Purple Plus Mattress Review 2024: Purple’s Entry-Level Side Sleeper Mattress

The Purple mattress lineup has evolved since I started testing mattresses. Only one mattress underwent a redesign to improve the edge support. There were three hybrid models, called Purple 2, 3 and 4 (referring to the amount of GelFlex Grid the mattress had). Now Purple has three different collections of beds: the Essential, Restore Hybrid and Rejuvenate Luxe. The Purple Plus is the most high-end bed in the Essential Collection and is designed to be an upgraded version of the Original Purple Mattress. It’s known to be perfect for side sleepers, so we decided to put it to test.

First impressions of the Purple Plus mattress

The Purple Plus mattress wasn’t super impressive right out of the box, or I should say bag. Certain mattresses will ship inside of a large bag instead of a box which is what we see the vast majority of the time. It was unimpressive because it had a pretty long “off-gassing” process. 

Every mattress needs some amount of time to fully inflate and firm up when it’s removed from the plastic, and beds like the Purple Plus that use lots of foam layers generally take longer. When I first laid down on the Purple Plus, it was so soft that I sank all the way down to the slats on the foundation, and it also looked somewhat misshapen. Based on our experience, I wouldn’t recommend sleeping on the Purple Plus night one, but by the next day, it was good to go.

I was able to immediately tell that the Purple Plus had a very familiar feel, at least to me because, at the time, I slept on a Purple Hybrid mattress, and on both beds, you are essentially sleeping directly on the GelFlex Grid material that provides (most) Purple beds their unique feel.

Video: Purple Plus mattress review

Watch me review the Purple Plus mattress in this video review.  

Purple Plus construction

The Purple Plus mattress is about 11 inches thick and, aside from the Purple GelFlex Grid material, is made entirely of foam layers. The bed has a “dual base” support foam, which means there are two distinct support layers, with the top one being slightly softer than the bottom.

Above this support foam is a layer of comfort foam that is only found in the Purple Plus, not the Original or the Flex. The topmost layer in the Purple Plus is the same 2-inch-thick layer of the proprietary Purple GelFlex Grid material, and this dominates the feel of the bed. 

It’s made of a material called hyper-elastic polymer that doesn’t resemble normal mattress foams. In fact, it looks more like a shoe insole. This material provides a uniquely responsive and squishy sensation that we describe as “gel-like.” It moves with you really well and conforms to your body’s shape nicely while providing lots of support at the same time.

With that said, some sleepers may think the bed’s one-of-a-kind feel is somewhat strange, so make sure you fully utilize the 100-night trial period provided by Purple.

I slept on a different Purple mattress for over 5 years (I only switched because my partner needed something different), and I found it to be exceptionally comfortable.

Purple Plus firmness and feel

The biggest difference between the Purple Plus and the Original Purple is the additional layer of comfort foam, which doesn’t impact the feel — but it strongly impacts the firmness profile, making it noticeably softer.

We rate the Purple Original to be a flat medium on our firmness scale, which makes it pretty accommodating for most sleepers, including couples and combo sleepers, but the Purple Plus will be closer to a medium-soft, which means it will provide a lot of pressure relief for your hips and shoulders and be a great option for people who spend the majority of the night on their side.

If you are looking for something firmer, the PurpleFlex mattress is meant to be the firmest bed in the Purple Essential Collection, but we haven’t gotten the opportunity to test it yet. The Purple Restore mattress is noticeably firm as well, and I think that it is a fantastic bed, albeit more expensive and featuring coils instead of support foam.

Purple Plus mattress performance

Edge support

The original model of Purple I tested over six years ago had very poor edge support because the GelFlex Grid material extended all the way to the edge of the mattress and didn’t provide enough support. 

Purple did a redesign of the Original mattress that encased the perimeter of the bed in a firmer foam which vastly improved the edge support. This same design is also in the Purple Plus mattress, so the edge support is pretty solid despite being a softer mattress that uses foam for support.

If you end up sleeping on the edges of the Purple Plus mattress, I don’t think you’ll have any serious problems with a roll-off sensation.

Motion isolation

If waking up in the middle of the night because your partner tosses and turns a lot, having a mattress that isolates cross-mattress motion well is important. Despite the responsive nature of the GelFlex Grid material in the Purple Plus mattress, we observed it isolates motion surprisingly well.

It doesn’t quite compete with memory foam beds that famously excel at motion isolation, but I didn’t see cross-mattress motion being a huge problem for most people.

Temperature regulation

One area where Purple as a brand excels is temperature regulation. Their beds don’t feature active cooling elements like the Brooklyn Bedding Aurora Luxe or the Leesa Chill collection, but thanks to the GelFlex Grid material, the Purple Plus is breathable and stays temperature neutral throughout the night.

Again, I slept on a Purple bed for over five years through hot summers, and I can definitely say the bed didn’t retain much heat. I still had occasional night sweats when I didn’t have air conditioning, but that had little to do with the mattress. 

Purple Plus mattress pricing

Purple, in comparison to other brands like Casper, Leesa and Helix, is a bit on the expensive side. You’ll be paying a bit of a premium for Purple no matter which bed you choose because it has a special material that no other brand has. 

A queen-size Purple Plus has a retail price of $1,899, which is in the same range as really high-quality pillow-top hybrids like the Saatva Classic and The WinkBed and is quite a bit more expensive than popular all-foam mattresses like the Leesa Original. Purple will sometimes go on discount, especially around major holidays, and I’ve seen the price get to as low as $1,499, which is a much more accessible price.

Make sure you check out our mattress deals page for the most up-to-date pricing and discounts on the Purple Plus or any other bed you are interested in.

Purple Plus mattress policies

Free shipping

The Purple Plus mattress will ship to your door at no extra cost via FedEx or UPS inside of either a large box or a large bag. We have usually seen Purple mattresses get delivered in a bag, but there’s virtually no difference in the process for you to set up the bed if it’s in a box or a bag. 

100-night trial 

All Purple mattresses, including the Purple Plus, come with a standard 100-night trial period to determine if you actually like the mattress and want to keep it long-term. 

100 nights is what we usually see with most brands, and we think it is plenty of time to figure out if you want to keep a mattress. Keep in mind that it can take a few weeks for your body to fully adjust to a new bed, no matter how well-suited it is to your preferences.

Return policy

If you don’t like the Purple Plus mattress after the first 30 nights, you can return it at no extra cost and get a full refund. Returning a mattress is actually pretty easy. Many people think you have to somehow ship the bed back to them, but that’s not the case. 

Usually, they will arrange for someone in your area to pick it up, and then it often gets donated.

Warranty

All Purple mattresses are backed by a standard 10-year warranty. If you buy a mattress online, a 10-year warranty is the minimum you should expect.

Final verdict on the Purple Plus mattress

The Purple Plus mattress is for someone interested in the unique feel and characteristics of the GelFlex Grid who doesn’t want a hybrid and also wants their bed to be noticeably soft. That is a pretty specific niche that the Purple Plus fits because the Purple Original is a more accommodating medium firmness and is also more affordable, and the Purple Restore is a hybrid bed with multiple firmness options to choose from, which also makes it compelling for only a bit more cost.

Plenty of sleepers prefer not to have a hybrid mattress because of the improved motion isolation provided by foam, and many sleepers also favor their side as a primary sleeping position, so for those people, I think the Purple Plus makes a lot of sense, assuming you enjoy the gel-like feel of a Purple mattress. I think it’s incredibly comfortable, but not everyone agrees.

You might like the Purple Plus mattress if:

• You are a primary side sleeper
• You have a decent amount of money to spend on a new bed
• You are interested in the unique feel provided by Purple
• You want a mattress with foam support layers

You might not like the Purple Plus mattress if:

• You want a more conventional feeling mattress 
• You want a firm mattress or the ability to choose between firmness options
• You are seeking a hybrid mattress
• You are shopping on a tight budget

Other mattresses from Purple

Purple Original: This mattress is the flagship mattress from Purple, which means it’s the most popular. It has a virtually identical design to the Purple Plus, with the same support layers and the same 2-inch-thick layer of GelFlex Grid material. The Purple Plus has that additional layer of comfort foam which softens up the bed in comparison to the Purple Original, which is about a medium on the firmness scale. The Purple Original is also the more affordable mattress. 

Purple Restore Hybrid: The Purple Restore mattress is the base model of the Purple Restore Hybrid Collection. It features the same 2-inch-thick layer of GelFlex Grid material from the Purple Original and Purple Plus. The biggest difference is that the Purple Restore uses coils instead of foam for its main support layer and also comes in two different firmness options: a soft and a firm. The firm model is about a medium-firm on the firmness scale and is great for back, stomach and combo sleepers and the soft medium is roughly a medium, which is pretty accommodating for all sleepers types, especially combo sleepers and couples. It will be quite a bit more expensive than the Purple Plus, though.

How does the Purple Plus mattress compare to similar mattresses?

Purple Plus vs. Nolah Signature 12″

The Nolah Signature 12 is pretty similar to the Purple Plus. They have roughly the same firmness level, around a medium-soft, and they are both designed to be more premium, softer versions of each brand’s respective flagship mattress. 

The Nolah Signature 12 will have a much different feel than the Purple Plus because no mattress feels like Purple. On Nolah, you get a mixed foam feel thanks to the top layer of foam being responsive while having some similarities to memory foam. The Signature 12 is also more affordable than the Purple Plus by a significant amount when factoring in discounts.

Purple Plus vs. Tuft & Needle Mint

Tuft & Needle Mint is another enhanced version of a popular mattress that is intended for side sleepers. We rate the Tuft & Needle Mint to be slightly firmer than the Purple Plus, but not by much and should provide a lot of pressure relief for sleeper’s hips and shoulders. The Mint mattress has an accommodating, soft and neutral feel that strikes a nice balance between sink-in comfort and responsiveness. It is also quite a bit more affordable than the Purple Plus.