The 9 Best Pillows (2025) Tested and Reviewed by WIRED

A variety of filling materials are used and the type of filling is a large part of how the pillows are classified. You have heard of the pillows at the bottom, for example, which means that the pillow is full of sub-cocoration or feathers, and hearing the words “memory foam” generally invokes the feeling of shipwreck only a good memory foam can give. Here is a rapid explanator of the main types of pillow filling that you will find and how they differ.

Pillows down: The pillows at the bottom, as I mentioned above, are filled with clusters at the bottom (a underlay on the ducks) or feathers at the bottom, or a mixture of the two. It is a filling that has existed for ages, and it feels similar to a duvet in the sense that it is soft and Squishy, ​​and very malleable to shape in all the ways that you prefer. (But it does not keep its shape either.) Since these are filled with clusters or feathers, you will want to check the certifications, as the Responsible standard (RDS), this confirms if the descent was of ethical origin.

Alternative pillows at the bottom: These pillows are not a type of game, but use other materials to reproduce the pillow experience. Buffy, for example, uses recycled plastic to create their pillow filling, while Saatva uses a combination of memory foam and latex foam. You will have to take a look to see what is an alternative pillow because it is not consistent. But what is coherent is the different feeling. In my tests, I discovered that alternative pillows are generally more favorable and do a better job by holding their shape than a classic pillow.

Memory foam pillows: Memory foam is popular because it can “remember” its original shape, letting it return to its previous shape once your head is out of the pillow. Memory foam has a sinking feeling, which you might like or don’t like. You will also want to check if the memory foam is a solid or shredded sheet; I found shredded memory foam and cut to have more rebound and support and less leakage than a sheet of memory foam.

Latex foam pillows: Latex foam is made from rubber, which gives it a much more bouncing and more favorable feeling than other foam options. Latex foam becomes a popular option thanks to this good support, and it is generally found with a type of grated filling which gives a lot of air flows.

Hybrid pillows: Hybrid pillows are another category gaining popularity. This can be a mixture of one of the fillings above, but I often find that it is a sheet of foam combined with grated foam or another type of softer garnish. Casper, for example, uses the two memory foam sheets and then has a grated foam core in the center of his hybrid pillow to give it its feeling of marshmallow.

Cotton, kapok and wool: These pillows fillings are all natural fibers that take less treatment than foam and could be used in a mixture with other materials above. Kapok and cotton are supposed to be on the fluffy end, while wool is ideal for temperature regulation. But none is as popular as foam or bottom options, although you can see them as ingredients in organic or hybrid pillows.