We Tried The Top-Rated Trunk Organizers: Which Is Best For Keeping Your Car Neat?

Cars are more than just a means of transportation for some people — it could be an extension of their personality, home, or even family. Because of that, many people tend to keep a lot of stuff in their vehicles, either in the back seats, cargo compartment, or trunk. While you can easily drop a bag or two in these places, it might be harder to keep track of things if you have smaller items.

That's why one of the most important things every car owner should keep in their trunk is a car organizer. This small box will help keep your stuff together, leading to a neater back seat. If you keep all your stuff in here, you could also say goodbye to spending a lot of time looking for stuff you placed in the back and has since rolled somewhere.

Of course, there are a ton of trunk organizer options out there, so we're picking three top-rated options that are under $20. We'll check out these items and see how they could carry my everyday stuff, how I could secure them to my car, and how easy they're easy to transport from my car to my home.

We'll start with our smallest option today — the K Knodel Car Trunk Organizer. This small polyester box has two main compartments that measure around 11 x 9 inches each and is about 7 inches deep and four small net pockets. This box is $11.99 at the time of writing, making it pretty affordable.

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This trunk organizer's side walls with handles are made of a sturdy material to hold its shape, and it has base plates that provide support. Unfortunately, I'm unsure if the material under the polyester layer is cardboard or plastic, so I can't guarantee its water resistance.

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If you're not using the K Knodel, you can easily lift the base plate from the center divider, allowing it to fold into the outer walls. That way, you could fold up the organizer to save space when needed. It also has a garter belt to keep it secure.

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As for my stuff, the K Knodel could carry two neck pillows, my wife's everyday carry bag, and a paper bag containing some items I bought. I still have extra space for a few small items with the net pockets, so I placed a towel and USB charging cable in a plastic bag to two of them. The handles also make them simple to slide out of the car and carry.

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The organizer also has two Velcro strips on the underside, securing it to my car's carpet. While these strips prevent it from sliding around, it can also be inconvenient as it has the tendency to bring the carpet with it when I'm lifting the organizer off the floor. Thankfully, I usually keep it on the leather back seats or in my trunk, which has a leather mat, so it's not really a problem for me.

Although this trunk organizer still has two main pockets, the Simple Deluxe Car Trunk Organizer is a bit larger, allowing me to pile in more stuff. The main compartment measures about 11 x 13 inches and around 9 inches deep. It trades the four small net pockets on the side with deeper nylon pockets, while one outer wall gets a large net compartment. Despite its larger size, this organizer is cheaper at $9.89.

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Like the K Knodel trunk organizer, this Simple Deluxe box has side walls and base plates made of a stiff material for support. You can also lift the base plates so you can fold up the box when unneeded, but it's still connected at the base of the outer side walls, so you don't lose them. It also uses a simple side belt to keep the trunk organizer folded when not in use.

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Since this box is larger, I could fit everything that I put in the K Knodel Car Trunk Organizer, plus throw in a few more items. I added a tissue roll, a Bible, and some documents, so I don't need to take multiple trips when taking out these items from the car.

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It also uses Velcro strips to secure the organizer and prevent it from sliding around, which means the same problems for me when I put it directly on my car's carpet. On the other hand, I love that it comes in red, allowing me to have other color options.

The Starling's Car Trunk Organizer is the largest option that I tested, and it's also the most expensive. Just like the others, it has two compartments, but these measure 15 x 10 inches each and are 10.5 inches deep. More than that, you get four deep net pockets and two side pockets with flaps. However, all these features come at a price — this organizer costs $19.99, almost double the price of the other two items.

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Just like the others, its side walls and base plates are made of a stiff material. However, the base plate is clearly made from plastic, so you're guaranteed that moisture won't ruin the box. Aside from that, it also includes an extra divider to help you keep things organized.

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This organizer folds to save space, but instead of using a single garter belt strap to hold both compartments when folded, it comes with plastic Delrin Buckles for partial folding. So, if you only need one compartment, you can still use it without taking up a lot of space.

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Because of its massive size, I could place all my items in it — the two neck pillows, Bible, and tissue roll are placed in one compartment with the divider separating them. I then placed my wife's bag and the small paper bag in the other compartment, but since I still have some space, it accommodated my camera bag, too.

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The trunk organizer comes with securing straps, so I hooked it to the back seat headrests. That way, it doesn't fly off the seat in case of emergency maneuvers. It also has a couple of plastic feet on the bottom that helps it stay secure but still easy to move around.

All the car organizers we looked at are great options, but you have to consider your car's size and what you need when choosing one. Personally, I prefer the Starling's Car Trunk Organizer since I have a compact SUV with lots of space, and my wife and I carry a lot of stuff together whenever we travel.

If you have a smaller car, like a sub-compact SUV or hatchback, you might want to get the smaller option. That way, you don't use up a lot of space when carrying your stuff, especially if you're putting in several bags in the trunk, too.

Alternatively, if you're a family of four with two small kids, I'd recommend going even bigger (or maybe buying two organizers instead). Kids often have a lot of stuff, and putting everything everyone needs in one or two boxes will make loading and unloading your car much easier. I will also add a car trunk organizer to the must-have accessories that will make long road trips much easier for everyone, especially if you pair these items with some other budget-friendly interior car accessories you can find on Amazon.