Blueland vs Branch Basics: Tested & Compared

I test and compare Blueland Multi-Surface Cleaner to Branch Basics Concentrate all-purpose cleaner.

This article contains affiliate links, upon purchase I earn a commission at no extra cost to you.

Summary: Branch Basics is my top pick, personally. The formula itself is more environmentally friendly and it’s 100% biobased and biodegradable. It does not contain synthetic fragrances or dyes like Blueland does. It’s far more versatile and can be used on floors, windows, bathrooms, laundry etc., whereas Blueland Multi-Surface cannot be used on floors, and is mainly for countertops and tables. Branch Basics was also much more effective against grease in my tests. Blueland shines when it comes to reducing weight, reducing plastic and reducing greenhouse gas emissions since it’s a tablet. It’s also slightly more affordable, though the difference in price is not huge.

Here’s the Comparison:

	Branch Basics Concentrate	Blueland Multi-Surface Cleaner
Cost	0.15 cents per ounce (not including bottle) (based on Green Design Center prices)	0.10 cents per ounce (not including bottle) (price based on their website)
Shipping	Free shipping from GDC or Amazon	Free shipping from Amazon (on their website it’s free shipping over $50)
Bio-Based	100% bio-based	4 ingredients are synthetic
Biodegradable	Yes	It does not say biodegradable on their website but based on the ingredients list it might be.
EWG Ratings	Overall EWG Rating of A. One ingredient with a B rating and one with a D rating.	The Multi-Surface cleaner does not yet have an overall rating on EWG. Six ingredients have a C rating.
Scent	Soapy, no fragrance	Synthetic and natural lemon fragrance (the actual chemicals are not fully disclosed, but they are phthalate-free).
Uses	Kitchen, bathroom, floors, laundry, hands, body, pets, glass, dishes, stainless steel, carpet (in other words, one product for everywhere).	Multi-Surface Cleaner is for use on counters, sealed wood & sealed stone (e.g., sealed marble, granite, quartz, travertine, terrazzo). Not indicated for floors, strangely (they also don’t have another cleaner for floors).
Packaging	One box was the packaging and shipping box in one. The bottle of Concentrate is plastic. They sell either glass or plastic cleaning bottles.	Blueland shines on packaging, the refill is a small tablet that comes packaged in compostable paper. No plastic in the refills. The shipping boxes are also recyclable cardboard.
Certifications	Certified Made Safe EWG-Verified Cruelty-Free Verified Independently tested as a non-skin or eye irritant	EPA Safer Choice Cradle to Cradle Certified™ Leaping Bunny (cruelty-free)

Branch Basics

Ingredients:

Branch Basics Concentrate is their all-purpose cleaner and it is made from:

• Purified Water
• Decyl Glucoside – a surfactant naturally derived from coconut and/or corn, free of impurities like ethylene oxide and 1,4-dioxane.
• Organic Chamomile Flower Extract – organic flower extract with Allergen (IFRA) Certifications, which certifies it is non-allergenic and is not a fragrance.
• Coco-Glucoside – a surfactant naturally derived from coconut, free of impurities like ethylene oxide and 1,4-dioxane.
• Sodium Citrate – a plant-derived, biodegradable sodium salt that acts as a water softener.
• Sodium Bicarbonate – baking soda.
• Sodium Phytate – a natural chelator used as a preservative.

It’s 100% bio-based and biodegradable.

EWG Rating of A.

Sniff Test:

Branch Basics Concentrate has a soapy smell, it reminds me of most natural brands of laundry soap. It does not have a fragrance component but it is not odorless.

Where You Can Use It:

Branch Basics all-purpose Concentrate can be used in different concentrations on surfaces in the kitchen and bathroom, to wash dishes, wash clothes, clean carpeting, wash most types of floors, wash hands (and even as a body wash), to clean stainless steel, clean glass and mirrors, and more.

This covers everything in the house (and if you like you can add their Oxygen Boost to laundry).

Cost:

It’s about $4.89 when you dilute 33 ounces of All Purpose Cleaner (not including buying the bottle). About 0.15 cents per ounce. (Based on the price of $55 per bottle from Green Design Center)

It’s about $11.41 when you dilute 35 ounces of Bathroom Cleaner (not including buying the bottle). (Based on the price of $55 per bottle from Green Design Center).

• All-Purpose Bottle (1 part concentrate: 11 parts water) – Everyday cleaning including countertops, dishes, and stains.
• Bathroom Bottle (1 part concentrate: 5 parts water) – Tackles tiles, toilets, grout, sinks, and showers.
• Streak-Free Bottle (1 drop concentrate: 24 oz distilled water) – For mirrors, windows, and glass.
• Foaming Wash Bottle (1 part concentrate: 4 parts water) – For handwashing, dishes, pets, and bubble bath.
• Laundry Bottle (1 part concentrate: 2 parts water – use one tablespoon per load) – Works for standard and HE washing machines.

You can buy their plastic or glass bottles.

Effectiveness:

The all-purpose dilution is fairly light, it took a few passes to clean up sticky food residue but it’s overall a good multi-purpose cleaner.

One large drop of coconut oil, plus one large drop of castor oil, plus one capsule of vitamin E cleaned up easily with 3 sprays and just a few passes.

Minimal effect on sticker residue.

Cleaned up dried toothpaste scum easily.

The bathroom concentration has more cleaning power.

Other Product Lines:

Laundry Oxygen Boost and Wool Dryer Balls complement the Concentrate laundry soap to add whitening and anti-static.

The ingredients in the laundry boost are simply Sodium Percarbonate and Sodium Bicarbonate.

While the Concentrate can be used as a foaming hand soap they also have a gel hand soap.

PS. You can also buy it from Green Design Center.

Blueland

Ingredients:

• Citric Acid – Naturally derived, cuts through grease and grime
• Sodium Carbonate – Naturally derived
• Sodium Benzoate – Synthetic preservative that they say is identical to naturally derived ingredients (B rating on EWG)
• Sodium Gluconate -Naturally derived salt (B rating on EWG)
• Potassium Sorbate – Synthetic preservative that they say is identical to naturally derived ingredients (C rating on EWG)
• Sodium Lauryl Sulfate – Naturally derived surfactant (C rating on EWG)
• Sodium Coco-Sulfate – Naturally derived surfactant (C rating on EWG)
• Monosodium Citrate – Naturally derived
• Hydrated Dextrates – Naturally derived, non-specific ingredient
• Fragrance – Natural/synthetic blend developed without many known allergens and without any Prop 65 ingredients. Synthetic fragrances generally have a C rating on EWG but the specific ingredients are not listed here to be able to check them.
• Hydrated Silica – Naturally derived, C rating on EWG
• Sorbitan Caprylate – Naturally derived surfactant, C rating on EWG
• Yellow Colorant – Synthetic dye which is biodegradable, though they don’t actually list the chemical name.

Sniff Test

The lemon scent is not super strong. Overall I would say it has a medicinal or industrial cleaner type of smell to it.

Where You Can Use It

The Multi-Surface Cleaner is for use on counters, sealed wood & sealed stone (e.g., sealed marble, granite, quartz, travertine, terrazzo).

Not indicated for floors, strangely, even though floors are generally either sealed wood or a plastic-based flooring material (laminate, LVP, etc.).

Cost

If you get the 8 tablet option, no subscribe discount, it comes to 0.10 cents per ounce from their website with similar or the same prices on Amazon.

Effectiveness

One large drop of coconut oil, plus one large drop of castor oil, plus one capsule of vitamin E did not clean up easily. An oily residue was left and I had to use another cleaner to get rid of that.

It can clean up light sticky messes just fine.

It cleaned up toothpaste scum pretty easily.

Minimal effect on sticker residue.

Other Product Lines

They also make many other products that come in tablet forms, which for me is the main selling point.

They make hand soap, laundry soap, toilet bowl cleaner, dishwasher tablets, bathroom cleaner, glass and mirror cleaner, and even body and face soap that come in powder form.

They don’t make a floor cleaner which is odd.

Their Dishwasher Detergent, Laundry Detergent and Dish Soap are EWG Verified.

Corinne Segura is an InterNACHI-certified Healthy Homes Inspector with certifications in Building Biology, Healthier Materials and Sustainable Buildings, and more. She has 10 years of experience helping others create healthy homes. You can book a consult here.