Glad vs Hefty Trash Bags

Which kitchen bag states more?

The two kitchen bags match on everything a reader can count. Both are 13 gallons, both come 80 to a box, both close with a drawstring, and both make an odor claim. Where they part is in what each page chooses to say.

Glad’s page gives two facts Hefty’s doesn’t. It names the material: the bags “are made with polyethylene.” And it puts a duration on the odor claim, “4-day odor control,” alongside “neutralizes trash odors.” Hefty’s page gives one fact Glad’s doesn’t. It names the odor technology, “Arm & Hammer Continuous Odor Control,” a patented neutralizer whose trademark is licensed from Church & Dwight, and it lists a scent-free version beside eight scents. Both pages say the bag itself is not recyclable and not compostable. Neither states a thickness, and neither publishes an ingredient list or names a certification, which the table says in each cell rather than leaving blank.

Our Best Trash Bags for Odor Control guide ranks the kitchen bags on the odor claim alone, and Best Tall Kitchen Trash Bags on the whole 13-gallon field. This page is only the two brands against each other.

Which large bag fits which can?

The large bags are less alike, starting with the size. Hefty’s Ultra Strong Large is sold in 30, 33 and 39 gallons, and the record here is the 33. Glad’s Heavy Duty Large Quick-Tie is sold in 30 and 39 gallons, and the record here is the 39. Neither page states how many bags come in the box, so each record carries the bag’s capacity as its unit rather than a count the brand didn’t publish.

The closure is the clearest difference. Hefty states a “tough drawstring.” Glad’s bag closes with the quick-tie its name describes, which the page calls “easy to tie and carry.” On scent, Glad’s page says unscented and makes no odor claim at all. Hefty’s lists “Arm & Hammer patented odor neutralizer on scented bags” and a “Scent Free” option next to them, with the odor claim made only for the scented ones. On strength, both pages use words rather than numbers. Hefty’s “resists leaks, punctures and rips.” Glad’s is “durable” and for “your toughest yard waste messes.” Neither names the plastic, and neither states a thickness. Best Heavy-Duty Large Trash Bags puts both of these against two more Hefty bags, one of which does state a thickness.

What neither page says

Three things, and they are the same three on every page here. No thickness, which is the one measurable strength claim a trash bag can make and the subject of What Trash Bag Thickness in Mils Actually Tells You. No plastic named, except on Glad’s kitchen bag. No pack count on the large bags. The tables above say “not stated on the brand’s page” in each of those cells because the page was read and is silent, which is a different thing from a page nobody has read.

Which one, then?

From the pages alone, the choice comes down to which stated fact you want. For a kitchen can, Glad is the one that tells you the plastic and puts a number of days on its odor claim, and Hefty is the one that names its odor technology and offers a scent-free version. For a large can, Hefty is the one with a stated drawstring and a scent-free option, and Glad is the one sold unscented with a tie. Neither brand gives a reader the thickness that would let the two be compared on strength, so a reader who wants that number has to look at a bag that states one, and in Runlow’s records today that is Hefty’s contractor bag, which isn’t a kitchen or yard bag at all.

How we researched this

Every value in both tables comes from the brand’s own page for that bag, read on the date in each column’s source row, and the two kitchen pages were read again on October 6, 2026. Nothing was retrieved from a retailer listing, no review data was used, and Runlow has not tested any of these bags. Odor, closure, material and size statements are quoted from each manufacturer and are the manufacturer’s own. No prices are shown.

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