The 9 best thick yoga mats in 2024 - tested by yogis for maximum support

Tried and tested by the woman&home health team, the best thick yoga mats will protect your joints and keep your zen

A selection of the best thick yoga mats from Manduka / Lululemon
(Image credit: Manduka / Lululemon)

The best thick yoga mats will be just what you need if you love to flow but you're looking for some extra comfort for your joints. With additional grip, a more supportive design, and a heavier stabilizing weight, treating yourself to some extra cushioning will allow you to fully focus on getting zen.

But finding the right thick yoga mat is not always an easy feat. You need a non-slip mat with all the above qualities but you also don't want one that goes too far the other way - one that's too heavy, hard to store, or difficult to roll out. If your mat is set to become a permanent fixture in your home, you'll also want one that looks good, in a color to fit your scheme. 

Whether you're a newbie yogi or have been practicing for years, we've scoured the selection of best yoga mats to bring you an edit of the best mats with extra padding, so whatever your goals are in yoga, you can achieve them all with additional support where needed. 

The best thick yoga mats as tested by our experts

How we tested the best thick yoga mats

Our expert testers put all the thick yoga mats in our guide through a rigorous process of multiple yoga sessions over a couple of weeks. These ranged from intense, cardio-based Vinyasa yoga classes to gentle stretching sessions in their living room. They also used the mats for everything from Pilates classes to HIIT workouts to see how they fared. 

Although we tested these mats originally last year, we've reviewed them again this year and can confirm these are still the best thick yoga mats to buy in 2023. 

To find the best thick yoga mats, our team of testers considered the following factors:

  • Thickness: Every yoga mat we tried had to be above 3mm in thickness, as the minimum required to be a thick yoga mat. Anything above 4mm was great and all yoga mats above 5mm were prioritized as specialist mats. 
  • Grip: Was the mat non-slip? We noted whether each mat offered plenty of grip and support. After all, you don't want to be sliding around while trying to get into downward dog. 
  • Design: Not only did we look at the designs and colourways on offer, but we also evaluated the materials. We tested mats that were made from everything from natural rubber and man-made rubber to PVC.
  • Weight: A weighty mat will feel luxe and durable, and it could help with stability, but for those who want a yoga mat for on-the-go, a lightweight option is best. We considered a range of weights to highlight the best ones in each category.
  • Price: When testing we also considered the price. Quality yoga mats don't have to be expensive, and sometimes it's best to opt for a budget option if you're just starting out. Yoga should be an accessible activity for everyone, so as well as including luxury buys, we've included mats from across the market's price spectrum. 

A photograph of a selection of the best thick yoga mats, tried and tested by the health team

(Image credit: Ciara McGinley/Future)

How thick should a yoga mat be?

In general, a yoga mat should be 3mm thick, while thicker options are usually 5mm or above. Anything thinner than this and you risk not having adequate support for your back, feet, knees, and other parts of the body that come under pressure during the practice.

When figuring out how to choose a yoga mat you like, thickness should be a consideration. “Thicker mats provide extra cushioning for people with sensitive knee, ankle, and hip joints,” says Jamie Kent, a yoga instructor. “They also support inversion poses, where sensitive neck muscles are sometimes weight-bearing, including postures such as headstand and shoulder stand."

Jamie, who is also the founder of Yoga Download, adds that they are also ideal for more passive yoga styles, such as yin yoga or restorative, where moves are often on the ground and are held for several minutes.

Jamie Kent

Jamie is a 200 hour Yoga Alliance certified Power Yoga instructor and the founder of YogaDownload.com.

Ultimately, how thick your yoga mat should be is down to you and your practice. "There is no real ideal thickness for a yoga mat, it all depends on the person practising, style of yoga being practised and where the practice is taking place," Georgie Davies, a yoga teacher who teaches yinyasa yoga as well as gentler classes, tells us. 

"For instance, you may not need as much padding in the mat if you're practising at home on carpet compared to the wooden floor of a studio," says Georgie, who also created an online yoga platform, Yogipod. "If the class you're taking explores a lot of postures on the hands and knees or if you have any conditions that make that uncomfortable then more padding would be ideal."

It's also worth noting that the extra padding of thicker mats may feel nice for certain poses, but you're less connected to the floor. This could impact your ability to balance or land correctly during higher energy movements. 

"Thicker mats can make it harder to find balance in one-legged postures such as Vrksasana (tree pose) or stability in standing postures due to the depth of padding underneath the foot," explains Georgie. "This can be mitigated though by moving balancing postures off the mat so that the padding is there when required and also creating more stability and strength in the ankles, feet and legs."

Georgie Davis

Georgie Davies is a certified yoga teacher and founder of Yogipod, a business of handprinted yoga props and homewares.  


Ciara McGinley

Ciara McGinley is a meditation practitioner and health journalist. She qualified as a meditation teacher with the British School of Meditation in 2020 and is the founder of Finding Quiet, a series of classes, workshops and retreats that combine meditation practices and mindfulness techniques to make mindful living realistic in an always-switched-on modern world. She is all about bettering that mind-body connection but believes wellness looks different to everyone.

Ciara is also the former Health Channel Editor at woman&home and has covered all things health and wellbeing for years, from fitness to sleep to relationships. 

With contributions from