In defense of chain cleaner tools what they are saving you is time/hassle/mess. Fill, pop on, zip, dump, done. Nearly all the mess stays in the little box. They don't work as well as removing the chain but congrats you have saved 15 minutes by using one of these tools.
Here is a recent video reviewing many models. I have the Park Tool one myself and I think the Park and Pedros come out on top in his assessment. I also asked the local shop what they do and they are using the Park tool.