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17 best pillows 2024, tried and tested for a great night’s sleep

Whether firm or soft, cooling or super thick, the right pillows will help you sleep soundly

Zoe Phillimore
Monday 14 October 2024 15:01 BST
Side sleepers should plump for a thicker pillow, while lower options are better for those who sleep on their back
Side sleepers should plump for a thicker pillow, while lower options are better for those who sleep on their back (The Independent/iStock)
Our Top Picks

Finding the perfect pillow can be a life-long quest but its one worth pursuing, as the best pillows can transform the quality of your sleep. What constitutes the ideal pillow is a subjective thing, however.

Side sleepers will do well with firm pillows, such as those made from memory foam. Back sleepers, meanwhile, may prefer a squashy pillow that cocoons their head – feather and down or a synthetic dupe are great options. Front sleeps need a low-profile pillow, and wool or synthetic are great for this.

Allergy sufferers need to look for pillows that are hypoallergenic – synthetic, wool or bamboo are go-tos. You need to be able to properly wash the pillows to blitz out the dust and dust mites (grim, we know, but dust mites are the main cause of house-based allergies in the UK).

Those who are liable to overheating with night sweats would do well to look for pillows they can wash, and might want to veer away from some synthetic pillows, too, as they’re not super breathable.

Whichever pillow you plump for, it should keep your spine aligned throughout the night, so you don’t wake up with aches and pains. You shouldn’t be waking up having to shift your pillow, either. If your sleep is disrupted, you probably need to buy a new pillow. A pillow’s lifespan is about one to five years – and that’s if you look after it properly.

Keep scrolling for our pick of pillows for all types of sleepers.

How we tested

A selection of the pillows we tested
A selection of the pillows we tested (Zoe Phillimore)

We’ve spent two years putting pillows to the test for this article – that’s almost 6,000 hours of testing. We recruited side, back and front sleepers, to check the pillows for comfort. We also covered loads of different fillings, with synthetic, natural and hybrid options. Whether the pillows offered good value for money was also taken into consideration. Here are the ones that won the pillow fights…

The best pillows for 2024 are:

  • Best overall – Simba firm hybrid pillow: £159, Simbasleep.com
  • Best budget buy – Silentnight airmax pillow: £14, Amazon.co.uk
  • Best mid-range memory foam pillow – Emma original pillow: £75, Emma-sleep.co.uk
  • Best soft pillow set – Dusk feels like down pair of pillows: £18, Dusk.com
  • Best silk hybrid – Fine Bedding Company boutique silk pillow: £36, Amazon.co.uk

Simba firm hybrid pillow

Simba-best-pillows-review-indybest
  • Best: Overall
  • Firmness: Firm
  • Dimensions: 45cm x 70cm
  • Filling: Fibre layers and aerocoil
  • Cover: 100 per cent cotton with cooling fabric on one side
  • Why we love it
    • Looks great on the bed
    • Good for side sleepers
    • Adjustable firmness
  • Take note
    • Pricey

We love a firm pillow, and you will struggle to find a more comfortable option than this one. The folks at Simba are always innovating, and the design of this pillow is a case in point. Within the zip-up outer case are a series of fibre layers, and an aerocoil layer. You can remove or add in more fibre layers to find the right loft and softness for you. There are instructions for how to do this, and you can tailor it for if you’re a back or side sleeper. With all the layers in, it’s slightly too deep for us, but we were able to quickly adjust it to make it just right.

If that’s not enough, one side of the pillow is covered in cooling fabric, which draws heat away from your head. We found this very effective, and we didn’t wake up in a sweat once.

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Silentnight airmax pillow

Silentnight best pillow 2024
  • Best: Budget buy
  • Firmness: Medium to soft
  • Dimensions: 69cm x 46cm
  • Filling: Polyester
  • Cover: Hypoallergenic polyester
  • Why we love it
    • Adjustable feel
    • Supportive
    • Cocooned our heads
  • Take note
    • Requires replumping

Silentnight has created this airmax pillow for those who are, well, sweaty sleepers. The medium to soft firmness is apparently ideal for side sleepers, and it did test well. It is, however, quite quick to sink and it has the undeniable feel of a synthetic pillow. We liked that the mesh sides encouraged cool air to circulate around our head, and found we were kept temperate all night. There are bonus points, too, as it’s hypoallergenic, and you can chuck it in the washing machine at 40C and kill off any germs.

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Simba hybrid pillow

Simba-2-best-pillows-review-indybest
  • Best: Hybrid pillow for front sleepers
  • Firmness: Adjustable, down-like comfort
  • Dimensions: 45cm x 70cm
  • Filling: Memory foam nanocubes
  • Cover: Cotton
  • Why we love it
    • Great for back and front sleepers
    • Washable cover
    • Breathable
    • Adjustable firmness
  • Take note
    • Pricey

Another great pillow from Simba, the softer hybrid is great for back and front sleepers. The washable cover encases loads of soft foam “nanocubes”, which you can remove (there’s a pouch for storage of unused cubes) until you find your optimal softness. The cover is designed to be cool to the touch, and there are air vents to help you stay cool – we never felt too warm while sleeping on this pillow. Despite it being softer than the firm version, it looked great on our bed, too.

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Dusk ‘feels like down' pair of pillows

Dusk-best-pillows-review-indybest
  • Best: Soft pillow set
  • Firmness: Soft, medium or firm
  • Dimensions: 50cm x 75cm (standard), 50cm x 90cm (super king)
  • Filling: Feels like down
  • Cover: 100% cotton
  • Why we love it
    • Good for front sleepers
    • Great value
  • Take note
    • Dry clean only

Dusk has designed this pair for those who like feather pillows but don’t actually want down for whatever reason. Currently in the sale, starting at less than £10 per pillow, this set of two offers fantastic value (it does when at full price, too). You can choose your firmness but we tested the firm option and still found it pretty soft. While this makes the pillows ideal for front or back sleepers, side sleepers might struggle with the lack of support. When not in use, they looked great on our bed, and fluffed up nicely. It’s worth noting these are “professional clean” only.

  1.  £18 from Dusk.com
Prices may vary
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Fine Bedding Company boutique silk pillow

Fine-bedding-company-best-pillows-review-indybest
  • Best: Silk hybrid pillow
  • Firmness: Medium firm
  • Dimensions: 74cm x 48cm
  • Filling: 90% Smartfil microfibre, 10% pure silk
  • Cover: 100% sustainably sourced cotton
  • Why we love it
    • Kept us cool
    • Great for back sleepers
    • Silk and synthetic hybrid filling
    • Good for allergy sufferers
  • Take note
    • Not vegan friendly

Combine super insulating, soft, long-lasting, gentle silk with some sturdy polyester and you’ve got the best of both worlds with this pillow. It will suit a back sleeper well, as it cocoons your head really cozily. Thanks to the silk and the high-quality cotton cover, we found we didn’t overheat while using this pillow, either. You can wash it at 40C and tumble dry it, which makes it easy to keep it at its best, too.

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Premier Inn firm & fresh pillows, set of two

Premiere-Inn-best-pillows-review-indybest
  • Best: For uni students
  • Firmness: Firm or soft
  • Dimensions: Soft: 44cm x 76cm. Firm: 44cm x 76cm
  • Filling: Hollowfibre
  • Cover: Quilted cotton-polyester mix
  • Why we love it
    • Great for side sleepers
    • Includes pillow protectors
    • Machine washable
  • Take note
    • Requires replacing after one to two years
    • Not the most breathable

We admit we were surprised at how much we loved these pillows, which are perfectly firm and ideal for side sleepers. They’re made from hollow fibre (aka polyester), so, they are, perhaps not the most breathable in this line-up but we didn’t find overheating an issue. They come with quilted protectors and are machine washable. Although these pillows are well-priced, Premier Inn says you should replace them after one to two years.

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Panda London hybrid bamboo pillow

Panda-best-pillows-review-indybest
  • Best: Memory-foam pillow
  • Firmness: Firm
  • Dimensions: 70cm x 40cm x 13cm
  • Filling: Charcoal-infused memory foam
  • Cover: Bamboo
  • Why we love it
    • Fantastic for side sleepers
    • Removable cover for washing
    • Good for keeping cool
  • Take note
    • Not good for front sleepers

We found this pillow an absolute delight, with fantastic staying power night after night. Inside is charcoal-infused memory foam, while charcoal and bamboo work together to draw heat away from your head and keep it sweat-free all night. It should also stop you getting that grim sleepyhead smell, too.

We found this pillow absolutely brilliant for those that like a fairly firm pillow. You won’t sink into it, but nor does it feel like sleeping on a brick. Even Goldilocks would be happy with this pillow.

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BBHugme pregnancy pillow

Amazon best pillow 2024
  • Best: Supportive pillow
  • Firmness: Adjustable
  • Dimensions: 150cm x 20cm
  • Filling: Microbeads
  • Cover: 95% cotton, 5% spandex jersey fabric
  • Why we love it
    • Great for aches and pains
    • Washable cover
    • Range of designs
  • Take note
    • Tricky to make it look aesthetically pleasing on the bed

This tube pillow is designed for pregnant people but is equally useful for those with aches and pains when sleeping, and for postpartum snoozing. The pillow is filled with beans, which provide structured yet fluid support. The inner bag slides inside a tube of fabric, which is then fastened with plastic ties at either end. This means you can adjust your tension, height and length to suit you – absolutely ingenious. We found this wildly comfortable and wondered how we’d ever weathered a pregnancy without one. It comes in a range of designs and colourways, so you can find one to suit your décor preferences.

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Aeyla dual pillow

Aeyla  best pillows 2024
  • Best: For front sleepers
  • Firmness: Medium to soft
  • Dimensions: 50cm x 70cm
  • Filling: Microfibres
  • Cover: 100% cotton
  • Why we love it
    • Good for front sleepers
    • Vegan friendly
    • Hypoallergenic
  • Take note
    • Requires repumping
    • Not super cooling

As neck-pain sufferers, we were keen to try out the Aeyla dual pillow, as it claims to specifically ease this type of ache. Now, we are total converts. Initially, we pondered if the pillow would be too soft – we’ve found very soft, low-loft pillows exacerbate our neck pain – but that wasn’t the case. The dual pillow is mid loft but it provided solid support while not feeling like we were sleeping on a brick. Whatever we threw at it overnight, it regained its composure in the morning and plumped up again.

It’s hypoallergenic and vegan-friendly, too, as it’s filled with microfibres – it’s also free from toxins and chemicals. The design of the dual pillow is based on an inner pillow encapsulated in a padded cover, which helps it maintain its shape. We found it adapted to our movement really well, and we found it gave us some of the best nights’ sleep during testing.

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Kally Sleep five-star hotel pillows, twin pack

Kally best pillows 2024
  • Best: Guest-room pillows
  • Firmness: Medium
  • Dimensions: 74cm x 48cm
  • Filling: Polyester hollowfibre
  • Cover: 100% cotton
  • Why we love it
    • Well priced
    • Good for side and back sleepers
    • Kept us cool
    • Hypoallergenic
    • Machine washable
  • Take note
    • Synthetic fibres aren’t for everyone

These pillows are great all-rounders, well suited to a guest bed, where you need something versatile. They’re also an absolute bargain.

We found them to be supportive and comfortable whether you sleep on your side or back. The Kally Sleep hotel pillows are bang in the middle in terms of firmness and loft, making them suitable for pretty much anyone.

They also passed the test on overheating, perhaps thanks to the 100 per cent cotton cover. The filling is polyester hollow fibre and is hypoallergenic. A big tick for these pillows is that you can shove them in your washing machine at 40C to kill off germs.

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Emma original pillow

Emma best pillows 2024
  • Best: Mid-range memory foam pillow
  • Firmness: Firm but adjustable
  • Dimensions: 40cm x 70cm
  • Filling: Memory foam
  • Cover: 98% polyester, 2% elastane
  • Why we love it
    • Removable machine-washable cover
    • Adjustable height
  • Take note
    • Not great for front sleepers

Most memory foam pillows are not going to work for back sleepers, as these types of pillow are hard and the loft is too high. However, Emma has created its original pillow so that it can be adjusted and be relatively low loft, enabling back sleepers to wake without a crick in their neck. You can also adjust the firmness of the pillow, by zipping back the cover and removing the foam layers. We found all the layers combined created the best loft and firmness for us, but your mileage may vary, and that’s the beauty of this pillow.

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Next duck feather and down pillows, set of two

Next best pillow 2024
  • Best: Budget down pillows
  • Firmness: Medium, but firm and soft are available
  • Dimensions: 50cm x 75cm
  • Filling: 90% feather, 10% down
  • Cover: 230 thread count cotton
  • Why we love it
    • Great price
    • Choice of feels
    • Good for front and back sleepers
    • Looks great on the bed
  • Take note
    • Require replumping
    • Not ideal for allergy sufferers

You can select from soft, medium or firm with these Next pillows. We opted for medium but we would say they’re slightly on the softer side. The breakdown of the filling is 90 per cent feather and 10 per cent down, inside a thick cover that meant no feathers poked us in the face. The loft is pretty decent on these, although, they do squash down and require a plump every morning – we don’t judge them for that, as we are similarly disposed ourselves. Let’s not forget that the price of these pillows is incredible for a set of two in natural fibres – particularly the prized down. Overall, these are a great, purse-friendly feather option.

  1.  £40 from Next.co.uk
Prices may vary
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Piglet in Bed merino wool pillow

Piglet in Bed best pillows 2024
  • Best: Wool pillow
  • Firmness: Firm, but soft and medium are available
  • Dimensions: 75cm x 50cm or 90cm x 50cm
  • Fill: Merino wool
  • Cover: 100% organic cotton
  • Why we love it
    • Hypoallergenic
    • Great for front sleepers
    • Kept us cool
    • Quality filling
  • Take note
    • Not suitable for vegans

Piglet in Bed has somewhat of a cult following for its trendy, Insta-friendly bedsheets. The brand also does pillows in merino wool, which is a fantastic natural fibre. Keeping you warm and toasty during winter, and cool and fresh in the summer, the fibres are also incredibly fine and soft, so they won’t feel itchy.

Piglet in Bed offers both standard and super king sizes of this pillow, and options of soft, medium or firm of which we tried the latter. The filling is 100 per cent merino wool, and the casing is 100 per cent organic cotton. We found this pillow incredibly comfortable, as it has a good loft to it, yet offered a really lovely “sink” when we settled down for sleep. We found you could mould and knead it into the perfect shape and still it provides a deep level of support and springs back in the morning like nothing’s happened.

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Marks and Spencer body-temperature control pillows, two pack

M&S best pillows 2024
  • Best: Temperature-control pillow
  • Firmness: Medium
  • Dimensions: 74cm x 48cm
  • Fill: 100% polyester
  • Cover: 100% polyester
  • Why we love it
    • Kept us cool
    • Great for allergy sufferers
    • Good for back sleepers
  • Take note
    • Synthetic fibres aren’t for everyone

To review this pillow, we recruited a highly fussy tester who is liable to overheating at night. M&S’s body sensor pillows have technology to help regulate your temperature – this means our tester should be warm and cosy during colder nights, and cool during the hotter ones. When they reported back, they said these pillows were comfortable and our tester didn’t overheat once while using them.

Our reviewer said they’d be happy to use these as their regular pillows in future, which is firm praise indeed. The pillows are made from polyester, inside and out, which means you can lob them in the washing machine and even tumble dry them on a low setting.

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Dorma extra firm and deep deluxe Oxford border pillow top

Dunelm best pillow 2024
  • Best: For looking great on the bed
  • Firmness: Firm
  • Dimensions: 74cm x 48cm
  • Filling: Polyester
  • Cover: 230 thread count cotton
  • Why we love it
    • Looks great on our bed
    • Good for side sleepers
    • Can be machine washed
  • Take note
    • Not ideal for front sleepers

If you want a very deep loft, this Dorma pillow should go straight to the top of your list. We were hugely impressed with how darn sturdy this pillow is. It’s incredibly firm (you wouldn’t want it any firmer) and, well, big. It’s ideal if you like to sit up in bed and watch TV, sip tea, or just ponder life, but sleeping on it was a bit of a mission. Inside, there are two layers of polyester, while the casing is made of cotton. Despite all the manmade fibres, we didn’t find it too sweaty, and it’s machine washable, which is a bonus.

  1.  £30 from Dunelm.com
Prices may vary
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Rem-Fit 500 cool gel pillow

Rem-Fit best pillows 2024
  • Best: Cooling pillow
  • Firmness: Firm
  • Dimensions: 64cm x 40cm x 12cm
  • Filling: Cool gel memory foam
  • Cover: Moisture-wicking fabric
  • Why we love it
    • Kept us cool all night long
    • Good for side sleepers
    • Removable washable cover

This memory foam pillow bends and flexes as you move in your sleep, which meant we got a very comfortable night’s kip on it. Despite the relatively low loft, we found the support it provided was excellent, and it had the power to support us all night before springing back up in the morning.

The cool gel inside is part of the pillow’s temperature-regulating features. The pillow aims to help you stay cool all night, while the outer fabric wicks away sweat. We certainly didn’t feel hot at all while sleeping atop it. Should you ever get a bit sweaty, you can wash the outer cover.

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Soak & Sleep supreme Canadian goose down pillow

Soak & Sleep best pillows 2024
  • Best: Feather pillow
  • Firmness: Medium firm or soft
  • Dimensions: 50cm x 75cm
  • Filling: Goose down
  • Cover: 320 thread count cambric cotton
  • Why we love it
    • Generously filled

This pillow comes in soft or medium-firm versions. We opted for the latter, and it certainly provided plenty of support, especially for a goose-down pillow. It sat proudly on our bed – it was so filled it was actually quite hard to get in the pillowcase. It provided reassuringly firm support, too. After a night of snoozing on it, it was deflated where our head had been but it quickly plumped up again after a quick shake. Side sleepers will love that it keeps spines aligned well, and tucks in well at the neck.

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Pillow FAQs

What type of pillow is right for you?

Microfibre: These pillows tend to be among some of the most affordable and are man-made from synthetic materials such as polyester. They come in a range of different firmness levels, which makes them suitable for most sleeping styles, particular front sleepers, as they tend to be flatter. However, they aren’t the most breathable option, as they can retain moisture and heat.

Feather and down: To be called a down pillow, a product must be made up of at least 70 per cent down feathers, with the rest being regular feathers. Down feathers are typically far softer and better at retaining heat. It’s worth noting they're more expensive than most other pillows and not always suitable for those with allergies, however, you can find anti-allergy options. As down pillows flatten over time, they’re not the best option for side sleepers who require more height, but others will usually find it a comfortable choice.

Memory foam: These pillows are ideal for anyone who struggles with neck pain, as they offer sturdy support by moulding to the shape of your body. While they are durable, memory foam pillows can feel quite rigid and have limited airflow, which means they can get hot. Back and side sleepers will benefit most from this type of pillow.

Wool: If it’s an eco-friendly and naturally hypoallergenic pillow you’re after, wool could be the option for you. Wool pillows help to regulate your temperature, keeping you warm in winter and cool in summer, and are best suited to front sleepers.

Latex: An alternative to memory foam, latex pillows share similar properties, as they are firm and supportive. While they are much more breathable than memory foam, latex styles are on the pricey side and can have a distinct smell.

Pillows at a glance

Pillow

Firmness

Dimensions

Filling

Cover

Simba firm hybrid pillow

Firm

45cm x 70cm

Fibre layers and an aerocoil springs

100 per cent cotton with cooling fabric on one side

Silentnight airmax pillow

Medium to soft

69cm x 46cm

Polyester

Hypoallergenic polyester

Simba hybrid pillow

Adjustable, down-like comfort

45cm x 70cm

Memory foam nanocubes

Cotton

Dusk ‘feels like down' pair of pillows

Soft, medium or firm

50cm x 75cm (standard), 50cm x 90cm (super king)

Feels like down

Cotton

Fine Bedding Company boutique silk pillow

Medium firm

74cm x 48cm

90% Smartfil microfibre, 10% pure silk

100% sustainably sourced cotton

Premier Inn firm & fresh pillows, set of two

Firm or soft

Soft: 44cm x 76cm. Firm: 44cm x 76cm

Hollowfibre

Quilted cotton-polyester mix

Panda London hybrid memory foam pillow

Firm

50cm x 75cm

Charcoal-infused memory foam

Bamboo

Soak & Sleep supreme Canadian goose down pillow

Medium/firm

50cm x 75cm

Goose down

320 thread count cambric cotton

BBHugme pregnancy pillow

Adjustable

150cm x 20cm

Microbeads

95 per cent cotton and 5 per cent spandex jersey fabric

Aeyla dual pillow

Medium/soft

50cm x 70cm

Microfibres

100 per cent cotton

Kally Sleep five-star hotel pillows, twin pack

Medium

74cm x 48cm

Polyester hollowfibre

100 per cent cotton

Emma original pillow

Firm but adjustable

40cm x 70cm

Memory foam

98 per cent polyester and 2 per cent elastane

Next duck feather and down

Medium (firm and soft available)

50cm x 75cm

90 per cent feather and 10 per cent down

230 thread count cotton

Piglet in Bed merino wool pillow

Firm (soft and medium available)

75cm x 50cm/ 90cm x 50cm

Merino wool

100 per cent organic cotton

Marks and Spencer body-temperature control pillows

Medium

100 per cent polyester

100 per cent polyester

Dorma extra firm and deep deluxe Oxford border pillow top

Firm

74cm x 48cm

Polyester

230 thread count 100 per cent cotton

Rem-Fit 500 cool gel pillow

Firm

64cm x 40cm x 12 cm

Cool gel memory foam

Moisture wicking fabric

The verdict: Pillows

We absolutely loved the Simba hybrid firm pillow – it’s great for back and side sleepers, as you can adjust the profile. It also looks great fluffed up on the bed and keep up temperate at night. Front sleepers will love the Piglet in Bed pillow, which is packed with natural fibres. For budget-friendly pillows, we were impressed with Premier Inn’s products as well as the Silentnight airmax.

To get serious about your beauty sleep, check out the best silk pillowcases that work wonders for your hair and skin

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