Leesa vs Purple Mattress Review 2020

Leesa vs Purple

The search for the best online mattress model continues in this Leesa vs Purple comparison guide. These two have ridden the waves of e-commerce. As the digital revolution began democratizing distribution channels, both brands have taken the opportunity to deliver beds into the homes of more and more consumers. All without having to put up brick-and-mortar stores and hire salespeople.

This business model is not unique to the mattress industry. There’s Warby Parker for eyeglasses as the best example. After a few years, online shopping has also become commonplace for consumers. How do our 2 competitors fare against each other and in the bigger playing field?

For both, they were there when it all started. 

In particular, Leesa has staked its claim by emphasizing impact over profit. As a conscious enterprise, it ties its commercial efforts with social contributions. These are all reported annually as part of the company’s transparency thrust.

You may check out Leesa’s 2019 Impact Report here.

For Purple, the main drive has been to bring the best mattress to as many people as possible. This means doing away with the ridiculously high prices of premium luxury ones. At the same time, it’s about taking its founders’ proven engineering expertise to the core of mattress making.

Things are heating up, so why don’t we dive into reviewing the Leesa Mattress and the Original Purple Mattress.

Table of Contents

Leesa vs Purple Mattress Comparison

Leesa vs Purple Mattress Review

Construction & Materials

Leesa Mattress sports a multilayer foam that has catapulted it to fame. Each of these layers performs a particular task. The top layer is a 2-inch soft Premium Foam that is unique to Leesa. It has the contouring effects of memory foam and the bounce of latex foam. In the middle is the 2-inch memory foam that reinforces contouring while relieving your pressure points. 

A 6-inch high-density foam delivers the support needed by all body and sleeper types. The signature Leesa gray cover with four stripes finishes this design. It has a seamless zip-off cover that you can remove and wash for convenient cleaning.

Leesa vs Purple Mattress

The Original Purple is made of 3 layers, the top, and highlight of which is the Smart Comfort Grid. This patented cushioning technology has been created by the founders long before Purple came to be. It’s been licensed to international brands from different industries, including Nike.

  • Smart Comfort Grid – The cushioning tech is called Hyper-Elastic Polymer. In Purple, this is applied as the material for the Smart Comfort Grid. This gel-like, open grid design is good for contouring, motion isolation, and air circulation.
  • Support Layer – At 3.5 inches, this 1.8-pound high-density polyurethane foam provides firmness that supports your pressure points, enhancing the benefits of the top layer.
  • Base Layer – This foam base is 4 inches tall and 2 pounds heavy. It gives the bed its structure and strength to last you long.
  • Soft, breathable cover – Wrapping up the mattress is a simple, soft, airy cover that protects the bed from getting dirty.

In the non-flagship models of both brands, aka the hybrids, independent coils are added to boost support, durability, and pressure relief. But we won’t go into detail with regard to this mattress type. The foams used in the original versions, by the way, are certified by CertiPUR-US.

Winner: Purple

Firmness & Feel

On a scale from 1 to 10, with 1 as the softest and 10 as the firmest, the Leesa Mattress scores 5.5 or medium firmness. This is a bit on the softer side of medium, however, and may not yield optimal results to heavyweight folks. The best candidate would be side sleepers of average weight. But stomach and back sleepers are not counted out.

The Original Purple registers 6.5 or medium firm. We believe this is accurate because it’s near 7, the maximum score for medium firmness. Those falling within the 5 to 7 range are assumed to offer universal comfort. This means this is the sweet spot for sleepers of all shapes and sizes. Lightweight stomach sleepers get the most benefits from this bed.

So, what’s the deal with this firmness scale, huh? Maybe this is your first time to encounter this metric. For a quick primer or refresher, this is the standard used by most online mattress models, more or less. It is not strictly adhered to, but it provides a guideline to makers and customers alike. They have a common vocabulary to start with instead of being arbitrary about it.

This firmness scale can also be reversed–perhaps for a company to set itself apart from the crowd. Zinus is one example of this: 1 is hardest and 10 is softest on its scale. Nevertheless, the standard metric looks like this:

Legend

1 is soft, 10 is firm

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

Winner: Tie

Cooling

When it comes to cooling, online mattress brands are known for dishing out cooling components such as gel, graphite, and copper. These have properties that wick heat away from the body. However, our 2 contenders do not feature any of these. But we believe they are able to regulate temperature through other means to keep those who sleep hot from being uncomfortable.

The Premium Foam making up Leesa’s top layer uses Avena® foam. This material sports a microcell structure that prevents it from trapping heat. Air is also free to flow. The result is a well-ventilated layer. This does not mean, however, that air circulation is consistent across the multiform layers. So you may expect it to sleep warm at some point. Leesa’s optimal environment is an air-conditioned or well-ventilated bedroom.

Now, the Original Purple Grid features the Smart Comfort Grid. This grid structure has a more open and bigger space for the air to circulate. Consequently, it draws away heat from your body quite well. The downside for this design, as well as all-foams in general, is their use of high-density foams. This reduces their breathability and may cause them to sleep warm later in the night.

Purple is also immune to this effect.

Winner: Purple

Read our full review of the Original Purple Mattress.

Edge Support & Sinkage

So you are after edge support if you tend to roll over near the perimeter while snoozing. You need to feel stable and supported when you do. Good or great edge support also allows your bed to endure daily wear and tear. Premature sagging won’t be a problem even if you like sitting on the bed in the morning as well.

Further, edge support lets you enjoy a bigger sleeping surface. You won’t have to fight with your partner for the middle spot all the time. You can yield that area or dominate the perimeter. But to ease you into the individual reviews, all-foams aren’t the type to go big on edge support.

Unless you add a spring system at the edges or underneath, the Leesa Mattress will only give you fair edge support. This makes it prone to early sinkage at the perimeter. The Leesa Hybrid Mattress (Sapira Hybrid) is a different story. But alas, it’s not the one we’re reviewing and not the one going against Purple.

Speaking of which, Purple may not be that stable and strong at the perimeter, too. So you cannot rely on it to provide you with the full edge support benefits of its hybrid version.

Winner: None

Motion Transfer

A mattress with exceptional motion isolation is an important factor for those who share their sleeping area with someone else. It could be your partner, children, sibling or pet. But if they interrupt your sleep with significant shifting on most nights, the experience can get annoying. You don’t have to be frustrated with your current mattress. See if you can replace it with a Leesa or a Purple. 

Fortunately, the multiform construction of Leesa renders it great at reducing motion transfer. The tandem of the Premium Foam and memory foam performs really well in this regard. Movements are contained in one part of the bed, allowing you to catch a peaceful sleep throughout the night.

Purple is also deemed a good performer in this department. Its open grid system is designed to constrain the impact of motion in one section. However, it has minimal motion transfer. And something so little makes a big difference when you’re talking about isolating movements. So for this one, we can say it’s a close second to Leesa. 

Winner: Leesa

Pricing

Of course, an important part of this Leesa vs Purple review is the price breakdown. You may find that Leesa and Purple rates do not have a wide discrepancy. But Leesa has a closer competitor in Casper in terms of flagship model pricing. Their quality does not differ that much as well.

Purple is not much more expensive. Its queen edition still retails below $1000 (it’s $999; Leesa’s is $995). So you can say it’s well within the affordable range. Its hybrid costs almost double the original, though. But the same thing applies to Leesa’s hybrid model. 

So there’s nothing here that cannot satisfy your under $1,000 or under $1,500 budget. However, you have to look for a budget mattress if you want something below $500. Below are the published prices for both brands, their flagship models, and hybrid releases to give you an idea. Financing is available to those who are eligible.

Leesa Mattress

  • Twin – $595
  • Twin XL – $695
  • Full – $895
  • Queen – $995
  • King – $1,195
  • Cal King – $1,195

Leesa Hybrid Mattress

  • Twin – $1,095
  • Twin XL – $1,195
  • Full – $1,395
  • Queen – $1,695
  • King – $1,895
  • Cal King – $1,895

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: Leesa

Other Factors

Bed-in-a-box solutions won over customers with their generous customer-centric policies. We are not just talking about customer support here–although that is the bedrock of this business model. Offering free shipping and returns, sleep trials, warranties, and even full refunds were deemed a must by whoever started it. And it has worked for the better. This is also our final and sometimes deciding, factor.

Leesa attaches the following incentives to its mattresses: free shipping and returns, a 100-night mattress trial, a white glove in-home delivery option, and a 10-year full replacement limited warranty. The company asks customers to break in their bed for 30 days. Within that time, even if it’s part of the sleep trial, you won’t be able to request a return. Once satisfied, the requirement makes way to a free return.

By the way, free returns are only applicable within the contiguous United States. You’ll need to pay $100 if you live in Alaska or Hawaii.

How about Purple? Free shipping, a 100-night sleep trial, and a 10-year limited warranty are available. Returns require a minimum of 21 of the 100 days. It’s not totally goodbye to your Purple mattress since you can ask for a replacement. But if you don’t find a fit, your return can be final and you will be refunded in full minus the discounted amount and shipping charges if applicable.

Winner: Purple

Pros & Cons

Leesa Mattress

Pros
  • Contours and supports.
  • Reduces motion transfer well.
  • A high-quality yet affordable choice.
Cons
  • Weak edge support.
  • May sleep warm.

Purple Mattress

Pros
  • Uses Smart Comfort Grid System.
  • Allows air to flow better than most all-foams.
  • More generous customer-centric policies.
Cons
  • Weak edge support.
  • May sleep warm.

Also Checkout Purple and Leesa comparison with other mattress.

PurpleLessa
Nectar vs. Purple Mattress ReviewNectar vs. Leesa Mattress Review
Purple Mattress vs. Casper ReviewLeesa vs. Tempurpedic Mattress Review
GhostBed vs. Purple Mattress ReviewLeesa vs. Tuft and Needle Mattress Review
Purple Mattress vs. Tempurpedic ReviewLeesa vs. Casper Mattress Review
Tuft and Needle vs. Purple Mattress Review

Conclusion

Just by a few notches, Purple is our winner in this Leesa vs Purple showdown. It’s a close fight if you noticed. These 2 often find themselves running for the same recognition, such as the Best Online Mattress. So it’s not really a surprise to find them battle it out tightly. Purple is just a better bed based on a couple of factors assessed in this review.

Of course, Leesa is worthy to check out more if you dig its charitable works. Its emphasis on making an impact alongside making a profit is admirable. But form and function make a mattress.

We made it fairly clear to ourselves to focus on the comparison here, not on past lists of the best beds in various categories. And so let’s give Purple its time in the sun.

You may also browse another mattress on our site by starting with the following:

Leesa vs Casper Mattress Review
Casper vs Purple Mattress Review