Purple Vs Leesa

In all of my previous head to heads the mattresses that were to be contrasted at least shared the same core tech. A three-tier foam structure, with the core comfort coming from memory foam. Not the case this time, as the Purple is unique in the industry, using a hyper-elastic polymer top layer instead. The material simultaneously hugs your contours and supports your entire body, two must-haves in a mattress that other companies accomplish with a combination of materials. Purple was founded only recently, mid-2015, and brought their unique design to market via a successful Kickstarter campaign. Here I will be comparing the experience offered by Purple with the Leesa. Earlier this year I judged the Leesa the best mattress on the market at the moment, in terms of overall feel, price and build quality. But I didn’t know about the Purple back then, so how does the Leesa compare to the new-comer? read on for the full breakdown.

Company Vs Company – Leesa Vs Purple

Purple is the younger company, and as a result, I have been unable to find much information on their philanthropic endeavors. It may well be the case that they have yet to hit the point of profitability, where they can actually give back. I have gotten in contact with them regarding this and hope to hear back soon. I do know they donate all returned mattresses to charity, but that is an act matched by all of their competitors. Leesa, on the other hand, are well known for the charitable donations, and have a wonderful policy in place, donating not only all returned mattresses but also 1 mattress for every ten sold. That alone gives this section to Leesa.

Winner – Leesa

Leesa Vs Purple Mattress Build Quality and Materials

Let’s start by taking a look at the topper material. The Leesa uses a Lycra-blend topper all over. The material is porous, and very hard wearing, though I would argue not nearly as comfortable as a pure cotton sheet. Leesa went for longevity here, as the synthetic fiber blends tend to have a longer shelf life. Aesthetically the Leesa is quite nice to look at, with four horizontal stripes running across the simple two-tone gray mattress. Hardly a Picasso, true, but still much nicer to look at that the vast majority. The Purple uses a blend of three materials to create their topper, Poly-Lycra, polyester, and viscose. The end result is very similar to the Leesa, but with a small and significant difference. The Purple’s is more pliable, a necessity considering their hyper-elastic polymer layer needs a degree of plasticity above it to function. Too tight a topper and you don’t gain the benefits of that layer. In terms of look, the Purple is a little less modern and a little more classic bed-looking bed. I prefer the look of the Purple to the look of the Leesa, but which is better really depends on personal taste. In all, while the choice of material for the Purple syncs up with their choice of comfort layer material that alone is not enough to give them an outright victory here, and we’re left with a draw.

Winner – Draw

On to the inside, and here we see some big differences. The Purple is not like other mattresses, with their many tiers of foam coming together to create the perfect sleeping experience. Instead, all of the functions of a bed, contour conforming comfort and back-pain alleviating support, come as a result of their Hyper-Elastic polymer top layer. Take a look at the thing, very strange to look at that, but I can confirm that it does do its job well. The reaming two layers of the mattress are foam, sturdy support foam coming in two different densities. The base is 4″ and the transition support foam is 3.5″. The Purples top layer does not retain heat, like memory foam, and provides plenty of support, depressing only in areas that require depression.

The Leesa is the quintessential direct to consumer mattress. A classic three-tiered foam build, with a few novel twists. First and foremost is the ridged Avena foam top layer. The Leesa uses memory foam, and as much as I love the stuff even I have to admit it does retain heat, leading to a less comfortable sleeping experience. The Leesa solves this issue with an Avena foam top layer, porous and cooling. the ridges on the Avena foam, which is a kind of rapid response foam similar to latex foam, allow the mattress to better conform to your body, and the 6″ base foam provides plenty of support. From a pure tech perspective, this section has to go to Purple. Their mattress is as comfortable in many ways, more and less so in others.

Winner – Purple

Purple Vs Leesa Overall Review

This is a tough one to call. On the one hand, I love the Leesa and find its blend of materials to be spot on, and their price is fantastic too, but the Purple really does do all it claims to. I have never felt a mattress like it. At the very least you should try it out. If you have already gone with a memory foam build and found it lacking, then, by all means, check out the Purple. If you know you want a memory foam based bed, then get the Leesa. There is a market for both of these products, finding out which one you’re in is important.

Winner – Draw

Leesa Vs Purple – Pricing & Returns Policy

I have to first point out that the Purple do not offer any other sizes beyond Queen, Twin XL and King sized. They have plans to expand their size range in the future, but for now, these are the ones we get. Granted they are the most common mattress sizes, but I would still have liked to see the full range on offer. Price wise the Purple is a little more expensive than the Leesa on all fronts, not a bad thing overall, but it does give the Leesa an advantage. You can also get the Leesa with a $75 discount, and a $25 Target gift card, meaning our adjusted price for a Queen sized Leesa is $790, substantially less than the Purple’s $999. Both companies offer free shipping within the contiguous States.

On to the customer service policies of the two, and it is here that the Purple really shines. Leesa has a 10-year warranty on all their mattresses, but that is simply the industry standard.the Purple is half again as good, with a 15-year warranty, and remember that mattress warranties are actually worth something. The trial period offered by Leesa is a fairly impressive 100 days, again beaten by Purple’s more impressive 120 days. Either is good there though, as I imagine that most of us will know if we are to keep a mattress after a month or so of sleeping on it. So while Purple have this second section, this section overall will go to Leesa. It is way cheaper, and it offers customer service that is at least comparable to Purple.

Winner – Leesa

Purple Vs Leesa – Conclusion

A hard one to call. Leesa is certainly one of the most consistent mattresses I have ever tested, and the overall quality on offer is impressive. If you are making the jump to bespoke quality mattresses the low entry price of the Leesa is a great incentive. If you have already sampled the memory foam mattress market and found it wanting, then this new tech from Purple might be exactly what you are looking for. It may be some time before we know how well the Purple does its job of fixing all our backs, but the early results look promising, and it is at least worth a try. Overall I think this will go to Leesa though, it is a mattress we can trust, one of the best selling of the last few years, and I would need a few months with a Purple before I could recommend it over the Leesa.

Overall Winner – Leesa

Bedding Add-Ons

Mattress Protector – Both of these mattresses are of the highest quality, but even a Bulldozer has to be put back into its protective case at the end of the day. You will need a mattress protector. Something that will save it from the accidental spills, the trips with scissors, the random badger attack. I bought a SafeRest not too long ago and was greatly impressed with its ability to not coat my mattress in Pepsi Max. Some other review I  read online about mattress protectors told me it was the best on the market, so now I pass on that Knowledge to you. You can find it on Amazon, and click here to apply a small discount to it too.

Sheets – Long time readers, which I’m pretty sure is just my Dad so, Hi Dad! know I am a big fan of high-quality cotton sheets, and at the end of these reviews, I advise you to go out and get a high thread count cotton sheet. I picked a few up from Amazon for a decent price, here they are Fade Resistant Egyptian Cotton Sheet &1500 Thread Count Wrinkle. Just remember if you get them elsewhere that they must be high thread count and 100% cotton.