Bath towels are a daily necessity&#;but why can&#;t they also be your little luxury? I set out to find the best bath towels available by rigorously testing 13 popular styles over the past year. Without a doubt, my top overall pick is Frontgate&#;s Resort Cotton Bath Towel, an incredibly soft, highly absorbent towel with a blanket-like feel. Or, if you&#;re looking for a value pick, Amazon Basics Quick-Dry Bath Towels offer impressive performance for the price. From ultra-soft to quick-dry to oversized, below, you&#;ll find my favorite towels for stocking up your linen closet.
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From terry to waffle weave, the best bath towels I tested are soft, absorbent and hold up over time.
Caroline Mullen for ForbesThe following is a list of all the winners from my testing process:
Over the course of one year, I tested 13 different bath towels of all different weaves, sizes and prices. Because preferences for bed and bath linens can certainly be subjective, I focused on a series of straightforward criteria to maintain as much objectivity as possible. There are a few characteristics that make up the perfect bath towel: Its plushness should be counterweighted by its absorbency, offering a smooth-to-the-touch feel; it should be neither too thick nor too thin; and it should dry reasonably quickly while hanging on a rod or hook. Finally, the best towels should be able to stand up to a somewhat aggressive, frequent laundering regimen.
Frontgate
Material: Long-staple Turkish cotton | Construction: Terry | Size: 30 x 58 inches | Weight: 700 GSM | Absorbency: 97.5% | Colors: 26
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Close your eyes and think about the best hotel towel you&#;ve ever wrapped yourself in. Now, imagine upgrading that towel. That&#;s how I feel about the Frontgate Resort Cotton Bath Towel. It&#;s far and away the softest and thickest towel I tested, more like a blanket than a utilitarian linen, and it also boasts one of the highest GSM (grams per square meter) of all the towels I tested. That means it&#;s proven to be fluffy and absorbent&#;and as expected, it did perform very well in my absorbency test, sucking up a whopping 97.5% of water. (It&#;s important to note that this towel did tie for first in the absorbency competition with the Matouk Milagro Bath Towel.)
Of course, this isn&#;t the towel for everyone. It&#;s particularly thick, as I mentioned, so if you&#;d prefer a towel whose primary function is just to get you dry&#;as opposed to one you&#;d want to, say, lounge around in for hours on end&#;I might direct you to the Onsen option below. But despite its thickness, this towel was also among the best when it came to a quick drying time. Frontgate&#;s terry is standard and durable enough to be used daily, but high-pile enough for discerning textile enthusiasts. This pick also retained maximum softness after the numerous washing and drying cycles I subjected it to, and showed no signs of stiffening, shrinking or fading. Last but not least, this towel comes in 26 different hues, so you can find a set that matches even the most niche color scheme. Overall, it&#;s a veritable win for design lovers and everyday users alike. (Dig deeper into my findings by heading over to my full review of the Frontgate Bath Towel.)
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Amazon
Material: Cotton | Construction: Terry | Size: 30 x 54 inches | Weight: 430 GSM | Absorbency: 78.87% | Colors: 4
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It&#;s hard to beat the cost of these towels, but their wallet-friendly price tag is certainly not the only reason I loved them. I was equally impressed with their overall quality, especially relative to the more luxurious (and costlier) options I tested. While they&#;re not my top pick, they are an excellent choice for those on a budget and anyone who&#;s simply interested in the best of the basics. Not only did they deftly suck up 78.87% of the water in my absorbency test, they&#;re also impressively soft. They&#;re still thinner than the other terry towels I tested, but that shorter pile isn&#;t necessarily a strike against them: Fewer fibers mean the towels can dry more quickly (as evidenced by this towel&#;s 7/10 dryness rating).
However, after multiple trips through the washer and dryer, the softness became less apparent as the towel appeared to shake off some of the fabric softeners likely used in manufacturing. This is a problem frequently seen with towels of all types; the straight-from-the-package feel does tend to differ from the post-wash experience. But for a towel at this price point, it&#;s practically to be expected. At just over $20 for a set of two, this product is great for folks in need of a straightforward bath towel, whether for their own bathroom, a guest room or a dorm room. (Check out my full review of Amazon&#;s Quick-Dry Towels for more testing details.)
Brooklinen
Material: Long-staple Turkish cotton | Construction: Z-twist | Size: 30 x 58 inches | Weight: 820 GSM | Absorbency: 97.5% | Colors: 15
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If you&#;re after &#;thick&#; and &#;really, really fluffy&#; more than anything else, grab these extra-plush towels from Brooklinen and don&#;t look back. They&#;re surprisingly absorbent for an 820 GSM set (note that Brooklinen&#;s Classic Towels are 550 GSM, and my luxury pick from Matouk, too, clocks in at 550). While they&#;re certainly not for everyone (some prefer the thinner, more classic feel of the other towels on our list), they offer a knock-your-socks-off level of quality for those who do like a little extra fluff. The white color is particularly bright and fresh-looking, and there are 14 other colors offered on Brooklinen&#;s site.
The towel feels luxurious and ultra-thick on first pass, though that initial feel does shrink a small amount after its first run through the washer (in other words, it went from &#;very plush&#; to &#;just plain plush&#;). I didn&#;t count that as a mark against the product; subsequent washes revealed that it maintained that same post&#;first-wash feel. It still offers a far thicker texture than other towels on my list. All in all, it&#;s fairly easy to understand why Brooklinen touts these as its best-selling weave.
Matouk
Material: Long-staple, zero-twist cotton | Construction: Z-twist | Size: 30 x 60 inches | Weight: 550 GSM | Absorbency: 97.5% | Colors: 23
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This towel was the priciest of the winners I tested, and while a higher price tag doesn&#;t always equate to a higher-quality product, I believe the Matouk Milagro towels are worth every penny. I found myself looking forward to using them each time the opportunity came up in my testing rotation. Plus, after several months of long-term testing, I still find myself reaching for the Matouk bath towels, despite preferring a larger bath sheet&#;they&#;re that soft and luxurious.
In terms of overall absorbency, this towel was tied for first. Like the Frontgate Bath Towel, my top pick, it sucked up 97.5% of the water I poured. It also dried surprisingly fast for its plushness level: I gave it a stellar 9/10 dryness rating. Its 22.1-ounce weight hits the sweet spot between the thick Frontgate towel (27.1 ounces) and the thinner Onsen one (17 ounces). It also stays supremely soft and fluffy&#;even after multiple washes. While I stand by the Frontgate towel as the best overall pick for most people, I personally preferred the midrange pile on the Matouk. If you think you might also enjoy that in-between plushness range, it&#;s worth checking out, plus there&#;s myriad color options available.
Onsen
Material: Long-staple American Supima cotton | Construction: Waffle weave | Size: 31 x 57 inches | Weight: 470 GSM | Absorbency: 86.3% | Colors: 10
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Waffle towels are an increasingly popular option for bath linens like towels, robes and even pajamas, thanks to the ultralight weight and breathability of the fabric. They&#;re woven in a different pattern from typical terry towels, with raised threads that form small squares or rectangles, as opposed to the tight loops that form a terry weave. I&#;d easily recommend this option to anyone who enjoys using an airy and lightweight towel, but suggest skipping if you prefer a thicker, fluffier linen.
The Onsen towel has plenty of benefits: It&#;s exceedingly lightweight with a GSM of only 470, takes up much less space in a linen closet, soaks up moisture very quickly and dries quickly. I found that it also got softer and more absorbent with each wash. It&#;s definitely the beauty queen of the bunch, too. The waffle-weave texture adds an undeniable je ne sais quoi to any bathroom, and the product comes in nine hues, including oatmeal, a deep chocolatey brown and a vibrant ochre. One more thing to mention: Even though this towel is quite absorbent, its low pile and light weight means you can more quickly feel water that&#;s been absorbed. So if you&#;re someone who likes to lounge around in a towel while getting ready, I&#;d recommend a fluffier pick with a higher GSM. (Find out what senior reviews editor Anna Perling thinks about the Onsen Bath Towel&#;s features in her breakdown.)
Amazon
Material: 60% microfiber, 40% cotton | Construction: Z-twist, jacquard weave | Size: 30 x 56 inches | Weight: 500 GSM | Absorbency: 90% | Colors: 9
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To be honest, I wasn&#;t expecting much from these very well-priced towels, as I&#;m a stickler for 100% cotton linens. I was pleasantly surprised, though, that they were incredibly soft and fluffy, and found myself reaching for them just as often as the more luxurious products in this lineup. They&#;ve got a middle-of-the-road absorbency level, taking in around 90% of the spilled water during testing; this is likely because the blend of natural and synthetic fiber tends to repel moisture a bit more than a towel made from 100% naturally occurring materials like cotton or linen. However, I didn&#;t mind the materials of this towel or that I needed to blot myself off just a tiny bit more than with others I tested, because the microfiber blend contributed to an impressive softness that didn&#;t diminish with washing. They were also almost completely dry after 15 hours, so you&#;d likely never have to reach for a still-wet towel from the day before.
These towels come in nine different colors, including Lavender and Khaki, both with contrasting hems. They&#;re also slightly different from typical terry cloth towels, as they have a diamond-shaped jacquard weave that adds a bit of interest and allows the towel to dry faster with channels that air can pass through. The raised pattern will also help disguise imperfections like snagged loops over time. I like that they come in a reusable zippered bag, as this makes them both easy to store for guests and portable for camping trips and sleepovers. (If you have a Prime membership, check out this list of best towels on Amazon our home editors recommend.)
Brooklinen
Material: Long-staple Turkish cotton | Construction: Terry | Size: 30 x 58 inches | Weight: 550 GSM | Absorbency: 93.75% | Colors: 10
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Originally, I had slated the bath sheet version of this towel as an option for the &#;best oversized&#; category, but during testing, it emerged as the standout in terms of quick-drying abilities. (In fact, my colleague, home writer Korin Miller, deemed it the best quick-dry towel overall.) For some context, my fiancé has a bizarre tendency to get his bath towels completely soaked, and I&#;ve been troubleshooting this issue for months because towels that get soaking wet tend not to dry quickly enough to avoid a mildew smell. The issue improved with some simple changes like dripping dry in the shower longer and laying the towel flat over the shower curtain rod to dry, but compared to other towels, these have been consistently quick-drying even in the wettest circumstances.
Now, we know that the higher the pile or GSM of a towel, the more absorbent it will be, but it will also be slower to dry. So if your bathroom has limited airflow or you live with a towel-soaker like I do, a slightly thinner towel like this one (with a GSM of 550) is a great option. It&#;s not as luxurious as Brooklinen&#;s super-plush line of towels (820 GSM), but it&#;s perfect for everyday use and is (so far) mildew-proof. It&#;s available in 10 different shades, including Brooklinen&#;s rotating limited-edition colors that come in seasonal drops. I&#;ve been continually impressed with the durability and colorfastness of these towels as well, not seeing more than one or two snags on the terry loops or any fading after several months of use.
Boll & Branch
Material: Long-staple Turkish cotton | Construction: Terry | Size: 36 x 70 inches | Weight: 820 GSM | Absorbency: 92.5% | Colors: 7
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Throughout this process, I tested a lot of bath towels, but in the end I always come back to a bath sheet. Bath sheets, on average, are about 860 square inches larger than standard bath towels, so they wrap around many more shapes and bodies and often provide a cuddly, blanket-like experience. These Boll & Branch bath sheets are both pleasantly spacious and quite weighty at 820 GSM. The significant GSM and high-quality cotton that make up these towels of course aid in absorbency, but I was pleased to note that they also dried pretty quickly considering their thick weave. A small detail I enjoyed was the decorative band around the bottom of the towel, which made it feel more luxurious and expensive. Plus, this towel is available in several colors, and there&#;s a soft neutral tone for every bathroom.
The Boll & Branch bath sheets were unbelievably soft out of the package, and after a wash were a bit less soft, but I don&#;t consider this a demerit. Since most towels are treated with a softener before shipping, this is pretty standard, and they were still exceedingly soft (and more absorbent!) than many towels I tested. This ultra-plush feeling, combined with the oversized dimensions, brought it up to the top of my personal favorites list&#;along with Matouk and Frontgate.
I tested five other bath towels that didn&#;t make the final cut&#;but that doesn&#;t mean they&#;re not worth looking into. Each of the following options offers something helpful to the user, and they&#;re bound to make certain types of shoppers very happy. Here are the other options:
Parachute Classic Turkish Towels: Ultimately, I didn&#;t think the classic Turkish towel was worth the price tag. It was soft, but it landed in the middle of the pack when it came to absorbency and drying abilities. If you&#;ve got the extra dollars to spare and are already a fan of the brand, this might be worth trying out.
Riley Spa Bath Towel: While this is a good option for those who prefer a thinner towel, it isn&#;t as soft as I expected for the price. It offers some thoughtful details, though, like curved edges and a loop for hanging. Still, it felt more like a beach towel than the sort of towel you might like to wrap yourself up in and linger for a while.
Coyuchi Cloud Loom Organic Towel: This was by far the most expensive towel I tested, but the quality was not as high as I was expecting. It&#;s certainly an attractive towel, featuring delicate piping and thick terry loops, but it came in last place in my absorbency tests, and it wasn&#;t nearly as soft as the Frontgate or Matouk towels.
Utopia Premium Bath Towel Set: Unfortunately, these towels were rather scratchy out of the package. Even though they were only a few inches smaller than other towels I tested, they felt considerably smaller during regular use. I wouldn&#;t recommend these as bath towels, but they&#;re a solid option if you&#;re in the market for dog towels or larger cleaning cloths.
Sand Cloud Terra XL: While these towels were absorbent (absorbing 95% of the water in my absorbency tests), they weren&#;t as quick-drying or soft as I had hoped from this brand. The short-pile terry wasn&#;t very luxurious, but the small loops would certainly snag less than some higher-pile towels I tested.
With so many bath towel options on the market, we gathered some tips for you to keep top of mind.
Caroline MullenI&#;m a writer and editor with more than five years of experience testing products (I&#;ve tried everything from couches to robot vacuums). I focus on home content, writing about design, cleaning, organizing and the best home products on the market for other publications and digital outlets in addition to Forbes Vetted, such as The Strategist, Domino, Insider Reviews and Real Simple.
For this piece, I spent a year testing 13 of the most popular and highly reviewed bath towels. Before the testing process began, I consulted two experts, each of whom lent excellent insight into the world of towels. We discussed everything from construction to proper laundering and even touched on display considerations. The following individuals gave their time to this story:
To make sure my methodology was as streamlined, straightforward and objective as possible, I kept the following criteria in mind: Each winning towel needed to be plush but absorbent, not too thin but not too thick, able to dry relatively quickly and capable of withstanding a frequent laundering regimen.
Before testing, I noted each towel&#;s basic specs as listed online or on the label. These consisted of the following: material (if cotton, I noted where it was grown and produced), construction, size (both listed and what I measured myself) and weight (in the standard GSM (grams per square meter). I then started testing for the following criteria:
While the GSM is an important indicator of plushness, the feel of a towel is something you can experience only through touch. I noted how each of the towels stacked up in terms of softness and fluffiness.
I first weighed each contender while dry. I then poured 4 ounces of water onto my countertop, laid each towel on top for one minute and weighed them directly afterward to see how much of the water they had absorbed. To calculate the percentage absorbed, I subtracted the dry ounces from the wet, multiplied this number by 100 and divided by the original 4-ounce measurement.
I began my process by making note of more basic specs like material, construction, size and ... [+] weight&#;then moved onto more "challenging" tests, including one that measured each towel's drying capabilities.
Caroline MullenI hung each towel on separate hooks in my bathroom and left the for 15 hours. Then I measured (by feel) how much moisture had evaporated from each, giving them a score of 1 through 10, with 10 being the driest and 1 the least dry.
I washed each towel three times, separately, on a hot, heavy-duty cycle. After each wash cycle, I ran the towel through the hottest dryer cycle before repeating my process. I noted which of the towel&#;s fibers had come loose, if any. I also recorded if any seemed stiffer or softer after washing and if any had lost dye or vibrancy along the way.
Throughout the testing process, I came across several words that are specific to the textile industry, but are worth knowing about when searching for the right bath towels for you. Sean Cormier, textiles professor at the New York Fashion Institute of Technology, helped to break down the below terms:
In keeping with my testing criteria, I&#;d recommend considering the following qualifications while shopping for a new set of towels:
Almost all of the towels I tested were made of 100% cotton. This seems simple enough, but it&#;s actually quite a complex category. There are three types of cotton: short staple, long staple and extra-long staple. When it comes to towels, long-staple cotton (such as Turkish cotton) or extra-long&#;staple cotton (such as Pima, Supima or Egyptian cotton) are preferable.
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Construction in this case refers to the type of weave showcased by each towel. In my tests, I dealt exclusively with waffle weave and terry options. In terms of size, bath towels are usually about 30 inches by 56 inches, some larger and some smaller. I was pleasantly surprised by all the bath towels I tested, which fit comfortably around me.
If you want a towel that&#;s exceptionally plush, look for one with a higher GSM&#;out of the towels I tested, both the Boll & Branch Plush Bath Sheet and the Brooklinen Super-Plush Bath Towel offered the highest GSM of 820. When it comes to sourcing towels for clients, Laura Pankonien of Austin-based interior design firm The Pankonien Group says that coziness is of paramount importance: &#;We source high-quality Turkish and Egyptian cotton in a 500- to 600-gram weight for that ultra-cozy hotel spa feel that our clients love,&#; she says. Alternatively, if you&#;d rather get dry and move along with your day, a less-plush waffle weave towel might be the right choice for you.
In any event, Sean Cormier says to keep in mind that some manufacturers will wash towels with a silicone fabric softener that makes the fabric super soft on the shelf; on first use, it might even repel water. This is usually a sign that the towel is not made with quality fibers, and the product might become scratchier with each wash, as opposed to softer.
Absorbency is incredibly important, as it&#;s the bath towel&#;s main purpose, after all. Three of the towels I tested&#;the Frontgate, Brooklinen and Matouk options&#;absorbed 97.5% of the water in my absorbency tests, a very impressive figure that relates back to their higher GSM. Typically, the thicker the towel (and the higher the GSM), the more absorbent it&#;s likely to be&#;and this was certainly the case with my top pick, the Frontgate Towel.
All of the towels I tested were able to dry almost completely in 15 hours, and in particularly tough conditions to boot: hanging close together on hooks in a bathroom. This is a qualification that doesn&#;t necessarily parallel other important towel criteria, so it&#;s important to look out for it on its own. The Onsen towel I tested, for instance, picked up 86.3% of the water in the absorbency test&#;not as much as some of my top picks&#;but it was the clear winner when it came time to actually drying off after a shower, quickly soaking water off and drying completely in half the time of the others.
It&#;s always important to determine whether your purchase will last you years or if it&#;ll disappoint within a few months&#;and that&#;s true whether you&#;re buying towels, bedsheets or any daily-use home product. Towels should be washed and dried regularly, and these cycles can be tough on fabric, which makes looking for a durable option particularly important. (Luckily, none of my top picks showed any real signs of wear and tear, like frayed threads, shrinkage or color loss.)
Which Bath Towel Is Best?
Of course, the definitive &#;best&#; bath towel depends on one&#;s personal preference. But based on my in-depth testing, I found that the Frontgate Resort Collection Towel scored the highest across the board, thus earning it the &#;best overall&#; title. It&#;s made of long-staple Turkish cotton, offering just the right blend of absorbency, thickness and softness. If however, you&#;re looking for an option that&#;s airy and lightweight, the best bath towel for you might very well be one that has a waffle weave, such as the Onsen Bath Towel, my best waffle bath towel pick).
One of the hallmarks of a quality towel is its absorbency. In the case of terry cotton towels, the higher the GSM, the thicker and more absorbent the towel will be. Waffle weave towels may not have as high of a GSM, but can still be just as high quality&#;my pick from Onsen does a great job of soaking up water and drying quickly. Bath towel brands renowned for their quality include Frontgate, Brooklinen, Matouk and Boll & Branch, which is why I included styles from each on this list. These can be on the pricier side&#;especially if you&#;re buying a full set or two&#;but they&#;ll last you a long time and won&#;t need to be replaced as often.
Whether you're looking for a plush cotton towel or a lightweight, waffle-weave one, these towels passed our tests with flying colors and will make perfect additions to your daily routine.
After over 600 hours of inspecting, soaking, laundering, and drying each bath towel, we narrowed down our list to the ones that performed best. We put the towels through their paces in The Lab and our homes, evaluating them by their quality, texture, absorbency, drying time, durability, and overall value.
When shopping for a new bath towel, you might want to grab the fluffiest option and call it a day&#;however, it&#;s nearly impossible to predict a towel&#;s performance just by looking at it. We did the heavy lifting for you: We researched and tested over 150 top-rated bath towels to find out which ones are truly the best.
In our tests, we found the towel was not completely dry after one hour, while most other options on this list were. That being said, it was only slightly damp, and we think its drying time is more than reasonable given its density. This bath towel was also in near-perfect shape post-wash, other than one loose thread at its corner.
These towels were amongst the most absorbent we tested and felt very high-quality. The fabric is very soft with a medium pile, tight and closely packed loops, and a unique decorative band.
A heavyweight towel can provide a soft and luxurious feel when drying off after a steamy shower, allowing for a more comfortable and enjoyable experience compared to thinner, rougher towels. Saatva&#;s Plush Towels boast a thick and cozy texture and a substantial construction that we loved.
We also liked that the soft texture didn&#;t change post-wash, and the towel felt as good as new with no signs of wear. What&#;s more, after six months of use, the towel&#;s performance, texture, and overall quality stood the test of time. The towel is just as soft as when it first arrived, which is especially impressive since many lose their plushness over time.
Although the towel performed well in our absorbency test, it took a bit longer to completely dry (around two hours) than other options we tested. However, this tends to be standard for plusher, heavier towels.
We also were impressed with its attractive design, which featured a decorative series of five double-welts on each end rather than the standard band. The loops seemed durable, dense, and compact, and we liked its heavier 700 GSM weight.
A soft towel can enhance your bathroom routine, and Southern Living&#;s Turkish Cotton and Modal Towel provides a truly cozy experience. (Southern Living is owned by The Spruce&#;s parent company, Dotdash Meredith.) During lab testing, we were huge fans of the towel&#;s fluffy and plush texture, which we couldn&#;t get enough of.
This set comes with two washcloths, two hand towels, and two bath towels for $135. Plus, you can personalize your towels by adding a monogram for an extra $10, which may be worth it if you live in a larger household and want to keep track of which towel belongs to who.
Based on our lab tests, we think it's an upgrade from most everyday towels. We found it handled our stain and abrasion tests quite well, suggesting impressive durability. We also appreciate how absorbent and quick-drying this towel is despite its substantial weight.
During lab testing, we were immediately impressed by the luxurious texture of this towel. It feels plush and supremely soft with a moderately dense weight of 600 GSM. This product also comes with a hanging loop, but we found it felt a bit weak and prone to tearing. In general, though, the construction quality was sound and the towels looked high-end.
If you&#;re looking to upgrade your bath towels, washcloths, and hand towels all at once, check out the Crane & Canopy Plush Towels. You can either purchase the bath towels individually or as a bundle for added convenience.
We also love that there&#;s a hook loop for easy hanging. It&#;s also highly absorbent and quick-drying. While this towel is on the thinner side, it&#;s surprisingly durable. There was no change in texture or quality even after abrading the material, which is a good indication of the strength of the fibers.
If you&#;re used to using thick and fluffy towels, waffle weave towels may take some getting used to. However, this towel offers a dual-sided design with a terry cloth material on one side and a waffle knit on the other. Although it still doesn't have the same weight as plush towels, this towel is a great pick for those looking for a lightweight, compact, and effective towel.
Lightweight and exceptionally absorbent, waffle weave towels are a highly effective and design-forward alternative to your standard terry cloth towel. Our favorite of the category is the Boll & Branch Waffle Terry Bath Towel, which seriously impressed us with its thoughtful design, unique construction, and impressive durability.
In our long-term testing of this towel, we grew to love it even more. After three months, we found that it maintained its fluffy, spa-like feel and was easy to launder. While some shoppers might wish the price were a tad cheaper to stock several at a time, we think the towel is well worth the investment.
During our lab testing, we learned this is a slightly longer-than-average towel, perfect for taller users or those who like more coverage. The large, loop-pile weave and 800 GSM weight give it a plush feel that&#;s a step above the rest&#;it&#;s the heaviest option on this list, so its impressive drying time is especially notable. Just note that because of its thickness, this towel is bulkier and may take up more real estate in your linen closet .
We&#;ve actually re-tested the Frontgate Resort Cotton Bath Towel multiple times, and it&#;s consistently one of the top performers. This towel has a thick, luxe, hotel-quality feel that holds up wash after wash. Available in a whopping 27 colors, it&#;s made with long-staple, finely-combed Turkish cotton for a soft, blanket-like texture. Despite its substantial construction, it was completely dried in just 30 minutes, making it the fastest drying option we tested.
Reaching for a still-damp towel after stepping out of the shower can be particularly unpleasant; luckily, the Frontgate Egyptian Cotton Bath Towel boasts a speedy drying time, making it ideal if you live in a humid climate or take more frequent showers. What&#;s more, a faster drying time can help prevent musty smells from occurring since mildew thrives in moist environments.
That being said, we haven&#;t found any loose threads, snags, or other signs of wear and the quality has held up very well. However, we had to swap this towel out in the California summertime because it was a bit too thick to dry between uses. All things considered, while this product is more expensive than other options we tested, we think it&#;s well worth the price tag.
Over the course of six months, though, we&#;ve noticed some changes in this towel&#;s texture after consistent use. Although this towel was super plush and fluffy for the first couple of months of testing, we noticed it got rougher after around six to 10 rounds in the washing machine. While it&#;s still plenty thick, it&#;s no longer as soft as it was upon arrival.
Made with organic long-staple cotton, these towels have a soft and plush feel you&#;ll appreciate use after use. Even after multiple runs through the washer and dryer, this towel continued to feel like a luxury product. Its absorbency was also impressive. During our real-world testing, this towel soaked up water quickly and effectively, and it felt cozy to wrap up in after a hot shower . We were also pleasantly surprised by how quickly it dried, despite its plushness and density.
Depending on your schedule, bath towels are an item you&#;ll use nearly every day&#;so oftentimes, it&#;s worth it to splurge. Out of the dozens of towels we've tested, Boll & Branch&#;s Plush Bath Towel is one of our top choices for its quality construction, impressive performance, and thoughtful design.
Generally, you should replace your towels every two years. If your bath towels are not absorbing water as well as they used to, developing odors, or have frayed edges and holes, it's time to replace them.
Although we successfully removed most stains in the lab, makeup leaked through to the opposite side, so you&#;ll want to ensure you treat both sides of the towel in case of a stain. Despite these concerns, we still think the towels will hold up over time with proper care.
However, in our tests, we observed some durability shortcomings worth noting. There was an apparent difference between the towel's texture before and after laundering, as it felt noticeably more coarse post-wash. Additionally, after abrading the material with a scrub brush, we found it did not hold up well, as the fibers flattened and shredded from the towel.
This towel weighs around 450 to 550 GSM, making it a versatile medium-weight option. In the lab, we liked its pleasantly soft texture and appealing ribbed design. While it doesn&#;t have any premium features or frills, we think it's a basic yet dependable option that performs as it should. Additionally, this towel wowed us with its absorbency and drying time, so we&#;re confident it&#;s effective for everyday use.
At just $12 for two towels, the Threshold Quick Dry Ribbed Bath Towel Set offers a ton of value with a budget-friendly price tag&#;but that&#;s not the only selling point. It&#;s also a top performer in terms of its cozy texture, absorbency, and fast dry time.
We did notice that after laundering this towel, the texture became just a tiny bit rougher, but the difference was barely perceptible. We found this was standard across the board for every towel we tested, and many options had a more drastic change after the first wash. The towel also proved highly durable, as it held up well after abrading the fabric and was highly stain-resistant.
Compared to thicker options with slower drying times, this one was only slightly damp by the 30-minute mark and completely dry in one hour, making it a great choice for everyday use. However, while still highly absorbent, other options on this list performed slightly better in our absorbency tests.
The towel is made from organic long-staple Turkish cotton, which gives it a standout texture that makes it the softest we've tested. It has a notably luxurious and high-end feel, and we think it offers great value considering its price point. For reference, our best luxury pick, the Boll & Branch Plush Bath Towel , is around $15 more.
What we love most about this towel is that it offers a premium feel without sacrificing performance and dependability. The texture is fluffy and dense, but not overly so. It has a substantial construction but isn&#;t too heavy, which makes it both comfortable and effective.
Our favorite towel is the Pottery Barn Hydrocotton Organic Quick-Dry Towel&#;we love it so much, we've retested this product twice and it continues to perform exceptionally across the board. At 550 GSM, this towel offers a medium-weight construction that&#;s versatile and suitable for most households.
Our best overall bath towel is the Pottery Barn Hydrocotton Organic Quick-Dry Towel, a luxurious option that earned high marks for its exceptional softness and efficient drying time. We also recommend the Threshold Quick Dry Ribbed Bath Towel Set, our best budget pick, a highly absorbent and durable option made from cotton.
How We Tested the Bath Towels
We've tested 152 bath towels in The Lab and at home. We routinely test new bath towels at The Spruce so that we can keep this list updated with the most effective options.
In our latest round of testing, we found our favorite bath towels had a soft feel, quick drying time, and consistent quality. While we tested towels made from a variety of materials, including microfiber, bamboo, and linen, all of the top performers were made from cotton or a cotton blend.
We evaluated the towels, assessing the texture of each and considering its softness, thickness, and weight. In our testing, we found that almost all the towels we tested became slightly less soft in texture post-wash, and some options changed more drastically than others.
To determine each towel's absorbency, we test how well each towel soaked up moisture from both our hands and a bowl of water. We conducted this test before and after laundering the towels to see if there was any difference in performance.
To test the drying time, we hung each wet towel on a drying rack and timed how long it took to dry. All of our top picks were either completely or mostly dry in just one hour, which is ideal for those who take frequent showers.
We also conducted a stain test using mascara and foundation&#;after spot-treating the stains and laundering each towel, we inspected the previously stained area and noted how well the stain lifted. Note that almost all of the options we tested came out stain-free.
In addition to our standard in-lab testing, we conducted long-term home testing to see how the towels held up over time, checking in after six months. For long-term testing, we took the highest-performing lab-tested bath towels and used them in our own houses to note how they performed in real-world situations.
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How to Choose the Best Bath Towel
Identify Durable and Absorbent Materials
While many people don&#;t think about the fibers their towels are made from, this is one of the most important considerations, as fibers perform differently in terms of absorbance, softness, colorfastness, and durability. In our latest round of testing, we found that all of our favorite picks were made from cotton or a cotton blend, despite testing a range of fabrics, including microfiber, bamboo, and linen.
There are several types of cotton towels available, including Egyptian cotton, Turkish cotton, organic cotton, Supima cotton, and more. Egyptian, Turkish, and Supima cotton towels are the most luxurious types you can buy and tend to have a higher price point than towels made from other materials. They are typically made from long-staple fibers, so they are super soft and absorbent
Our best overall bath towel, the Pottery Barn Hydrocotton Organic Quick-Dry Towel, is made from 100 percent organic long-staple Turkish cotton. The Frontgate Cotton Bath Towel (our best quick-drying pick) is another great option made from Egyptian cotton.
If you prefer to shop organic, there are many great options available. These towels are generally made from 100 percent cotton and are certified by a third-party vendor. These towels are made from cotton that is not treated with pesticides. These are very soft and plush but may take longer to dry than other options.
Multiple products on this list are made with GOTS-certified organic cotton, including our best luxury option, the Boll & Branch Plush Bath Towel.
The Spruce / Henry Wortock
Prioritize Larger-Sized Towels
You should always check the size of bath towels before you buy them. There&#;s nothing worse than getting your towels home and realizing they&#;ll barely wrap around your body! Standard bath towels are usually between 27 to 30 inches wide and 52 to 58 inches long.
Towels that are 27 x 52 inches may be perfect for smaller adults, but they likely won&#;t suffice for larger adults. Keep this in mind, especially if you&#;re shopping online and can&#;t see the towel in person before you buy.
The Spruce / Bailey Mariner
If you want to bundle yourself up in a towel, look for bath sheets, which are larger, spa-like towels that typically measure between 35 to 40 inches wide and 60 to 70 inches long. As you might expect, they generally cost more than standard towels. Many of our favorite bath towels also come in bath sheet sizes, including our best heavyweight pick, the Saatva Plush Towels, which are oversized and reliably cozy.
Pay Attention to Fabric Weight
All fabrics, including towels, have a weight that&#;s measured in GSM, or grams per square meter. In general, towels typically weigh between 300 and 900 GSM&#;the lower the number, the lighter the towel will be (and the quicker to dry). There&#;s no &#;right&#; towel weight; it&#;s simply a matter of personal preference. Some people like lighter towels, while others prefer heavy, dense ones.
As a general rule of thumb, towels with a GSM of 300-400 are great for humid areas, while products between 400 and 600 GSM offer a happy medium between plush and lightweight.
While heavier towels typically take longer to dry, we were surprised to find in our testing that our best quick-drying pick, the Frontgate Egyptian Cotton Bath Towel, is our heaviest option at 800 GSM.
Don't Overlook a Towel's Absorbency
According to Whitney Thornburg, design director at Coyuchi, absorbency is one of the most important factors to consider when shopping for towels. &#;A great way to check [a towel&#;s absorbency] is to just spill a bit of water onto your towel. It should immediately be absorbed&#;not pill or bead on the towel,&#; she says. &#;If it doesn&#;t dry you off post-shower, it&#;s not doing its job.&#;
Absorbency may be important, but it's often hard to discern when you&#;re shopping in-store or online. There&#;s no way to measure a towel&#;s absorbency without trying it, but you can look for a few indicators that a towel will soak up plenty of water.
For one, thicker, heavier towels are generally more absorbent, as previously noted. This means towels with a higher GSM will soak up more water&#;but, remember, they take longer to dry out. Further, towels made from premium cotton varieties, such as Egyptian or Pima cotton, tend to be more absorbent, as are products made from a cotton-rayon blend.
One of the most absorbent towels we&#;ve tested is the Southern Living Turkish Cotton and Modal Bath Towel (our best plush pick), which has a heavyweight construction and earned a perfect score in this category.
The Spruce / Henry Wortock
Why Trust The Spruce?
This article was written by Bianca Pineda, a commerce writer who covers bath products for The Spruce. To compile this list, she consulted lab and long-term testing insights, assessed numerous customer reviews, and conducted supplemental research about the topic. All of the products in this roundup met our quality standards during the research process and performed the best during our lab and home tests. She has also worked on numerous other related roundups, including Best Bath Sheets, Best Showerheads, Best Small Bathtubs, and Best Bath Pillows.
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