Top 5 Cintas Competitors and Alternatives for 2024
Aaron Stahl / Uniform & Linen / November 11, 2021
Cintas Corporation provides services and products for the corporate environment. These include uniforms, mats, cleaning and restroom supplies, first aid and safety products, and safety courses.
Many companies offer similar products and services to Cintas, but few provide as wide a selection of products and services as Cintas does.
While a single source of supply (such as Cintas offers) may seem like a good idea at first, it comes with its cons—as many contracted business service customers have realized when using the suppliers that dominate the market.
In this article, we’ve done the research for you and present five alternatives to Cintas. We also provide information on how to reduce billing, switch suppliers, and renegotiate. And if you are a dissatisfied customer wanting to get out of your Cintas contract, read on.
Cintas has become one of the leading companies in its field because of the wide range of products and services it offers, as well as the geographic footprint it has.
That being said, not everyone is a happy customer. Some of the main issues that people have with Cintas is its notorious billing discrepancies, not honoring its own contracts, and the failure of its drivers to deliver the proper products and services on time.
Unfortunately, these types of issues are not only common with Cintas; they are common industry-wide amongst some of the biggest players. The competitors we have listed below offer similar products and services to Cintas and can be a great alternative to Cintas. But they will still need monitoring and managing to ensure that the contract pricing is adhered to and that products and services are delivered on time.
At the end of the day, if you want to ensure you are getting the best service at the best possible price, a properly negotiated uniform and linen service agreement is needed together with constant vigilance.
Providing similar services and products as Cintas, Aramark is Cintas’ biggest competitor, offering health safety, food service, facilities, and uniform services to the education, healthcare, business, prison, and leisure sectors.
Aramark’s revenue of over $14 billion confirms its formidable global presence. In the 1990s, the company acquired many other small to mid-sized establishments that helped it grow into the managed services conglomerate it is today, focusing on food and uniform managed services.
Many hospitals use Aramark to supply cafeteria foods, and the one area in which it dominates Cintas is that of being the choice provider of prison inmate uniforms.
UniFirst manufactures, sells, and rents uniforms and protective clothing. It also supplies facilities and sells cleaning products.
Initially founded in 1936 as a dry cleaning service, today it deals mostly in uniform rentals. The company designs and manufactures uniforms and sells or hires them out. In addition, it offers a complete service for the rented out uniforms, so they can be laundered, mended, or replaced by UniFirst.
Alsco Uniforms has a rich history, going all the way back to the 1800s.
This company boasts more than 130 years of experience in linen rentals and has become an industry leader in uniform rental services. Choose from thousands of uniforms that are all designed and manufactured by trusted brands that use the latest technologies.
Alsco services the automotive, facility service, food processing, healthcare, restaurant, and industrial industries.
The Prudential Overall Supply company began in 1932 by supplying uniforms to the growing automotive business in Los Angeles, and adding uniform rentals and laundering in 1943. Today, the company serves more than 110 Fortune 500 companies internationally.
The industries it serves include automotive, food services, healthcare, HACCP, and critical environments.
At Mission Linen Supply you can rent work apparel, linen, and towels. It also offers a variety of services such as facilities solutions and first aid programs. You can also buy workwear, food disposable products, office supplies, and commercial cleaning supplies.
The company believes that all companies have a responsibility to positively impact the environment for the good of people and the planet, and it makes business decisions based on this belief. In its plants, it utilizes wastewater pretreatment systems, water reclamation, and advanced energy-efficient equipment.
As you can see, Cintas is not the only option, there are many others out there; however, they will all require careful negotiation and management to ensure you get the best service at the best price.
At P3 Cost Analysts, we specialize in managing our clients’ uniform and linen expenses. Our experts, with decades of industry knowledge, are typically able to reduce our clients’ expenses by 30–40%. We can even help you get out of your Cintas agreement.
Ever-increasing uniform and linen billing can be hard to manage if you don’t know how companies like Cintas work. We have staff members who have previously worked at Cintas and similar competitors. They know what to look for and are experienced cost reduction specialists who can help you save, switch, or renegotiate.
Get in touch with us to learn more.
