How to choose a pillow for the way you actually sleep
Loft, firmness and the gap between your ear and the mattress. The whole of pillow choice is one measurement most people never take.
12 min read
Leave the rest to us
Viewstar makes one thing, and it is the pillow you sleep on
Gusseted firm support, plush down alternative, a woven hotel stripe and an adjustable shredded foam pillow. Every page here says what the fill is, how firm it is, and what size the packaging actually claims.
14models in the catalogue
44sizes and colours across them
62.7kcustomer ratings across the range
4lines, from firm gusseted to foam
The catalogue
Four lines, and the same figures on every one
A pillow is bought on a photograph and lived with on two numbers: how much fill is in it and how tall it sits. Those decide whether your neck is level in the morning. Both are stated the same way across Viewstar, which is what makes two of our pages comparable without opening either bag.
Firm Support
Gusseted sides, dense down alternative fill, and a piped edge in eight colours
8 models
Soft & Fluffy
Plush microfibre fill for people who want the head to sink rather than sit
2 models
Striped Hotel
A tone on tone sateen stripe, the shell a good hotel puts on the bed
2 models
Memory Foam & Sets
An adjustable foam pillow you can empty, and the four pillow sets for a whole bed
2 modelsWhat we publish
The figures a pillow page usually leaves out
Most pillow pages give you an adjective. Plush, luxurious, hotel quality. None of those tell you whether the thing will hold your head at the height your neck wants, which is the only question that matters after the first week.
So we publish the specification instead. Every model in the Viewstar firm support range carries a table built from the manufacturer’s own figures, and where two of our own sources disagree about a measurement, the row is missing rather than guessed at.
How often the catalogue is refreshed is on how we update, and how the pillows are put together is on how it is made.
On every product page
- What the fill is, in the manufacturer’s own words
- The support level, and what it means in terms of fill density
- Every size in the line, with the price of each
- The measurement where the packaging states one, and a plain gap where it does not
- Whether the side wall is gusseted
- Which certification the pillow carries, and what that certification covers
- How it washes and how it dries
- Customer ratings as published, including the critical ones
Two pillows, one height, no gap in the middle
A queen mattress is sixty inches across and a standard pillow is twenty six. Two of them leave a valley in the centre that a head finds at three in the morning. Two queens do not, and that is most of what pillow sizing is about.
Choosing a size
Which pillow size fits which bed
Pillow sizes are named rather than measured, and the names are not standardised between brands. Here is what ours cover and which mattress each one is meant for.
| Mattress | Width | Usual pillow | Why |
|---|---|---|---|
| Twin | 38 in | One standard | A single standard covers a twin with room to spare |
| Twin XL | 38 in | One standard or one queen | Queen suits a taller sleeper who moves about |
| Full | 54 in | Two standards | Two standards fit across; two queens overhang |
| Queen | 60 in | Two queens | Two standards leave a gap in the middle of the bed |
| King | 76 in | Two kings | Two queens leave roughly sixteen inches uncovered |
What each of our own size names covers, and which of them carry a stated measurement, is on the pillow sizes page.
Choosing a loft
Which support level suits which sleeping position
The rule behind this table is one sentence long: the pillow has to fill the gap between the mattress and your head without pushing it past level. How big that gap is depends entirely on which way you lie.
| You sleep | The gap to fill | What suits it | From |
|---|---|---|---|
| On your side | Shoulder to ear, the largest gap of the three | Firm support, gusseted | $34.99 |
| On your back | The hollow of the neck only | Medium, or firm in a smaller size | $34.96 |
| On your front | Almost nothing; a tall pillow bends the neck back | Soft support, the lowest loft in the range | $34.96 |
| A bit of everything | Changes through the night | Adjustable shredded foam, emptied to taste | $31.98 |
The long version, including what to do when a pillow turns out to be an inch too tall, is in our guide to choosing a pillow.
Most rated
What people buy from us most
A closer look
Every colour we pipe an edge in
Where we draw the line
What we will and will not claim about a pillow
A pillow is the one piece of bedding that touches your face for eight hours. That is how the category ended up full of claims about health. We are not going to make them. What we can tell you is what is in the specification: the fill, the density, the shell, the certification and the wash instructions.
That is what how it is made covers, and it is written from figures rather than adjectives. Where a page touches sleep, neck pain or a child’s safety, it cites the agency it came from and says plainly that it is general information.
Things you will not read here
- No claim that a pillow cures, prevents or treats neck pain
- No invented founding date, factory address or team photograph
- No pillow recommended for a baby’s sleep space, because none belongs there
- No measurement printed where our own sources disagree about it
- Payment, delivery and returns happen at checkout, not on this site
What buyers say
Customer reviews, including the ones that are not five stars
Five of the 13 are under five stars, and four of those say the same thing: the pillow was taller than the person wanted. That is the most useful sentence a pillow buyer can read.
Elizabeth Moreno
We stayed at an AirBNB a few years ago and these were the pillows on the beds. They were so comfortable that we went out and bought them for our home. After 2 years, the filling has not collapsed or gotten squashed or anything. I have washed them in the washing machine.
Justplainbill
Pillows are well made, fluff up really nice, don’t flatten out. I’m a side sleeper and for a couple of months have been waking up with shoulder pain/stiffness in my right shoulder. Been about two weeks sleeping with them and the last 5 days, waking up without shoulder pain.
Patty
These pillows are super comfortable if you like thick, firm ones. I absolutely loved them, they feel high-quality and supportive, but they are very thick, and after a while, I started getting some neck pain.
RebekM.
These pillows are nice, but strange for me. They are slightly longer than I prefer but doable, and have an odd soft yet firm texture. When you lay the head down it sinks into the pillow, but each side comes up. (This was for the queen size, for me. The standard may be better.)
Tina Collins
I absolutely love these pillows! I am replacing the same pillows we bought 6 years ago. They are the best. They last forever and are the perfect mix of soft and firm.
Richard Sullenberger
pillows come packed compressed, expand and fluff as advertised. Very comfortable, full bodied, nice support. Can’t say how long they will last, but they are starting out very nice.
Stephanie Greenwell
Absolutely LOVE these pillows. Had them in an Airbnb and had to find out what they were because they are so comfortable. Not too firm, not too soft. Fluffy and plump!
moviegal
These pillows are a pleasant surprise. They are so comfortable and do not flatten out. Highly recommend.
Stiva
Pillows losing ut shapes after a night sleep but I can work with it.
Looks nice
Carrie P.
The first night they seemed a little high but still very comfy. What I love about them is that you can push and pull (doesn’t take much effort at all) and basically get the pillow how you want it around your head. I like a bit of support in that space by the neck area.
John
What sets this pillow apart from others is that it’s fully adjustable, you can actually remove or add the shredded memory foam to customize the firmness to your exact preference. I was able to find my ideal level of support by simply adjusting the fill.
Sarah
This is a THICK and FIRM and LARGE pillow. And it’s just not the right pillow for us.
L. F.
On the plus side, the pillows are good quality fabric, well made, and adjustable. I found them way too thick and heavy for my comfort, even after emptying out at least 30% of the foam bits.
Guides
Long form, with tables rather than adjectives
Pillow sizes explained: standard, queen, king and the ones in between
Pillow size names are not standardised and nobody says so. Here is what each one covers, which mattress it spans, and why two standards on a queen bed leave a hole.
10 min read
Washing, drying and replacing pillows without ruining them
More pillows are destroyed in the dryer than in the wash. The method, the frequency, and the fold test that tells you when one is finished.
11 min read