Tempur-Pedic is one of the most recognizable brands in the bedding world, but does that mean they are the best? I wanted to look into some of these claims and see how they held up against some of the competitors.
Why?
There is a lot of talk around who makes the best contoured orthopedic pillow, and Tempur-Pedic and Dosaze are both in the running for the most popular. Before I settled on something that I was going to sleep on for the next few years, I wanted to do some serious research and learn what I could about both of them. Then, I went ahead and compared them to help anyone else who struggles with neck pain, headaches, and migraines, just like me.
I read hundreds of reviews of both pillows, ordered multiple units of each, and spent 3 months sleeping on them. Here’s what I discovered.
The Short Answer
If you want a short answer, the winner after months of testing was the Dosaze Contoured Orthopedic Pillow. I liked how, overall, it offered more value for what I got and was better for various sleeping positions (back, side, and stomach).
Ultimately, the decision was made due to a few important factors:
- Functionality (reducing neck pain, etc.)
- Price
- Customer service
- Value
- Materials
Here’s an in-depth review of how they stacked up against one another in each category.
Functionality/Effectiveness – Clear Winner, Dosaze
Tempur Pedic and Dosaze make similar claims, but after I tested them, I found that I prefer the Dosaze pillow, especially when it comes to relieving neck pain and tension headaches. There are actually slight differences in the shapes of the pillow, and I thought that the orthopedic contour of the Dosaze pillow was more pronounced in a way that actually helped my pain.
I simply found that Dosaze did a better job at reducing our neck pain – it really works well. Here’s what we like about it:
- Innovative Shape – the innovative contour of this pillow is amazing. It does wonders to align your neck and back and keeps your neck in place throughout the night. This reduces neck pain, tension headaches, and even alleviates snoring and sleep apnea (because your airways won’t get blocked). Other pillows have tried to copy this shape, but I found this one to be the best, by far.
- Actually works for all sleepers – the shape of this pillow is ideal for two reasons: (1) it aligns your head and neck and keeps it in place, and (2) if you are a combination sleeper, it lets you alternate between positions easily.
If you only sleep on your back, the Tempur-Pedic is fine, but in my experience, most people don’t exclusively sleep that way the whole night.
Price – Slight Winner, Dosaze
When it comes to price, Dosaze is outright cheaper, but only by a few dollars. Outside of any sales, Dosaze is usually around the $120 range, while the large Tempur-Pedic is usually $159. If you go all the way down to a small Tempur-Pedic, you can get the price to be identical to the Dosaze, but the pillow is genuinely small. In fact, I would say that it’s small enough not to be worth it, as your head will likely slip off during the night.
Truth be told, you can probably find a deal for either that will bring the price down to be comparable at any given time, which is why I say Dosaze only gets the slight edge.
Customer Service – Slight Winner, Dosaze
While it’s impossible to please every customer, Dosaze goes out of its way to make everyone who purchases a pillow happy. You can see in the review on the site that customers really appreciate Dosaze’s customer service:
Tempur-Pedic has some great reviews, but they also have some glaring issues. In fact, around 25% of the reviews are 1 or 2 stars, at least as it is presented on their website.
Most of the reviews say some of the issues that I ran into are that it’s small, extremely hard, and not particularly comfortable.
On top of that, they don’t accept returns unless the product is damaged. If you are interested in trying it out, you are just our of luck. Dosaze allows free returns for 60 days as part of a risk-free trial, which I particularly liked. In this day and age, not offering returns feels almost criminal!
Materials – Tie
Both the Tempur-Pedic and Dosaze have a high-quality memory foam and a cover that goes over it. Honestly, both brands are known for quality, and the materials they use show it.
Dosaze claims that if you were to make a mattress with the memory foam used for their pillows, it would cost $4,000, so that should say something (I can’t find a similar stat for Tempur-Pedic).
There is going to be a preference on which type of foam you prefer, with most saying that Tempur-Pedic is harder and less giving (read, extremely rigid and supportive), while Dosaze is a little softer and more comfort-oriented, but that is a bit subjective.
Value – Clear Winner, Dosaze
Since the Tempur-Pedic is so small and doesn’t have as many of the features that the Dosaze does, I felt like I had to overall give the Value category to the Dosaze Contoured Orthopedic Pillow. Also the Dosaze pillow also comes with much a better risk-free trial, so the cost isn’t even a risk if you aren’t in love with it. You can have confidence that you’ll have more than enough time to tell if the pillow is the right one for you or not.
Overall Winner: Dosaze Contoured Orthopedic Pillow
Truth be told, I was a little shocked with the final result. Tempur-Pedic is a major brand that has been around for decades. Unfortunately, they just didn’t provide me with the things I am looking for in a pillow, and where they did, it was just overall not the best experience.
I think that the biggest elements where Tempur-Pedic lost points was with their poor customer service (and return policy) and with the actual shape and foam of the pillow itself. It just didn’t feel like I was really getting anything innovative for the price. I don’t mind spending money on a pillow (I view it as an investment into my sleep), but I do want it to be perfect.
At the end of the day, I would recommend the Dosaze Contoured Orthopedic Pillow to most people, most of the time!
