13 Best Bath Mats Under $50 (Soft, Non-Slip, Washable)

Nine dollars, and your feet sink in. A memory foam core under a velvety top gives that cushioned, spa feel on a cold tile floor.

The trade-off with foam is drying time: it holds water longer than chenille, so hang it over the tub edge after a long shower. The diamond-tread backing grips well on a dry floor. It's 24 by 17 inches, right for a small bathroom or the spot in front of the sink, and cheap enough to buy two and rotate them through the wash.

The hotel bath mat, in cotton. It's heavy, dense and tufted, with a half-inch pile on top and the same plush on the back, so you can flip it when one side looks tired.

Cotton feels nicer than microfiber and looks more expensive in white or natural. There's no rubber on the back, though, so put a thin rug pad under it on tile. Wash it on a low cycle and skip high heat in the dryer, or it shrinks. If you like a bathroom that looks like a nice hotel, this is the one.

Step on it wet and the footprints are gone in a minute or two. A stone bath mat is made of diatomaceous earth, a porous mineral that pulls water in and lets it evaporate, so it never stays damp and never smells.

Rubbermaid adds a non-slip pad for underneath and a sheet of sandpaper: a light sanding every few months keeps the surface absorbent. It's hard, not cozy, so it's the right pick for a humid bathroom with no window, or for anyone tired of washing soggy mats. Don't drop it on tile.

Five feet long, it runs the whole length of a tub or in front of a double vanity, so there's no bare tile between two small mats.

The shaggy chenille is soft and absorbent, and the rubber backing keeps a rug this long from bunching up. It goes in the washing machine; tumble it on low or hang it to dry. Measure first: at 24 by 60 inches it needs a wide bathroom, and in a narrow one it can catch the door.

This one goes inside the tub, not on the floor. For kids, older parents or a slick shower floor, it's the most useful mat on this list.

Hundreds of small suction cups hold it to the tub, and drain holes let the water run off so nothing sits underneath. Most tub mats stop short; this one runs 35 by 16 inches. It goes in the washing machine, then hang it over the tub to dry. It needs a smooth tub floor: suction cups won't hold on textured, tiled or freshly refinished surfaces.

A towel bath mat is the European way: a thick piece of terry you step onto, then fold over the tub to dry.

These are Turkish cotton, absorbent and quick to dry, at 22 by 34 inches, and you get two. No rubber backing means they go in the wash with your towels, and they look tidy hanging off the tub. On a slippery floor they can slide, so this is a pick for a bathroom with a bit of grip underfoot, or with a rug pad. The taupe is warm and hides marks, and there are plenty of other colors.

Two cotton bath mats for about $21, which is the deal here. One goes down while the other one is in the wash, so the floor is never bare.

They're hand tufted, 100% cotton, plush on both sides with a classic racetrack border. Each one is 17 by 24 inches, so think sink, shower stall or half bath. Same catch as the Madison Park: bare cotton on the back, so bare tile means a pad underneath.

If your bathroom door scrapes over every bath mat you buy, this is the fix. It's 0.4 inches thick, so the door swings right over it.

Thin doesn't mean useless: the microfiber top still soaks up water, the rubber backing grips, and it dries fast because there's so little to dry. It's not plush, and it won't warm a cold floor the way chenille does. For a small bathroom, a door that opens inward or a shower stall, I'd spend the $8 before anything thicker.

The waffle weave is everywhere in boutique bathrooms right now, and this is the $10 version. The grid texture looks crisp and modern, and it dries faster than a shaggy mat.

Same 30 by 20 footprint as the Gorilla Grip, and a full backing that holds on a dry floor. The brown is warm and very forgiving with hair and dust. Wash it cold on a gentle cycle and skip bleach and high heat, which is what wears out the backing on mats like this.

Teak looks like a spa and handles water better than almost any wood. The slats let water drop through, so the mat dries on its own and nothing gets musty.

You can use it outside the tub or inside a walk-in shower, and rubber feet keep it still and protect the floor. It's small, 20 by 13 inches, about a step's worth. It costs the most on this list, but a teak mat lasts for years and never goes in the washer.

Love the teak look but not the price? A bamboo slat mat gives you the same warm wood stripe in front of the tub for about $14.

It rolls up to store, wipes clean with a damp cloth and measures 23.5 by 16.5 inches. Two things to know: it goes outside the shower only, on a dry floor, and the little grip pads underneath help but don't lock it in place on wet tile. Step on it, not across it.

For a bathroom that needs a bit of personality, a woven cotton mat with knotted fringe on both ends does more than another gray rectangle.

The tufted cotton comes in a graphic pattern at 17 by 31 inches, and it goes in the washing machine on cold and in the dryer on low. Cotton this flat won't be as plush as chenille, so think of it as decor you step on. Skip the pad on tile and you'll be nudging it back into place every morning.