The Best Dish Rack

Writer Ciara Murray Jordan has a small, dishwasher-less kitchen and is well aware of the delicate balance between an elaborate meal and the dish rack. She’s also a preventive controls qualified individual with experience in the cleaning, sanitization, and drying of food-contact surfaces.

For this guide:

• We’ve been researching and testing dish racks since 2014.
• We spoke to Elvin Beach, a professor in the Department of Materials Science and Engineering at The Ohio State University. For earlier versions of this guide, we also spoke to Alistair Bramley, former senior industrial designer of Smart Design; and Yvonne Lin, co-founder of 4B, a collective of design experts that helps companies understand how to design for women.
• We chose the experts we consulted for this article for their knowledge and independence. We have disclosed any affiliations that experts have with companies mentioned in this article for transparency and accuracy.
• Like all Wirecutter journalists, we review and test products with complete editorial independence. We’re never made aware of any business implications of our editorial recommendations. Read more about our editorial standards.

Top pick

The best dish rack

KitchenAid Full Size Dish Rack

This steel-frame dish rack holds enough dishes for a four-person household, drains water well, and remains impressively sturdy when filled to the brim.

$76 from Amazon

The KitchenAid Full Size Dish Rack has been one of our favorite dish racks for over five years.

It holds a lot of dishes. The full-size KitchenAid rack held everything we put in it: four place settings consisting of a dinner plate, bowl, cup, spoon, fork, and knife, as well as a 10-inch skillet and two mugs. The only rack that could hold more than that was the Simplehuman Steel Frame Dishrack, our pick for bigger households, which takes up more space and is more expensive.

The cutlery holder is especially roomy. It easily held our full set of flatware and utensils, and it has three divided sections, two of which come with removable slotted lids. These can keep your silverware upright and prevent the pieces from spooning (pun intended), so everything cleans and dries better.

It drains well. The plastic drain tray snaps onto the bottom of the rack with four little pegs and slopes toward your sink to drain water impressively well. Not a single drop remained on the rack after we left our dishes to dry overnight.

It disassembles for easy cleaning. Dish racks can develop hard-water stains or accumulate gunk over time, so it’s important to be able to clean your dish rack regularly without too much hassle. This dish rack disassembles into three pieces (utensil holder, drain tray, and rack), with few crevices for food or mold to hide. (We recommend that you only hand-wash this rack — the tray warped when one of our long-term testers threw theirs in the dishwasher.)

It has a generous warranty. The KitchenAid dish rack is covered by a limited lifetime warranty. If you notice any defects under normal use within the first year, KitchenAid will replace it. After a year, the company will either try to repair it or replace it.

Flaws but not dealbreakers

We’d be cautious with stemware. The rack doesn’t have a secure way to hold stemware upright. During testing, we had to be extra vigilant to keep tall glasses from tipping over. If you regularly dry precious stemware, consider our Simplehuman pick, which has a dedicated wine glass holder.

Thicker plates don’t stand upright. In the full-size model, we couldn’t stand thicker stoneware plates between the plate prongs. (We were able to fit the plates upright in the open section of the rack, but this caused their rims to touch the drainboard beneath.) If your main dinnerware set is made of stoneware, you may want to consider one of our other picks that can accommodate thicker pieces, like the Zojila Rohan Dish Drainer.

Some reviews mention rust. During our research, we saw that a small percentage of reviews on Amazon noted problems with rust. It seems to creep up around the soldered joints, which may be where the rubberized coating doesn’t protect the wire as well. We also noticed that the coating got a bit scuffed in our tests. KitchenAid describes the wires as “rust-resistant,” so we’ll monitor that closely as we continue testing.

If you notice rust on your rack, contact KitchenAid, as this issue should be covered by the limited lifetime warranty.

Top pick

More compact, same performance

KitchenAid Compact Dish Rack

A smaller version of our top pick, this dish rack is similarly sturdy and drains well, but it holds only enough dishes for a two-person household.

$50 from Amazon

$87 from Walmart

If you’re looking for a smaller dish rack, the KitchenAid Compact Dish Rack performs just as well as its larger counterpart.

It’s a good size for two people. At about 16 inches long and 12.5 inches wide (it drains from the short end), this rack is a bit easier to manage in a small kitchen. It holds enough dishes for a two-person household, and it works just as well as — and in some cases better than — the full-size version.

It can handle thicker plates just fine. Unlike the full-size KitchenAid rack, this version has no issue holding all styles of plates upright, including thicker stoneware.

The cutlery holder is spacious. While the cutlery holder doesn’t have the same slotted lids as the full-size version, it’s still divided into three compartments for organizing. It also has ample space for large-handled tools and a full set of flatware — a rarity among compact racks.

Flaws but not dealbreakers

A bit of water pools on the drainboard. One corner of the drainboard retained water, and a small puddle remained there even overnight. But this corner is underneath the cutlery holder and far away from any drying dishes, which were bone-dry the next day.

Best for...

Larger capacity, larger footprint

Simplehuman Steel Frame Dishrack

This large and sturdy dish rack is perfect for large families or active cooks. It can even hold extra-large pots and pans without dripping onto your countertop.

$100 from Amazon

$100 from Walmart

$100 from The Home Depot

If capacity is your number-one priority, the Simplehuman Steel Frame Dishrack holds the most of any of our picks. And the steel-walled basin — as well as the dedicated wine glass holder — can keep more-fragile items safe and secure.

It holds a lot and fits large items too. Alongside dinner settings for four people and a 10-inch skillet, we were able to comfortably fit an entire Dutch oven and its lid.

The silicone-coated wires are also far enough apart to fit thick dinner plates or sheet pans but still close enough to keep everything upright.

It has a dedicated rack for stemware. This allowed us to more confidently and securely dry our stemmed wine glasses without taking up any extra space. A tray underneath the wine-glass holder prevents drips on the counter, too.

It drains effectively, keeping your countertop dry. The fully enclosed basin traps water and drains it through the spout without risk of spillage on your countertop. The drain spout swivels 360 degrees, giving you more flexibility in where you place it on the counter. The spout is also raised enough to clear the edge of a drop-in sink. Like with the wine glass holder, the cup prongs on the side of the rack also have a tray underneath them to keep water from dripping onto your counter.

It’s sturdy. This rack was impressively stable throughout our testing. We balanced a cast iron pan right on the edge of the rack, and the skillet (which weighs over 5 pounds) didn’t throw it off balance. The steel sides also contained a variety of dishes securely, and heavier silverware didn’t tip over the rack, whether we had the utensil caddy on the inside or outside of the basin.

Flaws but not dealbreakers

It’s annoying to clean. Six pieces need to be cleaned on the Simplehuman, including the spout and the button-shaped drain cover, which is time-consuming. The area around the drain tends to get gunky, so don’t put off the task for very long. The utensil holder and wire rack are dishwasher-safe, but all other parts should be hand-washed.

It has a large footprint. This rack’s size is one of its strengths, but it does take up a lot of counter space. It has a footprint of 22.5 by 20 inches, about an inch wider and 5 inches deeper than the full-size KitchenAid dish rack. Thanks to its wine glass rack (which is removable), it stands nearly a foot tall, so it’s not exactly low profile.

And it’s pricey. The Simplehuman dish rack costs about as much as our fully stainless steel upgrade pick from Zojila. If you hand-wash a lot of dishes, it might be worth paying extra for the capacity.

Upgrade pick

Expensive, but functional and beautiful

Zojila Rohan Dish Drainer

This high-quality stainless steel model drains well, looks nice, and holds the same amount of dishes as our main pick, but it’s pricier.

$100 from Zojila

Combining efficacy and style, the Zojila Rohan Dish Drainer holds plenty of dishes and dries them quickly. Though it’s pricey, we believe the Rohan is a worthwhile investment — you may never need to buy another dish rack.

It’s made almost entirely of durable stainless steel. The Rohan is made of thick, heavy-duty stainless steel wire, and it’s the only rack we tested that has a solid stainless steel drainboard. In fact, the only parts of this rack that aren’t stainless steel are the removable plastic covers on the feet.

It drains very well. The drainboard is pitched at a steep angle, allowing water to flow right into your sink. During our testing, this rack retained significantly less water than other models, drying dishes in half the time the other racks required.

The utensil caddy can sit anywhere on the rack, inside or out. It’s smaller than the ones on the full-size KitchenAid and Simplehuman racks, but it handily fit everything in our tests, so we’re confident it’ll work great for a day of cooking and eating. The divider inside is also removable for easy cleaning.

Cleaning is easy. You don’t have to clean this dish rack as often as you would a plastic one, but when you do, it only takes about five minutes to do so by hand — and it’s also entirely dishwasher-safe. You may have to deal with unsightly fingerprints and hard-water spots, but mold and gunk should be far less of a problem on a steel rack than on a plastic one. (If fingerprints really bother you, you can prevent them with a super-thin coat of mineral oil. And if you have hard water, use Bar Keepers Friend to remove build-up on the rack. Just make sure to let the rack dry after cleaning, so the stainless steel’s rust-resistant protective layer forms again.) Be sure not to use steel wool to clean it, so you don’t scratch the surface.

It also comes in a version that drains from the short side. The Zojila Rohan that we recommend is 18 by 13.5 inches, with a height of 7.5 inches, and it drains from the longer side. If that doesn’t work with your kitchen counter and sink setup, Zojila makes an otherwise-identical version of the Rohan that drains from the short side of the tray. But you have to contact the company to purchase it, and it costs $10 more.

Zojila offers a lifetime warranty — with a catch. The company stands behind the Rohan’s durability for a lifetime, which is unusual for a dish rack. But to activate the warranty, the company requires you to leave a review on its website, post about the product on social media, or follow the company’s social media accounts. (This policy is frustrating; it also means you should take the customer reviews on Zojila’s website with a big grain of salt, since those customers are more likely to leave a review soon after they’ve received the rack, rather than after they’ve used it for a while.)

Flaws but not dealbreakers

Stainless steel has some downsides. The thick-gauge, uncoated steel wire might be a little hard on some dishes. In our tests, it flaked off a little of the enamel on a Le Creuset pot.

Because of the fully stainless steel build, this dish rack is also pretty hefty — it was just under 7.5 pounds. While this weight helps keep the rack in place, it does make it a little difficult to move around and clean.

Some reviews mention rust. A handful of reviewers mention minor spots of rust around the welds of the rack. We haven’t encountered this issue even while testing this rack in one of our homes for a year and a half, but we’ll continue to monitor it. Iron deposits from hard water can be mistaken for rust.

Best for...

Compact and kooky

Chef’n DishGarden

This all-plastic dish rack has an unusual design that allows it to hold enough for a small household without taking up a bunch of space. It drains well and can work in the sink or on the counter.

$30 from Amazon

$30 from Walmart

$30 from Wayfair

If you don’t have much room to spare on your countertop, but you still want a more traditional draining dish rack, get the Chef’n DishGarden. It’s just right for a two-person household and holds more than other racks of a similar size, owing to the wide prongs around its circumference.

It’s extremely adaptable and shockingly stable. The DishGarden holds plates upright with tall plastic prongs on the outside and shorter prongs on the inside, which allow you to set dishes any which way. And the prongs are surprisingly strong, holding even heavy cookware without bending. In fact, we were able to balance a cast iron pan on the very edge of the pan between two prongs (though we wouldn’t recommend this).

The prongs around the outside do a good job of preventing smaller items from falling off the rack, but larger items do hang over the edge; that can be a problem on your countertop, with water dribbling everywhere.

It has two utensil holders. The DishGarden comes with two utensil holders that you can place anywhere on the rack, which adds to this rack’s flexibility. They look small, but they can accommodate a surprising amount. They take up a lot of space on the rack, though.

It drains fairly well. Because the base is steeply angled, most of the water flows out the spout. Although a little water does end up puddling inside near the spout, it evaporates quickly. The spout also flips up to close, so you can pick up the rack and move it around without any lingering water leaking.

Cleaning isn’t as annoying as it seems. A brush is easy enough to maneuver around the prongs. The DishGarden is also dishwasher-safe on the top rack — but it shouldn’t go through a heated dry cycle.

Flaws but not dealbreakers

It has a particular aesthetic. We think it’s fun and whimsical, but some people might not love the Chef’n rack’s funky shape.

The labels don’t peel off easily. One small problem that stood out among owner reviews (and in our own experience): The sticky labels on this dish rack are frustratingly difficult to remove. You might want to have some Goo Gone or other adhesive remover on hand if you get this rack.

Best for...

Best for easy storage

OXO Good Grips Aluminum Fold Flat Dish Rack

This rack holds enough for a small household and folds flat into its drain tray, so it can be stored in a cabinet.

$47 $33 from The Container Store

Price reflects in cart with store pickup

$47 from Amazon

$50 from Walmart

The OXO Good Grips Aluminum Fold Flat Dish Rack offers a good middle ground for those who like the low-profile storability of a mat but still want a relatively standard dish-rack design.

It stores easily. When folded (without the utensil holder), the dish rack measures just under 2 inches tall, thin enough to slide into a cabinet or store alongside your cutting boards or baking sheets.

It doesn’t spill. The tray could hold about a cup of water in our tests without overflowing, and the ridges in the tray are raised above the pooling water, which kept items mostly dry. (In testing, the rims of a few glasses that we left to dry overnight were still a little wet the next day.)

Though the tray doesn’t have a spout or drain, its sloped edges make emptying it an easier (and neater) task, as water pours cleanly from the corners. It also prevents water from getting stuck in tight corners, so mold and gunk won’t build up as quickly.

It can hold heavy items. Despite the folding design, it’s surprisingly sturdy, holding a cast iron pan and Dutch oven without issue. But it can’t hold pans upright in the dish slots, so you’ll need to turn them over (which takes up most of the rack) or dry them flat on the drainboard underneath.

Flaws but not dealbreakers

The cutlery basket is cramped. It can hold flatware without issue, but some of our larger-handled utensils, such as spatulas or whisks, required some cramming. Ultimately, we were still able to fit nearly all the items from our test, save for the ice cream scoop.

Best for...

Best for in- or over-sink drying

OXO Good Grips Extendable Over-The-Sink Aluminum Drying Dish

This in-sink drying rack is well built, can hold a decent amount for its size, and drains effectively. But we recommend measuring for fit before you buy.

$47 $33 from The Container Store

Price reflected in cart, with store pickup

$47 from Amazon

OXO Good Grips Extendable Over-The-Sink Aluminum Drying Dish Rack sits in or over your sink, keeping your countertop uncluttered.

It can sit either in or over your sink. The rack is 15 by 11.5 inches, with a height of 5.7 inches, which should fit on one side in most double-bowl sinks. If you want to suspend the rack over your sink, simply pull out the arms (they extend from 15 to 19 inches) and brace them on the edges of the sink. (This dish rack doesn’t work suspended over an apron sink, where the front edge of your sink drops below the height of your countertop.)

All styles of dishes fit in it. Between the prongs and the slotted base of the dish rack, there’s enough support structure to hold a wide range of dishes — we had no trouble with thick stoneware or rimmed plates. We were even able to lean bowls on their sides.

The cutlery holder is roomy. We were able to fit all the cutlery and tools we used in our tests, with room to spare.

It’s strong. We placed a 26.5-pound kettlebell on the rack while it was suspended over our sink and didn’t notice any excessive bending of the arms.

Best for...

Best for very limited space

Kraus Multipurpose Over-Sink Roll-Up Dish Drying Rack

This rack rolls over the top of your sink, creating a surface that efficiently dries a few items at a time and frees up your countertop. It’s also easy to tuck away when not in use.

$28 from Amazon

$35 from Walmart

$28 from The Home Depot

When kitchen counter space is extremely limited, even a compact rack can be too much. The Kraus Multipurpose Over-Sink Roll-Up Dish Drying Rack, which is made up of silicone-wrapped steel bars, sits over the top of sinks, creating a stable surface for drying items while keeping your countertops clear.

It can support heavy cookware. The Kraus rack was sturdy enough to hold heavy items, not budging underneath our 15.5-pound Dutch oven.

Kraus claims the mat can support up to 85 pounds, but it bent slightly under our 26.5-pound kettlebell, so we are skeptical (and not sure why anyone would need to rest 85 pounds on this mat). The bars are flat, rather than cylindrical, which makes the surface feel a little more stable.

It’s easy to store. The rack rolls up into a cylinder with a diameter of only a couple of inches, so it can easily be tucked in a drawer or cupboard.

It can withstand high temperatures. This rack is heat-resistant up to 400 °F, so it can double as a trivet or cooling rack, either on the counter or rolled over the sink for extra airflow.

Flaws but not dealbreakers

It doesn’t hold much. Though the Kraus rack is larger than other roll-up racks, it only fits one plate and one bowl at a time, unless you stack them (which would slow drying). And cutlery must be placed perpendicular to the rods so they don’t fall through, which means you can fit less. Because it rolls out over your sink, you also need a somewhat roomy sink, otherwise your drying dishes might block the faucet.

It has a plasticky smell at first. When we unwrapped the Kraus rack, we were hit with a strong and unpleasant plastic smell. But over the course of testing, the scent dissipated completely.

Best for...

Best for mat-drying

Brightroom Polyester Dish Mat

This large drying mat is absorbent, quick to dry, and machine-washable.

$8 from Target

If you prefer using a drying mat over a rack, Target’s Brightroom Polyester Dish Mat is the best we’ve tested and one of the lowest-priced (you’ll want at least two).

It’s absorbent and dries quickly. Of all the drying mats we tested, the Brightroom mat dried fastest, with only a slightly damp surface after half an hour. It absorbed a quarter cup of water without the water spreading or sinking deeply into the mat. Even the underside of the mat (and our counter) remained dry throughout our testing.

It’s pretty large. The Brightroom dish mat measures 18 by 24 inches, which is on the larger side for drying mats. It’s spacious enough for a couple plates, bowls, and glasses.

It’s machine-washable. Caring for the Brightroom mat is easy: It’s machine-wash cold and tumble-dry low. Wash it regularly to avoid smells and mildew.

It’s affordable. At $8, it’s half the price of most drying mats we tested.

Best for...

Best for drainboard-style drying

IKEA Rinnig Dish Drainer

The fluted surface of this small dish drainer directs excess water down your sink and allows for ample airflow to dry items. Plus it’s inexpensive and easy to store.

$4 from IKEA

The IKEA Rinnig Dish Drainer is a simple and, at $4 a pop, super-affordable drainboard. But it doesn’t hold much.

It’s unobtrusive. If you don’t like the look of dish racks but don’t want a fabric drying mat, this low-profile drainboard is a good alternative. The draining edge is also high enough to work with most drop-in sinks.

The Rinnig doesn’t take up too much counter space either, with a length of 15.75 inches and width of 12.25 inches (it drains from the shorter end).

It drains effectively. Water pours off the Rinnig cleanly, funneling between the ridges on the surface. And the ridges keep dishes raised above any dripping water, allowing for airflow underneath them. Every dish we placed on it was fully dry the next day, with no water remaining on the rack.

It’s inexpensive. The Rinnig costs only $4.

It’s easy to clean. It’s hand-wash only, but a bit of soapy water and a few scrubs with a sponge should do the trick.

If you want a quick-drying dish pad: The Dorai Dish Drying Stone is a small, inconspicuous pad made of diatomaceous earth, a material that readily absorbs and evaporates water, drying quickly and theoretically slowing mold growth.

The Dorai dish stone did dry quickly in our tests — it was bone-dry within a half hour, even after we poured a quarter cup of water on it. But it’s small and doesn’t hold much, and at $50, is expensive for the size.

We also noticed that some white residue can smudge onto your dishes — it brushes off easily but suggests that the stone may scuff delicate items. We’ll continue to test it to see how it holds up over time.

We focused on the following criteria in our research and testing:

Durability: We focused on dish racks made from plastic and stainless steel because they’re mold-, rot-, and rust-resistant. We skipped wood models, because they risk developing mold and rot, and they need to be oiled and waxed regularly.

Ease of cleaning: We looked for dish racks with no corners or crevices where water and gunk could collect and grow mold. We also prioritized models with fewer parts and that don’t require special tools to disassemble.

Space efficiency: We preferred racks that wouldn’t overcrowd kitchens while still holding a good amount of dishes. We included some space-saving options, like over-the-sink racks and mats.

Capacity and versatility: We fit as many items as we safely could on each dish rack to help determine whether they would be roomy enough for a two- or four-person household that cooks regularly.

We loaded the racks with various styles of dinnerware, mugs and glasses, and a range of cookware and prepware, including a cast iron skillet, a 10-inch stainless steel skillet, a saucepan, a Dutch oven, and a plastic cutting board. We also tested each cutlery holder with a collection of items that could be used over the course of an evening in a four-person household: four forks, four knives, four spoons, a serving spoon, kitchen shears, a fish spatula, a wooden spoon, a whisk, and an ice cream scoop.

Stability: We balanced a heavy, 12-inch cast iron skillet on the very edge of the rack, noting which racks tipped over or felt off-balance. For over-the-sink racks, we placed a 26.5-pound kettlebell on each, noting how much the rack bent underneath it.

Draining: We poured a half cup of water on each rack, noting which racks overflowed, how well each model drained the water, and where water collected in the trays. We also tested how well each rack would drain into a drop-in sink, which has a raised edge, by placing a 1-inch-thick strip of cardboard underneath the rack.

For drying mats, we poured a quarter cup of water on each mat and timed how long it took the mats to air-dry.

Real-world use: Finally, we loaded up our final panel of dish racks with everything that may be used over the course of a dinner: four dinner plates, four bowls, four cups, four spoons, four forks, four knives, and a 10-inch skillet. We drenched everything in water and left them on the rack to dry for eight hours.

This is not a comprehensive list of all the dish racks we’ve tested, just what’s still available.

Countertop dish racks

Target’s Brightroom Large Steel Dish Drainer is extremely spacious and can hold many styles of dinnerware. However, it doesn’t come with a drainboard, and the Brightroom drainboard we tested alongside it arrived extremely warped (and it didn’t drain well anyway). The acrylic coating on the bars was also worn off in multiple places, and we didn’t like the lack of compartments in the cutlery holder.

The Yamazaki Wire Dish Rack is pretty but not very functional: The plate prongs couldn’t hold most plates upright, space is limited, and we scuffed the pristine white surface within the first five minutes. Water also collected in the corners of the tray, and the spout is too low for a drop-in sink.

The Kitsure Dish Drying Rack tipped over when we placed pots and pans in it. It also doesn’t drain very well and wouldn’t work with a drop-in sink.

The IKEA Kungsfors Dish Drainer can hold a wide range of items and dries effectively. But it’s excessively large and heavy for countertop use (though it can be mounted to a wall) and lacks a cutlery holder.

The Polder 4-Piece Advantage Dish Rack System can hold a substantial amount of dishes, but the wires screeched every time we loaded thicker dishes into it, and its open sides sometimes failed to prevent dishes from falling out.

The all-plastic Sterilite 2-Piece Large Sink Set drained poorly because the tray wasn’t angled enough.

The Yamazaki Two-Tier Wire Dish Rack is a nice-looking, space-saving option, but water from the top tier dripped onto the lower rack, leaving dishes on the bottom rack wet after eight hours. Also, the drain tray is flat, so it pools water rather than angling it toward the spout to flow out properly.

The PremiumRacks Professional Dish Rack is difficult to assemble. Though it has the most space of any model we tested, we wouldn’t trust it to hold fragile or heavy dishes, as it felt flimsy.

The IKEA Ordning Dish Drainer required annoying, fiddly assembly. It refused to sit flat on the counter, it required extraordinarily high clearance, and it couldn’t handle large items. The rack’s perforated bottom requires a mat underneath (but it doesn’t include one).

The OXO Good Grips Compact Dish Rack couldn’t support sheet pans or thick-lipped plates or bowls. Water from larger items dripped outside of the tray, and plates tended to roll out the sides. This rack’s tray also doesn’t have a built-in drain, so water just pools.

Water collected in the silverware caddy of the OXO Good Grips Aluminum Dish Rack. Many owners also complain about water leaking onto their countertops, and although that didn’t happen during our eight-hour drying test, it did when we poured three cups of water onto the rack.

The Neat-O Deluxe Chrome-Plated Steel Small Dish Drainer requires you to purchase a drainboard separately, and it wasn’t sturdy at all — when we loaded the silverware first, the whole rack tipped over into the sink.

The Umbra Tub’s high sides allow for easy stacking, but they don’t do much to promote air circulation. We also had concerns about this model’s inadequately grippy feet and its slick surface, which sometimes formed a seal with wet glasses or bowls placed upside down on it. Lastly, this model drains through an opening, not a spout, so it would not work for many overmount sinks.

Collapsible dish racks

An X-shaped collapsible model, the Better Houseware Folding Dish Rack does not come with a drainboard. And though the rubber-coated wire is gentle on dishes, the coating was a little too effective in practice: Our dishes slipped out of the slots, and the catch mechanism that was supposed to hold the rack open would slip out as well, causing the whole thing to collapse.

The OXO Good Grips Foldaway Dish Rack has well-considered design features and a sturdy build, but it couldn’t hold nearly as much as our other picks. Its inflexible plastic plate dividers couldn’t hold up pots, pans, or large vessels, and using the remaining space for bigger items required precarious stacking.

In- and over-sink dish racks

The Umbra Sinkin needed an annoyingly close fit in the sink to be adequately supported, and we found the utensil holder unstable. The rack’s slots also weren’t compatible with some types of dishes.

Owner reviews reported the ClosetMaid Over the Sink Drainer to be durable. Unfortunately, it doesn’t come with a utensil holder, and it’s too small to be useful for more than a single person.

The Polder Expandable In-Sink Dish Rack filled up fast and wasn’t able to hold a variety of dishes. For example, we couldn’t safely put glasses in it alongside large, heavy items. This rack also lacks a utensil holder, and the utensils we laid in the basket fell through the mesh.

The Better Houseware Adjustable Dish Drainer does not come with a utensil holder, though the manufacturer sells a small one separately.

The all-plastic Progressive International’s PrepWorks Collapsible Dish Rack had a utensil divider that felt flimsy and didn’t always stay in place, and we found that the dish slots didn’t work well with thicker plates and bowls. Reviewers say it eventually cracks.

The IKEA Lillhavet Multifunctional Dish Rack arrived slightly out of kilter — it wouldn’t sit straight in its drain tray or over the sink. It also could hold only conventional porcelain dishes upright, and it wasn’t able to accommodate any cookware that we tried.

The Antopy Sink Dish Drying Rack is sturdy and can hold all styles of plates, but we worry about rust building up on the extendable arms. The cutlery holder is too small for large-handled items, and the drain holes have rough edges that are likely to get gunky.

Drying mats

The S&T Inc. Dish Drying Mat XL dried well and folds easily. But it arrived with a horrible plasticky smell, and while it’s the same size as our drying mat pick, it costs almost twice as much.

The IKEA Nysköljd Dish Drying Mat must be air-dried. It’s also small and gets oversaturated quickly.

The Umbra UDry Dish Drying Rack with Drying Mat is a mini rack and mat in one. The rack worked well, as it offers enough prongs to hold a household’s worth of dishes, but the mat wicked water to its edges and bottom, leaving our countertop damp.

The Dorai Dish Pad is made from diatomaceous earth. During testing, this sleek mat dried within an hour. However, water got trapped between the removable silicone mesh and our dishes, leaving the rims of our cups and bowls wet.

Roll-over racks

The Bellemain Over Sink Drying Rack is the strongest roll-over rack we tested, barely bending underneath our 26.5-pound kettlebell. But it’s on the smaller side, and it’s frequently unavailable.

The Sur La Table Over-the-Sink Drying Rack looks like a lower-quality version of the Kraus rack we recommend, for nearly $20 more. The seams around the bars are messy, with excess silicone sticking out, and the rack bent quite a bit under our 26.5-pound kettlebell.

Despite its claim to support “up to 100 lbs,” the Ohuhu Over Sink Dish Drying Rack bent severely under our kettlebell.

The Dorai Over the Sink Dish Pad is an expensive roll-over rack with a small dish pad that sits on your countertop. The dish pad dries quickly, and the rack remains sturdy under heavy weight, but we have concerns about mold buildup.

This article was edited by Amanda Arnold and Marilyn Ong. This guide builds on the work of Haley Sprankle.