Leesa Original vs. Purple Mattress Comparison

Overall Rating

8.0

Leesa Original

Bottom Line

The Leesa Original uses a mixed-foam design to deliver a balance of cushioning, support, and bounce.

Check Price on Leesa.com

25% off all mattresses

Full Mattress Review

VS

Overall Rating

8.3

Purple Mattress

Bottom Line

The luxurious Purple Mattress features a proprietary grid layer that cushions your body without trapping heat.

Check Price on Purple.com

$1,399 from Purple (queen)

Full Mattress Review

Leesa and Purple both established themselves early on as key players in the direct-to-consumer mattress industry.

Purple was founded by two brothers who spent decades developing cushioning materials for use in hospital settings. They eventually launched the Purple Mattress in 2015, followed by a series of other hybrid and foam mattresses. Purple mattresses are unique for their use of Purple Grid, a hyper-elastic polymer engineered to flex under pressure.

Leesa was also founded in 2015. The company first released an all-foam mattress before going on to create some of the first hybrid mattresses able to be shipped compressed as a mattress-in-a-box.

If you’ve narrowed down your mattress search to Leesa vs. Purple, rest assured either would make a great choice. We’ll break down the differences between the Leesa Original and the Purple Mattress, including specs, testing lab ratings, and company policies, to help you reach a decision.

Our Testing Team’s Take

At Sleep Foundation, all of our mattress reviews are based on extensive in-house evaluations performed at our Seattle Test Lab. The process includes a battery of objective tests to measure metrics like pressure points, heat retention, and motion transfer. 

We also give each mattress to multiple members of our testing team with different body types and sleeping position preferences, so they can take it home and see how it performs in real life. Finally, we comb through reviews from actual customers to see how each mattress holds up over time.

Our Verdict

The Purple Mattress and the Leesa Original are both considered all-foam mattresses. While the Leesa has a fairly traditional comfort system with polyfoam and memory foam layers, the Purple features the proprietary, silicone-like Purple Grid material. Choosing between the two mattresses may come down to whether or not you like the feel of the Purple Grid.

Jeremy Klein

Senior Product Testing Manager

Side sleeper

160 lbs.

Nightly melatonin user

“The Leesa Original feels comfortable right off the bat. When lying on my side, I felt moderate contouring of my shoulders and hips, and I woke up without any aches or pains.”

Either mattress would make a good choice for couples, as both the Purple and the Leesa excel at absorbing movement. Hot sleepers will also appreciate the better-than-usual temperature control compared with other foam models. Both Purple and Leesa also offer hybrid options, which may be a better choice if you like a bit of bounce, sleep hot, or tend to sleep right up to the edge of the bed.

There are slight differences in the mattress thickness and in company policies regarding sleep trials, shipping, and warranty terms, but nothing significant enough to influence a purchasing decision unless you live in Alaska or Hawaii.

Brad Nehring

Senior Product Analyst

Side sleeper

215 lbs.

Sleeps with a weighted blanket

“Purple’s signature buckling column gel is definitely a unique material that you’ll either love or hate, but I personally really like the feel. As a side sleeper, I appreciate that it relieves pressure well and helps prevent heat buildup.”

Construction Breakdown

The Leesa and Purple mattresses both fall into the all-foam category, with similar builds and profiles.

Leesa Original Breakdown

The Leesa Mattress is a 10-inch all-foam mattress featuring three layers. Our testing team rated it medium, or 5 out of 10 on the firmness scale with 10 being the firmest. This firmness is on the soft side of average, so it’s usually best for side sleepers and people weighing up to 230 pounds.

In the comfort system there are 2 inches of polyfoam and 2 inches of memory foam, which supply moderate cushioning while still allowing you to change sleeping positions fairly easily. The mattress has a 6-inch support core made of high-density polyfoam, which is firmer to prevent excessive sinkage in weight-bearing areas. 

A polyester-viscose cover with a grey knit design provides a soft, breathable surface.

Purple Mattress Breakdown

While technically an all-foam mattress, the Purple uses the unique Purple Grid hyper-elastic polymer in the top layer that feels a little different compared with traditional mattress foams. The grid boosts airflow and is engineered to buckle under pressure in order to prevent pressure points from forming. This layer is 2 inches thick and encased in a stretchy polyester-spandex cover designed to adapt to the movements of the Purple grid.

Below the gel grid, a 3.5-inch layer of polyfoam provides further cradling, and a 4-inch layer of firmer polyfoam acts as the support core to promote even spinal alignment. Overall, our testers found the Purple Mattress had a medium firm (6) feel. 

The mattress stands at 9.25 inches tall, which is slightly below average.

Mattress Sizing and Weight

Leesa and Purple both offer their mattresses in the six standard mattress sizes. Purple also offers split king size, which is equivalent to two twin XL mattresses put together.

In terms of thickness the mattresses both have a relatively average build, with the Purple somewhat on the thinner side and the Leesa considered average at 10 inches tall. Despite its thinner build, the Purple is heavier and more difficult to move.

Performance Ratings

In terms of performance ratings the Purple and the Leesa are remarkably similar. They both perform well for motion isolation and pressure relief thanks to their foam support cores, although they have a tendency to buckle under pressure around their edges. 

One key difference between the mattresses makes it easier to choose between one or the other. The Purple is firmer, so it performs better for back sleepers, while the Leesa is a little softer and better suited to side sleepers. Neither bed is supportive enough for stomach sleepers, particularly those weighing 130 pounds or more.

It’s worth mentioning that both the Purple and the Leesa perform better than the average all-foam mattress when it comes to temperature control. The Purple Grid allows heat to flow away from the sleeper instead of building up in the foam, while Leesa features memory foam in the second layer to minimize the heat retention that often happens with this material.

Full Reviews: Other Leesa and Purple Models

Leesa Original

Overall Rating:

8.0 /10

Price Range:

$699 – $1,299

Mattress Type:

Foam

Firmness Options:

Medium (5)

Leesa Sapira Hybrid

Overall Rating:

8.9 /10

Price Range:

$1,349 – $2,299

Mattress Type:

Hybrid

Firmness Options:

Medium Firm (6)

Leesa Studio

Overall Rating:

7.7 /10

Price Range:

$411 – $749

Mattress Type:

Foam

Firmness Options:

Medium Firm (6)

Purple Mattress

Overall Rating:

8.3 /10

Price Range:

$799 – $1,798

Mattress Type:

Foam

Firmness Options:

Medium Firm (6)

Purple Restore Mattress

Overall Rating:

8.5 /10

Price Range:

$1,845 – $3,690

Mattress Type:

Hybrid

Firmness Options:

Firm (7)

Purple Rejuvenate Mattress

Overall Rating:

8.4 /10

Price Range:

$4,495 – $8,990

Mattress Type:

Hybrid

Firmness Options:

Medium (5)

Mattress Pricing

The Leesa Original is marginally more affordable than the Purple, with both mattresses priced on the higher end of average for an all-foam bed. Leesa’s warranty and shipping terms are slightly more favorable than Purple’s. Note that sleep trial policies may vary when purchased through a third-party provider.

What Customers Are Saying

Both Purple and Leesa have racked up thousands of positive reviews over the last decade. While there are also negative reviews, these are mostly due to personal preferences regarding firmness.

Reviewers have a love-hate relationship with the Purple Grid. Some people describe it as firm yet soft, like sleeping on a cloud. Others find it too hard and wake up with body aches. Luckily, the sleep trial should provide ample time for you to see which camp you fall in. Reviewers have confirmed that the mattress sleeps cool and still prevents movement from transferring across the like a traditional foam mattress. 

As for the Leesa, people are happy with the polyfoam-over-memory-foam build that cushions the body without feeling like quicksand. Couples are also happy with the motion isolation. A few people mention that the mattress sleeps hot and lacks edge support. And as with many foam mattresses, those who are sensitive to smell noticed some lingering off-gassing odors at first.

Both brands received a few complaints about longevity. This is to be expected, as all-foam beds tend to wear out faster than hybrid beds.

Purple will repair or replace a defective mattress, but the customer is responsible for shipping and inspection charges.

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