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As a former restaurant chef, current recipe developer, and onetime dishwasher (I did all the dishes for the food truck I operated for seven years), I am constantly seeking the perfect sponge. At this point in my culinary career, I have tested at least 20 different brands of sponges. I generally keep three sponges of different levels of abrasion by my kitchen sink, rotating between them depending on the task: If I’m cleaning glassware, dishes, pots and pans, my oven, or wiping down the counters. I have separate sets of sponges that live in my bathroom cabinets, for surfaces and for scrubbing the shower walls and tiles.
For this guide, I set out to find the best sponge brands to tackle all of these tasks, but that also produce the least amount of weird sponge slime when hanging out in my soap dish, and would help me minimize the use of plastics in my kitchen (whether by being made from sustainable materials or ones that were so durable, I wouldn’t have to constantly throw out used ones). If a sponge started off strong but fell apart after two weeks of constant scrubbing, it didn’t make this list. These sponges held up to sanitization cycles in the dishwasher, regular wringing and drying, and weeks of daily use. I stored them side by side, in order to compare and contrast them, to determine whether the material allows the sponge to dry quickly, and to check how long they last and how effectively they lather using a single pump of dish soap. Of the nine sponges I tested, seven made the cut. I reached out to chefs and bartenders for recommendations as well. If you’re looking for scrubbers or eco-friendly alternatives to sponges, we have recommendations and guides to those, too.
What we’re looking for
Material
The sponges range from natural, compostable materials like coconut fibers to synthetic foams.
Style
Some sponges are dual-sided, with soft bases lined by a coarser scrubbing side. Some sponges are rectangular with sharp corners, while others come in round, oval, or wavy shapes. I found that the sharp-cornered sponges were generally the best for getting into the angular sides of my sink and the rounded ones felt better to hold.
Function
If they’re dual-sided, what are each of the sides good for? Is the sponge usable on everything or specific items or surfaces? I set out to answer these questions and tested their capabilities in making dish soap stretch and recorded how frequently I was reaching for another pump.
Best dish sponge overall
Material: Polyurethane foam | Style: Sharp-edged rectangle | Function: Dual-sided for scrubbing and regular sponging, use for dishes and all surfaces
The Skura sponge is made of quick-drying polyurethane foam that never leaves slimy messes in my soap dish. Its minuscule air pockets resisted food particles so that when I rinsed and wrung it out after using it to do the dishes, any bits of food just slid right off it. It cleaned up caked-on dog messes on the floor with one swipe. I’m trying to back off the synthetic foam in my household, but in terms of longevity, this sponge cannot be beat.
It was a close call between the Skura sponge (which just comes in one sharp-edged rectangular design) and the Jetz-Scrubz sponges, which come in a multitude of shapes, colors, and sizes. Both lasted for about three months, through many cycles in the dishwasher, but in the end the Skura won as my best overall pick for two reasons: Its edges could clean the sharp crevices of my idiotically designed square kitchen sink (which always traps grime in its corners) and because its design slowly starts to fade over time with use, so you know when to replace it. When the design is gone, chuck the sponge.
Skura sponges are so durable that I use them to clean my kitchen and shower walls for months (don’t worry, I used different sponges), and if it weren’t for their intentionally fading colors, I would not be able to keep track of how long I was using them, the foam is so resistant to breakage. They also hold a lot of soap, so I found that I was going through a bottle of dish soap at a far slower rate than with any other sponge I’ve used.
Best (less-expensive) dish sponge
Material: Microfiber | Style: Dual-sided and curved for glassware | Function: Dishes and surfaces
This is a household sponge that can withstand heavy commercial use. It’s the only microfiber sponge on this list and comes recommended by chef Christine Lau, a chef and restaurant consultant, who found out about it from chef Dan Palermo of Ashley Christensen’s AC Events Catering in Raleigh, North Carolina (she insisted that we credit him for finding it). “I use the scrubber side to actually clean the surface. It’s harsh enough to remove caked-on things but soft enough not to damage them. Then I flip the sponge over and use the microfiber side to wipe up the soap and scum. This is huge in a professional kitchen because you don’t want to waste precious dry side towels. If you’re an owner of a restaurant, you’ll appreciate these, too, because less towel usage equals less expenses,” says Lau.
Best dual-sided dish sponge
Material: Foam | Style: Many sizes and shapes, cushion-shaped scrub layer | Function: Everything except outdoor grills and cast-iron cookware
This is the ultimate dual-sided sponge for cleaning the nonstick liner of my rice cooker. It’s excellent for scrubbing baked-on messes in pans, and it’s pliable enough for cleaning delicate wine glasses. It makes dish soap last seemingly forever. Strategist senior editor Winnie Yang has been using Jetz-Scrubz sponges since 2018 and says it’s one of the very few subscriptions she’s kept on Amazon for so long. “I use the Jetz-Scrubz sponge for everything,” she says. “I’ve used it for countertops and the dining table. I like the scrubby side better than the scrubby part of Scotch-Brite sponges, and it’s effective yet gentle enough to clean up blackened Le Creuset enamel with a baking soda paste without scratching it.”
I’ve run the sponge through the dishwasher countless times, and it continues to bounce back like new. Its foam is softer and thinner than the material of the Skura sponge, which can make it easier to maneuver into tight spaces, but I liked the Skura sponge better for bigger jobs like scrubbing my shower walls.
Best plastic-free dish sponge
Material: Cellulose and loofah | Style: Two-sided and plant-based | Function: Dishes and kitchen surfaces
I’m a huge fan of everything Blueland makes and use its dishwasher, laundry, and toilet tablets religiously at home. Its scrub sponge is particularly cool looking, with an oval of loofah attached to a very spongy blue sponge. It’s pretty rare to find a plastic-free scrubber, and I love this one. The loofah side is stiff for scrubbing, and the blue cellulose side is good for cleaning delicate items like glassware. This is the closest I can get to cleaning like chef Toni Elkhouri of Cedars Cafe in Melbourne, Florida, who grows, dries, and uses loofahs in her restaurant for dishwashing. She says they have many advantages: “They usually last a few weeks, boiling them once a week to keep them sanitized. The best part is, because they are plant based, they can be composted.” I can run the Blueland sponge through the dishwasher about five times, but after about two months of use, the loofah and sponge parts separate and I toss the pieces into the compost.
Best plastic-free scrubber sponge
Material: Coconut husk and cellulose | Style: Dual-sided | Function: Dishes and surfaces
This sponge has stiff coconut fibers woven into its scrub side. It’s even more durable than the Blueland sponge, lasting me about two months, but is a little more abrasive. It’s odor-resistant and dries quickly and withstands the beating I give it, using it to scrub my metal outdoor furniture and wipe textured tiled floors (not to mention the regular trips it takes through the dishwasher). It’s a favorite of Rebecca King, a private chef agent and chef. “I’m constantly recommending household items to clients and chefs,” says King. “We always have clean sponges in our tool kit, especially for one-off events. You just never know what a client does and doesn’t have. Our clients prefer green products as we do. This sponge is durable, great for scrubbing, and doesn’t get as grimy as a plastic sponge.”
Best gentle dish sponge
Material: Silicone | Style: Large air holes | Function: Gentle scrubbing
This unique-looking sponge is the antithesis of all the polyurethane and cellulose sponges on this list, which all seem to strive for the tiniest air pockets possible. This sponge, which is peach and infused with peach fragrance, looks like the inside of an Aero chocolate bar but is made from silicone. It comes recommended by Strategist contributor John deBary, a bar expert. “It’s gently scrubby and not too harsh,” he says. “It generally stays clean and not disgusting. I use it for dishes, but I wash my fruits and vegetables with it — I always soak and scrub the outside of citrus if I’m using them for garnishes. The sponges last for a month with daily use. They start to pill after that, then I toss them.”
Best plastic-free gentle dish sponge
Material: Cellulose, shells, recycled PET fibers | Style: Dual-sided rectangular scrubber | Function: Dishes and surfaces
This is the gentlest of the natural-fiber sponges I tested. It’s not as pliable as the foam Jetz-Scrubz, which is a little better on, say, Champagne flutes, but I like the firmness of the sponge for cleaning stainless-steel surfaces in my kitchen. Since it is less abrasive than the Blueland or Airnex sponges, I use it on my painted kitchen cabinets without worrying about scratching them. It’s also a little thicker than the Airnex sponge and thus better for making a pump of dish soap last longer.
Our experts
• John deBary, former bar director and author of Saved By the Belllini
• Toni Elkhouri, chef and owner, Cedars Cafe in Melbourne, Florida
• Rebecca King, private chef and chef agent at Rebecca Kooking
• Christine Lau, chef and restaurant consultant
• Winnie Yang, Strategist senior editor
The Strategist is designed to surface useful, expert recommendations for things to buy across the vast e-commerce landscape. Every product is independently selected by our team of editors, whom you can read about here. We update links when possible, but note that deals can expire and all prices are subject to change.
