I bought these once, and never went back to the other type of sponges. I'd been throwing out the other sponges often because they smelled so bad after a few days. (And putting them in the microwave didn't work; it just made the microwave interior smell like the sponges.) These Scrub Sponges don't smell at all, even after a week. They have a scrubber on one side, the other side is very soft, and they're very economical. I usually get the 24-pack. Definitely a good buy.