Purple vs TempurPedic Mattress: Which is Best for You?

Tempur-Pedic vs Purple Mattress Overview

If you’re familiar with mattresses, or even just see a mattress commercial from time to time, you’re probably familiar with the names Tempur-Pedic and Purple. They are both well-known mattress companies known for high-quality beds, and the companies have earned a lot of fans. The biggest things separating Tempur-Pedic vs. Purple come down to:

• Feel — TempurPedic mattresses have a dense memory foam feel. Purple mattresses, on the other hand, have a unique, gel-like feel.
• Price — If you’re looking to spend around $1,000, the original Purple is the winner.

To skip around our Purple vs. Temper-Pedic review, you can use these links:

Purple vs. Tempur-Pedic Mattress Comparison Video

Design & Construction

The flagship Purple mattress comes with three layers:

• Support layer — 4″ of dense support foam to provide a solid foundation for the bed
• Transition layer — 3.25″ of 1.8-pound polyurethane foam as a transition layer
• Comfort layer — 2″ of Hyper-Elastic Polymer to provide pressure-relieving and supportive comfort.

Hyper-Elastic Polymer is not a foam material. Rather, it’s more of a gel or silicone-like material (even though it’s technically neither). It truly is a unique material. It’s soft, responsive and stretchy yet also supportive. It does a great job of cradling your pressure points (hips and shoulders) while providing the necessary support under your trunk and lower back.

Now let’s talk about the design of the Tempurpedic — we’re focusing on one of their latest models for this comparison, the Tempur-Adapt Hybrid.

• Base layer — 1,000 spring coils make up the pocketed coil support layer, and they’re surrounded by foam reinforcements to add better edge support.
• Transition layer — “Original TEMPUR Support” layer to act as a transition in between the firm coils and soft memory foam layer above. 
• Comfort layer — “TEMPUR-ES” comfort layer which is the brand’s signature memory foam which provides a dense, slow responding feel.

Feel & Firmness

Purple beds have an uncommon gel-like feel. As you lay down on Purple mattresses, you can feel the tiny polymer squares shift under your body. The result is a buoyant sleeping surface in which you almost feel like you’re floating. All in all, it takes a little time to get used to, but a lot of people out there like the feel.

Not everyone loves the feel of Hyper-Elastic Polymer, though. Most of the team members here at the Slumber Yard enjoy it. In fact, Slumber Yard team member Matt sleeps on a Purple Hybrid Premier 4. However, it is a bit too weird or unique for some. You should try it for yourself.

We think Purple comes in around a medium on the firmness scale, but honestly, the polymer is so unique that it’s hard to put an exact figure on firmness.

The feel of the TempurPedic bed is very different from the buoyant sleeping surface of the Purple mattress. Despite the thick layer of memory foam on top, it’s not your typical soft foam feel. It has more of a firm, dense memory foam feel. As you lay down on Tempur-Pedic mattresses, you can feel the top layers slowly mold and conform to your body’s shape. It will almost feel as if the mattress is hugging you. 

It’s still very comfortable, but you don’t sink in that much, and you don’t get any of that stuck-in-the-mud feeling that memory foam beds are known for. In fact, we think TempurPedic is around a medium-firm on the firmness scale. 

Other Factors to Consider

There’s a lot to think about when investing in a new mattress. And while the firmness and feel are often the biggest factors people think of, it’s also important to consider the edge support, motion isolation, and temperature a bed offers.

Edge Support

The Purple Hybrid mattresses provide solid edge support. This is important for couples who like to spread out because it extends the useful surface area of the bed.

Tempur-Adapt also provides excellent edge support, and takes the trophy in this category. In fact, it’s one of the best beds we’ve ever tested in that department. There’s little compression around the perimeter of the bed, and you never feel like you’re going to roll off thanks to the coils and dense foam reinforcement

Motion Isolation

Motion the Purple and Tempurpedic mattresses offer great motion isolation. The Tempurpedic bed deadens movement well. That means you won’t be disturbed if your partner tends to move around or get up frequently throughout the night.

And while you wouldn’t think the Purple would, given how bouncy Hyper-Elastic Polymer is, the material does a pretty decent job of limiting motion transfer.

Temperature

If you or your partner sleep hot, a bed’s temperature is an important characteristic to consider. Thanks to its Hyper-Elastic Polymer, the Purple mattress sleeps on the cooler side of the spectrum. To begin, Hyper-Elastic Polymer is just a naturally cooler material than memory, latex, or proprietary foam. This type of temperature regulation is especially ideal for couples.

Similarly, the Tempurpedic bed also sleeps cool, which is pretty unusual for a memory foam bed. The cover contains a special cooling material that makes it a cool-to-the-touch bed. Combined with the fact that most people will sleep more on top of the bed rather than in it, this means the Tempur-Adapt is also a solid option for hot sleepers.

Body Type Analysis

Petite

Petite individuals are likely to get a comfortable night’s sleep on any of the mattresses discussed in this article. The more important factor to consider is the type of mattress material you’re looking for and your sleep style — back, stomach, side or combo.

Average

Both the Purple or Tempurpedic mattress could work well for average sleepers. Consider what firmness level you’re looking for and what your sleeping style is. The Tempurpedic is slightly firmer, and each better is more well-suited to certain sleeping positions.

Heavy

Both the Tempur-Pedic and Purple mattresses can work well for heavy individuals. The Tempur-Pedic Adapt is ideal for heavy people as a result of the firmness level and the coils included in the design. If you’re going to go with a Purple mattress, the Purple Hybrid is probably the way to go. It includes more support and compression than the original.

Sleeper Type Analysis

Before deciding which mattress is right for you, you’re probably wondering how each option lines up with your sleep style and body type. 

Side Sleepers

Side sleepers likely won’t get the back and hip support they need from the Tempur-Pedic Adapt. If you tend to sleep on your side, any of the Purple mattresses would work well.

Combination Sleepers

Combination sleepers can find both TempurPedic and Purple mattresses that work well for them. Because of the support and pressure relief it provides, the TempurPedic Adapt is ideal for combination sleepers. If you’re set on a Purple mattress, the Purple Hybrid Premier 3 is the best option.

Back And Stomach Sleepers

We think back and stomach sleepers can get a comfortable night’s sleep with either mattress company. The Tempur-Pedic Adapt provides great pressure relief for those who sleep on their back and stomach. Purple’s mattress works well for any type of sleeper, including stomach and back sleepers.

Other Purple Models vs. Tempur-Pedic

A couple of years after the Original model, Purple introduced three new hybrid models (formerly known as the New Purple 2, 3, 4). These Hybrid models contain individually pocketed coils that provide more support than the dense polyurethane support foam in the Original. These may be ideal if you want a more supportive and durable version of Purple.

Why Trust Us

Get the kind of sleep you’ve only dreamed of with some help from our team of mattress experts. We personally test more than 150 of the best sleep solutions from over 60 leading brands on site, so you can be sure you’re getting unbiased reviews, fair comparisons and personalized recommendations.

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  McKenzie Dillon

  Combo Sleeper

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  Tharon Green

  Stomach Sleeper

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  Dillon Lopez

  Combo Sleeper

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  Jack Reynoso

  Combo Sleeper