9 Best 13 Gallon Stainless Steel Trash Can | Pedal Meets Steel

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An oval-steel bin that seals odors in and comes in well under most of this list, without looking cheap on the floor.

What makes the Haiput Wam stand out is the trade-off it makes in your favor: the brushed-steel body, the anti-fingerprint and stain-resistant surface, a tight-sealing lid, and an oval silhouette are all packed into the entry-level end of this list. The sealed cover is the real story — it keeps smells closed off instead of drifting through the kitchen. If your bin sits near the cooking zone where food scraps go straight in, that matters more than any gallon badge.

The quick-response foot pedal is light enough that a light tap lifts the lid, and the ABS hydraulic deceleration means it eases down slowly rather than clapping shut. The lid is removable, which makes bag swaps and the occasional deep clean easier than a fixed-lid design. The inner bucket lifts out too, so you carry the whole bag out in one move instead of dragging it up the side. It’s built to take any standard 13-gallon bag from the supermarket, which spares you a proprietary liner habit.

Quality is the trait owners call out most — 60+ buyers rate it highly — and value for money comes next, which fits a can at this price. The one honest caveat is durability over the long haul. As buyers report, some units rusted after 1.5 years, so this is a bin best kept away from a shower-room splash zone or a constantly wet mop path. In a dry kitchen, the finish holds up fine. For most buyers this is a strong, quiet daily driver that doesn’t ask much of your wallet.

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The bin that proves a soft-close lid should not click or clang — it should just whisper shut and disappear under the counter.

At 24 inches tall, the SONGMICS slides under most standard counters without scraping the underside of the countertop. The lid opens and won’t smack the wall behind it, then eases down quietly on release — the clang-and-bang that cheap bins make is gone.

The stay-open trick works differently than most: you press the pedal to lift the lid, release, then manually push the lid to 90° and it holds there while you scrape a plate or line a new bag. The stainless exterior resists rust and dirt, and the base sits on non-slip pads that keep pets from tipping it. Inside there is a removable bucket with built-in handles — you lift the bag out rather than dragging it up the wall — and once the new bag is in, the rim hides it so the outside looks clean.

What wins people over is the surface — the brushed stainless reads as a decor piece rather than a utility bin, which is why appearance is the second-most-praised trait after quality. Fit is a strong point too, and that has a specific upside: the 17.6-inch length and 13.7-inch width tuck into tight cabinet gaps without the lid hitting a drawer above. It ships with 15 liner bags so you can use it the day it arrives.

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The most-reviewed bin on this list for a reason: a 13-gallon bag drops straight in and the pedal just works.

If you want the bin that has been put through more kitchens than any other on this page, this is it. The Amazon Basics 13.2-gallon can earns trust the old-fashioned way — thousands of owners have taken it home, and the consensus boils down to three things done right: an attractive smudge-resistant stainless finish, a foot pedal that operates smoothly, and a removable inner bucket that simplifies emptying. Capacity is 13.2 gallons, versus 13 gallons for the Haiput Wam above.

The 13-gallon bag fit is the detail that wins over people converting from off-brand bins with odd rims. The carry handle makes it easy to lift when you need to move it to clean around, and the stay-open lid plus soft-close mechanism keep both ends of the pedal motion quiet. The smudge-resistant exterior is a real convenience in a kitchen — the steel stays presentable instead of collecting greasy prints near the stove.

Where the consensus gets honest is on the softer qualities. Value for money is genuinely divided — some owners consider it fairly priced, others feel it is a touch dear for what is fundamentally a metal bin. The lid, sturdiness, and overall finish draw a similar split. None of that is a dealbreaker; it is more that this bin reads as a solid, dependable workhorse than a premium statement piece. If you want a name you recognize with a large support base behind it, that reliability is the whole point.

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A bin with a built-in system for the two jobs nobody wants to do — holding bags and holding back the smell.

The Glad earns its spot on a feature almost no bin on this list has: a rear bag compartment. You store spare bags right behind the can and pull one from the side without moving it, so restocking is a one-handed pull. Pair that with bag rings that tuck the bag slack in and hold it firmly in place, and this bin solves the two most annoying moments in trash duty — the bag that slumps in when you drop something heavy, and the trip to find a refill.

The odor story is the headline. The lid frame carries Clorox odor protection that inhibits odor-causing bacteria, so smell control is built into the lid itself. Add a soft-close lid that closes quietly, a fingerprint-resistant shell that keeps the steel looking clean, and the day-to-day experience is a bin that disappears rather than one that announces itself. At 10.6 pounds, moving it out to clean is easy.

Size is what owners rave about most — 1.1K buyers single it out — and value next. The recurring trade-off shows up in the lids: the mechanism is not immune to wear, and some owners find that a full bag takes a bit of work to lift out through the rings. Neither is a dealbreaker in normal use, but if you pack bags tight and expect a featherweight lift-out, the removable-bucket designs on the SONGMICS bins above are friendlier.

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A premium steel bin with a lid that closes slowly enough to make you forget it was ever nosy.

The detail that sets this SONGMICS apart from its cheaper cousin above is the materials split: a stainless steel bin, a PP plastic inner bucket, and an ABS plastic lid. That combination keeps the outer shell fully steel while trimming weight on the parts you handle. It comes ready to use with 15 bin liners and pairs with SONGMICS liner code K, so you aren’t guessing at bag size on day one. The rust- and fingerprint-resistant finish keeps that premium look from turning dull.

Two side handles on the inner bucket make the difference on bag day — you lift the whole bucket out, tie the bag off, and slide a new one in without reaching into the depths. The soft-close foot pedal does double duty: hands-free opening on the way in, and a slow, quiet closure on the way out. The whole bin is designed to sit flush against the wall, so it doesn’t need breathing room behind it in a tight kitchen corner.

What buyers appreciate most is the overall build quality, with appearance close behind. The 13-gallon capacity is reported as comfortable for daily household use, and owners describe it as easy to clean and empty. One small thing worth knowing: the inner bucket handle position means a very full bag takes a little juggling to pull out cleanly. That’s the sort of detail that only shows up after weeks of use, and it’s the honest cost of a bucket that otherwise keeps the bag fully hidden.

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Wave your hand, toss the scraps, walk away — no pedal to press with messy fingers.

This is the pick for anyone who cooks with their hands full. The EKO’s motion sensor opens the lid in 0.2 seconds and closes it automatically after 5 seconds, so a wave of the hand is all it takes — no pedal, no wiping the lid afterward. For a long prep session, a stay-open button locks the lid up for up to 20 minutes, which means you aren’t re-triggering the sensor every time you scoop a pile of onion skins off the cutting board.

The footprint is 15.28 inches wide by 10.35 inches deep, and the no-inner-bucket design is claimed to free up to 25% more usable capacity. That’s a real advantage in a galley kitchen: more trash per bag in less floor space. It runs on 4 AA alkaline batteries, which EKO says last up to 8 months of everyday use, and the brand specifically warns against rechargeable cells. The matte stainless finish is fingerprint-resistant and wipes clean easily, and the tight-sealing lid helps hold odors inside.

The mixed part is honest and worth knowing. Lid operation is described both ways — some find it opens smoothly, others say it is slow to respond — and durability is split too, with some owners reporting a failure inside the first year. Those are the risks of adding electronics to a trash can. When it works, it works beautifully; if you want zero moving electronics and zero battery changes, a pure mechanical pedal bin serves you more reliably. Budget for the sensor as a convenience, not a guarantee.

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No lid to lift, no pedal to press — just a wide open top and two filters doing the smell-fighting for you.

The iTouchless is built for the opposite kind of kitchen to a pedal bin: high-traffic, hands-busy, toss-and-go. The wide lidless opening means you can drop waste in from any angle without touching a thing — no pedal to find with your foot while balancing a plate. Two replaceable AbsorbX filters trap and neutralize odors instead of masking them, so the lidless opening doesn’t have to mean an open smell.

Removing the inner bucket is what frees up the extra capacity here — the no-bucket design packs more trash into the same footprint, which reduces trips to the curb. The rim is built to fit any standard 13-gallon tall kitchen bag, so you aren’t locked into proprietary liners. At 3.5 kg it is easy to move around when you clean, though that lightness is the trade-off for the commercial-grade steel build.

Appearance is a strong performer — owners like how it matches stainless and black kitchen decor — and the open top is exactly what high-traffic users want. The recurring honest note is the trade-off the open design creates: with no lid, there’s nothing containing a particularly pungent bag on a warm day, and the two filters are the only defense. Value is debated, as with most bins in this tier. If odors are the main worry, a sealed soft-close lid on the Garvee handles that better.

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Narrow enough for the sliver of space beside the fridge, with an odor pod built into the can.

If your kitchen has one frustrating gap — the 12-inch sliver between the fridge and the wall — this is the bin built for it. At 21.26 inches long and 11.89 inches wide, the Home Zone Living tucks into spaces most full-size bins can’t touch. The slim shape doesn’t cost you capacity, though: it still holds a 13-gallon bag and handles a full household’s worth of trash. It weighs 17.6 pounds, so it stays planted where you set it down.

The CleanAura odor pod is the headline feature — a built-in compartment that neutralizes smells rather than covering them. Add a slow-close lid that shuts gently enough not to wake the house and a rubber band that tucks excess bag material down so nothing spills over, and you get a bin that handles the messy parts of trash duty without drama. Its step-on pedal is tested to 200,000 steps, versus 150,000+ for the Garvee. Fit the standard Liner Code 45S and you’re set.

Owners appreciate the size most, followed by how it fits narrow spaces — the ideal testimonial for anyone shopping a tight kitchen. Lid operation and odor control both get positive notes, with the lid easy to open carefully even on soft-close. The one honest trade-off is stability and price: the extra height of 26.58 inches makes it more tippy than a shorter, wider bin when nudged hard, and it sits at the premium end of this list. Neither is a dealbreaker, but it means this one is for the kitchen that needs the slim shape, not just a bin for any corner.