Casper vs Purple Mattress Review 2020

Casper vs Purple Mattress Review

Breaking through the bed industry only one year apart, Casper and Purple are close competitors as they are sleep specialists. They came under customers’ radar in the mid-2010s. Compared to the powerhouse brands in the business, they are just starting out. That’s not to say they haven’t learned a thing or 2 about making mattresses, selling online, and making people happy. 

Both are capable contenders, to begin with. In this guide, we’ll have to declare a winner in the Casper vs Purple face-off.

Casper was in the right place when the bed-in-a-box concept boomed in 2014. Its flagship mattress, the Casper, became an instant hit. The all-foam design bearing the familiar contouring capability of memory foam was compressed and delivered to customers in a box. This was novelty 5 years ago, but now the online mattress model is scaling fast. And Casper is one of the brands that popularized it.

Purple, on the other hand, entered the scene on the back of a successful Kickstarter campaign. The company used the crowdfunding platform to introduce its mattress, engineered with a super stretchy material called Hyper-Elastic Polymer. That was in 2015. To date, it is now one of the most recognizable names when we’re talking online mattress brands–or just mattresses, actually.

Both companies have launched various versions since then. This review will focus on their flagship products: the Casper Original Mattress and the Original Purple Mattress.

Table of Contents

Casper vs Purple Mattress Comparison

Casper vs Purple Mattress Review

Construction & Materials

Comparing the flagship mattresses is the way to go since these are the first to capture the attention of customers. Also, this will prove to be a fairer and clearer point of comparison than pitting the lines collectively against each other. Our focus will be all-foam, so the hybrid offerings won’t mess up the scoring. However, we’ll show you the other available options later.

Casper Mattress Reviews

Let’s first go through the 4-layer design of Casper Original. It sports a sink-in feel without the get-stuck-in-the-mud effect thanks to its zoning support. Read on to know more:

  • Comfort Layer – A thin, airy comfort polyfoam layer tops this model. This ensures you’re comfortable and cool as you hit the sack. 
  • Memory Foam Layer – Memory foam features inside the Casper to provide you with contouring relief. Your pressure points are cradled in a customized way.
  • Transition Layer – The ZonedSupport is a unique Casper invention that enhances the conforming performed by the middle layer. It lets your shoulders sink a little bit more than your hips to align your spine naturally.
  • Support Layer – A 5-inch, high-density polyfoam gives the bed its structure while maintaining durability. 
  • Polyester Cover – Completing the construction is a softcover in the white-and-gray combo. 

The Original Purple boasts 3 foam layers. The top layer is composed of the patented Smart Comfort Grid. It’s based on a cushioning technology that the Purple founders have been licensing to international companies from a variety of industries.

  • Smart Comfort Grid – Using the patented Hyper-Elastic Polymer technology, Purple delivers a gel-like, open grid design called the Smart Comfort Grid. Its main appeals are support and pressure relief.
  • Support Layer – A 3.5-inch, 1.8-pound high-density polyurethane foam is firm enough to push back pressure points for enhanced support and comfort.
  • Base Layer – A 4-inch high-density polyurethane foam makes up the base foam of the Original Purple. Weighing 2 pounds, it’s designed to be durable and supportive.
  • Soft, breathable cover – This is what completes the Purple mattresses regardless of the type.

The latter version of Purple, dubbed the All-New Purple, uses the same open grid system but with an added boost from individual coils. It’s the same idea for Casper, which also has a hybrid version of the Original and the Casper Wave. But without any help from a spring system, we think the adaptive, zoning features of Casper can yield more precise contouring on its own.

Winner: Casper

Read our full review of Casper Sleep mattresses.

Firmness & Feel

A common feature among online mattress models is the attempt at providing universal comfort. It is the consequence of dishing out an all-in-one solution to sleepers. It does work for some because of their design, but for others, they’re either forced to adjust their firmness score based on user feedback or create a new model that nails the just-right feel. 

If you’re not aware of the firmness scale used in our reviews, as well as in the mattress industry generally, here’s a short and sweet guide for you:

Legend

1 is soft, 10 is firm

  • Ultra Soft – 1-2
  • Soft – 3-4
  • Medium – 5-6
  • Firm – 7-8
  • Ultra Firm – 9-10

Casper is given a medium firmness score by experts and users alike. This means it’s pretty inclusive of sleepers of all shapes and sizes. Back, side and stomach sleepers would feel the benefits from Day 1. We just caution stomach sleepers on the heavy side to read further. As this model specializes in zoned support, the third layer personalizes the feel according to how pressure points respond to all-foam sleeping surfaces.

The shoulders are cradled by a gentle firm feel to let them sink in. A firmer feel cushions the hips while also lifting it a bit higher than the shoulders. This allows the spine to achieve its natural alignment. The legs are then gently supported.

Meanwhile, Purple scores 6.5 on the standard scale–what the company labels as medium firm. It’s not yet firm, but lightweight stomach sleepers may find themselves less supported by this dynamic. Other sleeper types and weights get good to very good support from this one.

Winner: Casper

Cooling

Sleeping hot is a traditional memory foam weakness that brands marketing their beds as “better than memory foam” aim to disrupt. How far have our 2 contenders managed to nail this goal? 

Casper uses open-cell foams to promote breathability. The layers have tiny pores that let air escape instead of trapping it. This feature shows that Casper absorbs heat minimally. You can sleep cool for the first few hours. But some users report it tends to sleep warm as the night and your slumber deepen. The high-density polyfoam may add to this effect.

How about Purple?

Well, the Purple Grid uses Hyper-Elastic Polymer, which is not only stretchy. It’s also made of open grids that advance air circulation. This is placed near the surface to wick heat away from your body. This performs really well, particularly at the beginning. The good ventilation at the top layer is reaping your benefits. 

Purple Mattress Review

However, it’s still an all-foam design, which can be bogged down by high-density foam layers. So in the end, it can also sleep warm. However, Purple’s Smart Comfort Grid performs better than Casper’s open-cell construction. The design enables air to freely circulate to dissipate heat.

Winner: Purple

Read our full review of the Original Purple Mattress.

Edge Support & Sinkage

All-foams do not deviate much from the lack of edge support non-hybrids are known for. But edge support is something that is either a big deal or not to an individual. In short, it’s a case-to-case basis. If you tend to sleep toward the edge, then stability at the perimeter matters to you. If you sleep alone and hog the center zone, then it probably doesn’t even cross your mind.

Casper provides fair edge support which is not-so-good news to perimeter mainstays. This means you may feel a bit unstable when rolling toward the edge. You may feel like you’re falling toward the floor even if you actually are not. If you like sitting on the side in the morning, it’ll also spell early sinkage at your favorite spot.

Edge support is not an issue for the All-New Purple Mattress. But the Original Purple is no better than Casper in this department. We’re not expecting early sagging, but we’re not counting out deformation over time either.

Winner: None

Motion Transfer

For those encountering the term for the first time, motion transfer refers to the transfer of movements from one part of the bed to another. You may feel this as a slight shake or a total quake. It depends on whom you’re sharing the bed with. If they shift positions involuntarily and frequently in their sleep and you’re a light sleeper, it’s going to be a problem.

This is why it’s important to find a mattress that can isolate motion well. Motion isolation is the ability to contain movements in one part of the bed. Casper is very good at this. Perhaps it’s the foam base that performs hard to make this possible. But there is surely much that can be improved.

Purple is clearly a runaway winner in this regard because the open grid system is not constrained by the foam structure. The grids themselves allow for motion to be contained in just one area. There is no transfer of slight to moderate movements, as well as the very minimal transfer of heavy movements.

Winner: Purple

Pricing

Looking at passing on the savings onto you, online mattress brands have been offering options that are twice or even three times less expensive than traditional mattress prices. We uphold the philosophy that the cost does not always define the quality, so we are always open to reviewing beds that align with any budget.

Read our complete guide on the Best Mattress for the Money in 2020.

This Casper vs Purple review won’t be complete without us laying down the prices so you can decide on your own. At face value, we’d just like to add that Casper is able to balance affordability and high quality. Its hybrid version doesn’t go beyond $1,500. We’re including the latter’s price breakdown below.

Of course, Purple is still affordable even as it retails at $999 (Queen). However, its hybrid version’s prices start at above $1,000. We know this is a review of the flagship models. But we just want to point out that Purple may not be the most affordable bed in a box out there. 

Don’t fret, though. Both Casper and Purple choices are eligible for financing. Now check out how much it’ll cost you to own your dream bed:

Casper Original

Twin – $595
Twin XL – $645
Full – $895
Queen – $995
King – $1,195
Cal King – $1,195

Casper Hybrid

Twin – $795
Twin XL – $845
Full – $1,095
Queen – $1,195
King – $1,256
Cal King – $1,256

Original Purple

Twin – $649
Twin XL – $699
Full – $899
Queen – $999
King – $1,299
Cal King – $1,299

All-New Purple

Twin XL – $1,299
Full – $1,499
Queen – $1,599
King – $1,899
Cal King – $1,899

Winner: Casper

Other Factors

The Casper Original is probably the mattress that introduced shipping a compressed to customers’ homes. Delivered to your doorstep, without additional charge, is part of the package. And so is the 100-night sleep trial your order will come with. This is a necessary perk because you won’t be able to test out the product in person, in a retail outlet.

This model is backed by a 10-year limited warranty. You may request a return, and Casper will process the pickup and shipping for you. 

The Original Purple also comes compressed inside a box. This makes for easy setup, as well as moving around if you want to do that on your own. Just like Casper, allow the mattress to decompress after taking it outside the box. This one shares the same offerings as the former: free shipping, 100-night sleep trial, 10-year limited warranty, and free returns.

Winner: Tie

Pros & Cons


CasperPurple
ProsFeatures zoned support.
All-inclusive medium firmness.
High-quality yet affordable
Uses Smart Comfort Grid System.
Reduces motion transfer.
The open grid enables better breathability.
ConsFair edge support.
May sleep warm.
Can be pricier.
May be too firm for light stomach sleepers.

Also checkout Casper and Purple comparison with other mattress.

CasperPurple
Purple vs. Leesa Mattress ReviewCasper vs. Nectar Mattress Review
Nectar vs. Purple Mattress ReviewCasper vs. GhostBed Mattress Review
GhostBed vs. Purple Mattress ReviewCasper vs. Leesa Mattress Review
Tempurpedic vs. Purple Mattress Review
Purple Mattress vs. Tuft and Needle Review

Conclusion

And the winner is… drum roll, please… Casper! While writing this review, we deliberately disregarded all the best mattress lists we had published here on PhatFusion. Now, we can freely recall how Casper effortlessly made its way to the top of those lists. And in the Casper vs Purple showdown, it remains undefeated. 

The materials found in the Casper Original Mattress are effective in what they set out to do. Then, the model is less expensive than its Purple counterpart. It’s a good balance of high quality and affordability. For our readers who are after great deals, we cannot recommend Casper enough.

Purple, of course, also appears on our lists. But the Original Purple is often eclipsed by the All-New Purple Mattress. Maybe the company has found enough reasons to upgrade the all-foam design. The original version started it all–but it doesn’t mean sleepers can’t have something better.
Check out our complete guide on the Most Comfortable Mattress in 2020 to see Casper in one of its shining moments on our site.