Best Bathroom Flooring Options for 2023/2024

In this flooring report, our Home Flooring Pros are going to break down the pros and cons of the their favorite bathroom floor options. All of our recommendations are at least water-resistant and most are fully water proof, but, in our experience, water is only part of the story. Good looks, ease of installation and value for money are all crucial elements of finding the best bathroom flooring available for your unique bathroom setup.

We may not spend that much time in our bathrooms compared to other rooms in the house (although some teenagers seem to live there!) but the time we do spend is quite intensive. Water, moisture, and dirt are the daily norm and we need a floor that can stand up to all this and stay looking good.

Their are also different types of bathrooms: master bathrooms, guest and en-suite bathrooms, powder rooms (half bath) and  small shower rooms (quarter bath). Each bathroom type has it’s own dimensions and uses and affects your ideal flooring choice. For example you may not want to go to the trouble of tiling a small shower room when installing some sheet vinyl will do.

So, in order of popularity, let’s take a look at the best options for bathroom flooring, why we like them, general pricing and design ideas.

CERAMIC & PORCELAIN TILE

We could begin and end the conversation about the best flooring for a bathroom with one word…tile. Ceramic and porcelain tile is the number one choice for bathroom floors, both with out home flooring pros and with homeowners across the US, for good reason.

Tile is waterproof, easy to clean and, while installation is comparatively expensive, you can buy tile from as little as $1.00 per square foot so there’s always a bathroom floor tile within your budget. Our top 5 bathroom tile flooring ideas are just the tip of the iceberg when it comes to design and style options.

We recommend professional tile installation to ensure a long lasting, hassle free, floor. And, as we alluded to earlier, tile flooring works best in medium to large bathroom areas. There is plenty of tile-look vinyl sheet flooring for smaller toilets, shower rooms and powder rooms.

• Cost to Install: We recommend looking for a tile in the $2 to $6 per sq/ft range but prices can go as high as your budget will permit once you start looking at designer tiles. Get some inspiration at Tilebar. For professional installation most households pay between $4 to $6 per square foot on average.
• Design Ideas: Wood-look and marble-look tiles are very popular options, as are retro and geometric patterns. Take a look at our tile and stone Pinterest page for more inspiration.

VINYL PLANK

The quality of LVP (luxury vinyl planks), especially the visuals of the newer breed of vinyl, EVP (engineered vinyl plank), including SPC and WPC planks, is so good these days that our home flooring pros recommend them ahead of engineered hardwood for use in the bathroom. We have a separate report on hardwood floors in the bathroom if you have your heart set on wood, but we think vinyl planks are the perfect wood-look alternative for most bathrooms.

There’s plenty to say about vinyl bathroom flooring but for the purposes of this post here’s what you need to know and look out for. Vinyl planks are softer and warmer underfoot than tile and cheaper to install. Double check each product before purchase, but the majority of LVP is waterproof and the better brands offer protection for the subfloor too.

• Cost to Install: You can pick up LVP at the big box stores for as little as $1.40 per sq/ft but for the demands of a bathroom we recommend looking at the top rated vinyl plank flooring brands. The better EVP floors are priced between $2.50 and $5 per sq/ft. Professional LVP installation will cost a further $1.50 to $4.50 per sq/ft. Take a look at our LVP flooring cost report for more detailed information.
• Design Ideas: Our style team like wood-look vinyl planks in light, natural and neutral colors.  They work well in a bathroom, especially smaller bathrooms, giving a brighter, more spacious feel. Oak flooring is still the most popular wood grain option and that’s reflected in the LVP styles available.

VINYL SHEET

Vinyl sheet flooring is having a small renaissance and many of our home flooring pros were very excited to add it back onto our list as one of the best floors for bathrooms. Especially medium to small bathrooms where the cost of ceramic tiles and installation is prohibitive or simple undesirable.

The reason for this renewed interest in vinyl sheet is 100% due to the new checkered, patterned and retro flooring designs that we’re seeing from specialist retailers. Vinyl sheet is the best low cost tile-look alternative out there in our estimation. So choose vinyl plank for a wood-look alternative and vinyl sheet for a tile or stone look.

From a practical standpoint, this new breed of vinyl floors are thick and robust, but soft underfoot. And with no seams or tile gaps they really are 100% waterproof, right up to the walls edge, and a cinch to maintain and keep clean.

• Cost to Install: Big box stores continue to sell standard vinyl sheet flooring from as little as $0.66 per sq/ft but we like the modern, funky and retro designs coming out of online retailers like Harvey Maria and For the Floor and More which are more expensive ($4 to $5 per sq/ft). Professional installation costs between $2 and $5 per sq/ft
• Design Ideas: We like to be bold with vinyl sheet flooring. Strong, sometimes clashing colors in geometric and retro patterns. Classic black and white checkered flooring patterns never seem to go out of fashion. Or try a stone-look sheet vinyl like these cheap options from TrafficMaster at Home Depot.

CONCRETE & EPOXY

If your subfloor is already a concrete slab then choosing to install a polished concrete or epoxy floor in your bathroom makes all kind of sense, both in terms of capital outlay and modern aesthetics. Whether you chose a polished concrete overlay or a concrete overlay with an epoxy finish you’ll be getting a floor covering that is ideal for a wet room environment.

Underfloor heating can be installed at the same time if you are concerned about cold floors. Once correctly installed and sealed you will have a waterproof floor that requires very little upkeep, is easy to clean and extremely durable and long lasting.

We’re not big fans of installing concrete above grade (not on a concrete slab) but it can be done at an added expense. Though you might be better off exploring designer quality concrete tiles instead.

• Cost to Install: Assuming you’re installing a thing concrete overlay over a concrete slab then your cost will be $3.50 to $9 per square foot for polished concrete. Expect to pay between $6 and $8 per sq ft for epoxy but this can increase dramatically depending on the epoxy finish you’re looking for.
• Design Ideas: In terms of style, concrete can be dyed, acid-stained, or textured. And epoxy opens up a world of interior design options with different colors, coloured microchips, metallic pigments, different gloss levels and terrazzo looks.

NATURAL STONE

As hinted at above, concrete might not be practical in above grade (upstairs) bathrooms. Or perhaps you’re simply not sold on the look of polished concrete or epoxy. In which case natural stone tiles are a high end option that will bring real luxury to your bathroom floor while maintaining a natural, earthy aesthetic.

Natural stone tiles (as opposed to ceramic or porcelain) have all the practical benefits of normal tile and concrete. Long lasting, easy to maintain and clean, compatible with underfloor heating and very attractive. On the downside these 100% natural materials are hard to quarry, harder to transport and generally in shorter supply which makes them more expensive in many cases. Installation too requires additional expertise that can increase the cost.

Arguably though, natural stone is worth the added expense. The unique qualities of natural stone like travertine, slate, granite and marble gives a one-of-a-kind beauty to your bathroom floor and can only help to enhance the resale value of your home.

• Cost to Install: Expect to pay anywhere from $4 to $20 per sq/ft for materials and that price can rocket up to $60 per sq/ft for the highest quality stone. As mentioned, natural stone tile installation requires a little more know how so expect labor costs to range from $5 to $14 per square foot.
• Design Ideas: Natural stone deserves room to breath so we recommend saving stone tiles for full and master bathrooms. Let the type of stone flooring you choose be the dominant design feature of your bathroom and decorate accordingly. In Houzz’s 2021 bathroom trends report, marble saw a significant uptick in popularity..

CORK

Cork is a great flooring option for a bathroom. Soft and warm, it has a naturally water-resistant surface, is eco-friendly, sustainable, hypo-allergenic and competitively priced, compared with the other options we have recommended so far (yes, vinyl is still the cheapest). So why is it towards the bottom of our recommendations?

Cork is a very unique looking flooring that may perfectly suit your style, but equally could quite easily not. The selection of cork tiles and planks is much more limited than tile or vinyl so require a bit of tracking down, see our recommendations of waterproof cork flooring in our brands review. Finally, while the material itself is water resistant, cork flooring in wet or humid areas require proper sealing and may require periodic re-sealing.

We don’t say any of this to put you off cork as a bathroom flooring option, only to make the point that a little extra care and attention is needed before installing this option. Speaking of options, you can choose between glue down (or self adhesive) tiles or click together tiles and planks installed as a floating floor (which is our preferred option for bathrooms.  Be sure that your installer has experience installing tile and that all waterproofing, sealing and caulking protocols are followed. We especially like cork in a half bath, ensuite and guest bathrooms.

• Cost to Install: Expect to pay anywhere from $4 to $20 per sq/ft for materials and that price can rocket up to $60 per sq/ft for the highest quality stone. As mentioned, natural stone tile installation requires a little more know how so expect labor costs to range from $5 to $14 per square foot.
• Design Ideas: Natural stone deserves room to breath so we recommend saving stone tiles for full and master bathrooms. Let the type of stone flooring you choose be the dominant design feature of your bathroom and decorate accordingly. Lighter colored stone will make your bathroom feel more spacious.

WATERPROOF LAMINATE

12 to 24 months ago there was simply no way that laminate flooring would ever have made our list of top bathroom floors. There have been some quality water-resistant laminate options available for some time now, like Pergo’s Outlast + and Shaw’s Repel and we’ve been happy to recommend them for kitchens and guest or half bathrooms, but with their HDF fiberboard cores we couldn’t recommend them for busy, wet bathrooms or basements. These floors could be described as water-resistant but not fully waterproof.

Our advice has changed somewhat thanks to newer, innovative laminate floors with watertight (pardon the pun) warranties. Recent testing, along with on site experience, and higher customer satisfaction has convinced us that for all but the busiest and most humid bathrooms waterproof laminate is a decent lower cost option.

You can read our reviews of the best waterproof laminate flooring, but to save you some time we recommend taking a look at Mannington Restoration, Audacity, Mohawk RevWood and AquaGuard if water vs laminate is your main concern.

• Cost to Install: The best waterproof laminate floors are more expensive than standard laminate. Expect to pay between $3.80 and $5.30 per sq/ft. Laminate installation costs are reasonable starting at $1.50 per sq/ft and rising to $5 per sq/ft for the most complex installations.
• Design Ideas: Much like vinyl, updated manufacturing techniques have led to laminate floors with hyper realistic wood-look planks.  Wide plank flooring and herringbone patterns are on trend and color-wise the fashion is for natural, neutral and even bleached colors.

Further Reading: AquaGuard Flooring Review | Mannington Restoration Review | Mohawk RevWood Review

No matter which of these bathroom flooring options you choose, you’ll find enough selection options to meet your style and budget requirements. See our comment section below to get feedback from other readers. Take a moment to contact us and tell us what type of bathroom flooring you’ve used in the past and whether or not you’d recommend it to others.

About the Author: Jamie Sandford

Jamie Sandford is the Owner and Chief Editor of Home Flooring Pros (find out more). After 12 years’ experience in screen and stage set construction, followed by a further 15 years working in the home renovation/remodeling business, he now writes and curates online home improvement advice.

“Buying and installing home flooring should be a fairly straightforward process, but often it isn’t. After more than 15 years experience in home flooring and remodeling, I started Home Flooring Pros in 2013 to help homeowners navigate the often-over complicated process of choosing, buying and installing a home floor. The aim is to save you time and money by helping you to make better floor buying decisions.”