5 Best Napkins From Our Tests, Tested By Experts

We tested casual and formal paper napkins from Bounty, Caboo, Kirkland Signature, and other brands to find the strongest, most absorbent, and prettiest options for your table

By Lisa Fogarty
Home & Trends Writer

November 7, 2025

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Napkin on a place setting, Paw Decor, Caspari Moire, Bounty napkins — CR tested 11 brands of napkins in our lab and at home to determine which ones were the strongest and most absorbent. We found great options at several prices.

No table place setting is complete without a napkin, but not every paper napkin is absorbent, durable, or cute. Whether you’re shopping for casual paper napkins to get dinner on the table in a hurry or elevated napkins for holidays and parties, you shouldn’t have to compromise on quality. And no matter how popular it has become to substitute paper towels for napkins (I’m guilty of this), our eyes, mouths, and guests know the difference.

In this article

Napkins We Tested: American Homestead Bounty Caboo Caspari Moiré Great Value Grove Co. Kirkland Signature Member's Mark Paw Decor Collection Up&Up Vanity Fair
How We Tested Napkins

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Lisa Fogarty

Lisa Fogarty is a senior multimedia content creator at Consumer Reports. She studied journalism at Columbia University and has written numerous health, parenting, fitness, and wellness articles for The New York Times, Psychology Today, Vogue, and NPR. Lisa is passionate about mental health and is a co-creator of The Hunger Trap Podcast, which focuses on eating disorders. In her spare time she surfs, plays the guitar, and kickboxes. Follow her on X: @lisacfogarty