Today we are going to be conducting an in-depth comparison between two titans of the mattress world, the Purple mattress and the Ghostbed. Both brands pride themselves on creating premium quality products at a reasonably affordable price. They’re direct competitors trying to outdo each other at each and every turn.
It’s going to be very tough to pick a winner as both products are well designed, well made, and receive critical and anecdotal acclaim wherever they are mentioned. One is cheaper than the other, but does mean its better value?
Let’s find out in our Purple vs Ghostbed comparison review.
Disclaimer: We’re going to be completely impartial in this review (as always). Neither Purple or Ghostbed are compensating us to write positively about their product.
Similarities
- Hybrid Products – Both mattresses make use of several layers of different material in their design.
- Cover – The cover of both products is made from a combination of viscose and polyester
- Cooling – Both products are exceptionally good thermal regulators and provide a cool sleeping surface.
Differences
- Memory Foam – The Ghostbed uses traditional memory foam whereas the Purple mattress uses hyperelastic polymer
- Construction Methods – The Ghostbed uses a solid slab for each of its layers, the Purple mattress uses a ventilated grid-like pattern
- Price – The Purple mattress is more expensive than the Ghostbed. This is more noticeable at larger mattresses sizes.
Construction Comparison
We’re going to start with the most detailed (and most important) section of this entire article – the construction comparison. There are a few similarities between the two products, but there are significant (and game-changing) differences too.
Ghostbed Construction
Like the vast majority of modern mattresses on the market, the Ghostbed takes a hybrid approach to mattress design. In a nutshell, this means that several different layers of different materials are combined to create a product that contains all of their different strengths. It’s a tried and tested method that can be used to great effect when executed correctly.
The top layer of the Ghostbed is a 1.5-inch thick layer of aerated latex foam. Latex foam is a non-toxic natural product that contains reasonably similar contouring properties to memory foam. It’s not quite as supportive as memory foam and it won’t mold to your body shape as much – but it’s certainly similar.
The benefit of having a latex top layer is that it does not suffer from the overheating issues that are regularly found with memory foam products. Normal latex is naturally good at dissipating heat and as such it is an excellent thermal regulator – but this isn’t normal latex.
The Ghostbed utilizes an advanced processed form of latex known as aerated latex. We won’t bore you with the technical details, but essentially the latex is made in a way that allows for additional ventilation throughout the layer. The end result is a super cool (and super comfortable) sleeping surface.
The next layer down is a 2-inch thick slab of gel infused memory foam. This provides the contouring supportive properties the Ghostbed is known for.
If this layer was normal memory foam the Ghostbed would sleep hotter than it does, but the gel infusion removes this issue. The way cooling gel works is quite simple and it’s added to the mix when the foam is being made. The gel doesn’t actually cool anything down – it just evenly distributes the heat evenly throughout the surface of the mattress. This removes hotspots under the sleeper and results in an excellent night’s sleep.
The final layer is the thickest (and most boring) layer of the entire mattress. It’s a 7.5-inch thick block of reasonably standard high quality, high-density foam. It’s a perfectly fine base layer but in all honesty, there’s not much else to say about it.
The entire mattress is then covered in a super soft, super plush cover made from a blend of viscose and polyester. It’s breathable, it’s CentiPUR certified, and it adds a little bit more luxury to the product.
Purple Construction
While the Ghostbed above is a well made, high-quality product – the design and construction of the mattress is reasonably uninspiring. There are many other products on the market (of a higher and lower quality) that utilize a similar multilayer design pattern.
On the other hand, the construction of Purple mattress is groundbreaking. It’s what has made the product surge in popularity in the last year or so (although it has been helped along by a mega-sized TV advertising campaign).
The Purple mattress has been designed from the ground up to be a “memory foam killer”, and if the company’s revenue is anything to go by – they’re succeeding.
Memory foam layers in mattresses are almost always found in single solid slabs of foam. The contouring supportive properties that they are known for are provided by the material itself – not its shape.
What the Purple mattress does differently is to create its main supportive layer in a grid-like pattern (known as the comfort grid). This grid is primarily responsible for the contouring properties of the product which are very similar to (or better than) memory foam.
So why all the fuss if it’s about as supportive as memory foam?
As awesome as memory foam is, it’s not without its issues. Because the Purple mattress is made from a completely different material (hyperelastic polymer) it does not suffer from them.
Overheating is the most obvious example. The grid-like pattern combined with the inherent thermal regulation properties of hyperelastic polymer means that the Purple mattress sleeps cooler than any memory foam product ever could.
Similarly, over time memory foam degrades, indentations appear in the mattress that never go away. Again, this is not a problem with the Purple mattress.
It’s more eco-friendly too. The way that memory foam is created is incredibly toxic and resource intensive. Large amounts of nasty chemicals are combined to create the admittedly desirable contouring properties of the material. While the hyperelastic polymer in the Purple mattress isn’t exactly organic – it’s a lot better than memory foam.
Underneath the super fancy hyperelastic polymer top layer is a 3.5-inch thick layer of comfort foam. Underneath that layer is another 3.5-inch thick layer of high-density support foam. Both of these sections are unremarkable, they’re simply high-quality foams that get the job done – but that’s about all there is to say.
The entire mattress is wrapped in a plush cover that’s easy on the eye thanks to its diamond shape pattern. It’s a brilliant white (which might be prone to stains) and made from a blend of polyester and viscose that’s not too different from what’s used in the Ghostbed. Its also been designed to be as thin as possible to allow for optimum airflow in and out of the mattress for cooling throughout the night.
Firmness Comparison
Despite being made from completely different materials, there’s actually not much difference between the firmness levels of the two products.
This is no happy accident, both products rate around 6.5 on the firmness scale which is considered to be medium-firm. This amount of firmness is considered to be the most popular (and therefore most profitable) level, which is why most of the big name brands aim to get their mattresses in this “sweet spot”.
The only slight difference between the firmness of the two products can be found when you first lie down on the mattress. The hyperelastic polymer of the Purple mattress instantly provides the same amount of firmness and support from the moment you get on it, but memory foam does not.
Memory foam takes a little bit of time (and body heat) to activate its contouring properties, while this is taking place the Ghostbed is a little firmer than the Purple.
Price Comparison
The Purple mattress is slightly more expensive than the Ghostbed in all sizes.
- For example, a twin XL Purple mattress costs $699 and a Ghostbed costs $600
- A queen Ghostbed costs just $695, but a Purple mattress of the same size costs $999
- The largest California king-sized mattresses cost $1,299 from Purple and $895 from ghostbed.
Which Bed Sleeps Cooler?
While many other aspects of this review are reasonably close, the Purple mattress is the clear winner here.
As we mentioned earlier the top layer of the Ghostbed is made from aerated latex, which is an excellent thermal regulator. Latex is naturally good at distributing heat evenly throughout its surface and as it’s aerated its got great ventilation too. The memory foam layer below is also pretty darn good at keeping cool (for memory foam) thanks to the cooling gel infusion to further allow for optimal heat distribution.
These two layers combined create a sleeping surface that is exceptionally cool throughout the night. We’d be shocked if we heard reports from people that the Ghostbed was too warm for them.
However, despite this, its still got nothing on the Purple mattress.
The ventilation the comfort grid design provides is in our opinion unbeatable by any solid foam product. This on its own is probably enough to make it cooler than most memory foam products. However, when you add on top of this the impressive thermal regulation properties of the hyperelastic polymer the mattress is made from – it’s a knockout combo.
Remember, the Purple mattress isn’t just cooler than the Ghostbed, it’s cooler than most products on the market.
Note: We just want to reiterate here, the Ghostbed is still an exceptionally cool mattress. It’s just that the Purple is a beast in the thermal regulation department.
Which Bed Would Be Best For A Side Sleeper?
Again we feel that the Purple mattress is the winner in this section.
The Ghostbed is an exceptionally supportive mattress that is much better than many other products on the market. The combination of latex and memory foam will support and contour to pressure points well – but it’s not as good as the Purple.
The comfort grid design pattern combined with the hyperelastic polymer has been specifically designed to adapt to pressure points provided by different sleeping positions. Side sleepers ideally want a straight spine throughout the night to reduce the chance of injury – and the Purple provides this immediately without any “warming up” time required.
Should I Buy A Purple Or Ghostbed Bed?
To be totally honest, this all depends on your budget.
There’s no doubt in our mind that the Purple mattress is a better product. It’s made from better materials, its got a super advanced design, and it’s much more durable than the Ghostbed.
That being said, it’s also more expensive.
The Ghostbed is an excellent mattress that we are sure will not disappoint anyone who decides to purchase one. The materials are high quality, the brand is reputable, and anecdotal reviews are almost exclusively positive.
At the end of the day, it depends on how much you’re willing to spend on your mattress.
For what it’s worth, we always like to recommend to our readers that they spend as much as they possibly can on their mattress. It’s almost certainly one of the soundest investments you can make in a household item.
You’re going to be spending at least 7 hours a day physically lying down on your mattress. There’s literally no other item in your home that you will use as much as you use your mattress. It’s worth scrimping and saving (and often financing) a better longer lasting mattress over a cheaper lower quality product.
If that on its own isn’t enough to convince you then you should also consider how long these products last for. You’re going to easily get 10 to 15 years of use out of a mattress before you need to think about replacing it – how many other things in your home can you say that about? On this kind of timeline, what’s an extra few hundred dollars upfront?
That being said, the Ghostbed isn’t a low-quality product by anyone’s standards. If you do decide to go for it you’ll get an excellent night’s sleep…
But the Purple mattress is definitely better.
Conclusion
So there you have it, that’s what we think about the Purple mattress and the Ghostbed.
Whichever product you choose you’re going to be in for a treat, they’re both high-quality well-designed products.
If you can afford the Purple mattress then we highly recommend you purchase it.
If not, get the Ghostbed.
