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Our home experts researched over 35 best comforters before selecting 12 to test side-by-side. We dozed beneath the most comfortable options on the market to help you find a cozy night's sleep. After buying each product at full retail price, we set to work testing them. We slumbered beneath them for months, stuffed them in washers, stored them in drawers, and evaluated quality, warmth, loft, and breathability metrics. After weeks of daily use and repeatable temperature tests, we offer our wisdom to help you find an excellent topper for your bed.
Fill Material: Goose Down | Cover Material: Egyptian Cotton
REASONS TO BUY
Warm
Similar to a weighted blanket
Upscale aesthetic
REASONS TO AVOID
Dry cleaning required
Noisy
Too heavy for summer
The Three Geese Pinch Pleat Goose Down is lofty, warm, and lovely. It's generously stuffed with 750-fill power down, providing the perfect warmth for the fall, winter, and spring. And its baffled construction keeps the feathers from shifting around, so you don't end up with those dreaded drafts. This is the heaviest comforter in the test, creating that cozy compressed sensation that weighted blanket lovers appreciate. This comforter transformed our beds into a warm feathered nest. It also seemed to breathe well, and we never noticed moisture building up.
Though the quality natural fabrics and pinch pleated design are lovely, we kept a duvet cover on this comforter to keep it clean since it's dry clean only. Dry cleaning can be expensive, time-consuming, and bad for the environment. The 1200-thread count cotton outer material is nice looking but also loud. It crinkles when you move around a lot. Adding a duvet cover should help reduce noise levels and cleaning frequency. This is our favorite comforter due to its superb value, warmth, and comfort. If you want an equally warm and easier-to-clean model, check out the Buffy Cloud Sleeper.
The Three Geese Down has a good weight, it's toasty, and it looks great.
Fill Material: Down alternative | Cover Material: Polyester
REASONS TO BUY
Affordable
Quiet
Light yet warm
REASONS TO AVOID
Stitching quality
The Linenspa All-Season Down Alternative is an excellent all-around comforter that will meet most people's needs, especially at this price. We were instantly impressed. It's soft, warm, and low-maintenance. The fabric feels so dreamy against the skin that we rarely use a duvet cover. And, since you can throw it in the washing machine, we aren't worried about protecting it. This comforter feels light and airy when wrapped around you, but it's one of the test's weightier options. Our testers found themselves warm and sleeping soundly in a 62-degree room. Thanks to many reversible color schemes, this product will likely work with your decor if you want to forgo a cover.
The Linenspa offers comfort and warmth but doesn't offer the same high-quality construction as the best options. The seams and fabric just aren't as robust. Several threads are already loose and seem prone to fraying and pilling over time. Though it may not be an heirloom item, if money is tight and you seek superb comfort, look no further. If you want warmth and comfort for a similar price, check out the SUPERIOR Solid White Down Alternative.
Fill Material: 95% Feathers 5% Down | Cover Material: Cotton
REASONS TO BUY
High value
Warm
Machine washable
REASONS TO AVOID
More feathers than down
Crinkly face fabric
The COSYBAY 100% Cotton Quilted Down is an excellent option if you're searching for a feather comforter that won't break the bank. It offers the warmth and breathability of natural materials for less. The cotton face fabric is pleasant, if a bit stiff and crinkly, and the overall weight of the COSY feels substantial and comforting.
Yes, there is a difference between regular feathers and down. Downy feathers insulate birds, while regular feathers serve as an outer protective layer. They are larger with a stronger shaft that will likely break over time. They aren't as lofty, either. This comforter filler is 95% feathers and only 5% down, making it a heavier, less lofty option that's more likely to let feathers poke through. Still, this comfortable topper is an excellent option for those wanting the benefits of down materials without paying a premium.
The Cozybay down cotton is a great winter, fall and spring option.
Fill Material: Down alternative | Cover Material: Polyester
REASONS TO BUY
Fluffy and warm with box seams
Artful stitching holds fill in place
Warm
Soft and smooth to the touch
REASONS TO AVOID
Bulky for regular washing machines
Slippery fabric
With soft, silky fabric, arcing seams, thick stuffing, and boxed hems, the Buffy Cloud Sleeper is well-named. It's the comforter you want to wrap around you on the couch after a long day. This option earned the highest scores of any non-down comforter in our assessment. The face fabric is TENCEL Lyocell, made from eucalyptus wood fibers, and the fill is made from recycled plastic bottles. Buffy claims it's BPA-free and meets the Global Recycled Standard. We always appreciate products that work to limit toxins and environmental impact, and the comforter seems durable, with snug, regular seams and sturdy fabric.
Synthetic materials don't often breathe as well as natural fibers, but the Cloud Sleeper seemed to regulate temperature well, keeping testers warm but comfortable in a 62-degree room. The smooth eucalyptus face fabric is also slippery, and without a duvet cover, this comforter can easily slide to the floor. Though the Buffy is machine washable, it's bulky and hard to fit into older top-loading washers. That said, we don't mind the odd trip to the laundry mat and recommend this comforter to any of our friends looking for a cozy alternative to down.
The Buffy Cloud's TENCEL lyocell fabric is soft with a pleasant sheen.
Fill Material: Recycled Down | Cover Material: Cotton Sateen
REASONS TO BUY
Extremely light and warm
Breaths well
Well-made
REASONS TO AVOID
Expensive
Too warm on occasion
Spot or dry clean only
The Brooklinen Lightweight Down is one of the warmest in the test but weighs half as much as the other top performers. That's likely because this is the only comforter we tested stuffed with 100% down instead of a mix of down and feathers. While many prefer a heavier comforter for the weighted blanket effect, this is the one if you like a featherweight layer that will keep you toasty no matter the weather. It's also handmade in Canada and the handmade quality shows. Brooklinen has also proven that they take their protections for workers seriously, unlike many competitors.
Despite its lightweight, this comforter is likely too warm for hot sleepers or during summer without air conditioning. It's also expensive, as handmade items tend to be. But our biggest complaint is that you can't throw it in the wash. Brooklinen recommends spot-cleaning it or, if you must, a dry cleaning. This is standard operating procedure with down comforters, but that doesn't mean we like it. To enjoy its lofty comfort, quality construction, and instant warmth, we keep it clean with a duvet cover and consider it a good investment. However, remember you can buy two of the Three Geese Pinch Pleat Goose Down for the same price.
The Broolinen Lightweight Down is breathable but still warm.
Credit: Clark Tate
Best for Hot Sleepers
Homelike Moment Lightweight All Season Down Alternative
Fill Material: Down Alternative | Cover Material: Polyester
REASONS TO BUY
Affordable
Reversible with color options
Hypo-allergenic
Soft, light, and warm
REASONS TO AVOID
Some loose stitching
T-shirt soft, easy to wash, and with color schemes that are more forgiving than crisp white, the Homelike Moment Lightweight All Season Down Alternative is perfectly at home on your bed, on a camping trip, or holding down the nearest pillow fort. Its lightweight and respectable breathability make it feel more like a thick blanket than a comforter. This makes it an excellent option for sleepers who frequently overheat at night. Add to that its incredibly reasonable price point and hypo-allergenic properties, and this option is hard to argue with.
On the flip side, it's not the warmest comforter we tested. It often takes ten minutes or so for our feet to warm up when we first crawl under this blanket. (Many of the others offer instant warmth). Still, it kept our testers perfectly contented through the night in a 64-degree room. It's not surprising at this price point, but the quality of materials and construction could be better. There are loose threads and stitches. That adds to its rough-and-tumble appeal in our eyes. If you want a light, comfortable, and affordable comforter that you don't have to worry about, we recommend this one.
A low-maintenance comforter that you can use like a blanket, the reasonably priced Homelike is hard to argue with.
Credit: Clark Tate
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The Three Geese comforter is among the loftiest in the test.
Credit: Clark Tate
Why You Should Trust Us
We researched the most popular and impressive comforters available during our selection process. Then we purchased the most promising models and put them through a series of side-by-side tests, evaluating comfort, breathability, warmth, quality, and laundering requirements. Our team lounged, slept, and washed these comforters (if they could handle it), then broke out the scales, thermometers, and decibel meters to decipher their relative strengths and weaknesses.
We break down our overall score into five key metrics:
Comfort (25% of overall score weighting)
Warmth (25% weighting)
Breathability (25% weighting)
Laundering (15% weighting)
Quality and Durability (10% weighting)
Our testers bring their scientific backgrounds, attention to detail, and extensive experience sleeping to this review. Our lead testers Isaac Laredo and Clark Tate are no strangers to seeking comfort. Isaac spends the better part of his life nestled in bedding. His expertise lies in differentiation and identifying the perfect fabric for every occasion. Clark holds a master's degree in environmental science and loves finding products that work well, are reasonably priced, and are created with respect for humans and their environment. These two worked with a team of GearLab testers to help you find the exact comforter you're looking for.
These comforters may have a similar appearance at face value, but each has a completely different feel.
A laser thermometer helped us rank the comforters by their warmth.
We gave each comforter a closeup, carefully examining their fabrics and seams.
Analysis and Test Results
To test comforters, we blended post-sleeping notes with formal observations to get a well-balanced assessment of each product's performance. We assessed comforters stuffed with down, down/feather blends, and synthetic filling, including premium and budget options to meet your needs.
Value
A comforter's price varies widely, but the models that scored the highest during our assessment cost more than the most bargain-friendly models. That said, some affordable models score fairly well. Our favorite budget down comforter is the COSBAY. If you're looking for an affordable down alternative, check out the Linenspa All-Season. If you want a luxurious look and feel that's still reasonably affordable, the Three Geese Pinch Pleat Goose Down is a great choice.
All of these comforters live up to their name, but which one's the best?
Credit: Clark Tate
Comfort
Comfort is in the name, after all. Considering that we spend a quarter of our lives asleep, it's essential for your bedding to promote a good night's rest. To assess the comfort of each option, we evaluated their materials and hand feel and used a decibel meter to measure how much noise each made when we shifted in the night. We also accounted for each option's weight and that all-important cozy factor.
The most comfortable options in the test had one thing in common — plenty of loft. The Three Geese Goose Down Pinch Pleat,Buffy Cloud Sleeper, and Superior Solid White Down Alternative are comfort standouts due to their cloud-like feel, particularly when you wrap them around you like a feathered nest. We love the weight and warmth of the down and feather Three Goose comforter and the smooth, soft fabric and fluffy synthetic fill in the Buffy and Superior options. The Brooklinen Lightweight Down comforter is also very comfortable but has less heft. Some of our testers preferred its featherweight warmth.
The crisp cotton of the Three Geese and Brooklinen options offers a different kind of comfort than the soft polyester of the Homeline comforter.
Credit: Clark Tate
An exceptional next-to-skin feel depends on the comforter's face fabric and the material's weave. Some people prefer the sensation of natural fibers like cotton, while others are drawn to the smoothness and practicality of synthetic fabrics. No matter which camp you're in, some marvelous options are available. Both can feel luxurious.
Though most folks cover comforters, the feel of the fabric matters more if you don't plan to. The Buffy Cloud Sleeper's fabric is especially soft and smooth.
Credit: Clark Tate
The Easeland All-Season and Homelike Lightweight All Season Down Alternative are silky smooth. Since they're machine washable, we often use them without a duvet cover and greatly appreciate their soft fabric. With its polyester covering, the Linenspa All-Season Down Alternative provides a light and soft touch that makes very little noise.
No one enjoys waking up in the middle of the night, especially by a noisy blanket. Most of the most comfortable comforters are also the quietest. The Three Geese down comforter is an exception, with relatively crisp cotton fabric that makes more noise than its synthetic competitors. When we add a duvet cover, the noise levels are significantly reduced.
The type and amount of insulation matter. Some people prefer featherweight options, others like heavier options.
Credit: Clark Tate
Warmth
Few things are worse than shivering through a cold winter night. How warm you need your comforter to be depends on where you live, how warm your home is, and how hot or cold you tend to sleep. We tested warmth by sleeping several nights with each comforter in a temperature-controlled room and by nestling in and measuring the temperature change every 10 minutes for half an hour. The warmest models often featured feathers.
The Three Geese Pinch Pleat and Egyptian Bedding Luxurious Siberian Goose Down are both lofty and filled with a mix of down and feathers. The Egyptian Cotton gives you a better ratio, with 80% filled with insulating down feathers. The Three Geese's filling is only 25% down, but it's stuffed with significantly more feathers overall, which adds up. The Brooklinen Lightweight Down is the only 100% down comforter we tested, and, no surprise, it's one of the warmest in the test.
We used a teardrop and a laser thermometer to track how quickly our bodies warmed up each of these comforters.
Credit: Clark Tate
Of the comforters we tested with synthetic fill, the Buffy Cloud Sleeper posted the highest numbers in our temperature tests. The Cloud is generously stuffed with recycled plastic insulation held in place with curving lines of tightly held stitches. Boxed-off hems allow the insulation to hold air, thus heat, to the edge. It works wonderfully.
The Brooklinen comforter is one of the warmest in the test but only weighs half as much as the other toastiest options.
Credit: Clark Tate
The Superior Solid Down Alternative is also warm, using baffle box construction to keep its insulation evenly distributed and lofty. While the Linenspa lacks in the loft department, this thinner piece offers impressive warmth and is competitive.
Of course, if you're a hot sleeper, you may not want the warmest comforter in the test. One of our testers in this camp preferred the Homelike Lightweight All Season Down Alternative. It was slower to warm up but kept all our testers comfortable in a 64-degree room. Our hot sleeping tester also slept comfortably under the Three Geese and Buffy comforters and only overheated once while using the Brooklinen.
If you frequently overheat while you sleep, you might want a lighter weight option like the Homelike All Season comforter.
Credit: Clark Tate
Breathability
Breathability refers to how well a textile allows excess heat and moisture to flow from the inside to the outside. Breathable comforters help you maintain an ideal sleep temperature and can prevent overheating or sweat buildup. Natural materials like cotton and down are more breathable than synthetic fibers. Luckily, the polyester contenders in this review are impressively breathable.
The Brooklinen, Three Geese, Egyptian Cotton, and COSYBAY 100% Cotton Quilted Down all have cotton face fabric and some combination of down and feather fill. They all breathe well and do a fair job of regulating our temperature throughout the night. Of these, we overheated once in the Brooklinen in a 64-degree room. They are too warm to use in temperatures above 70 degrees unless you are a very cold sleeper. No degree of breathability can overcome those temperatures.
We found that the synthetic comforters we tested were reasonably breathable. The Buffy Cloud Sleeper did feel overly warm occasionally and may have less airflow than some of the thinner synthetic options. The most breathable of the Homelike, Amazon Basics Reversible Microfiber, and Linenspa models.
Natural fabrics, like the cotton and down Brooklienen shown here, tend to be more breathable than synthetic materials.
Credit: Clark Tate
Laundering
Considering we spend eight hours a day in our beds, they require frequent cleanings. If your comforter is hard to clean, you're less likely to do it as often as you should. We laundered all of the machine-washable options. They all washed up well, but the easiest items to wash are the less bulky options.
The Homelike, Amazon Basics, Linenspa, and Easeland synthetic options are all machine washable and lightweight. Their low bulk profile makes them easy to stuff in any sized washer machine. They're also relatively easy to store since they fold up more compactly.
We wish all of these comforters were machine washable. Sadly, only the synthetic options are.
Credit: Clark Tate
Both the Utopia Bedding models, the down alternative and the reversible version, are a bit bulkier but still wash up well. The Buffy Cloud comforter is a bit more challenging. Due to its loft, it can be hard to fit into older-model washing machines.
All down and feather options we tested recommend spot cleaning or dry cleaning. We know some people who wash their comforters in machines, but we aren't willing to risk it. Covering them with a duvet that you can wash as often as you'd like goes a long way to maintaining proper hygiene.
Duvet covers can help keep your comforter clean so you don't have to wash it as often. Many of the comforters tested provide tabs for you to secure the covers.
Credit: Clark Tate
Quality and Durability
To rate the comforter's relative quality and durability, we compared the quality of materials and tested the seams and fabrics. We also factored in aesthetics, finding the neutral color and wholesome look of cotton hard to beat. And natural materials have benefits ranging from breathability to not shedding microplastics in your house and washing machine.
The pinch pleated baffle design on the Three Geese's cotton face fabric is a lovely flourish. The Brooklinen comforter also seems exceptionally high quality. Both have sturdy, even stitches that don't easily snag. The Three Geese and Cosybay options have a higher ratio of feathers to down, and we could see more of these poking through over time.
The Buffy Cloud Sleeper is a high quality option with sturdy seams and thoughtful construction details like the boxed hems shown here.
Credit: Clark Tate
Of the synthetic options, the Buffy Cloud is very well made, with sturdy stitching to hold everything in place. The eucalyptus face fabric seems less robust than cotton, but we expect it to stand up to everyday use.
Many thinner, less expensive options already have dangling threads and loose stitches. We don't expect the Amazon Basics and Utopia options to last as long as the pricier options in the test.
The Three Geese comforter is well and beautifully made.
Credit: Clark Tate
Conclusion
Shopping for a comforter can feel overwhelming, especially when surfing neverending options worldwide. Our crack testing team compiled this comprehensive review to help you buy confidently. We sincerely hope this review leads you to the cloud-like comfort of your dreams.
For other ways to wind down and relax, take a look at our foot massager review and head over to our list of the best massage guns if you're in the market for a tool to help you with recovery after an intense workout.