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It’s a hot debate – what’s better: a single vs. a double sink in the kitchen?
You spend a great deal of time in the kitchen. Through cooking and cleaning, the kitchen sink is utilized in a lot of different ways. Straining food, stacking dirty dishes, cleaning said dirty dishes, etc. Oh, the dishes…everyone’s favorite chore. 😉 You know what’s worse than cleaning dishes? Not having the right sink set up!
In this post I’ll be covering the following:
Pros and Cons of a Single Bowl Kitchen Sink
First, let’s make sure we’re on the same page: what is a single bowl sink? A single bowl sink is one bowl that has no divider in the middle. Whereas a double bowl sink generally has one side for the drain, and one side for the garbage disposal, a single bowl has only one which doubles as both a drain and garbage disposal.

If you do go the single bowl route, be sure that you get a deep basin, which is considered 10” or more in depth.
Why is a deep basin important in a kitchen sink? Well if you have a builder-grade sink, I’m sure you already know the struggles. You have to try to shape-shift your pots to fit under the faucet. A deep single-bowl sink will eliminate all of your issues – phew!
Pros of a Single Bowl Sink in the Kitchen
- More room to wash large pots, pans, cookie sheets, and casserole dishes
- Extra space for dirty dishes
- Many sizes to choose from specific to your space
- Less expensive due to less material used (no divider)
- Take up less room than double bowl sinks, on average
- One place for draining and garbage disposal
Cons of a Single Bowl Sink in the Kitchen
- No divider – unable to separate dirty/drying dishes when needing the sink to clean food
- Unable to dry dishes and will need to use countertop space for drying

Pros and Cons of a Double Bowl Kitchen Sink
A double-bowl kitchen sink is split down the middle with a divider. If you’re doing your research, you may also see that they’ll be called 60/40 sinks.
The double bowl sink, or 60/40 sink, has two drains, usually one for general purposes and one for garbage disposal. If you like to separate the two, then this may be the sink option for you.
But if the divider gets you down, then you may be better off with the single sink bowl. You can also get a deep double sink bowl, however, you will always run into the issue of large pots, pans, and dishes not fitting in it, unless you have an abnormally large sink.
Pros of a Double Bowl Sink in the Kitchen
- Divider for separating dirty dishes and clean/drying dishes
- Ability to separate delicate dishes (ex: wine glasses) from big dishes (ex: pots/pans)
- If you don’t have a dishwasher, most consider double sinks the best option
- Ability to clean food on one side of the sink while utilizing the other side for dishes
- Two drains, one for general purpose and one for garbage disposal
Cons of a Double Bowl Sink in the Kitchen
- Less room and more difficult to wash larger pots, pans, and dishes
- More expensive due to more material used (divider)

Is a single or double sink better?
Well it truly depends on personal preference, and honestly, what annoys you less lol.
When my husband and I moved into our house, we had a builder-grade double-bowl sink. It bothered me to no bitter end not being able to fully fit pots and pans in it while washing them.
When we got new countertops, it was the perfect opportunity to get a new sink. We opted for an undermount single bowl sink for the sole reason that the divider annoyed the heck out of us!
But while the divider annoyed us, it may annoy the next person to not have a divider. This is why the answer to this question is completely up to your liking!
Garbage disposals and single-bowl sinks
I see a lot of comments online concerned about single bowl sinks with garbage disposals, and if there are any issues with it. This was something that I also struggled to find details on when I was searching for the best sink for myself.
So let me shine some light on the subject!
I have great news for you: I have had my single bowl sink with garbage disposal for 4+ years and have NEVER had a single issue with it. Garbage disposals attach to the single drain, easy as that! Personally, I love the single drain doubling as the garbage disposal because everything goes to one place.
This is a real facepalm, but when I had a double bowl sink in my kitchen, the number of times I accidentally dumped scraps down the drain side and not the garbage disposal side was…bad lol.I know it happens to the best of us!
So if you want to count “less to think about” as a pro when it comes to single-bowl kitchen sinks and garbage disposals, then you definitely can haha.
If the garbage disposal was a deciding factor for you when looking at single vs double sinks in the kitchen, rest assured that there are no issues having a garbage disposal with a single-bowl sink.
Are kitchen double sinks outdated?

Our double sink when we first moved into our house was outdated. Just look at the before and after. However, double sinks aren’t always outdated.
Double bowl sinks have become increasingly less popular since the beauty of the dishwasher became a thing. Double sinks used to mainly serve the purpose of cleaning on one side, and drying on the other side. But since newer dishwashers do both, you may ask what’s the point of a double sink?
I wouldn’t necessarily say that they are outdated, but most people use a dishwasher that steps in place of the original purpose of a double sink. However, it’s still nice for some people to be able to separate their sink based on how they use it! But in newer builds, we are seeing a lot of single sinks being the first option.

There you have it! The final verdict on which type of sink is better in the kitchen: single-bowl or double-bowl.
As you pick out your next kitchen sink, think about what works best for you functionally. That will be the best sink option for you!
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