Purple vs. Bear Mattress Comparison

Purple and Bear and popular bed-in-a-box mattresses with competitive pricing. Even though they both have a medium-firm firmness level, they’re made from diverse materials that are better suited for different sleepers.

The Purple mattress has a unique feel and sleeping experience thanks to a proprietary gel grid top layer (used in every Purple mattress model) that brings the pressure relief of memory foam without the heat retention or foam hugging feel. The Bear is a firmer-than-average memory foam mattress designed to expedite muscle recovery in athletes and active folks. 

The Purple’s floating feel and cooling properties will likely work better than the Bear for side sleepers and people who sleep hot. The Bear’s supportive surface better supports stomach sleepers and has a small edge over the Purple for people with active lifestyles. Both mattresses come with a risk-free sleep trial and are made from CertiPUR-US certified foams. Let’s dive in and see what else sets these mattresses apart!

Comparing Purple & Bear Mattresses

Key Differences 

• Construction: The Bear is a memory foam mattress made from layers of contouring memory foam and responsive polyfoam. The Purple is a hybrid mattress that pairs supportive polyfoam with a proprietary gel grid top layer. 
• Feel: The Bear mattress has a firm memory foam feel with very slight contouring and cushioning firm support. The Purple Grid leads to a cool, pressure-relieving floating sensation for even weight distribution without a foam comfort layer. 
• Sleeping Positions: While both mattresses do a good job supporting back sleepers, side sleepers are better off on the Purple and stomach sleepers will fare better on the Bear. 
• Cooling: The Purple’s Smart Comfort Grid layer doesn’t retain body heat. More generous airflow along the Purple’s surface makes it sleep noticeably cooler than the Bear—although both beds sleep cooler than your average foam mattress. 

Key Similarities

• Best for People Under 230 Pounds: Both mattresses have thin comfort layers and average support, so they’re not the best mattresses for heavy people. The lack of coils in these beds makes them better for lightweight and average-weight folks. 
• Good for Couples: Both beds do a good job limiting motion transfer, so people who share the bed don’t wake up at their partner’s every movement. They’re also supportive enough for sleepers to lie along the edges, so sleep partners can each claim their own space.
• Responsive Feel: Even though neither mattress has innerspring coils, the surfaces of each quickly adapt to movements so you shouldn’t feel stuck. Sufficient responsiveness is important if you toss and turn a lot.

Who the Purple Mattress is Best For 

• People who sleep hot: The Purple mattress has the coolest comfort layer that we’ve seen on a predominantly foam bed. Unlike all other mattresses that use either memory foam or polyfoam, the Purple mattress has a breathable gel grid that doesn’t store body heat. This makes it an excellent bed for people who tend to wake up hot and sweaty. 
• Elderly people: Purple’s Smart Comfort Grid evenly distributes body weight, creating a floating sensation with nearly zero pressure at areas like the hips and shoulders. For older people with joint pain, this weightless feeling can relieve stress at joints. 
• Side and back sleepers: The Purple Grid supports excellent spinal alignment for both side and back sleepers who weigh less than 230 pounds. Healthy alignment can mean deeper sleep and fewer aches and pains come morning.   
• People who share the bed: The Purple mattress has the two things that we look for in a mattress for couples: comfortable edges and good motion isolation properties. That means you can spread out and move around without waking your bedmate.

Not Best For…

• Plus-size people: The original Purple mattress has a 2” comfort layer, which isn’t thick enough to cushion pressure points for people who weigh more than 230 pounds.  
• Stomach sleepers: The Purple Grid top layer buckles at heavier body parts. While this means great pressure relief and alignment for back and side sleepers, it could mean excess sinkage at the hips of stomach sleepers. If you are looking for a more supportive mattress, see the best mattresses for stomach sleepers.
• Memory foam lovers: Purple mattresses have a feel unlike that of any other mattress. If you like the hugging foam mattress feel, you’re better off opting for a bed with thick foam layers up top, rather than the proprietary Purple Grid.

Read our full Purple mattress review to learn more! 

Who is the Bear Mattress Best For 

• Athletes and active people: The Bear mattress is designed to speed muscle recovery. For all you science geeks out there, Celliant technology in the mattress converts body heat to infrared energy. That energy helps boost tissue oxygenation for faster healing.  
• People with back pain: The Bear mattress may help relieve back pain thanks to its ability to support recovery. Additionally, this bed does an outstanding job supporting a healthy spine, which can ease pain caused by insufficient nightly support. 
• Back and stomach sleepers: The Bear’s layers of foam create a medium-firm foam mattress that gently cushions the body without sacrificing support. The balance between support and cushioning works well for stomach and back sleepers.  
• Hot sleepers who like foam beds: Memory foam mattresses have a comforting feel and great pressure relief, but they often sleep hot. The Bear memory foam bed combats excess heat retention through cooling fabric, cooling gel, and breathable open-cell foam. 

Not Best For…

• People who like a bouncy mattress: The Bear is an all-foam mattress. As such, it’s not the best fit for people who like the bouncy feel of innerspring mattresses. 
• Heavier people: Heavyweight people need durable and thick comfort layers combined with an incredibly supportive base layer for comfort and body alignment. The Bear’s comfort layers aren’t thick enough for bigger bodies, and the support foam isn’t quite as supportive as durable innerspring coils. 
• Side sleepers: The Bear mattress is on the firmer side of medium-firm. The sleeping surface simply isn’t soft enough to cushion the shoulders and hips when side sleeping.

Read our full Bear mattress review to learn more! 

Deciding Between Bear & Purple

Firmness / Feel

Every mattress can be rated on a firmness scale of 1 to 10, where 1 is the softest and 10 is the most firm. The Purple mattress falls at a 6.5/10 and the Bear ranks at a 7/10, putting both beds squarely in the medium-firm category. 

In spite of similar firmnesses, the way these beds feel is quite different. The Bear mattress has an all-foam mattress feel, with very slight contouring around the body and minimal sinkage. The Purple has a unique feel that some people describe as “floating.” The gel grid top layer evenly distributes body weight without the hugging feel of foam.  If you change positions during the night frequently, check out our recommendations for the best mattress for combination sleepers.

Both beds do a good job supporting back sleepers. The Bear is better for stomach sleepers because it is slightly firmer than the Purple. The Purple Grid tends to sink in just a bit too far at the hips for stomach sleepers. The Purple’s surface does a much better job cushioning pressure points of side sleepers than the Bear: the latter can feel too firm when side sleeping. Both beds have thin comfort layers and average support, so they’re best for people who weigh less than 230 pounds.

Motion Isolation

When someone gets in or out of bed, or whenever they change sleep positions, the movement can travel across the mattress and can interrupt sleep for an unsuspecting partner. That is why you want a mattress with excellent motion isolation if you sleep with a partner, child or furry family member. Both the Bear and the Purple mattresses deliver a high level of motion isolation, mostly because of their foam base layers. That’s great for people who rarely sleep alone. 

Edge Support

Sturdy edges allow people to sleep along a mattress without rolling off, create a solid surface for sitting, and make it easier to get in and out of bed. While both the Purple and Bear mattresses have edges that are comfortable to lie along, neither are particularly sturdy for sitting. They simply don’t have the support that innerspring coils could offer. However, the Bear’s edges are slightly sturdier than the Purple’s: better for sitting and getting into bed. 

Pressure Relief 

Heavier areas of the body need sufficient cushioning to minimize pain and pressure. Side sleepers often struggle to find suitable pressure relief in a mattress because their hips and shoulders need adequate cushion. The Purple’s surface is much more accommodating to side sleepers than the Bear. The Purple’s unique comfort layer buckles at the shoulders and hips for a weightless, pressure-relieving sensation. Unfortunately, side sleepers are largely out of luck on the Bear’s surface because it’s too firm to provide adequate cushioning along the hips and shoulders. 

Spine Alignment 

Spinal alignment is one of the most important factors when considering a mattress, no matter your age or body weight. The Purple does an excellent job keeping the spine properly aligned for side and back sleepers who weigh less than 230 pounds. The Bear is best for stomach and back sleepers in the same body size range. For these sleepers, the Purple and Bear excel in spinal alignment, making them great picks for people with back pain.  

Durability 

Both the Purple and Bear mattress are durable, especially compared to beds without innerspring coils. Because of the thick foam in each mattress, we expect both beds to remain comfortable and in good condition for around seven to 10 years. The Purple Grid in the top layer of the Purple mattress is also expected to last for quite a while. 

Temperature 

The Purple and Bear mattresses are good picks for hot sleepers who don’t want to sleep on an innerspring mattress. The Purple Grid is one of the coolest comfort layers around, with generous airflow that sweeps away excess body heat for a comfortable and dry night of sleep. The Bear is one of the coolest memory foam mattresses on our radar, thanks to cooling technologies found in nearly every layer. Still, it sleeps just a tad warmer than the Purple.  

Purple Mattress Construction 

The Purple mattress has a stretchy and breathable cover made of polyester, viscose and Lycra. This cover facilitates the flex of the Hyper-Elastic Polymer Grid below, ensuring targeted support and pressure relief. This gel grid top layer remains supportive until a certain amount of pressure is applied, with a final sensation of weightless floating. The final two layers are made of polyfoam, which delivers excellent motion isolation and an affordable price point.  

Bear Mattress Construction

The Bear mattress starts with a Celliant fabric cover that converts body heat into infrared energy. When diverted back to the body, the infrared energy enhances blood flow, facilitating faster healing. The comfort layer of the mattress is a medium-firm memory foam that conforms to the body without sinking. A gel infusion in this layer absorbs body heat and disperses it to keep the sleeping surface cool. Transitional polyfoam also adds responsiveness, while the bed’s durable base foam boosts longevity. 

If both mattresses seem too firm for you, see our list on the best mattresses for side sleepers.

Sizing & Price Comparisons 

Check out Bear Mattress Coupons & Purple Mattress Coupons for the best price on a new mattress.

Shipping and Returns for Bear & Purple

Purple Mattress

The Purple mattress ships for free to the 48 contiguous states of the U.S., but if you’re in Hawaii, Alaska or Canada you’ll need to pay an extra shipping fee. The new mattress is compressed in a box, so it takes a few hours to inflate to its proper shape. You may select white glove delivery at checkout for an added fee if you’d like to have someone set up your new bed and get rid of your old one. 

Starting from the date of delivery, you have 100 nights to test out the mattress to see if it’s to your liking. You can return your mattress for a full refund within that 100-day sleep trial period. However, before you can return your Purple mattress, you need to wait 21 days per the mattress break-in period. If you decide to return your mattress, someone will come to your door to pick it up. 

For extra peace of mind, every Purple mattress comes with an industry-standard 10-year warranty. To learn more, check out our Purple mattress warranty breakdown.

Bear Mattress 

Bear ships its products for free across the 48 states of the continental U.S., with a $100 fee to ship a mattress to Hawaii or Alaska. Even though the company does not offer the removal of an old mattress or new mattress setup, they make it easy for you to set up your new product by yourself. The bed will arrive compressed and rolled up into a box that’s easy to move with a two-person team. 

Your Bear mattress comes with a 100-night sleep trial. If you’re unhappy with your new mattress during the trial period, you can return it for a full refund. Bear sends someone to pick up the mattress, so you don’t have to worry about any extra work. However, Bear won’t accept returns until you’ve had your new bed for 30 days. This adjustment period gives both your body and the mattress time to adjust.

If you decide to keep your new mattress, it comes with a standard 10-year warranty.

More Bear Mattresses

See our Bear Hybrid mattress review to learn more.

Read our full Bear Pro Mattress Review to learn more. 

More Purple Mattresses

See our Purple Hybrid Mattress Review to learn more.

See our Purple Hybrid Premier mattress review to learn more.

Still Looking? Be sure to read some of our other popular mattress comparisons: 

• Bear vs Leesa
• Bear vs Casper
• Bear vs Tuft & Needle
• Purple vs Nectar
• Purple vs GhostBed
• Purple vs Casper
• Purple vs. Saatva
• Purple vs Tuft & Needle
• Purple vs. Tempur-Pedic
• Purple vs Lull
• Purple vs. Puffy
• Purple vs. Layla
• Purple vs. Leesa

Our Final Take

The Bear and Purple Original mattresses are each great beds sold at competitive price points. Side sleepers and elderly people with joint pain are likely to wake up with fewer aches and pains on the Purple mattress. However, athletes and stomach sleepers may find themselves better supported on the Bear. The Bear is also better for people who like the feel of an all-foam mattress, while the Purple is excellent for sleepers who like the idea of a weightless, floating sensation while sleeping.