The Best Pillows for Every Type of Sleeper

The world is filled with flat-as-a-pancake pillows you can pick up at any big box store. But here's some truth: You’re a grown-ass adult who spends roughly a third of your life in an intimate embrace with your pillow. It’s time to raise your standards—you deserve nice things, my guy.

Upgrading your pillow is one of the fastest—and most affordable—ways to instantly improve your z’s (and if you want to go the extra mile, a fresh bed-in-a-box won't hurt either). Research shows that the shape of your pillow and its fill—whether it’s made with memory foam, down, or another material—can level up your sleep…or completely destroy it. Laura Purdy, MD, a board-certified family medicine physician, tells us that another major factor in finding the best pillow is your preferred sleep position—stomach, back, or side—which helps determine the level of firmness you’ll need. "You don't want a pillow that is too firm, so your head is elevated too far forward," she says. "And you don't want a pillow that is too soft so your neck isn't supported, and you sink into the pillow."

While no one pillow suits everyone, we found a few universal crowd-pleasers and options for the highly specific sleepers among us. Read on for the pillows worth your time, and in-depth reviews of each one.

Methodology: Our product testers have reviewed dozens of pillows in our sleep labs to help you find your match. We dive deep into each pillow’s firmness, breathability, and comfort factors so you can rest your head on a nice balance of softness, support, and squish. Here’s more on how we review sleep products.

In This Roundup: We tried every pillow we could get our heads on to find the most comfortable, supportive model for every type of sleeper.

Our Top Pillow Pick

To make this decision, we slept on the job—a lot. Ultimately, we chose the Saatva Latex Pillow as the best pillow overall because you can select from two loft options (meaning: its thickness or height)—standard or high—to fit your sleeping style. To add to the bespoke feel, the pillow’s shredded latex filling responds to your every move, keeping your neck and head supported all night. Plus, it's machine-washable (yes, we should all be washing our pillows regularly) and hypoallergenic.

The Best Pillows, at a Glance

Ready to hit the hay? In the middle of a sleepless night as we speak? Not so sure what you’re in search of? No matter—these are the best pillows for every kind of sleeper.

• Best Pillow Overall: Saatva Latex Pillow
• Best Cooling Memory Foam Pillow: Brooklyn Bedding Luxury Cooling Pillow
• Best Silk Pillow: Cozy Earth Silk Pillow
• Best Pillow for Combination Sleepers: Lagoon The Fox Pillow
• Best Pillow for Side Sleepers: Layla Kapok Pillow
• Best Pillow for Back Sleepers: Tempur-Pedic TEMPUR-Cloud Pillow
• Best Down Pillow: Brooklinen Down Pillow
• Best Hypoallergenic Pillow: Coop Sleep Goods The EdenCool Adjustable Pillow
• Best King-Size Pillow: Puffy Signature Pillow

It wasn’t even a contest. The other pillows are good, but Saatva’s is outstanding—wowing back sleepers, side sleepers, stomach sleepers, and a host of four-legged friends who coopted our pillows for themselves. This thing feels like it belongs in a ritzy hotel—if one of the accommodations of said ritzy hotel was that your pillow was customized to your liking. Saatva’s Latex Pillow has two loft sizes, and it’s firm enough to support your neck but doesn’t trap heat since it’s filled with organic cotton and natural latex instead of foam. Win-win.

Pillowy fluff and ergonomic support seem universally at odds—but not with Saatva’s pillow. The hypoallergenic natural latex filling contours to your head and neck like memory foam, but it’s a bit bouncier without that sunken-in feeling. And because the pillow is filled with shredded latex and not memory foam, there’s way more airflow, so you won't wake up in a pool of sweat (even still, when it’s time to wash it, you can just throw it in the machine).

The high-loft option is a no-brainer for those who prefer a thicker pillow; however, our testers found that the standard provides plenty of height and support for both side and back sleepers. As with many options on this list, though, if you get a loft that doesn’t agree with your preferences, you have 45 days to return it.

On Amazon, the Saatva Latex Pillow has a rating of 4.2 out of 5 stars. Most reviewers like its quality and comfort, particularly for side sleepers. Complaints usually address the pillow’s height—some say it’s too high, and others feel it sinks too much—but again, you have 45 days to make that call and go with another option if you’re not happy with this pick.

Despite everything we just said about memory foam's heat-trapping qualities, there's no denying how flawlessly it can cradle your neck and head, which is priority number one for many people. This supportive option from Brooklyn Bedding beats the heat with cooling copper material and an airy, heat-dispersing design for maximum airflow.

Memory foam is a game-changer in the pressure-relief department, but its hot-and-heavy tendencies can result in a sweaty sleep experience for some folks. Brooklyn Bedding's Luxury Cooling Pillow defies that logic with its tech-forward copper-graphite infusion, which helps it to disperse heat. The open-cell design keeps the air flowing all night long (think of its construction as a chain-link fence versus a wall of impenetrable steel). Our testers actually found that this pillow felt more like a latex model in terms of maintaining a comfortable temp, which scores it major points for hot sleepers who want added support.

The Luxury Cooling Pillow’s foam is antimicrobial and hypoallergenic, which was a major win for our testers with allergies or sensitivities. With two loft options, you can choose how high or low you want your pillow to be, ensuring a supportive fit for your sleep position.

Without many reviews on Trustpilot, we’re not able to come to any significant conclusions about Brooklyn Bedding's reputation on third-party sites. However, the company is BBB-accredited and has an A+ grade.

Silk pillows might sound like a luxury reserved for the Rockefellers, but they’re more accessible today than in the past. Long lauded for its ability to prevent hair breakage and keep your skin soft, silk is also great inside a pillow. It’s naturally cooling and moisture wicking, and the stuffing of this pillow is specifically constructed to stay in place, so you won’t wind up with a lumpy, bumpy pillow a year into using it.

There’s no getting around it; at $299 a pop, this is a premium pillow. But if you're willing to splurge on bedding, Cozy Earth's Silk Pillow won’t disappoint The mulberry silk filling feels soft and puffy like down, but it won’t stir up any allergic reactions; at the same time, it’s easy to shape and mold to your liking—something our stomach-sleeping testers particularly appreciated.

More good news: If you typically wake up with a flushed face and clammy skin, you’ll revel in the breathable bamboo viscose cover, which boosts air circulation, keeping the pillow feeling cool all night. Plus, with the brand’s 100-night sleep trial and 10-year warranty, you can test-drive the pillow before you commit and sleep easy, knowing that your money won’t be wasted.

Cozy Earth has a pretty average rating on third-party review sites: with over 1,000 reviews, it has a 3.8 out of 5 star rating on Trustpilot. The brand is BBB-accredited with an A+ grade and 4.37 out of 5-star rating from customers.

Combo sleepers need some semblance of consistency in their sleeping regimens and the Lagoon The Fox Pillow offers just that. Its adjustable loft and medium firmness respond to your every move for consistent support and comfort, no matter how much you toss and turn.

Combination sleepers need a pillow that can adapt to their ever-changing sleep positions, and the memory foam filling of the Lagoon's The Fox pillow keeps up. The contouring inner pillow supports your head and neck in any position, and the removable shredded filling allowed our testers to adjust the loft as needed.

In our testing (with some pre-planned tossing and turning), we found it super easy to remove or add filling to find the best height for any sleep position. No matter how much we shuffled and flipped, the pillow kept its shape and support.

Support is a non-negotiable for side-sleepers who want to wake up pain-free, so a pillow that cradles the neck and shoulders and keeps the spine aligned is key. The Layla Kapok Pillow does just that with its unique combination of supportive memory foam and fluffy kapok fibers.

When we tested the adjustable Layla Kapok pillow, we found that the mix of shredded memory foam and airy, organic filling (courtesy of the kapok tree, a rainforest behemoth known for its cotton-esque natural fibers) creates a supportive yet plush feel. It's firm enough to keep your head and neck bolstered but cushiony enough to mold to your head and neck’s curvature.

Best part? This pillow is easily adjustable, which gives it an extra value-add in our books. If you feel like your head is elevated a little too much, just unzip the pillow to remove some of the filling until it's exactly what you need. And, the machine-washable cover is extra convenient when washing your bedding is the last thing you want to do (which is, TBH, always), and the cooling copper-woven material keeps you cool hour after hour.

The Layla Kapok is rated 3.9 out of 5 on Amazon, based on 1,003 ratings. Fans raved about its comfort and quality, plus its level of support for neck pain. A few critics pointed out that the pillow quickly loses its filling and flattens. The brand is BBB-accredited with an A+ grade and a 4.6 out of 5 star rating.

If you’re a classic back sleeper, you need a classic pillow as a bedmate—and we know you'll love the medium-firm support and neutral height of the TEMPUR-Cloud Pillow. The iconic TEMPUR-foam material conforms to your head and neck for a custom fit that keeps your spine aligned and pressure points at your hips and shoulders cushioned while you snooze—making morning neck pain a thing of the past.

Back sleepers need a pillow that fills in the empty space under their necks without A) overpropping the neck, which can lead to a painful forward tilt, or B) skimping on the support, which may result in an overarched neck as you sleep. The TEMPUR-Cloud pillow hits that sweet spot with a medium loft that keeps your neck neutral, plus a medium-firm feel that supports your head without making you feel like you're sinking into quicksand.

Our team is big fans of Tempur-Pedic and its well-known memory foam core that, over time, contours to the body and adapts to your shape and movement. As with other memory foam material, our only gripe is that the pillow absorbed our body heat during testing, so hot sleepers might find it a bit stuffy; however, if you sweat through this pillow, the machine washable cover makes for easy maintenance.

The TEMPUR-Cloud pillow has over 6,000 ratings on Amazon, averaging 4.3 out of 5. Customers adore its head-molding comfort and support for neck pain. Others complain that it’s too flat and not soft enough. While the brand isn’t BBB-accredited, it still maintains an A+ grade.

In our world, “luxury bedding” is instantly synonymous with feathery, fluffy down pillows—the kind you’d see in every movie with a pillow fight scene ever. The Brooklinen Down Pillow takes that indulgent feeling to another level by offering not one but three different firmness options to cater to different sleep preferences. Choose from plush, mid-plush, or firm for your perfect pillow match.

If you love the traditional feel of a down pillow but want something that's more supportive than your average feather-filled cushion, you’ll want to try Brooklinen's Down Pillow. It comes in three firmness options (the firmer you go, the higher the ratio of feathers to down), all of which have that classic marshmallow-like feel.

When our testers slept on the pillow, we were blown away by its pliability, which makes it easy to adjust and shape throughout the night. Because of that, this down pillow is suitable for almost any sleeper—including combination sleepers who cycle from their sides to their backs, to their stomachs, and back again. The only reason to skip it? If you have allergies.

The Coop Sleep Goods EdenCool Adjustable Pillow is filled with shredded memory foam operating undercover as faux down. If you’re a hot sleeper, the gel-infused memory foam in this pillow can keep you cool, ultimately helping you sleep better and longer. The hypoallergenic fill and the removable, machine-washable cover make this pillow easy to keep clean, too.

If you suspect your pillow is flaring your allergies, the EdenCool Adjustable Pillow is here to save the day. Its gel-infused memory foam and microfiber filling are cozy and resistant to dust mites and allergens. Plus, it's CertiPUR-US certified and GREENGUARD Gold certified, so you can rest easy knowing no harmful chemicals can irritate your skin and sinuses.

Outside of its hypoallergenic materials, our testers love that this pillow is adjustable. You can easily remove the fill to lower the loft. If you want your loft higher, Coop will send you a half-pound bag of fill with your pillow. Pair that with its breathable materials, and you've got yourself a down alternative pillow that's as versatile as it is comfortable.

On Amazon, the Coop Sleep Goods The EdenCool Adjustable Pillow is rated 4.5 out of 5, based on over 12,000 ratings. Customers love the pillow’s comfort, quality, and customized fill options. They also praise the pillow’s temperature regulation. Those who didn’t like the pillow as much complain that the cooling effects don’t last through the night.

Coop Sleep Goods is well-rated on third-party review sites, with a 3.8 out of 5-star rating on Trustpilot. The brand is not BBB-accredited but maintains a B grade.

If your king-sized bed needs a larger-than-life pillow to match, this Puffy Signature Pillow can fill the empty space. It’s filled with shredded memory foam but feels firm, making it a perfect fit for every sleeping position. Hot sleepers will appreciate its bamboo rayon cover, which helps increase airflow to keep you cool.

This pillow is filled with shredded foam, allowing maximum breathability and adjustability. Like other options on this list, you can easily remove and add fill to adjust the loft and level of support.

While it may not have the same plush feel as traditional down pillows, our testers still found its slightly firm feel and contouring suitable for all sleeping positions. It’s cooling and CertiPUR-US certified, so you can rest assured (quite literally) that your sleep environment won’t be sweaty or filled with harmful chemicals.

Puffy has a solid rating on third-party review sites, with a 3.1 out of 5-star rating on Trustpilot and over 100 reviews. The brand is not BBB-accredited but has a 3.96 star rating.

To zero in on the best pillows for our list, we consulted with chiropractors, sleep experts, and our certified staff (who are experts in all things testing) to help answer the world's most elusive question: What makes a good pillow? While most of our bedding preferences are subjective, there are some qualities that experts collectively agree are necessary for a solid pillow—starting with an adjustable loft.

While being able to change your pillow's height at will may have sounded Jetsons-level futuristic a few years ago, it's practically a prerequisite now. This level of customization makes pillows more adaptable to various sleeping positions and body types, which is huge for keeping your spine in alignment. Keeping the head and neck in a neutral position is crucial for a pain-free morning, and selecting a pillow with multiple firmness or loft options (like those from Brooklinen, Coop Sleep Goods, and Puffy) is part of that equation.

When we chose this list of the best pillows, we also considered cooling materials—namely, how well pillows let air flow through their fibers to keep you from getting sweaty in the middle of the night—and other important factors like hypoallergenic properties, durability, and warranty options.

Memory foam: Shelby Harris, PhD, a clinical psychologist specializing in sleep, says memory foam pillows are ideal for anyone looking to ease pressure. While memory foam can trap too much heat for some sleepers, the contouring and support could save neck and back pain sufferers.

Latex: Chiropractor Ben Carvosso says latex is his pillow material of choice, thanks to its durability, support, breathability, and ability to keep the spine in alignment. But all that support comes at a cost—and it's a high one. Latex pillows tend to be the most expensive option on the market.

Hybrid: The best of both worlds, hybrid pillows are made with two or more materials to provide specific support and comfort. While the mix can be pricey, hybrid pillows are a great option if you're looking for more advanced materials. They often come with features like gel-infused memory foam to help with cooling or other needs.

Down: Sleeping on a down pillow is the closest you'll get to sleeping on a marshmallow. While they offer a softer level of support that can feel ah-mazing, Carvosso warns that they tend to flatten over time, retain heat, and can cause allergy flare-ups.

Down alternative: These pillows typically look and feel like traditional down but provide a hypoallergenic alternative for allergy sufferers. However, they may not be as fluffy or long-lasting as traditional down.

While personal preference is the driving force of finding the best pillow for you, there are some general guidelines to keep in mind regarding firmness and loft. According to Dr. Purdy, side sleepers should opt for a firm pillow, stomach sleepers can get away with something softer, and back sleepers should aim for something in the middle.

Since body temperature plays a critical role in getting quality sleep, cooling features are another important factor to consider when shopping for a pillow. Look for pillows made with breathable materials like bamboo or memory foam infused with gel to help regulate your body heat and keep you comfortable throughout the night.

No one wants to replace their pillows every few months, so we recommend memory foam or latex if you’re looking for the most durable materials. If neither of those materials is up your alley, some companies offer wildly generous warranties and sleep trials, so you’ll have plenty of time to sample out your new pillow. Just be sure to read the fine print before making any purchases.

If you don't regularly clean your pillow (like once a quarter), now is the time to start. Dust mites and other allergens can quickly build up inside your pillow, causing irritation and poor sleep. Look for pillows with removable, machine-washable covers that will make cleaning a breeze.

You know we can't tell you that exactly. But we can tell you that the "best" pillow is the one that works with your sleeping position, keeps your spine in alignment, and accounts for any unique needs you may have—like allergies or running hot.

If your pillow-shopping priority is to reduce a stiff or achy neck, Dr. Carvosso says to look for one that promotes a neutral neck position. Aligning your neck allows the muscles to relax, easing pressure elsewhere.

The most comfortable pillow is a matter of personal preference, but most people instinctively reach for fluffy, down-filled pillows. Our most “ahh”-inducing pick is the Saatva Latex Pillow, which earned major props for being supportive, soft, and cool to the touch.

No one knows for sure. But there's a good chance these dreamy, cloud-like pillows are a down-and-feather mix. Contact the Four Seasons to be sure.

The chiropractors we interviewed recommend latex pillows because they're supportive, durable, and breathable. A memory foam pillow also works well—it contours to your body and provides good support and pressure relief for your neck and spine curves.

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