The 16 Very Best Bath Towels

Absorbency

Material

Style

Absorbency:Medium (550 GSM) |Material:100 percent long-staple zero-twist cotton |Style:17 colors

After two-plus years of use, this towel is as soft, cushiony, bouncy, and absorbent as it was on day one. Every time I come back to it after going through my rotation of bath towels I’m testing for this story, I’m always surprised by how superior it is to everything else. It strikes the perfect balance of being of a medium-weight fabrication that’s substantial without feeling heavy and soft to the touch without being slimy.It’s one of the most absorbent towels I’ve ever tried, and it somehow dries beautifully without getting crunchy.

It’s admittedly one of the most expensive options on this list — priced at $54 for a single bath towel (though it seems that the price has increased to $65 on the Matouk website) — but you get what you pay for: A luxurious towel made in Portugal from long-staple zero-twist cotton that just feelsreallynice. Putting it through the wash over the past 24 months hasn’t affected its initial fluff at all.In fact, the towel seems only to get softer. The most surprising thing to me was that it occupies that rare space between plush and lightweight, making it so easy to use. It takes up water immediately and dries quickly post-bath, too. Using it after a shower always feels like a treat, as if I were at a high-end hotel spa.

The Milagro towel is also a favorite of design experts, including home stagerMeridith Baerand interior designerAriel Okin. Okin says it holds up “for years,” washes well, and never sheds, and Baer agrees. “I love their luxurious plushness and the durability — even with constant use and washings, the plushness remains,” she says. Baer also loves the fact that it comes in dozens of vivid colors. “The color range is perfect,” she says. “I love using the blues, greens, and yellows for clients’ children rooms for a playful pop.” I happen to agree. I got it in canary yellow and it’s a delight to behold.

Absorbency:High (700 GSM)|Material:100 percent fine-combed, long-staple Turkish cotton |Style:28 colors

I bought these towels in 2020 — they’re the ones I’ve owned the longest — and after five-plus years of use, they’re still as soft, absorbent, and lofty as when I first purchased them. They have a GSM of 700, making them plusher than the Matouk, but are just as thirsty and pretty quick-drying, too. Also like the Matouk, they’re made from long-staple cotton, and in this case, from Turkey that’s been fine combed. They’re good medium-weight towels if you don’t want anything too heavy or too light. And compared to the Matouk towels, I would call them hardier: They’re not as plush or elegant, but that also means you don’t have to be as precious with them.

When I first bought them, I was going for a classic, white, hotel-towel look in my bathroom, and Frontgate’s five-inch wide “dobby” border puts them in that category. I got them in white — aside from a few dark stains that I’ve failed to get out, they don’t look dingy at all — but if that feels too risky, there are 27 other appealing colors to choose from, including “obsidian,” “French blue,” “dahlia,” and “aegean.”

Absorbency:High (700 GSM) |Material:100 percentorganic cotton |Style:Nine colors

The towel I’ve been most surprised by lately is from Target’s in-house line, Casaluna. I bought it after fellow Strategist writer Tembe Denton-Hurst first told me about the bath sheet, which she loves for its size and the fact that it’s “very soft, sturdy, dries me pretty quickly,” and washes well. It’s a medium-weight towel made from organic cotton with a GSM of 700, putting it on a par with the Frontgate towel. It’s soft, plush, and very absorbent, just as Denton-Hurst promised, but it’s also incredibly hefty and well made, considering its under-$20 price. It’s thicker than the Matouk but actually reminds me of it in many ways. It has a similar banded edge, giving it an elegant look that belies its mass-market origins. At $16, it’s an incredible value for its absorbency, durability, and feel. I own the bath sheet in a now-discontinued burnt orange, the bath towel in black, and several hand towels of varying colors, and the hues have stayed vibrant without ever fading over multiple washes.

Absorbency:Medium (550 GSM) |Material:100 percentorganic cotton |Style:Nine colors

For some, a heavyweight towel can feel too cumbersome. These “air weight” towels from Coyuchi are a good in-between option for those who prefer something lighter but still just as absorbent as something plushier, thanks to its middle-weight GSM of 550. It’s on the thinner side, making it more efficient to dry off with, wrap around your body, keep it there hands-free, and tie your hair up in a turban. It has a twill weave that makes it look more interesting than your traditional terry weave, and that pattern also contributes to its absorbency.

Absorbency:Very high (820 GSM)|Material:100 percent zero-twist Turkish cotton |Style:11 colors

If you want something extremely thick and sumptuous, consider Brooklinen’s Super-Plush towels, which have a GSM of 820 — the highest of any towel on this list. It’s a hefty towel that’s extremely absorbent with a really good hand-feel thanks to the long-staple Turkish cotton that’s woven in a zero-twist loop. (This type of finish contributes to the overall softness of the towel, as the cotton fibers are looped instead of twisted, which results in a rougher hand.) I will reiterate that they’re thick — among the thickest I’ve ever owned — but they absorb water quickly and efficiently, and feel quite indulgent after a shower. After using them in rotation for the past two years, they’re still as plush as when I first got them.

Absorbency:Very high (800 GSM)|Material:100 percent Australian cotton |Style:7 colors

For a towel that’s just as bouncy but a little more affordable, I recommendItalic’s Ultraplush towels. They have a GSM of 800, just 20 shy of the Brooklinen above, making it a great value. I tried this towel in the bath sheet size and the most noticeable thing about it is how thick and hefty it is, more than the Brooklinen, even while taking the size difference into consideration. It’s incredibly absorbent — perhaps even more so than the Matouk above — and got me dry as soon as I wrapped it around my body.

Strategist writer Ambar Pardilla agrees. “It soaks up bathwater like the best sponge you’ve ever had,” she says. Pardilla also loves how “ridiculously plush” they are, “truly, like how I would imagine a cloud feels.” I will say, however, that the towels’ absorbency and thickness make them heavy, perhaps even a little bit cumbersome to handle, if that is something you are considering. As for how quickly they dry post-shower, despite their high GSM and weight, they didn’t take significantly longer to dry than the Brooklinen towels.

Absorbency:Very high (800 GSM)|Material:100 percent long-staple Turkish cotton |Style:Eight colors

Quince’s ultraplush towels are a great lower-priced option in the heavyweight category. Made of long-staple Turkish cotton, they have a GSM of 800 (the same as the Italic and 20 shy of Brooklinen’s) and are equally as soft, plush, and absorbent as their higher-priced counterparts. I’ve been using them for about two years now, and they wash well and look like new. I got a set in a dark blue that is now discontinued, but I love putting them out for guests. Not only are they nice to use, they look quite inviting thanks to how fluffy they are. They’re also a great value at $60 for a set of two bath towels.

Absorbency:High (650 GSM)|Material:100 percent Supima cotton |Style:16 colors

Sizing up from a regular-size towel to a bath sheet, which is typically about 50 percent larger than a standard towel, can really upgrade your post-shower experience. Lands’ End’s bath sheet measures 36-by-70 inches, compared to its bath towel, which measures 30-by-56 inches. Made from American-grown Supima cotton, it’s a favorite ofHaand’s creative director, Mark Warren. “They are so thick and soft it makes taking a shower feel very luxurious,” he says. Plus, the bath-sheet size is “super-plush and huge and stands up to hundreds of washings.” And those aren’t light-use washes: “I have a kid and am a pretty dirty person, and these have withstood a few years of what is probably excessive wear and tear, including cleaning emergency potty-training accidents.” While Lands’ End’s towels come in a range of sizes, Warren recommends checking out the bath sheet, saying, “You will never be able to go back once you start using them.”

Absorbency:High (370 GSM)|Material:100 percent cotton waffle weave |Style:12 colors

Waffle-weave towels, which are woven with a raised honeycomb pattern, feel more like a piece of cotton fabric than terry towels do, and are incredibly thin and lightweight. But they’re also highly absorbent, thanks to the fabric’s 3-D design, without the added weight of a plusher, traditional towel. These waffle towels from Hawkins are a favorite of two designers, including furniture-and-lighting designerLulu LaFortune, who says, “The more you wash this towel, the softer it gets, like a vintage T-shirt.” (She also likes how fast-drying it is.) AndDecorillalead interior designer Devin Shaffer, says the towel is so comfortable he often finds himself “waking up from a nap wrapped in it in bed after a shower.” (While these have a lower GSM of 370, the waffle weave makes it highly absorbent.)

Absorbency:High |Material:100 percentextra-long stapleSupima cotton |Style:11 colors

For a waffle towel that’s slightly more affordable — and just as absorbent and good-looking — Strategist senior editor Winnie Yang recommends Onsen’s bath towels. “Our household prefers something not plush and faster drying, and I’ve just always loved a waffle weave for its textural interest,” she says, adding that a waffle is “not the type of towel to get if you want something plush.” That being said, she loves Onsen’s “slightly rougher texture because it feels more absorbent and also soothing to dry off with.” And because they’re not thick like terry towels, they’re faster-drying and “less prone to getting mildewy and smelly.” Yang has owned them for four years and “they’re in great shape, with no snags or discernible wear.”

Absorbency:Medium |Material:100 percentcotton |Style:Striped

Flat-woven Turkish towels are another non-terry, quick-dry option that are known for being lightweight, highly absorbent, and super-fast-drying.Sabahshoe designer Mickey Ashmore prefers them, especially ones from Oddbird, a company founded by Turkish native Ceren Alkaç-Lee, who now resides in Los Angeles. “There are a lot of cheap Turkish towels out there — machine-made and digitally printed,” he says. “Oddbird’s are shuttle-loomed using a high-quality cotton; they get softer with every wash.”

Absorbency:Medium |Material:100 percentcotton |Style:Woven

Here’s another a woven towel to consider. Strategist writer Erin Schwartz, who prefers a lightweight towel, loves this towel from Japanese maker Rikumo for how thin yet absorbent it is. It’s made of garment-quality cotton that has been slow woven on vintage looms, producing a sweaterlike fabric that Schwartz describes as “airy all the way through, like a soufflé.” Despite its “lightly squishy” feel, it’s as absorbent as traditional terry towels and doesn’t get too soggy before they’re able to fully dry off, thanks to the many layers of woven fiber that absorbs all the moisture. Schwartz has had it for five years in white and plans to get a new one soon.

Absorbency:Very high (700 GSM) |Material:100 percentcotton terry|Style:Two colors,Patterned, reversible

Brightly patterned towels that are also reversible are a fantastic way to introduce a little color to your bathroom.Dusen Dusen’s patterned towels are a favorite of architecture criticAlexandra Lange’s. She says they are “very plush, the colors hold up well over many washes, and it is kind of freeing that they don’t match anything in anyone’s bathroom.” They’re available in a few colorways, all reversible.Decorator Carrie Carrollois also a fan of the brand’s bold towels.

Absorbency:High (600 GSM) |Material:100 percent cotton |Style:Patterned, reversible

Autumn Sonata makes towels with some of the most striking and vivid patterns I’ve ever seen. They’re carried at boutiques likethe Primary Essentialsin Brooklyn andVestigein Philadelphia, and they’ve become a must-have item among the stylish, in-the-know set. PublicistKaitlin Phillips, who says she’s never been one to covet towels, loves the brand’s “unbelievably good colors” that she calls “inky, mature (walnut, ecru), and notably forgiving of stains.” The tight collection is designed with prints inspired by ikat weaving techniques, antique Japanese patterns, and 19th-century French trim. (Phillips describes the “legitimately reversible” designs as “reminiscent somehow of Norwegian glazed pottery,” or “late geometric.”)

Strategist deputy editor Simone Kitchens, who first saw them on designerKatie Lockhart’s Instagram, also recommends them for their surprising patterns, which she says would be easy to mix and match. “You could have any assortment and they would look good together,” Kitchens says, adding that they would look particularly nice in a “super minimal tiled bathroom.” Phillips, Kitchens, and I own the Ester pattern, a navy-and-ecru print inspired by traditional Katazome stencil practices. As for how the made-in-Portugal towels feel, they’re on the thinner (and smaller) side compared to all the other terry-style towels I’ve tried, but they’re very absorbent and dry superfast. While the towels come with unique washing instructions to prevent pilling and prolong their lifespan — when you first get them, wash once with distilled vinegar or baking soda, then a second time with detergent; machine-drying on low heat is fine, but line-drying is preferred — I have treated them like all my other towels (machine wash, dry on medium) and they look and feel just as good as the first time.

Absorbency:High (600 GSM) |Material:100 percent organic cotton |Style:5 colors

Nick Spain, founder of multidisciplinary design studioStudio Nick Spain, loves Melbourne-based brand Baina’s checkerboard-patterned towels, also stocked at Ssense andthe Break. “Even though lots of brands are using checks in bright and bold colorways right now, executing them in this velvety brown gives them a decadent, old-world feel,” he says. Carrollo also loves this dark colorway. “Brown and black might not seem like an obvious color combination — especially for your bathroom — but these add just the right amount of moodiness,” she says. In addition to the checkered pattern that’s available in a couple of a different colorways likecaper and chalkandpaloma sun and ecru, Baina makes areversible grid-patterned bath sheet with stitching detail, which the brand sent to me as a sample, as well as other graphic designs. I found the towel to be on the thinner-to-medium side, with a nice hand feel and quite thirsty. Despite the oversize dimensions, it wasn’t heavy or bulky to use and dried rather quickly. It also looked quite handsome hanging from the towel rack.

Absorbency:High (600 GSM) |Material:100 percent organic cotton |Style:15 solid colors, 12 striped

Several of our experts, including designerBeverly Nguyen, named this as their favorite-looking towel. The Copenhagen-based design studio offers 27 different solid color options and stripe combinations. Laura Reilly of the shopping newsletterMagasinowns the bath sheets in Racing Green, a white towel with thin dark-green stripes, and likes to feature them prominently in her linen storage “in open shelving in public view.” She says they have “a great bounciness, almost like a marshmallow.” Tekla sent me theKodiak stripe style(brown stripes) to test, and I was immediately struck by how the stripes were almost like pinstripes and narrowly spaced, making them really satisfying to look at. The towel itself is very soft to the touch and did a good job of absorbing water and dried quickly, too.