Matouk Milagro Bath Towel
Material: Long-staple, zero-twist cotton | Construction: Z-twist | Size: 30 x 60 inches | Weight: 550 GSM | Absorbency: 97.5% | Colors: 23
Best for:
- Those who prefer to invest in luxury, premium home goods
- Anyone who likes the look of monogrammed linens
- Design lovers (23 color options are available)
- Anyone concerned about chemical safety (these are Oeko-Tex–certified)
Skip if:
- You’re on a budget
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.
Best Waffle Bath Towel
Lightweight And Stylish, With Superior Absorption
Onsen Waffle Bath Towel
Material: Long-staple American Supima cotton | Construction: Waffle weave | Size: 31 x 57 inches | Weight: 470 GSM | Absorbency: 86.3% | Colors: 10
Best for:
- Anyone looking for lightweight linens
- Those who prefer a quick-drying option
- Design lovers who appreciate the aesthetic quality of a waffle weave
Skip if:
- You enjoy being wrapped in a fluffier towel
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.)
Best Bath Towel On Amazon
Readily Available And Surprisingly Soft
Everplush Diamond Jacquard Bath Towels
Material: 60% microfiber, 40% cotton | Construction: Z-twist, jacquard weave | Size: 30 x 56 inches | Weight: 500 GSM | Absorbency: 90% | Colors: 9
Best for:
- Quick shipping for hosting last-minute guests
- Softness that won’t change with laundering
- People on a budget
Skip if:
- You prefer a 100% cotton towel
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.)
Best Quick-Dry Bath Towel
The Best of Both Worlds In Softness And Drying Time
Brooklinen Classic Bath Towel
Material: Long-staple Turkish cotton | Construction: Terry | Size: 30 x 58 inches | Weight: 550 GSM | Absorbency: 93.75% | Colors: 10
Best for:
- An everyday towel that stands up to heavy use
- Bathrooms with limited airflow
- Those who get their bath towels thoroughly wet
- Anyone concerned about chemical safety (these are Oeko-Tex–certified
Skip if:
- You want a super-fluffy towel
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.
Best Oversized Bath Towel
A Blanket-Like Bath Sheet To Embrace All Shapes And Sizes
Boll & Branch Plush Bath Sheet
Material: Long-staple Turkish cotton | Construction: Terry | Size: 36 x 70 inches | Weight: 820 GSM | Absorbency: 92.5% | Colors: 7
Best for:
- Those looking for a larger format than standard-size bath towels
- A warm, cuddly experience
- A luxurious offering for guests
- Anyone concerned about chemical safety (these have GOTS and Oeko-Tex certifications)
Skip if:
- You’re looking for the quickest-drying product
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.
Other Bath Towels I Tested
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.
My Expertise
I’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:
How I Tested The Best Bath Towels
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.
I 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.
Towel Terms To Know
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:
- GSM: This acronym stands for grams per square meter, which indicates how thick and weighty a material is. Bath towels typically fall somewhere in the 300 GSM to 900 GSM range; the higher the GSM, the more plush and absorbent the fabric will be.
- Long-staple cotton: A “staple” refers to the length of each single cotton fiber used in the fabric. Most of the cotton grown in the United States is short-staple Upland cotton, and while it’s great when used to make items such as jeans or flannels, long-staple cotton—which measures approximately 1.25 inches long—is preferred for bath towels. (Generally speaking, longer-staple cotton yields a final product that’s softer and stronger.) A popular long-staple option for bath towels is Turkish cotton, which is featured in many of the top picks on this list.
- Extra-long–staple cotton: At around 2 inches in length, extra-long-staple cotton (including Egyptian and Supima varieties) is used to make more luxurious towels thanks to its exceptional softness and absorbency. Towels woven with extra-long–staple cotton tend to be more expensive, but they maintain their quality over time.
- Terry: A terry weave refers to the raised, tightly woven loops of thread that cover a fabric’s surface. Terry towels have a reputation for being a fluffy, yet absorbent choice. Terry fabric is typically made of 100% cotton, but it’s sometimes also blended with synthetic materials like polyester, polyamide and elastane.
- Waffle weave: Also known as a honeycomb weave, a waffle weave features raised threads that form small squares or rectangles across the fabric. The result is a soft, subtly textured fabric that is both breathable and lightweight. Waffle weave fabric isn’t as plush or thick as terry, but it does dry faster and takes up less space.
- Oeko-Tex: If your towel comes with an Oeko-Tex label, that means the product is free from any potentially harmful substances. More specifically, a Standard 100 certification from Oeko-Tex indicates that every component of the textile has been tested against a list of up to 350 chemicals, while a Made In Green certification means that the fabric was produced in an environmentally friendly facility.
How To Pick A Bath Towel
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.
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).
How Can You Tell If A Bath Towel Is Good Quality?
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.
