If you live to be 80 years old, you’ll spend an estimated 26 years of your life sleeping. On top of that, you’ll spend an additional 7 years worth of time just trying to fall asleep. Those numbers come via The Huffington Post’s Your Life in Numbers project, which shows that you’ll spend more time sleeping than you will at work or staring at a screen.
Sounds unbelievable, but it’s true. Think about all the sleep you make up on the weekends after a long work week. You know damn well you’re hitting the snooze button as many times as you want to come Saturday.
If we’re spending so much time in bed, why does it seem that we always settle with what we already have? That uncomfortable, springy, hand-me-down mattress from Aunt Jane, those paper-thin sheets that genuinely replicate Dollar General tissue paper, and that lumpy pillow that might as well be filled with week-old oatmeal. Enough is enough! You deserve a better night’s sleep, and that begins with upgrading to one of the best mattresses and a grown-up pillow set.
Ready to begin your journey to better sleep? Get the most out of your shuteye starting with one of the most vital elements of bedtime: the best pillows in the world.
How To Choose the Best Pillows for You
When ranking the best pillows for sale in 2020, we considered price, materials, firmness level and special features like cooling materials or hypoallergenic filling. However, the best pillow for you will depend on how you personally rank these particular factors.
When it comes to materials, most pillows are made from one or more of these types of inner filling:
- Memory Foam: a high-density foam that shapes to your body as it warms up. By contouring to your body, this material is both soft and supportive. It’s also expensive.
- Down: traditional down pillows are filled with soft feathers from ducks. As a result, they aren’t always ideal for vegetarians and vegans. They’re also too soft for some sleepers. They can also be expensive.
- Fiberfill: most modern pillows are stuffed with synthetic polyester fiberfill, a soft and fluffy material that cushions your head as you sleep.
Additionally, some pillows come with hypoallergenic cases or cooling materials. A high-tech cooling pillow with all the bells and whistles can cost $150 or more, which may not be practical if you need to buy four or more pillows for your queen-sized bed. However, the lower you go in price, the more you’ll sacrifice in quality.
Below, you’ll find a selection of the best pillows for sale online.
1. The Original Casper Pillow
BEST OVERALL
From the bed-in-a-box start-up that’s been disrupting sleep (as in the industry, not your personal shuteye) comes a pillow that’s as well-considered as their best-selling, top-rated mattresses. Don’t act surprised, you’ve seen the ads as much as we have. The unique pillow-in-pillow design maintains firmness through the center, while the outer “pillow” surrounds the core in a soft fluffy layer. The end result is a medium-firmness pillow that’s not too firm and not too soft. It’s an all-around pleaser for most sleeping styles and it comes at a very reasonable price.
Casper calls this the pillow of your dreams, and it really is. So, go ahead, treat yourself to a better night’s sleep.
2. The Purple Harmony Pillow
BEST SPLURGE
While this might be the most expensive pillow you’ll ever buy, it’s well worth it. The Purple Harmony Pillow is harmonious indeed. Reviewers say this pillow is a gamechanger when it comes to alleviating chronic neck pain, with some even saying that they wake up with zero neck pain at all. Unlike the average pillow, Purple has engineered a unique hexagonal grid system to provide maxium support. Inside, you’ll find a unique hypoallergenic Talalay Latex core that won’t sag over time. It’s also designed to maximize air flow and wick moisture too, so no more sweaty nights. And get this: there is a 100 night trial, so if you hate it, which you won’t, feel free to send it back with no questions asked.
The high-tech Purple Harmony Pillow comes in both 6.5″ and 7.5″ sizes, with the latter being ideal for bigger people and side sleepers.
3. PLX Cooling Shredded Memory Foam Bamboo Pillows
BEST BUDGET BUY
We’re not going to lie, with these pillows, you might be a little disappointed upon arrival. They arrive rolled up super compact. Once you lay them flat, that’s really all they are. Flat. But, just wait, these babies puff up in no time. Once you experience your first sleep with these, you’ll know you made the right choice. This pillow is made from shredded memory foam and comes with a washable, hypoallergenic bamboo covering, which is awesome for those with common allergies. The bounceback on these things is also so impressive, you’ll just have to try it out yourself. Plus, you get two pillows for just $37 via Amazon Prime, which is a steal if you need a soft budget pillow.
Buy: PLX Cooling Shredded Memory Foam Bamboo Pillows $36.99
4. Pancake Pillow
MOST VERSATILE
Pancakes ain’t only for breakfast, you can also have them in your pillow. Weird, we know. This wildly customizable pillow is a dream come true for side, stomach and back sleepers alike. Choose the perfect height by slipping the inner pillow stacks in and out as you please and totally irradicate the need for a base pillow. No more pillow wrestling mid-slumber anymore! Even with all of the pillow inserts, this pillow is still on the soft side, so keep that in mind if firmness is more important than height or versatility.
5. Brooklinen Down Pillow
BEST DOWN PILLOW
This down pillow from Brooklinen is an extremely soft yet super supportive sleep aid that comes in three different constructions, ensuring the perfect fit for no matter how you like to sleep. Sick of your downs deflating over time? Well, this one won’t. You’ll sleep throughout the night again and again like a baby while the pillow retains the same form it had on your very first night with it. Brooklinen customers can choose from plush, mid-plush and firm, so no matter how you like to sleep at night, this is one of the best pillows for sale today.
6. The Boomerang Pillow
MOST UNIQUE SHAPE
Who said pillows had to be rectangular? The boomerang pillow gets its name from, yes, its boomerang shape. The angled silhouette works in multiple positions — on your side, to prop you up in bed, for stomach sleepers — to effectively relieve back and leg pain when lying down. The removable cover is made from 100% cotton while the inner fiberfill is hypoallergenic. Even better, it’s cheap.
7. Coop Home Goods Eden Pillow
BEST TALL PILLOW
Over your down pillow? We understand. The Eden Pillow was designed so you throw that old down pillow in the trash. Inside, you’ll find gel-infused memory foam and microfiber that’s breathable, cooling and hypoallergenic. The soft inner material is balanced about by the height of the pillow, which keeps your neck and head elevated exactly the way you like it. This affordable two-pack also allows for total custimization if you so please. Each pillow comes with a half-pound bag of insides, so if the puff is too much, just take some out and get snoozing. However you choose to fill it, you’ll think you’re sleeping on a cloud.
8. “My Cool” Pillow
BEST COOLING PILLOW
Are you an overheated sleeper or have to share a bed with one? Swap out conventional pillows for Bloomingdale’s medium-firmness My Cool Pillow. The inner pillow surface has been infused with Hypercool special cooling technology, while the fibers of the outer pillow move heat and moisture away from the body. It has an overall medium to firm density, which is great for those who dislike pillows that sink right to the mattress. You know the ones. It’s also completely hypoallergenic, which again, is awesome for obvious reasons.
9. Eclipse Dual Deluxe Comfort Pillow
ALSO CONSIDER
Revamping the way you snooze forever, the Eclipse Dual Deluxe Comfort Pillow merges the comfort of your casual polyester fiberfill with the contouring abilities of gel memory foam to provide the ultimate night’s sleep. The innermost part of the pillow is filled with memory foam, which easily forms to the shape of your head while the top and bottom give you that plushy fluff you know you love. Catching Z’s will be your favorite passtime after snagging this soft yet supportive pillow. Bear in mind that this pillow will be too soft for some sleepers, so consider another option if you prefer a firmer pillow.
