Best Yoga Mats: Our Review of Travel, Hot Yoga and Eco-Friendly Mats

The best yoga mat for most people is a full-length natural rubber mat about 4-5 mm thick, with a smooth polyurethane top or a closed-cell surface that grips when your hands sweat. Of the mats we practised on, the Liforme was our pick for Vinyasa, the Alo Warrior Mat for hot yoga, the Manduka PRO for durability and the Jade Fusion for cushioning. For travel, look at the 1.5-3 mm versions most of these brands make.

We tested these mats at home and in hot rooms, with Vinyasa, Ashtanga and Bikram-style practice. We looked at four things: grip, comfort, how easy the mat is to clean, and how easy it is to carry. The first round of testing was in 2019. Brands change their ranges and their specs, so check the current length, weight and material with the maker before you buy. Nobody paid for a place on this list.

What to look for in a yoga mat

Material

• Natural rubber: the best grip on the floor and a firm, springy feel. Heavy, and it smells of rubber for the first weeks. Not for anyone with a latex allergy.
• Natural rubber with a polyurethane (PU) top: the rubber holds the floor, the smooth PU top holds your hands, even when they are wet. Liforme and Alo work this way.
• TPE (thermoplastic elastomer): light, cheap and closed-cell, so sweat stays on the surface and rinses off. Wears out faster than rubber.
• PVC: cheap and durable. The main questions are about how it is made and what happens to it afterwards (more on that below).
• Cork: grips better as it gets damp. It needs a natural rubber base to lie still. The cork mats we tried on a TPE base slid around on the floor.

Thickness

Most studio mats are 4-5 mm. That is enough padding under the knees in a lunge and still firm enough to feel the floor in a standing balance. A 6-8 mm mat is kinder to sensitive knees and wrists, but you sink a little into it when you stand on one leg. A 1.5-3 mm travel mat folds into a suitcase and gives you grip, not padding. Put a folded blanket under your knees when you need more.

Size

The standard is about 173-183 cm long and 61 cm wide. If you are tall, look for 185 cm or more. Lie down on your back: your head and heels should both be on the mat.

Grip, cleaning and weight

Closed-cell surfaces (PU, TPE, most PVC) keep sweat on top, so you wipe them clean. Open-cell rubber grips hard but takes up sweat and dirt, so it needs more cleaning. Mats range from under 1 kg for TPE to 3.5-4 kg for thick rubber and PVC. If you walk or cycle to class, that difference counts.

The Liforme Yoga Mat: best for Vinyasa

• Size: 185 x 68 cm
• Thickness: about 4.2 mm
• Weight: about 2.5 kg
• Material: natural rubber base, polyurethane top

Our favourite of the group. It is in the higher price range, and we thought it was worth it. The rubber base stays put on the floor, and the PU top gave our hands grip through a sweaty class, including sessions in a hot room.

The alignment marks surprised us. We expected a gimmick. In practice the lines help you place your hands and feet the same way each time, and there are enough of them to work for people of different heights. It is also longer and wider than most mats, which you will like if you are tall.

The downsides: it is on the thin side if your knees are sensitive, the surface can feel a little dusty when new (a damp cloth fixes it), and the bag it comes with is plain next to the mat. Water leaves a mark on the top that fades as it dries. Liforme also makes a 2 mm travel version.

Good for: Vinyasa flow and most home practice.

The Manduka PRO: the most durable

• Size: 180 x 66 cm, or 215 cm in the long version
• Thickness: about 6 mm
• Weight: about 3.4 kg (4 kg for the long version)
• Material: PVC, certified to the OEKO-TEX Standard 100

The mat people buy once. The dense 6 mm PVC is firm and even, it wears slower than any other mat we used, and Manduka gives it a lifetime guarantee. It is the most cushioned of the firm mats here, good if your knees or wrists complain on thin mats.

It is heavy, and it is slippery when new. The surface gets grippier as you use it. Some people rub coarse salt into the top, leave it for a day and rinse it off with warm water. Manduka suggests this too. When your hands sweat, it still slides more than a PU top, so use a towel in a hot room.

Our old review listed this mat as natural rubber with a polyurethane top. That was wrong: the PRO is PVC. The OEKO-TEX label means it was tested for a list of harmful substances. It does not make PVC biodegradable. Manduka's eKO mats are the natural rubber line.

Good for: daily home practice, Vinyasa and Ashtanga, where you jump back and forth on the same spots every day.

The Alo Warrior Mat: best for hot yoga

• Thickness: about 4 mm
• Material: natural rubber base, polyurethane top

This one does not move. Hands and feet stayed where we put them in the humid air of a hot class, and the smooth top wipes clean in a couple of strokes. Usually a mat trades grip for easy cleaning. This one gives you both.

It lies completely flat from the first day, with no edges curling up, so you can change position without fixing the mat. There are no alignment marks. When we tested it, it only came in black, which shows dust and footprints. Alo also makes a light natural rubber travel mat.

Good for: hot yoga, and anything else. See our guide on what to wear to hot yoga for the towel and clothes that go with it.

Kulae tpECO: a light TPE mat for hot yoga and travel

• Size: 188 x 61 cm
• Thickness: 3, 5 or 8 mm
• Weight: about 0.9-1.8 kg, depending on thickness
• Material: TPE, closed-cell

This was the first mat Nicklas bought for Bikram yoga, and TPE is still the material he suggests to hot yoga students on a budget. Sweat does not soak in, so you rinse the mat in the shower after class and it hangs dry in no time.

If you sweat a lot, put a yoga towel on top. The same closed surface that keeps it clean lets water pool, and in a flowing class your hands will slide on a bare TPE mat. TPE also wears out sooner than rubber. The 3 mm version folds small enough for a suitcase.

Good for: the 26 Bikram poses and other hot classes with a towel, and travel.

The Hugger Mugger Para Rubber Mat: natural rubber, cushioned

• Thickness: about 6 mm
• Material: natural rubber

Thick natural rubber at a lower price than the others. It grips the floor well and it is soft enough to lie on for a long restorative or Yin class.

The standard size is shorter and narrower than most mats here. There is an XL version that is a good deal bigger. It is heavy to carry, and the rubber smell fades but never quite goes. Because natural rubber is open-cell, it takes up sweat, so it needs more cleaning and we would not take it to a hot class.

Good for: slow home practice on a hard floor.

The Jade Fusion Mat: the most cushioning

• Size: 173 or 188 cm long, 61 cm wide (a wider version exists)
• Thickness: about 8 mm
• Material: natural rubber, open-cell

The thickest mat in the test, and the one to pick if kneeling hurts. You might expect a thick mat to feel unstable. This one does not: the rubber is dense, and the grip held in standing poses.

The trade-off is bulk. It is heavy and wide when rolled, not a mat for the bus or a suitcase. The textured, sticky top collects dust, hair and sweat, so it takes more cleaning. It gets slippery after a sweaty session, so skip it for hot yoga. It is also one of the most expensive mats here.

Good for: home practice, sensitive knees, Hatha and slower classes.

Travel yoga mats

Most of the big brands make a travel mat. They are 1.5-3 mm thin and give you grip, not padding. For kneeling poses, fold a towel under your knees. The ones we have used:

• Liforme travel mat, 2 mm: feels stable on the floor.
• Jade travel mat, 3 mm: so grippy your toes can catch when you step forward in a Vinyasa.
• Alo travel mat, 2 mm: good grip, stays flat.
• Kulae travel mat, 3 mm: the lightest.
• Hugger Mugger Tapas travel mat, 2 mm: the cheap option.
• Manduka eKO SuperLite, 1.5 mm: folds like a towel and comes in many colours.

A thin mat on a hotel carpet works well for a short home session. Our tips for doing online yoga at home apply on the road too.

Eco-friendly yoga mats: where the claims disagree

"Eco-friendly" on a yoga mat can mean several different things, and the brands do not agree on which matters most.

• Natural rubber comes from a renewable source, the rubber tree, and breaks down in the end. But it is heavy to ship, and the plantations have their own land-use problems.
• TPE is often sold as recyclable and free of PVC and latex. Whether a mat gets recycled in practice depends on where you live. Few places take old yoga mats.
• PVC is where the sharpest disagreement sits. Our old review told you to stay away from PVC altogether. The concern is real: cheap PVC is often softened with phthalates, and PVC is hard to recycle. On the other side, a certified PVC mat like the Manduka PRO is tested for harmful substances and can last a decade or more. A mat you replace once in ten years may be the smaller footprint, compared with three rubber or TPE mats that wear out.
• Cork is renewable and grips better when damp, but it still needs a rubber base, and it can crack at the edges.

What we can say with confidence: avoid the cheapest unbranded PVC mats. They are usually the ones that say nothing about plasticisers, and they tend to be thin, slippery and short-lived. Past that, a mat you use for years is the greener choice.

How to choose

• Hot yoga: a PU top on rubber (Alo, Liforme), or TPE with a towel. Read what hot yoga is and how the styles differ if you are new to it.
• Vinyasa and Ashtanga: 4-5 mm, a grippy top, full length.
• Sensitive knees, slow practice: 6-8 mm natural rubber.
• Travel: 1.5-3 mm, and a towel.
• New to yoga: a mid-price 4-5 mm mat is enough. Spend more once you practise a few times a week. Our essential yoga poses for beginners will tell you quickly whether your mat grips.

Once your mat is down, the four-week Yoga for Beginners program gives you twenty-minute classes on the basic postures.

Frequently asked questions

What is the highest rated yoga mat?

The Manduka PRO, the Liforme and the Jade mats appear near the top of most reviews, including ours. Which one is best depends on what you do: the Liforme for grip in Vinyasa, the Manduka PRO for durability, the Jade for cushioning.

Which brand of yoga mat is considered the best?

No single brand wins on everything. Manduka is known for durability, Liforme for grip and alignment marks, Jade for natural rubber and cushioning, and Alo for grip in hot classes. Pick the material and thickness first, then the brand.

What thickness is best for a yoga mat?

For most people, 4-5 mm. It pads your knees and still lets you feel the floor in standing balances. Choose 6-8 mm for sensitive joints or slow practice, and 1.5-3 mm for travel.

What type of mat is best for yoga?

Natural rubber with a polyurethane top suits most practice: it grips the floor and your hands. Plain natural rubber gives more cushioning, TPE is light and cheap, and certified PVC lasts the longest.

What is the best yoga mat for hot yoga?

A closed, smooth top that keeps grip when wet, like the polyurethane on the Alo Warrior Mat or the Liforme. A TPE mat with a yoga towel on top also works and costs much less. Avoid open-cell rubber, which soaks up sweat.

Are PVC yoga mats bad?

Cheap, uncertified PVC mats are best avoided: they may contain phthalate plasticisers and they wear out fast. A certified PVC mat such as the Manduka PRO is tested for harmful substances and can last many years. PVC is still hard to recycle.

How do I clean a yoga mat?

Wipe a PU, TPE or PVC top with a damp cloth and a drop of mild soap, then let it dry. Natural rubber needs a gentler touch: water and a little mild soap, no oils, and keep it out of direct sun, which breaks the rubber down.