5 Best Drywall Tapes in 2024: Reviews & Top Picks

Drywalling can be one of the most satisfying sides of home repair, but the wrong equipment can make mudding a never-ending headache. A decent experience often begins and ends with high-quality tape. If you can lay it tight to the wall, you’ll enjoy a long-lasting installation and a beautifully smooth surface.

Drywall tape should be sturdy and as thin as possible to make the mudding process easier. It can be hard to figure out which will give you the best value with so many low-priced options on the market.

To find the right roll for your project, check out our reviews of the best drywall tapes this year.

A Quick Look at Our Favorites of 2024

Rating	Image	Product	Details
Best Overall		FibaFuse Paperless Drywall Tape	Mold-resistant Open fiber design prevents blisters Superior crack resistance	CHECK PRICE
Best Value		USG Drywall Joint Tape	Relatively low price Holds crease well for corner taping Versatile for butt and corner joints	CHECK PRICE
Premium Choice		IPG Drywall Joint Tape	Cross fiber construction improves strength More resistant to wrinkling, bunching, and bending	CHECK PRICE
		FibaTape Ultra-Thin Joint Tape	33% lower profile for a flatter finish Open mesh prevents blisters 50% more intersections for added strength	CHECK PRICE
		Red Devil Fiber Mesh Crack Patch	Easy to cut to fit various drywall holes and cracks Mold-resistant and usable inside and outside Self-adhesive back does not require an initial mud layer	CHECK PRICE

The 5 Best Drywall Tapes

1. FibaFuse Paperless Drywall Tape – Best Overall

As usable on joints as on corners, plain paper is the most versatile of any drywall tape. When you are a novice, it is also arguably the most challenging material to use in any application due to its tendency to rip, bubble, and bend.

FibaFuse solves many of these problems through its FibaFuse paperless drywall tape. The glass mat construction offers the same versatility on butt joints and corners as paper tape but in a more open mesh. A joint compound can bond more readily with it, resulting in fewer blisters and a stronger hold.

The innovative material offers several performance benefits over the paper tape, providing up to 76% stronger crack resistance while being 62% lighter. It’s easier to work with than paper tape and more durable in a broader range of applications, making it the clear choice as the best overall drywall tape in 2022.

2. USG Drywall Joint Tape – Best Value

With few frills worth mentioning, USG’s Drywall Joint tape is simply a quality paper option at an excellent price from the brand that wrote the book on drywall. If you have an extensive project, the 500-foot roll is the best drywall tape for the money. It may need more care than FibaFuse or mesh tape when vying for a bubble-free finish, but if you’re skilled with a knife, it’s one of the best all-purpose tapes to have on hand.

3. IPG Drywall Joint Tape – Premium Choice

It may look like your everyday paper, but IPG’s drywall joint tape offers ever-so-slight design elements to facilitate clean seams on butt joints and corners. The cross-fiber design makes it more durable than typical paper tapes without sacrificing the bendability that makes corner taping much easier. Overall, it offers better crack resistance and cleaner lines alongside the few essential benefits of standard paper.

4. FibaTape Ultra-Thin Joint Tape

Keeping a low profile is one of the challenges of taping non-tapered butt joints along vertical seams. If you’re tired of using ever-widening stretches of mud to yield a bump-less surface, FibaTape Ultra-Thin Joint Tape is worth your attention.

The tape is mold-resistant and blister-free, like any fiberglass mesh tape, but features a 33% lower profile. It gets closer to the wall while providing a superior hold, meaning you can use less mud to achieve a flat finish without compromising longevity.

5. Red Devil Fiber Mesh Crack Patch

Even if you don’t install drywall, having patching supplies on hand is a wise move for any homeowner. Drywall patch kits offer everything you need for random holes and cracks, but investing in a tape roll will set you up for all future repairs at a fraction of the cost.

The two-inch mesh tape you use on joints won’t cut it for most patches. Instead, opt for Red Devil’s 6-inch-wide 75-foot roll when you need to fix drywall damage. The self-adhesive mesh is easy to use and cut to size, giving you a one-size-fits-all solution for repairs inside and outdoors.

Buyer’s Guide: How to Pick the Best Drywall Tape

Types of Drywall Tape

The two main types of drywall tape are paper and fiberglass mesh. Paper is ideal for butt joints and inside corners. Because it lacks a crease and can easily rip, mesh tape isn’t as practical for corners, but it is the easiest and fastest option for butt joints.

Paper Tape

Paper tape is the most versatile as it features a crease down the middle, meaning you can bend it to tape smooth inside corners or leave it flat for butt joints.

Although it’s cost-effective and flexible, paper tape has a few notable drawbacks. Creating a closed seal against the wall requires complete coverage with a joint compound for a flawless finish. If you don’t give it enough coverage, you risk air bubbles popping up under the tape, which will create a considerable eyesore when the light catches it just right.

Mesh Tape

Mesh tape is an easy-to-use alternative to paper that uses an open fiberglass weave. The lack of cellulose reduces the risk of mold, while the pores between fibers allow the joint compound to form a stronger bond with the tape and prevent bubbles. Nearly all mesh tape options are also self-adhesive, so you don’t need to lay down a layer of mud to hold it, as you would with paper tape.

Corner Beads

A corner bead is a long strip of paper, often sold in 8-foot and 10-foot lengths, with a 90-degree crease down the center, perfect for fitting along wall corners. It holds its form with a rigid metal strip on the inside of the crease. The rigidity provides a smooth, hard edge for outside turns.

You can easily cut corner beads down to size to fit in place from the floor to the ceiling, ensuring a flawlessly straight line along the corner. Interior beads are also available, featuring a metal support strip on the outside of the crease.

Corner Drywall Tape

A roll of corner drywall tape makes it much simpler to drywall interior corners. Getting a smooth, straight line with standard paper tape is a challenge. But thanks to rigid metal strips that run parallel to one another down either side of the crease, corner drywall tape does most of the work to keep it looking clean.

Because the metal strips don’t connect at the crease like corner beads, you can bend corner drywall tape to fit any angle, whether flat or over 90 degrees. Although you can technically use it flat along butt joints, the metal backing adds to the thickness, causing it to jut out more. You may be able to cover it up over tapered seams, but it is woefully impractical for vertical joints.

Conclusion

FibaFuse offers all of the benefits of the best drywall paper tapes with none of the downsides. It’s easy to cut, versatile, mold-resistant, and bubble-free, making it the practical choice for both professionals and inexperienced DIYers vying for incredible results.

Whether it’s the value-laden USG paper tape or the ultra-thin FibaTape for butt joints, these reviews feature the best drywall tapes for most situations. No matter which brand you choose, starting with an understanding of the right type of tape for each application will be critical in saving time and effort on your next drywall project.