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Finding the best pillow for your needs can be an agonizing ordeal. Get something that’s too firm, too soft, or just not quite right for your head and you can wake up with a lot of pain the next day. Never fear, WIRED is here. We’ve tested all these recommended pillows and several more, using each one for a minimum of several weeks to get a sense of how comfortable they are, how well they hold up to repeated use, and what sleeping style they’re best suited for. These are our top picks, but there are an innumerable number of pillows out there. We’ll update this guide as we test more. All of the prices below are for the queen-size version unless otherwise specified.
Casper Hybrid Snow Pillow (Standard) – Our favorite
Unless you’re looking for specialty support, it’s hard to do better than Casper’s hybrid pillow. Like hybrid mattresses, it has a multilayered design with a foam core, which provides solid neck support, sandwiched between layers of soft memory fiber. When I first held it, the pillow felt flimsy and folded easily—I was worried it would be too soft and squishy to provide any real support. But I was surprised at how supportive it was. After a couple of nights, it became my go-to pillow.
Casper claims this pillow can “stay cooler” for up to 12 hours. That’s vague enough to be difficult to quantify, but it was one of the cooler pillows I tried in my testing process. Even in Texas summer, I didn’t find myself flipping the pillow much at all during the night. This one is often discounted on Amazon, so try to catch it on sale.
Honeydew Sleep The Scrumptious Side Pillow – Best for Side Sleepers
This pillow from Honeydew is one of the best side-sleeper pillows I’ve tried. WIRED reviewer Julian Chokkattu and his wife have also been sleeping on it for more than a year and have nothing but great things to say. The queen-size version is 27 inches wide and 15 inches long at the tips, but with an upward curve toward the middle. The copper-infused foam fill is firm and stays cool throughout the night. You’ll want to grab a few pillowcases since it’s hard to find third-party cases that fit perfectly.
I’ve used a smaller side pillow for many years, and this one is a little wider and firmer than the one I’m used to. It’s got plenty of space for two people to cuddle together and have both of their heads supported. Alternatively, you can hug it similar to a body pillow, and one of the curved tips fits neatly underneath your head. It’s a versatile option for people who can’t decide on just one way to sleep on their side. Julian, who is also a stomach sleeper, says he likes it for that sleeping position too as he tucks the tips around his neck for a swaddling effect.
Bedgear Flow Cuddle Curve Pullow – Best for Chaotic Sleepers
I like the idea of a side-sleeper pillow that has a curve in it so it can fit around my shoulder. The problem is, I don’t just sleep on my side. I roll over on my back and flip onto my stomach, occasionally half my body goes in one direction, while the other half goes in another. For people like me, the Flow Cuddle Curve pillow from Bedgear is one of the more versatile options out there.
Like other side-sleeper pillows, it has a small curve on one side to accommodate a shoulder, but it’s otherwise similar in shape to most standard pillows. Flip it around and you might not even notice it’s not a typical rectangle. It has a washable cover, and air vents covered with breathable mesh help it stay cool throughout the night. Rather than typical standard/queen/king pillow sizes, Bedgear uses a sizing system tailored to your gender, shirt size, and typical sleeping position. Check the size chart before choosing a size. Thankfully all sizes of the Flow Cuddle Curve cost the same.
Snuggle-Pedic Adjustable Cooling Pillow – Best Under $100
Sticking to a budget with a pillow can be a trade-off between back pain, neck pain, and wallet pain. But WIRED reviewer Louryn Strampe swears by this adjustable pillow from Snuggle-Pedic. It comes in two variations—one has adjustable shredded memory foam for $57, and the other is the same pillow without the extra memory foam fill for $37. The former lets you add (or remove) the fill to optimize the pillow’s firmness to your taste.
The outer pillow protector is machine-washable, and the pillow fill is easy to fluff to get that perfect cushy feeling. Louryn has slept on this pillow for four years—which also speaks to its long-term durability—and likes it so much that when she accidentally left it in a hotel, she immediately overnighted another so she wouldn’t have to go a single night without it.
Saatva Down Alternative Pillow – Best Down Pillow
Down pillows might feel like you’re sleeping on a cloud, but seeing the price tag for them can send you plummeting back to earth. Some people are also allergic to real down, which is where synthetic down can come in handy. This Saatva Down Alternative pillow uses hypoallergenic memory fiber clusters that mimic the feel of down, without all the pesky allergen risk, or high price tag. In my testing, this one was surprisingly supportive for how thin it felt at first, though if you like a lot of support and high loft, you might want to grab two.
Purple Freeform Pillow – Best Cooling Pillow
Purple’s distinctive cooling gel grid has made the company’s mattresses popular—the company makes our top pick among cooling mattresses. The Freeform Pillow brings those benefits to your pillow. It has adjustable fill and includes a spare bag to store the excess fill material in case you want to add more later. I found the pillow a bit overstuffed when I first got it, but after removing a few handfuls (and a bit of fluffing to get the fill distributed evenly), I got it to a point where it had just enough support without exacerbating my already perpetual neck pain.
The real stand-out feature though is the honeycomb grid embedded in the outer cover. It keeps the surface of the pillow cool, so you don’t have to flip it over quite as often throughout the night. If you, like me, are a bit of a hot sleeper, this can be the godsend you need to finally get a good night’s sleep.