Seven cans, compared on pedal durability, lid behavior and bag fit. The top pick is the simplehuman 45L rectangular step can, and the reason is the liner pocket.
Lid & Liner is reader-supported. If you buy through a link on this page we may earn a commission at no extra cost to you. It never changes which product we rank first — how we pick and how we make money.
02
The short answer
Buy the simplehuman 45L Rectangular Step Can if bag fit and lid noise are what bother you, and the Kohler 13-Gallon Stainless Steel Step Can if you want the same feel on ordinary supermarket bags. Everything else here is a specific case.
#
Product
Best for
Price
01
simplehuman 45L Rectangular Step Can with Liner PocketThe kitchen can that solves bag fit properly, with a pedal rated for 150,000 steps and a liner pocket that ends the hunt for the box under the sink.
Kohler 13-Gallon Stainless Steel Step Trash Can (K-20940)The premium-feeling stainless can that does not lock you into proprietary liners — it is built around the standard 13-gallon bag.
EKO Madison 13.2 Gallon Step Trash CanThe stainless step can that competes on the one spec that actually predicts lifespan — pedal cycles — without the premium-brand markup.
iTouchless 13 Gallon SensorCan with AbsorbX Odor FilterThe touchless can that ships with a carbon filter in the lid and takes ordinary 13-gallon bags, at a fraction of the premium price.
simplehuman 60L Semi-Round Step Can with Liner RimA flat-backed can that takes the wall line seriously — the rounded front keeps a genuinely wide opening without pushing into the walkway.
The ranking above is not a quality league table — it is ordered by how many households the can suits. A dual-compartment recycler is a better product than a plain step can for anyone who sorts, and a touchless can is the right answer if your hands are usually wet. What the order says is: if you have not thought hard about it, start at the top.
03
How we picked
We do not run a product-testing lab and we have not bought and side-by-side tested these cans. What we did was pull every manufacturer specification sheet in the category, compare the figures brands are willing to publish, read what long-term owners consistently report, and note where a manufacturer declines to state something. Our full methodology is here, and how the site is funded is here.
The criteria, applied consistently: pedal or opening mechanism and its published cycle rating; whether the lid is damped; how the bag is retained and how badly it overhangs; capacity honesty (stated versus usable); material and finish durability; warranty; and cost per year over an expected life rather than sticker price.
One thing we deliberately did not weigh: star ratings and review counts. They are gameable, they are not comparable across retailers, and quoting them would imply we had verified them. Every product here is one we confirmed is currently sold, from the brand's own product page or a live retailer listing.
04
The picks in full
01 — Best overall
simplehuman 45L Rectangular Step Can with Liner Pocket
The kitchen can that solves bag fit properly, with a pedal rated for 150,000 steps and a liner pocket that ends the hunt for the box under the sink.
Capacity
45 liters / 11.9 gallons
Liner code
Code Q
Pedal rating
150,000 steps (manufacturer figure)
Lid
Soft-close, damped (Lid Shox)
Body
Brushed stainless steel or dent-proof plastic
Inner bucket
None — liner pocket instead, so more usable volume
Two things separate this from everything at half the price. The first is the liner pocket: a slot inside the can that stores the roll and dispenses the next bag as you pull the full one out. The second is that simplehuman publishes a code letter for each can and sells a liner cut to that exact size, so the bag sits flush instead of hanging four inches over the rim. The steel pedal is rated at 150,000 steps and the Lid Shox damper closes it slowly and silently rather than letting it clap shut.
What we'd flag: the custom-fit liners are the point, and they cost meaningfully more per bag than a supermarket box. A generic 13-gallon bag physically works but undoes the tidiest thing about the can. Budget for the liners or buy something else.
Kohler 13-Gallon Stainless Steel Step Trash Can (K-20940)
The premium-feeling stainless can that does not lock you into proprietary liners — it is built around the standard 13-gallon bag.
Capacity
13 gallons
Bag compatibility
Standard 13-gallon bags
Lid
Slow-close, stay-open
Pedal
Metal
Bag retention
Interior ring
Finish
Fingerprint-resistant stainless steel
Kohler states this fits all 13-gallon garbage bags, and that is the whole argument for it over the simplehuman. You get a robust metal pedal, a slow-close lid that also stays open when you need both hands, an interior ring that holds the bag by the rim, and a fingerprint-resistant finish — without a liner subscription. For most households that is the right trade.
What we'd flag: a standard 13-gallon bag in a 13-gallon can still overhangs, because bag sizing is nominal rather than dimensional. The interior ring hides it, but the bag is still bigger than the can.
A touch-open bin with a ten-year guarantee and a removable inner bucket, built to sit flat against a wall.
Capacity
36 liters / 9.5 gallons
Guarantee
10 years (manufacturer)
Opening
Soft-touch lid panel
Inner bucket
Removable plastic
Feet
Adjustable, non-slip
Lid
Large opening, stays open
Brabantia guarantees the Bo for ten years, the longest published guarantee in the mainstream category, and that tells you something about how they expect the mechanism to age. There is no pedal at all — you press the lid panel — so there is no linkage to wear out. Adjustable non-skid legs let you level it on an uneven floor, and the inner bucket lifts straight out.
What we'd flag: no pedal means no hands-free opening. If your hands are usually full or greasy when you go to the bin, a touch lid is a step backwards from a pedal, whatever the guarantee says.
The stainless step can that competes on the one spec that actually predicts lifespan — pedal cycles — without the premium-brand markup.
Capacity
13.2 gallons / 50 liters
Pedal rating
200,000+ steps (manufacturer figure)
Lid
Soft-close
Inner bucket
Raised, with handles
Bag compatibility
Standard 13-gallon bags
EKO states the pedal mechanism is tested past 200,000 steps, a higher published figure than several cans costing more. You also get a soft-close lid and a raised inner bucket with handles, so bag changes do not involve reaching down into the body of the can. It takes standard 13-gallon bags.
What we'd flag: EKO's published warranty and parts support are thinner than Kohler's or Brabantia's. If the pedal linkage does fail, replacement is less straightforward than with brands that stock spares.
The cleanest answer to trash-plus-recycling in one unit: two compartments behind a single lid and a single pedal.
Total capacity
58 liters / 15.3 gallons
Compartments
Two, behind a single lid
Lid
Soft-close, damped
Most dual-compartment cans make you choose which side to open. This one opens both at once, which sounds trivial until you are holding a rinsed can in one hand and a wrapper in the other. The split is asymmetric on some configurations, which is correct — most households generate more recycling than trash, not an even fifty-fifty.
What we'd flag: two compartments means two liners, and the compartments take different liner codes. Read the code letters molded inside before you order bags, or you will buy the wrong size twice.
iTouchless 13 Gallon SensorCan with AbsorbX Odor Filter
The touchless can that ships with a carbon filter in the lid and takes ordinary 13-gallon bags, at a fraction of the premium price.
Capacity
13 gallons / 50 liters
Dimensions
12.7" L x 10.7" W x 27.3" H (35.7" with the lid open)
Power
4 x D batteries, or an optional AC adapter
Odor control
AbsorbX natural activated carbon filter
Lid lock
Yes
Warranty
1 year
iTouchless builds an activated-carbon AbsorbX filter into the lid rather than selling it as an accessory, which is the right call — the lid is where the smell sits. A 12-inch opening takes a standard 13-gallon bag, there is a lid lock to keep pets and children out, and the base is non-skid. It runs on four D cells, or an AC adapter sold separately.
What we'd flag: the warranty is one year, against ten on the Brabantia. That is a short warranty for a product with electronics in it.
simplehuman 60L Semi-Round Step Can with Liner Rim
A flat-backed can that takes the wall line seriously — the rounded front keeps a genuinely wide opening without pushing into the walkway.
Capacity
60 liters / 15.8 gallons
Back
Flat — designed to sit flush against a wall
Bag retention
Liner rim, not an inner bucket
Lid
Soft-close, damped
The semi-round shape is the most underrated in the category. A flat back means the can sits against the wall instead of two inches off it, and the curved front keeps the throat wide enough that a cereal box goes in without folding. The liner rim holds the bag by the lip rather than using an inner bucket, which is one fewer thing to wash.
What we'd flag: the liner rim only really works with simplehuman's own code liners. A generic bag sits on it, but loosely, and will slip down the inside over a day or two.
A kitchen can gets opened ten to thirty times a day. Over five years that is tens of thousands of cycles, all carried by the pedal linkage. Cheap cans use a molded plastic lever on a plastic pin and that pin is what snaps, usually in the second year. Steel pedals on steel linkages last, and the brands confident in them publish a number: simplehuman states 150,000 steps, EKO states over 200,000. Treat those as manufacturer figures rather than independent results — but a brand willing to print one expects the part to survive.
Lid noise is why cans get replaced early
An undamped lid falls shut with a crack. In an open-plan kitchen, or a galley kitchen under a bedroom, that noise is a daily irritation and it is the reason plenty of working cans get thrown out. A damped lid is a real mechanical part and it costs real money. If you are choosing between two cans and only one is damped, that is the more important difference than the finish.
Bag fit is the problem nobody solves for you
A "13 gallon" can and a "13 gallon" bag are not dimensioned to each other. Both figures are nominal volumes, and bags are cut deliberately oversized so one size fits many cans — which is exactly why yours hangs over the rim and slides down the inside by evening. Cans solve this three ways: a retaining ring that grips the bag by the rim, a liner rim that holds the fold, or a proprietary liner cut to that specific can. Here is what actually fits what, and here is why it happens at all.
Size to your emptying habit, not to your household
Thirteen gallons is the American default, and most people pick it without thinking. The better question is how often you want to empty it. Odor is a function of time and temperature rather than volume, so a smaller can emptied daily smells dramatically less than a larger one emptied every third day. If you compost, the wet fraction has already left and your main can gets smaller again. Check the size chart before you commit.
Measure the lid swing, not just the floor
A step can needs roughly a foot of clear air above it. Measure from the floor to whatever is above the spot — a counter lip, a windowsill, an overhanging shelf — before you buy. If the clearance is not there, a butterfly lid that folds rather than swings is the fix, and if there is no floor at all, look at pull-out and slim cans.
06
Who each pick is genuinely for
If this is you
Buy
Why
Your bag never fits and the lid is loud
simplehuman 45L Rectangular Step Can
Liner pocket, code-sized liners, damped lid
You want that quality on supermarket bags
Kohler 13-Gallon Step Can
Built around a standard 13-gallon bag, no liner subscription
Your last two cans broke at the pedal
Brabantia Bo Touch Bin 36 L
No pedal linkage at all, ten-year guarantee
You want stainless for as little as possible
EKO Madison 13.2 Gallon
Highest published pedal rating at a mid price
You sort recycling in the kitchen
simplehuman 58L Step Recycler
Two compartments, one pedal, one wall footprint
Your hands are usually wet or raw
iTouchless 13 Gallon SensorCan
Hands-free with a carbon filter built into the lid
The can has to sit flush against a wall
simplehuman 60L Semi-Round Step Can
Flat back, wide throat, biggest capacity here
If none of those describe you, the honest answer is that your current can is probably fine. The cans on this page fix specific, nameable problems; they do not make taking the trash out pleasant.
07
Common questions
What is the best kitchen trash can overall?
The simplehuman 45L Rectangular Step Can, because it addresses the two things people actually complain about — bag fit and lid noise — rather than the finish. If the proprietary liners put you off, the Kohler 13-gallon step can is the same idea on standard bags.
Are expensive kitchen trash cans worth the money?
The premium buys a steel pedal linkage, a damped lid and a liner system. If your can is loud or its pedal has broken, you are paying to fix exactly that. If your can works and you just want it to look better, it is a much weaker case. The arithmetic in full.
What size kitchen trash can should I buy?
Thirteen gallons (about 50 liters) suits most two-to-four-person households emptying every couple of days. Go smaller if you compost or recycle heavily, since the remaining waste is mostly dry packaging. Only go to 15-16 gallons if you genuinely empty a 13 daily.
Stainless steel or plastic?
Steel dents and holds fingerprints; plastic scuffs and eventually discolors. Over many years plastic absorbs odor compounds slightly and steel does not, but in the first year the difference is negligible. Pick on where the can lives — a plastic body survives being knocked over, a steel one survives being kicked.
Do I need a can with a carbon filter?
Only after you have washed the can and moved food scraps out of it. A filter works on the air in the lid headspace, which is the right place, but it cannot out-work residue at the bottom. Filters explained.
Which kitchen trash can is best for pets?
One with a mechanical lid lock rather than a heavy lid — a dog defeats a can by nosing the lid until it lifts, and a slide lock removes that possibility. The simplehuman 50L semi-round step can with a slide lock is built for exactly this.
08
Sources
Every specification on this page traces to one of these, checked at the time of writing. Where a manufacturer does not publish a figure, the page says so rather than estimating it.
Owner and editor of Lid & Liner, published by Magoo Media Group. He started the site after getting tired of the same problem everyone has: every “best trash can” article covers ten products and none of them tells you whether a 13-gallon bag actually fits a 13-gallon can. Lid & Liner covers one category and tries to cover it completely.
Last reviewed September 27, 2026. Spotted an error? Tell us and we will correct it and note the correction.
