Purple Harmony Pillow review 2021

The Purple Harmony Pillow may not fit the conventional description of a luxury sleep pillow, with its mesh outer cover and high-tech interior, but it's plush (and pricey) enough to earn that distinction from us. It's been getting rave reviews for some time now, so we thought we'd put the Purple Harmony through its paces to see if it genuinely is one of the best pillows you can buy.

After spending the recommended 30 days snoozing with it, we're here to share our thoughts on whether its performance is as premium as its price. Given Purple's excellent history of making top-rated sleep products, including one of the best mattresses for cooler sleep, we have high hopes for the Harmony.

In our Purple Harmony Pillow review we look at what it's made of, how much it costs, how it feels to sleep on, and, crucially, what we didn't like about it. Hopefully this will help you figure out whether it's the right choice for you, or whether you need to keep looking.

What is the Purple Harmony pillow?

• Available in standard or king size, plus three loft options
• Features Purple's signature Purple Grid Hex plus a latex core
• No need to wait for it to expand – sleep on it right away

The Purple Harmony Pillow was first released in 2019 and is now the brand's most expensive sleep pillow. For comparison, the Purple Plush Pillow (the cheapest) is priced from $49, the newer TwinCloud Pillow costs from $89, and the Purple Pillow costs $109. Take a look at our Purple promo codes page for the latest discounts and offers. 

So the Harmony is over $100 more expensive than the entry-level Purple pillow. It's medium-soft and comes in two sizes (standard or king), plus three different loft options to accommodate different sleep styles and body types:

Low (5.5 inches) – For stomach or back sleepers with small to medium frames
Medium (6.5 inches) – For side or combo sleepers with medium to large frames
Tall (7.5 inches) – For side or combo sleepers with extra large frames

The Purple Harmony Pillow comes wrapped in plastic, but it isn't vacuum sealed so you won't have to wait for it to expand. That mean's you can sleep on it right away, if you want to (which you will). 

The outer cover of the Purple Harmony Pillow is a stretchy, moisture-wicking mesh material that's machine washable. The inner core is made of soft and adaptable Talalay latex. Surrounding that is Purple's signature Purple Grid Hex, a gel-like material with 2,000 open channels to promote better airflow. 

Purple also talks about how the aptly-named Harmony is non-toxic and hypoallergenic, though if you're specifically after an organic model, we'd recommend something like the Avocado Green Pillow instead. 

Purple Harmony Pillow: Price and warranty

• Comes with a 100-night trial and a 1-year warranty
• Purple recommends a 30-day adjustment period
• Find occasional deals direct from Purple

The Purple Harmony Pillow is available to buy direct from the brand, but you can also find it for sale at retailers such as Amazon and The Sharper Image. The MSRP is $159 for the standard version and $199 for the king size. Depending on which Purple mattress deals are live, you can usually get a discount on that listing price. Last year we also saw the Harmony included in the Black Friday mattress deals. 

While the Harmony Pillow comes on a 100-night trial, Purple recommends giving your body 30 days to adjust to it. If after this time you're not satisfied, Purple will exchange the pillow for a full refund, provided it is clean and undamaged. 

In addition to the sleep trial, the Purple Harmony Pillow is covered by a 1-year limited warranty. Keep in mind that if you need to replace it at some point, the warranty period will not restart with your new pillow. Coop Home Goods offers a 5-year warranty. If that sounds more appealing to you, read our Coop Home Goods Original Pillow review for an affordable adjustable pillow with great coverage.

Purple Harmony Pillow: performance

• No obvious off-gassing smell
• Jiggly, yet firm – and deceivingly heavy
• After one month it's largely maintained its shape

We heeded Purple's advice and slept with the Purple Harmony Pillow for 30 days. The brand always recommends a minimum trial period for its main sleep products, including its mattress in a box range (read our Purple Mattress review for more info). Since this reviewer is a side sleeper of medium build who is prone to tossing and turning, we slept on the standard-size pillow with medium (6.5-inch) loft.

After coming from the Coop Home Goods Original pillow, which took us some time to adjust before actually sleeping on it, the Purple Harmony Pillow was much simpler to set up. Once the plastic wrap was removed, we had in our hands a pillow that reminded us of flan – jiggly, yet somewhat firm (and also quite heavy at just over 4lbs). Fortunately, there is no obvious off-gassing smell with this one.

Resting on the Harmony, we certainly felt a tiny bit of give (the bounce is largely due to the gel-like Purple Grid Hex) but it also cradled our head, neck and shoulders nicely. It's softer than this reviewer prefers a pillow to be, although we would rate it above the Pillow Cube in terms of support.

After a month of regular use we're pleased to report that the Purple Harmony Pillow has largely retained its shape. Yes there have been isolated uneven spots near the edges, but these have been fairly easy to fix. 

Purple Harmony Pillow: What we didn't like

• Might not be cooling enough for hot sleepers
• Mesh outer cover is prone to developing 'pulls'

The Purple Harmony Pillow is not a cooling pillow per se, but it does include features that are meant to help regulate temperature. So in theory it should have a more breathable feel compared to more standard types of bed pillows. 

Yet, despite the mesh outer cover, the ventilated latex and gel-like grid inside, we still slept warm most nights. Turning the Harmony over provided temporary relief, but we would often wake up with a sweaty head and neck. So if you sleep very warm, or you're experiencing hot flashes or night sweats, you'd be better off with a dedicated cooling model.

Unrelated but definitely of note: we discovered a couple of small pulls on the outer mesh cover of the Harmony. This is an aesthetic issue that could be solved by putting on a separate pillow slip, but considering the high price tag of the Purple Harmony Pillow, we were disappointed to see this.
 

Purple Harmony Pillow: User reviews

• Over 10,000 user reviews at Purple, with a 4.4/5 rating
• Side sleepers are the biggest fans of the Purple Harmony
• Neck pain complaints often tied to choosing the wrong loft

In this Purple Harmony Pillow review, we're sharing our experience as a side sleeper of average build who tends to sleep hot. To provide you with a more complete overview of how the Harmony performs, we've also combed through thousands of customer reviews published on Purple and Amazon.

The majority of these reviews are found at Purple, where the Harmony Pillow is rated 4.4 out of 5 stars from over 10,000 reviews (at time of publication). The review pool at Amazon is much smaller, but it's also rated slightly higher there at 4.5 stars out of 5, generated from over 240 reviews (at time of publication).

Wondering which sleep style it suits best? Side sleepers tend to favor the Purple Harmony Pillow the most compared to back and stomach sleepers. Fans of the pillow say it's adaptive, supportive, and holds its shape well. Many sleepers also like how cool it keeps them, although some claim that they do have to flip the pillow over at some point during the night to find a new cool spot.

More critical feedback centers around how some customers say the pillow gives off an unpleasant off-gassing smell that's reminiscent of plastic, but in most cases this is short-lived. We didn't experience that when unpacking the pillow.

Another common complaint is neck pain, which several sleepers have attributed to buying a pillow that's either too high or too low for them. Fortunately, that's where Purple's 100-day trial can help – and Purple's customer service has a favorable reputation overall.

Should you buy the Purple Harmony pillow?

According to Purple, the Harmony Pillow is the 'greatest pillow ever invented.' That's a bold statement and entirely subjective, of course, but for side sleepers who fancy a luxurious pillow with a plush feel, it very well could be the greatest for them. While this reviewer has a preference for firmer bed pillows, we still found the Purple Harmony Pillow comfortable and supportive. 

There is the matter of price, of course – the Harmony is among the more expensive offerings out there. Fortunately, you can use the 100-night trial to find out whether or not it's right for you. A major design appeal of the Purple Harmony Pillow is that it comes in three loft sizes, so you can exchange it for something taller or shorter if you're having trouble adjusting to the one you are currently sleep on.

Still, if you'd rather spend less for a pillow, check out the new Purple TwinCloud pillow, which lacks the signature Purple Grid Hex and opts for a more conventional gel-fiber fill, which often translates to a cooler night's sleep. The TwinCloud's two-in-one design means you can make it as soft or as firm as you enjoy. 

Another more affordable alternative is the Coop Home Goods Original Adjustable Pillow. We recommend this for side and back sleepers who want a firmer pillow with the ability to add as much or as little fill as they want to achieve the ideal loft. 

Meanwhile, if price is no object and cooler sleep is your top priority, consider the Tempur-Pedic TEMPUR-Cloud Breeze Pillow. It features two layers of Tempur-Breeze Gel to dissipate heat and help you sleep cooler and more comfortably. It's roughly the same price as the Purple Harmony Pillow and while it doesn't include a risk-free trial, the Breeze does come with a much longer five-year warranty.

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