The Purple Pillow is a popular choice among those who need targeted neck support during sleep. It's deep enough to fill the slot between your head and shoulders if you're a side sleeper, but isn't so thick that it pushes your neck forward (out of alignment) if you roll onto your back. Ensuring correct alignment like this is a hallmark of the best pillows for sleep.
The pillow is well made and therefore surprisingly heavy, weighing around 11lbs on its own. In fact, its currently one of the heaviest we've tried, but that's no bad thing as it won't move around beneath your head during sleep, and it holds its shape very well over time. Bonus: you can often find it on sale among the best Purple mattress deals, which includes offers on the brand's range of pillow and sleep accessories too.
Purple Pillow review: Overview
When we first pulled the Purple Pillow from its box there was a strong odor and a white powdery film over the hyper-elastic polymer material. This is natural with some types of pillows, depending on their material, and is similar to off-gassing with memory foam mattresses. It's really nothing to worry about long-term, and we simply left ours out to air for a few hours before starting our testing.
In terms of price, the Purple Pillow costs $109 (RRP) and comes with a year warranty in case you find something wrong with it. You can also try it out during the 100-night trial period, so you can literally sleep on it before deciding.
For offers on other leading pillow companies, see our round-up of the best Casper mattress deals and the best Saatva mattress discounts.
Purple Pillow review: Design
We were impressed with how supportive the Purple Pillow is. Our head felt cradled and cushioned, and although the pillow is soft, your head won't sink down to the bottom. In fact, it feels like your head is carefully suspended on air, making it a good choice for stomach sleepers or pillow who flip between sleep positions.
It is heavy, but that weight also means the pillow stays in place all night, which is a definite plus for sleepers who move a lot at night and tend to lose their pillow. And you don't have to worry about this pillow getting too hot at night as it's highly breathable, working hard to maintain good airflow as you sleep. For added coolness, also look at our best cooling mattress guide.
A similar pillow to check out would be the TEMPUR-Cloud, which provides a firm and stable base for your head, and is popular with back and side sleepers.
Purple Pillow review: Performance
The Purple Pillow is designed to deliver targeted neck support throughout the night, and is certainly delivers on this. We used the pillows for 30 consecutive nights, which is the length of time recommended by sleep experts, and noticed a difference in the level of neck stiffness we were dealing with before getting pillow.
The stiffness didn't evaporate completely, but it was barely noticeable. Before the Purple Pillow, we would dedicate some morning yoga time to loosen up our neck following a night's sleep. Not the case now. We can only assume that with a longer trial-period, we would get completely used to the pillow and experience even less neck stiffness.
The pillow is also designed to maintain good airflow, and again this was noticeable during our testing period. We reviewed it without pillow case, then with a cotton pillow case, then finally with a thick fleece-touch case. We never felt as though the pillow got hot enough to have to flip over, which is good because this is one hefty bed pillow. We'd therefore feel confident recommending it to people who want a cooling place to rest their head.
Should I buy the Purple Pillow?
We found the Purple Pillow offers great support and supports a range of sleepers, though there are Purple bed pillows more targeted towards specific sleep positions. So if you're a die-hard side sleeper or back sleeper, check out the rest of the Purple range.
This pillow is also substantial in terms of weight, so means it won’t accidentally slide off the bed at night. It has over 15,000 customer reviews on the Purple website alone, and regularly pulls in 4- and 5-star scores for its performance. It's comfortable, supportive, able to align your neck with your spine, and it's breathable too. What more could you want?
If you're looking to overhaul your entire bed, also take a look at our guide to the best mattress online for different sleep styles, including the best Casper mattress deals and best Saatva mattress discounts to make savings on these luxurious pillows and beds.
