The best bath mats we tested
Best bath mat: Dorai Dual Bath Stone Mat
Best budget bath mat: Gorilla Grip Chenille Bath Rug
A quality bath mat is an essential purchase for every bathroom. It can help prevent slipping as you get out of the tub or shower and protect your bathroom floor from water, errant toothpaste and even soap stains. It’s as important as any of the best bath towels.
Many of the best bath mats are made from fabrics such as cotton or synthetic fibers, but there’s also a growing selection of wooden mats, stone mats and rubber alternatives. Ultimately, the type of fabric or material that works best comes down to personal preference and the overall aesthetic of your bathroom.
As someone who’s spent years testing all sorts of home goods, zeroing in on the best bath mat was particularly unique. I wanted to find a mat that offered premium absorbency but also considered underrated qualities like safety, washability and long-term durability. After testing eight highly rated bath mats, two emerged as the absolute best.
This stone mat from Dorai may not be the first thing you think of when shopping for a bath mat — but it should be. It requires less washing, is incredibly absorbent and skid-resistant, and looks good in almost any bathroom.
You can’t beat the quality of this $15 bath mat. It’s available in various sizes and color options (31 colors) and is plush, comfortable and cozy. If you’re on a budget, this is the bath mat to buy.
Best bath mat: Dorai Dual Bath Stone Mat
Most fabric bath mats must be thoroughly washed at least once a week to prevent bacteria, mold, mildew and odor from developing. If they’re not cleaned frequently enough, they can cause athlete’s foot and toenail fungus. Conversely, if washed too often, they can fade and lose much of their softness and bounce. The fluffiness of many fabric bath mats can also clog the filters of washing machines and tumble dryers.
This is why using a stone mat, like this one from Dorai, is far more hygienic. They can be cleaned easily using mild soap and water, and they dry almost instantly. They are also far more durable and long-lasting.
The Dorai Dual is backed with rubber and plastic, making it skid-resistant, which also helps it avoid any errant wobbles as you get out of the shower. It’s stable even on slightly uneven flooring.
What’s most surprising is how warm it feels underfoot and how rapidly it dries. You can watch the water evaporate from the surface seconds after it gets wet. This makes it our top pick for any bathroom but especially for those that aren’t well-ventilated or are shared by several people.
One of the main reasons we went with this specific version is because it’s 30% bigger than Dorai’s original stone mat and just as attractive. It comes in two sections that can be used separately or joined together in various formations. When clipped side by side, it measures 19 inches by 13.5 inches and fits fairly flush to the floor at just 0.6 inches in height.
This mat will also protect your floor better than any fabric version and will last significantly longer. Dorai also offers a solid limited warranty of 18 months for mats that become bowed, warped, cracked or moldy.
The downside is the cost and absence of fluffiness. This bath mat is the most expensive in our testing pool, but for hygiene purposes; its safe, sustainable materials; and its durability, we think it’s worth the splurge. However, a warmer fabric mat might feel more cozy if you live somewhere cold.
It only comes in two colors, but they’re neutral enough to work with any decor or color scheme.
Best budget bath mat: Gorilla Grip Chenille Bath Rug
This bath mat is fantastic value for the money and comes in more sizes and colors than any of the others bath mats we tested. There are 31 colors and 10 rectangular sizes, as well as contoured sizes that can fit around the base of the toilet. You can even get a toilet lid cover for a fuzzy, retro look.
The microfiber topside is delightfully soft on the feet, and the thick pile height wicks water away quickly. It’s also much faster to dry than the cotton or mixed fiber mats we tested, which should help it avoid accumulating bacteria.
It’s backed with highly durable thermoplastic (TP) rubber that won’t disintegrate, even after running through the washing machine and tumble dryer. This backing causes so much friction that the mat just will not budge on the floor. Because of that, this mat is one of the safest in our testing pool, alongside the Dorai Dual Stone Bath Mat, the Lands’ End and the ToiletTree.
It’s not quite as thick and sumptuous as the Company Cotton or Coyuchi, but it never wrinkles on the floor, feels very safe and is easy to vacuum and wash. Another plus is that we experienced zero shedding even before its first wash.
How we tested
We researched dozens of highly rated bath mats with favorable online reviews and chose eight to form our testing pool. We used each of these eight bath mats for several weeks in our bathrooms and washed them at least twice according to the manufacturer’s instructions.
We scored them based on the following criteria.
- Absorbency: We rated each bath mat on its ability to keep water away from our floors.
- Safety: We tested each mat and ranked them on their nonslip qualities on both tiled and wooden floors.
- Washability: Bathrooms’ humidity can make bath mats notoriously stinky and unhygienic if they are not cleaned properly and frequently. We noted how easy the mats were to clean and whether they were suitable for washing machines and tumble dryers.
- Quality and aesthetics: We scored the mats on the appearance, feel and durability of the materials. We also looked for quality in the construction of the hard mats and the strength of seams and hems in the fabric mats.
- Price: We considered the cost of each mat and if the price seemed reasonable for the materials and the quality of the mat.
- Color and size options: We recorded the number of choices available for each mat in terms of size, color and shape.
- Returns policy: We noted how easy the mats were to return. Our minimum return policy was 30 days.
Other bath mats we tested
This bamboo bath mat is water-resistant and nonslip, and can be placed indoors or outside for a stylish and functional look.
Suitable for indoor and outdoor use, this wooden bath mat has a high-quality appearance that’ll make you feel like you’re at a spa. It feels solid, heavy and well constructed. Thanks to its weight and four concealed rubber feet, it does not slip or slide underfoot.
The drawback is that we had to thoroughly dry ourselves before stepping on it to avoid too much water on the bathroom floor. The slats allow water to slide right through, so we regularly had to lift the mat to dry underneath it to prevent mold and mildew from forming. Because of this, it’s probably more suitable for a pool, sauna or porch area than for everyday bathroom use.
This is an excellent choice for anyone seeking a soft, quality cotton bath mat that will not skid or wrinkle. It’s backed with a rubbery gel material that holds up well after a couple of washes, and the topside doesn’t shed fibers (unlike the Frontgate and Coyuchi). The current sale also makes it a remarkably good value for ethically sourced cotton.
Initially, it was available in seven colors, but many of them have sold out and there isn’t a planned restock for all of them. This lack of choice will make it more challenging to match with your decor, especially since the more neutral colors are not currently available. But it is still available in four sizes and a contoured version.
The Company Store Cotton Bath Rug provides a thick cushion to step onto and comes in multiple colors for every bathroom aesthetic.
This soft bath mat feels deliciously thick and heavy, and does not lose its bounce after repeated use. It’s the thickest mat in our testing pool and is good value for the money. One side has looped cotton strands with a rugged feel, and the other is softer and more carpet-like. It comes in three rectangular sizes, one square option and a contoured version for the toilet.
With 30 shades, it has some of the broadest color options among the mats we tested. We loved this mat and its very reasonable price. The only reason it didn’t make our top picks is that it can slide on the floor a bit, especially if you choose to have the softer side facing the floor. It also sheds a little at first.
This mat is an absorbent cover to place damp feet post shower or bath. However, our tester did note it was prone to shift around on the floor more that others tested.
Made from 100% Turkish cotton, this bath mat is thick, soft, absorbent and well made. However, it shifts on the floor more than rubber-backed mats, such as the Gorilla Grip and Lands’ End. Because of the lack of grip, it can get rumpled up on the floor and it’s impossible to vacuum.
It’s available in two sizes and 13 colors, and if you cut the labels off, then it is also reversible, which is helpful if you get a stain on one side and want to hide it! It didn’t feel safe enough to make our winners list, though, and it sheds considerably.
This neutral shag bath mat is extra absorbent, available in two color options and provides a comfortable space for you to step on as you get out of the shower or bathtub.
This was the softest, shaggiest and most luxurious bath mat we tried. It has a 1970s “Austin Powers” shag pile carpet feel to it. It absorbs a lot of water and feels delightful on the feet, but we found it sheds its fibers quite a bit, even after a wash. After tumble drying it, we found big clumps of fibers in the machine’s filter, which means it’s likely to degrade significantly after many washes.
Because of its high absorbency, it takes a long time to dry, which can be inconvenient. Another downside is the cost. Apart from the Dorai Stone Mat, this is the most expensive bath mat we tested, but it’s nowhere near as durable as the Dorai. The Coyuchi comes in three neutral colors but only one size option, a generous 2 feet by 3 feet. The underside does offer quite a bit of grip but not nearly as much as the rubber-backed options.
The White Company Armande Bath Mat is thin yet absorbent. The classic style can fit into any aesthetic; however, it is less grippy than others we tested.
We love the way this bath mat looks. Its classic design gives off a French farmhouse vibe that pairs beautifully with a wooden floor. It works well with most decor because it’s only available in white and has such a beautiful, simple design.
While it is the thinnest mat we tested, its densely woven fabrics mean it’s still absorbent enough to keep your floor pretty safe. However, this mat would benefit from a more grippy underside because it can slip easily if you step on it from the wrong angle. We wouldn’t recommend this one for people who have ultra-smooth flooring; it’s just too slippy. Four sizing options are available, including a runner.