The best soap dispensers
The one thing in the bathroom everyone touches with dirty hands, and the easiest to stop touching.
By Sawyer V. · · How we research
The short answer
We earn a commission if you buy through the links on this page, at no extra cost to you. It does not change which products we pick or what we say about them — here is exactly how that works.
Quick picks
Tap any row for the full write-up. Prices are checked against Amazon rather than remembered — where we have no verified figure the button says so.
| # | Product | Best for | Renter | Price |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |  Rechargeable Liquid Sensor Pump, 9 oz. Four months per charge, a 150,000-cycle pump, variable dispense and seven finishes, on a two-year warranty. | A touch-free bathroom sink | Safe | |
| 2 |  Sensor Pump Foam A foam pump with four months per charge and a 150,000-cycle rating, dispensing more the closer your hand gets. | Households that already use foam soap | Safe | |
| — |  Sensor Pump Dish, 14 oz. The longest charge here at eight months — built around a caddy for pump and sponge at the sink. | Skip this one | Safe | No buy link |
Why a sensor pump
A manual pump is touched with dirty hands every time, then left for the next person. A sensor pump is not touched at all. That is the whole case, and it is a reasonable one for a shared bathroom.
We will not make health claims about it. It is simply one less surface touched before hands are washed. Pair it with a touchless faucet and the whole sequence is hands-free — though the faucet is an owner’s job and the pump is not.
The numbers worth reading
Charge life. simplehuman publishes four months for the 9 oz. and foam pumps, eight months for the 14 oz. dish. Rechargeable means no batteries to buy and none to throw away.
Cycle rating. All three publish 150,000 cycles. That is the pump mechanism’s design life, and it is the figure that tells you the thing will outlast your interest in it.
Warranty. Two years on all three.
The soap question
simplehuman recommends its own soaps for best performance, and the foam pump is designed for simplehuman foam soaps. That is worth knowing before you buy, because it makes the soap a recurring purchase from one maker if you follow the recommendation.
simplehuman does not publish whether other liquid soaps work in the liquid pumps. Thick or gel soaps are the ones most likely to cause trouble in any sensor pump. If you use your own soap, you are outside the published recommendation.
What nobody publishes: water resistance
A soap pump sits beside a tap and gets splashed every day. None of the three product pages publishes a water resistance rating.
In practice, keep it out of standing water and wipe it down rather than rinsing it under the tap. It is electronics with a charging contact, and we have no published basis for treating it as waterproof.
Nothing to install
Every pump here rates Safe on our install rating: it sits on the counter and charges from a puck. No drilling, no wiring, and it moves with you. More small-bathroom storage is here.
Every pick in full
2 we would buy, and one we would not. Each carries its Renter-Safe Install Rating, the published specs behind it, and the honest gap in what we know.
1. Best overall
Rechargeable Liquid Sensor Pump, 9 oz.
simplehuman · ST1082 · best for a touch-free bathroom sink
Four months per charge, a 150,000-cycle pump, variable dispense and seven finishes, on a two-year warranty.
The simplehuman 9 oz. sensor pump is the pick for a bathroom basin.
simplehuman publishes “4 Months On 1 Charge”, three to four hours to recharge, and a pump “engineered to last through 150,000 cycles”. At twenty uses a day that is about 146,000 uses in twenty years — far longer than a bathroom goes without being redecorated.
It dispenses a variable amount, and simplehuman publishes seven finishes: brushed, matte black, white, brass, polished, matte gold and oiled bronze. Nine ounces is the right size for a bathroom — big enough to go weeks between refills, small enough for a narrow basin edge.
Renter-Safe Install Rating
- Drilling
- None
- Tools
- None
- Time to fit
- None — it sits on the counter
- Power
- None — rechargeable battery
- Reversible on move-out
- Fully
Why: A battery-powered pump on the counter. Nothing is mounted.
Read from published documentation, not from fitting one. simplehuman — Liquid Sensor Pump ST1082, published capacity, charge life, cycle rating and warranty. How the verdict is derived: renter-safe ratings explained.
What’s wrong with it
simplehuman recommends its own soaps for best performance, and publishes no water resistance rating for a device that sits beside a tap.
What we can’t tell you
Water resistance and dimensions are both unpublished.
Published specifications
| Capacity | 9 fl. oz. |
|---|---|
| Battery | “4 Months On 1 Charge”; 3 to 4 hours to charge |
| Pump life | “engineered to last through 150,000 cycles” |
| Power | Built-in lithium-ion battery |
| Dispense | Variable dispense |
| Soap | simplehuman recommends its own liquid hand and dish soaps |
| Finishes | Brushed, matte black, white, brass, polished, matte gold and oiled bronze |
| Warranty | 2-Year Warranty |
| Water resistance | Not published on the product page |
| Dimensions | Not published |
Source: simplehuman — Liquid Sensor Pump ST1082, published capacity, charge life, cycle rating and warranty
#ad Price $69.95 as of October 18, 2026. Prices change; Amazon’s listing is the one that counts. How we’re funded.
2. Best for foam
Sensor Pump Foam
simplehuman · ST1093 · best for households that already use foam soap
A foam pump with four months per charge and a 150,000-cycle rating, dispensing more the closer your hand gets.
The simplehuman Sensor Pump Foam is the one to buy if you prefer foam.
simplehuman publishes “4 Months On 1 Charge”, the same 150,000-cycle rating, and variable dispense set by how close your hand is to the sensor.
The catch is in the name. It is designed for simplehuman’s foam hand and dish soaps, and a foam pump does not dispense ordinary liquid soap. If you ever want to switch, you need a different pump.
Renter-Safe Install Rating
- Drilling
- None
- Tools
- None
- Time to fit
- None — it sits on the counter
- Power
- None — rechargeable battery
- Reversible on move-out
- Fully
Why: A countertop pump. Nothing is mounted.
Read from published documentation, not from fitting one. simplehuman — Sensor Pump Foam ST1093, published charge life, cycle rating and warranty. How the verdict is derived: renter-safe ratings explained.
What’s wrong with it
Foam soap only — it does not take ordinary liquid soap.
What we can’t tell you
simplehuman publishes no capacity for the foam pump.
Published specifications
| Soap | Foam only — designed for simplehuman foam hand and dish soaps |
|---|---|
| Battery | “4 Months On 1 Charge”; 3 to 5 hours on the magnetic charging puck |
| Pump life | “engineered to last through 150,000 cycles” |
| Dispense | Variable volume, set by how close your hand is to the sensor |
| Finishes | Brushed, matte black, white and brass |
| Warranty | 2 Year |
| Capacity | Not published |
| Water resistance | Not published on the product page |
Source: simplehuman — Sensor Pump Foam ST1093, published charge life, cycle rating and warranty
#ad Price $79.99 as of October 18, 2026. Prices change; Amazon’s listing is the one that counts. How we’re funded.
The one to skip
Sensor Pump Dish, 14 oz.
simplehuman · ST1077 · best for the kitchen sink, which is what it is built for
The longest charge here at eight months — built around a caddy for pump and sponge at the sink.
The skip is about which room the product was designed for.
The Sensor Pump Dish publishes the best battery figure in this range — “8 Months On 1 Charge” — on a 14 oz. reservoir with the same 150,000-cycle pump and a magnetic charging puck.
But simplehuman publishes it with a caddy “designed to organize pump and sponge storage at sink”. That is a kitchen product. On a bathroom basin the caddy takes space you do not have, for a sponge you do not need.
For the kitchen, it is the one to buy. For the bathroom, take the 9 oz.
Renter-Safe Install Rating
- Drilling
- None
- Tools
- None
- Time to fit
- None — it sits on the counter
- Power
- None — rechargeable battery
- Reversible on move-out
- Fully
Why: A countertop pump and caddy. Nothing is mounted.
Read from published documentation, not from fitting one. simplehuman — Sensor Pump Dish ST1077, published capacity, charge life and caddy. How the verdict is derived: renter-safe ratings explained.
What’s wrong with it
A sponge caddy that takes up bathroom counter space for no benefit.
What we can’t tell you
No published water resistance rating.
Published specifications
| Capacity | 14 fl. oz. |
|---|---|
| Battery | “8 Months On 1 Charge”; 3 to 4 hours to charge |
| Pump life | “engineered to last through 150,000 cycles” |
| Caddy | Included — “designed to organize pump and sponge storage at sink” |
| Charging | Magnetic charging puck, with charge indicator lights |
| Warranty | 2 Year |
| Water resistance | Not published on the product page |
Source: simplehuman — Sensor Pump Dish ST1077, published capacity, charge life and caddy
There is no buy button on this one. It is easy enough to find if you want it anyway — we would rather point you at something that is still on the wall in a year.
Where to buy
Everything recommended on this page, in one place. Each link is an Amazon Associates link — we earn a commission at no extra cost to you, and it never decides a pick.
- $69.95View on Amazon
Rechargeable Liquid Sensor Pump, 9 oz.
simplehuman · ST1082 · Renter verdict: Safe
- $79.99View on Amazon
Sensor Pump Foam
simplehuman · ST1093 · Renter verdict: Safe
#ad Prices are not shown because we only publish figures we have verified on the day. How we’re funded.
Questions people actually ask
what is the best automatic soap dispenser
The simplehuman 9 oz. rechargeable sensor pump, on published specs: four months per charge, three to four hours to recharge, a pump rated to 150,000 cycles, variable dispense and a two-year warranty.
how long does a simplehuman soap pump charge last
simplehuman publishes four months per charge for the 9 oz. liquid and foam pumps, and eight months for the 14 oz. Sensor Pump Dish. Recharging takes three to four hours on the 9 oz.
can you use any soap in a simplehuman sensor pump
simplehuman recommends its own soaps for best performance, and the foam pump is designed for simplehuman foam soaps. It does not publish whether other liquid soaps work, so using your own is outside its recommendation.
are sensor soap dispensers waterproof
None of the simplehuman product pages we used publishes a water resistance rating. Keep the pump out of standing water and wipe it down rather than rinsing it.
Sources
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