The 12 Very Best Body Pillows

Fill type: Cross-cut memory foam and microfiber | Shape: Rectangular | Size: 20 by 54 inches | Firmness: Adjustable | Care instructions: Machine washable cover | Cover and color options: White cover, no additional colors or cover options available from Coop; the pillow’s standard size easily fits covers from other brands

Our best body pillow overall comes from the maker of our favorite bed pillow, Coop Sleep Goods. It is filled with the same blend of cross-cut memory foam and microfiber, which gives it a lofty, supportive feel that isn’t overly “solid.” Just like the bed pillow, the body pillow arrives medium-firm; if you prefer a softer pillow, you can remove some of the fill. If you prefer a firmer pillow and want to add more fill, note that while the brand’s bed pillow comes with an extra bag of fill, the body pillow does not. But Coop sells a few different types to choose from, including a gel-infused cooling option. If you do need to adjust the pillow, all you do is unzip the machine-washable outer cover to access an inner cover that contains the fill. The process is slightly messy — if you’re removing fill, make sure to have a few large Ziploc bags on hand to contain it — but easy enough. Once you zip it back up, a good shake will help fluff and redistribute the fill.

This body pillow feels squishy and cushy when I wrap my arm and leg around it to lie on my side, but it’s also weighty and substantial. It’s easy to hold onto and snuggle into without sinking too much into the material. (It basically acts like a counterweight.) And because the fill is plush but dense, I can easily use it for support while sitting as well. Sometimes, I place it along the head of my bed so I can rest against it to read or scroll on my phone. Additionally, I appreciate the Coop’s standard sizing, as I was able to purchase a pillowcase from a different manufacturer to better match my bedroom — this $15 waffle-knit pillowcase from Target.

As far as materials go, Coop’s foam is both CertiPUR-US and GREENGUARD Gold certified; these certifications mean it emits minimal amounts of volatile organic compounds (airborne particles the Environmental Protection Agency says can cause adverse health effects). And while the Coop body pillow isn’t cheap, at just under $100, materials-wise it is on par with similar body pillows and more affordable than most “luxury” options. The pillow’s combination of adjustability and comfort, as well as its reasonable cost, are what earned it the top spot on this list.

Fill type: Shredded memory foam | Shape: Rectangular | Size: 20 by 54 inches | Firmness: Medium | Care instructions: Entire pillow is machine washable | Cover and color options: White or gray cover; the pillow’s standard size easily fits covers from other brands

Slightly less expensive than our top pick from Coop, this Snuggle-Pedic body pillow has a similar design and uses shredded memory-foam fill, though without any microfiber mixed in, like the Coop has. This body pillow also has a breathable and soft bamboo cover that is designed to regulate temperature and keep you cool. When Strategist writer Brenley Goertzen tested it, she found it cushioning, supportive, and easy to form into different shapes, like a U-shape around her back for reading in bed or to wrap around her shoulders while sleeping. Goertzen slept with the pillow for a couple months and found it worked well for providing extra support when she slept on her side. Her only complaint is that it lacks some fullness, so it may not be best for you if you want a firm or overstuffed pillow. As a bonus, the entire pillow is machine washable, which is rare for a memory-foam pillow.

[Editor’s note: Due to some recent fluctuations in stock, and possible changes to the product itself, we are planning to retest this pillow soon. The version with a gray cover is the most likely to be in stock, but seems to frequently sell out. We have contacted Snuggle-Pedic to inquire about future availability will update this guide accordingly.]

Fill type: Memory foam | Shape: Rectangular | Size: 14 x 48 x 7 inches | Firmness: Firm | Care instructions: Machine washable cover | Cover and color options: White cover, no additional colors or cover options available from Tempur-Pedic; the pillow’s smaller-than-standard size fits into covers from other brands, but you won’t get a smooth, taught fit

Filled with a slab of the brand’s signature memory foam, Tempur-Pedic’s BodyPillow is one of the firmest options on this list. Goertzen, who tested this pillow, describes it as super-dense and “pretty dang heavy” — it weighs about ten pounds. Because Goertzen generally prefers a fluffier pillow, she didn’t love the feel of this one, which she didn’t find to be as “huggable” as some of the others on this list. However, she observed that the pillow essentially stays “locked into place wherever you set it down,” so it could be a great option if you are looking for firm pressure relief that won’t give too much under the weight of your limbs, or as back support if you are pregnant or trying to train yourself to sleep on your side.

It’s a bit smaller than a standard body pillow, at 48 inches long and about 14 inches wide. Its size is a potential bonus if you’re petite or want a body pillow that won’t take up too much space in your bed, and a potential drawback if you’re tall or plan to buy an additional pillow case to go over the machine-washable cover, as most standard-size body-pillow cases will be too large and loose.

Fill type: Microfiber fill | Shape: Rectangular | Size: 20 by 54 inches | Firmness: Medium-soft | Care instructions: Entire pillow is machine washable | Cover and color: White cover, but Parachute sells a variety of covers in other designs for an additional cost; the pillow’s standard size also fits covers from other brands

This lightweight down-alternative body pillow from Parachute offers plush, medium-soft support. Strategist senior editor Winnie Yang bought it to use during her third pregnancy and prefers it over firmer body pillows, describing it as “lofty, airy, and cooling when I feel overly warm; warm and comforting when I feel a little cold; and easy to maneuver into place.” The pillow doesn’t come with a removable pillowcase, but its measurements are standard, so it shouldn’t be too hard to find one — or, for an extra $129, you can purchase a linen pillowcase (available in five colors) from Parachute that Yang says gives the pillow a nice aesthetic (as long as you’re willing to pay more than the cost of the actual pillow to get it). Parachute also sells boucle and stitched cotton body-pillow covers. The pillow itself has a 100 percent cotton-sateen shell, and the entire pillow is machine washable.

Fill type: Foam cubes with fiberfill in outer cover | Shape: Rectangular | Size: 19 by 52 inches | Firmness: Adjustable | Care instructions: Outer pillow is machine washable, but you have to remove the foam cubes from the center | Cover and color: White and gray cover, no additional colors or cover options available from Twilla; the pillow’s slightly smaller-than-standard size fits covers from other brands

This adjustable body pillow from Twilla comes recommended by Goertzen, who made it a permanent fixture on her bed after testing it. The pillow contains both foam and fiberfill — similar to our top-pick Coop — but the main difference with the Twilla is that the two materials are separated. The fiberfill is permanently sewn into both sides of the cover, while the adjustable core of the pillow is stuffed with foam cubes. This construction also makes the pillow feel softer and more plush than the Coop, thanks to the outer layer of fiberfill, even though the firmness of both pillows is adjustable. This pillow does not ship with any additional fill, but you can buy extra foam cubes on Twilla’s website.

The cover of the Twilla is a blend of polyester and Tencel, and Gortzen reports that it did not cause her to overheat, even though she runs warm. It has a gray border around the entire perimeter and a long, bright-yellow zipper that extends all along one short edge of the pillow and halfway down the adjacent long edge, which makes the Twilla easier to adjust than the Coop. (It’s also less slightly messy to adjust than the coop, because the foam cubes are separated from the fiber.) Twilla does not sell additional cases or covers for its body pillow, but the pillow’s measurements are only two inches smaller than standard body-pillow dimensions, so it should fit cases from other brands reasonably well.

[Editor’s note: Twilla recently redesigned this pillow so that the foam cubes are loose inside the center section; previously, they were contained in several miniature pouches, like pillow ravioli. The pouch-filled version is the one Goertzen tested, so we are planning to retest this pillow to see how the newer design compares.]

Fill type: Ultrafine polyfiber | Shape: Rectangular | Size: 21 by 54 inches | Firmness: Medium | Care instructions: Entire pillow is machine washable | Color and cover options: White quilted cover, Pluto sells other pillow covers for an additional cost; the pillow’s standard size also fits covers from other brands

This hefty down-alternative body pillow from Pluto (which also makes a great custom pillow) is densely stuffed with ultrafine poly-fill. The pillow weighs approximately 12 pounds — a bit heavier than the much firmer Tempur-Pedic, and a surprising feat considering that down-alternatives are a lot airier and more lightweight compared to memory foam and latex. Senior editor Jen Trolio tested this pillow and reports that a major benefit of its weight is that it stays put as you cuddle up next to it (however, for this same reason, it can be difficult to move once it’s under a blanket). Trolio prefers squishy, plush pillows over firmer, denser ones as a rule, and reports that the PUFF works really well for her, providing a good mix of softness and support. Because it is so thoroughly stuffed, it’s on the firmer side for a “plush” pillow, while still feeling softer than most, and doesn’t flatten out, though you may occasionally need to bat it around a bit to redistribute the fill.

The Pluto PUFF comes with a quilted, cool-to-the-touch polyethylene-and-cotton-blend cover, which is removable if you prefer to sleep on the non-quilted 100-percent-cotton shell of the pillow itself. Both the removable cover and the entire pillow are machine washable. Pluto also sells nicer-looking covers that the brand cheekily calls “I-can’t-believe-it’s-not-silk pillowcases” for an additional $50; they are made of cooling eucalyptus lyocell and have a smooth and frictionless “slip” to them (since Trolio is not a silk-pillowcase aficionado, she didn’t comment on how the fabric directly compares to real silk). The covers are available in four colors: créme, fern, fog, and celeste (a light-blue shade).

Fill type: Microdenier polyester fiber | Shape: Rectangular | Size: 36 by 20 by 5 inches | Firmness: Medium-soft | Care instructions: Machine washable cover and outer case | Cover and color options: White or charcoal cover, can fit inside a king-size pillowcase

Sleep Crown first caught our attention when multiple celebrities told us they were fans of the brand’s over-the-head pillow. After Trolio tried (and loved) it, she called in the brand’s other products to test, including this mini body pillow. All of Sleep Crown’s pillows are made with the same delightfully squishy poly-fill. Though it is technically a down-alternative pillow like the Parachute and Pluto body pillows above, Trolio says the Sleep Crown body pillow feels less fluffy and airy and more like a mega (and much more expensive) version of the Squishmallows her daughters keep on their beds. The fill is compressive yet responsive — it immediately pops back into place after pressure is released — and has similarities in feel to both memory -foam (in the way it cradles and contours) and latex (in the way it springs back to shape), even though it doesn’t contain either of those materials. The pillow is heavy for its fill type (Trolio’s weighs about six pounds), but she says it feels more floppy than dense. “It will kind of fold in half over your arm like a napkin on a cartoon butler,” she says.

Notably, the Sleep Crown body pillow is considerably shorter than most other body pillows, which might be nice for shorter folks or people who don’t want to sacrifice too much bed space. It has the same dimensions as a standard king-size pillow, and thus Trolio was able to fit hers into a king pillowcase, which opens up a lot more cover options. The major drawback of this pillow is its staggering price tag, an eye-popping $358. But if you have the money to spend and you like the sound of a down-alternative pillow with a supremely unique and squishy feel, it’s a worthwhile splurge.

Fill type: Blend of shredded polyurethane foam and polyfill | Shape: C-shape | Size: 54 by 15 by 6 inches (not accounting for the footprint of the curve) | Firmness: Medium-soft | Care instructions: Machine washable cover | Cover and color options: White and gray cover, no additional colors or cover options available from Bedgear or other brands

A C-shaped pillow like this one from Bedgear offers a more cocooning experience than a standard straight body pillow. Bedgear calls this pillow U-shaped, but I’d say it falls more in the C-category, since it isn’t “double-sided” like the pregnancy pillows below. You may need to move the pillow to the other side of your body if you change sleeping positions, but it won’t take up as much bed space as a typical U-shaped body pillow. It’s filled with a mix of shredded foam and polyester fill, which gives it a supportive but fairly squishy feel. I found it super cozy to snuggle into; I could rest my head on the top end of the C-shape while hugging the middle and wrapping my legs around the bottom. I also liked that I could place the pillow behind my back and sit against the inner curve to prop myself up while reading in my bed. This pillow has a two-sided cover; one side is covered in a soft knit gray fabric, and the other in a more slick cooling one. I like the idea of switching between the two sides, but I could always feel the cooling side when hugging the pillow, regardless of whether it was facing up or down. This bugged me a little because I run cold, but could obviously be a nice feature for sleepers who run warm. It’s worth noting, too, that the knit side is gray and the cooling side is white, and because this pillow’s shape is unique compared to other C-shaped pillows, it may be difficult to find a more attractive case.