11 Best Doormats Under $50
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Amazon prices as of Oct 31, 8:15 AM ET, subject to change. DetailsThe best doormats under $50: a low rubber-backed mat for most doors, the WaterHog worth paying for, a coir welcome mat, washable and ultra thin picks.
At a glance
| # | Pick | Price | Best for |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |  Gorilla Grip WeatherMAX Door Mat | about $17 | Best overall |
| 2 |  WaterHog Squares Door Mat | about $45 | Worth paying more |
| 3 |  KAF Home Coir Doormat | about $20 | Best plain coir |
| 4 |  BEQHAUSE Dirt Trapper Door Mat | about $18 | Best washable indoor mat |
| 5 |  LYGLIGH Ultra Thin Door Mat | about $15 | Fits under a low door |
| 6 |  Clean Machine Astroturf Doormat | about $23 | Best for sand and grit |
| 7 |  DII Rubber Doormat | about $18 | Best for rain |
| 8 |  ClimaTex Scraper Door Mat | about $40 | Best for snow and boots |
| 9 |  Colorxy Rubber Door Mat | about $10 | Cheapest that works |
| 10 |  LEEVAN Layering Rug | about $17 | Rug for under a doormat |
| 11 |  A1HC Monogrammed Doormat | about $35 | Best monogram |
Gorilla Grip WeatherMAX Door Mat
This is the mat I'd put at almost any door. Grooves in the woven top scrape your shoes, then a raised rubber edge keeps the dirt and water on the mat and off your floor. At 0.3 inch thick it's low enough for most doors to swing over, and at 29 by 17 inches it suits a single door. Clean it by shaking it out, or hose it down. It won't charm anybody, since the grey diamond pattern is about as exciting as a car mat. That's also why it never looks dirty.
WaterHog Squares Door Mat
WaterHog is the name you'll hear from people who've gone through a lot of doormats. You get 23 by 35.5 inches, which is a real step up in size, so two people can wipe their feet at once. Raised squares scrape, and the channels between them hold water and grime down below your shoes. It's only about 3/8 inch high and made in Georgia. Spending this much makes sense for a busy door or a dog that loves puddles. For a quiet apartment landing, it's too much mat.
KAF Home Coir Doormat
Nothing else looks as right on a front porch as coir, the stiff brown coconut fiber. Those bristles are great at getting mud off a boot. KAF's is 17 by 30 inches with a 0.6 inch pile, blank on top, so you can leave it plain or stencil your own word on it. Expect some shedding at first. Allow two days for the edges to settle after you unroll it. And give it a roof, because coir that sits in the rain gets soggy and wears out fast.
BEQHAUSE Dirt Trapper Door Mat
Most doormats get hosed off. This one goes in the washing machine, cold and on its own, and then air dries or tumbles on low. That's what makes it the one for inside the door, where you want something soft that soaks up the last of the wet. It's 20 by 32 inches and 0.4 inch thick, with dense polypropylene yarn. The rubbery backing only grips a clean, dry floor, so sweep before you put it down. It arrives folded, and the creases take a few days to fall out.
LYGLIGH Ultra Thin Door Mat
At 1/10 inch, this is the mat for the door that catches on everything else, including doors with a sweep or weather stripping along the bottom. The rubber backing grips tile and hardwood well, and you can rinse the whole thing with a hose. Machine washing is out, though, as it is with most rubber-backed mats. The price here is for the small 24 by 16 size, which suits an apartment door. A wider door needs the 29 or 30 inch version from the same listing, at about $20 to $25.
Clean Machine Astroturf Doormat
Sand laughs at most doormats. It just bounces off, then ends up in your hallway. Short plastic blades on this one grab it and hold it below the surface, and the maker says the mat can hide up to a pound of dirt and sand a week. That makes it my first pick for a beach house, or a yard that's mostly gravel. Yes, it looks like fake grass, which is the price of doing the job. At 17.5 by 29.5 inches, it fits a single door.
DII Rubber Doormat
An uncovered step needs a mat that doesn't hold water, and this one simply lets it through. The open lattice is solid rubber, 18 by 30 inches, and the pattern gives shoes something to scrape on. Hosing it is all the cleaning it ever wants. It also looks more like ironwork than a floor mat, which I like on a plain step. Keep it outside, since whatever falls through the holes lands on whatever's underneath.
ClimaTex Scraper Door Mat
Three feet by four feet of black rubber isn't pretty. It is what you want when winter boots are coming in with half the driveway on them, because the triangle pattern scrapes snow, slush and mud from the whole sole in a couple of steps. It's commercial grade and made for outdoor entrances, and there's room to stand on it with both feet while you find your keys. Measure before you order, because this mat will overhang a small stoop.
Colorxy Rubber Door Mat
About $10 buys the same basic recipe as my top pick: woven top, deep grooves, natural rubber back with a slanted edge. It's thinner at 0.2 inch, so it fits under more doors but has less room to hold dirt, and I'd plan on replacing it sooner. A back door, a garage step or a first apartment is where it makes sense. Shake it out or hose it, then hang it up to dry.
LEEVAN Layering Rug
A striped rug under a coir mat is the cheapest way to make a front door look styled, and that's all this does. It's 2 by 3 feet, woven from cotton, polyester and viscose, and you can machine wash it on a cold, gentle cycle. There's no rubber on the back, so use a rug pad or let the doormat on top hold it down. Being cotton, it wants a covered porch, not a spot in the open. The stripes show a lot less dirt than plain cream would.
A1HC Monogrammed Doormat
Monogrammed mats often run into the $50s, so 24 by 39 inches for about $35 is a good deal. Each letter has its own listing, so check you're on yours. It's natural coir on a solid rubber base, treated to shed less, and big enough for a double door or a wide entry. Like all coir, it does best under cover and out of direct rain. You're paying for the letter here, so choose it for the look.
What's the best doormat?
For most homes it's the Gorilla Grip WeatherMAX: tough, low and easy to hose off. The best doormat for you comes down to three questions about your door:
- No roof over it? Go with rubber or a rubber-backed synthetic. Coir needs a porch.
- Low door? Measure the gap under the door with it closed, then buy thinner than that. Anything over about 0.3 inch can catch.
- Width. A mat should cover most of the door's width. A 29 or 30 inch mat works for a standard 36 inch door, and it looks skimpy on a double door.
Best doormats for outside: rain, snow and ice
Water is the test for an outdoor doormat. A mat that holds it stays wet for days. That's fine under a porch roof, where the WeatherMAX and the WaterHog are at their best. On an open step, the best outdoor doormat for rain is one water runs through, like the DII lattice.
For snow and ice, size counts as much as material. You want both feet on the ClimaTex, and you want to knock it clear after a storm. No mat melts ice, and a frozen one can get slick, so keep the salt handy.
Best door mats for trapping dirt
Dirt gets trapped by depth and stiffness. The grooves on the WeatherMAX and the squares on the WaterHog give it somewhere to go, while coir's stiff bristles pull it off and let it drop down into the pile. For fine stuff like sand, the blades on the Clean Machine win.
The best setup is two mats, one outside and one inside. The outside mat takes the mud, and the inside one gets the wet and whatever's left. Pets make it three, and for those I like a thick chenille mat like the Muddy Mat in my mudroom storage picks.
Best washable indoor door mats
Check the label before you trust the word "washable" on a door mat. Plenty of them mean a hose, not your machine, because rubber backings don't do well in a washer. The BEQHAUSE is the real thing. If you'd like something bigger with a softer look, try a low-pile runner from my affordable washable rugs, which also works as a door mat in a narrow hall.
Ultra thin rugs and door mats that fit under a door
Thin mats are for inside-opening doors with a tight gap. The LYGLIGH at 1/10 inch is about as thin as you'll find, and the Colorxy at 0.2 inch clears many doors for less money. A very thin mat can't store much dirt, so shake it out more often than you would a thick one. It's worth it to have a door that doesn't drag.
Best welcome mats
A good welcome mat is coir, nearly always. It's what most people picture on a front porch, it takes paint and lettering well, and it scrapes shoes better than printed polyester. Start with the blank KAF if you like it plain or want to stencil it. For a house with a big door and room for it, the A1HC monogram looks the most finished.
Short phrases read best from the street. Keep whichever you buy dry, and it'll last a good while longer.
Rugs for under door mats
Layering looks expensive and costs about $40 all in. Use a 2 by 3 foot rug under a 17 by 30 inch mat, so that a few inches of rug show on every side. Stripes or a small check work best, and the LEEVAN is an easy start. On a wide porch, go up in size with an outdoor rug for under the doormat.
How much to spend on a cheap doormat
About $10 gets you a mat that does the job for a while. About $17 to $23 is the sweet spot, where you get a better rubber back, deeper grooves or real coir. Going up to about $45 buys you size and a mat made to outlast the cheap ones. Past that, on a normal front door, you're paying for the pattern.
How I picked
Three things decide a doormat: what it does when it's wet, how thick it is, and what's on the back. Get those right and even a $17 mat will outlast the pretty one with the funny phrase.
Skip a mat with a thin foam back, because it curls and slides within a month. Skip coir on an open step, and skip anything with a pile that's taller than the gap under your door. If the top is printed rather than woven or bristled, it's a decoration, not a doormat.
FAQ
How much should a good doormat cost?
About $17 to $25 for most doors. All 11 picks here are under $50, and only the WaterHog and the ClimaTex reach $40 or more, both because they're much bigger than a standard mat.
Which doormats are the best quality?
Look for a thick rubber back and a surface that's bonded to it, rather than glued foam. The WaterHog is the one to buy if you only want to buy once. For under $20, the WeatherMAX gets you most of the way there.
What is the best type of front door mat?
Under a porch roof, coir or a rubber-backed woven mat. On an open step, rubber. Coir gives you the look, and rubber will live through the weather.
What type of doormat is best for rainy days?
Something that lets water through or holds it away from your feet. The DII lattice drains, and a mat with a raised edge like the WeatherMAX keeps the puddle on the mat. Add a soft washable mat inside the door to catch what's left.
What is the best doormat for sand or a beach house?
The Clean Machine, because the sand drops down between the blades and stays there. A big rubber mat outside the door helps too, and you can hose it clean.
What is the best outdoor mat for snow and ice?
A large rubber scraper like the ClimaTex. Slush doesn't bother it the way it bothers coir, and it's easy to knock the snow off. Bring it in or lift it during a long freeze so it doesn't stick to the step.
Should you put a rug under a doormat?
You can, if you like the look and the spot stays fairly dry. It won't help with cleaning. It's purely for style. Pick a flat-woven rug that's a little larger than the mat, and keep the top mat heavy enough to hold everything in place.
The verdict
For most front doors, get the Gorilla Grip WeatherMAX Door Mat at about $17: low, grooved and easy to hose off. Have a busy door, or a dog? The WaterHog Squares Door Mat at about $45 is the size upgrade worth paying for. A covered porch deserves the KAF Home Coir Doormat at about $20. And if you just need something at the back door, the Colorxy Rubber Door Mat at about $10 is the cheapest I'd bother with.
Affordable, never cheap-looking, and your floors stay out of it.
The door's sorted. Now give the entry a place to land.
Even with no real entryway, a few cheap moves around the door make a spot for your keys, your shoes and your coat.
See the full gallery: Small Entryway Ideas for Apartments
