The Purple Mattress and the Nectar Mattress are each the flagship mattresses of popular online bed-in-a-box mattress brands, both made in the United States.
In this mattress comparison we provide everything you need to know to find out which memory foam mattress will be best for you.
The Purple Mattress is a firmer foam mattress constructed of Purple’s unique proprietary elastic polymer grid, the “Purple grid,” and polyfoam. The grid creates a firmer, sturdier memory foam, great for stomach and back sleepers of all sizes. Heavier side sleepers should sink into the Purple grid for contouring around the hips and shoulders.
On the other hand, the Nectar is a much softer memory foam mattress, making it the ideal choice for lightweight and average weight side sleepers. It will provide more relief for pressure points, and a gel memory foam layer enhances the cooling capabilities of the bed.
Who Should Buy the Purple?
6.5
100 nights
10 year limited warranty
$$
Best For…
May Not be Best For…
Read our full Purple Mattress Review to learn more!
Who Should Buy the Nectar?
6
365
Lifetime
$$
Best For…
May Not be Best For…
Read our full Nectar Mattress Review to learn more!
A bed’s firmness refers to how soft or firm it feels to individual sleepers. At the Mattress Nerd we rate mattresses on a firmness scale of 1 to 10, with one being the softest and ten the hardest.
The Purple’s grid structure and more supportive base makes it feel more responsive than the Nectar, at a 6.5/10. The Nectar’s traditional sink and cradle found in memory foam makes it closer to a 6/10. Both mattresses can be considered medium-firm, but the overall feel of the smart comfort grid and the memory foam differ.
While both mattresses can accommodate a variety of sleeping positions, the firmer Purple will provide a better surface for back, stomach and combination sleepers, and the Nectar will better suit side sleepers and lighter sleepers.
Motion isolation is an important quality to consider if you sleep with a partner, pet or child. If you wake easily to movement or noise throughout the night, a bed with great motion isolation will be essential to achieving a great night’s sleep.
Both the Nectar and the Purple have minimal motion transfer and produce minimal noise, though we think the Nectar is slightly superior in this category due to the double-layer comfort portion of the mattress.
The memory foam layers of each of these mattresses will absorb motion between partners better than traditional hybrid mattresses. To read more about the differences in mattress construction check out our Memory Foam vs Hybrid article.
If you have trouble getting in and out of bed or are concerned with a mattress’ durability, edge support is something to consider. Edge support refers to the degree to which the perimeter of a mattress supports body weight.
While memory foam mattresses may absorb motion better, they often lack the reinforced edge support of coils present hybrid mattresses. Both the Purple and Nectar show significant sinkage when the edges of the bed are compressed. especially for heavyweight sleepers. However, the Nectar performs slightly better in this area.
Pressure relief is important for all sleep positions and dependent on your weight.
The Purple’s Comfort Grid provides pressure relief for most sleepers who are lightweight or average weight and sleep on their sides or backs. Stomach sleepers may find that the Purple sags too much in the hip area to provide adequate pressure relief. As for the Nectar, pressure relief is one of its strengths.
The two memory foam comfort layers absorb and cradle the body, conforming to different areas and distributing weight evenly. All in all, the Nectar outpaces Purple slightly in this area, but it will come down to preference. If you like the feeling of sleeping “in” a bed, you may prefer the Nectar. If you like the feeling of sleeping “on” a bed, we suggest the Purple.
How well a bed is able to keep your spine in proper alignment is essential to achieving a great night’s sleep and improving or maintaining your overall health. When your spine is thrown out of alignment throughout the night, it can create long lasting back and neck pain.
The Purple provides spinal alignment for side, back and combination sleepers, but we think the grid sinks too much to provide support for heavier stomach sleepers. Alternatively, the Nectar will keep average weight sleepers and some lighter side sleepers’ spines aligned on the mattress.
A new mattress is an investment, so it’s key to ensure your purchase will last at least several years. Both Purple and Nectar Sleep are relatively young companies, but customer reviews and the quality of the mattresses’ construction indicates that they will last roughly seven to eight years, which is average in the mattress industry. As always, rotating all-foam mattresses every three to six months is recommended to prevent body impressions from forming.
If you sleep hot or live in a warm climate, a bed that’s breathable and able to help you achieve a cool night’s sleep is essential. As an all-foam mattress, the Nectar will trap some heat throughout the night, but it is slightly cooler than other memory foam mattresses. Its gel memory foam upper layer works to combat heat entrapment in the dense memory foam layers.
Alternatively, the Purple’s Comfort Grid helps it sleep much cooler than other all-foam models, promoting steady airflow to keep the surface temperature-neutral at worst and cool at best.
| Cover | Soft Flex Knit Cover: breathable and stretchable to accomodate more than one type of sleeper |
| Comfort Layer | 2” Purple Grid: balance of support and pressure relief, creating a balanced feel overall |
| Transitional Layer | 3.5” 1.8 PCF high-density polyfoam: softer, more responsive comfort layer |
| Support Layer | 4” 2.0 PCF high-density polyfoam: supportive base layer |
| Mattress Thickness | 9.5” |
The Purple Mattress, also known as the Original Purple, consists of a cover, comfort layer, transitional layer, and base layers that altogether measure 9.5 inches thick. It’s important to note that this height profile is slightly thinner than average, and the transitional and support layers make up much of the mattress. The bed has more supportive and firmer feel relative to other mixed-foam mattresses.
| Cover | Quilted Fabric |
| Comfort Layer | Gel Memory Foam: cooling surface and distribute weight across the mattress |
| Transitional Layer | Adaptive Hi-Core Memory Foam: supports and adapts to body to prevent sinking |
| Support Layer | Memory Foam Base Layer: supports and stabilizes other layers |
| Mattress Thickness | 11” |
The Purple Mattress, also known as the Original Purple, consists of a cover, comfort layer, transitional layer, and base layers that altogether measure 9.5 inches thick. It’s important to note that this height profile is slightly thinner than average, and the transitional and support layers make up much of the mattress. The bed has more supportive and firmer feel relative to other mixed-foam mattresses.
| Mattress Size | Nectar Price | Purple Price |
| Twin | $649 | $649 |
| Twin XL | $ 719 | $799 |
| Full | $ 849 | $999 |
| Queen | $ 949 | $1,149 |
| King | $1,149 | $1,4499 |
| California King | $1,149 | $1,499 |
To see if these mattresses are within your budget, check out our Purple Mattress Coupons article and Nectar Mattress Coupons article.
Most online mattress companies offer generous shipping policies, and Nectar and Purple are no different. Both Nectar and Purple offer free shipping to the contiguous U.S. The Purple can ship anywhere in the U.S. and anywhere in Canada. The Nectar can ship anywhere in the U.S. and to Puerto Rico. Nectar offers White Glove delivery for a flat fee, wherein professionals will deliver your new mattress and remove your old one. Purple does not currently offer White Glove delivery with any of its products.
You’ll have 100 nights to decide that you want to return the mattress if you purchase the Purple and 365 nights (one year) to decide if you purchase the Nectar. Nectar has a mandatory 30-day break-in period before free returns are eligible, and Purple does not have a break-in period, although they recommend testing the mattress for 30 nights prior to making your decision.
If you decide to return your Purple Original, Purple will cover all shipping and handling expenses. If you decide to return your Nectar, Nectar Sleep will cover all shipping and handling expenses and coordinate mattress pickup on your behalf.
See our full Purple Hybrid Mattress Review to learn more.
Check out our full Nectar Lush Mattress Review to learn more.
The Nectar Original and Purple Original are both excellent, moderately priced mixed-foam mattresses that work well for a variety of sizes of sleepers with different preferences. The beds vary relatively little in the price for all sizes, so the mattress that’s best for you will come down to your desired firmness level, need for temperature regulation and primary sleeping position.
If you enjoy the traditional, cradling feel of memory foam, we think you’ll love the Nectar. If you want a more responsive mattress and like the feel of sleeping “on” a mattress rather than sinking deeply “in” it, we recommend the Purple Original.
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