8 Best Towel Warmers of 2023

Zadro came out with the first bucket-style towel warmer about five years ago and the brand is still tops with our testers for anyone in the market for this type of warmer. We evaluated several Zadro products for this report and we like the size and versatility of its Large Towel Warmer most of all.

“Buckets, in general, perform the best and this one heated up especially quickly in our tests and maintained steady temperatures for the duration of the set amount of warming time,” says Alec Scherma, test engineer at the Good Housekeeping Institute. The only downside is that it will take up some floor space in the bathroom. The 20-liter tub can handle a pair of large bath towels. Its timer has more settings than many warmers (15, 30, 45 or 60 minutes) and we like the hot surface warning light, since the interior of the unit climbed above 170°F in our tests, enough to leave a mark upon prolonged skin contact.

Style-wise, the Zadro bucket has clean, simple lines for an unobtrusive presence in the bathroom (the bamboo handle and feet are understated flourishes). If you’re looking to make more of statement with your towel warmer, the Zadro comes in seven color schemes, including a bolder bamboo/gray combination.

Many of the best deals on towel warmers are in the rack-style category. With its curvaceous design, Homeleader’s value-priced version serves up a decent amount of hanging space, whether for warming towels or to dry garments. In addition to that double duty, our experts like how easy the unit is to put together, plus the fact that it can be freestanding or wall-mounted.

Constructed of white painted steel, the towel warmer is not as durable as the top-quality, stainless-steel racks in our round-up. But as long as you’re not too rough with it — no overloading it with heavy items, for example, or dragging it around with one hand — the bargain warmer should deliver many years of service.

If you’re partial to oversized bath sheets (which are typically 70 inches long, instead of standard 60-inch towels) or you like to make blankets toasty warm before bedtime, you’ll need a warmer with maximum capacity. This LiveFine was up there with the biggest in our tests, with room for two bath sheets measuring 40” x 70” or a single queen-size blanket.

The device delivered quick warm-up times in our temperature tests and maintained even heat throughout its interior bucket. Our experts also like the discreet LED display, which only illuminates when the warmer is on. Though we prefer a hot surface warning light, the LED display is at least a visual reminder that the towel warmer is on and hot to the touch.

“If you're working with limited space, you can't go wrong with this sleek, wall-mounted towel warmer in a trendy matte black finish," says Valeris. We tested the plug-in version, which will save you on the cost of hiring an electrician (so long as you can live with a dangling cord).

The 24” x 36” rack features 10 horizontal bars that reach around 90°F in roughly 15 minutes. That’s slower than the bucket-style warmers we tested, plus there’s no timer settings (it’s either on or it’s off). But if you remember to turn the device on ahead of time, it will do the job of warming your towels. “Just don’t expect to warm 10 towels at once,” adds Scherma, noting how the rack became too crowded after a few towels to do its job effectively in our tests.

Only looking to warm up a single standard-size bath towel? You'll save money and space with LiveFine's freestanding warmer, which is basically a mini version of its brand mate that our pros tapped as the best large-capacity towel warmer. Standing just over 13 inches tall, it's about half the height and costs some $30 less.

But it will still do a solid job of warming up a large bath sheet, and you might be able to squeeze a couple smaller towels in there, depending on their dimensions. The LED display makes it easy to choose between four timer settings — 15, 30, 45 or 60 minutes. Given its smaller cavity, the warm-up timer is exceptionally swift. But be careful touching the interior, since there's no hot surface warning light.

This high-end towel warmer from Pottery Barn is worth the splurge, thanks to its elegant design and choice of three handsome finishes (chrome, brushed nickel and matte black). Though we didn’t test the warmer in our Lab, our experts highly rate Pottery Barn based on years of evaluations across all product categories, from furniture to diaper bags; the brand is also our top overall pick in our current round-up of best bath towels.

Boasting high-grade, stainless-steel construction, the Classic Towel Bar is available in four sizes, ranging from 18” x 40” up to 24” x 60”. (Go as large as you can, our experts say, to accommodate more and bigger bath towels.) The warmer must be hard-wired, which probably means the added cost of an electrician, unless of course it’s part of a full-scale bathroom remodel, which is when a splurge likes this makes the most sense.

“You’ll be able to get the placement just right, plus it’s just another fixture for your contractor to install, so you won’t be paying a huge mark-up on labor,” says Scherma.

The brand that introduced the bucket towel warmer continues to innovate, as evidenced by this recent launch that features a built-in aromatherapy diffuser. When filled with a few drops of the included lavender oil (or other essential oil of your choice), the unit imbues towels and blankets with a soothing scent as it warms them up.

The 20-liter towel warmer has all the same features and dimensions of our top overall pick from Zadro, including multiple timer settings and built-in cord storage beneath the footed base. It can accommodate two large bath towels. Design options are more limited though, as the aromatherapy unit only comes in the ivory with bamboo accents shown here.

While it’s fair to say that all towel warmers are a luxury, ones designed specifically for hand towels are next-level extravagance. But if you wear makeup everyday, a warm towel can help with removal, and even give your skin a moisturizing boost. Like what you might see at the nail salon, this version holds up 12 small hand or face towels.

It works best when you presoak the towels before placing them inside, unlike other towel warmers, which are designed for dry fabrics. A built-in drip pan corrals any moisture, and according to the brand, an internal temperature control prevents the unit from overheating. That's good, since there are no controls to automatically shut the warmer off after a set amount of time.