Which Purple Mattress Should I Buy?

I’ve spent a lot of time looking at each of the Purple mattresses (there are 4 in the range) to help answer the question “which Purple mattress should I buy?“. Even though the mattresses may all seem quite similar when you’re browsing the Purple website, I’m here to tell you that I think that the Purple Hybrid Premier 3” is the best Purple mattress to buy.

BUT: is it the best mattress of all the brands that you can buy? I’ll tell you later in the article.

Here’s A Run-Through Of What I’ll Cover For You In This Article:

• What you get with EVERY Purple mattress (with explainer section on exactly how that Purple grid works)
• Analysis of every Purple Mattress:
  • The Purple Original
  • The Purple Hybrid (previously known a Purple 2)
  • The Purple Premier Hybrid (which comes in two sizes: 3 and 4)
• Would I Buy Purple (spoiler alert, I would actually choose a different brand)

What You Get With EVERY Purple Mattress Purchase

Purple is a cool brand to buy from. As well as the things we’ve come to expect with mattress in a box (like free delivery, 100 night sleep trial), there are some things that stand out: the grid comfort feature (I’ve got a whole section on this further down this article) and it’s designed and made in the USA. Here’s a full list of what you can expect when you buy any Purple mattress:

• 100 Night sleep trial (I always recommend you give a new mattress at least 30 nights to adjust to)
• Free delivery and returns
• Purple’s famous grid comfort and support system (this needs a section to explain it, as it’s totally unique to Purple – see below)
• Designed and made in the USA (in Utah, to be precise)
• All have a bouncy feel, and will allow you to feel like you are sleeping “on” your mattress rather than being hugged into it (please note though, that because this mattress is so bouncy, it doesn’t do a great job at motion isolation so if you share a bed with a restless sleeper you’ll want to try something like Helix or Puffy instead)

Here’s How The Grid Inside Every Purple Mattress Works

The Purple grid is what really sets Purple apart from other mattresses: I’ve NEVER seen anything like it. It’s made from hyper elastic polymer, which basically means it’s super bouncy, responsive, and durable.

You’ll find the grid directly beneath the cover of your mattress: it’s a comfort layer of a mattress (where you’d see foams from other brands). It needs to be right under the cover so it can do its job of responding instantly to pressure.

How does it work?? It works through “column buckling”. This means that the squares of the grid that are supporting your body weight splay out, distributing that weight over a wider area. This = good pressure support and comfort, and it’s an innovation that Purple are rightly very proud of.

The grid system is great news for hot sleepers, as you can see that air is going to flow very easily through the open structure. Much more easily than through a foam.

The deeper the grid, the deeper the pressure relief the mattress will give you.

Analysis Of All Purple Mattresses

The Original Purple Mattress: Easiest On Your Pocket

The Original Purple mattress is (as you might expect), the first mattress Purple produced. It’s the only all foam mattress in the Purple range (yes, it has the grid too) and it’s the easiest on your pocket.

It’s a massively popular mattress, with an average star rating of 4.4 out of 5 (from more than 28,000 customers at the time of writing).

Here’s what you’ll find inside the Purple Original mattress:

• “Soft flex wave knit cover” – I interpret this as a perfectly nice, soft, stretchy poly knit cover, which is pretty standard for mattress in a box brands. Note that this is the only mattress in the range with this cover, the other 3 all get an upgrade.
• 2 Inches of Purple grid – the grid is the first comfort layer of the mattress, and it sits directly under the cover.
• Transition foam – this is a foam layer you find in most all-foam mattresses. It’s a durable foam layer that acts as “the middle-man” between the grid above and the firmest base support foam below. It’s firmer than a foam you’d expect in a comfort layer, but not as firm as a base foam. The transition foam layer is quite thick here, at 3.5 inches.
• High density base foam – you’re smart enough to know what that is from the description, there’s really not a lot else to say about it.

The total height of the Purple Original mattress is 9.25 inches, which makes it a bit shorter than the usual standard of 10 inches. This isn’t really an issue though, as the 2 inches of flexible grid and the thick transition foam layer make sure there’s plenty going on to keep you comfortable.

This mattress is going to be the best for you if you want an all foam mattress, the cheapest Purple model, and a mattress on the firmer side of the comfort scale (in my opinion, it’s going to work well for back sleepers and medium weight stomach sleepers; not so well for side sleepers and heavier weight stomach sleepers). It’s also the lightest of all the Purple mattresses.

A Queen size Purple Original Mattress has an RRP of $1199, but you’ll always find you’ll be offered a discount.

Purple Hybrid Mattress (Purple 2)

The Purple Hybrid Mattress (or Purple 2) is the cheapest hybrid of the Purple range. Here’s where we start seeing upgrades from the Purple Original: the coils are nice and the cover is better, but the Purple grid is the same size at 2 inches.

At the time of writing, the Purple Hybrid Mattress had a star rating of 4.4, from more than 4000 reviewers. The numbers indicate that this is actually the mattress Purple sell the least of.

• “Stretchmax” cover – basically, it has more stretch than the cover on the Purple Original (it’s got more spandex in it, I asked them) and has breathable side panels.
• 2 Inches of Purple grid – the grid is the first comfort layer of the mattress, and it sits directly under the cover.
• Transition foam – your Purple Hybrid has 2 layers of transition foam: one below the grid to protect you from feeling the springs of the support core, and another underneath the springs to help keep them functioning well across the life of the mattress. Each layer is 1 inch thick.
• Pocket coils – these individually wrapped springs are the support core of the mattress, and are 7.5 inches tall.
• You also get edge support foam around both the grid and the coils. This is a nice quality touch as it helps protect those working layers, and not all brands bother to include it.

The total height of the Purple Hybrid Mattress is 11 inches, which is a pretty standard price for a hybrid mattress at this price point.

Just like the Purple Original, I think the firmness rating of the Purple Hybrid is going to work best for back sleepers and average weight stomach sleepers. Heavier stomach sleepers may want something with more support like these and side sleepers will want one of the slightly softer Purple Premiere mattresses below for deeper cushioning of your shoulder.

A Queen size Purple Hybrid Mattress has an RRP of $1799. The features that cost more than the Original are: the cover and the coils. I’m not sure if that price hike is worth that much cash.

Purple Hybrid Premiere Mattresses (Purple 3 & Purple 4)

There are two models in the Purple Hybrid Premiere Mattress: the 3 and 4. What’s the difference? Easy! The height of the grid: the Premier 3 has 3 inches, the Premier 4 has 4 inches. That’s it! These mattresses sell better than the Purple Hybrid, with around 6000 reviews at the time of writing.

The grid height is also the ONLY thing that distinguishes the two Premier mattresses from the Hybrid above, so I won’t relist all those features. Instead, I’ll tell you about how that change in grid height affects the mattress:

• The 3″ model, which is my top choice from the Purple range has a true medium feel.
  • It’s slightly softer than the Purple Hybrid and the Purple Original we looked at earlier. It’s a bit softer because it’s got an extra inch of Purple grid.
  • I believe this model has the most universally comfortable feel of the whole range, which is a big factor in my choice as top recommendation.
  • The Purple Hybrid Premier 3 is great for back and side sleepers, but yet again not my top choice for stomach sleepers.
  • This particular model is reported to have the best edge support of the Purple range, which was another factor in my decision.
• The 4″ has a medium soft feel, making it the softest of the Purple range. It’s the softest because it’s got the most grid: 4 inches is actually twice as much as the Original or standard Hybrid!
  • This one has the deepest pressure relief for your shoulder, so if you’re a side sleeper, the Purple Hybrid Premier 4 is going to be a great mattress for you, but lots of other people might find it’s just a bit soft.

A Queen size Purple Hybrid Premier 3 has an RRP of $2399. I think this is a good price for the optimal amount of grid, and best edge support.

A Queen size Purple Hybrid Premier 4 has an RRP of $3099. That’s a lot of money. Sure you’ll never pay that because you’ll get a discount, but the only difference between the standard Hybrid and the Premier 4 is 2 more inches of Purple Grid. Is that REALLY worth more than $1000 more? I don’t think the Purple Premier 4 is a good buy.

Would I Buy Purple Myself?

The answer is probably not. Yes, the grid looks cool, but motion isolation is important to me. I feel that brands like Helix, which have foams in the top to dampen motion and zoning in the support core is something I’d prefer to buy over Purple.

Sure, I think the Purple 3 is the best mattress to buy from the Purple range, and it’s a decent mattress. I’m just not totally sold on whether they’re the best value for for your money: they’re really banking on the grid feature, so if you’re keen to try it, by all means buy Purple. Otherwise, I’ll happily send you off to look at Helix.