These are the 3 best memory foam pillows for more supportive sleep – carefully tested and selected by our Sleep Editor

Which pillow is best for you depends on a number of factors: whether you lie on your front, back, or side; whether you run hot or cold; and whether you have any allergies. For more supportive sleep, I suggest you consider memory foam pillows.

As the resident Sleep Editor at Homes & Gardens, I lead a team of expert testers in the search to find the world's best pillow. Together, we've tried everything from fluffy down inserts to organic wool options, but we agree that the best memory foam pillows offer unrivalled contouring comfort and pressure relief.

I've combed through our back catalog of reviews and searched all the best places to buy pillows to bring you the three best memory foam pillows from Brooklinen, Lagoon, and Coop Home Goods. We score each pillow against the same criteria: comfort; support; thermoregulation; and durability. You can cross-reference any unfamiliar terms against my bedding jargon buster.

Best memory foam pillows 2025 – at a glance

Below, you'll find a bite-sized summary of each pillow, outlining how it feels, who it suits, and what it costs. To learn more about a particular pillow, press 'read more below' or keep scrolling. That's where you'll find more evidence of our testing experience, along with the pros and cons of each pillow.

The best memory foam pillow overall

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If you've read any of my bedding buying guides, you'll know I'm a big believer in adjustable pillows. Experimenting with the firmness and thickness of your pillow should help you achieve your most supported sleep.

There are two common methods of pillow adjustability, and neither are perfect. Either you reach down inside the case to remove and replace handfuls of fill, which gets a little messy, or you combine pillow inserts, but you don't get such granular control over the look and feel of your pillow.

The Marlow Pillow offers a new way of adjusting your pillow height and firmness. This pillow features two zippers: one at the top and one at the bottom. Simply push and pull the zippers, letting air into and out of the pillow, until you reach your ideal look and feel. It took me a few tries to find it, but now I've created the perfect pillow for my sleep style: nice and squishy, so I won't strain my neck.

Apart from the trial and error, I like everything about the Marlow Pillow. Out of all the memory foam pillows I've tried, this is the most affordable, and one of the best for thermoregulation: the gel infusion in the foam helps to absorb excess thermal energy and keep me cool through my pillow case. One year since I started testing, the Marlow Pillow is still part of the bedding I use on my own bed.

Marlow Pillow | Was $49, now $36.75 at Brooklinen

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Reviewed by

Reviewed by

Emilia Hitching

I'm the resident Sleep Editor at Homes & Gardens. I write our pillow testing guidelines and lead an expert team in the search to find the best pillow. Read the full review: The Marlow Pillow

The best plush memory foam pillow

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'When I was first assigned to test Lagoon's The Fox Pillow, I was skeptical,' says expert tester, Alex Temblador. 'I've sampled memory foam pillows that feel like solid blocks, without any give for my neck and shoulders.'

The Fox Pillow, by contrast, is filled with a mixture of shredded memory foam and finely spun microfibers. The effect is soft and squishy: your head sinks a little into the surface of the pillow, rather than resting on top. This sort of pillow firmness is ideal for back and stomach sleepers, though side sleepers may prefer something with a little more structure.

Still, the whole point of an adjustable pillow is that you can alter it to meet your needs. Alex found that 'the first night sleeping on the Fox Pillow wasn't too bad, but it felt a little too tall for my liking. The next night, I pulled out about a quarter of the filling, which resulted in a much better sleep experience. My neck felt more aligned with my spine, especially when I lay on my back or side.'

Compared with the other memory foam pillows in this buying guide, Lagoon's The Fox Pillow is much more expensive. It's almost triple the cost of the Marlow Pillow at full price, and it doesn't perform three times as well. If you like the look of the Fox Pillow, I suggest you shop the bedding sales for a discount.

The Fox Pillow | $129 at Lagoon

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Reviewed by

Reviewed by

Alex Temblador

Alex is one of our freelance sleep product testers. She's also reviewed three mattresses, a topper, and a comforter for Homes & Gardens. Read the full review: Lagoon Fox Pillow

The best cooling memory foam pillow

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Whether you suffer from night sweats or hot flashes, or you live in a warm climate, you could use the best cooling pillow to help keep your temperature under control.

Compared with natural latex, memory foam is less breathable: there isn't much room for air to flow through such dense foam. So, pillow manufacturers have to get creative. Coop Home Goods infuses their memory foam pillows with gel beads, which absorb excess thermal energy, while a bamboo poly-blend pillow cover works to wick moisture.

'I like the fuss-free approach to customizing the pillow to your preference,' says expert tester Louise Oliphant. 'Simply unzip the outer quilted shell, then the secondary inner lining, and add or take away as much of the shredded memory foam as you like to make your pillow firmer or softer.'

The only trouble is, 'once you've adjusted your pillow exactly as you want it, you're left with a load of extra filling to store,' complains Louise. 'I've ended up with mine in a bag under my bed, but I've found some stray fibers stuck in my carpet.' For minimal mess, I suggest you try a different method of adjustability with the Marlow Pillow.

Coop Home Goods Original Adjustable Pillow | Was $99, now $79.20 at Amazon

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Reviewed by

Reviewed by

Louise Oliphant

Louise is our former Sleep Editor. Before she joined Homes & Gardens, she started her journey to better sleep working in PR for a luxury bedding brand. Read the full review: Coop Home Goods Original Adjustable Pillow

How we test pillows

As the resident Sleep Editor at Homes & Gardens, I lead a team of expert testers in the search to find the best pillow. Together, we represent a wide range of sleep styles and we live all across the country, from snow-capped enclaves in the Pacific Northwest to hot and humid cities in the South. We test each pillow for at least 30 nights to get a good indication of long-term use and we often continue to sleep on the pillows beyond the official test period to monitor performance.

We assess each pillow against the same criteria: comfort; support; thermoregulation; and durability. First, we lie on the pillow and flip between our stomachs, backs, and sides. We consider where we feel most comfortable and supported, scoring each position out of 5. We switch off our HVAC system before we assess thermoregulation, taking into account the temperature of the bedroom and the temperature outside, making note of any nights we wake up in a sweat. To assess durability, we monitor how the look and feel of the pillow changes over the course of testing.

Where possible, we compare our findings against verified customer reviews to pick up the pros and cons of long-term performance. Finally, we consider our results against the price of the pillow to help you determine value for money. If you want to learn more about how we test at Homes & Gardens, you can read our dedicated explainer.

How to choose a pillow

Consider your sleep style

Before you buy a pillow, it's worth stopping to think about your sleep positions: whether you tend to lie on your stomach, back, or side, or if you flip between positions in your sleep.

How you tend to lie on your pillow informs your ideal pillow firmness and thickness. Here's a rough guide:

• Side sleepers need a thicker, firmer pillow to slot into the gap between their head and shoulders and keep their spine straight.
• Back sleepers appreciate a medium-height pillow with a slightly plusher feel, so their heads can sink into the pillow.
• Stomach sleepers should try a thinner, softer pillow to keep their neck from straining and promote proper spinal alignment.

Consider your sleep temperature

If you suffer from night sweats or hot flashes, you should consider the best cooling pillow to dissipate heat and wick moisture.

As a general rule, natural fibers and fills are more breathable than synthetic substances, such as memory foam. If you struggle to regulate your temperature, it might be worth broadening your search from memory foam to explore down, wool, and down alternative options.

Set your budget

As pillow types go, memory foam models tend to be less expensive than real down, wool, or silk options, and only marginally more expensive than down alternative blends. It's a great pillow material for buyers on a budget.

Personally, I wouldn't spend any less than $40 on a pillow at full price, but I might be tempted to go a little lower in the bedding sales, as long as the customer reviews indicate excellent performance in long-term use. I would set my price ceiling at $150 and only exceed that if I were shopping for a silk pillow.

FAQs

Can a memory foam pillow be washed?

We've got an entire feature answering the question: 'can you wash memory foam pillows?' The answer is yes, but not in the washing machine, or the memory foam will become saturated with water.

Your best bet is to spot clean your memory foam pillow with a mixture of warm water and mild detergent. Make sure to double-check the instructions on the care tag before you begin: cross-reference against our essential guide to laundry symbols if you're unsure.

Will a memory foam pillow gets softer?

Yes. Memory foam is designed to mold to the shape of your body, but it often takes a few nights to contour to your head, neck, and shoulders.

In part, that's because memory foam is temperature-sensitive: the warmer it gets, the more easily it will contour to your shape.

Once you've bought the best memory foam pillow, it's time to turn your attention to the pillowcase. One of the best silk pillowcases could help to defrizz your hair and rehydrate your skin. I've ranked and reviewed nine of my favorites from Brooklinen, Cozy Earth, Lagoon, and more.