The Purple mattress surged onto the scene after a successful Kickstarter campaign. They have made a name for themselves by offering unique mattresses that are firm and soft at the same time. Zinus, on the other hand, has increased in popularity because they offer cheap mattresses for the budget-conscious consumer.

Puffy Original mattress VS. Zinus Green Tea mattress
$699 – $1,449Price Range$141 – $266
Offer See on Amazon
  • Shoppers seeking a comfortable, affordable foam mattress
  • All types of sleepers, including back, stomach and side
Best For
  • Budget shoppers looking for an affordable memory foam bed
  • Side sleepers who need ample pressure relief
101 NightsTrial Period100 Nights
LifetimeWarranty10 Years
Free Shipping and ReturnsShipping Options Free Shipping and Returns
Shop Now Shop Now

Lucky for you, this is a fairly straightforward comparison—these beds are nothing alike. Just so you know, while both brands offer numerous different beds, we will focus on Zinus Green Tea and the Original Purple mattress.

  • Zinus vs Purple Mattress Video Comparison

Before we explain why Purple is better than Zinus, and vice versa, let’s cover the main two overlapping items.

  • Free Delivery — Almost every mattress brand offers completely free shipping, so it’s no surprise that Zinus and Purple do as well. For the record, most people end up purchasing Zinus via Amazon.
  • Side Sleeping — Both beds are excellent options for side sleepers.

Aside from those two things, Zinus and Purple are nothing alike. For instance, you’ll be purchasing Zinus via Amazon and Purple via the company’s online store.

And if all goes as planned, Purple offers a standard 100-night trial during which you can thoroughly vet the mattress. If you don’t like it, just return it. That’s right, completely free returns. A company contracted by Purple will dispatch someone in your area to pick up the mattress, costing you absolutely nothing.

With Zinus, since you’re at the whim of Amazon, you’ll have to abide by the company’s 30-day return window. Amazon mattresses are also a little funky with regards to returns. Sometimes your first mattress return is free, but we couldn’t find a clear, consistent policy. My hunch is that if you read this comparison and end up buying Zinus, you’ll probably keep it.

Purple Original
Purple Original
Why it’s Great
The Original Purple mattress is one of the most sought after beds online. It’s completely unique and is a great option for those that are interested in trying something new. It’s one of the only beds to feature Hyper-Elastic Polymer, a proprietary comfort material.
Best for
If you’re looking for a unique mattress with a different type of feel
All types of sleepers, including side, back and stomach
Sleep Positions
Back, Side and Stomach
Product Details
Firmness
Medium
Type
Unique
Temp
Breathable
Free Shipping
and returns
Trial Period
100 Nights
Warranty
10 Years
Made in
USA

$125 OFF APPLIED IN CART

$125 Off Applied In Cart

Why Purple Is Better — There are areas where Purple is objectively, and subjectively, better than Zinus. We have several of those reasons listed below for you. You can find even more information in our full Purple mattress comparison and review.

purple mattress review stomach sleeper
A look at the updated version of the Original Purple Mattress

Hyper-Elastic Polymer — You might not be too familiar with the comfort layer on Purple mattresses, but it really is what differentiates the beds. It also happens to be proprietary to Purple so you won’t see it on other bed-in-a-box mattresses. It’s both soft and firm at the same time, and incredibly good at keeping hot sleepers at a comfortable sleeping temperature.

Hyper Elastic Polymer is essentially a mega size Dr. Scholl’s insole. That sounds weird, we know, but somehow it ends up making for a really nice and unique mattress.

Why It’s Great For Hot Sleepers — There are two main reasons that Purple beds tend to be nice options for hot sleepers. For starters, the Purple Mattress Topper (i.e. Hyper-Elastic Polymer) is laid out as a grid. If you can imagine a squishy grate, that’s kind of what it’s like. As a result of having a grate (or grid) layout, there’s an abnormal amount of room for airflow. This should help to keep air circulating and your sleeping temperature down.

purple mattress review hyper elastic polymer topper bed online
This is the main comfort layer for Purple mattresses

In addition, the material itself, Hyper-Elastic Polymer, doesn’t tend to retain heat the way other materials, including many common foams, do. Even more, the cover on Purple mattresses is design to allow for maximum airflow.

Firmness — As generic as it sounds, all of the Purple mattresses are fairly close to a true medium. The Original Purple mattress is essentially a “medium” on the nose.

If you’ve read our other mattress reviews, you know what’s coming next. Because Purple beds are relatively neutral in terms of firmness, they are all basically able to handle all sleeping styles, whether it’s side, back, or stomach sleeping. Remember, the beds are sort of soft and firm at the same time.

Zinus Green Tea
Zinus Green Tea
Why it’s Great
Zinus Green Tea is a budget memory foam bed that offers ample pressure relief for side sleepers.
Best for
Budget shoppers looking for an affordable memory foam bed
Side sleepers who need ample pressure relief
Sleep Positions
Back, Side and Stomach
Product Details
Firmness
Soft
Type
Memory Foam
Temp
Warm
Free Shipping
and returns
Trial Period
100 Nights
Warranty
10 Years
Made in
China

SEE ON AMAZON

See on Amazon

You Should Get Zinus Because — The main reasons are feel, firmness, price, and retailer. We will get into each of them in the sections below. For the record, the most popular Zinus model is Green Tea, so we will focus on that primarily in this review.

zinus mattress review green tea
Zinus Green Tea is soft and has a true memory foam feel

Feel And Firmness — The simplest way to describe Zinus is that it’s a soft memory foam mattress. If you’ve ever felt memory foam before (most people have) you’ll know that it sometimes has a syrupy, viscose feel to it. Zinus has that sink-in feel, but it’s way softer. Pretty much anyone, regardless of weigh, will sink into ZInus.

We consider Zinus around a “medium-soft” on our firmness ratings. It’s primarily best for side sleepers. If you’re a petite individual you can get by in several sleeping positions, but we still contend that Zinus is most optimal for side sleepers.

zinus green tea mattress review construction and layers
Inside the 12″ Zinus Green Tea mattress

It’s Cheap — Whether or not you like the feel and firmness of Zinus, you can’t help but admire the price tag. There are multiple height options for this bed, but for the most part you’ll pay $300 or under on Amazon for the queen size Green Tea mattress.

There is no competition, price wise, between Zinus and Purple. It is worth noting, however, that Zinus is made in China, while Purple is majority, or fully, madein the United States. That said, Zinus Green Tea and Purple have the CertiPUR-US certification, so that’s good.

why trust us icon

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.


The Review Team

  • kenzie

    McKenzie Dillon

    Combo Sleeper

  • Owen Poole

    Side Sleeper

  • Matt Ross

    Back Sleeper