The Best Rain Barrels (Researched & Ranked)

The short answer: the best rain barrel is the FCMP Outdoor Raincatcher 4000 in 50 gallons. It suits most houses because it arrives as a working system rather than a bare container — hose with shut-off valve, overflow hose, debris screen and a linking kit are all in the box, which is exactly the list of parts you otherwise end up ordering separately after the first storm. The flat back sits tight to a wall, and the body is recycled, BPA-free, UV-inhibited polyethylene. Want the same thing for about $30 less without the extras? The RTS Home Accents ECO.

Two things to sort out before you buy anything: how much water your roof actually delivers (it is far more than one barrel holds), and whether your state restricts collection. Both are below.

How Much Water Your Roof Actually Delivers

EPA describes a rain barrel as capturing water from a roof and holding it for later use on lawns, gardens or indoor plants, which also reduces the water running off your property. The arithmetic surprises almost everyone. A roof yields roughly 0.62 gallons per square foot per inch of rain, after allowing for a little evaporation and splash.

Three conclusions follow. First, a 50-gallon barrel fills in an ordinary storm — often in under half an hour. Second, the overflow hose is not an accessory; without one, the surplus dumps at the barrel base and sends water against your foundation, which is worse than having no barrel at all. Route the overflow well away from the house. Third, linking two or three barrels is normal, not excessive, and it is why a linking kit matters.

For context on what you will use it for: one inch of water over 100 square feet of garden bed is about 62 gallons. So a full 50-gallon barrel waters roughly 80 square feet of bed to the weekly target that EPA WaterSense publishes — about an inch a week including rainfall — a useful contribution, not a whole irrigation system.

Check Your State First

EPA WaterSense notes the average US household uses more water outdoors than for showering and washing clothes combined, which is why free roof water is worth catching. Rainwater harvesting is legal and often encouraged across most of the US, with rebates available in many cities. But a handful of western states regulate it under prior-appropriation water law, on the reasoning that runoff belongs to downstream rights holders.

• Colorado has historically limited residential rooftop collection to two barrels with a combined capacity of 110 gallons.
• Utah requires registration with the state above a specified volume.
• Nevada and several other western states have had restrictions tied to water rights.
• Many cities and HOAs add their own rules about placement, screening and visibility from the street.

Rules change, so check your own state water agency's current guidance and your HOA covenants before installing. Nothing here is legal advice.

Top Picks at a Glance

Our #1 Pick: FCMP Outdoor Raincatcher 4000, 50 Gallon

What separates this from the field is that it is sold as a finished system. Open the box and you have the barrel, a garden hose with a shut-off thumb valve, a hanging clip for that hose, an overflow hose, a debris screen and a linking kit for a second barrel. Almost every other barrel on the market ships as a container plus a spigot, and you discover the missing pieces after the first storm sends 40 gallons down your foundation wall.

The construction is right too. Recycled polyethylene, BPA-free, UV-inhibited — that last one matters more than it sounds, because an unstabilised plastic barrel in full sun goes chalky and brittle within a few seasons. The flat back is a genuinely useful design choice on a narrow side path, saving three or four inches over a round barrel and stopping it rocking against the siding.

Dimensions are roughly 24 inches across and 32 inches tall, which sets the practical constraint: the spigot sits low, so you cannot fill a watering can under it unless the barrel is raised. Plan for a stand or a course of concrete blocks. Every inch of elevation also adds pressure at the spigot, which matters because gravity feed from a barrel is weak — around 0.43 psi per foot of height. A barrel on the ground will trickle; one on a two-foot stand delivers something usable through a short hose.

Honest limitations: at around $140 it is not cheap; the supplied spigot is plastic, which is the part most likely to fail; and 50 gallons is not much water once you understand the roof arithmetic above. Buy two and link them if the downspout serves a large roof section.

Check price on Amazon →

The Ranked Field

Quick Comparison

How We Rank

We do not buy or install rain barrels. We read the owner-review record at volume and weight it toward reviews written after a full year, since the failure modes here are UV degradation, spigot failure and winter cracking — none of which show up in month one. Four things carry the most weight. Material and UV stabilisation, because an unstabilised barrel in full sun becomes brittle within a few seasons. Spigot quality and height, the single most complained-about component in the category. Overflow provision, since a barrel without a proper overflow route actively causes foundation problems. And screening integrity, because a gap a mosquito can use makes the barrel a liability. Prices were checked at time of writing. Full method on how we rank.

The Rain Barrels, Reviewed

1. FCMP Outdoor Raincatcher 4000 — Best Overall

Covered above. What owners consistently praise: that everything needed is in the box, the flat back against a wall, sturdy recycled construction, and that the linking kit makes a second barrel straightforward. Recurring complaints: the plastic spigot is the weak point and several owners replace it with a brass one immediately; the spigot sits too low to fill a watering can without raising the barrel; and the top screen needs clearing of leaves through fall or the barrel simply stops filling. Check price.

2. RTS Home Accents 50-Gallon ECO — Best Value

The same basic proposition for around $30 less, made in the USA from 100% recycled polyethylene with a flat back and a moulded-in screen and overflow. RTS has been in this category a long time and the barrels are straightforward, well-moulded and unfussy.

Recurring complaints: the kit is bare — no linking hardware, and the overflow provision is a moulded port rather than a supplied hose, so budget for fittings; the plastic spigot again; and the recycled material shows moulding marks that some owners dislike on a barrel in view. Buy it if you are comfortable sourcing the extra parts. Check price.

3. Good Ideas Impressions Amphora 50 Gallon — Best Looking

Moulded to imitate the ridges of a large clay amphora, and it is convincing enough at ten feet that visitors do not read it as equipment. The real feature is the planter well in the top — roughly six inches deep and fifteen and a half inches across, enough for trailing annuals or a decent herb display. That is what turns a barrel from something you hide behind a shrub into something you put on the front corner of the house.

Recurring complaints: the planter well reduces the useful opening and needs its screen kept clear beneath the soil; the terracotta colour fades in strong sun over a few seasons; and it costs around $150 for the same 50 gallons the RTS holds for $110. Aesthetics are the product here, and they deliver. Check price.

4. Algreen Products Cascata Rain Barrel 65 Gallon — Best Large Capacity

Thirty percent more capacity than the standard barrel, which given the roof arithmetic is the most useful upgrade available short of a second barrel. It also has an integrated planter top and a moulded slate-grey finish that reads more contemporary than the terracotta options. Brass spigot and a corrosion-proof screen.

Recurring complaints: 65 gallons of water weighs around 540 pounds, so the base must be genuinely level and firm — several owners report a barrel leaning after a wet season on soft ground; it is physically large and dominates a small side path; and it is the most expensive here at around $180. Set it on paving slabs or a compacted gravel pad, not on turf. Check price.

5. VINGLI 50 Gallon Collapsible Rain Barrel — Best Collapsible

A PVC frame with an anti-corrosion mesh fabric body that folds flat when empty. That solves the problem every rigid barrel has in a freezing climate — you cannot leave water in one over winter, and you cannot easily store a 32-inch drum either. This one folds to something you can put on a garage shelf in November. At around $60 it is also a third the price of a rigid barrel, which makes it a sensible way to try rainwater harvesting before committing.

Recurring complaints: fabric barrels are less durable than moulded ones and seam and valve leaks are the dominant complaint; it needs to be sited where it cannot be punctured by a strimmer or a dog; and it does not hold its shape well unless nearly full. Treat it as a two-to-four season product. Check price.

6. RTS Home Accents 50-Gallon with Brass Spigot — Best Spigot

The same well-made RTS barrel in a walnut finish with the upgrade that actually matters: a brass spigot instead of plastic. Spigots take the load every time someone yanks a hose, and plastic ones crack at the threads. A brass spigot with a proper washer is the difference between a barrel that works for a decade and one that drips continuously from year two.

Recurring complaints: around $20 more than the ECO version for the spigot; the walnut colour is a matter of taste; and, like all these barrels, the spigot sits too low for a watering can without raising the barrel. Check price.

Setting One Up Properly

1. Build a level, firm base and raise it. 50 gallons weighs about 420 pounds and 65 gallons about 540. Two or three courses of solid concrete blocks on compacted gravel is the standard approach. Every foot of elevation adds roughly 0.43 psi at the spigot, and elevation is the only pressure you get.
2. Cut the downspout and fit a diverter. Cut the downspout at the barrel inlet height, fit a diverter or a flexible elbow into the barrel top, and keep the lower section of downspout so you can restore it in winter.
3. Route the overflow away from the house. This is the step people skip and it is the one that causes real damage. Run the overflow hose at least six feet from the foundation, downhill, onto a splash block or into a bed.
4. Screen every opening. Inlet, overflow and any vent. Mosquitoes exploit gaps of a few millimetres.
5. Winterize. Drain fully, disconnect, restore the downspout, and store the barrel upside down or indoors. Water left in a barrel through a hard freeze splits the moulding at the base, and that is the most common way one is destroyed.

What Owners Actually Complain About

The spigot. By a wide margin the most common failure and the most common gripe. Plastic spigots crack at the threads and drip. Replacing one with a brass boiler drain and a fresh washer is a $12 fix worth doing on day one.

It overflowed everywhere. Almost always no overflow hose, or one routed two feet from the wall. See the roof arithmetic above — overflow is normal and expected, and it needs somewhere to go.

Mosquitoes. A gap in the screen, or water standing unused for weeks. Screen properly and use a Bt israelensis dunk.

The spigot is too low to fill a watering can. Universal to the category and entirely fixed by raising the barrel on blocks. Plan for it before you site it.

Cracked over winter. Trapped water. Drain it completely in fall.

Green algae in the water. Light reaching the water. Opaque barrels and a properly closed lid prevent it; clear or translucent containers will always grow algae.

The Verdict

For a barrel that works properly out of the box, the FCMP Outdoor Raincatcher 4000 is what the owner-review record supports most strongly — and swapping its plastic spigot for a brass one is a worthwhile first job. Want the same thing cheaper and are happy sourcing fittings? The RTS ECO. Front garden? The Good Ideas Amphora with its planter top. Big roof section? The 65-gallon Algreen Cascata, on a firm level base. Renting, or facing hard winters? The collapsible VINGLI. And check your state's rules before you cut the downspout. Check price on Amazon →

Next: the full watering and irrigation hub · best rain gauges · how much to water a garden · best drip irrigation kits · how we rank.