The deciding specification is the drain outlet, and only the three plumbed picks publish one at all.
By the Lush Editorial Team·Researched & Compared
I compared outlet sizes, rim diameters, hole apertures, materials, stoppers and warranties across five kitchen sink strainers, using only what each maker states on its own listing.
A basket with the full drain assembly behind it, stated for sinks with a standard 3-5/8 inch outlet drain, with a lock nut included for installation, in stainless steel meant for stainless steel sinks, at 0.72 pounds.
A complete 3-1/2 inch kit fitting openings from 3.23 to 4.45 inches and standing 3.85 inches tall, in 304 stainless with a plastic nut the listing explains, installed without tools, with a sealing lid stopper and a 2 year guarantee.
The only pick publishing an aperture, 1 mm, across a 304 stainless mesh with a 2.75 inch micro-perforated bowl inside a 4.5 inch rim at 1.4 inches high, two to a pack, dishwasher safe, with 365 days of assurance.
A soft silicone basket in a stainless steel rim that inverts so the scraps fall out, stated not to scratch the sink the way a metal basket can, dishwasher safe, at 0.15 pounds with fields of 4.5 by 4.5 by 1.5 inches.
A basket with an open and close stopper for 3-1/2 inch or 4 inch outlets, sold separately to pair with the K-8804 Duostrainer body, so it is half of a drain rather than a whole one, at 0.07 pounds.
| Model | Brand | Size (Capacity) | Weight | Best For |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Moen Kitchen Sink Strainer Basket with Drain Assembl... | Moen | 1 Count (Pack of 1) | 0.72 lb | Best for a standard stainless sink drain |
| 3-1/2 Inch Sink Drain Assembly Kit | KONE | not published | 0.6 lb | Best for replacing the drain yourself |
| Mesh Sink Strainer Set of 2 | MSY BIGSUNNY | 4.5"+4.5" | 0.2 lb | Best for catching rice and coffee grounds |
| OXO Good Grips Silicone Sink Drain Strainer | OXO | Sink Strainer | 0.15 lb | Best for tipping out without touching |
| KOHLER K8803-CP Duostrainer Sink Strainer Basket | Kohler | not published | 0.07 lb | Best for a Duostrainer body already fitted |
A basket with the full drain assembly behind it, stated for sinks with a standard 3-5/8 inch outlet drain, with a lock nut included for installation, in stainless steel meant for stainless steel sinks, at 0.72 pounds.
A complete 3-1/2 inch kit fitting openings from 3.23 to 4.45 inches and standing 3.85 inches tall, in 304 stainless with a plastic nut the listing explains, installed without tools, with a sealing lid stopper and a 2 year guarantee.
The only pick publishing an aperture, 1 mm, across a 304 stainless mesh with a 2.75 inch micro-perforated bowl inside a 4.5 inch rim at 1.4 inches high, two to a pack, dishwasher safe, with 365 days of assurance.
A soft silicone basket in a stainless steel rim that inverts so the scraps fall out, stated not to scratch the sink the way a metal basket can, dishwasher safe, at 0.15 pounds with fields of 4.5 by 4.5 by 1.5 inches.
A basket with an open and close stopper for 3-1/2 inch or 4 inch outlets, sold separately to pair with the K-8804 Duostrainer body, so it is half of a drain rather than a whole one, at 0.07 pounds.
Moen states a 3-5/8 inch standard outlet and includes a lock nut with the full assembly. KONE is a 3-1/2 inch kit fitting 3.23 to 4.45 inch openings, in 304 stainless with a plastic nut it explains, and cannot go on a disposal. MSY BIGSUNNY publishes the only aperture here, 1 mm. OXO inverts to tip out the scraps without scratching the sink. Kohler needs a separate Duostrainer body.
“Two of these drop in. Three of them need plumbing.”
Lush Food & Drink
It depends on whether your existing drain works. OXO and MSY BIGSUNNY are baskets you place in the hole you already have, with nothing to unscrew. Moen and KONE are complete assemblies that replace the drain, including a lock nut in Moen's case and a full kit in KONE's. Kohler sits between the two: it is a basket and stopper that needs the separate K-8804 Duostrainer body already fitted in the sink.
Three of the five say. Moen states a standard 3-5/8 inch outlet drain. KONE states a 3-1/2 inch nominal size and, usefully, a fitting range of 3.23 to 4.45 inches, and asks you to measure first. Kohler states 3-1/2 inch or 4 inch outlets. OXO and MSY BIGSUNNY publish no outlet size at all, because a drop in basket sits on the rim rather than into the thread.
Because they measure different things. A rim diameter is the flange that rests on the sink surface around the hole, which is why MSY BIGSUNNY's 4.5 inches and OXO's 4.5 inch field are larger than any outlet on this page. An outlet size is the hole itself. Matching a strainer to a sink means knowing both numbers, and no single listing in this pool publishes both.
MSY BIGSUNNY is the only pick that lets you judge, publishing 1 mm holes across a 304 stainless mesh with a 2.75 inch perforated bowl. A 2 pack excluded from this page published 2 mm, and that doubling is exactly the line between holding fine grounds and passing them. Moen, OXO and Kohler publish no aperture at all, so on those three the answer has to be found by using them.
Only one listing addresses it and the answer is no. KONE states plainly that its removable deep basket cannot be connected to a garbage disposal, which is worth knowing before you unscrew anything. The excluded 2 pack said the opposite, describing itself as ideal for sink drains and garbage disposals. Moen, OXO, MSY BIGSUNNY and Kohler say nothing either way, and silence on a plumbed part is not permission.
Two, and they are not the brands you would guess. KONE offers 2 years from the order date and says it takes responsibility for all its products. MSY BIGSUNNY offers 365 days of quality assurance. Moen, OXO and Kohler publish no period at all: Moen leans on being an authentic Moen part, and Kohler on naming the Duostrainer system its basket belongs to. On this page specification and brand run in opposite directions.
Specifications come from the manufacturers' own published listings. Lush Food & Drink may earn a commission if you buy through a link on this page, at no extra cost to you. How we research.
Seven products came back and two are gone. One is a 6 quart collapsible colander with a 13 by 9 inch basket and handles that extend from 14 to 21 inches: it rests over the sink rather than sitting in the drain, which is a different tool entirely. The other is a 2 pack basket strainer whose bullets are word for word identical to the MSY BIGSUNNY set below, phrase for phrase across three of five bullets, with one real difference: 2 mm holes against 1 mm.
The five that remain do two different jobs. OXO and MSY BIGSUNNY drop into a drain that already exists. Moen, KONE and Kohler are drain hardware: two complete assemblies and one basket that needs a body already fitted. The deciding figure is therefore the outlet size, and only the three hardware listings publish one.
| Specification | Moen | KONE | MSY BIGSUNNY | OXO | Kohler |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| What it actually is | A basket with a full drain assembly | A complete drain kit with a sealing stopper | Two drop in mesh baskets | One drop in silicone basket | A basket and stopper for a body you already own |
| Drain outlet size stated | 3-5/8 in standard outlet | 3-1/2 in, fitting openings of 3.23 to 4.45 in | not published | not published | 3-1/2 in or 4 in |
| Rim diameter | Fields give 4.62 in | Fields give 4.0 in | 4.5 in, stated | Fields give 4.5 in | Fields give 3.5 in |
| Basket figures published | not published | 3.85 in of total height | A 2.75 in bowl area, 1.4 in high | not published | not published |
| Hole size stated | not published | not published | 1 mm | not published | not published |
| Material stated | Stainless steel, for stainless steel sinks | 304 stainless with a plastic nut, brushed nickel finish | 304 stainless steel mesh | Silicone basket with a stainless steel rim | Polished chrome |
| Stopper function | A drain plug | A sealing lid stopper | not published | Acts as a stopper | An open and close stopper |
| Fitting parts included | A lock nut | The full kit, no tools needed | None, they drop in | None, it drops in | None, a K-8804 body is separate |
| Garbage disposal addressed | not published | Yes, it states it cannot be connected | not published | not published | not published |
| Dishwasher stated | not published | not published | Yes | Yes | not published |
| Scratching addressed | not published | not published | not published | Yes, the flexible basket will not scratch | not published |
| Emptying addressed | not published | The deep basket is removable | not published | Yes, the basket inverts | The basket is removable |
| Warranty stated | not published | 2 years from the order date | 365 days of quality assurance | not published | not published |
| Published weight | 0.72 lb | 0.6 lb | 0.2 lb, for two | 0.15 lb | 0.07 lb |
| Dimension fields | 4.62 by 4.62 by 3.06 in | 4.0 by 4.0 by 4.0 in | Nulled, a multipack carton | 4.5 by 4.5 by 1.5 in | 3.5 by 3.5 by 0.88 in |
| Complete on its own | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | No |
| Model number published | Yes | not published | not published | not published | Yes, with the matching body part |
What the table cannot reconcile is rim diameter against outlet size, because they are different measurements. A 4.5 inch rim sits on the sink surface around the hole. A 3-1/2 inch outlet is the hole itself. So MSY BIGSUNNY’s stated 4.5 inches and Kohler’s stated 3-1/2 inches are not competing figures, and matching a basket to a drain means knowing both, which no single listing here publishes.
OXO and MSY BIGSUNNY are catchers. You put them in the drain you already have, you lift them out full, and nothing is unscrewed. Neither publishes an outlet size because neither needs one: what matters is that the rim is larger than the hole, and both are around 4.5 inches across.
Moen and KONE replace the drain itself. Moen includes a lock nut and states it fits sinks with a standard 3-5/8 inch outlet drain. KONE is a full 3-1/2 inch assembly kit that fits openings from 3.23 to 4.45 inches, stands 3.85 inches tall, and says installation needs no tools and no plumber. Those two change your sink; the other two sit in it.
Kohler’s Duostrainer basket is the odd one here and its listing is honest about it: three bullets, one of which says the part is offered separately to mix and match finishes with the K-8804 Duostrainer body. Buy this alone and you have a basket and stopper with nothing to seat them in.
That is why it publishes 0.07 pounds, the lightest figure on this page by some way, and fields of 3.5 by 3.5 by 0.88 inches: it is a lid and a cup, not an assembly. It also covers two outlet sizes rather than one, 3-1/2 inch or 4 inch, because the body does the fitting rather than the basket.
MSY BIGSUNNY is the only pick publishing a hole size: 1 mm across a 304 stainless mesh, with a 2.75 inch micro-perforated bowl area inside a 4.5 inch rim, standing 1.4 inches high. That is enough detail to know it will stop rice and coffee grounds, which is the thing a sink strainer is usually bought for.
The excluded 2 pack was the only other listing with a figure, at 2 mm, and the difference between 1 mm and 2 mm is precisely the difference between catching grounds and passing them. Moen, OXO and Kohler publish no aperture at all, so on three of the five what gets through is unknown.
OXO builds its whole listing around this. Its basket is soft silicone that inverts, so the scraps come out without being picked at, and the same flexibility is offered as the reason it will not scratch the sink the way a metal basket can. It is also stated dishwasher safe, as is the MSY BIGSUNNY set.
KONE and Kohler both say the basket is removable, which is the same idea without the inversion. Moen says nothing about emptying, nothing about a dishwasher and nothing about scratching, which for a drop in basket would matter more than it does for a plumbed assembly.
KONE is 304 stainless steel except for the nut, and its listing gives the reason in brackets: a metal nut will corrode and bond itself to the strainer. That is a design decision explained rather than hidden, and it is the most useful sentence in this pool because a seized nut is what makes replacing a drain a job for a plumber.
It also states outright that it cannot be connected to a garbage disposal, which is the single most common fitting mistake with a deep basket assembly. Moen states its part is meant for stainless steel sinks and includes a lock nut. Kohler names a finish, polished chrome, and no material for the basket itself.
KONE offers 2 years from the order date and takes responsibility for all its products in writing. MSY BIGSUNNY offers 365 days of quality assurance. OXO, Moen and Kohler publish no period at all, though Moen leans on being an authentic Moen part and Kohler on being a Kohler component of a named system.
That split is worth noting because the two brands with the strongest reputations here publish the least, while the two unbranded listings publish a period, a material grade and, in one case, a hole size. On this page the specification and the name run in opposite directions.
A stainless sink with a standard drain. Moen states a 3-5/8 inch outlet, includes a lock nut, and is a basket with the full drain assembly behind it at 0.72 pounds, the heaviest of the five. It publishes no hole size, no dishwasher statement and no warranty.
Replacing the drain without calling anyone. KONE is a 3-1/2 inch kit fitting openings from 3.23 to 4.45 inches, 3.85 inches tall, in 304 stainless with a plastic nut it explains, no tools needed, a sealing lid stopper and a 2 year guarantee. It cannot go on a garbage disposal.
Coffee grounds and rice. MSY BIGSUNNY publishes the only aperture on this page, 1 mm, in 304 stainless mesh with a 2.75 inch bowl inside a 4.5 inch rim at 1.4 inches high, two to a pack, dishwasher safe, with 365 days of assurance behind it.
A sink you do not want scratched. OXO is a soft silicone basket in a stainless steel rim that inverts to tip the scraps out, stated dishwasher safe, at 0.15 pounds with fields of 4.5 by 4.5 by 1.5 inches. It publishes no hole size and no warranty.
A Duostrainer body already in the sink. Kohler’s basket has an open and close stopper and suits 3-1/2 inch or 4 inch outlets, but it is sold to pair with the separate K-8804 body. At 0.07 pounds it is the lightest of the five because it is not a whole drain.
Every figure above comes from the makers’ own listings. These are the things we went looking for and could not source.
