Interested in how the Nectar mattress and the Purple Original mattress compare?
You've come to the right place!
Nectar is a budget memory foam mattress that is best known for their industry-leading 1-year trial period and their forever warranty.
Purple is an innovative mattress that uses a unique polymer material to deliver a sleeping experience that’s ‘just right’ for everyone.
Both are incredibly popular, deliver a comfortable sleeping experience and cost far less than comparable store-bought mattresses.
That said, these two mattresses have a very different feel thanks to their starkly different designs. One is a memory foam mattress, and the other uses a special material that is neither memory nor latex foam.
So how, exactly, do Nectar and Purple differ?
Let's find out.
What’s In This Comparison?
This page is a 10-minute comparison of the Nectar mattress vs. Purple's Original mattress. Use this table of contents to jump to specific feature comparisons.
If you want to learn more about each mattress, see my in-depth review of Nectar and my review of Purple's Original mattress here.
If you think neither of these are for you but you like this price range, then Leesa is another great choice.
Nectar vs. Purple Mattress: Summary
If you are in a hurry, here's a quick comparison of Nectar vs. Purple.
Price: Nectar mattress is cheaper than the original Purple, the Purple Hybrid and the Purple Hybrid Premier mattresses.
Feel: Nectar is softer and closely hugs your body, especially around your hips, shoulders, and other pressure points. On the other hand, the Purple mattress has a firmer, more responsive feel thanks to the Hyper-Elastic Polymer.
Cooling: The Purple mattress has better airflow than Nectar, thus sleeps cooler.
Warranty and trial: The Nectar mattress comes with a 365-night in-home trial and a lifetime warranty. The Purple mattress has a standard 100-night trial and 10-year warranty.
Nectar vs. Purple Original: Which Mattress Should You Buy?
We think the Nectar is the best mattress choice if you sleep on your side and/or prefer a softer memory foam feel. The Purple Original is the better choice if you are heavier, prefer a firmer mattress or sleep on your back or stomach.
When it comes to price, the Nectar is less expensive than the Purple Original, but Purple offers a unique body-adaptable feel that is worth the extra price, in our opinion.
Keep reading to learn more about these differences.
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I rated Nectar a 4.6 out of 5.0.
Buy the Nectar if:
- You sleep on your side
- You prefer a softer memory foam feel
- You share your bed with a fidgety partner
I rated Purple a 4.7 out of 5.0.
Buy the Purple if:
- You move around at night
- You are open to their unique firm+soft feel (that we love)
- You don’t mind spending more
How Do Nectar and Purple Compare?
Similarities
As I mentioned, these are highly popular mattresses in the same affordable price range.
Looking at customer reviews and from my own experience reviewing them, both of these mattresses are very comfortable and offer good back support.
That said, you only get one comfort choice with both – medium firm.
So if you need extra-firm or extra-soft mattress, consider other mattresses that offer more comfort options – good choices include Helix, Nest Alexander Hybrid and Amerisleep.
And… that's where their similarities end.
In other all other areas – construction, sleeping experience, feel, trial period and warranty – these two mattresses differ quite a bit.
Key Differences
One of the biggest differences between Nectar and Purple is how they are constructed, which then plays into how they feel.
Nectar is a fairly basic memory foam mattress consisting of 4 layers of foam.
As a result, Nectar has that classic plush memory foam feel. So even though it’s a medium firm mattress, it falls on the softer end of the scale – around 5-6/10 with ten being very firm.
Purple, on the other hand, uses a special material in its top layer called Hyper-Elastic Polymer that is molded into a pattern of open-square grids.
On your back, the material feels a bit like latex in terms of firmness and responsiveness.
But the way it functions is quite different. Just take a look at it and you can understand why:
The Purple mattress is also technically medium firm but falls on the firmer end, around 6-7/10.
The two mattresses also differ in terms of trial period and warranty.
Nectar is famous for their industry-first 365-night trial period and lifetime warranty.
Purple sticks to the more standard 100-night trial and a 10-year warranty.
Price
Here are the latest list prices for both mattresses:
| Size | Purple | Nectar |
| Twin | $799 | $349 |
| Twin XL | $999 | $549 |
| Full | $1199 | $599 |
| Queen | $1,399 | $649 |
| King | $1,799 | $849 |
| CA King | $1,799 | $849 |
While both mattresses are quite affordable, you’ll notice that Nectar is significantly cheaper than Purple.
It’s a good choice if your budget is a bit tight.
You can also take advantage of financing options to break up your purchase into smaller payments. Both companies provide financing via Affirm.
Coupons & Discounts
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Specifications
Nectar | Purple |
|
|---|---|---|
| Rating | 4.6 | 4.7 |
| Price w/ discount | $349 - $849 | $699-$1,898 |
| Comfort Choices | Med. Firm | Med. Firm |
| Construction | Gel-infused memory foam | Hyper-Elastic Polymer |
| Heat Transfer | Excellent | Excellent |
| Motion Transfer | Low | Low |
| Sinkage | Moderate | Moderate |
| Off-Gassing? | Yes | Yes |
| Trial Period | 365 nights | 100 nights |
| Warranty | Lifetime | 10 years |
| Eco-friendliness | CertiPUR-US foam | CertiPUR-US foam |
| Delivery | 3-5 days | 7-14 days |
| Customer Service | Good | Excellent |
Mattress Construction
Nectar Mattress Construction
Nectar is a memory foam mattress with four foam layers.
3 of those layers are memory foam while the final layer is poly foam, which is the standard material used in the base layer of most mattresses.
Nectar goes to great lengths to ensure that the memory foam, which is known for heat retention, doesn’t cause heating issues.
They’ve used an ultra-breathable quilted Tencel cover that dissipates heat away from the mattress and wicks moisture.
The first two layers of memory foam are infused with cooling gel, which conducts excess body heat out of the mattress.
So even though this is a memory foam mattress, you don’t have to worry about sleeping hot. I personally didn’t experience any heating when I tested the mattress. Most customers also say they sleep cool.
The top memory foam layers also form the main comfort section of the mattress, providing contouring and pressure relief regardless of your sleeping position.
The third firmer memory foam layer is crucial for support and responsiveness. In other words, it keeps you from getting bogged in the mattress.
The base poly foam layer provides overall support and ensures the mattress lasts long.
Purple Original Mattress Construction
Purple’s original mattress is one of the most unique in the industry.
They use a special material and design that they have carried over into their new, higher-end Purple 2-3-4 mattress.
In the topmost comfort layer, Purple uses a proprietary material they call Hyper-Elastic Polymer. This is a stretchy but resilient grid-shaped material with excellent pressure relief and cooling.
Purple calls it a Smart Comfort Grid.
When you lie on the mattress, you sleep directly on top of the open cells of the grid. The individual walls of the grids can either collapse or stay upright depending on the amount of pressure your body places on them.
So, on areas like your hips and butt where you exert more pressure on the mattress, they collapse and mold around your body. This provides pressure relief and a bit of a hug.
In areas like the back/stomach and legs where there is less pressure, the grid walls stay upright and support your body.
The brilliance of this design is that the mattress responds exactly the way you need it to, on each part of your body.
If you are a stomach sleeper, then you will sort of float on top of the grids with plenty of support for your stomach and chest. This keeps your back properly aligned.
If you are a side sleeper, the grids collapse a bit more so the mattress contours around your hips and shoulders to prevent any uncomfortable pressure points.
Underneath the Comfort Grid is two layers of poly foam that provide extra support plus a soft and stretchy cover that keeps the surface of the mattress cool and fresh.
Comfort and Firmness
Nectar
Nectar has that deep hug you get from most memory foam mattresses. This makes it really good for pressure relief and contouring.
You’ll find it very comfortable if you sleep on your side or like to stay in one position at night.
Being memory foam, it responds slowly. It doesn’t have that springy bounce you get from latex or innerspring mattress.
This is good because it reduces motion transfer, a big plus for couples.
But some people, especially those moving from an innerspring mattress, may not like it very much.
I wouldn’t recommend it if you are looking for the best mattress for sex. Purple is a better choice for that.
Despite the plush feel of the memory foam, it still provides enough support for back and stomach sleepers. You won’t sink too deep into the mattress thanks to the firmer memory foam and poly foam layers underneath.
The combination of the soft comfort section and firmer support section results in an ideal medium-firm comfort range – the sweet spot for 80% of sleepers.
Purple
Purple is noticeably firmer than Nectar. This is because of the latex-like Hyper-Elastic Polymer material in the top layer.
The hug is not as pronounced, but you still get great contouring thanks to the Smart Comfort Grid system. It provides support and pressure relief exactly where you need them most.
The Purple mattress is within the medium firm range so it should feel comfortable for most sleepers regardless of sleeping position. But it is especially ideal for back, stomach and heavier sleepers.
Sleeping Experience
Nectar
Nectar delivers a classic memory foam experience: plush, soft and incredibly comfortable.
I love how this mattress molds itself around my pressure points when I sleep on my side, ensuring that no part of my body felt unsupported.
If you love settling into a mattress, then you’ll love Nectar. It's perfect for side sleepers.
In terms of cooling, I have to say that the Nectar is not quite as good as Purple, but it does a great job considering it is a memory foam mattress. You’ll probably only feel slightly warm if you are extra-sensitive to heat.
There’s virtually no motion transfer in the Nectar either, and overall support is great.
The only thing missing is some bounciness. But that’s to be expected from a memory foam mattress.
Purple
Purple feels a bit firm when you first start lying on it, but it then it quickly transitions into a unique soft + firm feel.
By which I mean: it simultaneously feels slightly softer in areas where your body is heaviest (your butt, hips, back) while firmer on the rest of your body.
This is because of the Smart Comfort Grid.
The Purple is a great choice for couples with different firmness preferences. For Eric and I, this mattress met both of our needs without having to spend more on a custom or split mattress.
The only thing I found lacking is the plush feel of memory foam. Instead, it feels firmer and springier than the Nectar.
The downside of being more responsive is that the Purple mattress does transfer a bit more motion than Nectar.
But the polymer grids do a good job of dampening most of that disturbance. So couples will still find it comfortable to share the mattress.
Cooling is not a problem at all. The cover is breathable, and the polymer layer doesn’t retain heat like memory foam.
Support is excellent, too.
Body contouring is not as deep as that of Nectar, but it’s good enough for most people especially back and stomach sleepers.
Warranty and Returns
Nectar
Nectar is widely known for having one of the most generous return and warranty policies in the industry.
They give their customers a whole year to test the mattress at home.
If you don’t like it, then just give them a call and they will pick it up for free.
The warranty is even more generous: it lasts a lifetime.
That’s right. Nectar guarantees to cover your new mattress for as long as you own it… without any proration. You never have to pay anything when making a claim.
To be honest, a lifetime warranty is a surprise considering that this is a budget mattress (the standard warranty at this price range is ten years) and a memory foam mattress (memory foam mattresses typically last 8-10 years).
Nectar uses high-quality foams and a strong base that probably lengthen the mattress’ lifespan.
Of course, no mattress will last forever.
Purple
Purple has a more industry-standard return period.
Customers get 100 nights to try their Purple Original mattress at home.
After you sleep on the mattress for at least 30 nights, you can make a free no-hassles return.
Their 10-year warranty is also pretty standard.
Shipping and Delivery
Nectar
Nectar offers free shipping Via FedEx to all states in the contiguous United States. If you are buying from Alaska or Hawaii, you’ll have to pay extra for freight.
They offer standard curbside delivery, but you can pay extra for white glove delivery and mattress removal.
Purple
Purple also charges extra for shipping to Hawaii and Alaska, but delivery to the contiguous US is completely free.
Unlike Nectar, they don’t offer white glove delivery. The mattress will be delivered curbside, and then it’ll be up to you to get it inside and set it up.
Foundation and Frame
Nectar
You can use any sturdy frame or foundation to support the mattress. You can also use it on an adjustable frame.
Nectar does not recommend placing the mattress on the floor or a plastic base.
Purple
Use the Purple mattress on a flat solid surface like a platform, foundation or box spring.
If you use a box spring, Purple advice placing a sheet of plywood between the box spring and the mattress to improve support.
Care and Cleaning
Nectar
The Nectar mattress cover is removable but not washable. Nectar recommends spot cleaning it with a mild detergent. Do not dunk it in water or dry clean it.
Flipping or rotating the mattress is not necessary.
But if you have a significant weight difference with your partner, I recommend rotating the mattress every few months to even out the wearing.
Purple
The Purple mattress cover is also removable but not washable. Do not put it in the washer. Instead, you should spot clean any stains with a mild detergent and then air it out to dry.
You don’t have to rotate or flip the mattress.
More Nectar Mattress Comparisons:
More Purple Mattress Comparisons:
- Leesa vs Casper vs Purple vs Ghostbed
- Helix vs Purple
- Loom and Leaf vs Purple
- Leesa vs Purple
- Ghostbed vs Purple
- Purple vs Casper
- Purple vs Puffy
- Purple vs Tuft & Needle
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