Your sleep may be revolutionized by the ideal pillow, but it’s difficult to find. After testing 120 pillows for more than 1,000 nights, we have discovered that the best pillow for you will depend on your body type and sleeping position. To help you find the perfect fit, two of our favorites—the down-alternative Sleep Number PlushComfort Pillow Ultimate for stomach sleepers and the shredded-foam Nest Bedding Easy Breather Pillow for side- and back-sleepers—are adjustable.
How We Picked
Comfort
We looked for pillows with good neck support, ones that would keep their shape throughout the night and would also keep us cool and cozy.
Construction
We looked at the covers for neat stitching that prevented filling from escaping. Chemical smells were another thing we watched closely.
Return Policy
Because it can be difficult to determine whether a pillow will be ideal for you before trying it, we preferred retailers with lenient return policies.
Warranty
With the exception of our budget pick, all of our recommendations include a warranty that at least covers manufacturer flaws for two years.
Nest Bedding Easy Breather Pillow
Because of its firm, adjustable support, the Nest Bedding Easy Breather Pillow has consistently been a tester favorite. It’s one of the coziest shredded-foam pillows we’ve found, and unlike our previous top pick, the Xtreme Comforts pillow, it doesn’t have a lingering smelly foam issue. In 2021, the Easy Breather underwent a redesign that added a softer, cooler cover and made the shredded foam encased in its own machine-washable inner pouch, making it the first fully washable shredded foam pillow we’ve tested. You can still add and remove as much shredded-foam filling as is required to achieve the ideal loft because the pouch also features a zipper. Although it can be a messy process, it does allow for a precise fit. The Easy Breather is available in four sizes, including one for side sleeping that has a curved edge for your shoulder (we haven’t tested it). Both the 30-day return policy and the two-year warranty that come with the Easy Breather are more generous than those of our other top picks.
Sleep Number PlushComfort Pillow Ultimate
The only fully adjustable down alternative pillow we’ve ever tested is the Sleep Number PlushComfort Pillow Ultimate, which is great for stomach sleepers who struggle to find the right height. (A “down alternative” is a fluff fill that resembles down but is significantly less expensive. It is typically made of polyester or rayon.) The PlushComfort Ultimate includes all three options in one pillow, unlike the majority of pillows we’ve tried, which only come in soft, medium, or firm densities: To help you find the perfect fit for your body shape, it offers three sealed, removable layers of fill. The majority of our test subjects, including some back and side sleepers who typically prefer shredded foam, discovered a comfortable height and relished the PlushComfort Ultimate’s cushioned support. The company offers a 30-day mail-in free exchange policy as well as a one-year limited warranty on its pillows, but Sleep Number does not accept returns. Because of the no-returns policy, we advised visiting a SleepNumber store before the pandemic to try this pillow in person (still the best way to determine if a pillow is right for you). Since we are aware that not everyone can do that right now, if you’d rather have a pillow with more adaptable options, check out the Notable competition.
The Sleep Number ComfortFit Pillow Ultimate
The Sleep Number ComfortFit Pillow Ultimate is one of the loftiest shredded-foam pillows we’ve tested, but it’s also one of the most customizable because it has three sealed, removable layers inside. It is comparable to the Sleep Number PlushComfort Ultimate but uses shredded foam in addition to a down alternative rather than just down. (Another shredded-foam pillow we tried that isn’t adjustable is the SleepNumber ComfortFit Pillow Classic.) Because it’s easier to adjust than the Easy Breather, whose loose foam clumps can be messy, we believe it’s the best choice for side- and back-sleepers who are unsure how much loft they actually need. This pillow, like our other Sleep Number pick, has a 30-day exchange period but no refunds. Consider the Nest Easy Breather if you can’t test this one out in a SleepNumber store or if you must be able to return it. Additionally, a one-year warranty against flaws is provided with the ComfortFit.
Garnet Hill Signature White Down Pillow
Our extensive testing has shown that down has a very particular appeal; for example, our stomach sleepers preferred the give and softness of the firm-density Garnet Hill Signature White Down Pillow over other down pillows we tested. Compared to other down pillows like the Frontgate Resort Luxury Goose Down Gusseted Pillow, it is simpler to mold to your shoulders and neck. Garnet Hill provides the best return and warranty terms for all of our picks, along with a lifetime satisfaction guarantee.
The Xtreme Comforts Shredded Memory Foam Pillow
The Xtreme Comforts Shredded Memory Foam Pillow has been one of our top recommendations since 2016 and was also a top pick in earlier iterations of this guide. However, over time, several staff members and readers have complained that this pillow occasionally arrives with a noticeably potent chemical odor. In 2019, we tested four Xtreme Comforts pillows; half of them had foul odors that prevented us from falling asleep, and that persisted even after several weeks. (The rest of the pillows had no smell.) Even some of our stomach sleepers have found the Xtreme Comforts to be very comfortable. It has a medium loft, and you can mold or modify the filling to make it comfortable for a variety of body types and sleep positions. It typically costs half as much as the Easy Breather and comes with a 30-day, no-questions-asked return policy; if you want to gamble on the smell, it’s a good pillow.
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