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Bath Sheet vs Bath Towel: Sizes, Differences and Which to Choose
The bath sheet vs bath towel decision comes down to two things: how much towel you want round you when you step out of the bath, and how much extra cotton your bathroom and washing routine can comfortably take. A bath sheet wins on the first, and a bath towel on the second, which is why the honest answer depends on your rail, your airer and how you like to dry off rather than on which one is better.
We make both sizes in our hotel towel ranges and supply them to hotels. This guide gives our sizes in centimetres, explains what the extra fabric changes on the rail and in the wash, and shows how hotels decide between them. It ends with a short selector that recommends a size for your bathroom and tells you the trade-off that comes with it.
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Where do you want to start?
Just want the sizes? Go to Bath sheet and bath towel sizes in cm, where our full range is in one table.
Not sure which suits you? Go to Which should I choose? and answer four questions.
Want towels that feel like a hotel’s? Go to What hotels use, and why.
Buying for a holiday let, B&B or small hotel? Go to Bath sheets for holiday lets, B&Bs and small hotels.
In this guide
Bath sheet vs bath towel: the short answer
The short answer
A bath sheet is a bigger bath towel. Our standard bath sheet is 100 x 150cm against 70 x 135cm for a bath towel, so it has about 60% more fabric, enough to wrap around you. It costs more, weighs more in the wash and takes longer to dry. Choose a sheet for coverage, a towel for practicality.
A bath sheet has nothing to do with bed linen, despite the name. It’s the largest of the three sizes most towel ranges come in, above the hand towel and the bath towel, and in our ranges it’s made in the same cotton, weight and design as the bath towel beside it. What changes between the two is how much towel you get.
Bath sheet and bath towel sizes in cm
Our standard bath towel is 70 x 135cm and our standard bath sheet is 100 x 150cm. Those are typical sizes rather than fixed ones, and they vary between our own ranges as well as between brands. Our hand towels, for example, run from 50 x 90cm to 50 x 100cm depending on the range. Towel names aren’t regulated, and other brands sell bath towels from about 68 to 76cm wide and bath sheets from about 82 to 100cm, so check the measurement on the product page rather than the name when you order. Here are our standard sizes, from face cloth to bath sheet.
| Towel | Size (cm) | Size (inches) | What it is for |
|---|---|---|---|
| Face cloth | 30 x 30 | 12 x 12 | Washing your face; folded by the basin |
| Hand towel | 50 x 90 to 50 x 100 | 20 x 35 to 20 x 39 | Hands at the basin; also wraps wet hair |
| Bath towel | 70 x 135 | 28 x 53 | Drying off after a shower; the everyday size |
| Bath sheet | 100 x 150 | 39 x 59 | Wrapping up after a bath or shower |
Face cloth
30 x 30cm
Hand towel
50 x 100cm
Bath towel
70 x 135cm
Bath sheet
100 x 150cm
The extra width is the difference you feel. When you wrap a towel round you, its length goes round your body and its width decides how much of you it covers, so a bath sheet’s extra 30cm covers you from higher up to further down. The extra 15cm of length leaves enough to tuck in and let go. A bath towel in the same cotton dries you just as well; it just doesn’t wrap.
“Nice and big. Very absorbent.”
If your towels get mixed up in the wash, there’s a quicker way to tell them apart than a tape measure. Our Chelsea and Dunham towels carry woven bars on the header: one on a hand towel, two on a bath towel and three on a bath sheet. It’s the same code hotel laundry teams use to sort a mixed load at a glance.
Larger than a bath sheet
The only towel we make in a jumbo size is our Bliss Jumbo Waffle, and our size guide lists the jumbo size at 100 x 220cm. It’s a spa towel rather than a bathroom one. Like the rest of our Bliss range it’s a lightweight waffle towel, made to be washed and dried quickly in spa and leisure areas, and at that weight it won’t dry you after a bath the way a heavier towel does.
For that reason we don’t recommend it for home use. If you want the most towel you can wrap up in at home, a bath sheet is the size to buy, and a heavier weight of cotton will make it feel more substantial.
How they differ beyond size
Most of what people like about a bath sheet, and most of what they find awkward about it, comes from the same place. At our standard 100 x 150cm, a bath sheet has about 60% more fabric than our 70 x 135cm bath towel. Out of the bath, that extra fabric is what lets it go right round you with enough left over to tuck in, which a bath towel in the same cotton can’t do. On wash day it’s extra weight in the drum. One customer who bought our Chelsea towels found that three bath sheets fit comfortably in a domestic machine, so a household that switches entirely to sheets will usually be running more towel washes, not fewer. On the rail it needs room too. Folded once, our bath sheet is about 50cm wide against 35cm for a bath towel, and a sheet folded twice to fit a short rail dries more slowly. So the question is rarely which towel feels nicer. It’s whether your bathroom and your washing routine have room for the one that does.
The comparison below puts those differences side by side for our standard sizes, with weights worked out for a 600gsm towel, the weight of our Madison, Brampton and Calgary ranges. Read across the rows that matter in your home, which for most people are the weight in the wash and the width on the rail.
| Bath towel | Bath sheet | |
|---|---|---|
| Standard size | 70 x 135cm | 100 x 150cm |
| Fabric area | 0.95 square metres | 1.5 square metres |
| Weight when dry, at 600gsm | About 570g | About 900g |
| Width folded once on a rail | About 35cm | About 50cm |
| Price within the same range | The baseline | About 1.5 to 2 times |
| Drying on an airer | Quicker | Slower, and needs space to hang open |
| Best suited to | Quick showers, wet hair, children, small bathrooms | Wrapping up after a bath, taller adults, a wide or heated rail |
| Weight of cotton | Bath towel | Bath sheet |
|---|---|---|
| 450gsm | About 425g | About 675g |
| 500gsm | About 475g | About 750g |
| 600gsm | About 570g | About 900g |
| 650gsm | About 615g | About 975g |
| 770gsm | About 730g | About 1,155g |
Drying is where a home differs most from a hotel. A commercial laundry dries and finishes every towel by machine. At home a bath sheet often dries on an airer or a radiator, where its extra fabric takes longer to dry through, and much longer if it’s folded over on itself. If you dry indoors, a sheet does best hung open across the full width of an airer and left a little longer than a bath towel would need. If you tumble dry, follow the care label for your range, because our towels don’t all take the same heat: Dunham and Madison take a medium setting, while Brampton and Calgary should be dried on low.
Measure your rail before you change sizes, because the rail decides how quickly a towel dries between uses. A heated or wide rail lets a bath sheet hang open and dry properly overnight. A short rail, ring or hook suits a bath towel, and leaves a sheet bunched or folded twice, which is when it starts to feel damp the next morning. The same applies in the linen cupboard, where a folded bath sheet takes up roughly one and a half times the shelf space of a bath towel, so a full set of sheets needs that much more room to store.
Bath towel
folded once, about 35cm wide
Bath sheet
folded once, about 50cm wide
Bath sheet
folded twice, about 25cm wide and four layers deep
Price rises with the cotton as well. Within each of our ranges a bath sheet costs about one and a half to two times the bath towel beside it. A full set of sheets for a household is therefore a noticeably bigger outlay than the same number of bath towels. Size and weight are separate choices, though, and it helps to make them in that order. A thin bath sheet won’t feel like a hotel towel just because it’s big, since most of what you feel in the hand comes from the weight of the cotton, measured in grams per square metre (GSM). For this decision, choose the weight you like first and then the size.
What hotels use, and why
Bath sheets are what you’ll typically find in a hotel bathroom, while most homes use bath towels. A hotel is buying for the moment a guest steps out of the bath, and a towel big enough to wrap up in is part of what makes a hotel bathroom feel generous. It is also buying for its laundry, because every towel a guest unfolds goes through the wash before the next arrival, and most hotels send their towels to an external commercial laundry. A bath sheet carries about 60% more cotton than a bath towel of the same weight, so it adds weight to every load and takes longer to dry. Some properties choose bath towels instead, especially holiday lets and Airbnbs, since they cost less to launder and need less time drying between guests.
For a home, the useful lesson is that the bath sheet is the hotel size, so it’s the one to buy if wrapping up after a bath is what you miss after a hotel stay. You don’t need to change every towel in the house to get that feeling. A bath sheet for each person who likes to wrap up, with bath towels for quick showers, wet hair and the guest room, gives you the hotel feel where you notice it and keeps the rest of the washing light.
What makes a hotel towel feel like one is usually the combination of size and weight rather than either on its own, and hotels choose the weight to match their standard. Our lightest ranges, at 450gsm, are made for budget properties and caravan parks, where quick drying and low laundry costs matter most. We make 500gsm ranges for three-star hotels, 600gsm for four-star and boutique hotels, and 650gsm and 770gsm for ultra-luxury hotels. For home use we recommend 600gsm and above, because anything lighter feels thin in the hand. A 600gsm bath sheet will wrap you without being a struggle to wash, while a 770gsm bath sheet is the most luxurious towel we make and the most demanding one to dry at home. If you’re recreating a hotel bathroom, pick the weight you remember first, then decide whether that towel should be a sheet.
Hotels also think about how towels look on the rail, because that’s the first thing a guest sees. The usual arrangement puts the larger towels on the rail first and the hand towels last, so the sizes read clearly and each towel is easy to take. It’s an easy habit to borrow at home, and it looks most like a hotel when the towels all come from the same range.
Which should I choose?
Most people already have a feeling for which size they prefer, and the harder question is whether their bathroom and washing routine will suit it. The selector weighs both, using the things this guide has covered: who will use the towel, how they like to dry off, where it will hang and how it gets dried after washing.
Answer the four questions and it recommends a size and a weight of cotton, draws the size to scale beside the other one, and tells you the trade-off to expect. A tape measure for your towel rail helps but isn’t essential.
Bath sheet or bath towel?
Who will mostly use it?
How do you like to dry off?
Where will it hang?
Folded once, a bath sheet is about 50cm wide and a bath towel about 35cm.
How do you dry your washing?
Choose an answer for each question to see a recommendation.
We work out a towel’s weight from its GSM (grams per square metre) multiplied by its area. A bath sheet has about 60% more fabric than a bath towel, so it weighs about 60% more at the same GSM. Sizes are our standard sizes; weights are calculated from each range’s listed GSM and vary slightly with finishing. This is a guide to choosing, not a product specification.
Our bath sheets and bath towels
Every range below comes as a hand towel, bath towel and bath sheet in one weight of cotton, so once you’ve settled on a size, the choice is about weight and finish. For home use we recommend 600gsm and above, because anything lighter feels thin in the hand and won’t feel like the towels you remember from a good hotel. The first two cards meet that mark. The other two are lighter ranges we make for hotels and holiday properties, and each card says who the range suits and what it gives up.
Where we’d start for home use
Madison Towels
A 600gsm ring spun cotton towel with a honeycomb header, made in Turkey in white and five colours. It’s the weight we recommend as a starting point at home, and it suits four-star and boutique hotels. It is heavier in the wash and slower to dry than our lighter ranges.
- Weight
- 600gsm
- Cotton
- 100% ring spun cotton
- Colours
- white, black, chocolate, ivory, pebble, slate
Home use and boutique hotels
Calgary Towels
A 600gsm Microcotton towel for home bathrooms and for four-star and boutique hotels. It is the highest priced of these four, and it should be tumble dried on a low heat, so allow longer to dry a bath sheet at home.
- Weight
- 600gsm
- Cotton
- 100% Microcotton
- Tumble dry
- low heat
For three-star hotels
Chelsea Towels
A 500gsm towel with a diagonal chevron header and the woven bars that tell the sizes apart, made for three-star hotels and guest houses. It dries faster than our 600gsm ranges, but it’s lighter than we’d recommend for a home bathroom.
- Weight
- 500gsm
- Cotton
- 100% cotton
- Header
- chevron, with bars that show the size
For budget properties and caravan parks
Dunham Towels
Our lightest towel, at 450gsm. It dries fastest and costs the least to launder, which suits budget properties and caravan parks keeping a close eye on energy bills. At this weight it feels thin in the hand, so we don’t recommend it for home use.
- Weight
- 450gsm
- Cotton
- 100% cotton
- Header
- plain weave, with bars that show the size
If you want the heaviest towels we make, the 650gsm Mayfair and the 770gsm Fitzroy are made for ultra-luxury hotels and homes. You’ll find them, and the 500gsm Luxus for three-star properties, in our towels collection.
Bath sheets for holiday lets, B&Bs and small hotels
A host deciding whether to put bath sheets in a let is weighing a comfort guests notice against a cost that comes round at every changeover. The towel itself is the smaller part of that cost. The larger part is the time and capacity it takes to wash and dry a sheet before the next guests arrive, which is why the right answer depends more on how you launder than on the towel.
Guests do mention bath sheets when they find them. Hosts who use ours have said as much in their reviews:
What buyers say
“…the fact we use such a quality large quality towel always brings the comment ‘we must start using bath sheets’…”
“I buy these bath sheets for my holiday let as they are excellent quality and wash really well.”
If you wash at home between guests, a bath sheet takes up about one and a half towels’ worth of space in the drum and more time on the airer or in the dryer. On a weekly changeover that barely matters, but on a same-day turnaround it can decide whether the towels are dry and folded before check-in. Our towel ranges are machine washable at 60°C, sheets included, so the limit is your drying capacity rather than the wash. A host with a tumble dryer can offer sheets in every room far more comfortably than one who dries on an airer.
If you use a laundry service, the cost depends on how they charge, so ask before you change sizes. These questions will tell you what bath sheets will actually cost you:
- Do you charge by weight or by the piece, and is a bath sheet priced as a separate, larger item?
- What is your turnaround, and does it change for heavier items?
- What temperature do you wash towels at, and does that suit the care label?
- Will bath sheets come back folded the same way as bath towels, ready to put out?
Longer stays change the balance. A guest staying a week will use the bathroom like their own, and a bath sheet that’s there from the first evening makes the place feel looked after, while a one-night guest is more likely to shower and go. If you offer sheets on request, say so in your welcome information, because guests rarely ask for something they don’t know you have.
Most hotels put bath sheets in every room, and guests notice when a let or B&B does the same. If your laundry can take the extra weight, bath sheets in every room give guests the size they remember from hotels. If you wash and dry at home between quick changeovers, bath towels in most rooms, with bath sheets in the best room, for longer stays or on request, keep the changeover manageable while still offering the hotel size. The woven bars on our Chelsea and Dunham headers help here, because whoever makes up the rooms can pick the right size from a mixed pile without unfolding anything. How many sets to hold depends on your changeover pattern and laundry turnaround rather than on towel size.
Bath sheets in every room
What most hotels offer, and the size guests remember.
It needs a tumble dryer or a laundry service, and it adds weight to every load.
Bath towels, with sheets on request
Sheets in the best room, for longer stays or on request. Changeovers stay quick and laundry costs stay down.
Fewer guests get the hotel-size towel.
Before you order in quantity, feel the weight for yourself. You can request a swatch, compare every range in our towels collection, or call our trade team on 0845 337 7732 (call charges may apply).
Bath sheet and bath towel questions
Is a bath sheet just a big towel?
A bath sheet is a bigger bath towel, made in our ranges in the same cotton, weight and design and simply larger, at 100 x 150cm against 70 x 135cm for our standard sizes. The name has nothing to do with bed sheets.
How big is a bath sheet?
Our standard bath sheet is 100 x 150cm, or about 39 x 59 inches, though sizes vary between our ranges. Other brands sell bath sheets from about 82 to 100cm wide, so check the measurement before you order.
Do hotels use bath towels or bath sheets?
Bath sheets are what you’ll typically find in hotels, while bath towels are more usual at home. Some hotels choose bath towels instead, as do holiday lets and Airbnbs in particular, because a bath towel costs less to launder and needs less time to dry between guests.
What size is a standard bath towel in the UK?
Our usual bath towel size is 70 x 135cm, though it varies between our ranges. There’s no fixed standard, and other brands sell bath towels from about 68 to 76cm wide and 130 to 147cm long, so the measurement tells you more than the name.
Can I wash bath sheets in a normal washing machine?
Bath sheets wash well in a normal machine. Our towel ranges, bath sheets included, are machine washable at 60°C, and one customer found that three of our bath sheets fit comfortably in a domestic machine. Wash fewer at a time than you would bath towels, and follow the care label for drying.
Does a bath sheet dry you better than a bath towel?
It holds more water in total because there’s more of it, so the last part of you is dried with fabric that’s still dry. It doesn’t absorb any faster, though, because that depends on the cotton and its weight rather than the size.
Where to start
Measure your towel rail and think about how you dry your washing, because those two things settle the question for most homes. If both have room, a bath sheet for each person who likes to wrap up and bath towels for everything else covers both. Choose the weight of cotton first, starting at 600gsm for home use, then the size. You can compare all our ranges in our towels collection.