We Tested 11 Rug Pads For Keeping Your Rugs In Place And Padded (And You Bet We Found The Best Ones!)

Throwing down a rug is one of the easiest ways to cozy up a room and as you know cozy is a top priority over here. A rug can help define a living space, soften up a bedroom, or provide some cushion under your feet down a long hallway. Rugs are versatile and impactful, but they’ve had a decades-long problem of staying put or even staying comfortable. Buying a rug pad is intended to solve this problem, but can become a problem all on its own when trying to figure out which one is best for you. Different rug pads are meant for different things and we’ve tested a bunch across the board to find the best ones to recommend. This was a VERY important post for us to research and write because as you know Emily has been a cushy rug pad fanatic for years now and wants all of you to experience the joy it can bring to your feet.

We did the real deal, in-person research so please read on to see the full breakdown for each one, but to save you some scroll time…

Here Are Our Top Picks!

BEST THIN & GRIPPY: nuLOOM Eco-Friendly Rug Pad | BEST VALUE: Mohawk Home Non Slip Rug Pad Gripper

BEST THICK & GRIPPY: RUGPADUSA Dual Surface | BEST LUXURY CUSHION: RUGPADUSA Memory Foam

Okay, now let’s break it down!

The Classic Rubber Grip Pad

If your main concern is movement, a rubber gripping pad works well under a rug to provide more traction. These are best used under runners or smaller kitchen and bathroom rugs–areas where rugs see a lot of daily movement. Overall, these rubber grips don’t provide a ton of cushion or extra comfort to the rug like a felted pad might. But they can do a good job of keeping a high-traffic rug in place. Here’s our thoughts on the three we tested:

RUGPADUSA Super Lock Natural

The RUGPADUSA brand came up a lot in our search, and for good reason. Their products are really great quality. This rug pad worked exactly like it said would. The material felt very durable, gripped well to the underside of the rug and the floor, was super easy to trim, and provided a little bit of cushion, too! But at almost $70 for a 2’x8′ runner size, this gripper was way more expensive than the others we tried.

Vekken Rug Pad Gripper

This rug gripper felt pretty cheap right out of the packaging and held onto its creases from being folded up. But once down, it did hold the rug in place pretty well and you couldn’t feel the folds when walking over the rug. That said, you couldn’t feel anything because this gripper was super thin. It was very easy to trim, comes in many sizes, and was the most inexpensive option of the three. BUT it’s made of polyvinyl chloride and cannot be used on certain flooring types, like natural stone or concrete, without leaving a residue.

Gorilla Grip Extra Strong Gripper

The Gorilla Grip rug pad was soft and squishy and provided a very strong grip under the rug. It comes in many sizes, was also super easy to cut, and came at a decent price. The larger spacing between the grippy blobs and the bits that connect them is said to help with airflow, but it does feel like it creates more potential for ripping or deterioration because of this. Not to mention, this rug pad smelled pretty bad. Very chemically right out of the package, but it was only super noticeable up close.

Even though it was the most expensive, the winner for us in this category was the RUGPADUSA Super Lock Natural. Our photographer Kaitlin even took it home with her to use under her entry rug because she liked it so much. HOWEVER, below you’ll find that for about the same price, some of the other felt pads (with grips) work just as well or better than rubber alone for a better value.

Felt And Cushioned Pads

Nowadays, many people are looking for added cushion under their rugs. Especially for larger area rugs, a layer of squishy batting can feel so luxurious under your feet. But not all felted pads are created equal. Some are meant to be super cushion-y with no intention of providing anti-slip technology, while others are thin enough the cushion goes undetected and grippy enough to keep that rug locked down. We tried a handful of options here:

1/8″ Cushion

Enjoy Holiday 1981 Non Slip Rug Pad

This Enjoy Holiday 1981 rug pad came recommended across some other internet lists. It’s pretty thin at only 1/8″ and with its rubber backing, it gripped to the hardwood quite well. But the felt side was too soft and didn’t hold to the rug itself very well. We tested it in the runner size, but other customers have complained about the larger sizes (like a 6’x9′) coming with a hefty, visible seam, leaving a lump in the rug. At about $30 for the runner size, it was fairly inexpensive, but this one just wasn’t our favorite.

nuLOOM Eco-Friendly Rug Pad

If you’d like a minimal cushion felt pad that also grips, we recommend going with the nuLOOM. Looks can be a bit deceiving with this one. The grip pattern on the underside is unlike the previous four–not very rubbery at first glance–and the material overall felt a little cheap in hand. But once we put it to the test, we were pleasantly surprised. The tiny flowery grips pack a punch and the scratchy felt side really latches onto the rug. We ran and jumped and slid across this runner/rug pad combo and she didn’t move. Annoyingly, this one doesn’t come in a standard 2’x8′ size, but we bought two 2’x4′ pads and laid them next to each other and they worked great. Also coming in at about $30 for a runner, this one is our winner in the thin category.

1/4″ Cushion

BAGAIL Felt And Natural Rubber

Bumping it up to the next cushion level is the BAGAIL 1/4″ felt pad. This one, much like the nuLOOM, has that super scratchy felt, gripping tightly to the underside of the rug. It comes with a rubber underside that stood up pretty well against the hardwoods and our running/walking tests, but we did see some movement with the Tom Cruise Test (the run and slide a la Risky Business). It came a little big but was super easy to cut to size. This one is a good choice, a fair price, and comes in all the sizes, but we’d say it’s best suited for slightly larger or thicker rugs where the weight helps to keep it in place.

Mohawk Home Non Slip Rug Pad Gripper

Next up is Mohawk Home, and with a name like that, there’s no way this pad isn’t rockin’! It has a minimal but decent 1/4″ cushion, that same scratchy felt that we love, and a similar but slightly more robust rubber grip side than the previous contender. It passed all movement tests with flying colors and was also an easy trim job. There was a faint factory smell right out of the package, but hardly bothersome to us. Offered at the same price point as the BAGAIL, but lower than many others on our trial list, we’d choose this one.

A 1/4″ cushioned pad is perfect for adding just a little, but not too much cushion to a flat-woven rug. However, Mohawk offers the same pad in both a 1/2″ and 3/8″ thickness as well. Thicker pads like these don’t work as well with super thin rugs as they can kind of make them look like they’re mysteriously floating on the ground. But you can (and should) give your thicker rug pad about 2″ of space on all sides to allow the rug to cascade down to the floor.

3/8″ Cushion And Up

RUGPADUSA Dual Surface

Speaking of a thicker cushion, next up is the RUGPADUSA Dual Surface. This pad provides a hefty 3/8″ cushion AND a grippy underside. The felt is scratchy (our preferred) and the rubber grips well to the floor, with only very slight shifting in our run/walk tests. It felt great to walk across it, definitely providing a new level of padding.

RUGPADUSA Dual Surface

But at 3/8″ thickness, this bad boy was tough to cut. Felt this thick tends to be, but with the addition of a rubber grip, it was even more of a challenge to trim. If you have the patience for this, an area rug that needs some good padding and some stay-putness, then this is a great option. That said, it’s a little bit on the pricier side, but the quality feels worth it. The brand also offers this Dual Surface gripper in 1/8″ and 1/4″ thickness for slightly less, but this was our winner for best lux cushion WITH a grip.

RUGPADUSA Basic 1/2″

Sticking with RUGPADUSA, their Basics line is where it’s at when it comes to cushion. If what you’re looking for is added noise suppression or extra comfort, and only if your rug is large and heavy enough (or you have furniture to keep the pad in place) this 1/2″ rug pad is great. The scratchy felt once again latches nicely to the rug, but the super soft felt side keeps your floor protected. The only downsides here are that the soft felt tends to pull a little and due to its thickness, it’s another tricky one to trim–but not impossible. But we would not recommend this rug pad if traction is your goal.

RUGPADUSA Basics 1/4″

We tried this Basics line out in two sizes and both were great for adding padding. If more cushion and comfort are what you seek, go with the 1/2″ or 3/8″. But if you’re okay with just a little extra oompf, the 1/4″ thickness still made a noticeable enough difference in comfort. Again, though, no added traction with these! Best used in places where the rug is anchored by furniture already.

RUGPADUSA Memory Foam

For our final cushion act, may we introduce you to the RUGPADUSA Memory Foam option? Talk about some cushion! This rug pad has you feeling like you’re walking on a cloud (or a mattress topper). You sink into it as you walk across and it feels nice. The product is quite heavy and the material has a natural stay power so we’d argue that this is a good grip option too. It’s 7/16″ thick, putting it just barely under the 1/2″ mark, but arguably feels more comfy/cushiony. This is also the one that Emily has and LOVES.

It’s a pain to cut, about as annoying as the thicker felt options. Plus, the price point here is steep! It’s more than double what the Basics 1/2″ felt pad costs, but if money isn’t your concern, we really love this rug pad for its luxury feel. The one pictured under our Merrick rug is currently at the River House and they swear by it.

Rug Tape And Sticky Grips

To round out this long list of options, we’ve added a few quick-fix treatments if a full-sized pad just isn’t your jam. Sometimes the issue with rugs is less about padding or traction and more about keeping the rug laying flat. Often the corners on rugs, especially a woven rug, can curl up over time. We tested three products intended to keep corners down and rugs in place. Here are our thoughts:

Gorilla Grip Sticky Pads

These corner grips are SUPER sticky. Like extremely so. The product adheres strongly to both the rug and the floor and goes nowhere! It shouldn’t leave any residue on your hardwoods (it didn’t when we tested it) but it WILL take off fibers from the back of your rug when removed. These grips are best used only once, intended to keep the rug stuck in the same place. It can be a little cumbersome to make sure the corners are aligned the right way, and placed on the correct side, but they’re a fairly inexpensive option at around $2/sticker if your main concern is corner flippage.

Home Techpro Grippers

These Home Techpro Grippers are less of an adhesive and more of a vacuum suction to the ground. The grooves in the stick-on pads help to grip onto the ground. There is a slight stickiness feeling to the pad, but felt like it was getting less sticky with every touch. It did seem to work as it claims, staying in place with our movement tests, and it didn’t leave behind a floor residue. These are probably the safest bet for holding down tricky corners if you’re fearful about adhesive transfer.

Carpet Tape

This rug tape was our least favorite of the three in this category. While the one pro is that you can cut it to any desired length, it’s really easy for this crazy-sticky tape to cling to itself before you even get the chance to stick it down. It’s inexpensive, sure, but there are reviews about it leaving behind a sticky residue (which may cost you more in the long run) and questions about its sticking longevity. Kaitlin has used this tape previously and had a hard time with both.

So that’s our official rug pad review round-up! A few great winners, some in-betweeners, and some definite NOs. If you took the time to read through every review, we thank you! But regardless, we appreciate you taking a look and let us know if you like these types of posts. We hope this helps you find the rug pad right for you!

*Photos by Kaitlin Green

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