The Best Trivets in Australia (2026): 8 Picks That Save Your Benchtop

What is the best trivet for an Australian kitchen in 2026?

If you want one answer, buy the Joseph Joseph Stretch Expandable Silicone Trivet. It folds flat into a drawer, stretches out to hold a single saucepan or a full roasting dish, copes with very high heat, and it is the most reviewed trivet on this whole list at 4.8 stars from more than 4,400 Amazon AU ratings. For most first-home kitchens that is the sensible, no-regrets pick. Spend more only if you want a cast iron or marble piece that doubles as a centrepiece on the dining table, or less if you just need a cheap pad to stop a hot pot scorching a benchtop.

A trivet is one of those quiet kitchen heroes you do not think about until you lift a screaming-hot Dutch oven off the cooktop and realise you have nowhere safe to put it. Stone benchtops can crack from thermal shock, laminate scorches, and a freshly oiled timber table will mark in seconds. A good trivet sits between the heat and the surface and saves you a repair bill. This guide is written for Australian buyers shopping the local Amazon catalogue, and every rating, price and spec below is pulled from the actual listing, not invented.

How did we choose the best trivets?

NestPath is a research desk, not a product-testing lab. We do not heat pots in our own kitchen and we never claim to. Instead we read the data that already exists, at scale, and weigh it the way a careful shopper would if they had a spare weekend. Here is how these eight picks were shortlisted.

• Real Australian ratings only. Every pick was checked live on Amazon Australia for in-stock status, a genuine star rating and a believable review count. We dropped anything with fewer than three reviews from the headline trio, and we cross-checked the numbers rather than trusting a single snapshot.
• Material coverage. Trivets split cleanly into silicone, cast iron, wood, cork and stone. We made sure the list spans those families so you can match the trivet to your benchtop and your taste, not just to a price.
• Heat and surface safety. We compared the stated heat tolerance and the care notes on each listing, because a silicone pad rated to 220 degrees and a cast iron disc that holds residual heat behave very differently on a timber table.
• Storage and everyday friction. Australian kitchens are not big. We gave extra weight to trivets that fold, stretch or nest, because a trivet you can actually find in the drawer is a trivet you will use.
• Review sentiment, read in bulk. We scanned the recurring themes in verified Australian reviews, both the praise and the complaints, so the flaws sections below reflect what owners actually report.

Which trivet should most people buy?

The Joseph Joseph Stretch Expandable Silicone Trivet is the one we would put in almost any kitchen. It is a single band of silicone-nylon composite that lies flat when stored and pulls open into an oval cradle when you need it, so one trivet covers everything from a small milk pan to a large roasting tray. The expanding design is the reason it beats a fixed pad: you are not hunting for the right size, you just stretch it to fit.

At 4.8 stars from over 4,400 Amazon AU ratings, this is the most reviewed trivet on the list by a wide margin, and the sentiment is overwhelmingly positive. Australian owners single out two things again and again: it folds down to "virtually nothing" for storage, and it grips pots so nothing slides off. The listing rates it heat resistant to a very high 340 degrees Celsius, and it is dishwasher safe, so cleanup after a roast is genuinely effortless. One recurring review even notes it works as a rest for both drawers of a dual-basket air fryer, which is exactly the kind of modern use a fixed cast iron disc cannot match. The black silicone-nylon build weighs only 0.17kg, so it travels easily between cooktop and table.

For a first-home buyer kitting out a kitchen on a budget, this is the trivet that does the most jobs for the least money and the least drawer space. It is not a statement piece you leave on display, and that is the only reason to look elsewhere. If you want something that looks good sitting empty on the dining table, scroll down to the cast iron and marble options. For pure everyday function, this is the pick.

Flaws but not dealbreakers

It is a working tool, not decor, so it will not dress up a table the way cast iron or stone does. A few reviewers wish the silicone were a touch thicker, and because it is one continuous band it can hold onto grease in the folds if you skip the dishwasher. None of that undermines the core job, which it does better than anything else here.

What is the best value trivet for everyday use?

The Joseph Joseph Trivet, model 20214, is our value pick at $15. It is a pair of round silicone pads that snap together into a single disc for storage and pull apart when you need to cover a wider pot or two side by side. It carries the same Joseph Joseph design quality as our top pick but in a simpler, lay-flat format that suits people who do not need the full expanding band.

This trivet holds a 4.8-star rating on Amazon AU, the same star score as our top pick, though from a smaller pool of 65 ratings. The silicone is heat resistant to 220 degrees Celsius, it is stain resistant, dishwasher safe and the two halves store inside the footprint of one, which is the detail that wins drawer space back. The raised dots on the surface lift the pot slightly and let air move underneath, so a hot base cools a little faster and your benchtop sees less direct heat. At 14cm square per pad it suits saucepans, teapots and serving bowls more than a giant stockpot, which is why we frame it as the everyday all-rounder rather than the roast-day hero.

Overseas and local reviews describe it as handy, versatile and easy to wash, with the snap-together storage repeatedly called out as the best feature. For $15 you are getting a flexible two-piece set from a brand that genuinely understands small-kitchen storage. If your cooking is mostly weeknight dinners and the occasional bake rather than big-batch roasting, this is the smart middle option between the cheapest pad and the premium pick.

Flaws but not dealbreakers

The 220-degree rating is lower than the 340 degrees on our top pick, so this is a trivet for hot cookware rather than something straight off a raging gas flame, and the listing is explicit that you should not place it directly on a heat source. At 14cm each pad is on the small side for very large dishes, where you will want both halves apart. The review count is modest, so the data set is smaller than the headliners either side of it.

What is the cheapest trivet that still works well?

The Joseph Joseph Spot-On Set of 2 is the cheapest pick in our headline trio at $13.77, and crucially you get two trivets for that price. They are circular silicone pads that fit together almost like a jigsaw for storage, then separate to protect two surfaces at once or combine for a larger dish. It is the most economical way on this list to stop hot pots marking a benchtop.

Do not let the low price suggest a compromise on quality. This set holds 4.8 stars from more than 1,300 Amazon AU ratings, making it the second most reviewed trivet here behind only our top pick, and the second most reviewed at that high score. The silicone is heat resistant to 220 degrees Celsius, stain resistant and dishwasher safe, and at 17cm across each pad is noticeably larger than the value pick above, so it handles bigger pots comfortably. Australian reviewers love that the two pieces "fit together like a jigsaw puzzle" to store flat and that they look tidy enough to leave out on the bench or table.

For a first-home kitchen this is the easy starter buy: two good trivets, a trusted brand and a price under fourteen dollars. The listing does carry a sensible caution to take extra care on delicate surfaces like polished or lacquered wood, because no thin silicone pad is a perfect heat barrier, but used as intended on stone, laminate or a protected table it does exactly what you need. Buy this if you want maximum protection for minimum spend.

Flaws but not dealbreakers

Like all thin silicone, it insulates well but not perfectly, so the listing advises caution on vulnerable timber finishes. A couple of reviewers find the individual pads a little small for a very large stockpot, which is exactly when you combine both halves. And being a soft pad rather than a heavy disc, it will not hold residual warmth to keep a serving dish hot the way cast iron does.

What is the best cast iron trivet for the dinner table?

The Avanti Hobnail Cast Iron Trivet is the pick if you want something that looks as good empty as it does in use. It is a classic round cast iron disc with a raised hobnail pattern, traditionally paired with a teapot but equally at home under a casserole on the dining table. Cast iron brings a heft and a presence that no silicone pad can match.

This Avanti piece holds 4.5 stars across 30 Amazon AU ratings. It measures 14cm in diameter at 1.5cm thick and weighs 0.34kg, so it sits with real stability and will not skid when you set a heavy pot on it. The decorative hobnail texture is not just for looks: the raised dots help grip the base of a pot and lift it slightly off the surface. Cast iron also retains heat, which means it helps keep cooked food warm a little longer once it is plated, a genuinely useful trick at a slow Sunday lunch. The care instruction is hand wash only, which matters: this is the one trivet here you should not put in the dishwasher.

Reviewers describe it as simple, useful and great value, with one noting it was perfect for a small camp oven. The honest caveat from the reviews is rust. Bare cast iron will mark if it is left wet, and one Australian owner reported surface rust within days when it was not dried properly. Treat it like a cast iron pan, wipe it dry after washing, and it will last for years. If you want warmth, weight and a piece that earns its place on the table, this is the cast iron to start with.

Flaws but not dealbreakers

Bare cast iron needs care: hand wash, dry immediately, and store it dry or it can develop surface rust, which a minority of reviewers have hit. At 14cm it is sized for teapots and medium pots rather than a big roasting tray. The review pool is smaller than the silicone leaders, so there is less data behind the 4.5-star score.

Which cast iron trivet is best for very hot, heavy cookware?

The Sumnacon Cast Iron Trivet set is the heavy-duty cast iron option, and you get two rectangular pieces in the box. These are built for the moments when you are pulling a serious roasting tin or a large Dutch oven straight out of the oven and need a rock-solid, scorch-proof landing pad that will not flinch at the heat.

This set holds a strong 4.8 stars from 439 ratings, the highest review count of any cast iron pick here, so there is real weight of opinion behind it. Each trivet measures 24.4cm long by 16.5cm wide and 1.5cm thick, and the pair together weighs around 1.85kg, which tells you how substantial these are. The standout practical feature is the cushioned rubber feet on the underside: they stop the iron sliding and, more importantly, they lift the hot metal off your benchtop and protect it from scratches, which a bare cast iron disc does not do. The vintage green finish is designed to double as decor, so these can live on the table or even hang on a wall between uses.

Reviewers from several countries call them sturdy, attractive and genuinely heat-proof, with the main recurring note being that the rectangular size suits dishes and trays better than round pots. This is the most expensive cast iron pick on the list, and at that price you are paying for two large, heavy, feet-protected trivets rather than one small disc. If you cook big and want maximum protection under maximum heat, this is the set to buy.

Flaws but not dealbreakers

It is the priciest cast iron option here, and the weight that makes it stable also makes it the least convenient to move around or tuck away. The rectangular shape is brilliant under trays and dishes but slightly awkward under a small round pot. As with all cast iron, keep it dry to avoid any chance of rust over time.

What is the best wooden trivet for protecting a timber table?

The Peer Sorensen Magnetic Trivet in acacia is our wood pick, and it has a clever twist: a magnet built into the base that grips the bottom of a compatible pot or pan, so the trivet travels with the cookware from the stove to the table and stays put. Wood looks warm on a dining table and is gentle on timber surfaces, and Peer Sorensen is a long-standing Australian homewares name.

This trivet is a solid round of sustainably sourced acacia, 24cm in diameter and 2cm thick, priced at $29. The 2cm thickness is the headline: that is a genuine slab of timber between the heat and your table, far more insulating than a thin pad. The magnetic base is the party trick, holding the trivet against a cast iron or steel pan so you can carry a hot pot one-handed without the trivet sliding off, then set the whole lot down in one move. The acacia grain means every piece looks slightly different, and the natural wood reads as decor rather than a kitchen tool.

The trade-off with timber is maintenance. The care notes are clear: hand wash only, do not soak or put it in the dishwasher, and rub in a little food-safe mineral oil occasionally to keep the finish healthy. That is the price of a natural material that looks this good. If you have a beautiful timber dining table you are trying to protect, and you like the idea of a trivet that clamps onto your pan and comes along for the ride, this acacia piece is the one to choose.

Flaws but not dealbreakers

Wood needs looking after: no dishwasher, no soaking, and an occasional oil to stop it drying out. The magnet only works with magnetic cookware such as cast iron or steel, so it adds nothing under aluminium or copper pans. It is also the listing here with the least review data, so lean on the brand pedigree and the spec rather than a big rating sample.

What is the best stone trivet for a premium look?

The SPESHSTONES Marble Trivets set is the splurge, a pair of handmade natural marble discs that look more like a designer homewares object than a kitchen accessory. If your kitchen leans toward stone and brass and you want the trivet to be part of the styling, this is the one that delivers the showroom finish.

This set holds one of the highest star ratings on this list at 4.9 stars, from 31 Amazon AU ratings, and you get two trivets carved from genuine marble. Each is round, 20.3cm across and 2cm thick, in a black finish, and because the marble is natural the veining varies from piece to piece. Marble is dense, cool to the touch and beautifully solid, and cleaning is as simple as a wipe with a damp cloth to bring back the shine. The set arrives in branded protective packaging, which matters for a fragile stone product shipped to your door.

The honest framing here is that you are buying looks as much as function. At this price point you are paying a clear premium over the silicone and even the cast iron options, and stone is heavier and more fragile than either, so it needs a little care to avoid chips. But the reviews are glowing, calling the colours gorgeous against stone benchtops and the quality high-end. If you want a trivet that genuinely elevates a dinner table and you are happy to spend for it, this marble set is the most beautiful option we found.

Flaws but not dealbreakers

It is the most expensive pick and marble is fragile, so it can chip if dropped and needs hand washing only. Natural stone means the exact pattern you receive will differ from the photos. And while it protects against heat well, a very sudden temperature shock is something to be mindful of with any natural stone, so let extremely hot cookware lose its first blast of heat before setting it down.

What is the best trivet for a camp oven or the outdoors?

The Campfire Camp Oven Trivet is the specialist pick for anyone who cooks over a fire. It is a circular steel rack that sits inside a camp oven to lift food off the base, stopping it from sticking or burning while letting fat drip away and air circulate underneath. If you have a Dutch oven or camp oven for caravanning and four wheel driving, this is a genuinely useful bit of kit.

This Campfire trivet holds a perfect 5-star rating, though from a small pool of three Amazon AU ratings, so treat the score as promising rather than statistically settled. It is made from heavy gauge alloy steel, measures 19cm in diameter and 1cm thick, sized to suit a 4.5 quart camp oven, and it backs up with a one-year warranty. Beyond stopping food catching on the base, it doubles as a steam rack, and the listing notes a rust-resistant coating and that no seasoning is required, which is a welcome simplification compared with bare cast iron camp gear. The one Australian review describes it as made of thicker steel than expected, which is exactly what you want from gear that lives in the boot of a four wheel drive.

This is not a benchtop trivet for the dining table, and we have included it because camp oven trivet is one of the most searched trivet terms in Australia and a real need that the kitchen-only lists ignore. If you cook over coals, buy this alongside one of the silicone or cast iron picks above for the home kitchen.

Flaws but not dealbreakers

The review count is very small, so the 5-star rating rests on limited feedback. It is purpose-built for a 4.5 quart camp oven, so check it suits the size of your own camp oven before buying. And it is an outdoor cooking tool, not a table trivet, so it will not cover the everyday benchtop job on its own.

What should you look for when buying a trivet?

The right trivet depends on your benchtop, your cookware and how much you care about looks. A few things are worth weighing before you buy.

• Material. Silicone is the all-rounder: light, dishwasher safe, grippy and cheap, usually rated to around 220 degrees. Cast iron is heavy, holds warmth and looks the part but needs to be kept dry. Wood is gentle and warm-looking but wants hand washing and occasional oiling. Marble and stone are the most beautiful and the most fragile.
• Heat rating. Check the stated tolerance against how you cook. A pad rated to 220 degrees is fine for hot cookware off the heat, while our top pick's 340-degree rating gives more headroom for anything coming straight off a gas flame.
• Size and shape. Expandable and nesting designs cover the widest range of pots from one product. Fixed discs are simpler but you may need more than one size. Rectangular trivets suit trays and dishes; round suits pots and teapots.
• Storage. In a small Australian kitchen, a trivet that folds flat, stretches or snaps together to nest is worth a lot. It is the difference between a trivet you reach for and one stuck at the back of a drawer.
• Surface safety. No thin pad is a perfect heat barrier. On delicate timber or lacquered finishes, lean toward a thicker wood or stone trivet, or a cast iron piece with feet that lift the heat clear of the surface.

How do you care for and clean a trivet?

Care depends entirely on the material, and getting it wrong is the fastest way to ruin an otherwise good trivet. Silicone is the easy one: most are dishwasher safe and need no thought beyond an occasional clean to clear grease from any folds. Cast iron is the opposite. Bare cast iron should be hand washed, dried immediately and stored dry, because the most common complaint in reviews is surface rust from leaving it wet. If rust does appear, scrub it off, dry it and the trivet is fine again.

Wooden trivets want hand washing only, never a soak or a dishwasher cycle, and a light rub of food-safe mineral oil every so often keeps the timber from drying out and cracking. Marble and stone are low fuss day to day, just a wipe with a damp cloth, but they are fragile, so store them where they will not knock against other dishes. Across every material, the smartest habit is to let cookware lose its first violent blast of heat for a few seconds before you set it down, which is kinder to stone benchtops and to the trivet itself.

What else will you want with a new trivet?

A trivet is rarely a solo purchase. If you are kitting out a kitchen, a few companions make the set complete and they all pair naturally with the picks above.

• Oven mitts to actually carry the hot dish to the trivet. See our guide to the best oven mitts in Australia.
• A casserole dish that earns its spot on a cast iron trivet at the table, covered in our best casserole dish guide.
• A Dutch oven for slow cooks and bakes, which is exactly the heavy cookware these trivets are built to hold. See the best Dutch oven picks.
• A cutting board to round out your prep surfaces, in our best cutting board guide.
• Coasters for the smaller version of the same job on the table, covered in the best coasters guide.

How do our picks compare with the rest of the market?

The Australian trivet market is crowded with retailer house brands and a few design names, and our shortlist is built to beat them on the things that matter. Le Creuset and Staub magnetic trivets are gorgeous and turn up at the top of every shopping carousel, but they cost two to four times our value pick for one piece, which is hard to justify for a first-home kitchen. Cork trivets from the likes of Muji and Wiltshire are cheap and cheerful but thin, and they char and crumble over time in a way silicone does not. Kmart and supermarket trivets win on price alone but rarely carry the review depth or the smart storage of the Joseph Joseph designs.

Where we have deliberately gone broad is material. Plenty of lists are all silicone or all cast iron. By spanning silicone, cast iron, wood, marble and a camp oven rack, this guide answers the question for the timber table owner, the slow cook obsessive, the design led renter and the weekend camper, not just the one shopper the other lists picture. Every pick here is in stock on Amazon Australia with a real rating behind it, which is more than can be said for many of the prettier products that show up and then sell out.

Frequently asked questions about trivets

What is the best material for a trivet? There is no single best, it depends on the job. Silicone is the most practical all-rounder, being light, grippy, dishwasher safe and usually rated to around 220 degrees. Cast iron is best if you want heat retention and a piece that looks good on the table. Wood is gentle and handsome but needs care, and marble is the most premium and the most fragile.

What is the difference between a hot pad and a trivet? They overlap heavily. A hot pad is usually a soft, often fabric or silicone pad aimed specifically at protecting a surface from heat, while a trivet is the broader term for any stand placed between hot cookware and a table or benchtop. A trivet can be soft like a silicone pad or hard like cast iron or stone; a hot pad is the softer, heat-specific subset.

Are silicone trivets actually heat resistant? Yes. Quality silicone trivets are rated to high temperatures, commonly around 220 degrees Celsius on the products here, and our top pick is rated all the way to 340 degrees. They will not melt under normal cookware straight off the cooktop. The listings do advise care on delicate timber finishes, since no thin pad is a perfect insulator, but for everyday hot pots they are genuinely heat resistant.

What is the best wood for a trivet? Dense, naturally durable hardwoods work best. Acacia, like the Peer Sorensen pick here, is a popular choice because it is hard, water resistant for a timber, and richly grained. Bamboo is another strong, fast-growing option. The key with any wood trivet is thickness, since a thicker slab insulates far better than a thin one.

Can you put a hot pan straight from the oven onto a trivet? On a suitably rated trivet, yes. Cast iron, marble, thick wood and high-rated silicone all handle oven-hot cookware. The thing to watch is the surface underneath: on natural stone benchtops, let extreme heat ease off for a few seconds first, and on a delicate timber table choose a thicker trivet that lifts and insulates the heat fully.

Do I need more than one trivet? Most kitchens benefit from two. A folding or expanding silicone trivet covers the everyday cooktop-to-bench job, and a heavier cast iron or stone piece earns its place at the dinner table. Several of our picks come as sets of two, which is the cheapest way to cover both bases at once.

About the author

Anish Puri founded NestPath in 2026 after going through the Australian first-home-buyer process himself. NestPath focuses on Australian first-home buyers because the existing review sites are American, generic, or both. Anish handles editorial selection across the homeowner hub. Reach out: hello@nestpath.com.au