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Sleep better: take our quick quiz to find the right pillow for your budget (and get a Black Friday deal too)

A woman sleeping in a bed
(Image credit: Shutterstock)

Want to splash out on some new pillows in the Black Friday mattress sales but not sure where to start? Take our quick pillow quiz to find the right ones to help you sleep better.

All you have to do is answer a few questions, and we’ll match you with one of our top-recommended pillows — plus a Black Friday deal to take the price down.

If you have a more complex set of needs (for example, if you experience neck pain), head over to our best pillows guide, where you’ll find some more detailed recommendations. Otherwise, take our quiz and we’ll show you the best pillows based on your dominant sleeping position and budget…

Tom's Guide's Best Pillow award-winners

Bear in mind that the experience of a pillow is subjective. Just as there isn't one, singular best mattress, there also isn’t one pillow that will suit everyone perfectly (we know — we’ve tested enough of them across our team).

The right one for you will depend on a few different factors, including your dominant sleeping position, whether you experience any neck or back pain, how soft or firm you prefer your pillow, and so on.

However, some pillows are just brilliant — like these two, which both picked up awards in the inaugural Tom's Guide Sleep awards this month. Here are two of our top-recommended pillows of 2025...

Coop Original Adjustable Pillow
Best pillow
Save 26%
Coop Original Adjustable Pillow: was $85 now $62.90 at Amazon

This top-class adjustable pillow picked up our Best Pillow award for 2025. We gave the Coop Original a score of 4.5/5 in our Coop Original Adjustable Pillow review: it’s extremely comfortable and supportive in all sleeping positions, and you can add or remove the fill to tailor it to your preferences — an extra half-pound is supplied. Right now, there's a $22 saving on a queen size of at Amazon for Black Friday.

Nest Bedding Easy Breather Pillow for Side Sleepers
Best pillow for side sleepers
Save 25%
Nest Bedding Easy Breather Pillow for Side Sleepers: was $124 now $93 at Nest Bedding

Nest Bedding's Easy Breather bags our Best Pillow for Side Sleepers award this year, thanks to its best-in-class support and comfort. Its ergonomic curved design cradles your head well, and the fact that it’s adjustable makes it a good choice for back and stomach sleepers too — we gave it 4.5/5 in our Nest Bedding Easy Breather review. We often see it on sale for around $107, but with a 25% discount in Nest's Black Friday sale, it's even better value for money than usual.

What's your preferred sleeping position?

Our tester sleeps on her side while testing the Leesa Legend Hybrid Mattress

(Image credit: Future)

One of the biggest factors affecting how comfortable and supportive you’ll find a pillow is the position you sleep in. If you tend to change position a lot, you’ll need a pillow that’s good at adapting to your movement so that it can keep your neck and spine aligned.

“Adjustable pillows in particular are worth checking out, since you can add or remove fill to suit your preferences,” advises Becky George, Tom’s Guide’s resident pillow expert.

Side-sleepers, meanwhile, should look for a taller pillow, ideally around four-six inches. “The most common issue faced by side sleepers,” continues George, “is a stiff neck. This happens when you’re sleeping on a pillow that’s too low, too high or extra firm.”

If you sleep on your back a lot, you’ll need to find the right loft — that is: height. A low loft often works well, helping keep your chin in a neutral position. “Keep away from pillows that are too firm, tall or big, as these can raise your head, misaligning your spine,” George adds.

A low-loft pillow is also a good recommendation for stomach sleepers, she continues, as are contoured pillows. “Chiropractors agree that these will provide better neck support, and, since your head will be resting further forward than your neck, they promote healthy alignment.”

Read more: How to choose the right pillow for your sleep position

Julia Sagar
Content Director, Ecommerce

Julia is Content Director of Ecommerce for mattresses at Tom's Guide. Julia works closely with Claire Davies, our Managing Editor of Sleep, to ensure our sleep and mattress content remains the best you'll find online. Julia was pivotal in expanding mattress content on Tom's Guide when she joined the team nearly five years ago, helping our site to become a serious destination for professional mattress reviews and helpful buyer's guides. During her career to date, Julia has worked across a range of leading consumer tech and lifestyle brands including TechRadar, T3, Marie Claire, Woman & Home, and more. A former editor of design website Creative Bloq, Julia has over 16 years’ experience in online and print journalism, and was part of the team that launched TechRadar.

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