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The Best Paper Towel | 2023

Last updated on March 22, 2023

We looked at the top 20 Paper Towels and dug through the reviews from 63 of the most popular review sites including and more. The result is a ranking of the best Paper Towels.

Best Paper Towel

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Our Picks For The Top Paper Towels

Show Contents
Our Take
Experts Included
Pros
Cons
  Top Pick

Tork Absorbent Hand Washing Paper Towels

Don't Waste Your Money Seal of Approval

Tork

Absorbent Hand Washing Paper Towels

Overall Take

Designed for BusinessesEach one-ply sheet in this box of paper towels is made using recycled materials.

Experts Included
DWYM Home Experts plus . Along with user reviews from Amazon.
  Runner Up

EcoFirst Chlorine & Dye Free Recycled Paper Towels

EcoFirst

Chlorine & Dye Free Recycled Paper Towels

Overall Take

Best for the EnvironmentYou won't find any bleach, dyes or fragrances in these all-natural paper towels.

Experts Included
DWYM Home Experts plus Eco Mastery Project, Remain Eco. Along with user reviews from Amazon.
Pros
" These solid and absorbant, 2-ply 100% recycled paper towels have a soft feel. Each roll is whitened without chlorine bleaching and free of any dyes, inks, or fragrances. These eco-friendly paper towels provide the perfect balance of strength and absorbency..."
  We Also Like

Brawny Tear-A-Square 2-Ply Paper Towels

Brawny

Tear-A-Square 2-Ply Paper Towels

Overall Take

Comfortable FeelThese paper towels are soft, strong paper towels that are very absorbent.

Experts Included
DWYM Home Experts plus Your Best Digs, BestReviews, Wise Bread, Today, Review Meta, Wire Top Pro. Along with user reviews from Amazon and Walmart.
Pros
" Brawny are by far the softest and feel most pleasant, and they don’t irritate or scratch. Brawny feels cloth-like, which helps when washing floors and cleaning windows. It rarely wears thin, even when repeatedly scrubbing a stain. In our test..."
Cons
"It can be tough to tear a square without tearing off a full half sheet sometimes."
  Strong Contender

Sparkle Pick-A-Size Paper Towels

Sparkle

Pick-A-Size Paper Towels

Overall Take

Larger SheetsThis set of paper towels has sheets that are half an inch wider than traditional paper towel sheets.

Experts Included
DWYM Home Experts plus and 1 more. Along with user reviews from Amazon.
Don't just take for granted what one reviewer says. Along with our own experts, DWYM analyzes the top expert reviews of the leading products and generates a score you can actually trust.
27

Products Considered

We identified the majority of the paper towels available to purchase.
20

Products Analyzed

We then selected the leading and most popular products for our team to review.

View All Product Rankings

63

Expert Reviews Included

In addition to our expert reviews, we also incorporate feedback and analysis of some of the most respected sources including: Eco Mastery Project, Remain Eco, Spy, Scary Mommy, Bamboo Detective.

98,512

User Opinions Analyzed

We also incorporate user reviews from the leading retailers including

Our experts reviewed the top 20 Paper Towels and also dug through the reviews from 63 of the most popular review sites including and more. The result is a ranking of the best of the best Paper Towels.

DWYM is your trusted roduct review source. Our team reviews thousands of product reviews from the trusted top experts and combines them into one easy-to-understand score. Learn more.

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Look for the DWYM seal for products that are the best in their category.

The Best Overall

Tork Absorbent Hand Washing Paper Towels

User Summarized Score

8.8
2,984 user reviews

Our Take

Whether you run a small office or a large corporation, you'll want to grab these paper towels for your employees and guests. They are folded and designed to work in touch-free dispensers. You'll get a total of 4,000 sheets with your purchase, so you can expect the box to last a long time.


Overall Product Rankings

1. Tork Absorbent Hand Washing Paper Towels

Overall Score: 9.8
Reviews Included: 1

2. EcoFirst Chlorine & Dye Free Recycled Paper Towels

Overall Score: 9.7
Reviews Included: 3

3. Brawny Tear-A-Square 2-Ply Paper Towels

Overall Score: 9.6
Reviews Included: 8

4. Sparkle Pick-A-Size Paper Towels

Overall Score: 9.5
Reviews Included: 2

5. AmazonCommercial Adapt-A-Size Absorbent Paper Towels

Overall Score: 9.4
Reviews Included: 1

6. Bounty Select-A-Size Absorbent Paper Towels, 2-Pack

Overall Score: 9.1
Reviews Included: 10

7. Pacific Blue Select Stackable Bulk Paper Towels

Overall Score: 9.1
Reviews Included: 4

8. Presto! Flex-a-Size Surface Wiping Paper Towels

Overall Score: 9.0
Reviews Included: 8

9. Bounty Quick-Size Traditional Paper Towels

Overall Score: 8.9
Reviews Included: 7

12. Bounty Essentials Select-A-Size Paper Towels

Overall Score: 8.7
Reviews Included: 7

13. Seventh Generation Restroom Ultra Strong Paper Towels

Overall Score: 8.7
Reviews Included: 2

14. Viva Signature Cloth Tough Paper Towels

Overall Score: 8.7
Reviews Included: 3

15. Viva Office Textured Paper Towels

Overall Score: 8.7
Reviews Included: 2

16. Plenty Sustainably Sourced Surface Wiping Paper Towels

Overall Score: 8.6
Reviews Included: 8

18. Scott Essential EPA Standards Eco-Friendly Paper Towels

Overall Score: 8.5
Reviews Included: 1

19. Great Value 2-Ply Absorbent Paper Towels

Overall Score: 8.4
Reviews Included: 7

20. Sparkle Thirst Pockets Classic Paper Towels

Overall Score: 8.4
Reviews Included: 8

Our Paper Towel Findings


Tork Absorbent Hand Washing Paper Towels

What We Liked: Whether you run a small office or a large corporation, you’ll want to grab these paper towels for your employees and guests. They are folded and designed to work in touch-free dispensers. You’ll get a total of 4,000 sheets with your purchase, so you can expect the box to last a long time.


EcoFirst Chlorine & Dye Free Recycled Paper Towels

What We Liked: Constructed from 100 percent recycled paper, these paper towels are a responsible buy. Each pack contains two rolls, with the sheets measuring 11 inches by 5.5 inches. Strength and high absorbency also make the pack of paper towels a top pick.


Brawny Tear-A-Square 2-Ply Paper Towels

What We Liked: These paper towels are soft and feel cloth-like to the touch. They come in handy small squares, allowing you to use just the right amount for your mess. They are also extremely absorbent and strong when wet, so they won’t tear when you need to scrub something until it sparkles.


Sparkle Pick-A-Size Paper Towels

Strong Contender

What We Liked: One of the biggest benefits of this set of paper towels is the width of each sheet. Wider sheets are better for holding food and cleaning larger areas, like a kitchen counter or bathroom floor. Of course, the fact that the paper towels are quick to whisk away moisture without leaving any streaks behind isn’t bad either.


AmazonCommercial Adapt-A-Size Absorbent Paper Towels

What We Liked: High-quality paper towels are useful for cleaning up spills and drying dishes. This set comes with 12 rolls that have 140 sheets per roll, so it will last you a long time. They’re also 2-ply for added absorbency when you need it.

Our Paper Towel Buying Guide

Life can be messy sometimes, so it’s important to always be prepared with handy paper towels to help clean things up. Paper towels are disposable, so you can throw them away after each use. This makes cleaning up a breeze because there are no rags to wash after you’re done!

One of the most helpful places in the home to have a roll of paper towels available in is the kitchen. You never know what culinary explosion is waiting to happen in the microwave! Using a damp paper towel to wipe up food messes in the microwave can help you clean up quickly and effortlessly.

Similarly, using a paper towel on stovetop surfaces helps to keep them clean without adding any scratches to the top. Cooking results in lots of splatters and spills. If not cleaned up right away (which can be tough when the stove is hot), the food can harden and become stubborn to clean. That’s when it’s important to use a sturdy paper towel rather than a scratchy kitchen sponge to wipe the mess away.

The kitchen isn’t the only place where paper towels are useful. Paper towels, combined with your choice of cleaning product, can be used to clean bathroom counters, sinks, tubs and even toilets. Being able to throw the paper towels away after each use ensures a high level of sanitation.

If you’ve got a lot of windows in your home, then you need paper towels to keep the smudges and fingerprints away. Paper towels can also help your mirrors to stay sparkling clean, ensuring you can always see your best self. Just be sure to use a paper towel that doesn’t leave any lint behind.

During cold and flu season, it’s important to use paper towels throughout your home to disinfect high-touch objects, such as door handles, light switches, banisters and kitchen knobs. Just add a dab of your cleaning product to the paper towel to make sure you’re fighting the spread of germs.

DWYM Fun Fact

While cleaning is what paper towels are most often used for, they also have some other incredibly helpful uses around the home. Paper towels can be used to extend the life of your greens and fresh herbs. Add a damp paper towel to a bag with your greens and herbs, and the increased humidity will help your produce last longer.

If you’re going to freeze any extra bread, be sure to put a dry paper towel in the bag. This will help to wick away any extra moisture so when you thaw your bread, it won’t be left soggy. Instead, it will have the same texture as when it was fresh.

Paper towels can also be used to chill white wine in a hurry. If you’ve got company over and you forgot to put a bottle in the fridge, then a paper towel can help. Wrap the bottle with a wet paper towel, and stick it in the freezer for a few minutes. The paper towel will help to cool the bottle down faster.

The Paper Towel Tips and Advice

  • One of the most important criteria for selecting paper towels is price. Since they are so frequently used throughout the home, it’s vital to find an affordable option that works with your budget. Be sure to consider how large the rolls are, as well as how many rolls you get inside each package when factoring the price.
  • Sometimes, the mess you’re trying to clean up is huge, so you need to grab a couple of sheets of paper towel. Other times, you just need a small piece to wipe away a few splatters. That’s why it’s nice to have a choice of size in paper towels. Some brands actually have a unique option where each sheet can be torn away into quarters, so you can use just a small square if you need to, without wasting an entire sheet. Others come in sheets that are six inches wide, which is less than the size of a 10.4-inch regular sheet of paper towel. This gives you more flexibility in choosing your paper towel size. There are even paper towels that come in narrower sheets as well, making it easier to just use a small piece when you need it.
  • For many eco-minded consumers, sustainability is an important factor to consider, especially when buying single-use products like paper towels. Look for paper towels made with pulp sourced from sustainably managed forests. Companies who choose to make their paper towels from material from responsibly managed forests are essentially saying they are committed to ensuring a tree is regrown for every one that is cut down, and that they do not participate in deforesting practices.

About The Author

Anam Ahmed 

Anam Ahmed is a professional copywriter and essayist based in Toronto. She has been writing on technology, travel, parenting and business for over 10 years. As a homeowner and avid gardener, she values finding the best products to make people's lives easier. Anam earned a master's degree from the University of Toronto and a bachelor's degree from Queen's University.