Multifold vs C-Fold vs Hardwound Roll Towels: Cost Per Hand-Dry, Not Cost Per Case
The short answer: the cheapest case of hand towels is almost never the cheapest hand-dry. A C-fold case and a multifold case can sit at similar prices with 2,400 towels in one box and 4,000 in the other, and a hardwound roll case is counted in feet, not towels. The number that should drive the order is case price ÷ (units per case ÷ units used per dry), and every input but the last is printed on the manufacturer spec sheet. Here are the formats, the published counts, the dispensing behaviour that decides the last input, and a worked example to copy onto your own invoice.
If the alternative on the table is no towel at all, paper towels vs hand dryers runs the cost per dry and the payback for a dryer before you compare formats.
The four formats, from the spec sheets
Counts below are from the manufacturers’ own product pages (Kimberly-Clark Professional, GP PRO, Tork, Marcal) for representative SKUs.
| Format | How a case is counted | Representative published counts | Dispenser |
|---|---|---|---|
| Multifold (Z-fold) | Sheets | Scott Essential 01804: 250 sheets × 16 packs = 4,000 sheets, 9.2″ × 9.4″. Tork MB540A: 4,000, 9.5″ × 9.1″. Marcal Pro NP-MFN4000: 4,000. GP Pacific Blue Select 2-ply 21000: 125 × 16 = 2,000 | Universal folded-towel cabinet; also open trays |
| C-fold | Sheets | Scott Essential 01510: 200 × 12 = 2,400 sheets, 10.125″ × 13.15″. GP Pacific Blue Select 2-ply 23000: 120 × 12 = 1,440, 10.1″ × 12.7″ | Same universal folded-towel cabinet |
| Hardwound roll | Linear feet | Scott Essential 02000: 6 × 950′ = 5,700′, 8″ wide, 1.75″ core. Scott 01000: 12 × 1,000′ = 12,000′. GP Pacific Blue Basic 26601: 6 × 800′ = 4,800′. Tork RB8002: 6 × 800′. Marcal 88012-N: 12 × 800′, 2″ core | Lever, push-paddle, crank or sensor roll dispenser; universal or proprietary core |
| Center-pull | Perforated sheets | GP SofPull 28124: 324 sheets × 6 rolls = 1,944 sheets, 14.8″ × 7.8″ | Brand-matched center-pull dispenser |
Two things jump out. Within one format, case counts vary by 2× (a premium 2-ply multifold ships 2,000 to a case where the 1-ply ships 4,000), so “a case of multifold” is not a unit of anything. And rolls are sold by the foot, so they cannot be compared to folded towels until you decide how long a pull is.
Sheets per dry: the input the spec sheet cannot give you
Manufacturers publish dispensing behaviour, not a consumption figure. KC says its Scott multifold fits “any universal dispenser for tri-fold paper towels or multifold towels (which helps control over use)”. GP says Pacific Blue Select multifold in a Combi-Fold or universal cabinet enables “controlled, one-at-a-time dispensing”, and says the same of its SofPull center-pull and Pacific Blue Ultra roll dispensers. Tork claims its one-at-a-time multifold system cuts consumption “by up to 40% compared to traditional jumbo roll dispensers”, and notes that with C-fold users often touch multiple towels. GP’s enMotion roll system adds “the ability to adjust dispensed sheet length”.
None of that is a towels-per-person number, so treat sheets-per-dry as an explicit assumption with a range and run the math at both ends:
- Multifold in a cabinet: 1 to 2 sheets per dry. One is the design intent; two is what a busy restroom does.
- C-fold in a cabinet: 1 to 2 sheets per dry; the bigger sheet (about 130 sq in against 86 for multifold) makes one more plausible.
- Hardwound roll: one pull per dry, but you must pick a pull length. Use 11 inches as a working figure for lever and paddle dispensers and change it once you have watched your own.
- Center-pull: 1 sheet per dry; the sheet is already 14.8 inches long.
For a real number, count it: note what is loaded on Monday, count restroom visits, divide on Friday. Our restroom paper usage guide walks through the visit-count method.
The worked example
Case prices below are illustrative examples only; substitute the figures on your own quote. Counts are the manufacturer figures from the table above.
| Format (example SKU) | Units per case | Example case price | Cost per unit | Units per dry (assumed) | Cost per dry |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Multifold 1-ply, 4,000 sheets | 4,000 sheets | $32 | $0.0080 | 1 to 2 | $0.008 to $0.016 |
| C-fold 1-ply, 2,400 sheets | 2,400 sheets | $30 | $0.0125 | 1 to 2 | $0.0125 to $0.025 |
| Hardwound 6 × 800′ | 4,800′ = 57,600″ | $40 | $0.0076 per 11″ pull | 1 to 1.5 pulls | $0.0076 to $0.011 |
| Center-pull 6 × 324 | 1,944 sheets | $45 | $0.0231 | 1 | $0.023 |
That is the case-price trap. The C-fold case is the cheapest box on the invoice at $30 and the most expensive folded dry in the building, because it holds 40% fewer towels than the multifold case beside it. The roll case costs more per box and delivers the cheapest dry, because 4,800 feet is a lot of 11-inch pulls. Scale it: a restroom doing 300 dries a day is 9,000 dries a month. At the midpoint assumptions that is roughly $108 on multifold, $169 on C-fold, $86 on hardwound and $208 on center-pull for the same number of dry hands. Across ten restrooms the spread is over a thousand dollars a month, and none of it shows on the case price.
Where each format actually wins
Multifold fits any universal cabinet, gives the best sheet price of the folded formats in 4,000-count 1-ply cases, and can be stacked in a countertop tray where there is no dispenser. It wins in low-to-medium traffic restrooms and wherever you inherit old cabinets. Its weakness is the open stack: nothing physically stops a second sheet.
C-fold is the same cabinet with a bigger, looser sheet. It wins where users need a larger towel (kitchens, workshops, exam rooms). It loses on cost per dry in almost every restroom, so unless the sheet size is doing a job, switch the same cabinet to multifold.
Hardwound roll wins on cost per dry and on labour: a 950-foot roll needs refilling far less often than a 250-sheet pack, which is why KC pitches it as reducing “maintenance time, run-outs and complaints”. It needs a compatible dispenser, and the pull length is where the savings live or die. Right for high-traffic restrooms, schools, gyms and anywhere refills are a labour cost; a childcare classroom’s towel count is worked in our school and daycare supplies checklist.
Center-pull wins on placement: GP’s SofPull dispenser mounts horizontally or vertically in tight spaces, and the large one-at-a-time sheet suits wet areas, patient rooms and light clean-up. It is the highest cost per dry of the four, so use it where the format solves a problem the others cannot.
Dispenser lock-in and proprietary cores
The math only helps if you are free to buy the towel that wins it, and the dispenser on the wall decides that. Three tiers:
- Universal folded cabinets take any multifold or C-fold; KC says its multifold fits “any universal dispenser”. Maximum freedom.
- Universal hardwound dispensers take standard-core rolls, but check the core: Scott 02000 is 1.75″, Scott 01000 is 1.5″, Marcal 88012-N is 2″, Tork RB8002 is 1.9″. Confirm the fit before you switch brands.
- Proprietary systems lock the refill to the dispenser. KC’s Scott 02001 is the same 950-foot roll as the universal 02000 but is made “for Purple Core Dispensers”. GP’s SofPull refills “exclusively fit” the SofPull dispenser, and GP’s enMotion dispenser is “only available via one-time, lifetime lease agreement” with GP or an authorised distributor. Pacific Blue Ultra high-capacity rolls fit Pacific Blue Ultra dispensers. These systems control portion size well, which is the point; the trade is that you compare cost per dry inside one brand rather than across the market.
Before you accept a free proprietary dispenser, run its refill’s cost per dry against the universal roll you could otherwise buy. Sometimes the controlled portion wins anyway; sometimes it does not, and you are tied to one supplier. Browse our towel dispensers for both universal and system options.
How to run the calc on your own invoice
- For every towel line, write down the manufacturer count: sheets per pack × packs per case, or feet per roll × rolls per case. It is on the case label and the manufacturer product page.
- Divide case price by that count to get cost per sheet or per foot.
- Convert to cost per dry: multiply cost per sheet by your sheets-per-dry assumption (1 to 2), or multiply cost per foot by your pull length in feet (11″ is 0.92′) and by pulls per dry.
- Do it at both ends of the assumption range. If one format wins at both ends, the decision is made.
- Multiply by monthly dries to see the dollar spread, then check the dispenser on the wall takes the winner.
The supplies calculator turns restroom count and traffic into monthly cases, and the restroom cost-reduction guide covers the other levers once towels are sorted.
What we stock in each format
From our paper and tissue range, delivered Miami-Dade to Palm Beach: multifold in Scott Essential 1-ply and Pacific Blue Select 2-ply; Genuine Joe C-fold for cabinets that need it; hardwound in Scott Essential high-capacity rolls and Pacific Blue Ultra high-capacity rolls; and center-pull in SofPull regular capacity. Send us the towel lines from your current invoice with the case counts and we will price them line by line at cost per dry, not cost per case.
FAQ
Are roll paper towels cheaper than multifold?
Usually per dry, yes, provided the dispenser controls pull length. A 6-roll case of 800-foot hardwound towel gives about 5,200 eleven-inch pulls, against 4,000 sheets in a standard 1-ply multifold case, so at similar case prices the roll wins. Multifold wins on dispenser flexibility and where traffic is light.
Is C-fold cheaper than multifold?
Per case it often looks cheaper; per dry it is usually more expensive. A standard C-fold case holds 2,400 sheets (Scott Essential 01510) against 4,000 in the equivalent multifold case (Scott Essential 01804), so unless the C-fold case costs 40% less, multifold is the cheaper dry in the same cabinet.
How many paper towels does a person use per hand-dry?
Manufacturers do not publish a per-person figure; they publish dispensing behaviour, such as one-at-a-time dispensing. Use 1 to 2 sheets per dry for folded towels and one roughly 11-inch pull for rolls as working assumptions, run the cost at both ends, and replace the assumption with your own count once you have measured a week.
Do roll towels need a special dispenser?
Yes, and it matters which. Universal hardwound dispensers take standard cores (1.5″ to 2″ depending on brand). Proprietary systems such as KC purple-core, GP enMotion and GP SofPull take only their own refills, which limits which cost-per-dry comparison you can act on.