The Very Best Bath Towels You Can Shop on Amazon

• Budget-friendly
• Comes with four towels

• Can leave lint

If you want as close to a guarantee as possible, opt for this bath towel set on Amazon. It has thousands of five-star reviews, all praising how soft and absorbent these towels are. For just $40, you'll receive four extra large towels, made with a silky soft cotton weave that feels nice on the skin but still dries down for your next shower.

• Super absorbent
• Quick drying
• Lightweight

• Bath towel isn’t sold separately
• Some find the bath towel too big

We famously love a waffle weave. It's one of our perennial favorite materials because it's lightweight, absorbent, and utterly efficient. It soaks up water on the spot rather than just wiping it around, and then dries quickly on the rack when you're done. Amazon sells this as a set consisting of an extra-large bath towel, a hand towel, and two washcloths, or you can grab a single (even bigger) bath sheet.

• Plush
• Great color options
• Well-priced

• Don’t last quite as long as some others
• Thinner than some reviewers expected

If you want some much-loved Egyptian cotton towels at a price you can afford, Martha Stewart's Noah Set does the job. It features two bath towels, two hand towels, and two washcloths and comes in every color under the sun. If you prefer something soft and easy— particularly if you need to outfit a bunch of bathrooms quickly and cheaply—you can't beat these. Their lifespan isn't quite as long as that of some other options, but they’re great while they last.

• Great color options
• Dries quickly
• Absorbent

• Pricey for just one towel
• Too thin for some

Gilden Tree's waffle towel is a great choice for people who like a thinner towel. This one is perfect if you prefer quick action, as it dries faster than its thicker, plusher competitors. We also like it for tousling our hair dry with a towel that doesn't feel weighed down by all the water. If you're the nitpicky type who prefers to bring their own towels on trips, or you're preparing for a camping excursion, this option will pack nicely, too.

• Fun lattice texture
• Low-twist design
• Good price

• Some colors sell out often
• Open weave can snag on things like piercings

If you prefer the look or feel (or both) of a textured towel, this Great Bay Home option makes any bathroom seem nicer. It has a low-twist design for airier construction. The fun lattice texture feels nice and prevents the whole towel from becoming sopping wet. And at $18, it's a steal.

• Always feels clean
• Super-soft cotton and viscose blend

• Waffle only on one side
• Bath sheet is kind of heavy

For a truly soft, just-from-the-dryer feeling every time you step out of the shower, Cozy Earth's bath sheets come through. Note that these are bath sheets, which just means they're bigger—and potentially life-changing for anyone who’s never used an oversized towel before. (Standard bath towels are also available.) With a waffle weave on one side and ribbed terry on the other, they're super soft, but they might feel a bit heavier than your other options, but we like that for cold winters when getting out of the warm shower feels like an Olympian-level task.

• Great combo of soft and absorbent
• Great neutral color options
• Dual-loop design

• Pricey
• Can fray if washed/dried roughly

If you like the softness of a plush towel but the absorbent qualities of a waffle towel, this is a nice medium. The outer loops quickly pick up droplets, but they pull them inwards, so your towel will feel surprisingly dry, even right after use. This weave also makes it easy for water to evaporate, which decreases the chance that bacteria will grow.

• Set of 2 towels
• Super soft

• Don't dry very quickly

If you like a plusher option, Brooklinen's bath towels are super soft and feel cushiony every time you go to use them. They come in great basic colors, and they hold up well. Because they're so plush, though, they tend not to dry quite as quickly as some lighter options and they don't do great in bathrooms without good air circulation. Still, in my opinion, its worth it for how soft and fluffy these feel right out of the dryer.

Materials

Classic bath towels are made from cotton, and that’s still largely the case. However, brands are also experimenting by blending cotton with viscose or polyamide for a faster-drying option.

Weave Design

Brands also play around with how they weave that fabric. Tighter weaves can feel softer, while looser ones dry more quickly.

Size

Don't feel shackled by the size of normal bath towels. Bath sheets are always an option. They're bigger (more like a beach towel) and easier to wrap around your body.

Set or Single

If it were up to us, all towels would be sold as build-your-own sets. Take stock of your towel collection and buy only what you require—and be sure to double-check the size of whatever you're ordering.

Seasoned testers, highly opinionated, and perpetually showered. What more could you ask for? For bath towels, we know that individual preferences run strong, and we keep that in mind when testing them. We’ve also seen our fair share of bad towels. Know that for every towel on this list, there are three we’ll never use again.