Pillow Reviews You Can Actually Trust
No commission • No endorsements • Based on owner experiences • Since 2008 • More
Pillow Type Comparison
Select a pillow type below for more details, including pillow brand / model ratings based on consumer experiences. Ratings indicate what tends to be true for most owners.
| Buck- wheat |
Down Alt. | Down | Feather | Latex | Memory Foam | Water | |
| sample | 4091 | 11,631 | 1907 | 884 | 6264 | 20,278 | 3339 |
| Owner satisfaction* | 84% | 85% | 85% | 84% | 85% | 87% | 77% |
| Affordable | d+ | A- | d- | B | C | D+ | C- |
| Durable | b | c- | b | b | A- | c+ | c |
| Supportive | a | c- | c | c+ | b+ | b | b |
| Neck pain relief | b+ | c | B- | c | b+ | b | b+ |
| Moldable | b+ | B- | B | b | C | C | d- |
| Scrunchable | C+ | A | A- | B- | D | C+ | D |
| Cuddly | d | B | B+ | b | c+ | B- | c- |
| Easy to use | D | C | C | C- | A | A | D |
| Won't clump/Shift | d- | c- | c | C- | a | B- | c |
| No noise | d | C+ | b | d | a | b+ | D+ |
| Lightweight | D | B- | a- | B- | d+ | D+ | f |
| No odor | c- | b+ | c- | d+ | c- | d | b+ |
| not hot | b+ | b | c+ | B | b | c- | C+ |
| reduces snoring | b+ | c- | c- | c | b | b- | b |
| Short break in | D | B+ | B- | B | B | C | C |
| fewer allergies | b | c+ | c | c | b | b | b- |
| No need to fluff | c | d+ | d | d | a | B | A- |
| Machine Washable | D | A- | D | C- | D- | C- | C- |
| Availability | D | B+ | D+ | D+ | D | A | D |
| Firmness | firm | mostly med |
med- soft to med- firm | med- soft to med- firm | soft to firm | med to firm | med |
| Adjustable Loft | yes | no | no | no | no | yes** | yes |
* Based only on the three to six top-rated pillows of their type.
** Select models only.
Pillow Loft Guide and Loft Calculators
Having a pillow with proper loft (or height / thickness) is necessary to achieve comfort and support. Using a pillow with loft that is too thick or too thin often results in poor neck alignment and uneven pressure. Discomfort, pain, and breathing difficulties often result.
Use our pillow loft guide and calculators to learn how much loft may best suit you.
Pillows For The Body
See comparisons for top-rated full-body, wedge, and neck (travel) pillows based on 25,200+ consumer experiences.
Summary of Pillow Type Pros and Cons
Buckwheat Pillows
Pros: Often supportive and contouring • above-average potential for neck pain relief • loft adjustable • good air flow.
Cons: Too firm for some • some noise • somewhat heavy • odor possible • need to experiment to determine right fill quantity.
Read detailed buckwheat pillow reviews
& ratings based on 4,091 actual owner experiences.
Down Alternative Pillows
Pros: Generally soft to the touch • affordable • cuddly • often moldable / scrunchable.
Cons: May lack adequate support and firmness • questionable longevity • clumping / lumpiness possible with age and wear • may require regular fluffing / shaking.
Read
detailed down alternative
pillow reviews & ratings based on over 11,631 actual
owner experiences.
Down Pillows
Pros: Usually more soft than firm • cuddly • scrunchable • lightweight • durable • silent.
Cons: Can lack adequate loft and support • initial odor possible • often pricey • may need to be fluffed / shaken regularly • down may escape case.
Read detailed down pillow reviews
& ratings based on 1,987 actual owner experiences.
Feather Pillows
Pros: Usually more soft than firm • often moldable and cuddly • fairly long-lasting and durable • often affordable.
Cons: Can lack adequate support and loft • quills may poke through cover • not silent • need to fluff / shake to maintain loft and comfort • odor possible.
Read
detailed feather pillow reviews
& ratings based on 884 actual owner experiences.
Latex Pillows
Pros: Good mix of softness and support • usually maintains shape through night • often effective at pain relief • won’t clump or develop hollow spots.
Cons: May have initial odor • may flatten somewhat over time • can be pricey • can feel unnatural to some • often heavy.
Read
detailed latex pillow reviews
& ratings based on 6,264 actual owner experiences.
Memory Foam Pillows
Pros: Often soft yet supportive • often strongly conforming • silent.
Cons: Initial off gassing odor possible • can be pricey • firmness excessive for some • above average weight.
Read detailed memory foam
pillow reviews & ratings based on 20,278 actual
owner experiences.
Water-base Pillows
Pros: Pain relief ability • contouring support • adjustable loft and firmness • few odor complaints.
Cons: Heavy when filled • possible noise issues • need to experiment to determine right water amount • average durability / longevity • can be pricey.
Read detailed water pillow review & ratings based on 3,338 actual owner experiences.
About Our Unbiased Pillow Research
Our research findings are based on 48,000+ pillow owner reviews and experiences gathered from online retailers Amazon, Overstock.com, Wal-Mart, and JCPenney.
Research Safeguards to Ensure Accurate Findings
Sample Size
Sample size refers to the number of owner experiences that our pillow ratings are based on. A sample of 500 or more owner experiences gathered is often large enough for most pillows to provide findings with a maximum margin of sampling error of ±3 percentage
points.
Time Standards
Data is usually not collected from pillows owners
who say that they have slept on a particular pillow for
less than one week as this is often not enough time to
form an accurate opinion. In addition, outdated consumer experience data (data older than five years) is not often collected or is removed from our data set.
Review Quality
When collecting owner experience data from a retailer's website, such as Amazon, "verified reviews" are the only type of review from which data is gathered.
Pillows Included in Our Research
We do not evaluate all pillows available on the market. We evaluate only those that rate highest in owner satisfaction (usually a rating above 81%) based on a significant sample. Pillows that do not meet this criteria do not appear in our research findings, and owner data on such pillows is not including in our aggregate ratings.
Up-To-Date Ratings & Product Information
The date near the top of the page shows when the page was updated based on the latest owner experience data and product information. But even the most recently updated page is not guaranteed to provide real-time information including current prices or availability.
Unbiased, Truthful Content With Independent Verification
Given that our pillow ratings are almost entirely based on multiple online public sources, the truthfulness of our findings can be independently verified by anyone.