Purple Mattress Comparisons

Overview

Purple doesn’t sell foam mattresses. In fact, while the Purple beds might use the material, they feel nothing like a memory foam mattress, or any foam mattress, for that matter.

In this Purple mattress review, we touch on design, comfort, firmness, price, and the main reasons to buy or not buy a Purple bed.

Even more, we provide an in-depth comparison of the different models from the brand. That means we compare the original Purple to Purple Hybrid and Purple Hybrid Premier.

The short story is that the new “hybrid” models have coils for added support, which means people with higher body weight can now comfortably sleep on a Purple mattress.

As a point of clarification, Purple Hybrid used to be called the Purple 2, and the two thicknesses of the Purple Hybrid Premier were the Purple 3 and Purple 4. The beds themselves haven’t changed.

In this guide, we’ll use their new names.

That’s it for the introduction. Let’s explore what there is to know about Purple and the company’s proprietary mattress topper, Hyper-Elastic Polymer.

Purple mattress overview

Purple first hit the scene with their wildly successful Kickstarter campaign. Since then, the brand has exploded, and the Purple bed remains as popular as ever.

Interestingly, while the Purple is still mostly the same as the one sold via Kickstarter, it recently got a few upgrades. Most notably, it has increased edge support and a new, stretchy, breathable cover.

At its core, the Purple bed is a comfortable, unique-feeling mattress that’s best for people with moderate body weight. The most interesting and compelling thing about Purple is Hyper-Elastic Polymer, so let’s talk about that now.

Hyper-elastic polymer construction

Before we can discuss the construction of the Purple bed, we have to address the Purple mattress topper, otherwise known as Hyper-Elastic Polymer. What is it? And how is it different?

You can think of Hyper-Elastic Polymer as a blown up version of a Dr. Scholl’s insole. It’s basically a giant grid made of a gel-like material.

It’s squishy and stretchy, and not at all like what you’re used to seeing on a mattress. Here are some quick facts about Hyper-Elastic Polymer:

• invented by the founders of Purple
• squishy and stretchy material that feels like gel or silicone
• can stretch about 15 times its resting state
• extremely responsive material that never leaves you feeling “stuck”
• has a grid shape that allows for copious amounts of airflow
• somehow can manage to be almost soft and firm at the same time
• made in varying thicknesses (i.e., 2 to 4 inches)

About the Purple bed’s design

The Purple mattress has only three layers and measures in at between 9 and 10 inches thick. Let’s discuss the exact layers in the bed:

• Support layer: dense polyurethane foam
• Transition layer: more poly foam, but slightly softer this time
• Comfort layer: 2 inches of Hyper-Elastic Polymer
• Cover: stretchy material made of viscose, polyester, and Lycra

The first two layers of the bed are really common to see with any online mattress, whether it is Casper, Leesa, Tuft and Needle, or Nectar.

The dense poly foam acts as your primary support layer, while the middle layer is just a transitional piece of foam, so you don’t feel the support core.

Obviously, the star of the show is Hyper-Elastic Polymer. Like Purple Hybrid, the Purple bed has 2 inches of the material.

In terms of certifications, the bed has the CertiPUR-US certification that’s a must-have for any bed that uses poly foam. That ensures that the bed is free of certain harmful metals and chemicals.

But how do you care for the cover?

According to Purple’s website, you should spot clean the cover without removing it. It’s advisable to use mild detergent and lukewarm water, but you should only hand clean. Don’t machine wash or dry the cover on the Purple mattress.

Current pricing and discount discussion

If you’re interested in a Purple mattress but have a limited budget, the Purple bed is the way to go.

For the Queen size, it’s $1,149, meaning it’s in the middle of the strike zone for a lot of consumers who want a bed-in-a box mattress. Here’s a look at the price by size for Purple:

In the past, Purple was staunchly opposed to sales and discounts, but the company has changed its stance a bit in recent years. A few times a year, you’ll be able to find a small discount on the bed. In the past, it was $100 off the Queen size and above.

You can visit Purple.com to check for current deals, though we make no guarantees that there will be a sale.

How firm is the mattress?

If you were building a mattress for the masses, would you make it soft/plush or ultra firm? No way!

You would make a bed just like Purple, which sits between a 4 and 6 on our firmness scale. We consider it to be a “medium.” We’d put it in a similar firmness range as GhostBed and Casper.

It also feels completely unique, and you’d have no idea that it uses foam. All you feel is the squishy, responsive nature of the Hyper-Elastic Polymer grid. It’s comfortable, but unique, leading us to estimate that about 50 percent of people will love it, and the other 50 percent won’t.

Sleeping positions for Purple

Whether you sleep on your side, stomach, or back — or a combination of the three — we think you’ll be just fine on Purple:

• Side sleepers. You’ll feel the pressure relief under your shoulders and hips, but the remainder of your body should feel as though it’s floating on top of the bed.
• Back sleepers. You should get a weightless-like experience, where your body feels buoyant.
• Stomach sleepers. Similar to back sleepers, you should feel buoyant, as though you’re just floating there.
• Combo sleepers. We really like Purple for combination sleepers for two main reasons. Firstly, it’s able to handle all the sleep styles. Secondly, it has such a responsive profile that rotating positions takes next to no effort.

Approved body types

As you might know, picking the right mattress isn’t as simple as just looking at the firmness level.

Sure, the bed might match your preferred sleeping position, but you also need to consider your body weight because that will, in part, determine your long-term comfort. Let’s go through a general breakdown:

• Lower body weight. Just fine on the Purple. We don’t have any concerns with regard to support.
• Moderate weight. You should be fine with the Purple.
• Higher body weight. We don’t recommend the Purple mattress, but the Hybrid models have coils, so they make a lot more sense here.

Purple Mattress review: Verdict for the Purple bed

If you’re open to an innovative, unique mattress, there’s a good chance that you’ll like the original Purple bed. It’s a fantastic option for hot sleepers and should work for most people with a lower or moderate body weight.

And, if you don’t end up liking the Purple bed, it does come with totally free returns, so at least you have downside protection. All things considered, we really like this mattress.

Purple Hybrid overview

As we mentioned at the outset of this review, Purple Hybrid is similar to the original, but it has 7.5 inches of coils instead of foam as its primary support layer. Previously, Purple Hybrid was known as New Purple 2.

Price of Purple Hybrid

Last we checked, Purple Hybrid had a moderate price tag. It was more expensive than the Purple mattress, but cheaper than Purple Hybrid Premier. Here’s a look at the price by size:

As you can see, you won’t exactly be impulse purchasing Purple Hybrid, but it’s not a bed that requires your lifetime savings to afford.

The company will also, from time to time, run specials on this bed as well. For the current deals, check Purple.com.

Inside the mattress

We will discuss the specific layers inside Purple Hybrid here in a second, but the basic construction is one that is made of coils, poly foam, and Hyper-Elastic Polymer:

• Support layer: 7.5-inch pocketed coils
• Transition layer: a thin strip of poly foam, so you don’t feel the coils
• Comfort layer: just like the original, it has 2 inches of Hyper-Elastic Polymer
• Cover: also made of viscose, polyester, and Lycra

As you can see, Purple Hybrid is basically the Purple bed with coils. In other words, it virtually eliminates the downsides with the original bed, as the coils offer support even for people with higher body weight.

But with the addition of coils, does the bed allow motion to transfer about freely? Not really, actually.

According to all of our tests, Purple Hybrid does a darn good job of limiting cross-mattress motion since it uses pocketed coils rather than one giant innerspring unit. In other words, even light and sensitive sleepers should be fine on Purple Hybrid.

So, the coils are there for support and increased airflow, but why would Purple keep the poly foam transition layer?

It’s there so sleepers don’t feel the coils beneath the main comfort layer. You can’t really feel the poly foam. Also, the foam is CertiPUR-US certified.

The 2 inches of Hyper-Elastic Polymer provides all of the comfort for this mattress. It will have the same squishy/responsive feel since it’s the exact same material as we mentioned above. It will also ensure that this is a wonderful bed for hot and sweaty sleepers.

It grants you an abundance of airflow — far more than with the average foam mattress. But it’s not just about Hyper-Elastic Polymer. The addition of pocketed coils helps with airflow circulation.

Firmness analysis

The interesting thing with Purple Hybrid (previously called New Purple 2.0) is that it has a very similar construction to the Purple bed, but it’s firmer.

We consider Purple Hybrid to be around a 6 to 8, which puts it between a “medium” and a “firm.” Our ratings are from the perspective of a person with moderate body weight.

We think it will be suitable for all sleeping positions, but it’s definitely the best bed that Purple makes for strict stomach and/or back sleepers. This is because it’s the firmest bed offered by the company.

Even so, we don’t want to give you the impression that Purple Hybrid is overly firm, because it isn’t. It’s just firmer than the other beds featured in this review.

Does it feel any different?

It does not. In fact, all Purple beds feel mostly the same because they use the same comfort layer (aka Hyper-Elastic Polymer). You’ll notice a difference in firmness for the beds, but feel will be almost exactly the same.

It will basically feel as though you’re sleeping on a giant silicone ice tray that’s flipped upside down. That sounds weird, and it is, but we think Purple Hybrid is an incredibly comfortable mattress.

Discussion of approved sleeping styles

To be clear, most people can get comfortable in any sleeping position on Purple Hybrid, but we still want to break them down a bit:

• Side sleepers. Shouldn’t be an issue, so long as you’re clear on the fact that this is not a soft mattress.
• Back sleepers. Purple Hybrid is the best bed they make for back sleepers.
• Stomach sleepers. Same as back sleepers. It’s firmer and supportive, what more could you want?
• Combo sleepers. No problem. If you’re a dominant side sleeper, though, just be aware that it’s not technically made to be a pure side sleeper mattress.

The one caveat we have for this section is that you should also factor in your body weight to the whole equation, so let’s discuss body weight as it pertains to Purple Hybrid.

Will Purple Hybrid work for most body types?

As it turns out, the answer is yes. We think people with lower body weight will be able to get comfortable, as can people with moderate or higher body weight.

The bed will appear firmer to people with lower body weight and soft to people with higher body weight, but as long as you know that, we don’t have issues on the support side of things.

The 7.5-inch pocketed coils, combined with the Hyper-Elastic Polymer, offers a great deal of bidirectional support. Most people will feel as though they’re floating along this mattress. It’s a unique but highly comfortable sensation.

Review verdict for Purple Hybrid

What more can we say? It’s a nice mattress that offers a lot of support and still has the 2 inches of Hyper-Elastic Polymer. We think you’ll be fine in any sleeping position, but our team rates Purple Hybrid at about a 6 to 8 on the firmness scale.

Purple Hybrid mattress review

Purple Hybrid Premier overview

In prior years, this model was called New Purple 3 and New Purple 4 as though they were two totally different beds. The reality is that the difference between Purple 3 and 4 was just the thickness of Hyper-Elastic Polymer on top.

New Purple 3 had 3 inches and New Purple 4 had 4 inches of the material. Otherwise, they were the same with basically the same feel and firmness.

As a result, Purple decided to just merge the models from a naming perspective and call them Purple Hybrid Premier.

What does Purple Hybrid Premier cost?

As much as we love the Hybrid Premier, we don’t love its price tag. Fortunately, Purple 3 and Purple 4 (old names) don’t have the same price.

The 3- and 4-inch models are around $2,200 and $3,000, respectively, for the Queen-sized bed. Here’s a full pricing table that shows all sizes:

Like with the other models, Purple will occasionally offer sales on the Hybrid Premier. You can check Purple.com for the deals today, but most of the time the price is what it is because the company doesn’t like to run promotions.

Construction of Purple Hybrid Premier

This model has the exact same construction as Purple Hybrid with the exception of the top layer.

Rather than getting 2 inches of Hyper-Elastic Polymer with the Purple and Hybrid models, you can choose between 3 and 4 inches of the material with the Hybrid Premier mattress.

On the inside, Purple Hybrid Premier is basically the same as the others: pocketed coils, foam, and Hyper-Elastic Polymer. As such, you’ll have an almost identical overall feel.

Both will give you a weightless feeling that’s pretty difficult to describe — you just have to try for yourself. The 4-inch model will give you more of this feeling, but the 3-inch model is no slouch either.

The biggest downside with Purple Hybrid Premier, besides the price tag, is just how much the bed weighs.

For a King-sized mattress, you’re looking at about 200 pounds. If you plan to move anytime soon, you may want to hang off purchasing until you’ve already set up shop in the new house.

How firm is the bed?

The firmness will depend on whether you get the 3- or 4-inch model, albeit not by much. In fact, both are pretty close to a true medium on the firmness scale. We consider them both to be somewhere between a 4 and 6.

The higher your body weight, however, the softer the bed will feel. That means someone with a higher body weight will consider Purple Hybrid Premier to be softer than a person with a moderate body weight.

This is a phenomenon that’s not unique to Purple, however. Firmness is just a measure that’s somewhat subjective.

Analysis of sleeping positions and body types

The short story here is that you should be just fine in any sleeping position on Purple Hybrid Premier. It’s an accommodating bed with a firmness profile that doesn’t really alienate anyone:

• Side sleepers. No problem on either Purple 3 or 4.
• Back sleepers. Highly supportive bed that should work for you just fine, but you should know that it’s not firm. It’s in the middle on firmness.
• Stomach sleepers. Same comment as for back sleepers. You should feel plenty supported, but be aware that it’s not as firm as Awara or some of the models from Saatva.

Purple Hybrid Premier should work for people with lower, moderate, and higher body weights. Remember, it has pocketed coils for support.

Review verdict: Purple Hybrid Premier 3 and 4

If you can afford it, we think you’ll like it, so long as you’re onboard with the uniqueness of Hyper-Elastic Polymer.

We would consider Hybrid Premier to be among the most supportive innerspring mattresses online, rivaling the likes of Bear Hybrid, Brentwood Oceano, and others.

Purple Hybrid Premier mattress review

Other factors to consider about Purple mattresses

In a Purple mattress comparison or review, the story isn’t just about design and comfort. You also need to consider other elements such as temperature, motion transfer, and so on.

Temperature

One of the biggest advantages with Purple mattresses is just how efficient they are at regulating your sleeping temperature.

But the beds don’t just make you cold via a special cooling textile. They help keep you at a neutral temperature by pulling in airflow.

In that sense, these are truly temperature-neutral mattresses. Dollars to doughnuts, we can’t anticipate anyone heating up on a Purple mattress.

Motion deadening

Despite the fact that Purple beds don’t have a whole lot of foam, they do a really nice job of stopping motion transfer. In all of our tests, motion on one side of the bed doesn’t really find its way to the other side.

And it doesn’t really matter which Purple mattress you get, because they’re all basically the same in terms of motion suppression.

This is an element that you want to get right if you’re sleeping with a partner, especially if one of you is a light sleeper and wakes easily.

We fully expect that other factors — such as your pillows and sheets — will impact your sleep more than motion transfer through the bed.

Support around the perimeter

All of the Purple beds have increased edge support thanks to a dense foam that lines the outside of the beds. If you plan to share a smaller-sized bed, we’d give the OK to Purple beds because of the enhanced edge support.

It won’t be as extreme as what you’d see on some of the high-end Beautyrest mattresses, but it’s really good.

While we don’t exactly recommend couples sleep on a Full-sized mattress or even a Queen, we doubt the perimeter support will give you a lot of grief.

Purple vs. Purple Hybrid mattress comparison

The main difference between the Purple and Purple Hybrid mattresses has to do with design, firmness, support, and price. Let’s go through each one of those one by one in this comparison section.

Design

The chief difference between Purple and Purple Hybrid is the support layer. The Purple bed has two layers of poly foam that add up to about 7.5 inches and the Hybrid model has 7.5 inches of coils.

This means that the Hybrid model will offer more support, bounce, and airflow, while the original Purple bed will deaden movement a little better.

Aside from the support layer, both beds have 2 inches of Hyper-Elastic Polymer, so the overall feel isn’t much different.

Firmness

Our team rates the Purple bed as somewhere from a 4 to 6 and the Hybrid model as somewhere from a 6 to 8. That means that the Purple bed is softer than the Hybrid, and therefore is more ideal for strict side sleepers who have a moderate body weight.

Conversely, if you spend most of the night on your stomach or back, either bed should work, but you’ll likely prefer the firmness profile of Purple Hybrid.

Support

For people with lower and moderate body weights, we don’t have support concerns with the Purple bed, but we can’t recommend it to people with higher body weight.

Instead, we consider Purple Hybrid to be a smarter pick for people with higher body weight because it has the 7.5 inches of coils.

Price

You will save quite a bit of money with the original bed as compared to the Hybrid bed. For example, the Queen beds should be about $500 apart in terms of MSRP. You can check prices on Purple.com to see if anything has changed.

Purple vs. Hybrid Premier 3 and 4 mattress comparison

If the main difference for the Purple and Hybrid models is design, the same holds true for the Purple and Hybrid Premier. As we’ve mentioned, the feel won’t change even if other things do.

Design

The Purple bed has the 7.5-inch foam base, while Hybrid Premier has the coils that we’ve mentioned several times in this review.

Aside from the coils, the big difference for the Purple bed and Hybrid Premier is the thickness of the comfort layer.

The Purple bed has 2 inches of the material, while Hybrid Premier has either 3 or 4 inches of it. The more Hyper-Elastic Polymer you get, the more weightless you feel.

Firmness

There’s not much of a difference in terms of firmness. We place them both around a 4 to 6.

Support

The coils of the Hybrid Premier offer more long-term support to people with higher body weight.

Price

It’s not even worth it to explain exact prices in this comparison section. Suffice it to say that the Purple mattress is at least $1,000 less than Purple Hybrid Premier.

You might want to check current prices on Purple’s website to see if there are any sales running today.

Purple Hybrid vs. Hybrid Premier mattress comparison

The two new Purple mattresses both have coils but differ in their firmness level and price. Let’s discuss those two points.

Firmness

• Purple Hybrid: 2 inches of Hyper-Elastic Polymer, and therefore a 6 to 8 firmness profile. This makes sense since there’s less material between the sleeper and the firm coil supports.
• Hybrid Premier: 3 or 4 inches of Hyper-Elastic Polymer, which creates a “medium” firmness profile that we consider somewhere from a 4 to a 6.

Price

The Hybrid model will be a good deal more affordable than Hybrid Premier 3 and 4. The most expensive bed offered by Purple is Hybrid Premier 4, which is around $3,000 for the Queen.

When you buy a Purple mattress online

We included bullet point information regarding policies with Purple, but we thought it made sense to go a little more in depth in this section.

Shipping

If you live inside the contiguous United States, you won’t be paying anything extra for shipping with Purple mattresses. Typically, the company uses FedEx, and delivery takes between 3 and 7 business days.

The beds will show up roll-packed in a big canvas bag. Despite being shipped in bag, the setup process is basically the same as it is with most other online mattresses. It takes about 15 minutes, and you’ll want a friend with you to help out since these beds are heavy.

Trial period

The industry standard online is to offer a 100-night trial period. Purple does just that. The company allows you to sleep on its mattress for up to 99 nights before you have to keep it for good or return it.

Returns

The process of returning a Purple mattress shouldn’t cost you a dime. In fact, most of the time you just call customer service, request a refund, and let them come out to pick up the mattress.

The entire process might take 2 weeks, but you should be getting 100 percent of your money back. And for the record, you can return the Purple mattress for any reason, or no reason at all.

Warranty

Most brands, whether online or not, offer a 10-year warranty. Purple also backs all of their mattresses with a 10-year warranty.

FAQs

How did RIZKNOWS get the Purple mattresses?

Purple sent us them for free for our review and comparison. We did not, however, accept any money to write positive or negative things about their beds. We are committed to providing helpful and authentic reviews that are not sponsored.

When was Purple as a company founded?

The company was founded by brothers Tony and Terry Pearce in 2016, although the idea for the company started way before. In fact, the brothers hold more than 30 patents and have engineered input goods for many other consumer products.

They actually created Hyper-Elastic Polymer back in the 1990s. In order to make Hyper-Elastic Polymer big enough for a King mattress, they had to create a new machine that they called The Mattress Max. That machine alone was a technological breakthrough.

How can someone contact Purple?

Purple has several methods for communication. You can email them at info@purple.com, call them at 888-848-0248, or chat with customer service via their website.

Can I buy Purple at any physical stores?

You can indeed. You can find Purple mattresses at various Mattress Firm retail locations throughout the United States.

Does Purple sell any other products?

Purple also sells pillows, sheets, mattress protectors, bed frames, and seat cushions. That’s not an exhaustive list, but suffice it to say that the company sells a lot of products, most of which include Hyper-Elastic Polymer in one way or the other.

The Mattress Finder team is composed of certified professionals who are passionate about helping consumers improve their sleep. We thoroughly test each mattress we review through a series of practical, hands-on inspections and assessments. We write every review expecting that our closest friends and family members rely on us for their mattress and sleep product decisions, so honesty and authenticity are core principles of our inspection process.