Which are the best pillows in the UK? And is there anything more confusing and less interesting than shopping for pillows?
Here’s my attempt to simplify things a bit, along with five of the best pillows in the UK based on reviews, awards, specification and value for money. There are actually more than five, as I’ve offered a few cheaper alternatives. Hopefully you’ll forgive me.
The different types of pillow
There are two main types of pillow. Of course, there are subcategories and less popular alternatives if you’re really interested, but most of us are basically picking between these two:
- Natural pillows (most are filled with a mix of feathers and down from either geese or ducks) – £15 to £200ish
- Synthetic pillows (usually filled with microfibres/hollowfibres which are fluffy and soft or ‘memory foam’ which is more solid with a hugging/sinking feeling) – £5 to £100ish
How does sleeping position affect the pillow you should buy?
Another factor to consider is that some pillows suit one sleeping position more than others.
The general rule is:
- Back and front sleepers need a thinner pillow
- Side sleepers need a thicker pillow (or they can try using two thin pillows)
There isn’t a definitive to what constitutes a ‘thick’ pillow or a ‘thin’ pillow but the aim is to keep your spine aligned whilst you sleep.
I’ve picked out five highly rated pillows made from a range of materials and have included some cheaper and some more expensive ones. There are some frequently asked questions about buying a pillow at the bottom of the page.
1. Silentnight Hotel Collection Pillow – pack of 2 – £22 (synthetic pillow)
These Silentnight ‘Hotel’ pillows are a decent choice if you sleep on your back and want a reasonably priced synthetic pillow. Synthetic pillows won’t impress your posh friends at a dinner party. However, they are good value and I’d also question why you are discussing pillows at a dinner party.
They’re made by Silentnight, which is probably the biggest name in the UK mattress and beds market.
The official blurb suggests that you could use two of these if you’re a side sleeper. The aim is to keep your spine nicely aligned whilst asleep. You need a firmer or thicker pillow if you mostly sleep on your side, whilst you need a thinner or softer pillow if you mostly sleep on your back or front.
These pillows get much better customer reviews than most similarly priced synthetic pillows (4.3/5 after thousands of reviews). Overall, the Silentnight brand was scores a very respectable 4.2/5 on TrustPilot.
The filling of the pillow is ‘hollowfibre’. That’s similar to the stuff that you get inside a big fluffy synthetic duvet. It’s not as posh or expensive as natural fibres like duck or goose feathers/down but it isn’t as naturally breathable.
Pros: a low price pillow from a big name brand with a good reputation. It also has lots of positive reviews.
Cons: synthetic materials can be less breathable and warmer than natural materials.
A softer and warmer alternative
A similar alternative to hollowfibre is a ‘Just Like Down’ microfibre pillow (£37 for 2). These are made from the same synthetic material but are less dense so that they feel softer. If you see ‘Microfibre’, it means it is softer and warmer and feels more like feathers/down. Meanwhile, hollowfibre is more breathable and cooler.
2. TEMPUR Pillows – £100 – £200 (synthetic memory foam pillow)
Understanding Tempur’s range of pillows requires a three-day training course, a week of revision and a series of 90 minute exams.
Well, it’s not quite that bad it certainly took me a while to figure out the difference between pillows with names like Symphony and Ombracio.
The Tempur brand
Let’s start with the brand, as you may be wondering how anyone could justify spending £100 or even £200 on a pillow. After all, there are some mattresses that cost less than £200.
Tempur is a pioneering sleep brand that developed technology used by NASA to create its own version of memory foam. It is much longer established than most sleep brands in the UK – but it is also one of the most expensive.
Memory foam is a synthetic (i.e. man-made) material but it feels much more solid than hollowfibre or microfibre.
Your first impression with a Tempur pillow is likely to be that it feels hard. However, the foam material is designed to bounce back slower and mould around you better. In other words, it gives a supportive feel after the initial sinking sensation. Some people absolutely love it, other people don’t.
The good news it that you get a 30 day trial period to figure out which camp you fall into.
Deciphering the Tempur range
Let’s start with a comparison table, as that will help narrow down your options.
| Tempur pillow name | Sleeping position | Firmness | Shape |
| Tempur Original Smartcool Pillow (££) | Back and side sleepers | Medium-firm | Rectangle, but with more solid edges |
| Tempur Cloud Smartcool Pillow (££) | Any* | Soft or medium | Traditional pillow shape |
| Tempur Ombracio Smartcool Pillow (£££) | Any, but particularly for front sleepers | Medium | Star shape |
| Tempur Symphony Smartcool Pillow (£) | Back sleepers and side sleepers (one side for each) | Medium | Traditional pillow shape |
So, if you fancy giving a Tempur pillow a go then you may decide to start by considering your sleeping position, and firmness preference:
- Side sleepers and back sleepers can choose from any of the four pillows, but are probably best to go for the Tempur Original Smartcool Pillow if they want a medium-firm model or the double-sided Tempur Symphony Smartcool Pillow if they want a slightly softer model.
- Front sleepers with deep pockets should try the star-shaped Tempur Ombracio Smartcool Pillow, or the Tempur Cloud Smartcool Pillow (££) if they want a cheaper or softer pillow.
It’s always worth reading the smallprint before you sign up for a trial period with a mattress or pillow. Some insist that you try it out for a certain amount of time or have other terms. Most offer a refund if you don’t like it but others will only swap it for another product.
You can find the terms and conditions of the Tempur 30 days trial here. They’re sometimes a bit cheaper from John Lewis & Partners but I don’t think you get the trial period so you want to try it out on store.
A Tempur pillow would certainly impress the neighbours if you can casually drop it into conversation (for example “would you mind taking a parcel in for us from John Lewis, we’re expecting our new Tempur pillows to be delivered”).
Pros: a trial period so you can test it out and well established brand reputation, three year warranty.
Cons: relatively expensive compared to most synthetic pillows.
3. Emma Sleep Original Foam Pillow – £49
A slightly cheaper alternative to a Tempur pillow is one by Emma Sleep. They have several options, including the Emma Original Foam Pillow, which uses memory foam.
As mentioned earlier, some people don’t like the feeling of memory foam whilst others like the way it gives consistent support. Emma also sells microfibre pillows if you want a pillow with a more conventional feel.
The big plus point with Emma’s pillows is that you get a 30 day trial period and can return it for free. They don’t expect you to use it with the plastic packaging attached, so you can get a proper idea of comfort.
The Emma brand has been going for about 10 years. It turned up as one of several trendy brands that shook up the mattress market but offering one mattress that could only be bought online. They offered home trial periods and just used foam in their mattress. In the last few years, Emma has expanded its range and also changed its design. The brand currently scores 3/5 on TrustPilot.
Design of the Emma Sleep Original Foam Pillow
The Emma Sleep Original Foam Pillow uses three layers. The top layers is blue and uses a type of memory foam with gel in it. This is an attempt to overcome the problem that memory foam can make you feel warm.
The middle layer is the normal memory foam material.
Finally, there’s the bottom layer that is a softer foam.
The cover is removable and washable.
Firmness of the Emma Sleep Original Foam pillow
Emma ranks this pillow as being medium/firm. They also sell softer pillows, including the Premium Microfibre Pillow (soft/medium) and the Original Hybrid Pillow (soft on one side, firm on the other).
Pros: removable cover, cheaper than Tempur memory foam pillows, trial period
Cons: some find that memory foam is too warm
Similar alternative:
Dormeo Octasense Pillow – a microfibre pillow with two sides which offer different levels of comfort. It costs about £50 and comes with a 60 night ‘comfort trial’.
4. Snuggledown Hungarian Goose Down Gentle Support Pillow – £64 (natural pillow)
This Snuggledown pillow made from natural materials ticks a lot of boxes for the price. It’s a soft pillow, so would be most suited for people who sleep on their fronts.
The main differences between cheaper and more expensive natural pillows are to do with the ratio of feathers to down (the down is the more expensive and softer bit). Goose down tends to be more expensive than duck and there is also some variation in price depending on where the goose comes from – by which I mean which country it comes from rather than whether it had a tough upbringing.
This Snuggledown pillow is 80% goose down, which is very good for the price. Having a few feathers gives a pillow a bit more ‘structure’ so you won’t find many pillows which are 100% down.
The goose is from Hungary, which seems to be good according to most guides I’ve read (apparently ‘Siberian geese’ are sometimes actually from China).
It’s also machine washable and was scoring 4.2/5 from 1000+ customers.
Pros: high quality specification with naturally breathable filling, good mix of feathers and down, machine washable, lots of positive reviews
Cons: less famous brand than John Lewis & Partners, more expensive than most synthetic pillows
Similar alternatives:
- If you mostly sleep on your side then you will probably want a medium or a firm natural pillow instead, such as this John Lewis & Partners Natural Collection Hungarian Goose Down Firm Pillow or the Medium Version (both £90)
- If that’s a bit over budget, there’s a £22 John Lewis & Partners natural pillow. The difference is a) it’s a soft pillow so is best for front sleeper and b) it is mostly filled with feathers rather than down and that the goose is ‘Siberian’ which isn’t as good as Hungarian or Canadian geese according to most experts.
5. Soak & Sleep Supreme 100% Canadian Goose Down Pillows – £120 – £205 (natural pillow)
If you’ve recently had a lottery win and are looking for luxurious things to spend your money on, then take a look at the Soak & Sleep 100% Canadian Goose Down pillows.
For the upgraded price (compared to the natural pillow at #4 on this list) you get a higher proportion of goose down, which creates a softer pillow.
Customer reviews are at a very impressive 4.7/5. Soak and Sleep also get very positive reviews as a brand, with an average of 4.7/5 on TrustPilot from more than 22,000 reviews. Which? has previously voted Soak and Sleep as the UK’S No.1 pillow brand.
Pros: award-winning brand, down provides ultra soft pillows, great scores from customers
Cons: very expensive, 100% down has less structure than a mixture of feather and down
Frequently asked questions about buying a pillow
Which is the best type of pillow?
So which are the best pillows? Natural or synthetic pillows?
You might assume that the most expensive pillows are the best, but it’s not quite that simple. In fact, an academic study into pillow performance in 2011 reached the conclusion that ‘Polyester and latex pillows are generally associated with fewer waking symptoms, higher sleep quality, and least reports of disrupted sleep’. Genuine natural latex pillows are certainly expensive, but polyester pillows are at the cheaper end of the scale (the study was called ‘How Well Does Your Own Pillow Perform?’ by Gordon and Grimmer-Sommers).
The same academics published another paper called ‘Your Pillow May Not Guarantee a Good Night’s Sleep or Symptom-Free Waking’. In this instance they said that ‘Feather pillow users provided consistently low reports of pillow comfort and sleep quality’ (Gordon and Grimmer-Sommers, 2011).
Natural pillows are snugger and breathable and tend to feel softer. Generally, you pay more for a natural pillow with a high proportion of ‘down’ (the soft bit of the bird is under the wings). You also pay more for goose feathers than duck usually. Feathers are cheaper than down, but some people like a combination of the two as the feathers give a bit more shape and structure to the pillow.
Are synthetic pillows the best pillows for people with allergies?
Some guides you’ll read suggest that natural pillows made from feathers are problematic for allergies. The evidence and research available say it’s not quite as simple as that. A group of academics in Italy looked at ‘allergen avoidance measures for mite and pet sensitized patients’ and published their findings in 2005.
They said that whilst ‘it has become common to advise allergic peoples to avoid the use of feather bedding, the evidence for such recommendation is not strong’. They later added that ‘there is a weak scientific basis for recommending non-feather or synthetic bedding in our mite sensitized patients’ and even went so far as to say that ‘cross-sectional studies have shown that synthetic bedding is significantly associated with several respiratory diseases’ (Riccardo, Cazzola et al)
Some useful advice from Allergy UK
A factsheet from the charity Allergy UK offers some further insight and advises ‘using allergy-proof covers on bedding’. They also say that ‘washing it regularly can sometimes help, although clinical trials suggest that multiple measures need to be taken’. Research has suggested that ‘tightly woven fabrics‘ and ‘nonwoven synthetic fabrics’ are most effective if you need to ‘block common indoor allergens but still allow airflow’ (Vaughan, McLaughlin et al, 1999).
Synthetic pillows are usually cheaper and are better at not filling up with dust and other unpleasant stuff over time. Most synthetic pillows are either hollowfibre or microfibre. Hollowfibre is more breathable and cooler whilst microfibre is finer and warmer and feels a bit more like a ‘natural’ feather and down pillow. You can also get memory foam synthetic pillows which feels completely different and allows your head to sink in.
Some guides I’ve read suggest that memory foam pillows last longer than microfibre or natural pillows, but I haven’t found anything definitive.
I’ve also read guides which suggest that if you’ve got a memory foam mattress, it’s a good idea to get a memory foam pillow.
Which is the best pillow for back sleepers, side sleepers and front sleepers?
There’s some variation about what you should look for based on how you sleep.
According to a 2011 academic paper by Gordon, Grimmer-Somers et al ‘it is widely believed that a pillow which holds the cervical spine in a “neutral” position prevents cervical waking symptoms’. In other words, the aim is to keep your spine straight whilst you’re asleep so generally speaking:
- front sleepers/stomach sleepers need a softer and thinner pillow
- back sleepers also need a softer and thinner pillow
- side sleepers generally need a thicker or firmer pillow
Everyone moves around a bit, but if you don’t have a particular preference for how you sleep then you are probably best to go for a medium firmness pillow.
Please take note that I have no training or expertise in back care. This is just the summary of what I’ve picked up from reading numerous pillow-related guides online.
There’s also something called ‘fill power’, which sounds a bit like a 1990s darts player. It’s complicated and duller than a conversation with a spatula, but the gist of it is that pillows are given a score and that higher scores are better.
What about ‘contour pillows’?
Another way of categorising pillows is according to their shape. You may have seen ‘contour pillows’ such as these from Tempur.
Research was carried out in 2011 which examined their usage, which was titled ‘A randomized, comparative trial: does pillow type alter cervico-thoracic spinal posture when side lying?’ (Gordon, Gimmer-Somers et al).
The study involved a group of people, who didn’t have existing issues related to their spine (‘Exclusion criteria were history of surgery to the cervico-thoracic spine, an injury or accident to the cervico-thoracic spine in the preceding year, or currently receiving treatment for neck symptoms’).
They were each asked to rest ‘in a standardized side-lying position for 10 minutes on each of the trial pillows: regular shaped polyester, foam, feather, and latex pillows, and a contour shaped foam pillow’.
It’s worth noting that the study only examined what happens when you lie on your side, so it will be of no interest to people who sleep on their back.
What the study says about contour pillows
The study looked at the ‘slopes’ which were produced ‘at each spinal segment’ and concluded that ‘there is no evidence to support the recommendation of a foam contour pillow over a foam regular pillow to achieve a neutral cervico-thoracic spine posture in side sleepers’.
Researchers concluded that ‘Many health practitioners are asked specifically about contour pillow use, and the results of this study do not indicate that the contour foam pillow supports the cervico-thoracic spine any differently to a regular shaped foam pillow when side lying’.
As mentioned earlier, I am not an expert on back care and would advise speaking to a specialist but thought it was worth discussing the study. If you’d like to read the study for yourself, the link is here.