Bar Keepers Friend and Comet are two cleaning brands that produce products designed to eliminate odors, disinfect, and clean the toughest messes in your home. Their products work to clean your stainless steel appliances, sinks, and bathrooms.
So, what’s the difference between these two products? Bar Keepers Friend and Comet have many differences, though the main one is the ingredients their products are made of. They also offer slightly different products and have differing price points.
Do you want to know what the difference between Bar Keepers Friend and Comet is? We’re going to take a look at both brands, the products they offer, and some pressing questions about each so you can see for yourself how they’re different and which is the better cleaner.
What’s the Difference Between Bar Keepers Friend and Comet?
Bar Keepers Friend and Comet are two powerful cleaning brands aimed at tackling the toughest messes in your home. They both have a solid variety of products and are effective cleaners. So, what’s the difference between them?
The difference lies in their ingredients. Comet utilizes bleach as one of its main active ingredients to help deodorize and disinfect the surfaces of your home while cleaning. Bar Keepers Friend uses different cleaning agents in its formula, which we’ll get deeper into later in this guide.
Bar Keepers Friend
Bar Keepers Friend began in 1882 when a chemist by the name of George William Hoffman realized that oxalic acid works wonders at removing tarnish, rough, and other tough messes. He used this as the main ingredient in a cleaning powder and marketed it to tavern owners, which is where the name Bar Keepers Friend came from.
Bar Keepers Friend was purchased by Dr. SerVaas in 1956, and the company has remained in his family ever since. They worked to keep their products simple but effective and have grown to expand their line of products ever since.
What Products Does Bar Keepers Friend Offer?
Bar Keepers Friend Cleanser 
This product is bleach-free which makes it ideal for stainless steel. Bar Keepers Friend Cleanser can remove tough stains caused by mineral deposits, rust, tarnish, and more! It’s safe to use on most surfaces and perfect for use in your kitchen and bathroom.
Bar Keepers Friend Superior Cookware Cleanser
This Superior Cookware Cleanser truly lives up to its name. You can use this product to clean and polish most cookware in your home, including those made of stainless steel, porcelain, ceramic, copper, brass, chrome, and aluminum.
Bar Keepers Friend More Multi-Purpose Cleaner
You can use this multi-purpose cleaner on your showers, tubs, counters, tile, and much more! This product is perfect for removing tough stains and messes from the surfaces in your home.
Bar Keepers Friend Granite & Stone Cleaner & Polish
This Cleaner & Polish is made to remove stains and messes from natural and manufactured stone. This product is pH balanced so it won’t damage your stone and granite surfaces while cleaning away the toughest messes.
Bar Keepers Friend Stainless Steel Cleaner and Polish
This Stainless Steel Cleaner and Polish is the perfect product for cleaning, shining, and protecting all of your metal surfaces. This product works great on kitchen appliances, sinks, faucets, stovetops, and so much more!
Bar Keepers Friend Toilet Bowl Cleaner
This toilet bowl cleaner deodorizes and removes hard water stains, rust, and built-up mineral deposits. This product destroys grease and grime, so your toilet bowl will be left looking shiny and new.
How to Use Bar Keepers Friend Cleaners?
Most of Bar Keepers Friend’s cleaners work similarly. You simply spray the surface that you wish to clean or sprinkle some of the powder. Then, wipe the surface with a wet cloth and add more product if necessary. Rinse the surface afterward and allow it to air dry.
What Are The Ingredients in Bar Keepers Friend?
Bar Keepers Friend’s products have very few ingredients. They believe in keeping things simple and using non-abrasive ingredients to create their cleaners. Here are the ingredients in their original cleanser product.
- Glass Oxide Abrasive
- Oxalic Acid
- Surfactant
Is Bar Keepers Friend Toxic?
Bar Keepers Friend is considered toxic. Their main ingredient, oxalic acid, is toxic and shouldn’t be used in any way other than as directed. This ingredient has corrosive properties which can cause serious damage to your skin with prolonged contact and long-term use. It’s best to wear thick cleaning gloves when working with this product.
Comet
Comet is owned by KIK Custom Products Inc. as of 2018. This brand was originally introduced in 1956 by the P&G company and changed hands multiple times before landing with KIK Custom Products Inc.
This brand has always focused on providing powerful household cleaners that work effectively at removing rust, hard water buildup, and other tough messes. They became a popular brand in America and overseas.
What Products Does Comet Offer?
Comet has come a long way from its original product in 1956. They have a wide range of products available now, so let’s dive right into the details about them.
Comet Classic
The Comet Classic is a line of products meant to clean and tackle messes in any area of your home. Here’s a list of some products available in this line: 
- Comet Classic Antibacterial Spray
- All-Purpose Cleaner With Bleach
- Kitchen Cleaner
- Toilet Bowl Cleaner
Comet Soft Cleanser
This product provides all the power of Comet’s original cleaner but has been reformulated so it’s gentle enough to be used on delicate surfaces such as plastic, imitation marble, and aluminum. This product cuts through tough soap scum, grease, and cooked-on foods. The Comet Soft Cleanser also comes in a doubly concentrated formula for extra tough messes.
Comet Cleanser
Comet Cleanser is a multi-purpose cleaner that is 50% more powerful than their original formula. It’s safe to use on stainless steel, fiberglass, porcelain, marble, and more. This product removes tough messes such as grease, soap scum, and cooked-on foods. This product comes in pine, lavender, and lemon scents.
Comet Bathroom Spray
Comet Bathroom Spray is the perfect product for cutting through tough stains and messes like soap scum. This product can kill up to 99.9% of germs and is suitable for use on every surface in your bathroom. There’s also a foaming bathroom spray option.
How to Use Comet Cleaner?
Not all of Comet’s products will be used the same way, so we’re going to take a look at how to use their original cleanser properly. To effectively clean and deodorize a surface, follow these simple steps.
1. Wet the surface that needs cleaning
2. Sprinkle a small amount of Comet Cleanser onto the surface
3. Allow the powder to sit for at least 15 seconds
4. Wipe the surface with a wet sponge or cloth
5. Rinse surface when finished cleaning
You can repeat these steps multiple times until the stain or mess is completely gone.
What Are The Ingredients In Comet Cleaners?
Some of the ingredients in Comet’s cleaners will vary based on the product, so we’re going to take a look at the ingredients in their original cleanser. Here are the ingredients in the original Comet Cleanser.
- Bleach
- Calcium Carbonate
- Sodium Carbonate
- Anionic Surfactants
- Color
Is Comet Toxic?
Technically, even though Comet contains bleach, it isn’t considered a toxic substance. However, the ingredients in Comet can cause irritation if it comes into contact with your eyes or prolonged contact with your skin. You should contact a health care professional if you experience a reaction after using this product, and protect yourself from complications by wearing thick cleaning gloves.
Comparison Questions (Bar Keepers Friend vs Comet)
Is Bar Keepers Friend or Comet More Affordable?
One of the key factors in choosing between two cleaning products like Bar Keepers Friend and Comet is which brand is more affordable. This can be hard to compare sometimes, which is why we’ve broken down the cost of each brand’s original cleanser to determine their cost per ounce.
| Brand | Cost Per Ounce |
| Bar Keepers Friend | $0.35 |
| Comet | $0.19 |
As you can see from this table, Bar Keepers Friend is nearly twice the price of Comet. This definitely makes Comet the more affordable product.
Which Cleaner is More Powerful?
Comet and Bar Keepers Friend both appear to be powerful cleaners in their own right. They’re both advertised as being able to remove tough stains and build-up of hard water, mineral deposits, and rust.
However, when you look at their ingredients, you can see that Comet’s products have more cleaning agents. Comet’s products, unlike Bar Keepers Friend, also contain bleach. For these reasons, it’s clear that Comet is the more powerful cleaner.
Which Cleaner is More Environmentally Friendly?
Comet contains some potent substances, such as bleach, that make it less of an environmentally friendly product than Bar Keepers Friend. Even though Bar Keepers Friend contains a toxic substance, that substance isn’t detrimental to the environment on its own. Bar Keepers Friend’s cleaner is both biodegradable and safe for use in homes with septic tanks.
Related Questions
What Not To Use Bar Keepers Friend On?
Bar Keepers Friend is safe to use on most surfaces, and they have products that are specifically formulated for use on granite and stone. However, none of this brand’s products should be used on wood, painted surfaces, cast iron, or fabric.
Is Comet An Abrasive Cleaner?
Comet is an abrasive cleaner because of one of its main ingredients- calcium carbonate. This causes this product to have the same level of hardness as marble, which means that it can cause scratches to softer surfaces. However, this product is safe to use on tough surfaces such as stainless steel, fiberglass, and metal.
Can You Mix Bar Keepers Friend With Comet?
It’s unsafe to mix cleaning chemicals around your home. It can be difficult to predict if, or what kind of, reaction you could create by mixing cleaners such as Bar Keepers Friend and Comet. It’s best to avoid mixing any cleaning chemicals in your home, including these two brands.
The Verdict – Which Is Better?
While debating between Bar Keepers Friend vs Comet, we’ve taken a look at the products they offer, their ingredients, and which is the more environmentally friendly. Now that we’ve delved into these two brands, it’s clear that Comet is the better cleaner. Their products are more affordable, more powerful, and more varied than Bar Keepers Friend.
Jamie is the Founder of My Home Dwelling. He is a homeowner and enjoys sharing his homeowner tips with others. He has real estate experience working as a new home construction Realtor. Jamie has worked on numerous residential construction sites helping with interior and exterior renovations. He loves refinishing furniture, DIY home projects, and sharing his knowledge online.