The best kitchen trash cans under $50

Buy the Sterilite 11.9 Gallon StepOn if the can just needs to work - Sterilite only sells it as a four-pack, which is why the sticker looks high and the per-can cost is the lowest here. Buy the Glad 13 Gallon Plastic Step Can if you want one can, today, with bag rings and a pedal. Everything else here is a specific case.

#	Product	Best for	Price
01	Sterilite 11.9 Gallon Large StepOn Wastebasket (4-Pack)The plain plastic step can that does the job: a pedal, a hinged lid, and room for an ordinary 13-gallon bag.	Best cheapest step can	$67.50 · View on Amazon Price as of November 14, 2026.  #ad How we make money
02	Glad 13 Gallon Plastic Step Trash Can with Clorox Odor ProtectionThe same lid treatment and bag rings in a plastic body, for the rooms where a fingerprint-resistant finish is not worth paying for.	Best cheap Glad	$37.97 · View on Amazon Price as of November 14, 2026.  #ad How we make money
03	Hefty 12 Gallon Step Trash Can with Lockable LidA plastic 12-gallon step can whose lid actually locks to the body — the cheapest honest answer to a dog or a toddler in the trash.	Best cheap locking can	$47.02 · View on Amazon Price as of November 14, 2026.  #ad How we make money
04	Umbra Vento Open Top Kitchen Trash Can, 16.5 GallonA 16.5-gallon open-top bin for a utility room, workshop or garage, where volume beats containment.	Best large open can	$50.00 · View on Amazon Price as of November 14, 2026.  #ad How we make money

We have not lived with all four. What we did was identify which features survive at this price and which do not, then rank the cans on how much of the surviving list each one delivers. Methodology, disclosure.

Under fifty dollars you can reliably get: a foot pedal, a hinged lid, a body that takes a standard 13-gallon liner, and sometimes a lock or a soft-close damper. You cannot get: a published pedal cycle rating, a fitted liner system, a liner pocket, or a stated warranty worth reading. Knowing which side of that line a feature sits on is most of the decision.

We ignored star ratings and review counts entirely — they are not comparable across retailers and quoting them would imply we had verified them. Every can here is one we confirmed is currently sold.

A pedal, but not a rated one

Budget cans use a molded plastic lever on a plastic pin, and the pin is what snaps — usually in the second year, usually without warning. Premium cans publish a cycle rating precisely because they expect the part to survive; nothing at this price publishes one. Treat a sub-$50 can as a three-to-five year purchase and price it accordingly.

A damped lid, if you are lucky

This is the one feature worth stretching the budget for. An undamped lid closes with a crack, and in an open-plan kitchen or a galley under a bedroom that noise is why working cans get replaced. A soft-close damper is a real mechanical part, and the cheapest cans that have it are the ones sitting right at the top of this bracket.

Standard bags, which is a real advantage

Nothing at this price uses proprietary liners, and that is a point in its favor. A $200 can with a liner subscription has a running cost; a $30 can takes whatever is on offer at the supermarket. Over five years that difference is not trivial. Fitted liners versus standard bags.

Plastic, and that is mostly fine

Plastic scuffs and eventually discolors; steel dents and holds fingerprints. Neither is obviously better and the honest difference in year one is negligible. What plastic genuinely gives you is survival — a knocked-over plastic can is fine, a knocked-over steel one has a permanent dent.

If what you actually want is the best can your money can buy rather than the cheapest that works, that is a different question and we answered it separately: the best kitchen trash cans for the money. And if you want the cheapest end of this field mapped brand by brand, the best Sterilite trash cans, size by size covers the plainest range in the category and which liner each size takes.

Doubling the budget changes the list more than you would expect - the best kitchen trash cans under $100 is where stainless bodies and sensor lids start appearing. If you would rather stay cheap and buy well, the best plastic trash cans is the material-first version of this page.