Written by Loren Bullock, Lead Product Tester
The Purple and the TEMPUR-Cloud® are both well-known and innovative mattresses. The Purple is a 9.5-inch tall mattress with a unique GelFlex® Grid designed to adapt to your sleeping position and weight distribution for fantastic support and pressure relief. The TEMPUR-Cloud® is a 10-inch tall mattress made of Tempur® material, which NASA originally designed as a memory foam intended to provide extra cushioning to astronauts while taking off.
My Purple vs Tempur-Pedic comparison will look at how Purple’s flagship model stacks up against Tempur-Pedic’s TEMPUR-Cloud® model. Continue reading to see if one of these two popular mattresses is the right choice for you.
Product
Type
Score
My Video Comparison of the Purple vs. TEMPUR-Cloud®
Sleep Advisor’s Testing Methodology
To help you get the best understanding of the mattresses we feature, our team puts it through a series of hands-on tests, evaluating how each mattress performs in each sleep position. We also look at other important mattress qualities like cooling, bounce, motion isolation, pressure relief, support, and more.
For more on our testing methodology, check out our product review process page.
Quick Comparison: Purple vs TEMPUR-Cloud
Purple Mattress
Product Details
Our Recommendation
Financing Options
Financing options are available for this mattress.
Who I’d Recommend the Purple For
- Hot sleepers – The Purple contains a temperature-neutral grid made of Hyper-Elastic Polymer™, which I think will benefit hot sleepers.
- Combination sleepers – With an adaptable design, the Purple should rate well for multiple sleep positions, making it an excellent option for combination sleepers.
- People with limited mobility – The Purple is responsive and has less sinkage than the TEMPUR-Cloud®, which should help improve mobility and lessen the feeling of being ‘stuck.’
TEMPUR-Cloud Mattress
Product Details
Our Recommendation
Financing Options
Financing options are available for this mattress.
Who I’d Recommend the TEMPUR-Cloud® For
- Memory foam fans – The TEMPUR-Cloud® contains Tempur® memory foam, which has a slow-moving feel and great pressure relief that many memory foam fans enjoy.
- Those with back pain – If you experience back pain, I feel that the TEMPUR-Cloud’s® firmness and pressure relieving capabilities will serve you better.
- Eco-conscious shoppers – In 2022, Tempur-Pedic produced no landfill waste for their U.S. and European manufacturing facilities, and they have an additional goal to have their global operations carbon-neutral by the year 2040.
Comparing Purple vs. TEMPUR-Cloud®: Top Similarities
- Innovative materials – Both mattresses contain innovative materials. The Purple has a unique GelFlex™ Grid, which is cushioning, temperature-neutral, and responsive. The TEMPUR-Cloud® contains Tempur® material based on the original memory foam design developed by NASA.
- Pressure relief – I think the Purple and the TEMPUR-Cloud® excel at relieving pressure in various sleep positions.
- Policies – With free shipping, 10-year warranties, and similar lengths on their sleep trials, the Purple and the TEMPUR-Cloud® are equally matched on the policy front.
Comparing Purple vs. TEMPUR-Cloud: Key Differences
- Bounce – Although it doesn’t stack up to the kind of bounce in an innerspring bed, Purple’s GelFlex® and responsive memory foam give it a bouncy feel. The TEMPUR-Cloud®, however, has no bounce at all.
- Affordability – The Purple is more affordable than the TEMPUR-Cloud®’s luxury pricing.
- Motion isolation – The TEMPUR-Cloud® does a great job isolating motion, making it a solid choice for couples. Although the Purple’s ability to isolate motion wasn’t terrible, I noticed enough motion that I wouldn’t recommend this bed for co-sleepers.
Comparing Firmness, Support & Feel
Firmness
Firmness reflects how soft or hard a mattress feels, and we rate this characteristic on a scale of 1 to 10, with 10 being the hardest.
Based on our mattress firmness scale, I gave the Purple a 4 out of 10 rating. The GelFlex™ Grid is very malleable and feels like sleeping on a giant stress ball. The TEMPUR-Cloud® has a medium-firm feel; I put it at a 6.5.
Support
The Purple is a soft mattress, and the TEMPUR-Cloud® is a supportive bed. The Purple utilizes the grid to cradle your body in a neutral position, which helps with spinal alignment, and I think it should be a great fit for back and side sleepers.
With the TEMPUR-Cloud®, I felt that the memory foam kept me elevated on my back and side while sleeping, leading to comfortable spinal alignment.
Feel
The Purple made me feel like I was being lightly cradled. It also has temperature-neutral comfort layers and some bounce, which kept me relaxed and allowed me to move around easily.
The TEMPUR-Cloud® is made of slow-moving memory foam, and I felt more deeply hugged by it. The TEMPUR-Cloud® isn’t very responsive, and traps heat within its comfort layers, which could be an issue for people who change positions during sleep, as well as hot sleepers.
Comparing Sinkage and Bounce
The Purple’s sinkage and support are adaptive, meaning these qualities depend on your sleeping position and weight distribution. This makes the Purple an excellent option for sleepers in all positions, as the sinkage can range from a gentle cradle to a deep hug. The Purple provides some bounce to aid mobility.
The TEMPUR-Cloud® has no bounce, and the extra sinkage should feel more like a consistent deep hug. Due to high sinkage, I don’t recommend the TEMPUR-Cloud® for stomach sleepers or people with limited mobility.
Comparing Motion Transfer
Motion transfer describes the motion transferred from one side of the mattress to the other. A bed that can keep motion isolated is a big plus since couples and co-sleepers can sleep more comfortably and avoid getting woken up when their partner, pets, or kids toss and turn or get in and out of bed.
The Purple put up an average performance regarding motion transfer. However, it didn’t prevent it enough, and I wouldn’t put this bed high on my list for co-sleepers. The TEMPUR-Cloud® did a great job with motion isolation, with its memory foam going the extra mile.
Comparing Cooling
A great cooling mattress is helpful for hot sleepers and people in warmer climates. Memory foam mattresses that don’t incorporate extra cooling features can often trap heat. While the TEMPUR-Cloud® has a breathable, moisture-wicking cover, it has no cooling mechanisms, such as gel, in the memory foam so that it will run hotter. As such, if you fall into one of the categories above, I’d recommend avoiding this bed.
Those who live in a warmer climate or are worried about being too warm in their sleep may prefer the Purple. The GelFlex Grid® allows for ample airflow, and I could feel heat being pulled away from my body when I tested this mattress.
Comparing Construction (Materials & Quality)
Purple Construction
The Purple is a 9.5-inch mattress featuring a SoftFlex knit cover intended to complement the feel of their GelFlex® Grid material. This breathable cover extends over all three layers, and the SoftFlex material is composed of a blend of polyester, viscose, and lycra. Beneath the cover, the Purple features its unique grid made of Hyper-Elastic Polymer™ and two layers of polyurethane foam.
- The top layer is the 2-inch thick GelFlex™ grid, constructed with temperature-neutral Hyper-Elastic Polymer™. This layer is cushioning and responsive, offering adaptive support that should adjust to suit your sleeping position.
- The center is 3.5 inches of medium-soft polyurethane foam, which acts as a secondary comfort layer and a transition layer between the polymer layer and firmer support base.
- The bottom is 4 inches of medium-firm polyurethane foam, working as a support unit. This layer should give the mattress a sturdy shape and durability.
TEMPUR-Cloud® Construction
The TEMPUR-Cloud® is a 10-inch foam mattress with a breathable, moisture-wicking 360° stretch cover. Most of the mattress is made of Tempur® material, a form of memory foam highly popular for pressure relief. NASA initially developed it to provide enhanced cushioning to astronauts, eventually finding its way into the mattress market.
- The comfort layer of this mattress is made of slow-moving Tempur® material, designed to be soft and cushioning. This comfort layer should hug your body and relieve pressure accumulation.
- The center of the bed is a support layer made of firmer, slower-moving Tempur® material, providing a transition layer between the comfort foam above and the support layer below. This middle unit should be conforming and pressure-relieving, helping to soothe aches.
- The base layer of the TEMPUR-Cloud® is made of firm premium foam for further support and durability.
Comparing Company Policies & Price
- Warranty – The average mattress lasts about 10 years. Both companies offer a 10-year warranty, which should cover any manufacturing defects within the mattress’ lifespan.
- Shipping – Both companies ship free within the contiguous United States. Purple offers white glove delivery on some models of their beds, but not on the Purple.
- Trial Period – Both companies offer a comparable trial period. The Purple comes with a 100-night trial period, while the TEMPUR-Cloud® has a 90-night trial period.
- Returns – Purple requests that you try the mattress for at least 21 days before returning it and that it is clean and undamaged upon return. Similarly, Tempur-Pedic asks that you try their mattress for 30 days before returning it, and then you can call them via phone to discuss the return and whether they can accommodate your needs.
- Price – The TEMPUR-Cloud® will be the more expensive option of the two at roughly double the price of the Purple.
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Purple vs. Tempur-Pedic Compared Side-by-Side
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Final Thoughts
The Purple’s GelFlex® Grid is innovative and unique to the brand, offering an
an adaptive system that’s highly accommodating for different sleepers.
The TEMPUR-Cloud®’s Tempur® material is a traditional slow-moving memory foam, which may be a safe choice for memory foam lovers and those with achy muscles and joints. Even so, memory foam traps a lot of heat, whereas the Purple’s temperature-neutral material shines for hot sleepers.
My test results showed that both mattresses are suitable for side and back sleepers, but Purple’s adaptive support makes it the better choice for stomach and combination sleepers. If you’re still on the fence, check out our full-length reviews for each of these beds.
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Type
Score
More Purple Comparisons:
Loren Bullock
Lead Product Tester
About Author
Loren is the Lead Reviewer at Sleep Advisor. She has prioritized sleeping for as long as she can remember, rarely deviating from seven to nine hours each night.
Combination Sleeper
Education & Credentials
- Certified Sleep Science Coach