If you happen to like a weighty towel that warms you up whenever you step out of the bathe, you’ll need terry towels, which have loops of yarn on the back and front. Our terry picks vary from fluffy and comfortable to skinny and textured, however they’re all densely filled with these loops, in order that they’re heavier and toastier than waffle towels. They’ll maintain quite a lot of moisture with out feeling soaked, however they’ll additionally take longer to totally dry.
Plush and pampering: Frontgate Resort Assortment Tub Towel
Prime decide
This longtime decide is the softest, fattest towel we’ve examined, and it is available in extra colours than another towel we suggest.
Why it’s nice
That is the fluffiest towel I’ve ever used. The Frontgate Resort Assortment Tub Towel is unbelievably plump, and it’s light on the pores and skin. If you wrap up on this towel, it’s heat — even when it’s damp. And it’s constituted of clean, long-staple cotton, like our Riley decide.
It soaks up water rapidly and by no means feels soggy. Throughout my coldest, wettest testing circumstances, the Frontgate towel took solely a day to air-dry (this was quicker than it took many thinner towels to dry).
Our unique take a look at towel — from 2017 — has lasted virtually a decade (and counting). Lengthy-staple cotton is understood for its energy, in addition to for its smoothness and softness, so I anticipated this towel to outlive scores of washes. Whereas the colour has pale a bit, the towel has no pulls or snags, and it’s nonetheless as absorbent as the brand new Frontgate towels that I examined in 2026.
There are such a lot of colours (and equipment) to select from. The Frontgate towel is available in about two dozen wealthy, saturated colours. These colours are additionally obtainable for the bigger bathtub sheets (in the identical plush terry), for the hand towels (that are ever-so-slightly thinner however equally comfortable and absorbent), and for the washcloths (that are even thinner however suds up properly and are available units of two). The coordinating bathtub mat is accessible in fewer colours, nevertheless it’s additionally a decide in our information to the greatest toilet rugs and bathtub mats.
These towels are a employees favourite. The Frontgate towels have developed a cult following amongst our employees members, and so they have had constantly excessive buyer evaluations for years. Of all of the picks I’ve made, in the entire guides I’ve written for Wirecutter, the Frontgate towel is the one I hear folks rave about probably the most.
Flaws however not dealbreakers
The worth has steadily elevated since we first really helpful this towel. However Frontgate has a number of gross sales every year. Don’t pay full worth, when you can wait.
Key specs
Thick but reasonably priced: Goal Threshold Spa Plush Tub Towel
Price range decide
Of all of the funds terry towels we’ve ever examined, this one comes the closest to the plush, luxurious really feel of our longstanding high decide.
Why it’s nice
It’s plush like our high decide, nevertheless it’s a fraction of the value. The Goal Threshold Spa Plush Towel is the most effective terry towel I’ve examined beneath $20, and it’s the closest one I’ve discovered to our longtime favourite from Frontgate. And the Spa Plush line’s Outsized Tub Towel is available in the identical terry and in the identical vary of colours (however in fewer choices than the Frontgate presents). The coordinating hand towels and washcloths (offered in units of two and 4, respectively) are thinner terry however simply as comfortable, and so they additionally are available the identical colours.
For a towel this thick, it dried quicker than I used to be anticipating it to. In my 2024 testing, I targeted on towels priced beneath $20, and the Spa Plush was the thickest. But in my bathe testing, it was additionally one of many first to be dry sufficient to make use of once more. After about 14 hours on a sizzling, dry, summer season day, this towel felt just a bit bit damp. Our different funds decide, Goal’s (a lot thinner) Casaluna Waffle Towel, was nonetheless moist.
The stitching is neat, and the perimeters are straight. And so they’re straighter than these on different under-$20 towels I’ve examined. After a number of washes, there have been no free threads across the edges or snagged terry loops. And since Threshold is considered one of Goal’s personal manufacturers, it comes with a beneficiant one-year return coverage.
Flaws however not dealbreakers
The Spa Plush towel doesn’t maintain up as properly within the wash over time because the Frontgate towel. But it surely maintains its softness higher than different budget-friendly towels I’ve tried.
It’s our smallest terry decide. That is typical of cheaper towels. And whereas it received’t cowl as a lot of your physique because the Frontgate or Riley towels, you possibly can go for the oversize model (which is a couple of inches bigger, in each instructions, than the bath-size possibility and different terry bathtub picks).
Key specs
- Sizes: bathtub, outsized, hand, washcloth
- Colours: 9
- Supplies: 100% cotton
- Certifications: Oeko-Tex Made in Inexperienced
Terry with additional texture: Riley Spa Tub Towel
Finest for…
This towel is thinner and fewer cumbersome than our high decide, and it was a favourite amongst testers who like a rougher terry. And with its trendy particulars, it stands out from most terry towels we’ve tried.
Why it’s nice
If you happen to like a terry towel with extra chunk to it, this one is splendidly tactile. The Riley Spa Tub Towel’s terry loops are properly outlined, loosely woven, and shorter than the loops on the Frontgate towel. So you’ll be able to really feel every loop whenever you run your fingers over the towel or swipe it throughout your again.
It’s compact, and it dries quicker than the Frontgate towel. The Riley towel is thinner than the Frontgate towel, and it takes up much less area on a shelf when it’s folded. But it’s nonetheless roomy sufficient to wrap across the physique. After I in contrast the Frontgate and Riley towels throughout a moist winter within the Pacific Northwest, the Riley towel air-dried in about 20 hours, and it took the Frontgate greater than 24 hours.
It’s sturdy. Just like the Frontgate towel, the Riley towel is made with robust, clean long-staple cotton. My unique 2020 take a look at towel has maintained its pleasing texture and absorbency, though the colour (just like the Frontgate’s) isn’t as vibrant because it as soon as was.
It has a novel search for terry. Most terry towels have a dobby — a strip of flat-woven cloth — at one finish (or generally on each ends). The Riley is terry throughout your entire floor, and it has fashionable rounded edges and a loop on one facet for hanging on a rest room hook. Like all of our terry picks, it is available in a bath-sheet measurement for extra protection. The matching hand towel and washcloth are thinner however have an identical texture and design, together with the hanging loop.
Flaws however not dealbreakers
Some sizes and colours are periodically out of inventory, particularly after large gross sales. They do come again in inventory ultimately, although.
Key specs
- Sizes: bathtub, sheet, hand, washcloth
- Colours: 11
- Supplies: 100% cotton
- Certifications: Oeko-Tex
