The 5 Best Paper Towels

Paper towels are awesome. They are versatile and easy to use little sheets that can do nearly anything. Spilled some water? Get a paper towel. Cleaning your counters after cooking? Paper towel. Do you need to drain fried foods as they come out of the oil? Paper towels can help there too. Paper towels come in several different sizes and levels of toughness. They also come in at several price points. Here are the 5 best paper towel brands available today.

Bounty Paper Towels

Classically Absorbent

The tough paper towels that can handle the tough messes.
Top Pick

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Bounty is a household name when you think about paper towels. They have been one of the top-selling brands for years and for good reason. These paper towels can absorb more than most other brands can which makes them ideal for cleaning tough messes. In addition to their excellent absorbency, they also come in several fun designs and are perforated into smaller sizes so you never use too many.

Bounty responsibly sources the fibers used to make their paper towels. At least one tree is planted for every tree that is used in the production of their products. Check out these pros and cons so you can decide if Bounty is the right paper towel brand for you.

Pros:

  • They absorb 2x more than some of the other leading brands
  • The production of these paper towels does not contribute to deforestation
  • You can choose to use a whole sheet or a half sheet
  • The prints are cute and fun
  • These paper towels are made in the USA and the company provides jobs to many Americans

Cons:

  • They are more expensive than most competitors
  • These are not made of any type of recycled materials

Kitchen + Home Bamboo Towels

Long-Lasting

The best option for when you want the convenience of paper towels while still caring for the environment.
Most Eco-Friendly

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If you love the convenience of paper towels but you don’t love the impact on the environment traditional paper products leave behind then these are the paper towels for you. Kitchen + Home Bamboo Towels are the reusable and sustainable choice. The 20 bamboo cloths that come on this roll are washable and reusable. They can each be used up to 120 times before you need to discard and get another off the roll.

Bamboo is sustainable and renewable. The creation of these paper towels does not harm the environment the way traditional paper towels do. They do not contribute to deforestation at all. Here are some more pros and cons to help you decide if these are right for you.

Pros:

  • They are better for the environment than the competitors
  • These paper towels are super soft and feel like a real cloth or kitchen rag
  • You can wash these over and over again before they need to be thrown away
  • Once thrown away they can be put right into the compost
  • There is no need to buy them over and over again, so you save money over time

Cons:

  • There are only 20 per roll
  • They cost more per roll than traditional paper towels

VIVA Choose-a-Sheet Paper Towels

Soft and Strong

A great choice when you want a strong paper towel with a cloth-like feel.
Closest to Cloth

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VIVA is another big name-brand in the paper towel industry. They are known for having super soft sheets that absorb and clean a ton and can continue to do so even when wet. That is awesome, especially considering that most paper towels become useless when wet. The texture that is built-in to these towels also helps to scrub up tougher messes and collect grease better than others do.

VIVA Choose-a-Sheet Paper Towels offer a bonus. You can use a whole sheet or a half sheet. The choice is yours. This allows you to avoid using too much and wasting your money. Let’s take a look at some pros and cons.

Pros:

  • The softness of these paper towels can stand up to actual cloth rags
  • They do not lose their absorbency just because they become wet
  • VIVA paper towels have a scrubby texture that can get anything off
  • Each roll comes with 90 super absorbent sheets
  • These are FSC certified

Cons:

  • They are expensive
  • The sheets can be hard to tear off the roll

Brawny Tear-a-Square Paper Towels

Affordably Tough

Get superior cleaning power at a lower cost than most competitors.
Best on a Budget

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If you thought being able to choose between a whole or half sheet was awesome, prepare to be even more excited. Brawny Tear-a-Square Paper Towels allow you to choose between a whole sheet, a half sheet, and a quarter of a sheet. That means if all you need a paper towel for is to clean up a few drops of barbecue sauce or the ring left behind when you pick up your glass you only need to use a small square.

One of the main advantages of Brawny Tear-a-Square is the ability to save money. You no longer need to waste an entire sheet on a very small mess. You get all the strength of Brawny in itty bitty squares. Check out these pros and cons.

Pros:

  • Brawny is super absorbent
  • You do not waste money by using too much paper towel for the job
  • They are tough and can scrub out most messes
  • These are especially great at absorbing grease and oil from fried foods
  • They are easy to rip at the perforations

Cons:

  • Brawny paper towels are not as soft as many of their competitors
  • They are expensive

Presto! Flex-a-Size Paper Towels

Affordably Tough

Get superior cleaning power at a lower cost than most competitors.
Best on a Budget

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Presto! Flex-a-Size Paper Towels are an affordable alternative to the other name brand paper towels on this list. Presto! is an Amazon company which means they are backed by all of Amazon’s quality standards. These paper towels are 75% more absorbent than the leading 1-ply name brand paper towels and you can feel confident in their capability to pick up your tough messes.

Each sheet is perforated down the middle giving you the ability to use a half-sheet at a time. That will save you even more money. Overall, these are an excellent choice for anyone on a budget who wants the convenience of paper towels. Here are the pros and cons.

Pros:

  • You can choose the sheet size you need
  • They are more affordable than most other brands
  • The rolls are large
  • Amazon brands are backed with Amazon’s guarantees
  • These are made with pulp from sustainable sources

Cons:

  • They are not as absorbent as the 2-ply brands
  • Presto! Paper Towels are not as soft as most other brands

Frequently Asked Questions

What do you mean by FSC Certified?

FSC Certified means that the product is certified through the Forest Stewardship Council. They ensure that the companies they certify use sustainable, earth-friendly practices.

What can I use paper towels for?

Paper towels are great for all kinds of household uses. They clean up spills and scrub up messes. You can use them to dry your hands or dishes. They are great for absorbing oil when you use them as a plate liner to set your fried foods on. Any job you would use a towel or napkin for you can use a paper towel for.

Why should I choose paper towels over regular kitchen towels?

Paper towels are more sanitary than kitchen towels. If you wipe up spilled water from where you were defrosting chicken, for example, you can just throw it away. If you used a regular kitchen towel you would run the risk of salmonella on the towel, then when you put it with all of your other laundry it could spread. They are also more convenient. Less washing and you won’t need to find storage for all of the kitchen towels and rags.