The Best Dish Rack

After performing 70 hours of research, interviewing two industrial designers, winnowing a field of 96 dish racks across four categories, and doing the equivalent of 39 loads of dishes between our original testing and a new round for 2016, we’ve concluded that there isn’t One True Dish Rack that’s perfect for everyone. Still, we found that the Polder 4-Piece Advantage Dish Rack System is the best one for a four-person household that cooks at least five days a week and has a single average-size sink. The Polder Advantage will hold a heavy load of dishes, pots, pans, and glassware, while taking up as much space as a standard toaster oven. Plus, this rack’s utensil holder is one of the largest on the market and will stay put no matter how much you pile into one end of it. The rack drains effectively and works with a wide range of sink styles, including most overmount sinks.
The stainless steel and plastic rack is stable, durable, low-maintenance, and reasonably priced. Plus, the Polder Advantage has an additional tray that pulls out for extra drying space and can be neatly tucked away when not in use, which is especially useful if you have an even larger family. The extra drying tray can accommodate items that lie flat, which would make the rack useful for larger households or flexible enough to handle dinner parties.
But the Polder Advantage isn’t perfect—as we’ve discovered, no dish rack is. After watching dishes dry for two weeks straight, we concluded that every dish rack was flawed—some more deeply and/or widely than others. Even the best-performing model, which costs almost twice as much as our main pick, still wasn’t perfect.
If the Polder is sold out or unavailable, or you don’t care for its design, a four-person household that cooks nearly daily and has a single, average-size sink. It’s slightly smaller than our main pick and drains out the longer side, so it will take up less space on your counter while holding about the same number of dishes. This model almost became our main pick, but fell to the runner-up spot due to the number of user reviews mentioning broken parts and other build quality complaints. The less-open design also means it’s a little trickier to clean and requires slightly more vigilant upkeep.
For the steep price, you get a rack made almost completely out of high-quality thick-gauge stainless steel—only the feet are not. It’s compatible with all overmount sinks on the market, even the porcelain ones with the highest lip. The stainless steel drain tray is the most steeply angled out there and drains more effectively than all of the other racks we considered. Amazingly, the rack was completely dry after five hours, while most others, including the main pick, still had a small amount of water remaining after eight hours. The rack works for any sink and comes with a lifetime warranty. It holds the same amount of dishes as our main pick and our runner-up and has a smaller footprint than either of them.
Some homes need a larger dish rack is twice the price of our top pick, but that extra cost brings plenty of extra space and sturdiness. In our tests, this rack easily accommodated a dutch oven, its lid, and some plates from dinner without wobbling or tipping. The rack’s drip-free design and simple rotating-spout system should keep your countertops safe from any water spills. But be warned: All that water collection and runoff can lead to mold, which means more frequent hand cleaning than you would need for our top pick.
If you have less than 14 by 14 square inches of counter space to work with or you have a two-person household that cooks most of the week, get the Dish Garden, our pick among compact racks. It can be used in the sink or on the counter, holds a ton in a small footprint, drains well, and is well-liked by reviewers.