If you think you need to replace your pillow, our guide on choosing the perfect pillow will help you find the right filling, firmness, and weight for you. Dormeo uses its unique “octaspring” technology across its range of mattresses, toppers and pillows. As such, the Octasmart Pillow is more than a little reminiscent of, and just as impressive as, the fabulous Octasmart Deluxe topper that appears in our roundup of best memory foam mattress toppers. The thing is, memory foam has become ubiquitous in today’s mattress and bedding market, with almost every brand under the sun seeming to offer its own foam products. So how is the discerning bedding buyer expected to separate the wheat from the chaff? It’s worth adding that you should always take any claims of “cooling” properties with a bit of a pinch of salt. While some bedding undoubtedly offers better heat regulation, no pillow we’ve ever tested will actively cool you down.

It’s a little bit firmer than the Otty Deluxe, but it’s not so firm that it feels clinical, instead landing somewhere in the middle of the spectrum. It comes with an inbuilt protector, plus a soft, breathable and hypoallergenic bamboo cover (which can be washed at 40°C), which helps you to keep things fresher than washing your pillowcase alone . We also focus on other key factors including trial periods and washable covers, plus adjustable and ergonomic designs – all of which help us build a clear picture of the product. The best memory foam pillows to buy 1. Panda Memory Foam Bamboo Pillow: Best value memory foam pillow Aside from comfort, a good memory foam pillow can contribute to a better night’s sleep in a number of ways. Panda’s memory foam pillow undercuts many of its rivals on price, including the pillows of online bed-in-a-box companies such as Eve, Otty and Emma. Price aside, though, it’s a very comfortable and supportive pillow, landing somewhere in the middle on the firmness scale. The core of the pillow is made from bamboo and charcoal-infused memory foam (dubbed “CharcoCell foam” by Panda), perforated to promote airflow and wrapped in a quilted bamboo rayon cover. It’s softer than Panda’s standard bamboo pillow, instead looking and feeling more like the Otty pillow featured below. The cover is also silky soft and cool to the touch – so much so, that it’s almost a shame to put a pillowcase over the top of it.Key features – Filling: Goose down and feathers; Cover: 100% cotton cover (machine washable) Sizes: Standard, superking, square Just like Nectar’s A Whole Night Sleep pillow, the loft (or height) of the Emma Premium Microfibre Pillow can be adjusted by adding or removing one of its layers. The difference with Emma’s pillow is that it’s made from microfibre rather than memory foam. We found it much more “squishy” than most of its foam counterparts, so we’d argue it’s best suited to sleepers who prefer a softer pillow. Memory foam or microfibre pillows are often a more hygienic option to feather or down, as the filling doesn't tend to attract dust mites and bacteria as much as feather versions. Some pillows, such as our Evercomfy silver pillows, also contains a silver antimicrobial treatment to help repel bacteria and reduce odours for ultimate bed hygiene, so these might be a good option if you're looking to upgrade your current pillow.

Pure feather pillows – as luxurious as the idea of pure feathers may sound, we’d avoid this type as those pesky feather quills seem to have a way of escaping and stabbing you in the face. It’s also worth noting they don’t offer the support and height needed for side sleepers. Plus, they can be noisy and don’t suit allergy sufferers. The pillow’s two polyester microfibre layers are encased in a soft padded pillowcase. With both layers inserted, the pillow has a good amount of loft, which is a good thing for side sleepers who need to support their head and shoulder (though we also found the pillow to be comfortable and supportive with just the one insert). While most of the pillows on our roundup have a machine washable cover, you might also be pleased to hear that this pillow – inserts and all – can be popped in the washing machine at a temperature up to 60°C.

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The best pillows you can buy in 2023 1. Silentnight Just Like Down Microfibre Pillow: Best value pillow Another appealing feature is the amount of choice you get when it comes to size and feel. It’s available in soft, soft/medium and medium/firm variants, as well as standard (50 x 75cm), superking (50 x 90cm) and square (65 x 65cm) sizes. It comes with a built-in protector and a hypoallergenic bamboo cover for softness and breathability, which can also be washed at 40°C. Bamboo is often lauded for its eco-friendly qualities (being one of the world’s fastest-growing plants), and while true to an extent, it’s a claim that’s often prone to exaggeration. That said, Panda is a brand that prides itself on its stance on sustainability, and has introduced an initiative to ensure all of its memory foam products are eventually disposed of responsibly. Despite the high-tech credentials, the Simba Hybrid feels surprisingly like a traditional pillow – much more so than some all-foam competitors. Unlike microfibre and feather pillows, which tend to be either soft or supportive but rarely both, the Simba Hybrid finds that sweet spot right out of the box. It’s worth noting, however, that unlike the Simba Hybrid mattress, there’s no trial period with its bedding products. Soft as down, light as a feather - the superfine Wellsleep fibres plump your pillow, so you don’t have to. Soft and airy Wellsleep fibres provide better air circulation and a soft cradling feel.