16 Items You Should Only Buy at the Dollar Store

Dollar stores offer great deals on a wide variety of daily items, which can truly help you save more money shopping for the same items than you would at other retailers.

In fact, there are items you should always purchase at the dollar store rather than at other places, so keep your eyes peeled for the following items during your next trip. 

Dollar Tree, which also owns Family Dollar, built its reputation on a flat $1 price point before raising its base price to $1.25 in 2022 to offset rising freight and labor costs. 

Since then, the chain has rolled out higher-priced tiers on select items, so shoppers may notice some products marked at $1.50, $1.75, or more depending on the store and category. 

Even with those adjustments, most of the everyday items below still cost far less than their equivalents at grocery stores, pharmacies, or big-box retailers.

Editor's note: Prices and availability are subject to change and may vary by location.

Paper towels are a necessity, and your local dollar store may be the perfect place to save money shopping for them. Dollar Tree sells both name-brand and generic paper towels for significantly less.

For example, four rolls of Bounty Essentials Paper Towels cost just $9 at Dollar Tree. If you don't care about name brands, the store also sells two rolls of Sparkle-brand paper towels for only $4, or just $2 per roll.

Bounty Essentials is a value line from the Bounty brand, made to be more budget-friendly than the flagship Bounty rolls while still using the same two-ply, absorbent sheet construction the brand is known for. 

Buying the name-brand option can make sense for messier spills or when a paper towel needs to hold up to scrubbing, while the generic Sparkle option is a reasonable choice for lighter everyday cleanup like wiping counters or drying hands. 

Either way, buying paper towels at Dollar Tree instead of a traditional grocery store can mean a lower per-roll cost for a household staple that gets used up quickly.

Some people are understandably picky about their paper towels, choosing ones with high absorbency. However, you can't say the same about napkins.

After all, you are unlikely to clean your home with thin paper, and you shouldn't spend more than two dollars per set.

Family Dollar sells a set of 150 one-ply napkins for only $1.50, compared to Target's 250-count paper napkins for $4.29. Even if you want something a bit more formal, Dollar Tree sells a set of 30 two-ply black beverage napkins for just $1.25.

One-ply napkins like Family Dollar's are best suited for casual, everyday meals where the goal is simply catching crumbs or a quick wipe, while two-ply options like Dollar Tree's beverage napkins hold up a little better for drinks or slightly messier finger foods at a party. 

Cleaning supplies can be unnecessarily expensive at many stores. Luckily, dollar stores offer these items at a major discount, and often for the same quality.

Sponges are meant to be used and tossed quickly, so don't waste money on pricey options. You can get a set of six Scrub Buddies sponges from Dollar Tree and Fabuloso cleaner for just $1.25 each at Dollar Tree.

Fabuloso is a widely recognized multipurpose cleaner brand available in several scents, and finding it at a dollar store price point means shoppers don't have to switch to an unfamiliar off-brand cleaner just to save money. 

Because sponges wear out and cleaners get used up regardless of price, buying cleaning supplies at the dollar store frees up more room in your budget for other purchases.

Hand soap is cheap at your local dollar store. Even those who need gentler scents or blends for sensitive skin can find something more affordable there.

For example, Home Depot sells a bottle of Softsoap brand hand soap for $2.98. The same product, in the same volume and scent, costs just $1.50 at Family Dollar.

Don't toss that bottle when it's empty, either — Dollar Tree sells a 32-ounce bottle of refill hand soap for just $1.25, which can replenish a 7.5-ounce container more than four times.

Softsoap is one of the most established hand soap brands on the market, so finding the identical bottle for roughly half the price at Family Dollar is a straightforward way to cut a recurring household cost without switching products.

The cost of plates, bowls, and glasses can add up quickly, even for just a couple of items. Not at your local dollar store, though. 

Dollar stores offer a decent selection of affordable, high-quality dishes and glasses. Dollar Tree even sells full sets that include dinner and salad plates, bowls, mugs, chargers, wine glasses, tall glasses, and placemats in various designs. 

One 16-ounce glass costs $1.25, and a standard dinner plate costs the same.

Because dollar-store dishware is priced so low per piece, it can be a practical way to build a full set for a first apartment, a college dorm, or a vacation rental without a high upfront cost. 

It's also a low-risk way to add extra glasses or plates for hosting a larger gathering, since breaking or misplacing a piece from a dollar store set is far less costly than damaging pieces from a pricier department store collection

You can never have enough plastic bags, especially if you have children who take their lunch to school or for other activities.

Dollar Tree sells a set of 150 storage sandwich bags for $1.50, or about 1 cent per bag.

Sandwich and storage bags are a recurring household purchase that most families go through quickly, whether for packing school lunches, portioning leftovers, or organizing small items around the house. 

At around a penny per bag, buying in bulk from Dollar Tree brings the per-unit cost down well below what similarly sized boxes typically run at a traditional grocery store. 

Keeping a stocked supply on hand also means one less thing to remember on a regular grocery run, since a $1.50 box can last a household several weeks depending on how often bags are used.

Don't pay more than you have to for party decorations and supplies. Balloons, banners, disposable utensils, plates, and cups can add up fast. Give your wallet a break and source these items at a dollar store instead.

Table covers, cutlery, plastic cups, paper plates, and napkins cost $1 to $2 at Family Dollar. You can also pick up party favors, goodie bags, and decorations in that price range.

Party supplies are a category where dollar stores tend to offer some of the steepest savings, since items like disposable plates, cups, and plastic cutlery are used once and thrown away regardless of how much they cost. 

Buying a full set of matching decorations for a birthday or holiday gathering at a dollar store can significantly lower hosting costs compared with buying the same categories of items from a specialty party supply retailer. 

Since these products don't need to hold up over multiple uses the way reusable dishware does, there's little downside to choosing the cheaper option.

If you want to send someone birthday greetings, well-wishes, or congratulations, don't spend more than a dollar or so on greeting cards.

A greeting card from Hallmark can cost anywhere between $3 to $6, and even more for pop-up cards or similarly intricate designs. While they're a wonderful gesture, you don't need to spend that much on a piece of decorated cardstock.

Dollar Tree has a two-cards-for-$1 deal on some cards, with other standard options costing just $1 .25 each. And the best part? Many are Hallmark brands, so you get nearly identical quality for a fraction of the cost.

For someone who regularly buys cards for birthdays, holidays, and other occasions throughout the year, the savings from buying at a dollar store instead of a specialty retailer can add up across dozens of purchases annually.

School and office supplies are something that many of us regularly buy. That can quickly get expensive, especially when you shop at office supply stores.

Dollar stores can offer these items for much less. Dollar Tree sells a set of 10 multicolor ballpoint pens for $1.25, while a Paper Mate set of eight ballpoint pens costs $4.49 at Target.

Basic ballpoint pens generally perform similarly whether they're a store brand or a recognized name like Paper Mate, since the core mechanism, a rolling ball tip that dispenses oil-based ink, hasn't changed much across manufacturers. 

Stocking up on cheap pens at the dollar store makes particular sense for households with school-age children, since pens tend to get lost, borrowed, or run dry throughout a school year. 

The same logic applies to other basic supplies like notebooks, folders, and pencils, which dollar stores typically stock heavily during back-to-school season.

Drugstore medicines are another item to buy at dollar stores as opposed to pharmacies or big-box stores.

There are regulations that ensure generic and name-brand medicines share the same active ingredients, so you'll get the same benefits for a fraction of the price. Plus, some dollar stores carry name brands.

The Food and Drug Administration requires generic over-the-counter medications to contain the same active ingredients, strength, dosage form, and route of administration as their brand-name counterparts, and generic manufacturers must demonstrate bioequivalence before selling a product. 

That means a generic pain reliever or allergy medicine from a dollar store works the same way in the body as a name-brand version bought at a pharmacy, even though the inactive ingredients, packaging, or pill color may differ. 

Because of this regulatory standard, choosing the cheaper generic option for common over-the-counter needs is generally considered a low-risk way to save money.

If you need coffee filters, you can find paper liners at a much lower price at your local dollar store.

Dollar Tree sells a 100-count pack of simple white coffee filters for $1.25.

Basic white coffee filters are made from the same thin, porous paper regardless of brand, so there's little functional difference between a dollar store pack and a pricier grocery store version as long as the filter size matches the coffee maker. 

Coffee filters typically come in either basket style, which is flat-bottomed for drip machines, or cone style, so it's worth checking a machine's manual or the filter's shape before buying a large pack. 

Since filters are used once and thrown away with every pot of coffee, this is another category where the cheapest reliable option makes the most financial sense.

Dollar stores occasionally sell clothing and one of the best items to look for there is a pair of flip-flops. If you've visited one of these bargain stores in the summer, you've likely seen huge bins of flip-flops at incredibly cheap prices.

While they aren't the highest-quality shoe on the market, inexpensive flip-flops like these are perfect for beach trips, a quick slip-on shoe, shower shoes in a dorm room or gym, and more.

Because they're inexpensive enough to be treated as disposable, they're a practical choice for situations where a shoe might get lost, damaged, or left behind, such as a communal shower, a pool deck, or a beach trip where sand and saltwater can wreck a pricier pair. 

Buying a couple of backup pairs for these situations at a dollar store price is far more economical than replacing a pair of name-brand sandals.

Buying artwork or printing photographs is expensive enough, but you need to pay even more for a frame. Fortunately, you can find frames at dollar stores like Dollar Tree for much less.

Dollar Tree offers a variety of frame shapes and sizes, as well as numerous designs—some simple and classic, others flashier and more decorative. A basic 5x7-inch black frame costs only $1.25 at the discount retailer.

Most budget picture frames, including those sold at Dollar Tree, use lightweight plastic or composite material rather than solid wood or metal, which keeps manufacturing costs low and makes them better suited to lighter photo prints than heavy artwork. 

Because frames come in such a wide range of sizes and finishes at this price point, buying several at once makes it affordable to create a full gallery wall or display multiple family photos without costs climbing the way they would at a specialty frame shop or home decor retailer.

Dollar stores tend to stock up on a lot of food. If you love snacks and candy, you can find them for a good price.

For example, a 5.5-ounce canister of Lay's Stax chips costs $1.25 at Dollar Tree. The same brand, size, and flavor is $2 at Walmart.

Lay's Stax are uniformly shaped, stackable potato chips sold in a resealable canister, similar in format to other stackable chip brands on the market. 

Finding the identical product for roughly 38% less at Dollar Tree compared with Walmart shows that dollar stores don't only compete on off-brand or generic snacks; they can also beat big-box retailers on national name-brand items. 

Checking the dollar store snack aisle before a grocery run can be worthwhile for households that regularly buy packaged snacks, since the savings on name-brand items can be just as significant as on generic ones.

On certain plant supplies, you won't find a better deal than at the dollar store.

For example, you can find a planter for just $1.50 at Dollar Tree. The cheapest we found at Target was $3.

Basic plastic planters like the ones sold at Dollar Tree are typically lightweight and come without pre-installed drainage holes, so it's worth drilling or poking a hole in the bottom before use to prevent water from pooling around a plant's roots. 

Beyond planters, dollar stores commonly stock other plant basics like small garden tools, plant food, and seed packets at similarly reduced prices, making them a good first stop for anyone starting a small indoor or outdoor garden without wanting to invest heavily upfront.

Decorating for the season or an upcoming holiday is always exciting — until you check your credit card statement. But you can keep more money in your wallet and still get into a festive mood when you shop at the dollar store.

For example, during the Halloween season, you could have picked up a garland of decorative skeletons for just $1.25 at Dollar Tree.

Seasonal decor is one of the categories where dollar stores rotate inventory most frequently, stocking up heavily in the weeks leading into a holiday and then clearing out remaining stock shortly after, so shopping early in the season usually offers the best selection. 

Because holiday decorations are often used for just a few weeks a year before being packed away, spending a dollar or two per item rather than investing in pricier decor from a specialty retailer can make sense for households that like to switch up their theme each year.

Budgeting can be tough in a time of surging inflation, and discount dollar stores can help make your money go a long way.

To keep more cash in your pocket, consider paying with one of the top cash back credit cards that can help you earn cash back or other perks.

Remember, the time spent adding a Dollar Tree or other bargain retailer to your grocery run will quickly add up to more savings.

Since Dollar Tree also operates Family Dollar, shoppers in areas without a nearby Dollar Tree may still have access to similar deals through a Family Dollar location. Comparing per-unit prices, rather than just the sticker price, is especially useful now that Dollar Tree sells items at multiple price points instead of a single flat rate. 

Building a habit of checking the dollar store first for household basics, party supplies, and seasonal items before heading to a grocery store or big-box retailer can make a meaningful dent in a monthly budget over time.