The Best Bath Mats of 2021

Our top pick, the Frontgate Resort Bath Mat, was incredibly soft and absorbent, sucking up all of the water we spilled on it. The elegant design goes with any decor, too. It felt cushiony soft underfoot and it held up nicely after multiple uses (no sign of wear and tear). This mat didn’t pill at all when we ran it through the washer and was dry in only a few hours. It also comes in a convenient (and compact) size at 21 x 34.

Made of 100 percent long-staple Turkish cotton, the Resort Bath Mat is woven to 1,200 GSM for ultra plushness and absorbency. This mat is designed to acquire a more lush feel each time you run it through the wash. The Frontgate comes in a variety of colors, from soft blues and greys to neutral tones and brighter shades like red and orange. While it’s more expensive than other bath mats on this list, the Frontgate is well worth the upgrade.

At 20 x 32 inches, the H. VERSAILTEX is a great size for most bathrooms. It comes in a wide array of attractive colors such as beige, dark teal, and ivory. This mat dried completely after four hours of hanging up on a towel rack, so you can be sure it will dry in between your showers. There was no musty smell after it dried, either.

The chenille microfiber texture feels cushy underfoot without collecting grime. It didn’t pill or shed at all when we ran it through the washer. It also grips the floor well, which means you don’t have to worry about potential falls when stepping out of the shower. We’d recommend it to any shopper who wants a quality bath mat for their home without breaking the bank.

The Estate Legends Luxury Cotton Bamboo Bath Mat is definitely luxurious. It’s white and furry and looks great in any bathroom. At 30 x 50 inches, it’s rather large and heavy. It’s very thick and made of 50 percent cotton and 50 percent bamboo material. It also comes in three sizes and features a tufted construction that’s cushy on your feet. The mat was also very absorbent and provided plenty of coverage as you step out of the shower. It also comes in a 24 x 40 size option if the one we tested is too large for your bathroom.

The downsides? The one we tested is white and could get dirty easily. On the upside, it also comes in a cream color that seems more stain-proof. While it’s machine washable, the furry texture could make drying difficult and cause the mat to pill and tangle. If you want to upgrade your bathroom and don’t mind the high-maintenance element of air drying and fluffing afterward, this could be the mat for you.

Made of soft memory foam, the Broadbent Bath Mat had a nice cushiony feel and could cover a large part of the floor outside of your shower. It came in a variety of calming blue shades and would add a bright spot to any bathroom. The soft, brushed microfiber material was cozy and repelled splashes easily. It comes in two sizes, (20 x 32 or 17 x 24) that should fit nicely into most bathrooms. The Broadbent also had a skid-resistant backing and slip-resistant surface that provided stability when stepping out of the shower.

While it left quite a bit of water on the floor during the spill test, it was dry to the touch after being hung up for a few hours. Despite being made of soft memory foam, this bath mat was average at best and a little too expensive for its absorption power compared to the other memory foam products we tested.

The Momentum Home bath mat was moderately fluffier and slightly quicker to dry than our winning mat, but felt something to be desired with its absorption power. It’s still a great choice, especially if you want your mat to dry more quickly—just know that the reason for the shorter dry time is that it doesn’t soak up as much water in the first place.

The mat is made of soft microfiber bristles, which feel cozy on the feet. It's safe to throw in the washing machine, though you'll have to let it dry flat or on a clothing line.

The ITSOFT mat comes in beautiful colors like purple, red, and beige and has a nice cushy feel underneath your feet. At 47 x 21 inches, it’s on the larger side so it will easily fit the entire length of a bathtub. However, it was too large in my bathroom, so we wouldn’t recommend it for someone who has a stand-up shower. It’s also machine washable and shed very little during our testing.

Despite these positives, the ITSOFT didn’t score higher in our tests because of its absorption power. There was a small amount of water left on the floor during our spill test and it had a musty smell after we dried it on the shower rack. Drawbacks aside, it's a decent mat if you’re looking for something that fits the length of a bathtub and is super plush to the touch.

The Gorilla Grip Luxury Chenille Bath Mat is a good choice if you’re looking for a basic bath mat. It has good absorption power for a less expensive bath mat and dripped water will never land into the grout between your floor tiles.

That said, in our second round of testing, it didn't hold up to our wear and tear tests. The mat got tangled and matted after a couple of uses and it collected dirt easily.

The Gorilla Grip mat is available in 20 different colors from black to light pink, so you’ll be hard-pressed to find a bathroom decor scheme that it can’t fit. And while we tested the 30 x 20 version, it actually comes in two other sizes (24 x 17 and 44 x 26), as well as a U-shaped version designed to fit around a toilet.

Manufactured in the heart of Manhattan's garment district, the Cobblestone Bath Mat is made of combed Aegean cotton. Despite what the Internet thinks, we found it to be subpar. It absorbed water well, but we didn’t enjoy using it as its texture was scratchy and uncomfortable. The white color also collected dirt and appeared grimy after several uses.

All in all, we wouldn’t recommend the Cobblestone for your bathroom unless you’re really going for an Anthropologie home decor theme. It also comes in one size, 34 x 21, so it wouldn’t be a good fit for every bathroom.

The Smart Dry Memory Foam Bath Mat is a good size for any bathroom at 17 x 24 inches. It comes in a range of neutral colors, so it can go with any bathroom decor. It’s also made of ventilated open-cell memory foam, which is designed to dry quickly and be stain-resistant to keep the mat looking brand new.

It comes in two other sizes (21 x 34 and 24 x 58) and that are compact but still large enough to give adequate coverage as you step out of the shower. It mopped up most of the water we purposely spilled during testing, too. The only downside is that it develops pills when washed and dried. That said, it’s an affordable, comfortable bath mat that should be able to accommodate all of your needs.

If you buy the ToiletTree mat, it has to be because you specifically want a bamboo mat. Buy it for any other reason and you’ll be disappointed. When stepping onto it after a shower, it felt slippery, hard, and a little cold. It doesn’t soak up any water, which pooled under the mat after use.

Water also puddles on top of the bamboo if you don’t do anything to get rid of it. That said, if you're looking specifically for a bamboo bath mat, you probably understand that it won't do what a fabric one does. We can't deny that this mat made my bathroom look very spa-like, though we’d prefer something softer, but you do you!

This bath mat is fine, but it’s nothing special. There are comfier mats to situate beneath your feet, as well as more absorbent ones—the Vdomus picked up some water, but still left a minor puddle on the floor. You won’t hate it, but you won’t love it either.

The real reason to steer clear of the Vdomus—which, again, really isn't bad—is that visually it looks very similar to both the Gorilla Grip and Momentum mats, yet it performed worse than both in our testing.

The Magnificent Memory Foam Mat has a bunch of horizontal seams (unattractive), comes only in a 20 x 32 size, and only has two color options. It provides a really top-notch cushion that's supportive of your feet but also doesn't do a good job absorbing water. It's also a bit gross when wet. If you want memory foam, Magnificent is a decent choice for the price.

The Peachy Clean Bath Mat is really cute. Unfortunately, it gets gross after a couple of uses. In addition to collecting dirt easily, it formed pills after washing and drying, so we’d recommend spot cleaning. It was also only 20 inches in diameter and didn’t provide much floor coverage.

During the spill test, a noticeable amount of water was left behind on the floor. It’s just not a functional bath mat and the cute factor won’t last.

If you really want that velvety, cushiony memory foam feel, the Genteele bath mat is probably what you’re looking for. It’s certainly lovely to step on when dry, but it’s a different story when wet, as it doesn’t absorb much water. It also came folded in two and we found the crease difficult to get rid of, which made it visually unappealing for a while. That said, it provides a whole lot of cushion between your soles and the floor. Also, a little caution for those too lazy to research dimensions—the smallest version (17 x 24) feels really small for a post-shower space. The 20 x 32 mat might be a better bet.

If you've never had a memory foam bath mat, you should know that you'll probably either love it or hate it, but you're unlikely to feel ambivalent. If you love it, you'll love it for the supportive, springy cushion laid between your feet and the floor, as well as for the velvety texture. If you hate it, it will be due to the unpleasant squishiness of damp memory foam, though of course, it will dry eventually.

The AmazonBasics Bath Mat was our former Best Value pick, but it got knocked down a few pegs because of the scratchiness of the fabric.

The mat is exactly what you’d expect: basic. This bath mat might be better as a post-bath supplement instead of a permanent mat for your bathroom. That said, it’s inexpensive, absorbent, and easy to wash and dry.

Unfortunately, it only comes in one size (20 x 31 inches), with a few subdued color options (black, grey, navy blue, and white).

We wouldn’t call the LL Bean Egyptian Cotton bath rug a bath mat, we’d refer to it as a small towel. Although L.L. Bean is known for producing quality products, it scored low in our tests. Unfortunately, the Egyptian Cotton material easily collected dirt and it wasn’t very absorbent. While the material feels incredibly soft to the touch, it better serves as a fancy bath towel you’d find in an upscale hotel.

It’s a good size for most bathrooms at 28 x 36 inches, but you could easily slip on it stepping out of the shower as it didn’t grip the floor well. There was a noticeable musty smell after our spill test and the mat didn’t soak up much water, leaving behind a small pool. All in all, we’d say to stick to the Amazon Basics model if you want a towel-style bath mat.

Although the Gorilla Grip Luxury Chenille Bath Mat won Best Overall in our first round of tests, the memory foam version was the worst bath mat we tested. At 24 x 17 inches, it’s far too small and would be easy to slip on despite being a memory foam mat. It also collected water easily and slid around a bit when I stepped on it. During our spill test, there was a small puddle left on the floor and it barely dried at all after four hours on the towel rack. The only thing this mat had going for it was that it was affordable and could possibly fit in front of a small shower or toilet.