The best pillow provides support for the neck, back, and shoulders, ensuring your sleep is as dreamy as possible. Every good mattress needs a good pillow, so if you've already shopped our best mattress guide, you need the best pillow to match. In this guide, we've rounded up pillows to suit every body type and sleep position.
Pillows can be an overlooked part of the sleep setup, but the right pillow can assist in delivery restful and restorative sleep. Our team of sleep experts have combined review experience and data analysis to find the best pillow for every sleep style, budget, and preference, including cooling pillows and adjustable fill pillows.
Our current top pick is the Casper Hybrid Pillow with Snow Technology. This cooling pillow blew away our review panel, earning a scale-breaking 5.5 out of 5 starts for temperature regulation. Below you'll find all our top pillow picks, including the best offers in the Labor Day mattress sales (yes, you can save on pillows in a mattress sale). Read on to discover the best pillow for every sleep need...
The best pillows you can buy today
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Best pillow overall
Our testing panel described the Casper Hybrid Pillow with Snow Technology as “about as close to perfect as a pillow can get”, so it had to be our number one pick. With a versatile support and a cool-to-the-touch cover, the Casper Hybrid Pillow with Snow Technology is an all-round high performer.
This is a hybrid pillow, but don’t expect the springs and coils you’ll find in the best hybrid mattresses. The Casper pillow instead uses a combination of fibers and foams to create a squishy feel that supports the head and neck as you sleep. It doesn’t have the fluffiness of a traditional pillow, but it only takes a small adjustment period to get used to the squidgy support.
However, the USP of the Casper Hybrid Pillow is its use of Snow Technology. Combining AirScape foam with Heat Delete bands, even our hot sleeping tester found the Casper cool all-night long. So much so we had to reward this pillow an unprecedented 5.5 out of 5 for temperature control.
The biggest downside to the Casper Hybrid Pillow is that it lacks an adjustable loft. Dedicated front and back sleepers might find it too high for comfort – the Purple Harmony pillow (#4) is a better choice for multiple heights.
Best adjustable
The Coop Home Goods Original Adjustable Pillow is the best choice for anyone who wants to create a custom pillow without spending much money. It's packed with CertiPUR-US certified, non-toxic memory foam and microfiber, and you can add as much or as little fill as you need to achieve the perfect loft for your sleeping position (an extra half-pound bag of fill is included).
The pillow also has a removable cover made from a naturally cooling, bamboo-derived viscose rayon material called Lulltra. Coop Home Goods recommends this pillow as the best choice for side sleepers because it can be made deep and plump, but because it's adjustable you can tailor it to suit any sleep position. You can also buy it in queen size (20x30") or king size (20x36") to better suit your bed.
In terms of reviews, The Original Coop Home Goods Adjustable Pillow is rated 4.5 out of 5 stars on Amazon, generated from over 48,000 Amazon customer user reviews, and 4.6 out of 5 stars on the brand's own website. Customer praise its ability to hold shape well, though some said the washable cover bobbles after a while.
For added peace of mind, the Coop Home Goods Original Adjustable Pillow comes with a five-year warranty, plus a 100-night trial, so you'll have plenty of time to make sure that this really is the best choice for you.
- Read more: Coop Home Goods Original Pillow review
Best for all positions
If you want to enjoy the plushness of a down pillow but without the allergies and animal-sourced fill, try the Casper Original Sleep Down Alternative Pillow. It's filled with hypoallergenic microfibers that make it as soft as authentic down pillows, but with synthetic materials instead.
Much like its best-selling mattresses, Casper's down alternative pillow is designed for people who shift positions in their sleep (combi sleepers). The soft outer layer and adaptive inner layer work together to keep you comfortable and supported no matter the sleep position you move into. Oh, and both layers can be machine washed and dried, so you can easily keep them in good shape.
Meanwhile, the two-inch gusset on the Casper Original Sleep Down Alternative Pillow simultaneously provides stable neck alignment and keeps the fill evenly distributed. We also like its 100% cotton outer cover, created with a breathable percale weave to help you sleep cool, even in warm weather.
The Casper pillow is rated 4.5 out of 5 stars from over 6,600 Amazon reviews, and a 4 out of 5 star rating on the brand's own website. Satisfied sleepers find it comfortable, and several customers credited it for relieving their neck pain.
Before you buy, check our Casper promo codes page for the latest discounts and offers.
Best pillow for side sleepers
Purple's top-of-the-line Harmony Pillow may not fit the conventional description of the best luxury pillow, but we say it's deserving of the distinction. Like the company's top-rated Purple Mattress, the Purple Harmony pillow features the company's signature Purple Grid to provide tailored support for your head and neck.
At the core of the pillow is ventilated Talalay latex to enhance airflow, and all of that is encased by a moisture-wicking breeze mesh cover. You can choose between three different heights too: low, medium and tall. From our testing, the low is suitable for back and stomach, the medium for side sleepers with smaller frames, and the tall for average to large-framed side sleepers.
Purple customers rate the Harmony pillow at 4.4 out of 5 stars, with more than 8,600 of the 12,200 reviews boasting 5 stars. Customers say it’s cooling and offers an equal amount of plushness and support. If that doesn't sound luxurious, we don't know what does.
- Read more: Purple Harmony Pillow review
Best pillow for hot sleepers
The Casper Foam Pillow with Snow Technology easily achieves its one goal of keeping your head cool while you sleep.
Choose from two sizes: Standard, measuring 16x24 inches, and King, measuring 16x32 inches; the 1.25-inch gusset is the same on each. You don’t have the option of selecting different loft sizes; this truly is a one-size-fits-all purchase. This new pillow from mattress-by-mail pioneer Casper is almost identical to the company’s previous Foam Pillow in shape and general design: A zippered cover conceals three layers of memory foam (both low and high density, regular and viscoelastic polyurethane), which have been dotted with hundreds of perforations to help wick away heat while you sleep. The foam ensures that the pillow both supports your head and neck in any sleep position and that the pillow maintains its shape, all with no fluffing required.
The big difference between the first Foam Pillow and this Snow Technology version is the Snow Technology. This consists of a “cool-touch outer layer,” where the fabric is infused with phase-change material and HeatDelete Bands — or graphite strips positioned between the layers of foam to dial back their natural insulative properties.
If you can overlook the steep $139 price tag, the Casper Foam Pillow offers a generally better cooling than the equivalently priced Purple Harmony Pillow and a firmer, and a more consistent experience than the far less expensive Coop Home Goods Original Pillow.
Best pillow under $30
The Utopia Bedding Gusseted Pillows prove that you don't have to sacrifice quality when buying on a budget. For less than $40 you can bring home a pair of these plush, down alternative pillows stuffed with 950 to 1,250 grams of poly fiber fill. They feature a poly-cotton outer fabric and a two-inch quilted gusset edge in your choice of six different colors.
The Gusseted Pillow duo comes vacuum-sealed and take up to 72 hours to fully expand, which is much longer than other pillows we have tested. However once they fully puff up, they're a far cry from the flattened shape they initially arrive in and hold their shape well night after night.
Utopia Bedding's pillows are best sellers on Amazon, with a 4.5 out of 5 star rating generated from over 70,000 user reviews. Sleepers of all styles praise the support, comfort and longevity they offer. Between the stellar reviews and the affordable price tag, if you want the best pillows for less, the Utopia Bedding Gusseted Pillow Duo should be top of your list.
Best cooling for back and stomach sleepers
Tempur-Pedic pillows are just as supportive as the brand’s popular mattresses and that’s down to the use of its NASA-developed Tempur material. The Tempur Cloud Pillow is contouring and cushioning, so your head will be perfectly cradled.
Because it’s softer than other pillows in our guide, we’d recommend the Cloud as one of the best choices for back and side sleepers. Although do prepare yourself for this not being quite as soft as Tempur says – user reviews back this up too, saying that it’s more soft-medium than extra-soft.
Still, like any good back and stomach sleeper pillow, the Tempur Cloud offers the right loft to support your head without pushing your neck forwards (and out of alignment). It’s designed with a removable and washable cover too, so you can more easily keep it in good condition. Some users did find the cover tricky to remove during the first wash, but after that they reported how it was easier to take off.
Tempur-Pedic recommends the Cloud as one of the best pillows for sleeping well when on holiday too, as it can be compressed and rolled for travel use. In terms of size and fit, it will slip inside a standard or queen size pillow case, so it’s pretty versatile. There are over 4,900 user reviews on the Tempur-Pedic site alone for this pillow, with a rating of 4.5 out of 5 stars.
If you're thinking about purchasing this pillow, make sure to check our Tempur Pedic promo codes to see if we can help you save on the price.
Best pillow for hotel luxury on Amazon
The best-selling pillow on Amazon right now is the Beckham Hotel Collection Gel Pillow. It boasts over 166,000 customer reviews, with over 70,000 of those user reviews rating it a full 5 out of 5 stars. What's so special about the Beckham Hotel Collection pillow? It features a gel fiber fill that feels as plush as genuine down, but at a fraction of the price.
A minor caveat is that you can only buy this pillow in pairs, but you can always reserve the second pillow for a guest room or a replacement down the line if you only sleep on one and it isn't the right pillow for your partner. Another drawback is the lack of a warranty, but a 30-day money-back guarantee still applies.
Given the thick and plush build of the Beckham Hotel Collection gel pillow, we aren't surprised to see that many of its 5-star Amazon reviews come from side sleepers who find it supportive and comfortable. Considering how affordable it is, it holds its shape well, even with regular use.