Purple and Nectar are consistently highly-rated by their customers in terms of support, comfort and breathability, so when shopping for the best mattress online, you won’t go far wrong either. Breathability is an important design of any mattress worth its salt, and these two brands in particular excel at this.
Breathability is important in keeping you cool as you sleep, and Purple's mid-tier mattress, the Hybrid, is one of our favorites for doing this. It combines a flexible grid with a base layer of support coils to offer comfort and enhanced airflow, and it doesn’t cost the earth either. In fact, it’s often on sale among the best Purple mattress deals.
The Nectar Lush is another breathable mattress worth considering, as it combines a dense foam base with a cooling-gel layer to boost airflow as you sleep. This isn’t just handy in summer - there are numerous health conditions where a more breathable mattress would come in handy.
In our Purple vs Nectar comparison piece we look at how the Purple Hybrid and the Nectar Lush perform, what existing customers say, and whether they’re worth buying or not. You may also be interested in our best bed toppers guide for an extra hit of support and comfort in bed.
Purple vs Nectar: Specifications
Purple Hybrid:
- Sizes: Twin XL, Full, Queen, King, Cal King, Split King
- Depth: 11"
- Turn: No
- Build: Hyper-Elastic Polymer; polyurethane foam; pocketed springs; Viscose, Polyester, Lycra cover
- Firmness: Medium-firm
- Trial: 100 nights
- Warranty: 10 years
- Price: $1399-$2798
Nectar Lush:
- Sizes: Twin, Twin XL, Full, Queen, King, Cal King
- Depth: 12"
- Turn: No
- Build: visco-elastic memory foam, hi-core transition foam, high-vegetable base, support foam, Tencel cover
- Firmness: Medium-firm
- Trial: 365 days
- Warranty: Lifetime
- Price: $999-$1,699
Purple vs Nectar: Design
Both brands impress when it comes to the design of their mattresses, as both are constructed in layers, bringing in comfort and cooling while also offering support and ease for the various pressure points along your body.
The Purple Hybrid features the company’s renowned Purple Grid, developed as a result of years of research. The flexible 2-inch grid layer features open air channels, which offer an instantly cooling surface so body heat can be neutralized rather than retained. That's why it's our top pick for the best cooling mattress.
The grid then sits on a layer of individually wrapped responsive-support coils, which allow the mattress to be durable, comfortable and responsive to all sleep styles and body shapes. It gives a nice bounce too. You can learn more about this in how to choose a mattress for your preferred sleep position.
A soft Premium StretchMax cover ensures pure comfort, while maintaining the efficient cooling work carried out by the Purple Grid beneath.
Meanwhile, the Nectar Lush prides itself on five layers of ‘life-changing comfort’. The base is made from a higher density foam than most to offer a stable yet durable foundation, which supports the bouncier Energex memory foam layer above.
Sitting in the middle of this mattress sandwich is a layer of transition foam that supports another layer of memory foam. The latter comprises Aquacool gel technology, which – as the name suggests – promotes a cool night’s sleep. Finally, to top things off, Nectar has added a cooling cover to this breathable mattress.
Purple vs Nectar design winner: Purple
When it comes to design, the Purple Hybrid’s Purple Grid technology, combined with the springiness of its coils, is simply too hard to beat. The simplicity of the idea and the outright cooling comfort and enhanced breathability make it a run-away winner.
Purple vs Nectar: Price and warranty
Both these mattresses are on the pricier end of the mattress-in-a-box market, but with the higher levels of comfort and technology on offer with both, you’re certainly getting the high quality you’re paying for. Each mattress costs as follows:
Purple Hybrid: Twin XL - $1,399; Full - $1,599; Queen - $1,699; King - $1,999; Cal King - $1,999; Split King - $2,798
Nectar Lush: Twin - $999; Twin XL - $1,049; Full - $1,249, Queen - $1,399, King - $1,699, Cal King - $1,699
When it comes to warranty, Purple offers a standard 10 years, while Nectar goes for a lifetime warranty (check the terms and conditions for specifics) to add another layer of comfort to this mattress.
Purple vs Nectar price and warranty winner: Nectar
The cost of the Nectar Lush, while premium, is still lower than the Purple Hybrid, all while maintaining excellent levels of comfort, support and cooling. This makes Nectar a more tempting option for a wider range of people who expect nothing less from their mattress. Also, the lifetime warranty is a real draw.
For further mattress savings, also take a look at our guide to the best Casper mattress deals and the best Saatva mattress discounts.
Purple vs Nectar: Comfort and support
The Purple Hybrid promises to provide comfort for all shapes and sizes, while alleviating stress on pressure points, such as the shoulder, hip or knee. The support of the stretchy Purple Grid technology offers a floaty type of sensation, while there’s also a good level of bounce that comes from the coils.
There is certainly a unique feel to this mattress that is no bad thing, but it might take a few sleeps to get used to it.
Both the mattresses are ideal whatever your sleeping position, with both providing excellent pressure-relief. Like the Purple Hybrid, the Nectar Lush is a good all-round medium-firm mattress, but is particularly excellent for minimizing motion transfer between sleeping partners, something the Purple Hybrid doesn’t offer as much of.
When it comes to immediate feel, you will feel the Nectar Lush conforming to your body as you settle down for a good night’s sleep. Whether you like this sensation or not is subjective, but the trial period offers ample time to try it out, and it doesn’t take long to get used to the Energex foam sensation.
Purple vs Nectar comfort and support winner: Purple
When it comes to comfortable sleeping, having the right mattress and the best pillow is crucial. But comfort is dependent on the individual, and here both mattresses offer excellent medium-firm support that should suit most body shapes and sizes.
However, what narrowly seals the deals for us is Purple’s cooling technology combined with that dreamy, ‘floaty yet supported’ feeling. Also, the added bounce delivered by those coils makes for an extra-luxurious snooze.
Purple vs Nectar: User reviews
The majority of existing customer reviews for both the Purple Hybrid and the Nectar Lush are positive. Purple’s own website contains more than 27,000 user reviews, with many people praising the general comfort of the Purple Hybrid.
Some comments mention the mattress takes a little while to get used to, but, once acclimatized, most sleepers were satisfied.
More critical comments tended to be from people who had existing back problems, while others cited some frustrating experiences with mattress sagging, which Purple was quick to resolve with its generous warranty and trial-period offer.
On retailer sites such as Amazon, the Purple Hybrid has plenty of fans, with favorable reviews for a variety of sleep positions. The cooling properties of the mattress were praised, although some reviews mentioned the mattress was a little too firm for their liking.
The reviews on Nectar’s website are skewed towards four and five stars too, with plenty of evidence of awards and expert feedback. Comments highlighted the comfort of the mattress, as well as the efficiency of the company and the advantage of the trial-period and warranty.
Reviews on major retailer sites are also positive, with customers praising the firmness and comfort. Some reviews also mentioned the efficiency of the motion-transfer, as well as the cooling properties offered by the mattress. More critical reviews mentioned the lack of edge support, which is typical of many foam mattresses.
Purple vs Nectar user reviews winner: Draw
The reviews for both mattresses highlight the excellent levels of comfort, breathability and support on offer. With happy customers all round, it’s only fair to declare it a draw.
Purple vs Nectar: Trial period and shipping
The Purple Hybrid offers a ‘100-Night No Pressure Guarantee’ as well as free shipping direct to US and Canadian addresses. The 100-night trial starts from the day of delivery, and, if the mattress isn’t to your satisfaction, Purple will pick up the mattress (at no extra cost) and provide a full refund.
Nectar boasts a very generous 365-day trial – the ‘longest trial in the industry’ – on its Lush mattress as well as a lifetime warranty, such is the confidence in its product. This gives you a superb chance to test out the mattress in all seasons and circumstances. Shipping and pick up is also free.
Purple vs Nectar trial period and shipping winner: Nectar
The opportunity to test out the mattress so thoroughly is a huge draw. While the ease of delivery and returns with both companies is commendable, Nectar makes the deal just that little bit sweeter.
Purple vs Nectar: Verdict
When it comes to Purple vs Nectar, both deserve full credit for comfort, technology and support. That said, if we’re focusing solely on cooling and breathability, Purple comes out on top.
Although Nectar offers a sturdy base and impressive results with motion-transfer issues, the bounce of the Purple Hybrid, and that unbeatable Purple Grid technology, adds to the luxury, comfort and boosted airflow of this wildly popular mattress.
Purple vs Nectar overall winner: Purple
Purple pips Nectar to the post here, and it’s mostly to do with the cooling comfort of its Purple Grid technology. If you need full breathability from your mattress, as well as comfort and support, this is a great choice.
