Proraso vs Cella
Both are Italian, both are excellent, and they are not really competing. One is a first soap you will finish; the other is a decade of shaving bought in a single tub.
By Sawyer V. · Published
We have not tested any of this. Everything below is compiled from published manufacturer specifications, and the arithmetic is printed so you can check it. This page carries affiliate links: if you buy through one we earn a commission at no extra cost to you, and it does not change the order of the picks. Full disclosure.
The short answer
Buy Proraso Green first. 150 grams of eucalyptus-and-menthol soap in a bowl, made in Italy, free of parabens, silicones and preservatives, and it lathers easily enough that a first attempt with a new brush still works. Buy Cella when you know you are staying. A one-kilogram tub of soft almond tallow croap at about a gram and a half per lather is years of shaving in one purchase, and the arithmetic is absurd next to anything in a can.
| # | Pick | Lasts | Score | Price |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Proraso Green shaving soap The safe first soap | ~100 lathers | 7.7/10 | $10.00 - view on Amazon |
| 2 | Cella Crema da Barba Buying lather once and forgetting it | ~670 lathers | 9.1/10 | Check price on Amazon |
Prices last verified October 19, 2026. They move constantly; the figure on Amazon when you click is the real one.
They are not really competing
Both soaps get recommended in the same breath, and both deserve it. But they are bought at different moments:
Proraso Green is a first soap. A 150 gram bowl, cheap, stocked in pharmacies across Europe and everywhere online, and forgiving enough that a bad early lather still shaves you.
Cella is a commitment. A one-kilogram tub is not a trial size - it is the purchase you make once you know you are still wet shaving in five years, and then do not repeat for a very long time.
Published figures
| Proraso Green | Cella Crema da Barba | |
|---|---|---|
| Size | 150 g bowl | 1 kg tub |
| Type | Hard soap | Soft tallow croap |
| Scent | Eucalyptus and menthol | Almond |
| Published exclusions | No parabens, silicones or preservatives | Not published |
| Origin | Italy | Italy, recipe in use since 1899 |
| Brush needed | Yes | Yes |
Where Proraso wins
- Trying it costs nothing much. A bowl is the price of a sandwich in most markets.
- Published exclusions. No parabens, silicones or preservatives, stated plainly - more than most soaps disclose.
- The menthol, if you like it. On a hot morning it is genuinely pleasant, and it is the reason this soap has the following it does.
- Shelf space. A bowl fits anywhere; a kilogram tub is a bathroom decision.
Where Cella wins
- Cost per lather. Nothing else in this ledger comes close.
- Ease. Soft enough to load in seconds, which removes the most common early failure - an under-loaded brush.
- Cushion. A tallow croap builds a dense, slick lather that holds through three passes.
- Scent that offends nobody. Almond, mild, and nothing like the menthol hit.
The honest cons, both ways
Proraso: the menthol is not for everyone and there is no way to dial it down;150 g goes quickly if you shave daily; and the bowl it comes in is not a lathering bowl, whatever it looks like.
Cella: a kilogram of soft soap needs somewhere to live and can dry out at the surface if left open; it is tallow, which rules it out for some buyers; and Cella publishes far less about the formula than Proraso does.
The verdict
First soap: Proraso Green - unless you dislike menthol, in which case the white tub is the same decision without it.
Long-term soap: Cella, bought once you know the format has stuck. The arithmetic is the argument, and it only pays off if you are still here in two years.
The soap roundup ranks the wider field, and cream versus soap is the page to read if you have not settled that question yet.
Every pick, with the working
Each entry shows the published specifications, the axis scores they produce and what you give up. The order is the computed order, not a commercial one, and the arithmetic is open underneath every score.
Our pickThe safe first soap
Proraso Green shaving soap
150 grams of eucalyptus-and-menthol soap in a bowl, made in Italy, free of parabens, silicones and preservatives. It lathers easily enough that a first attempt with a new brush still produces something usable, which is the only quality that matters in a first soap. The menthol is loud; if you dislike it, buy the white tub instead.
- Net weight
- 150 g
- Fragrance
- Fragranced
- Made in
- Italy
- Refill
- Nothing to refill
- Warranty
- Not applicable
- How long it lasts
- 100 uses
Published key ingredients: Stearic acid, Coconut oil, Glycerin, Menthol, Eucalyptus globulus leaf oil.
The arithmetic: 150 g net weight / 1.5 g per lather (assumed) = about 100 lathers.
What it gets right
- 150 g published net weight in a reusable bowl
- Lathers readily, which forgives a beginner's brush technique
- Published ingredient list; no parabens, silicones or preservatives
- Sold in most places that sell any wet shaving at all
Flaws
- The menthol and eucalyptus is a strong opinion for a product you use every day
- Contains fragrance and geraniol, so not the choice for a genuinely reactive face
The working behind the 7.7
- How long it lasts: 3.8
- 150 g net weight / 1.5 g per lather (assumed) = about 100 lathers. At five shaves a week, that is about 4.6 months. A 12-month supply scores 10 in this category, so 4.6 / 12 x 10 = 3.8.
- Ease of switching: 9.0
- Lathers with very little technique (+), 150 g published net weight in a bowl you can load straight from (+), but a fragranced, mentholated formula is a strong choice to impose on a face you have just started shaving differently (-).
- Refill economics: 8.0
- Nothing to refill. The only future cost is replacing the item itself.
- What the maker publishes: 10.0
- 4 of 4 specifications a buyer would expect are published: netWeightG, madeIn, keyIngredients, fragranceFree. 4 / 4 x 10 = 10.0.
Axes with no published input are dropped and the remaining weights re-normalized, so a product is not punished for a category where an axis does not apply. Specifications compiled 3 September 2026 from Proraso Green shaving soap published specifications.
2Buying lather once and forgetting it
Cella Crema da Barba
A soft tallow soap in an almond scent, made by hand in Italy to a recipe in use since 1899 and sold in a one-kilogram tub. At a gram and a half a lather that is several years of shaving in one purchase, which makes the arithmetic on it absurd compared with anything in a pressurized can.
- Net weight
- 1000 g
- Fragrance
- Fragranced
- Made in
- Italy
- Refill
- Nothing to refill
- Warranty
- Not applicable
- How long it lasts
- 670 uses
Published key ingredients: Coconut oil, Tallow, Stearic acid, Sweet almond oil.
The arithmetic: 1000 g net weight / 1.5 g per lather (assumed) = about 670 lathers.
What it gets right
- 1 kg tub — on our stated 1.5 g per lather that is several years of shaving
- Tallow, coconut oil and sweet almond oil, published in full
- Soft-soap texture loads onto a brush with almost no effort
Flaws
- One kilogram of almond scent is a long commitment to one smell
- The tub is a poor bathroom object; most people decant it
The working behind the 9.1
- How long it lasts: 10.0
- 1000 g net weight / 1.5 g per lather (assumed) = about 670 lathers. At five shaves a week, that is about 30.9 months. A 12-month supply scores 10 in this category, so 30.9 / 12 x 10 = 10.0.
- Ease of switching: 8.5
- Soft soap loads with almost no technique (+), 1 kg published net weight (+), but committing to a single scent at that volume before you know you like it is a real risk (-).
- Refill economics: 8.0
- Nothing to refill. The only future cost is replacing the item itself.
- What the maker publishes: 10.0
- 4 of 4 specifications a buyer would expect are published: netWeightG, madeIn, keyIngredients, fragranceFree. 4 / 4 x 10 = 10.0.
Axes with no published input are dropped and the remaining weights re-normalized, so a product is not punished for a category where an axis does not apply. Specifications compiled 3 September 2026 from Cella Crema da Barba published ingredients.
Prices last verified October 19, 2026. They move constantly; the figure on Amazon when you click is the real one.
Questions people actually ask
What is a croap?
A soap soft enough to behave like a cream. You can load a brush from it in seconds rather than working a hard puck, which is why Cella is forgiving despite being sold in a tub big enough to look intimidating.
Which lathers more easily?
Cella, because it is softer. Proraso is not far behind and is still one of the easiest hard soaps to learn on - the lather guide covers the hydration that decides both, and hard water is the variable people blame on the soap.
Is the menthol a problem?
It is loud, and that is the single most common complaint about Proraso Green. On a freshly shaved neck it reads as cold rather than painful for most people - but if you dislike it, Proraso's white tub is the same soap without the eucalyptus and menthol.
Does tallow matter?
It affects the feel of the lather more than the closeness of the shave. Cella is a tallow formula and people describe the cushion as richer; if you avoid animal products, that is a reason to choose Proraso rather than a performance verdict.
Which is cheaper per shave?
Cella, by a distance, because of the tub size - a kilogram at roughly a gram and a half a lather. Proraso costs less to try. The calculator takes today's prices and does the division with your own numbers.
Do I need a brush for either?
Yes - both are soaps rather than brushless creams, and a brush is the tool that hydrates them. The brush case is here, and a synthetic is the sensible first one.