Sizes & Bags

13 vs 20 gallon trash cans

Thirteen gallons is the size the American bag aisle is built around. Twenty is the size people reach for when thirteen keeps filling up, and it has a cost nobody mentions at the point of sale.

By Ryder M. · Last reviewed October 4, 2026

Person dropping a tin can into a kitchen bin

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.

The verdict, first

Stay at 13 gallons unless your can is genuinely full every single day, because 13 is the only size the bag aisle really supports and that is worth more than three extra gallons. Go to 20 if you have a large household that does not sort much, a kitchen that generates packaging faster than food waste, or a utility room where the can is emptied weekly — and budget for buying bags online rather than at the supermarket.

#	Product	Best for	Price
01	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.	Best value stainless	$160.99 · View on Amazon Price as of October 16, 2026. #ad How we make money
02	Ninestars 21 Gallon XL Automatic Touchless Trash Can (80 L)The biggest sensor can most households will consider: 80 liters, a wide opening, and a manual mode that locks the lid open.	Best XL sensor can	$89.99 · View on Amazon $99.99 · 10% off · Price as of October 16, 2026. #ad How we make money
03	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.	Best large capacity	$149.98 · View on Amazon Price as of October 16, 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 October 16, 2026. #ad How we make money

One thing to know before you shop: true 20-gallon kitchen cans are rarer than the search term suggests. The real market steps from 13 gallons to about 15 or 16, and then jumps to 21. If you want a genuine 20, you are usually choosing between a 21-gallon sensor can and an open-top utility bin.

The two sizes side by side

	13 gallon (about 50 L)	20 gallon (about 76 L)
Suits	2-4 people who sort	4+ people, or heavy packaging
Typical footprint	About 14-17" wide	About 17-21" wide
Bag	Standard tall kitchen bag, everywhere	20-30 gal bag, fewer stockists
Bag cost per gallon	Lowest in the category	Higher, and less often discounted
Realistic empty interval	Every 2-3 days	Every 4-5 days
Smell risk	Moderate	Higher - waste sits longer
Weight when full	Liftable	Heavy if it is wet waste
Model choice	Enormous	Thin, and mostly sensor cans

Both gallon figures are nominal rather than dimensional, which is why a nominally matching bag still overhangs the rim on either size.

Why 13 gallons is hard to beat

Not because it is the right volume for every kitchen, but because the entire American bag industry standardized on it. The tall kitchen bag is a 13-gallon product. Every supermarket stocks it, it is the size that goes on promotion, and can manufacturers build to it because a can that does not take the common bag does not sell.

Step up to 20 and you leave that ecosystem. The next commonly stocked size is a 20-30 gallon trash bag, which is a thicker, more expensive product aimed at outdoor cans, and in a 20-gallon kitchen can it will overhang generously. You will probably end up buying bags by the case online, which is fine — as long as you knew. The full trash bag size ladder.

The second reason is the one people discover later: a bigger can does not get emptied more conveniently, it gets emptied less often. Odor is a function of how long waste sits and how warm it is rather than of volume, so the same kitchen waste in a 20-gallon can emptied twice a week smells worse than in a 13 emptied every other day. Why a smaller can often smells less.

When 20 gallons is the right answer

Your household generates packaging, not food waste

Volume and smell are different problems. Boxes, wrappers and bottles fill a can quickly and do not rot. If that is most of what goes in yours, the bigger can is genuinely the better buy and the odor argument against it mostly evaporates.

The can is not in the kitchen

In a utility room, a garage or a basement, nobody is looking at the can and nobody minds walking further to it. Those are exactly the rooms where capacity beats convenience. Garage cans, ranked.

You are feeding a lot of people

A household of five or six that cooks every night fills a 13 by dinner time, and a can that is full before the day ends is a can with a bag sitting beside it. That is the real failure mode, and it is worse than any amount of bag inconvenience. The large-family roundup.

What the numbers actually are

Nominal size	Liters	Quarts	Typical bag
13 gallon	49.2 L	52 qt	13 gal tall kitchen
15 gallon	56.8 L	60 qt	13 gal, stretched
16 gallon	60.6 L	64 qt	20-30 gal
20 gallon	75.7 L	80 qt	20-30 gal
21 gallon	79.5 L	84 qt	20-30 gal

Conversions are exact arithmetic; the bag column is what actually fits in practice rather than what the label implies.

Those middle rows are the useful part. A 15 or 16-gallon can gives you most of the extra capacity while still taking a 13-gallon bag with a bit of stretch, which is why so many premium cans land at 55 to 60 liters. If 13 gallons is nearly enough, that is the move. The full size chart, and 13-gallon dimensions in detail. If you have already decided on the jump, the best 20 and 21 gallon trash cans is the short list that actually exists at that size.

Common questions

Should I get a 13 or 20 gallon trash can?

Thirteen, unless the can is genuinely full every day. Thirteen gallons is the only size the supermarket bag aisle is built around, and that convenience is worth more than three extra gallons for most households.

How many liters is a 20 gallon trash can?

About 75.7 liters. A 13-gallon can is about 49.2 liters, so the step up is roughly 50 percent more capacity.

What size bag fits a 20 gallon trash can?

A 20-30 gallon trash bag, which is a thicker outdoor-style bag rather than a tall kitchen bag. Expect generous overhang and expect to buy them by the case rather than at the supermarket.

Are 20 gallon kitchen trash cans common?

Less common than the search suggests. The market mostly steps from 13 gallons to 15 or 16, then jumps to 21. A genuine 20-gallon choice is usually a 21-gallon sensor can or an open-top utility bin.

Does a bigger trash can smell worse?

Usually, because it is emptied less often and odor is driven by how long waste sits rather than by volume. The exception is a household whose waste is mostly dry packaging.

Is a 20 gallon can too big for a kitchen?

For two to four people who recycle, yes - it will be emptied every four or five days and the last two of those are where the smell comes from. For a household of five or six that cooks daily, it is about right.

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.