Caramel Quin
The perfect pillows aren't made of dreams: they're specially, scientifically engineered to serve you, your body, and your specific somnambulant needs. Our experts have tested every type of pillow from all the leading brands and we've narrowed it down to just six: one for every kind of sleeper.
Whether you're after one of the best pillows for neck pain to ease stiffness and reduce discomfort or want to know the best thin pillows to choose for front sleeping, you'll find something suitable here. To help guide you towards choosing the best pillow from this list, we asked several sleep experts - including Chrissie Rucker OBE, who is the founder of The White Company and passionate about the importance of sleep quality, and Amelia Jerden, a certified sleep science coach and staff writer at Sleepopolis - to share their insights on how to choose the perfect pillow.
The best pillows, tried and tested by our experts
If you want the headlines on the pillows that tempted our testers to stay in bed for that extra ten minutes, here are the headlines. You can keep scrolling for the details on our dreamy nights of sleep.
Best overall
Wool is actually a really good temperature regulator. So when you pair that comfortable, flexible property with an adjustable filling, you're on the road to a recipe for success. Our experts loved this pillow and added that the all-natural, sustainable, and comfortable, made this a pillow that it is impossible to beat.
Best cooling
If you're a hot sleeper or struggling with night sweats, the icy feel of this pillow will come as close to heaven as you could dare to dream of. Filled with a clever gel. it is instantly freezing and, whilst it does warm up overnight, you can flip the pillow to enjoy another side of ultra-cooling gel.
Best hotel-style
You'll actually find these pillows in some of the smartest, most sought-after establishments, so they're not just hotel-style. They're real hotel pillows. Packed with premium down, with added structure and comfort from the wool, they're perfect for sensitive skin and those looking for something a little more natural too.
Best for back sleepers
Completely adjustable, this could be deemed the best pillow for back, front, and side sleepers. It's filled with little memory foam-style cubes that contour expertly to all parts of your head. Then, the plush pillowcase offers an extra layer of luxury.
Best for side sleepers
The soft, yet supportive memory foam fill of this Soak & Sleep is firmer than your average pillow. However, as your body hits it, you'll feel the pillow contour around your shoulder and neck - it's a true hero for keeping your hips, spine, and neck in the right place.
Best for front sleepers
This ultra-slim, super soft pillow is comfortable enough to keep front sleepers in alignment. However, the best element is that it should help you to fix your sleeping position entirely: our most stubborn front sleepers all transformed into side and back sleepers with this.
Best pillow overall
This is proof that you don't need memory foam or new technology to make a good pillow. The Woolroom Deluxe Washable Wool Pillow is filled with almost 600g of 100% (traceable) British wool, sustainably sourced in Devon and it's nothing short of dreamy.
"I wasn't too sure about this pillow at the beginning, being used to newer materials and heat-evaporating technologies now, but it edged its way to the top of my list after the second night. It feels like an old pillow, the type you might find at a country estate home, but it's surprisingly supportive and very comfortable," says tester Caramel Quin. "It didn’t feel bare or past its best. The filling didn’t vanish, it was there when I needed it."
Surprisingly, it's also fairly adjustable. "Given the shape and materials, I felt like I wanted to fluff it up continuously to give it some extra body. The fact you can actually access the pillow's filling through the discreet zip means you can really do this. You can also buy extra wool to make the pillow firmer, should you want to," says Caramel.
As well as being a winner for temperature regulation, the wool in the pillow is hypoallergenic and Allergy UK certified, so it may help any allergy sufferers to sleep more soundly.
For more details, take a look at our full Woolroom Deluxe Washable Wool Pillow review.
Best cooling pillow
The Dreams TheraPur Ice Pillow is designed to solve the problem of feeling too warm overnight, whether that's because of hot flushes or warm temperatures outdoors. The outer case of the pillow is fitted with a clever, cooling layer of gel beneath the 'ice fabric' which sits on top of a soft, yet supportive inside cushion pad.
"The gel outside is really impressively cooling," says our tester, Caramel Quin. "On a hot night, I could honestly imagine I was resting my head on ice. Combined with the foam in the filling, I often found myself drifting off whenever I put my head on this pillow - whether it was time for bed or not. It's very comfortable."
While this is one of the best cooling pillows you could choose, it won't stay cool all night. "Once you do fall asleep, the cooling power only lasts so long," Caramel warns. "I slept soundly but, when I woke up, I moved my head to a new cool patch. I wasn’t overheating, it had just lost that lovely ice feeling." Adding your own pillowcase over the top also cuts the cooling properties, so it's best without.
Find out more in my full review of the dreams TheraPur Ice Pillow.
Best hotel style pillow
Luxury, hotel-style pillows are hard to find, so I went to the sources. As it turns out, Naturalmat actually do supply hotels with their pillows. And, it's no surprise, because they're packed with wool, down, and natural materials that sound as dreamy as they feel.
You might have seen the name Naturalmat around and it explains a large portion of what the brand has to offer. Their sustainability policies are some of the best I've seen and they keep everything natural and local (they're even based in Devon), whilst ensuring that the pillows feel and look beautifully premium.
Our tester said "you really do feel the blend of down and wool. There's a softness that's almost so light you can't feel it, whilst the wool keeps the pillow structured, supportive, and cooling." Even though the down offers a little more warmth than other pillows, it's breathable enough to prevent you from waking up feeling sticky or sweaty.
Find out more in my full Naturalmat Wool and Down Pillow review
Best pillow for back sleepers
The Simba Hybrid pillow has been specifically designed as one of the best pillows for side sleepers, with clever cubes of memory foam to ensure that your pillow is completely customisable to your support preferences.
The cubes are made from soft, recycled fibres (called Simba Renew) and you start off with more than enough, but Simba offers a neat bag to store any excess cubes in. If you like firm pillows, pack the pillow full of cubes. If you like soft pillows, take out as many as you like.
"I immediately loved the versatility of this pillow...having tested many pillows recently, it's become clearer than ever to me how important adaptability is," says tester Caramel Quin. "Personally, even though I'm a side-sleeper, I found the full pillow too plump, so I settled on using the middle amount. It's so comfortable now."
If you can afford to spend this much on a pillow, you won’t be disappointed, Caramel assures. "The 30-day trial period also means it’s risk-free - you have enough time to experiment with all the stacking combinations and return the pillow if none of them work for you. I think one of them will though," she says.
Read our full Simbra Hybrid pillow review here.
Best pillow for side sleepers
I'd recommend all the adjustable pillows that I have included in this guide for side sleepers, but the Soak & Sleep nabbed this spot, because it's just so comfortable.
As a memory foam pillow, it naturally contours to your head, neck, and shoulders, helping to cushion you perfectly in place. It's a little more springy and rubbery than some other memory foam, but that means it's offering the right amount of support.
Our expert tester describes the feel of sleeping on this as "faultless and the support was impressive too," she added "this works on a budget, because it's actually surprisingly affordable for the quality, which certainly helps me to sleep at night. I spend too long thinking about my bank balance when I should be dreaming."
The only downside is that memory foam isn't known for being cooling. If you struggle with night sweats or you're already a hot sleeper, this isn't for you.
Find out more in my full review
Best pillow for front sleepers
While experts recommend the best thing for front sleepers is to find another position, that might not be possible for everyone. Luckily, you have pillows like the Levitex Sleep Posture Pillow, which are useable no matter how you sleep - but specifically designed for helping front sleepers to get healthier sleep.
The filling is a patented variation on memory foam, which makes this pillow more comfortable for front sleepers as it means your head is closer to the mattress. There are different sizes available, but our tester, Laura, went for the thinnest layer, keeping her head, neck, spine, and shoulders, in alignment.
Of course, you'll struggle to find a pillowcase that doesn't look a little baggy around this, but given the sleep benefits it brought, our tester says it's well worth the less tidy appearance.
Find out more in my full Levitex Sleep Posture Pillow review.
How we tested for the best pillows
Homes expert Ysanne Brooks has spent over a decade writing about the best homeware products and she tested each pillow over several nights in a range of different sleeping positions - front, side, back, and all three at once (e.g. restless) - to ascertain the comfort and support of each pillow in each position.
She tested a variety of pillows at a range of different price points - all with different fillings and benefits. Other members of the woman&home editorial team including Caramel Quin, Hannah Holway, Kenedee Fowler and Anna Paul, also tested some of the pillows, on this list. Here's what our pillow testers took into consideration when sharing their feedback:
- Support and comfort: Our testers rated each pillow for comfort based on sleeping for six to eight hours (it's the most important thing after all!) as well as how supported their head, neck and shoulders felt during use and upon waking.
- Breathability: We assessed how cool/breathable each pillow felt, noting whether our head and/or neck had overheated during the night.
- Hypoallergenic benefits: We also looked at the supposed hypoallergenic properties of those that state that they have those benefits, by judging how stuffy our nose felt each morning.
- Any potential issues: We also looked at the potential for those little niggles that might have someone regretting their purchase, such as fillings that clump or feathers that poke through the casing.
- Value-for-money: Finally, we noted the value-for-money of each pillow, and whether the night's sleep was worth the price — or whether a more affordable choice would likely offer the same experience.
The best pillows were all tested in the same way, over a period of at least 2 weeks.
How do I choose the best pillow for me?
There are a few things to consider when purchasing a new pillow, including:
Your sleeping position
Everyone's pillow needs will vary depending on which position they sleep in each night. "When it comes to the best pillow for your dominant sleep position (how you initially lay when you fall into bed), you'll want to keep firmness and loft (height) in mind," according to Amelia Jerden, certified sleep science coach and staff writer at Sleepopolis. "For each position, it’s most important to ensure that the sleeper’s neck is in line with the rest of their spine, so not craning upwards or dipping down too far", she adds. Different pillows will suit different needs, including:
- Back sleepers: As a general rule, back sleepers should choose a pillow with medium thickness. "Back sleepers should consider firm support that helps to align the spine, neck and shoulders," says a sleep specialist from Simba.
- Side sleepers: Simba's spokesperson tells us that when it comes to side sleepers, "a soft pillow that stops the neck from being strained at night is best." Pillows for side sleepers should also be on the firmer side, to maintain alignment for their body while they sleep.
- Front sleepers: "For those who prefer to sleep on their front, a medium-firm pillow is recommended to support the neck and shoulders and prevent aches and pains", says Simba's spokesperson. This is why thinner pillows can be good for people who sleep often on the front, and who may use their arm to prop up their head in the night.
- Combi sleepers: If you’re a restless sleeper and find yourself settling on different sleeping positions throughout the night, choosing the pillow for your dominant sleeping position may help. Or you could opt for an adjustable pillow, that gives you control over the height and fill. "Having a pillow that allows you to adjust to your sleeping style can mean if your sleeping style changes, you can adapt your pillow to suit."
Your budget
Pillows can vary wildly in price, so setting your budget is vital.
- Most affordable: These are often synthetic pillows, e.g, those not made out of natural materials but man-made. They are often hypo-allergenic and can be very comfortable, however, they may not last as long as more expensive pillows.
- Mid-price: These pillows usually use synthetic fillings too, such as microfiber or memory foam. These will meet the vast majority of different sleepers' needs.
- Most expensive: Often, those with more luxurious fillings (such as feather and down), will be more expensive. These are often the cushiony, marshmallow-like pillows that you might have slept on in hotels.
How often should you replace pillows?
