Best Dish Drying Racks and Mats

I hate when I set some bowls out to dry before bed and find that the next morning they are all still wet because they have been cupped together all night. Of the six dish racks I tested, Ikea’s Flundra was the rack that allowed me to stack my dishes in a neat enough way to avoid this cupping better than others. It’s so roomy that it fits all 36 pieces of dinnerware and cutlery used as our standard load of dishes, plus two extra glasses, dinner plates, bowls, salad plates, and three extra sets of cutlery. Heavy-bottomed pots and large cookie sheets fit less neatly on the rack but didn’t cause it to tip over.

The large holes at the bottom allow it to drain immediately, and I didn’t notice any areas of the rack where water could pool during use. No tight nooks and crannies meant no difficult-to-reach areas for cleaning it. 

Though it was my favorite dish rack, it does not include a mat, so you’ll have to buy one unless you plan to use it in a large or double sink. It also can’t be folded down for storage so it is a better option for bigger kitchens.

Simplehuman’s dish rack looked modern and beautiful on our kitchen counter—more so than any of the other models tested. Its 360-degree movable drain spout allowed us to set the rack on any side of the sink but didn’t keep our counters totally dry. After I poured 500 ml of water onto the rack, there was a small puddle of water on the counter. The water that does make it onto the drain spout ends up in the sink quickly, leaving very little water at the bottom of the rack that needs to be tipped over into the sink after you’re done washing dishes.

The retractable cup shelf has space for two glasses separate from the rack’s main compartment which is helpful because this truly is a compact option. Six of the 36 pieces of our standard dinnerware sets did not fit on the rack. Heavy pots didn’t make the rack tip over, but again, space is really limited on the Simplehuman Compact Steel Frame Dish Rack, so it’s difficult to place large pots on it without getting water all over the kitchen counter. 

Like Ikea’s Flundra, this rack does not pack down smaller for storage. It also had more removable parts that needed to be taken apart for cleaning than other dish racks we tested.

Dish mats sit right on the counter so there always seems to be a puddle of water under them when you finish doing dishes, but they are the most compact options if you’re tight on space. This mat from Room Essentials by Target was the most absorbent of the three mats tested, keeping our counter totally dry even after pouring 500 ml of water over it. Dumping the water it absorbed into the sink required less finesse than with the other mats because there was no risk of spilling while it was moved. 

Because it lays flat, heavy pots and large bakeware did not tip over when I set them to dry on this mat. When it was completely dry, I rolled it up for storage easily. I didn’t notice any odor on the dry mat. 

Room Essentials by Target Drying Mat only had enough room for half of our standard dinnerware set and was still wet nearly 24 hours after I wrung it out and laid it flat to dry. This made me worry that it could eventually become moldy and stinky. However, according to the brand, it is machine washable in cold water with mild detergent and can be dried on a low heat setting.

Upon first inspection, this dish rack is really small, but when you consider it as two separate pieces (one for over the sink and one for the counter), its initial size is deceiving. When used as one rack, it missed just four glasses, but when used separately, it held all 36 items in our standard dinnerware sets with room to spare for an extra bowl, three salad plates, two glasses, four coffee mugs, and three extra sets of cutlery. The metal part that sits on top of the plastic mat allows water to drain immediately but the mat has to be tipped over into the sink to empty it of water. This bottom part held 450 ml of water before it started to spill onto our counter. 

Cleaning this rack is really straightforward–there are no hard-to-reach parts. 

Neither of the two pieces that make up this dish rack is wide enough to accommodate any large pots or bakeware. The Lillhavet does not store totally flat, but if you remove the utensil holder and store all three parts separately, it fits better into tighter spaces.

The Oxo Good Grips Aluminum Fold Flat Dish Rack can be used as a flat surface to lay dishes on or as a standing rack, but either position doesn’t double the number of dishes it can hold like the Ikea Lillhavet. Used as a standing rack, it fits all 36 items in our standard dinnerware sets, plus three additional dinner plates, one glass, and two sets of cutlery. It was also surprisingly sturdy (the rack locks into place on the mat) even when a heavy-bottomed pot was placed on the rack to dry. Laying the rack flat on top of the mat allows for a more stable place to dry heavy pots and pans but doesn’t allow for as many dishes. 

Because it can be laid flat, very little storage space is required. There’s also ample space between each of the rack’s prongs so cleaning it is easy.

The mat only held 150 ml of water before it started to spill onto our counters. Tipping the water on the mat into the sink felt like a balancing act as I tried to avoid making a mess on the counter and floors.

Kitsure’s Space-Saving Dish Rack was roomy enough to hold the six standard dinnerware sets I loaded up on it, plus 18 additional pieces of cutlery (forks, knives, and spoons). Heavy pots did not make the rack wobble. Most of the water poured onto this rack drained quickly, but after several minutes, I noticed that a small puddle of water remained on the rack and had to be tipped into the sink.

Even though the drain spout can be adjusted to point in any direction, it is not long enough to reach the end of the rack on two sides, so the rack can only be positioned at two angles to drain properly into the sink. It also does not fold down smaller for storage. The bottom mat can be separated from the stainless steel rack to be stored separately.

This plastic dish rack from Mainstays was my least favorite dish rack. I had a hard time fitting my standard six sets of dinnerware on this rack without the bowls cupping into each other. The cup holders around the rack are also awkwardly placed, leaving little room for other dishes when you add even a few cups to the holders. The cutlery holder doesn’t sit over the tray, so any water that drips off ends up on the kitchen counter. Finally, though the bottom tray is angled for faster draining, you are limited to just two possible positions for draining. 

One thing this dish rack had going for it is that it held all 36 pieces of dishware loaded up on it, even if they didn’t end up totally dry.

Wiselife’s Dish Drying Mat claims to be super absorbent, but it was not as absorbent as the Room Essentials by Target mat I tested and liked. When I poured 500 ml of water on the mat, it seemed like all the water was just rolling right off the top (onto the counters that I then had to dry). After weighing it, I found it absorbed a little over 51 grams of water—a fraction of what was poured on it. 

It held 26 of the 36 items I tried to load it up with and because it is flat, there was no risk of heavy pots toppling over when I set them to dry on this mat. It arrived rolled up and would not lay flat until a heavy box was placed over it overnight to weigh it down.

The final dish mat tested in our lab held just 8 of the 36 standard dinnerware set items used in our lab tests. It held 100 ml of water before the water started to wet our counters, and like other non-draining options I tried, it was tricky to tip over into the sink to drain without making a mess. 

According to the brand, this silicone mat is heat-resistant up to 450 ℉, but this feature was not tested in our lab. The mat can be stored rolled up or lying flat.

*Based on measurements recorded in CR’s lab.