft Brand, based on laboratory testing)
Each sheet of paper is 4” by 4” meaning it won’t be among the largest sheets, but it isn’t below average. With over 200 square feet of toilet paper per 6 pack, Presto! provides you with plenty of toilet paper to work with.
Cottonelle
The Cottonelle Ultra Clean paper is another highly rated brand. The product can be bought in packs of 6, 24, or 32. Each roll of 388 sheets is claimed to be equal to over 5 regular rolls. The rolls are made with clean, soft paper without any added irritants. Each 6-pack has 245 square feet of paper, which is slightly more than the top-rated Presto! brand.
- Contains 12 double toilet paper rolls; 170 sheets per roll; 12 double rolls = 24 regular rolls*
- 3x stronger & thicker, 2x more absorbent per sheet vs. the leading value brand
- Strong, 1-layer toilet paper
The Biggest Toilet Paper Rolls
While it can be good to look for highly-rated products, sometimes you just want to find the biggest roll of toilet paper possible. While none of these products will come close to the world’s largest toilet paper roll, almost 10 feet tall according to Guinness World Records (9′ 9.8”), they still provide you with an absurd amount of toilet paper.
Uline Jumbo Bath Tissue
If you are looking for a lot of toilet paper, the Uline Jumbo toilet paper roll may be the item for you. Each roll is 3.7 inches wide and 1000 feet long. Each pack comes with 12 rolls so you can sit cozy with your 12,000 feet of toilet paper. While Uline is narrower in width than Presto and Cottonelle, it makes up for it in length. Despite being thinner, each roll has almost double the square footage of the other two (370 square feet). It is 2-ply toilet paper, so each roll has some weight to it as well.
GEN Jumbo Jr
The GEN Jumbo Jr also provides you with more toilet paper than you would ever need. Each roll is 3.25” wide and 800′ long. Comes in packs of 12, which provide you with enough paper for months. Surprisingly once you look at the square footage of this product, it doesn’t provide much more than Presto and Cottonelle. Being thinner and shorter, each roll only has 216 square feet of paper. The moral of the story, longer isn’t always better.