Purple Mattress Review 2024: A Mattress Like No Other

As someone who reviews mattresses, I’ve tested my fair share of them over the years. However, whenever I tell people that I test mattresses for a living, I frequently get asked, “So what’s the deal with Purple?” Purple has gained quite a reputation for being a bit different from other bed-in-a-box brands. This is mostly because of its unique “GelFlex Grid” top layer. I slept on a Purple mattress for five years, and I love the feel of the special top layer, but it’s not for everyone. That’s why I’ve rewritten this review to help you decide whether a Purple mattress could be the right choice for your mattress preferences and sleep style.

Looking for a new mattress? Besides our Purple mattress review, we’ve got recommendations for the best memory foam mattress, the best firm mattresses and the best mattresses for back pain.

Video: Purple mattress review

Watch CNET video producer Owen Poole review the Purple mattress. 

First impressions of Purple

I first tested the old version of the Purple mattress over six years ago. While that bed has some design issues, like very poor edge support, I thought it was the most comfortable mattress I had ever laid down on, thanks to its unique experience and feel.

The Purple mattress underwent a redesign to address some of the issues customers had with it, and the current version is much improved. The name of the special top layer was changed to the “GelFlex Grid,” but the material itself remained the same, which is exactly what I wanted.

Overall, my impression of the Purple mattress is very positive because it is an objectively better version of a mattress I already liked a lot.

Is the Purple mattress right for you?

For anyone looking for something new in their next mattress, the Purple brand should be at the top of the list. The Purple mattress specifically is good for anyone who wants a mattress without coils, wants something with an accommodating firmness profile and wants something (relatively) affordable. The big reason to get Purple is the unique material that is not found in any other mattress that I have tested, and I have tested hundreds.

What does the Purple mattress feel like?

Purple mattress feel

The feel of the Purple mattress is honestly difficult to describe because it is so unlike every other mattress, and often, it helps to describe how a mattress feels by describing what it doesn’t feel like (i.e., memory foam versus latex foam). 

I like to say the feel of the Purple mattress is very “gel-like.” The origin of the GelFlex Grid material was actually for medical purposes, as a cushion for wheelchairs to help prevent sores. It has similar characteristics to gel shoe insoles. 

When lying down on your back or your stomach, the bed feels buoyant, like you are almost weightless and floating on top of the material. However, if you switch to your side, the bed will conform to your body’s shape and provide cradling support. Plus, the bed is ultraresponsive, which means it moves with you and facilitates rotating between sleeping positions, unlike traditional memory foam. 

Most people who try a Purple mattress have a pretty strong reaction to it because it is so different. The reaction is usually positive, but sometimes it is negative. I personally love the feel of Purple, but it is by no means universally comfortable. 

Purple mattress firmness and sleeper types

The Purple mattress is available in only one firmness profile, and in our testing, we found it to be around a medium on our firmness scale, which makes a lot of sense. The Purple mattress is the brand’s “flagship” mattress, and most brands want to make the bed most shoppers buy with an accommodating firmness profile.

A medium firmness generally works well for all sleeping positions: back, stomach, side and combination. It is also popular for couples who can’t agree on a mattress with a soft or firm profile.

Our new mattress testing device, the Mattress Smasher 9000, measures firmness more objectively and scientifically. It gave us a firmness score of 5.9 out of 10 for the Purple mattress, which is right in line with our manual testing score.

Purple mattress construction

The construction of the Purple mattress is pretty standard compared to that of its competitors until you get to the top layer.

The bottommost layer is a thick layer of dense support foam, which is what we always see with virtually every mattress that doesn’t feature coils. Above the support foam is another layer of foam that functions as a buffer between the dense support foam below and the main comfort layer above, which is the aforementioned GelFlex Grid. 

The GelFlex Grid is made of “hyper-elastic polymer,” which was developed for medical purposes before the Purple creators figured out how to make it mattress-size. It has very little surface area, and you can stretch it to many times its original size without breaking. Hyper-elastic polymer is very durable and will take a very long time to degrade. 

Purple mattress performance

Edge support

I mentioned in the first impressions section that the old version of the Purple mattress had very poor edge support. The Purple mattress now has solid edge support because there is a firmer foam border that surrounds the GelFlex Grid. It is not the best edge support I have ever tested, but it is a massive improvement over the old model.

Beds with poor edge support make you feel like you’re going to roll off the mattress near the outer edge. It is easy to sleep near the perimeter of the edge if you are sharing a bed with a partner or pets, and thanks to the foam border improvement, I don’t think you will experience issues with the new version of the Purple mattress.

Motion isolation

“Motion isolation” refers to how well the bed deadens the impact of movement on the mattress — if you are a light sleeper who shares a mattress with someone who tosses and turns a lot, having good motion isolation is especially important.

Despite how responsive the GelFlex Grid is, the motion isolation on the Purple mattress is pretty good. It definitely outperforms more traditional coil mattresses and performs similarly to other beds made of foam layers, which perform better than coil beds in general.The Purple mattress isn’t going to deaden impacts as well as a memory foam mattress like the Nectar Classic, but it does a solid job and should work well for most light sleepers.

Temperature regulation

One big benefit of the GelFlex Grid I haven’t mentioned yet is it does an excellent job at helping the Purple mattress sleep temperature neutral. Because the material has very little surface area, that means the bed has amazing airflow which helps prevent heat build up. Also the material doesn’t retain heat like some types of foam, so it does a great job at staying temperature neutral. 

I slept on a Purple Hybrid mattress for years and I noticed this benefit a lot during the summer months.

There are many mattresses with designs similar to the Purple mattress, minus the GelFlex Grid. Compared to beds like the Casper One, Leesa Original and Nectar Classic, the Purple mattress is quite a bit more expensive, and I think that is because of that special top layer. 

Purple will usually run some sort of discount throughout the year that increases around major holidays and may sometimes include a bundle deal if you are interested in an adjustable base.

Make sure to look at our mattress deals page for the latest on the Purple mattress, but just know you will be paying a bit of a premium for the special material found in Purple.

Purple mattress policies

Free shipping

The Purple mattress will ship to your door at no extra cost via FedEx or UPS, in either a large box or a large bag. We have usually seen Purple mattresses delivered in a bag, but there’s virtually no difference in the process of setting up the bed if it’s in a box or a bag.

Purple’s 100-night trial 

All Purple mattresses come with a standard 100-night trial period, during which you can determine whether you actually like the mattress and want to keep it long-term. 

We usually see 100 nights with most brands, and we think it is plenty of time to decide whether to keep a mattress. However, keep in mind that it can take a few weeks for your body to fully adjust to a new bed, no matter how well it suits your preferences.

Return policy

If you don’t like the Purple mattress after the first 30 nights, you can return it at no extra cost and get a full refund. Returning a mattress is actually pretty easy. Many people think you have to somehow ship the bed back to them, but that’s not the case.

Usually, they will arrange for someone in your area to pick it up, and then it often gets donated.

All Purple mattresses are backed by a standard 10-year warranty. If you buy a mattress online, a 10-year warranty is the minimum you should expect.

How does the Purple mattress compare to similar mattresses?

Purple mattress vs. Leesa Original

The Leesa Original is the flagship foam mattress from Leesa, one of my favorite mattress brands. Aside from the GelFlex Grid, the construction of both is pretty similar, with dense support foam and a pressure-relieving transition layer. Both mattresses have medium firmness profiles, so they are accommodating for most sleepers.

These beds differ the most in price and feel. The Leesa Original has a very comfortable, soft, neutral feel that pretty much everyone likes. It is also much more affordable than the Purple mattress. For people not interested in a new type of mattress, I think the Leesa Original is a safe choice.

Purple mattress vs. Casper One

The Casper One is the flagship foam mattress from Casper, which is another one of the most popular online mattress brands. Aside from using foam support layers and being from popular brands, the Purple mattress and the Casper One actually don’t have all that much in common. The Casper One is significantly firmer than the Purple mattress, coming in at a proper medium-firm on our scale, which means it is ideal for back and stomach sleepers, and it has a simultaneously dense and responsive feel. 

The biggest reason to get the Casper One is its price point. After a discount, it regularly goes for $900 or less for a queen size, which is a big savings compared to the Purple mattress.

Final thoughts on the Purple mattress

The Purple mattress is a truly unique mattress and provides a sleep experience like no other. The bed has an accommodating firmness profile, and it performs well in the categories of edge support, motion isolation and temperature regulation — but the real reason to get the Purple mattress is its gel-like feel. If the idea of sleeping on the special GelFlex Grid isn’t exciting, then you might look elsewhere because foam mattresses are more affordable and less divisive than Purple.

But for someone looking for something totally new that could unlock a whole new level of comfort and quality sleep, then I think the Purple mattress is the bed for you.

You might like the Purple mattress if:

• You want a unique mattress feel
• You enjoy a mattress with a medium firmness profile
• You want a mattress without coils
• You are a hot sleeper

You might not like the Purple mattress if:

• You prefer a coil bed
• You want a traditional mattress feel
• You are shopping on a tight budget

Other mattresses from Purple

Purple Restore Hybrid: The Purple Restore mattress is the base model of the Purple Restore Hybrid Collection. It features the same 2-inch-thick layer of GelFlex Grid material from the Purple mattress. The biggest difference is that the Purple Restore uses coils instead of foam for its main support layer, and it has a medium-firm profile. This bed used to be available in two different firmness options, but now it is only available in one. Its firmness is ideal for back, stomach and combo sleepers who don’t favor their side. The Restore Hybrid will be quite a bit more expensive than the Purple mattress, usually about $2,200 for a queen-size.

Purple Plus Mattress: The Purple Plus mattress is almost identical to the Purple mattress, with only one key difference. The bed has an additional two inches of comfort foam below the two-inch layer of GelFlex Grid. This extra foam softens the Purple Plus, making it a proper medium-soft on our firmness scale, which is ideal for strict side sleepers looking for maximum pressure relief for their hips and shoulders. The Purple Plus will also be more expensive than the Purple mattress by about $400 in the queen-size.