8 Best Dish Racks for Your Kitchen
Updated: Aug. 06, 2022Delve into the fascinating world of dish racks! Check out our favorite dish racks to fit every space, situation and budget.
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How To Choose the Best Dish Rack
Whether you hand wash a plate or two occasionally or suds up your dirty pots and pans after every meal, if you’re like us you prefer air drying your dishes. When deciding which type of dish rack to buy, consider how much counter space you have, how many folks live in your household and the size of your sink.
And while some racks fold up so they can be put away when not in use, we mere mortals tend to leave our dish racks out all the time. So style can be just as important as functionality.
Along with slats to prop up plates, racks generally come with standard features like a flatware baskets, cup and glass prongs, and a drain tray and/or a tilted design to direct water into the sink.
Here are the dish racks we like best in a wide range of categories.
Best for Tiny Kitchens
The Madesmart Collapsible Dish Rack is made of flexible plastic that collapses almost flat to stow away under the sink or in a drawer, out of sight. It’s sizable, holding up to eight plates. And the holes in the sides offer good airflow so dishes dry quickly.
Best Splurge
Money can’t buy happiness, but it can buy precious counter space. Priced higher than your average dish rack, the Avery Standing Dish Rack is a modular, over-the-sink unit that drains and air-dries loads of dishes without taking up too much room.
The double-layered rack features compartments for holding dish soap and a sponge, as well as a cutting board, cutlery, utensils and knives. There’s even a space to keep fruits and veggies. That’s worth the extra coin in our book.
Best for Fine Glassware
A wine lover’s delight, the Simplehuman Steel Frame Dish Rack with stemware holder safely hangs up to four extra-large Bordeaux-style wine glasses. The rack’s stainless-steel surface has an anti-residue hydrophilic coating that repels water and resists fingerprints, discoloration, rust and corrosion.
Best Sustainable
Made from natural bamboo, a sustainable and renewable material, the Lipper International Bamboo Dish Rack is a beautiful and practical way to help the planet. Featuring a classic two-tiered layout, the durable rack (bamboo has a tensile strength higher than steel) holds plates, bowls and cups. A flatware caddy is sold separately. The freestanding rack folds up for easy storage and can be used with or without a drainboard.
Best Value
The Swedish retail giant, Ikea, does it again with the FINTORP Dish drainer, a super affordable ($15) and versatile dish rack that can be hung on the wall or placed on the countertop. It’s ideal for small kitchens or where food preparation space is limited. Made of nickel-plated steel with a clear lacquer coating, it has a handy removable tray underneath to catch the water from the drainer.
Best Over-The-Sink
Different from many other over-the-sink-drainers, the Surpahs Over the Sink Multipurpose Roll-Up Dish Drying Rack features food-grade silicon-wrapped stiff steel slats that, when rolled over a sink’s basin, can drain fruits and veggies as well as heavy pots and pans. You can even use it as a platform for food prep or as a cooling rack. When you’re done, it rolls up and slips into a drawer. Available in two sizes to fit sinks 16-1/5-in. or 19-1/2-in. wide.
Best for Baby Bottles
With more than 10,000 Amazon reviews giving it 4.8 out of five stars, parents really love the sweet Boon Grass Countertop Drying Rack! It’s as cute as it is utilitarian.
Wash and perch your baby bottles to dry on the green silicon blades — they hold everything from nipples to pacifiers. Completely contained, the water drains into the lower tray for easy emptying. And it’s portable, so you can stash it under the stroller to take with you on outings to Grandma’s house.
Best All-Around
A real stunner, the Dish Drying Rack by Yamazaki handles a family-size load of dishes, no problem. Light and bright, it features wooden accent handles to carry the drainer around the kitchen, a utensil holder that hangs anywhere along the edge, and a base tray that’s easy to remove and clean. Altogether, it’s a winning combination of versatility and beauty.
