Purple Plus mattress: Review in brief
- A marked upgrade over the award-winning Purple Original
- A customizable feel makes it firmer or softer where you need it
- Enhanced cooling properties will help hot sleepers find relief
The Purple Plus mattress launched in August 2021 as an upgraded version of its award-winning Purple Mattress. It features an additional two inches of premium foam in between Purple’s proprietary Purple Grid and supporting core. It also offers enhanced breathability, improved cooling abilities, and a customizable feel—soft where you want a mattress to feel soft, and firmer where you need extra support.
The Purple Original holds a spot on our best mattress guide, so we were eager to see how much better the Purple Plus could be — especially since it costs hundreds of dollars more than its predecessor. We slept on the Purple Plus mattress for two weeks and performed a series of tests to feel the difference for ourselves.
Here’s what we can tell you: The cooling benefit of the Purple Plus is phenomenal. If you thought the Original cooled well, the Purple Plus is in a class by itself. According to Purple, data shows that the Purple Plus’ construction moves heat away from the body 25% better and faster than competing cooling mattresses. Case in point: one of our reviewers, who needs to kick one or both feet out of the covers nightly to catch relief from the heat, didn’t have to do that when sleeping on the Purple Plus.
AT A GLANCE: PURPLE PLUS MATTRESS
Best for: Hot sleepers; couples; all sleeping positions
Type: Mattress in a box
Firmness: Medium-firm (6/10), firm (7.5/10)
Materials: Premium foam; GelFlex Grid
Depth: 11 inches
Weight: 67-140lbs
Sizes: Twin, twin XL, full, queen, king, Cal king, split king
The Purple Plus is also great at relieving pressure points, and all sleep positions were well-suited on this mattress. It feels soft and cradled under your head, neck, arms, and legs, but is firmer under the shoulders, hips and lumbar spine. We don’t claim to know how they accomplished this soft-where-you-need-it, firm-where-you-want-it feat, but Purple says it’s physics.
Couples who move around more should be pleased with the motion isolation here. It’s every bit as good or better than the Original. Where the Purple Plus came up a little short is edge support. One of our reviewers said there has been a couple of times when getting too close to the edge resulted in a downward roll feeling, indicating that edge support is a little lackluster.
The Purple Plus costs between $400 and $500 more than the Original, with a starting price of $1,199 for a twin. But considering Purple also makes hybrid coil and grid mattresses that cost thousands of dollars, the Purple Plus has a much friendlier price point for the enhanced comfort. It’s also competitively priced against other top cooling models, and Purple Mattress deals offer frequent ways to save.
As with all Purple mattresses, you get a 100-night, risk-free trial, so you have over a full three months to decide if the Purple Plus is right for you. You have to give it at least 21 days, after which your money will be refunded if you decide this isn’t the one for you. Purple warranties their beds for 10 years against defects and permanent body indentations over an inch.
Purple Plus mattress: Materials
- 1,400 air channels work together to keep you cool
- GelFlexGrid responds to your every move
- Mix of premium foams to relieve major pressure points
The Purple Plus mattress is constructed of six layers. The softflex knit cover, which is the same great fabric that covers the original bed, followed by two inches of Purple GelFlex Grid, the proprietary gel-like elastic polymer that squishes and springs back once you have rolled into a new sleeping position. This also has thousands of holes that make the Purple Plus more breathable, enabling air to flow more freely and keep you cool during sleep.
Next up is another two inches of Premium Comfort Foam, and here’s where you’ll find (and feel) the difference between the Purple Plus and the Original. Not only does this layer help you feel more supported, it gives the mattress stability.
All of that is followed by a three-layer Premium Foam Base that makes your sleep experience supportive and comfortable. Let’s take a closer look at the prices now….
Purple Plus mattress: Prices
- Costs $400 to $500 more than the Purple Original
- Competitively priced compared to other cooling models
- Regularly discounted in Purple mattress sales
The Purple Plus mattress is now the brand’s mid-range option. Like many mattress manufacturers, inflation has resulted in gradually-rising prices, with an increase of $100 to $300 across all sizes. A twin Purple Plus mattress is now $1,199 (was $1,099) while a queen costs $1,899 (was $1,699).
Even now, it’s only a few hundred dollars more than the Original. Whereas a queen Purple Plus is $1,899, a Purple Original queen mattress costs $1,399 — a $500 differential. The Purple Plus is also considerably less than its Hybrid models. The entry-level Purple Hybrid is $2,399 for a queen and its top-of-the-line Hybrid Premier 4 commands $3,799 for the same size.
One of Purple’s biggest competitors is Tempur-Pedic, which makes a range of Tempur (foam) and hybrid mattresses focusing on many of the same areas, including pressure relief, cooling and zoned support. (To see how they stack up, read our Purple vs Tempur-Pedic mattress comparison.) Tempur-Pedic mattresses tend to cost more than Purple’s, with a Tempur-Cloud retailing for $2,199 in queen.
As for how it compares to other top cooling models, the Purple Plus is considerably less than the Casper Wave Hybrid Snow, which starts at $2,295 for a queen. (However, keep in mind that hybrids tend to be more expensive than full-foam mattresses in general.) Meanwhile, it’s very close in price to the Nectar Premier Copper mattress, which may be a better option for individuals who want more extras included with their purchase and a taller bed (it’s 14 inches high, compared to the 11-inch Purple Plus).
Here’s the official pricing for the Purple Plus mattress:
- Twin: $1,199
- Twin XL: $1,449
- Full: $1,649
- Queen: $1,899
- King: $2,299
- Cal King: $2,299
- Split King: $2,898
Purple Mattress deals take place throughout the year and typically feature $100 off the Purple Plus. While there aren’t any money-off discounts right now, Purple does include your choice of a free item with any Purple Plus mattress purchase. These include the Purple Harmony pillow ($179 value), a Purple mattress protector (up to $158 value), or Purple Complete Comfort Sheets (up to $169 value).
Purple Plus mattress: Firmness and comfort
- We rate it a 6 out of 10 to a 7.5 out of 10 on the firmness scale
- Great for back, side and stomach sleepers
- Soft and squishy feel, but capable of firm support too
The Purple Plus comes in one variation. They say it’s physics, but to us the mattress feels soft under arms and legs, so we’d rate it a 6 out of 10 on the firmness scale for these areas. We’d rate it a 7.5 out of 10 for the spine and lower lumbar areas. By comparison, we rated the Original a solid 7 (out of 10) on the firmness scale. In short, the Purple Plus mattress is great where you think you need a firm feel, and softer where you don’t.
The Purple Plus also feels a little like you float on top of the mattress while sinking in slightly. It’s also deceptively firmer than it first appears. The mattress is comfy and cushioned, and our reviewers enjoyed some restful sleep on it. Our testers are of various body weights and have different sleep styles and cooling needs.
Since mattress firmness is subjective – one person may think a firm feel is great while another thinks soft is better – the Purple Plus may be the Goldilocks mattress capable of pleasing everyone. It’s also a good choice for couples since motion transfer is minimal. As we mentioned earlier in our review, our only complaint is that the edge support could be a little sturdier.
Purple Plus mattress: Performance
- Even our hot sleepers didn’t wake up in a sweat on this mattress
- Body weight is evenly distributed, and motion transfer is minimal
- However, the edge support could be better
We spent two weeks with a queen-size Purple Plus mattress. Abiding by our methodology for mattress research, we tested it in all major areas of performance: pressure relief, motion isolation, temperature regulation, edge support, and durability. We also rated the ease of setup.
Since we’re still working off a small sample size in our testing group, we also analyzed certified user reviews to provide a more comprehensive take on how well the Purple Plus performs. Here’s what we discovered…
Set-up
Score: 4.5/5
This is a heavy mattress. Our delivery driver used a dolly, so you may need to ask a friend or relative to help you shift the Purple Plus mattress up a flight of stairs or into a bedroom. Ours arrived in an oversized and plastic duffle bag with easy-to-use carry handles. To set up the Purple Plus mattress, unzip the duffle bag and roll out the plastic-wrapped mattress.
Once you begin to unpack the vacuum-sealed roll and plop the mattress onto your bed frame or platform, it’s easy enough for one person to handle. You’ll unroll and unroll and unroll until finally out springs the Purple Plus from all the plastic wrapping. It starts growing in size within seconds and is ready to sleep on within 30 minutes.
Off-gassing
Score: 5/5
Despite a vacuum seal process and a lot of plastic wrap, there was no noticeable mattress off-gassing odor in the room either from the plastic bag or the Purple Plus itself.
Purple’s grid material and foam are CleanAir GOLD and CertiPUR-US certified. A third-party quality assurance company confirms that their mattresses meet the standards required to promote minimal VOC exposure and are 100% non-toxic.
Pressure relief
Score: 4.5/5
We give the Purple Plus high marks in pressure relief due to its unique blend of softness and firmness that will appeal to a wide variety of firmness preferences. Pressure point relief under your shoulders, hips, lumbar spine, and knees were excellent for our reviewers. We also placed a 50lb kettlebell weight in the middle of the mattress to test how much sinkage occurs.
While the weight sinks in noticeably, it was significantly less than expected gauging by the soft feel of the Purple Plus.
When it comes to a real live person lying on the mattress whose weight is distributed throughout five or six feet, we think Purple Plus held up well giving us a cushiony feel but not sinking into that top layer too deeply. Whether you sleep on your side, back or front, Purple Plus withstands weight easily and provides excellent contouring along all the pressure points.
Motion transfer
Score: 4.5/5
We reviewed a queen-sized Purple Plus, so there was plenty of opportunities to test whether motion transfer felt adequate. That’s when your partner tosses, turns, or gets up and how easily you feel what they’re doing on your side of the bed. (Don’t tell anyone but we also had a 45lb dog between us.)
The Purple Plus does a great job of keeping motion transfer to a minimum. Certainly, it’s as solid a job as the original mattress. We also performed a couple of drop tests to measure the motion transfer.
We placed an empty wine glass on one side of the bed and dropped a 10lb weight on the other side, simulating a partner tossing and turning. To simulate the effect of regular tossing-and-turning, we dropped the weight from 4in above the mattress. And to recreate the effect of a partner getting in or out of bed, we dropped the weight from 8in above the mattress.
The wine glass didn’t budge when the 10lb weight was dropped from 4-inches, which means you won’t even feel your partner’s movements in the night. As for the 8-inch drop, the wineglass stirred slightly, indicating you may feel only the slightest motion when your partner gets out of bed.
Temperature regulation
Score: 5/5
Our reviewers gave major props to the Purple Plus on its cooling effects. The mattress stays cool to the touch throughout the night, and both reviewers say they never got hot sleeping in the Purple Plus like sometimes happens with foam mattresses.
The proprietary grid material with its thousands of cooling airholes and the new more breathable layer of foam in Purple Plus is responsible for the phenomenal heat dissipation effects. They also use a higher density foam than in the original Purple, which Purple says is 2-3 times more breathable with better air flow.
One reviewer said it’s the most cooling mattress they’ve ever slept on. If you’re a hot sleeper, the cooling element of Purple Plus will please you.
We also got a hold of a set of Purple sheets. Instead of crisp hotel-like cotton, they’re a rayon blend of stretchy fabric, sort of like your coziest sweatshirt. They fit snugly over the corners and will never pop off due to their stretch capabilities.
Edge support
Score 3.5/5
The reviewers thought Purple Plus was a little lacking in edge support. One reviewer said when you get too close to the edge, there’s a definite downward feel. So, we put it to the test by placing our 56lb weight on the edge of the bed in the middle of the perimeter where someone would sit. The mattress compressed about 2 inches, from 11 inches. The weight also started to roll off the bed when not held tightly.
Then we had a tester sit on the edge of the bed as you would tend to do sometimes, and the bed sank in and compressed significantly to about 6 inches. While sitting on the edge is fine for a few minutes, it’s not somewhere you’d be comfortable sitting for extended periods.
For a medium price point luxe mattress, the edge support was a little disappointing. Frankly, we’ve tested less expensive foam mattresses that have better edge support.
Durability
Score: 5/5
Since we’ve only been sleeping on the Purple Plus a short while, we haven’t noticed any indentations or signs of wear. It’s still soft and cushiony yet firm where we need it. It also remains cool to the touch and feel. Purple’s GelFlex material stretches and springs back constantly to prevent wear issues.
The Purple Plus is brand new so we’re not likely to see any complaints when it comes to durability or problems with it holding up well for quite some time.
Purple Plus mattress: User reviews
Since mattress reviews are subjective, it’s important to remember the things that influence reviewers: an individual’s preference for mattress softness or firmness, their ideal temperature, their height, weight, preferred sleep position, and experience with a particular mattress.
Though we reviewed the Purple Plus and gave you our expert opinion, we have our preferences and sleep needs just like you. So, to round out our review, we like to carefully analyze user reviews too.
That said, since the Purple Plus is still relatively new, there aren’t as many user reviews to draw upon compared to the brand’s other models. Purple also merges reviews of the Purple Plus on its site with reviews of its other mattresses, making it difficult to decipher which mattress specifically customers are referencing.
From our research at the time of writing this review, from out of over 30,000 reviews on the Purple site, reviewers give the Purple mattress a 4.4 out of 5 star rating overall.
Should you buy the Purple Plus mattress?
The Purple Plus mattress is an excellent mattress for anyone who sleeps hot and is intrigued by the notion that one firmness rating doesn’t tell the story of a mattress. It’s softer around the periphery of the body and firmer under pressure points like the lumbar spine and hips, aiding in even weight distribution.
The additional two inches of breathable foam in the Plus makes a remarkable difference in cooling and comfort from the original. Motion isolation is also very stable, and couples should appreciate not feeling every move their partner makes.
However, it does cost up to $500 more than a Purple Original mattress. That’s to be expected — the Purple Plus is a more luxurious version of its predecessor. On the other hand, it is much cheaper than the Tempur-Pedic Tempur-Breeze or Casper Waye Hybrid Snow. It’s also a more affordable option than any of Purple’s Hybrid beds, which can easily fetch thousands of dollars, depending on the size and model.
But if you like your mattress to have a firm feeling where it counts and a softer sink-in feeling where it doesn’t — along with superior cooling to keep you comfortable and dry throughout the night — then the Purple Plus mattress will certainly suit you. It’s also great if you share a bed with a restless co-sleeper, as the excellent motion transfer will limit any interruptions from their tossing and turning.
Bottom line, whether you sleep on your back, side, or front the Purple Plus will leave you cool, comfortable, rested and refreshed every night, which is what you would expect from a luxury mattress.
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