Purple vs. Helix Mattress Comparison

Overall Rating

8.1

Purple Mattress

Bottom Line

The Purple Mattress features a foam grid comfort layer that cushions your body and alleviates pressure without trapping heat.

Check Price

$1,399 from Purple (queen)

Full Mattress Review

VS

Overall Rating

9.1

Helix Midnight

Bottom Line

The budget-friendly Helix Midnight is specifically designed to cushion and support side sleepers.

Check Price

27% off sitewide + 2 free Dream Pillows with a mattress purchase. Code: SF27

Full Mattress Review

Purple and Helix are two brands at the top of the online mattress game. They’ve expanded their product lineups over the last few years to include bedding, foundations, and mattresses aimed at all sleeper types. 

Helix is known for a wide selection of mattresses designed for specific sleeper types, and an online quiz that connects you with the model best suited to your weight and sleeping position. Purple’s claim to fame is its Purple Grid system, a hyper-elastic foam that’s designed to sleep cooler and feel more buoyant than traditional mattress foams. 

Our comparison looks at the Purple Mattress, which is the brand’s flagship model, and the Helix Midnight, a hybrid mattress made for side sleepers. They’re both medium firm (6) mattresses that aim to do many of the same things: sleep cool, relieve pressure, and prevent back pain. We’ll take a look at how well these two beds achieved their goals. 

We’ll also give detailed information about how they fared during hands-on tests in our Seattle Test Lab. You’ll find out which bed works best for your sleeping position, along with pros and cons of both models. Our comparison also includes reviews from real-life customers who own these mattresses, as well as details on costs and company policies.

Our Testing Team’s Take

Over nearly a decade, we’ve evaluated close to 2,000 mattresses. Our team tests each mattress personally to see how it feels for their sleeping position and body type. These testers represent a wide range of weight and sleep position groups, allowing us to predict who is a good fit for a particular mattress. 

We also put every bed through the same tests, measuring how effectively they regulate temperature, how well they alleviate pressure points, and whether or not they have strong edge support, among other factors. Together with our testers’ scores, we use this data to decide which are the best mattresses available today.

Our Verdict

With excellent pressure relief, innovative design details, and comparable price-points, the Purple Mattress and the Helix Midnight Mattress are top-notch choices for back or side sleepers seeking a medium firm (6) mattress. They both sleep pretty cool as well. The Helix’s hybrid construction has more airflow than the Purple, but the Purple Grid does its job effectively and the mattress sleeps cooler than many other foam beds.

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.”

Neither of these beds is a great option if you’re a back sleeper over 230 pounds or a stomach sleeper of any weight. Their adaptive foam comfort systems compress easily, which is great for side sleepers who get pain under their hips, but it’s not as ideal for stomach sleepers who need stronger structure. 

The Helix Midnight is more affordable than the Purple Mattress, but they’re in the same ballpark and carry almost identical company policies. Choosing between them will largely come down to the performance factors that are most important to you and whether you prefer the feel of a foam or hybrid mattress.

Jackson Lindeke

Executive Product Director

Side sleeper

180 lbs.

Showers before bed

“What Helix gets so spot on is in their understanding that comfort is not universal, mattress firmness is personal. Outside of being tailored to your preferences and needs, I think the Helix beds are really well-rounded – they do so many things well from a quality support system, pressure relieving comfort layers that also don’t lead to heat buildup.”

Construction and Materials

The Helix Midnight is a hybrid while the Purple mattress is all-foam. The table below illustrates how their designs differ.

Purple Mattress Breakdown

The Purple Mattress has a simple but innovative construction with a medium firm (6) feel. The 2-inch comfort layer is made from the company’s most famous feature, the Purple GelFlex Grid. It’s a foam made from hyper-elastic polymer that’s poured into a grid-shaped mold during manufacturing. The grid promotes free-flowing air and compressive pressure relief. There’s traditional foam around the grid’s perimeter to increase edge support.

The transitional layer is 3.25 inches of polyfoam that deepens pressure relief while acting as a buffer between the layers above and below. The support core is made from high-density polyfoam meant to anchor the layers above. The cover is a viscose, polyester, and Lycra spandex blend that’s stretchy and compatible with the grid system below. The Purple Mattress is 9.25 inches tall.

Helix Midnight Breakdown

Though the Helix Midnight is also medium firm (6), it uses different materials and construction methods to achieve its feel. It’s a hybrid mattress with a mixed foam comfort system. The top layer is memory foam that’s included for maximum pressure relief. Underneath, there’s a thinner polyfoam layer intended to feel both responsive and adaptive. The transitional layer is a dense polyfoam.

The support core features hundreds of pocketed coils that are encased separately from one another, allowing them to move independently and help prevent motion from transferring across the bed. The perimeter is reinforced with thicker coils to bolster support along the edges. A base layer of dense polyfoam provides added stability. 

The standard cover is polyester, though you can upgrade to Helix’s cooling GlacioTex Pillow-Top for an added charge. In total, the Helix Midnight is 12 inches tall.

Mattress Sizing and Weight

The Helix Midnight is roughly 3 inches taller than the Purple Mattress and it weighs around 10 pounds less. You can use standard fitted sheets for either mattress, so a deep-pocket sheet isn’t needed. As these beds are quite heavy and don’t include free White Glove delivery, make sure you have help when setting up or moving your mattress.

The Purple Mattress and Helix Midnight come in a similar size range that includes twin, twin XL, full, queen, king, and California King. The Purple is also available as a split king, and the Helix Midnight comes in short queen and RV king. These mattress-in-a-box models ship compressed.

Performance Ratings

The Purple Mattress and Helix Midnight Mattress have different designs, so they come with their own unique pros and cons. The Midnight’s pocketed coils lend strong edge support and responsiveness that makes it easier to move around on than the Purple. 

Both beds have foam comfort systems that isolate motion well, though the Purple takes a slight edge because the Midnight’s coils can create a light bounce in response to movement. The foam layers also ensure exceptional pressure relief for both beds, so if you experience joint pain or sore spots beneath your lower back or hips, either mattress would be a good choice. 

The Midnight’s hybrid construction offers plenty of airflow, so this is a solid choice if you’re looking for a cooling mattress. The Purple doesn’t regulate temperature as well, but the Grid allows it to sleep cooler than the average memory foam mattress. 

Medium firm is a solid, middle-of-the-road firmness level that works well for many back and side sleepers. Back and side sleepers on our team who weigh 130 to 230 pounds appreciated how well the Purple Mattress supported their spines. The Helix Midnight was a hit for all our side sleepers, which isn’t surprising considering that’s who it’s designed for. Stomach sleepers found these two beds lack the structure they need to stay elevated and supported while sleeping.

Full Reviews: Other Purple and Helix Models

Purple Mattress

Overall Rating:

8.1 /10

Price Range:

$799 – $1,798

Mattress Type:

Foam

Firmness Options:

Medium Firm (6)

Purple Rejuvenate Mattress

Overall Rating:

8.4 /10

Price Range:

$4,495 – $8,990

Mattress Type:

Hybrid

Firmness Options:

Medium (5)

Purple Restore Mattress

Overall Rating:

8.5 /10

Price Range:

$1,845 – $3,690

Mattress Type:

Hybrid

Firmness Options:

Firm (7)

Helix Midnight

Overall Rating:

9.1 /10

Price Range:

$749 – $1,399

Mattress Type:

Hybrid

Firmness Options:

Medium Firm (6)

Helix Midnight Luxe

Overall Rating:

9.7 /10

Price Range:

$1,099 – $2,299

Mattress Type:

Hybrid

Firmness Options:

Medium Firm (6)

Helix Dusk Elite

Overall Rating:

8.5 /10

Price Range:

$1,874 – $3,374

Mattress Type:

Hybrid

Firmness Options:

Medium Firm (6)

Mattress Pricing

The Helix Midnight is a hybrid mattress, while the Purple is all-foam. Hybrids tend to cost more than foam mattresses because they’re more time-intensive to manufacture and they have multiple material types. In this case, the Helix Midnight costs less than the Purple, though both often go on sale. 

You can expect to pay between $1,000 and $3,000 for an average hybrid mattress and $700 to $1,200 for all-foam. The Midnight is at the lower end of the hybrid range, while the Purple is at the higher end of the all-foam range. Helix and Purple offer the same mid-length sleep trial, a 10-year warranty, and free ground shipping for shoppers in the contiguous U.S.

What Customers Are Saying

People who experience pressure point pain on other mattresses really enjoy how well the Purple Mattress cushions their bodies. Those with back pain also say that its even weight distribution helps take pressure off their lower backs and hips. Reviewers say that its unconventional surface takes some getting used to but that its “floaty” bouncy feel is comfortable once you’ve settled in. Some customers think that it’s priced too high.

Helix Midnight owners like how well the foam adapts to their body and say its cushioning is excellent. Couples report that it offers effective motion isolation, so when one partner moves, the other doesn’t feel it. Customers like its affordable price-point, but a few reviewers noted that the foam softens up over time. 

When it’s time to choose a mattress, think about what you need to best support your body weight and sleeping position.

d warranty against defects including visible indentations of at least 1 inch. Mattress covers have their own 2-year warranty. Customers are responsible for return shipping costs.

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