LAST UPDATED: Jan 15th, 2023
American Standard vs Toto … which one of the two is better? If you are looking to build a new bathroom or to upgrade your current one, or maybe even your kitchen too, something that you are probably looking for are plumbing fixtures. This can include sinks, toilets, tubs, faucets, showerheads, and more.
Both American Standard and Toto are great brands to consider, but this begs the question.
A Brief History of
American Standard vs Toto
American Standard, officially known as American Standard Brands, is a North American company that manufactures and sells plumbing fixtures for bathrooms and kitchens. The company is currently based out of New Jersey, USA.
The company was first started as the Standard Sanitary Manufacturing Company in 1875. Then in 1899, the Standard Sanitary Manufacturing Company merged with several other companies to form the Standard Sanitary Manufacturing Company.
This company had become the world’s largest producer of bathroom fixtures by 1929, and in this same year, the Standard Sanitary Corporation merged with American Radiator Company to form the American Radiator and Standard Sanitary Corporation. In 1967, the company began calling itself American Standard.
As we know the company today, American Standard Brands was formed in 2008 when American Standard Americas, Crane Plumbing, and Eljer all merged together. At this time, American Standard is owned by the Lixil Group, which purchased it in 2015. It employs well over 15,000 people, with yearly revenues totaling nearly 2 billion USD.
On the other hand, we have Toto. This is a Japanese toilet manufacturer that is based out of Kitakyushu, Japan. The company was first founded in 1917 and is most famously known for developing the Washlet and other derivative products.
For those of you who don’t know, the Washlet is a toilet seat that features an integrated bidet, which functions by washing the user with clean water for a much cleaner bathroom experience. Some Washlet models even come with seat heaters, air fresheners, and more.
Toto currently has production facilities in nine countries across the world, and at this time is the world’s largest producer of toilets. Toto is an absolutely massive company with nearly 35,000 employees, with estimated annual revenues of nearly 5.5 billion dollars.
American Standard vs Toto: Which Offers Better Quality?
What needs to be said is that in general, American Standard has very mixed reviews from its customers. When it comes to the quality of their products, things like toilets, faucets, and other plumbing fixtures, it appears as though the quality is quite high, but there are also a fairly large number of people who are not fans of their products.
From what we can tell, the quality of American Standard products depends on the exact type and line of products being discussed. It seems as though American Standard products are viewed as being fairly decent in quality, decent but not amazing. Judging just how good American Standard products are is a bit difficult, as some reviewers give it a great score of 8 or 9 out of 10, some give it an average score of 6 or 7 out of 10, and some disgruntled sources give it a low score of 4 or even just 3 out of 10.
What is interesting is that how happy people are with the products depends on whether or not the items are professionally installed, with people who had their products professionally installed being much happier overall. Now, the low scores which some people assign to American Standard may have something to do with the fact that although the products are designed in America, they are manufactured and assembled mainly in China and Mexico, as well as South Korea.
On the other hand, Toto is generally seen as producing average to great toilets and plumbing fixtures. It’s not viewed as being the top company in terms of quality, but also not nearly the worst either. The general consensus about Toto products is that they are quite good, particularly the toilets which they manufacture.
Something that stands out about Toto, particularly when it comes to their toilets, is that they feature many products in almost every price range. They sell plenty of low-end toilets with limited quality that come in at low prices, they have lots of mid-range toilets with average quality and average prices, and they also have quite a few high-end and high-quality toilets that come with pretty significant price tags and the most modern features.
It is important to note that Toto produces many of its products in the USA, Mexico, China, Vietnam, Thailand, and Japan. Something that might explain why Toto toilets are plumbing fixtures are rated fairly high across the board is because the company has been moving a lot of its production to its major facility in the USA, located in Georgia.
Which Offers a Better Warranty?
American Standard offers pretty good warranties on the majority of their products. Cartridges feature lifetime warranties, finishes have lifetime warranties, and mechanical parts have lifetime warranties too. Across the board, people really don’t seem to have any complaints about American Standard warranties, as they meet North American warranty standards.
When it comes to Toto, the warranties on their products appear to be exactly the same from what we can tell. Cartridges feature lifetime warranties, finishes have lifetime warranties, and mechanical parts have lifetime warranties too. Just like with American Standard, people don’t seem to have any complaints about Toto warranties.
American Standard vs Toto: Which Has a Better Product Portfolio?
It is very hard to say which of these brands features a larger product portfolio. What can be said is that both companies produce products for both residential and commercial use, with Toto being focused slightly more on the commercial side of things.
Moreover, it really depends on what type of product you are looking for.
What does need to be said is that Toto really only does bathrooms, whereas American Standard also sells plumbing fixtures for the kitchen.
Which Brand Offers a Better Selection of Toilets?
As you might know by now, Toto is the world’s largest producer of toilets, and therefore it makes sense that its selection of toilets is larger than that of American Standard. At this time, the American Standard website features just over 200 toilets for sale, whereas the Toto site features nearly 250.
Which Brand Offers a Better Selection of Bathtubs?
In terms of the selection of bathtubs, American Standard is the big winner here, as there are currently nearly 80 bathtubs featured on the website, with the Toto website featuring slightly less than half that amount.
Which Brand Should You Choose?
Whether you choose American Standard vs Toto really depends on what your needs are.
Generally speaking, if you are looking for toilets and high-quality bathroom fixtures, Toto is the way to go. However, if you are looking for a large selection of both bathroom and kitchen plumbing fixtures, then you might want to check out American Standard.
CONCLUSION
Both of these brands are great choices to go with, and both feature fairly high-quality levels with decent warranties and great selections too. Which brand you choose depends on exactly what you are looking for, specifically in terms of the product category.