The best memory foam pillows

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The best memory foam pillows
  • Sleep is important, and pillows are one of the key ingredients for getting a good night's rest.
  • There are a ton of memory foam pillows out there, but the Coop Home Goods memory foam pillow is the best one you can buy because it suits most sleepers and adjusts to fit your needs.
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When you think of upgrading your bed, you probably think about getting a new mattress or maybe a new sheet set. The humble pillow, however, plays a seriously important role in getting a good night's sleep. Having a good pillow can be the difference between waking up unable to move your head, and waking up feeling refreshed and ready for the day.

Of course, there are plenty of pillows to choose from. We've highlighted the best pillows here, but for those who are looking for memory foam specifically, this one's for you. Memory foam pillows are great at contouring to your specific needs and keeping your spine and neck aligned and supported.

There are, however, a number of things to consider before you purchase a memory foam pillow. For starters, you'll want to think about the position that you most often sleep in - on your back, your side, your stomach, or all three. Your sleeping position will help inform the thickness and shape of the memory foam pillow that's best for you.

You'll also want to think about the type of memory foam that you want to have inside your pillow. Options include a slab of memory foam contoured to your head and neck or shredded memory foam that will adapt to whatever you need it to feel like.

Here are our top picks for the best memory foam pillows:

Prices and links are current as of 2/26/2020. We're currently testing a number of memory foam pillows to see how they compare to our current picks and will update this guide accordingly. They include the Tuft & Needle Original Foam Pillow, Tempur-Pedic Tempur-Cloud Pillow, and Therapedic Cooling Contour Memory Foam Pillow.

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The best memory foam pillow overall

The best memory foam pillow overall
The Coop Home Goods memory foam pillow is fully customizable to your needs because you can take out some of the shredded memory foam to reach the perfect level of comfort.

The Coop Home Goods memory foam pillow is filled with shredded memory foam that you can take out or put into the pillow to adjust the thickness and firmness, so it's totally customizable to your needs. It's also our top pillow pick overall in our pillow buying guide.

Inside the pillow, you'll find Coop Home Goods' proprietary mix of shredded visco elastic memory foam, which you can add or remove depending on your needs. The pillow comes with plenty of foam, too, so even those who prefer really thick pillows should be happy with what the Coop Home Goods memory foam pillow has to offer.

Thanks to the fact that the pillow has shredded foam as opposed to a big block of foam, it is also quite breathable, so hot sleepers can also sleep easy.

The pillow is also hypoallergenic, comes with a five-year warranty, and is machine washable. It's not perfect, though. While Sleepopolis gave the pillow a hefty 4.6/5 in its review, it did note that there is a slight smell to the pillow for the first few days, though that smell will eventually go away. Still, that's a small thing to keep in mind.

Perhaps the best thing about the pillow is its excellent value for the price. A queen-sized memory foam pillow (20"x 30") costs $59.99 or you can pay an extra $5 for a king-sized pillow (20"x 36").

Pros: Adjustable, breathable, relatively inexpensive

Cons: Gives off slight smell for the first few days of use

The best budget memory foam pillow

The best budget memory foam pillow
The Brooklyn Bedding Premium Shredded Foam pillow is ideal for side and stomach sleepers looking for a relatively affordable pillow that doesn't sacrifice quality or comfort.

Brooklyn Bedding is known for selling American-made mattresses, but the company also offers bedding accessories, including excellent memory foam pillows. The Premium Shredded Foam pillow claims to offer the "best value" along with "cloud-like comfort with contoured support." I put it to the test to see if the description rang true.

When I first removed the pillow from the box it was shipped in, it seemed flat and shapeless. I was skeptical at first, but within a few hours of being out of the box, the shredded memory foam inside took shape and the pillow filled out nicely.

The pillow also comes with a removable cover that is machine-washable, moisture-wicking, and anti-microbial for a more hygienic sleep environment. You can definitely put a pillowcase over the cover if you'd like, but I also liked having the option of sleeping directly on the cover. I found it to be both soft and comfortable, and I didn't find myself overheating at all while sleeping on it.

The pillow itself unzips so you can remove some of the foam as needed if you find it to be too thick. Personally, it was the perfect height for my sleeping positions, and I found no need to adjust the loft. The inside is made up of shredded memory foam and latex, and is designed to draw heat out and away from your head as you sleep.

I'm a restless sleeper, and I switch from my side to my stomach frequently during the night. I liked how the pillow adapted to whatever position I was in, and it molded to my head and neck nicely. I also tend to sleep warm but had no issues with feeling overheated during the night.

Typically, once I fall into a deeper sleep, I end up on my stomach for much of the night, and it can be challenging to find a pillow that offers enough support without being too thick and causing my neck to ache. With this pillow, I had support without feeling like my neck was arched at an uncomfortable angle. If you are a back sleeper, you may find that this pillow doesn't offer quite enough support on its own.

However, when my boyfriend placed it on top of another pillow, he found it to be the perfect combination. He felt that he slept better — and cooler — than he has in the past with lower quality polyester filled pillows. We both like this pillow so much we've agreed that we need to get another one so we can each have one of our own — a much better alternative than having a pillow fight (pun definitely intended).

Reviewers love its affordable price point, the ability to adjust the loft, and how soft and supportive it is. It also comes in King and Queen sizes so you can find the perfect fit for you and your bed. — Kylie Joyner

Pros: Affordable, soft yet supportive for side and stomach sleepers, height can be adjusted, comes with machine-washable case

Cons: May not offer enough support on its own for back sleepers

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The best memory foam pillow for side sleepers

The best memory foam pillow for side sleepers
The Bear Pillow is not too firm, not too soft, and capped at both ends with a mesh panel that maintains airflow and keeps it cool the whole night.

The Bear Pillow's signature Loft-X Foam isn't as firm or stiff as other memory foam pillows, which prevents it from leaving you with a crooked neck in the morning.

This is a great pillow for those who sleep hot, and users claim to actually be able to feel air passing through the pillow, which suggests that the mesh panels are doing their job. The pillow also feels cold to the touch, thanks to its yarn, which The Bear Mattress company calls "double ice fabric."

The Bear Pillow also comes with a removable, washable hypoallergenic/anti-microbial cover, which sure, you could buy separately, but it's a nice inclusion.

Countless reviewers report being amazed at how cool to the touch the pillow is, and one person in particular deftly pointed out that the pillow and its vents lose their ability to perform their job with a pillowcase over them, so they choose to sleep on the hypoallergenic slipcover (which, again, is removable and washable).

The experts over at Sleepopolis endorse the Bear Pillow, calling it "an even balance between plush and firm" that provides "comfort for any sleep position," and Sleep Sherpa is a fan, too. — Owen Burke

Pros: Cooling, well-balanced between plushness and firmness

Cons: Might be best without a pillowcase (which might not look so good on your bed, if you care), not easily bunched up or reshaped (if you like to fold your pillow)

The best contoured memory foam pillow

The best contoured memory foam pillow
The Sleep Innovations Contour Memory Foam Pillow is aimed at relieving neck pain and ensuring that you don't do damage to your neck and back when you sleep at night.

If you're looking for a pillow that's contoured to your neck and head, the Sleep Innovations Contour Memory Foam Pillow is the best choice for you. The contour pillow is aimed specifically at stabilizing your head during the night, ensuring you wake up feeling refreshed and that you don't do damage to the muscles in your neck.

Not only is the Sleep Innovations pillow contoured, but it's also great at managing temperature. It has an inner layer of SureTemp foam, which allows for great airflow during the night. It also has a cover that's made of 74% cotton and 25% polyester, and it can be machine washed. The pillow has a five-year warranty, which is great for those who are looking for something that will last.

We're not the only ones that think this is a great choice for a pillow. MemoryFoamDoctor rated it at 4.4/5, noting that it was particularly helpful for pain relief. The pillow is also pretty inexpensive.

As is the case with plenty of other memory foam pillows, you'll find that there will be a slight odor to the pillow when it arrives, but it'll go away after a few hours of being aired out.

Pros: Excellent for pain relief, great temperature control, pretty inexpensive

Cons: Small odor initially

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The best wedge memory foam pillow

The best wedge memory foam pillow
The InteVision Foam Wedge Pillow isn't just relatively inexpensive. It's also durable and comfortable.

For people who prefer a wedge design, this one is durable and comfortable. It has a two-layered design with 1-inch of memory foam on top of the base foam, so it should be relatively firm yet comfortable. The pillow also comes with a machine-washable white cover, and for those who want a pillowcase that will properly fit the pillow shape, InteVision also sells pillowcases on Amazon.

Customer reviews note that the pillow is great for a number of reasons, including that it is relatively durable and good at holding its shape over long periods of time, even with constant use.

They do note a few negative things about the pillow: it's not great with temperature management, for example, and it has an odor when you first buy it. However, both are to be expected with memory foam pillows.

Pros: Comfortable two-layer design, durable, inexpensive

Cons: Not the best with temperature management

Check out our other buying guides for bedding

Check out our other buying guides for bedding
The best duvet covers

Your cozy down-filled duvet needs a stylish cover to keep it clean and add some spice to your bedroom's décor. See more: the best duvet covers.

The best mattresses

A great mattress can be the difference between a good night's sleep that results in a productive day or a horrible night that makes you feel like you didn't sleep at all. See more: the best mattresses.

The best mattress toppers

Although a mattress topper isn't a must-have for your bed, it's one of the easiest ways to up your sleep quality and comfort. See more: the best mattress toppers.

The best pillows

A good pillow means a good night's sleep. We reviewed dozens of pillows to narrow down the choices to the ones you'll love best. See more: the best pillows.

The best bed frames you can buy

Your bed is not only the highlight of your bedroom, it's the only furniture you spend 33% of your life on. See more: the best bed frames.

The best sheets you can buy for your bed

Few would deny that at the end of a long, hard day, sliding into a comfortable bed outfitted with soft, smooth sheets that pamper your skin is one of life's greatest pleasures. After all, you spend nearly a third of your life between those sheets, so why wouldn't you want the best? See more: the best sheets.

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