How do you usually sleep?

Pillow fit is mostly geometry. The gap between your neck and the mattress changes with sleep position, shoulder width and how far you sink into your bed, and the right pillow fills that gap without pushing your head out of line with your spine. Side sleepers usually need 5 to 7 inches of loft, back sleepers 3 to 5, and stomach sleepers under 3 — but a plush mattress that lets your shoulder drop can move a side sleeper down a full inch, which is why we ask about your mattress feel as well as your position.

Fill material decides everything the loft does not. Solid latex and dense memory foam hold their height all night, which suits people who wake up with the pillow flattened out. Shredded foam and down alternative can be added to or removed from, so they suit anyone between two standard sizes or anyone who still is not sure. Down is the most mouldable and the least supportive. If you sleep hot, we weight the results toward latex, shredded fills with ventilated covers and phase-change fabrics, because solid memory foam is the worst offender for trapped heat in our overnight thermal logs.

We also account for the problems people bring with us: neck pain and shoulder bursitis push results toward cutout and cervical shapes, CPAP use toward pillows with mask relief channels, and acid reflux toward wedges. Every recommendation comes from a pillow we have bought and slept on, and each result links to the full review with measured loft, firmness and cover composition so you can check the reasoning rather than take the quiz at its word.

The quiz takes about a minute and nothing is stored against your name. Prefer to browse? Start with our best pillows guide or the side sleeper pillow rankings.