After Testing 43 Pillows, Here Are the 12 Best We Found

For people who sleep in various positions at night, finding the “just-right” pillow can be even more challenging than most. Some people, like my husband, may resort to switching pillows as they move. However, the Tempur-Adapt pillow might be the perfect solution to all your changing sleep-position needs.

Tempur-Pedic has become synonymous with memory foam in mattresses and pillows. Its high-tech, ultra-secret formula provides sleepers with pressure relief when and where they need it most, allowing the body to rest correctly in any position for ideal sleep quality.

For this pillow, Tempur changed things up and made it fully adjustable. Instead of a slab of its patented foam, the company shredded it, letting sleepers to make it as high or as low as they need it.

We had writer Melissa Mitri, RD, test the Tempur-Adapt for a month. Mitri tends to have neck pain when she wakes up, but with this pillow, “I did notice this lessening after a few days.” She liked that it was adjustable and felt “cool to the touch” when she inserted the cooling layer. But that cooling sensation doesn’t last the night, especially with a pillowcase. Still, she plans to continue using this pillow and would recommend it to her friends.

Side sleepers, like me, need extra support at the neck and to keep the pressure off the shoulder by filling the space between the neck and the mattress. But this isn’t always a happy medium to find, since some pillows can be too firm or too soft.

The Purple Freeform Pillow might be the answer to side-sleeper woes. With its patented honeycomb GelFlex outer layer and its MicroFlex Moon Foam, Purple has created a pillow that you can adjust to fit your unique needs as a side sleeper. The foam filling is adjustable to your liking. The pillow also has separate neck-support chambers that ensure there is always enough filling under your neck, and it’s not getting pushed away into the rest of the pillow.

Writer Raki Swanson was tasked with trying the Purple Freeform, and after night one, she never looked back. The gel wrap kept her face cool, and her neck felt “fully supported” from the first night. She's had neck pain in the past, but she didn’t while testing this pillow. Overall, the pillow was “a whole other experience” and “amazing,” she says. She plans to buy more pillows for her family and continue using this one, though she said it is expensive and heavy.

People who sleep mostly on their stomachs may have trouble waking without stiffness and neck pain. It can be hard for a pillow to strike a balance between being soft and supportive enough for stomach sleepers. But we found that the Brooklinen Marlow accomplishes this feat.

Part of this is due to an interesting adjustability feature. The Marlow features zippers on each side that, when opened or closed, can make the pillow firmer or softer. If being able to adjust a pillow without needing to remove filling sounds appealing to you, then you may want to look into the Marlow.

The height seems to be right for a stomach sleeper, says writer Mary Sauer. She says that the Marlow was comfortable “right out of the box,” and she didn’t notice any loss of height over time. She enjoyed the cooling foam, especially during the summer in the Midwest. Sauer has struggled to “find a pillow that balances support and softness,” but “this pillow does just that.” She plans to continue using it, although she doesn’t know if it will hold up over time, since she tested it for only a couple of weeks.

A back sleeper usually needs a pillow that keeps their head elevated and their spinal column in a neutral position. Anything too high can result in a sore neck; anything too low might lead to a headache and shoulder stiffness.

The Purple Harmony Pillow — with its three loft heights (tall, medium, low) and its patented latex core — can give back sleepers all the support they need without having to stack pillows, which can lead to spinal misalignment and discomfort.

We had writer Sadie Crouch try out the Harmony. She says it “retains its shape and bounce.” And although the company doesn’t expressly indicate that this pillow helps relieve the symptoms of TMJ, the “instant pressure relief and support for the head and neck” seemed to do just that for Crouch. The honeycomb gel on both sides kept her comfortable and cool, and “had me feeling like my head was truly floating in the middle of the pillow.” Crouch’s neck and jaw were relaxed through the night.

Although she’s never bought a pillow this expensive, she says she would purchase the Harmony again, knowing how well it works and how high-quality it is. She plans to keep using it beyond her testing period.

Memory foam has become a popular alternative fill in mattresses and pillows due to its propensity to both support and contour. It also offers pressure relief of the head, neck, joints, and spine.

The Tuft & Needle Original Foam Pillow is our choice for best foam pillow. It not only offers pressure relief, but it also wicks moisture and heat away from your body and disburses it through the foam. This helps keep you sleeping cooler and more comfortable all night.

Writer Brittany Vargas gave the Tuft & Needle Original Foam Pillow a try. She is a side and stomach sleeper who  moves around quite a bit while she sleeps. She appreciated the way this pillow molded to her body, “so I don't feel like I'm straining my head or neck in any way.”

Vargas also grinds her teeth, but she found that this pillow seemed to help reduce that tendency. She says it kept her spine in a more-neutral position and relieved overall tension in her upper body, neck, and head. “I found that I woke up with less jaw clenching and soreness when sleeping with this pillow,” she says. She had nothing negative to say about the product and plans to continue using it. 

Many people claim to get a great night’s sleep when in a hotel bed. While some of that is due to the mattress (and perhaps being away from the demands of home), the pillow may play some role in those extra-restful winks.

We found that the Brooklinen Down Pillow replicates that comfy hotel-pillow feel right at home. Its use of Canadian down clusters and feathers helps make it soft enough to sink into as well as luxurious.

“The pillow is fluffy,” says writer Carrie Murphy, who was tasked with testing it. Murphy is a combination sleeper, so having something flexible is more important. The pillow comes in either plush, mid-plush, or firm. Murphy tested the plush since she is a stomach and side sleeper.

“It feels expensive and high-quality right out of the box,” she says, comparing it to something from a “fancy hotel.” She fluffed the pillow at least once a week, but it didn’t seem to be a problem for her. It’s “not the coolest pillow or necessarily right for someone who needs or wants a cooling pillow,” she says. But for her, temperature wasn’t a problem. She plans on continuing to use it.

Latex pillows are in demand, in part because of their durability and high support properties. They’re also popular with people who have allergies to down or other fill materials, as most latex pillows are hypoallergenic.

Springy and adaptive, we found the Saatva Latex Pillow allows users to move around and remain supported rather than sinking in, like with some foam or feather options. It’s also denser than down or down alternatives. With all of this in mind, we chose the Saatva Latex Pillow as the best latex pillow. Available in standard loft of roughly 4 to 5 inches (in) high for stomach sleepers, or a high loft of 6 to 7 in for side and combination sleepers, the product aims to please everyone.

We asked writer Grace Gallagher for her thoughts after testing the Saatva Latex pillow. She tried the standard loft and “found it to be very luxe and comfortable.” It wasn’t as firm as she likes her pillows, but she did appreciate how responsive it was and how “it doesn't go flat like other soft (cheaper) pillows I've used.” If this pillow was in a hotel, “I could see myself asking what brand it was.”

While billed as a “reading” pillow, the Company Essentials Feather-and-Down Reading Wedge Pillow Insert is our choice for the best wedge option because of its versatility.

“On my back, it worked very well,” Mitri says. Her head molded well, and it was especially comfortable, as this is her preferred sleep position. There was no adjustment period, as it was cushy and comfy right away. Still, Mitri says that it isn’t super-soft without a pillowcase and is not a cooling pillow. Although she would have preferred a larger size, she liked the wedge and would “probably still use it for sleeping, as it was fairly comfortable and a good height for me.”

Improper neck position is one reason that you might wake up stiff and sore in the morning. Pillows that are too high and those that don’t provide enough support can often contribute to pain that typically stays with you far too long.

The Purple DreamLayer Pillow can help relieve neck pain and increase the amount of sleep you get every night. With its patented honeycomb GelFlex grid and its MicroAir Foam to conform and cradle your head, neck, and shoulders, the DreamLayer is a great option for those looking to ease pain while sleeping.

While it doesn’t cool, exactly, it does help disperse the heat from collecting on the surface of the pillow, helping you sleep less hot. Aside from the comfort and support, editor Olivia Campbell appreciated how the pillow “comes with two removable layers,” and she was “pleased this wasn’t a shredded foam mess.” These “booster” layers come out and can be added back in to customize the feel and loft size.

Campbell continues to use the pillow. “I didn't know it was possible for a pillow to make you sleep deeper, but I did. It was absolutely amazing,” she says.

Some people sleep hotter than others. This is due to a range of factors in the sleeping environment and the person. Waking in a pool of sweat on the pillow is not uncommon for those going through perimenopause and menopause hot flashes, so finding a cooling pillow that stays cool may be a priority.

The Tempur-Breeze ProLo Pillow takes the spot in our list. Its cover stays cool through the night. While the area under your head may start to heat up, every other area of the pillow is perfectly chill, making it easy to slide to a cooler spot.

Writer Ashley Ziegler gave this pillow a try and says it’s super-comfortable. “It truly molds to my neck, and I can adjust the positioning to get my ‘just right snuggle’ position without sacrificing the comfort of the pillow,” she says. She didn’t love the off-gassing that took a day or two to dissipate after she opened the pillow. Regardless, it was comfortable immediately.

Ziegler says she wouldn’t normally consider paying such a high price for a pillow, but now that she has tried it, she is considering getting one for her husband.

The Coop Cool+ Body Pillow is the best option we found for all the health benefits and the properties to also keep you cool. “I’ve tried out many cooling pillows, and this is the coldest to the touch I’ve ever found,” Campbell says. It’s coldest without a cover, but even with a case, the coolness comes through.

While the pillow is adjustable, Campbell felt it was “sparsely filled already, so personally, I'd only want to add more filling, not subtract.” But as for function, she found it “incredibly cool to the touch,” and felt it “alleviates shoulder and hip pain from sleeping without a side pillow supporting proper alignment.”

The body pillow’s biggest con is its size. If there are two adults in a queen- or full-size bed, it can be a little too cramped to use. (Though it is a standard body pillow size.) The support it offers seems to be worth it for those who can make it work, especially if folded.

Pregnancy can be hard on a body, especially the hips and legs. As the months go on and the baby grows, so does the discomfort, especially at night.

Writer Caitlin Beale, RDN, tried the Original Adjustable Body Pillow and gave it high praise all around. She liked its soft texture and says it “was comfortable from the get-go.” Although she didn’t need to remove any of the filling, she did unzip the case to check it out, and she believes “it appears really easy to remove fill if you want to.” This adjustability is great for pregnant people who need to shift or remove filling as their pregnancy progresses.

She also appreciated the pressure-relieving nature of the pillow. “I sometimes notice shoulder pain if I sleep hard on my side and didn't notice it on the days I used the pillow,” she says. Beale sees the value of the body pillow, and plans to use it “if my shoulders, hips, or back are feeling tight.”