Finding the perfect pillow can be challenging — especially if you are struggling to find the right mix of comfort and support for your usual sleep position, your personal firmness and material preferences, and your body size. That’s where adjustable pillows come in handy, since they are designed to let you fine-tune how firm or lofty they are. “This customization helps to alleviate pressure points and prevent awkward angles that can lead to discomfort or strain,” says physical therapist John Galluci Jr. I often recommend adjustable pillows to people who aren’t sure what they want, to help inform their future pillow shopping (because yes, you will eventually have to replace your pillow!).
To write this guide, I rounded up the best adjustable pillows that I’ve tested in my career as a sleep writer, while also polling the Strategist staff for their favorites. I made sure to include pillows with a variety of fill types to suit different types of sleepers. I only recommended pillows that aren’t a huge pain to adjust and that I feel are worth the price. Like other pillow styles, adjustable pillows vary in cost, but they tend to be a bit more expensive, likely because they are more complicated to produce. For an adjustable pillow to be worth that extra expense, the adjustability has to be effective enough to address your specific sleep needs in a way that you might not be able to achieve with a nonadjustable pillow. “I need to figure out the best firmness and loft for me” is a great reason to try an adjustable pillow. The same goes if you’re a real princess-and-the-pea type and you want to be able to tinker. But if you don’t care (or have a need) to bother, we’ve still got you covered with guides to memory-foam pillows, latex pillows, and down pillows for all kinds of sleepers.
What we’re looking for
Adjustable feature
The most important aspect of an adjustable pillow is how the adjusting actually works; if it’s too annoying — or too messy — to adjust, it may not be worth the effort. There are two main types: adjustable-fill pillows and adjustable-layer pillows.
With adjustable-fill pillows, you can remove or add filling to alter the loft and firmness of the pillow. Some brands will provide an additional bag of filling so you can add more in, and some sell extra fill separately as well. Some brands don’t provide any extra filling, but a lot of adjustable pillows are overstuffed initially with the expectation that you’ll remove some. Unless you prefer a firmer pillow, you’ll likely end up with extra filling, which you’ll have to store, repurpose, or throw away.
Adjustable-layer pillows are usually more modular with multiple layers of foam or mini-pillows filled with down, down alternative, or shredded foam that you can remove or rearrange to change the loft and firmness of the pillow.
A less common style, but one I’ve also included on this list, is a pillow with zippers on the sides that can be zipped or unzipped to make the pillow firmer or softer, respectively.
Fill type
Because adjustable pillows aren’t limited to one specific fill material, I’ve included pillows made from a variety of materials to suit different sleeping styles and preferences. Lots of adjustable pillows feature memory foam or latex foam, but you can find down and down-alternative options, and some pillows mix multiple fill types together. Memory foam tends to be cushioning and supportive with a slow response to pressure. Latex foam is generally more buoyant and springy than memory foam with a quicker response to pressure. Down is fluffy, soft, and cushy. Down alternatives are a broad group of materials meant to mimic the feeling of down and are usually some kind of polyester fiberfill or other synthetic material.
Finishing details
I’ve also noted what each pillow’s cover is made of and any other notable details, like if it comes with extra fill or a bag to store extra fill. I’ve also noted the initial firmness of the pillow as it arrives, prior to any adjustments.
Best adjustable pillow overall
Adjustable feature: Add or remove handfuls of fill | Fill: Cross-cut memory foam and microfiber blend | Finishing details: Polyester/bamboo blend cover, arrives medium-firm with an extra bag of fill
The Coop Sleep Goods Original Adjustable pillow earned the top spot on our main guide to the best pillows in part because it’s adjustable, making it a good pillow for a wide variety of sleepers. And as I was researching and testing adjustable pillows for this list, I couldn’t find one that is quite as easy to recommend for its combination of comfort, adjustability, and price. The Coop Original is filled with a mixture of cross-cut memory foam and microfiber, which gives it a supportive but still squishable feel. It arrives pretty well stuffed with filling, and comes with an extra half-pound of fill. This allows for a high degree of customization, and you can really experiment with it until you find the right level for your particular needs. I also like the cross-cut foam and fiberfill mix because it allows room for airflow within the pillow. (Though if you run warm and want a pillow that will help you stay as cool as possible, Coop now sells cooling versions of its pillows, called EdenCool+, which I plan to test soon.)
When I tried the Coop, it arrived with too much filling for me, as a back and side sleeper who likes a softer, medium-loft pillow. To adjust the pillow, I unzipped the outer cover and inner lining to find the chunks of foam mixed with tufts of microfiber. The foam bits are like a mini-version of a gymnastics foam pit, connected with wispy fluff. Though the included extra fill comes in a plastic bag, I recommend storing that plus any fill you remove in a plastic storage box with a lid, which will make it easier to add or remove fill without wrestling the floppy edges of a bag.
I think the Coop is especially comfortable for side sleeping because it strikes a nice balance of support and comfort — it has the classic squish and contouring of memory foam but a more pliant and moldable feel. And thanks to its adjustability, it can be made softer and given a lower loft for back and stomach sleepers, or firmer with a higher loft as desired. For further customization, Coop sells extra fill in medium-firm and firm densities, as well as extra microfiber if you want to add more softness. If you are looking for a softer pillow overall, though, you might be better off with one of the adjustable down, latex, or fiberfill pillows below.
Best (less expensive) adjustable pillow
Adjustable feature: Zippers | Fill: Shredded memory foam and polyester fiber | Finishing details: Cotton cover with polyester gussets
Similar to the Coop, the Marlow is filled with a mix of shredded memory foam and polyester fiber fill. However, instead of reaching into the pillow and removing/adding fill, the Marlow has zippers on both long edges of the pillow that you can zip closed to compress the fill or unzip to decompress it. When both are zipped, the pillow will be slightly firmer and feel more dense. When both are unzipped, the pillow will be slightly fluffier, softer, and easier to sink into. Or you can go halfsies by zipping one and leaving the other unzipped. I’ve tested this pillow, as has senior editor Jen Trolio, and we both found the zipper adjustment to be way simpler than the Coop’s style of adjustment — you don’t have to touch any pillow guts, and you don’t have to worry about what to do with any extra fill. But the Marlow is ultimately much less customizable. You can basically choose between three settings, whereas with the Coop, you can make incremental or major adjustments. Compared to the Coop, the Marlow feels a little more dense and less squishy, but I found it very comfortable for both back and side sleeping (it’s a little lofty for stomach sleeping for me). With both sides zipped up, I definitely felt more neck support, whereas with both unzipped, I could sink in a little more for a slightly more “plush” feel. Marlow also offers a bulk discount for this pillow — you can save a few bucks per pillow if you buy a two-pack or a four-pack.
Best adjustable latex pillow
Adjustable feature: Add or remove handfuls of fill | Fill: Shredded organic latex and kapok fill | Finishing details: Organic cotton cover; arrives medium-firm with an extra bag of fill
This adjustable pillow from Avocado is one of my favorite cooling pillows and one of my favorite latex pillows — it’s filled with a mix of shredded organic latex and kapok fiber (a natural seed-pod fiber that feels similar to cotton), which can be removed or added by the handful, as with the Coop Original. Latex foam is similar to memory foam, but generally feels springier and cooler. The mix of latex and kapok in this pillow means it’s supportive but still somewhat plush. It arrived with a high loft and medium firmness, and since I don’t love a super-tall pillow, I removed some fill to find a level that kept my neck aligned with my spine while lying on my back. But if you want to go loftier, Avocado does also provide a bag of additional fill. As with the Coop pillow, I’d recommend having a container on hand to store any extra fill.
Inside the pillow, the fill is contained in an organic cotton-jersey liner, and the mix of latex and kapok looks very “natural,” as it’s almost all beige. The ratio of kapok to latex chunks seems high, compared to the fiber-to-foam ratio in the Coop; this gives the Avocado a slightly fluffier, more downlike feel than the Coop or Marlow with the fiber in the Avocado pillow playing a more substantial role. The pieces of latex aren’t cut in consistent shapes, so the mix of larger and smaller latex pieces blends very easily with the kapok.
Additionally, Avocado recently released a “side sleeper” version of this pillow — it’s crescent-shaped, a common style for side-sleeper pillows. I haven’t tested it yet, but if you like that style of pillow with a cutout for your shoulder, it could be a good bet.
Best adjustable down pillow
Adjustable feature: Add or remove three layers | Material: 650-fill power down fill | Finishing details: Cotton cover with gusset
Sleep Number sells a variety of adjustable pillows with modular layers — basically, slabs that you can add or remove or rearrange to change the loft and firmness of the pillow. This one holds three identical lower-loft pillows inside a zipped cover, each one stuffed with 650-fill power down. With all three layers in the cover, the pillow has a medium-firm feel and is quite lofty: about nine inches at its tallest point. Though it does compress beneath weight, Trolio — a back and side sleeper who typically prefers softer, airier down and down-alternative pillows over denser and firmer memory-foam ones — liked this pillow best when sleeping on two of the three layers because it was easier to sink into. With all three layers inside the pillow, the filling is more compressed and supportive overall, a similar effect to having both zippers closed on the Marlow pillow above. Trolio noticed that whether she used two or three layers, however, this pillow was nicely responsive and supportive, compressing under her head and neck when she laid down and then quickly “reinflating” and springing back into shape when she sat up.
While this adjustable layer style doesn’t allow for as much customization as the adjustable fill style, it is much more convenient — Trolio said it took just 15 seconds for her to add or remove a layer. She also appreciated that if she decided to remove a layer, she could use it as an additional low-loft down pillow. However, if you think you might end up taking out two of the three layers, this pillow probably isn’t worth the cost — just buy a softer or lower-loft down pillow in the first place.
Best adjustable down-alternative pillow
Adjustable feature: Add or remove handfuls of fill | Fill: “Ultra soft” microfiber | Finishing details: Bamboo/polyester cover; arrives medium-soft with no extra fill
The Chinchilla pillow from Lagoon is one of the few adjustable down-alternative pillows I’ve come across. It’s filled with cotton-ball-like microfiber fill, which you can remove to adjust the loft and firmness, though firm-pillow devotees should keep scrolling: When I tested it, the pillow was really soft and compressive. It’s very comfortable for back and stomach sleeping, as it provides just a little bit of support without pushing my neck into an awkward position. Because it’s not super-lofty to begin with, if you really want a minimal pillow, you can easily adjust this one to be quite low. I think it could be an especially good match for fans of fiberfill pillows who need a low or flat pillow, like stomach sleepers. As with the Coop and the Avocado pillows above, the filling is contained in an inner lining, so there’s an outer case to unzip and an inner one. The fill isn’t quite as messy, since it clings to itself easily and has to be pulled apart more to remove some. The pillow arrived rolled up and compressed in a small bag, which I then repurposed to store extra fill as I tested removing some. However, because it started out low and soft, I ended up not needing to remove any fill to sleep comfortably. The main caveat of this pillow is the price: If you like a low-loft pillow and you’re pretty easy to please, I would actually recommend choosing a cheaper down-alternative pillow, such as the Buffy Cloud. But if you really want the ability to adjust your pillow to get it just right, and you’re committed to down-alternative fill, I think this is a decent option.
Best adjustable pillow for neck support
Adjustable feature: Add or remove handfuls of fill | Fill: Cut memory foam and fiber; GelFlex gel pad | Finishing details: Polyester cover, adjustable bolsters for neck support, arrives medium-firm with no extra fill, comes with a small zipped throw pillow case to hold removed fill
Purple’s Freeform pillow is filled with cut memory foam and fiber fill, like several other pillows on this list — though adorably, the foam pieces are cut into crescent moons. As with any other adjustable-fill pillow, you can remove fill by the handful to lower the loft and make the pillow softer, or overstuff it for a higher loft and firmer feel. What’s unique about the Freeform, however, is that there are two bolster tubes inside the pillow that that you can stuff with fill for targeted neck support. This means you can take out lots of fill for a softer feel and lower loft overall, but still have more firmness under your neck.
Like many other Purple pillows, the Freeform also has a layer of the brand’s signature GelFlex grid sewn into the cover, which helps you stay cool and provides a zingy cushion on top of the more sinky memory-foam-and-fiber fill. Trolio tested this pillow alongside two other pillows from Purple: my personal favorite pillow, the Purple Harmony, and a slab-adjustable pillow called the DreamLayer. Compared to other adjustable pillows on this list, the Freeform is by far the most well-designed and thought-out: Purple provides instructions on how much fill to remove to achieve your desired firmness, along with a plastic bag to “measure” with and a small zippered throw-pillow-size case to store any extra fill (and which you could actually use as a lumbar-support pillow, or even a decorative throw pillow if you add a nicer-looking case).
Actually adjusting the fill is quite similar to adjusting the fill in the Coop pillow (which Trolio has also tried), though the fiberfill that’s blended with the memory-foam moons is a little more prone to escaping and floating around the room. And depending on how you adjust it, the pillow might end up with a wavier or lumpier look, especially if you take advantage of the bolster tubes. But the feel is overall uniform and supportive. Since Trolio likes a softer pillow generally, she ultimately preferred the Purple Freeform over the Coop Original because the gel grid put some extra cushion between her head and the denser memory foam in the fill. And while overstuffing the bolsters made the edges of the Freeform feel a bit too firm for her liking, if you are specifically looking for a pillow for neck pain, the design of the Freeform is pretty genius; though it may take some trial and error to get the right balance of fill in the bolsters, it’s such a great option to have.
Best adjustable crescent pillow
Adjustable feature: Add or remove handfuls of fill | Fill: Latex noodles and polyester fiber | Finishing details: Polyester/cotton blend cover, arrives medium-firm with no extra fill
Our all-around favorite pillow for side sleepers is this adjustable crescent pillow from Eli & Elm. Its crescent shape allows room for your shoulder to snuggle right up to the pillow when laying on your side, so that your neck can get maximum support. I’ve tried this pillow, as has Strategist writer Brenley Goertzen, and we both describe the fill as supportive but cushioning and not too firm. The fill is a 75-to-25 ratio of latex noodles and polyester fiber, so it is squishable but responsive. The latex pieces are called “noodles” because that’s exactly what they look like — almost like extra-long pieces of macaroni in a fluffy, fiberfill sauce. The polyester fiber looks similar to the fill in the down-alternative Lagoon pillow, above, and I would say there’s a more substantial proportion of the fiber in the mix than there is for the Coop (which has more foam). When I tested it, I didn’t end up removing any fill, because I liked the way it shipped: very well-stuffed and medium-firm. It felt supportive, but I could still sink into it a bit. If you decide to remove fill to lower the loft and soften the pillow, you’ll want to have a container to store it in on hand. And if you want to add more, Eli & Elm does sell packages of additional fill.
Our experts
• John Galluci Jr., physical therapist and CEO at JAG Physical Therapy
• Brenley Goertzen, Strategist writer
• Jen Trolio, Strategist senior editor
The Strategist is designed to surface useful, expert recommendations for things to buy across the vast e-commerce landscape. Every product is independently selected by our team of editors, whom you can read about here. We update links when possible, but note that deals can expire and all prices are subject to change.
