Hot Sleeper? We Tested a Dozen Cooling Pillows to Find the Best, Expert-Approved Ones to Help You Get Sweat-Free Z’s

This is pretty much the Goldilocks of pillows: soft but supportive, cool but cozy, and easy to personalize. The polyester cover features a NASA-engineered fabric that helps regulate body temperature and keep you cool. Even through a standard pillowcase (which you’ll need, because the cooling cover is a bit stiff to the touch), this polyester cover provided a noticeable cooling sensation that lasted through the night.

The pillow is adjustable, so you can adapt the loft (height) and density (firmness) to suit your sleeping style, which is especially useful if you’re a combination sleeper. The cover features two zippered gussets to adjust the pillow’s shape, and the core includes a polyester fiberfill insert and a layer of ventilated foam. You can mix and match these options to find the perfect level of support: Keep the inserts stacked for a cushy medium loft. Flip the pillow to go from resting your head on plush fiberfill to the firmer memory foam layer. If you’re a stomach sleeper, unzip the fabric gussets on the sides, which will help to flatten out the pillow a bit. Unlike other adjustable pillows, which require you to scoop out the fill by hand, these adjustments can be made on the fly without any mess.

When we tested it, we found that the pillow cover wicked moisture away quickly, and the pillow immediately bounced back to its original loft after our eight-hour weight test. All materials are OEKO-TEX Standard 100 compliant, which means they’ve been certified free of potentially harmful chemicals. Everything except the foam layer can be machine washed. It’s also worth noting that this pillow kept disappearing from the pile in my office as my family took turns “borrowing” it. And at half the price of most luxury pillows, it’s a solid value to boot.

If you love the feel of memory foam, this luxe cooling pillow is worth the splurge. At first glance, it looks like a basic memory foam pillow, but unzip it and you’ll find three layers of cooling comfort. The core is a mix of shredded memory foam and latex, which provides support and plenty of airflow. That’s wrapped in a layer of graphite-infused memory foam, which draws heat away from the head. The thick organic cotton cover wicks away sweat efficiently — in our testing, it absorbed moisture within seconds and dried faster than any other cover.

All of the foam used in the pillow is CertiPUR-US certified, meaning it’s made without formaldehyde, ozone depleters, phthalates, mercury, lead, or other heavy metals. The foam is also screened for potentially harmful chemicals and emission levels to ensure indoor air quality.

Despite its relatively high loft of 6.5 inches, we found this pillow to be surprisingly comfortable in every sleeping position during our trials. For back sleepers, it contours to the body to provide support without straining your neck. For side sleepers, it nestles under your neck to keep your spine aligned. And even for stomach sleepers, it sinks in enough to be comfy, especially around the outer edges. At $165, it’s at the higher end of the pillow price range, but the 45-day return policy makes it less of a gamble. If you do need to return it, Saatva’s customer service gets stellar marks.

If you’re in the market for a cooling pillow, chances are you’ve seen ads for this one all over social media. The pillow’s core is made from aerated Talalay latex, a hypoallergenic material that gives it extra responsiveness — even after a full night’s sleep, the pillow instantly springs back to its original shape. A breathable mesh cover helps to keep airflow moving. The fabric is less efficient at wicking away moisture than other pillows we tested, but it still stayed cool throughout the night.

It’s definitely the most unique pillow we tested, thanks to its signature GelFlex Grid — a honeycomb-shaped gel layer that hugs your head and funnels heat away. Its distinctive texture is definitely noticeable, even under an extra pillowcase, and the bouncy gel layer feels similar to a squishy stress toy. While this will be soothing for some, others may find it a bit too tactile.

This pillow is often called the perfect dupe of a high-end hotel pillow — and we agree. It’s plush and springy with a high loft, and it is available in three densities (soft/medium, medium/firm, and firm/extra-firm). We tested the medium/firm density option, and it provided a perfect amount of support for back sleeping but with enough squish to give it that sleeping-on-a-cloud feeling. The microfiber fill is hypoallergenic, meaning it’s free of any potential allergens. It’s also a great pillow for sensitive noses because it has zero chemical odor, even straight out of the box.

Of course, the price point is also a big plus, as it’s the least expensive pillow on our list. Sweaty sleepers in particular should consider this cooling pillow — the cotton cover wicked away moisture quickly, and the entire pillow can be machine washed and tumble dried. The cooling technology doesn’t quite match up to other pillows we tested, but it’s a solid option if you’re looking to spend under $50.

But finding the perfect combo of height and firmness can take a lot of trial and error. That’s where this cooling pillow comes in clutch — it arrives overstuffed, and you simply remove the fill until the neck support feels just right. A cloth bag is included in the box to store excess fill, which can be used later to refluff the pillow as needed. (And that refluffing may be needed — in our eight-hour weight testing, the Easy Breather didn’t bounce back to its original loft and needed to be fluffed by hand.)

The company recommends removing a quarter of the fill for back sleepers, one-third for stomach sleepers, and leaving it as is for side sleepers. However, out of the box, we found it too rigid and bouncy to sleep comfortably in any position. So unless you’re an ultra-firm pillow diehard, you’ll probably want to remove at least some of the fill, even if you’re a side sleeper. Just be warned that the process of removing fill can be messy too — scooping out the fill feels a bit like fishing around in a vacuum bag for a missing sock, and you’ll likely have to sweep up some foam bits and fibers afterward. The end result, though, is a pillow with a loft that’s perfectly tailored to your individual needs.

For hot sleepers, the shredded foam lets air flow through the pillow, and the pillow cover is made from a blend of polyester and moisture-wicking “Icecore” fabric. While it wasn’t the coldest pillow in the bunch, it stayed at a comfortable temperature through the night without needing to be flipped.

For side sleeping, this cooling pillow was comfy straight out of the box. It was plush enough to sink into, but with plenty of neck support. It’s filled with a blend of shredded polyurethane foam and kapok, a lightweight fiber that’s naturally moisture-wicking and antimicrobial. Along with its breathable cover, this allows for optimal airflow through the pillow, helping you stay cool through the night. The fill is adjustable to help ensure the perfect neck alignment for side sleepers. However, as with the Nest Bedding Easy Breather, scooping out the foam and fibers is a hands-on, messy process.

That said, the cozy cover helped set this pillow apart in our testing. The eye-catching, hex-stitched fabric is made from a blend of polyester and rayon, but it feels as soft as flannel. It was so soft and comfy that it didn’t need a pillowcase. This softness is a plus for side sleepers and stomach sleepers who get a lot of face time with their pillow, although you may still want to add a cooling pillowcase to help protect the fabric from sweat and extend the longevity of your pillow.

This cooling pillow has a medium loft that’s ideal for back sleepers that run hot, and the fill — a blend of bamboo viscose and recycled polyester — is springy and supportive, but still soft enough to cradle your head while you sleep. The shell is made from a breathable, moisture-wicking bamboo viscose that’s silky smooth and dries in minutes. In our testing, the pillow bounced back to its original shape after a full night’s sleep with just a quick fluff-up.

Cozy Earth is known for its premium pillows, and this bamboo-down pillow lives up to the brand’s hype. The pillow is packed in a stylish canvas bag, which makes the unboxing experience feel more luxurious. (And that counts for something, since this is one of the priciest pillows on our list.)

Just be aware that the pillow cover is dry-clean only, so you’ll want to use a pillowcase for extra protection. The price tag is a stretch for those on tighter budgets, but Cozy Earth offers a 100-night trial period, along with a 10-year warranty on workmanship (which includes pilling and abnormal rips and tears), to help protect your investment.

This pillow’s low loft makes it an ideal choice for stomach sleepers, since it won’t put your neck at a weird angle. “Stomach sleepers often benefit from a thinner, softer pillow that minimizes the strain on the neck,” says Sunjya Schweig, MD, founder of the California Center for Functional Medicine. It’ll also keep your face from feeling sweaty — in our moisture-wicking test, the cover absorbed water quickly and felt dry to the touch within minutes. And while some solid memory foam pillows can trap heat, the perforations in the Eco Soy’s foam layer kept it cool all night.

In our testing, the Eco Soy Pillow lived up to its name with sustainably sourced materials and a local production loop. The material is crafted with cooling in mind — the breathable Tencel/Lyocell cover is made with yarn sourced from Austria, and the core is a ventilated layer of soy-infused memory foam poured in Italy. Just be aware that the pillow has a strong odor out of the box, so you may need to let it rest for a few days before using it.