I do the laundry in our family - have for 50 years. I even have a friend who was in the private label laundry soap business (for example Trader Joe's). So I have used many products and know a little about the industry. Despite the higher cost of a branded product like Tide, I always return to it. It's the only detergent that gets most of the stains out of a cotton t-shirt. It's not perfect, but consistently better. I buy the pods at Target and in the largest quantity available. This keeps the price reasonable. I do not like big companies like P&G, but...