best in class

The 12 Very Best Plush Mattress Toppers

Think of a plush mattress topper like fluffy, sumptuous icing for your mattress cake.

Photo: Courtesy Parachute
Photo: Courtesy Parachute

In this article

If your mattress is feeling a bit too firm for your liking, a plush mattress topper can be a quick fix. And while Zoë Ettinger, editor at Sleepopolis, says these toppers aren’t likely to “radically change the overall feel” of your mattress, they can definitely add an extra layer of comfort. Several of the experts we spoke to said the best plush toppers are around three-to-five inches thick and give you a “gently sinking” feeling. But you don’t want them to be too soft, so that they’ll still support achy bodies and tired joints. The very best are also durable and breathable, handling potential overheating and sweat-wicking in summer as well as keeping you snug in winter.

Along with talking to ten different sleep experts to find the best plush mattress toppers, we tried out some of them for ourselves. If you already know what type of plush mattress topper you’re looking for, use the table of contents to jump ahead. Or read on for details on all 12 of the expert-recommended toppers below. Note that all of the prices are for queen sizes.

What we’re looking for

Material

While many toppers on the market are branded as plush nowadays, what each one’s made of will have the greatest impact on how they feel to sleep on. Down toppers are renowned for their luxurious, hotel-like feel according to experts including Logan Foley, the managing editor at Sleep Foundation. Ettinger, though, prefers down-alternative toppers because she doesn’t have to worry about feathers poking her. Also, if you’re concerned about allergies, feather-free down alternatives could be a better option for you. Both Robert Pagano, a co-founder of Sleepline and Foley point out that memory foam cushions the body’s pressure points much better than down-and-down alternatives do, making them great options for side sleepers and people who want to feel really cradled. Durability and breathability, meanwhile, may lead you towards latex and cooling toppers, respectively.

Care

Keeping a mattress topper clean can be as simple as tossing it in the washer and dryer, or a bit more tricky if it requires spot cleaning or dry cleaning. If you’re in the market for something more low-key that can be maintained with the rest of your bedding, cotton mattress toppers can typically be machine washed and dried. Down and foam toppers usually have to be either dry-cleaned or gently spot-cleaned. Some toppers come with a machine washable cover, making down and foam mattress toppers more convenient to clean at home.

Thickness

Mattress toppers can range in thickness, typically falling between one and five inches in height. Toppers closer to the three- to five-inch range will feel more cushioned and are the best option for sleepers who want to alter the plushness of their mattress. Thinner mattress toppers will still offer support and comfort with less bulk, but the difference between the topper and your own mattress will be less noticeable.

Trial period and warranty

It might take several nights to know if your plush mattress topper will work for you (and anyone you share your bed with) in the long-term. Since many companies now welcome trying after you buy, we’ve noted the length of each trial period and any warranty details that we could find. Be sure to read the fine print, though: Return policies may vary if you buy the topper from a third-party retailer like Amazon, and toppers may have different trial periods to mattresses sold by the same companies.

Best overall plush mattress topper

Material: Cross-cut memory foam and microfiber blend | Care instructions: Spot clean only | Thickness: 5 inches | Trial and Warranty: 100-day free return window, 5-year warranty

From the makers of some of our favorite bed pillows and body pillows, Coop Sleep Goods, this extra-plush topper is filled with the brand’s well-loved crosscut memory foam and microfiber blend — which makes it a good option for anyone with an allergy or aversion to down. And at an extra-cushy five inches thick, it has the highest loft on this list and is designed to add a pillow-top-like feel to your mattress.

I slept on this topper for about a month and instantly loved that the five-inch thickness gave it a clearly visible five-star-hotel vibe: You can really see the extra cushioning. (To that end, if you already sleep on a tall mattress, you may need extra-deep sheets to make sure everything fits.) The memory foam and microfiber fill definitely adds softness to the medium-firm Saatva mattress I’m used to sleeping on, but in a buoyant, not-too-sinky way. As a side sleeper, I’ve found that it contours quickly around my shoulders and hips, and doesn’t restrict me from moving around or rolling over. Plus I appreciate how the grid stitching is designed to keep the filling in place so it won’t shift around or bunch up. The topper is also priced pretty reasonably, at just under $300 for a queen size, which I’ve found to be a good value for its high-quality feel.

Best down plush mattress topper

Material: Down | Care instructions: Dry clean only | Thickness: 3 inches | Trial and Warranty: Free returns within 60 days, 3-year warranty

Foley and Pagano both pointed us to this topper from Strategist-favorite bedding brand Parachute. “It gives you that traditional hotel-bed feel,” says Foley, while Pagano finds that the down envelops the sleeper. A possible downside is improper care, like not giving the feathers a regular fluff, can lead to clumping and the loss of that cloudlike effect, Pagano adds. But we still think that this will please most people who are looking for the most plush bedding possible.

Best down-alternative plush mattress topper

Material: Microfiber | Care instructions: Dry clean only | Thickness: 3 inches | Trial and Warranty: Free returns within 60 days, 3-year warranty

Parachute’s down-alternative topper is a personal favorite of Alex Savy, founder of SleepingOcean, and one of the most popular toppers on the market. Down alternative is lighter and less restricting than memory foam and latex, Savy says. And compared with down, this topper’s microfiber fill is hypoallergenic and more affordable. Savy describes it as “generously stuffed,” making it supersoft, durable, and able to easily change the feel of even a firm mattress. “All you can feel is a softness around you,” Savy says.

Former Strategist writer Lauren Schwartzberg tried out this topper, having learned about it from an informal survey of her interior-designer friends and bedding experts. The topper acted like memory foam — it shaped to her body and “followed her every move” throughout the night. As another bonus, the fiber filling stays put, so you don’t have to worry about its clumping over time.

Best (less expensive) down-alternative plush mattress topper

Material: Microfiber | Care instructions: Front load washer only | Thickness: 2 inches | Trial and Warranty: Nonreturnable, no warranty available

At less than one-third of the price of the Parachute down-alternative topper comes this gel-fiber option. It offers that “soft, squishy feeling of down without using actual feathers,” Ettinger says. She also points out that the corner straps on this topper help it stay in place on the mattress. “There’s nothing worse than investing in a topper just to have it slipping and sliding all over.”

Best memory foam plush mattress topper

From $335

Material: Memory foam | Care instructions: Machine washable cover | Thickness: 3 inches | Trial and Warranty: Nonreturnable, 10-year warranty

Generally, side sleepers need more variable support and, in particular, a soft feel that will cushion pressure points at the hips and shoulders, says Ettinger. For this reason, many experts recommend memory foam for side sleepers. Made of Tempur-Pedic’s proprietary memory foam, the Adapt is three inches thick and made of the same proprietary foam found in Tempur-Pedic’s mattresses. The moisture-wicking cover is designed to keep dust mites and allergens away from the core of the topper, and when it’s time to refresh it, the cover can be removed and machine-washed. The extra stretchy mattress straps prevent the four corners of the topper from slipping and sliding while you sleep.

I spent two weeks sleeping on the Adapt topper and found the Tempur material to be dense and yielding to my body weight. While it is not the thickest topper on our list, the pliant foam has a cocoon feeling that swaddles your body as you settle into sleep. The topper is quite heavy (weighing about 32 pounds), and I required help from my husband to get it on our bed — something to keep in mind if you are used to lightweight egg-crate foam toppers. The standard meshy polyblend topper is comfortable and can be easily unzipped and tossed in the wash. If you want something more cooling, you can upgrade to the cooling cover, made of cool-to-the-touch performance yarns.

Best zoned plush mattress topper

$216

Material: Gel memory foam | Care instructions: Machine washable cover and spot clean topper | Thickness: 3 inches | Trial and warranty: Nonreturnable, 5-year warranty

Pagano and Savy recommend this topper for its construction: It has five different targeted zones. “Each zone responds differently to the sections of one’s body,” Savy told us. “Heavier parts sink in, while the rest is supported in a relatively straight line.” The zones are meant to maintain airflow as well, so you don’t overheat in the middle of the night. This topper has an old-fashioned egg-crate design (you’ll see it on some ergonomic office cushions, too), which Pagano says works well “for those who find themselves nodding off during the day or waking up throughout the night.”

Best (less expensive) zoned plush mattress topper

Material: Memory foam | Care instructions: Spot clean | Thickness: 2 inches or 3 inches | Trial and warranty: 3-year warranty, returns vary based on retailer

At under $100, this Lucid topper is the most affordable plush memory foam topper on our list, and it’s available in two thickness options so you can choose how much plushness you’d like to add to your existing mattress. It is also infused with a lavender fragrance to keep it smelling fresh. Similar to the GhostBed topper, “this topper has five body zones that provide extra pressure relief in certain areas to help level you out across the mattress and maximize comfort,” Ben Trapskin, founder of the Sleep Sherpa, explains.

Best latex plush mattress topper

Material: Latex | Care instructions: Spot clean | Thickness: 2 inches or 3 inches | Trial and warranty: Nonreturnable, 5-year warranty

Savy, Cushner, and Cushner’s fellow Tuck co-founder Bill Fish are fans of this topper. Savy describes latex as more resilient than memory foam, meaning it will bounce back to its original shape quite quickly after you get up — a common characteristic of natural latex material. This topper comes in five different firmness levels ranging from soft to extra-firm, and two thicknesses, two and three inches; for that extra-plush feel, Savy recommends the three-inch soft version. He also appreciates this topper’s small air holes, which helps improve air circulation for hot sleepers. Even though this topper is pricier, as latex usually is, Savy points out that it’s well made, for a longer-lasting investment.

Best cooling plush memory foam mattress topper

Material: Cooling gel memory foam | Care instructions: Machine washable cover | Thickness: 3 inches | Trial and warranty: Free returns within 180 days, 10-year warranty

Your body temperature can make or break your sleep quality, so if you run hot, a cooling mattress topper can help. This gel memory foam option by Serta has a cool-touch, moisture-wicking cover made with HeiQ Smart Temp technology, which uses evaporative cooling to draw heat away from your body. The cooling gel foam also works to limit motion transfer, so if you sleep with a partner, their movements won’t wake you.

Best (less-expensive) cooling plush memory foam mattress topper

Material: Gel-infused memory foam | Care instructions: Machine washable cover | Thickness: 2 inches or 3 inches | Trial and warranty: Free returns within 60 days, 5-year warranty

Lined with ventilation holes, the ViscoSoft gel-infused memory foam mattress topper allows air to flow more freely to help prevent you from overheating while you sleep. The high-density, gel-infused memory foam is designed to provide comfortable, sink-proof muscle and joint support. The topper is available in a two-inch or three-inch thickness, and the smooth bamboo-rayon cover is machine washable for convenient cleaning.

Best organic plush mattress topper

Material: Wool-latex hybrid | Care instructions: Spot clean | Thickness: 3 inches | Trial and warranty: 100-night trial, 10-year warranty

Those on the hunt for an organic topper will find that this Birch option’s cotton cover and the wool layer right beneath it make it breathable but still plush. (Birch, for reference, makes our favorite ecofriendly hybrid mattress.) The last layer features the same Talalay latex found in Saatva’s topper, making it supportive, Foley says.

Best micro-coil plush mattress topper

Material: Micro-coils and latex| Care instructions: Spot clean | Thickness: 2.5 inches | Trial and warranty: Nonreturnable, no warranty available

If you bought a memory foam mattress from direct-to-consumer bedding brands but you’re missing the bounciness of your old innerspring mattress, Cushner suggests this topper. It combines latex with a layer of tiny nano-springs, making it more responsive and a little cooler than straight memory foam.

Additional reporting by Ambar Pardilla.

Some more mattress toppers we’ve written about

Our experts:

• Keith Cushner, Tuck co-founder and general manager
Zoë Ettinger, Sleepopolis editor
• Bill Fish, sleep-science coach and Tuck co-founder
• Logan Foley, Sleep Foundation managing editor
• Robert Pagano, Sleepline co-founder
Sarah Riccio, Sleepopolis senior writer
Alex Savy, SleepingOcean founder
• Lauren Schwartzberg, former Strategist writer
• Ben Trapskin, Sleep Sherpa founder

The Strategist is designed to surface the most useful, expert recommendations for things to buy across the vast e-commerce landscape. Some of our latest conquests include the best acne treatmentsrolling luggagepillows for side sleepersnatural anxiety remedies, and bath towels. We update links when possible, but note that deals can expire and all prices are subject to change.

Every editorial product is independently selected. If you buy something through our links, New York may earn an affiliate commission.

The 12 Very Best Plush Mattress Toppers