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  • What is Pluto Pillow?

  • What I like about Pluto Pillow

  • What I don’t like about Pluto Pillow

  • What other people are saying about Pluto Pillow

  • Is Pluto Pillow worth it?

  • Related content

  • What is Pluto Pillow?
  • What I like about Pluto Pillow
  • What I don’t like about Pluto Pillow
  • What other people are saying about Pluto Pillow
  • Is Pluto Pillow worth it?
  • Related content

Pros

  • Decent size

  • No off-gassing

Cons

  • Didn't feel personal

  • Too soft

Unfortunately, Pluto Pillow’s so-called customizable pillow did not feel tailored to my needs.

What is Pluto Pillow?

Pluto Pillow is a California-based pillow manufacturer that designs custom-built foam pillows. The brand launched in 2018 and appeared on Shark Tank in 2021. A standard pillow costs $110, which is typical for higher-end pillows from the likes of Brooklinen and Casper.

In order to purchase a Pluto Pillow, you need to fill out a survey about your preferences on its website. The company then creates a pillow based on your answers and ships it to you. The survey requested my age, weight, height, the sleep position I fall asleep in (on my stomach), and the position I wake up in (on my back). I also described my current pillow and reported how much I like it and whether it is too soft or too firm. I wrote I’m generally hot at night and prefer a supportive pillow to a squishy one. The company claims this information is run through an algorithm that then designs a perfect pillow for you from 35 potential variations.

What I like about Pluto Pillow

A Pluto Pillow.
Credit: Reviewed / Betsey Goldwasser

It was thick and never smushed!

It’s a good size

I found the Pluto Pillow I received to be the right thickness for me. It isn’t too lofty for comfortable stomach and back sleeping or so flat that it throws my head out of alignment if I turn on my side. It provides me with good support no matter which sleep position I choose.

It doesn’t have an off-gassing period

Many foam pillows and mattresses arrive smushed in a small container. When the packages are opened, the pillows and mattresses inflate and release volatile organic compounds (VOCs) as byproducts of the manufacturing process. This off-gassing causes the products to smell for a day or two. One foam pillow I tested, the Sutera Dream Deep pillow, gave me a poor initial impression because it smelled for several days.

Pluto Pillow arrived fully inflated and nestled in a large box. This meant the pillow smelled fresh and clean from day one.

What I don’t like about Pluto Pillow

A woman sleeping with a Pluto Pillow.
Credit: Reviewed / Betsey Goldwasser

Did it really cater to my needs?

It's too soft

I strongly prefer firm pillows to soft ones. This is largely because I fall asleep on my stomach, and I feel like my face is being smothered when my pillow is too squishy. When I filled out Pluto Pillow’s survey, I wrote that my current pillow was soft and said I didn’t like it. I also said I preferred a supportive pillow over a soft one. I was hoping my Pluto Pillow would be firm.

Instead, the pillow I received is what I’d describe as medium-firm, arguably even soft, compared to other pillows I’ve tried. When I removed the pillow’s cover, which has a little extra support and bulk, I discovered an extremely squishy foam core inside. This softness signals to me that the pillow was not custom-tailored for my preferences. I had to sleep with my mouth off the side of the pillow because the texture is too soft to accommodate my face at its center.

It’s not noticeably cool

While taking Pluto Pillow’s survey, I wrote that I tend to sleep hot. The pillow they sent me was no more or less cool than my normal pillow or any other common pillow I’ve used before. A company spokesperson says my pillow’s cover contained polyethylene, a type of plastic that is supposed to be cooling. That may be true, but I wasn’t impressed.

Ordering requires sharing personal data

An unfortunate amount of my personal information is already out there on the internet, but I still don’t like forking over more of my details to random companies. I understand why Pluto Pillow asked for my age, height, and weight as these factors may impact sleep, but I wasn’t thrilled to share them. (Pluto says it doesn’t sell data and customers can ask to have their information removed from its system.)

It’s nothing special

With most products I test, I have a good sense of how I feel on night one. For several nights, I wasn’t sure what to write about Pluto Pillow because nothing really stood out to me. It’s more comfortable than my super-soft, super-cheap home pillow that has caused me active annoyance in the night. It’s less comfortable than other pillows I’ve used like the Brooklinen Marlow pillow and Casper Foam Pillow, both of which lulled me off with a deep sense of happiness and comfort. In the end, I realized I think it’s fine, but nothing to get excited about. That’s not a great feeling if you’re paying a premium for a higher-end pillow that promises to be tailored to your needs.

I had my fiancé give the Pluto Pillow a whirl, too. When I was testing the Brooklinen Marlow pillow, he liked it so much he kept trying to steal it from me at night. He said Pluto Pillow was “eh” and made no effort to take it to his side of the bed.

What other people are saying about Pluto Pillow

Pluto pillow has 4.8 stars out of 5 from 1,638 customers on the company’s website. Fans rave about the comfort and support it provides.

“This is the best pillow I’ve found since my childhood pillows at my mom's house,” says one customer. “Most pillows nowadays are…too puffy and not comfy. Whatever they did when they made this for me…it’s perfect.”

People on Reddit appear to have mixed thoughts on Pluto Pillow. One person posted that the pillow is great, while another commented it “looks like every other pillow you can buy at Costco.”

Is Pluto Pillow worth it?

No, it doesn’t really feel personalized

I was really excited to try Pluto Pillow, and I really wanted to love it. The idea of a custom-designed pillow is enticing, but it failed to deliver. It doesn’t feel like it’s tailored for me at all. The first thing I look for in a pillow is firmness, and Pluto Pillow was too soft. It also wasn’t particularly cooling. I don’t know if my desires just didn’t come through clearly enough in my survey, or if the “algorithm” just disregarded my personal preferences and made a pillow based on the details I gave about my sleep positions and body size. Either way, I wouldn’t buy this pillow for myself. I don’t think it is worth paying over $100. On the plus side, the company does offer a 110-day window for returns if you want to try it.

My personal favorite pillow I’ve tested is the Casper Foam Pillow, which at $89 is cheaper than Pluto Pillow. I also loved the $65 Brooklinen Marlow Pillow. If I decide a fancy pillow is in my budget, I will consider those options over Pluto.

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Meet the tester

Sara Tabin

Sara Tabin

Sleep Writer

Sara Tabin is a sleep writer at Reviewed.

See all of Sara Tabin's reviews

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