In-depth Comparison (2024): Casper Original Pillow vs. Sleepgram Adjustable Pillow

Polyester Fiber (Down Alternative)

The Casper Original Pillow uses a pillow-in-pillow design with two layers, both made of polyester fiber, at slightly different firmness levels. This creates a thick but soft pillow that is great for back-sleepers who want a polyester fiber pillow. However, I don't recommend this pillow for side-sleepers due to the lack of adjustability: the thickness combined with the softness results in an unpredictable loft.

The most noticeable aspect of the Casper pillow is the loft: I measure it at 10 inches thick, the highest loft of any pillow tested. This is because the pillow is actually made up of a regular sized pillow covered by another layer of pillow. The outer layer can be unzipped to reveal the inner pillow sandwiched inside. The outer layer is extremely soft and thin. It resembles a comforter or a thick blanket. In fact, the pillow does remind me of a regular pillow wrapped in a comforter. The outer layer sinks completely in when used.

Unzipping the outer pillow reveals an inner pillow also made with polyester filling. Keep in mind that though the pillow can be unzipped, the filling cannot be adjusted. Unzipping doesn't give access to the filling. It only gives access to the inner pillow. While you can technically have three different lofts by sleeping on the inside pillow by itself, the outside layer by itself, and both layers combined, I wouldn't consider the pillow to be adjustable. I suspect most people will be sleeping on the pillow with all the layers together because either layer by itself is too thin for my preferences. Like the outer layer, the inner pillow sinks all the way down when I lay my head on it by itself. Based on my experience, neither the inner pillow nor the outer pillow will provide enough support for side-sleepers or back-sleepers individually. Theoretically, the inner pillow could be used for stomach-sleeping, but there are other options on the market that don't involve discarding half the pillow.

When used together, the pillows start at the full 10-inch-high loft. Laying my head down makes the pillow significantly thinner since both parts of the pillow are so soft. The inner pillow and the outer pillow compress all the way down when slept on individually, but the combined pillow does leave some loft simply because there is so much material. Unfortunately, as a side-sleeper, the loft feels slightly off for me, leaving my head angled uncomfortably. It's possible that some side-sleepers will find the loft level perfect, but I recommend that side-sleepers stick with a fully adjustable pillow like the Saybrook or Coop.

The Casper pillow and Sleepgram pillow share a lot of similarities. From the outside, they even look almost the same except for the different logos. There are three main differences, though. First, the Sleepgram pillow comes with two inner pillows. Despite this, both the Casper and Sleepgram pillows have the same loft, so the Sleepgram inner pillows are individually thinner compared to the Casper inner pillow. Second, the zipper on the Casper pillow feels to me like it's easier to operate compared to the zipper on the Sleepgram pillow, which contributes to my perception that the Casper pillow has higher quality construction. Finally, I find the Sleepgram pillow to be even softer than the Casper pillow. My head sinks down even more with the Sleepgram pillow. This is because the Sleepgram polyester filling glides more easily, so some of the material moves out of the way when I lay my head on it. The Casper pillow polyester fill is also soft, but it stays underneath my head, so even though it compresses, the material stays there to provide some loft.

Unlike some of the other pillows reviewed, the Casper pillow doesn't come with a separate cover. Inserting this pillow into a pillow case can be difficult due to the thickness. Though the pillow compresses easily when sleeping on it, getting it to compress from 365 degrees to shove inside a pillow case is relatively frustrating. It is far from impossible, but it does take more energy than it should. I find that when pillows are difficult to insert into pillow cases, I subconsciously avoid wash cycles.

The lack of adjustability makes the Casper pillow a non-starter for side-sleepers since the angle of the head is so important and everyone has a different shoulder and head size. For back-sleepers looking for a polyester fiber pillow, the Casper pillow is a great choice. Because of the thickness, even though the pillow sinks significantly, it still provides some support.

Polyester Fiber (Down Alternative)

The Sleepgram Adjustable Pillow is an extra soft polyester fiber pillow with a thick starting loft. Though nominally adjustable based on the pillow-in-pillow design that allows the sleeper to keep or remove two layers of inner pillows, I wouldn't consider the Sleepgram pillow fully adjustable because of the softness, which limits its appeal for those who want more support, and the inability to do micro-adjustments. The Sleepgram pillow can be a good option for stomach-sleepers, but I would not recommend it for side-sleepers and back-sleepers.

The Sleepgram pillow uses a pillow-in-pillow design similar to the Casper pillow. In fact, when I first unboxed the pillows, I thought they were the same pillow with different logos. However, on a closer look, I found three main differences. The first difference is the softness of the pillows. Both pillows have the same starting loft, but my head sinks in more when I sleep on the Sleepgram pillow compared to the Casper pillow. The Casper pillow is already so soft that my head sinks significantly, so I was surprised that the Sleepgram pillow had even less support. Even though the Sleepgram pillow starts at 10 inches of loft by my measurements, my head sinks so far into the pillow that I feel even less support than I get from pillows that start at half that loft. I would guess the difference between the Casper and Sleepgram softness comes from the friction in the polyester fibers. The Sleepgram polyester fibers glide very smoothly against each other, almost like silk strands. This means that the material appears to move to the side when I lay my head on the pillow. The Casper polyester fibers are also soft in terms of firmness, but they aren't as soft in terms of friction. Because of the softness of the Sleepgram pillow, I'm unable to get the support I need for side-sleeping, and this is one of the reasons I wouldn't consider the Sleepgram pillow fully adjustable.

The second difference is the number of inner pillows. The Sleepgram pillow has two inner pillows while the Casper pillow only has one. Nevertheless, the total starting loft is the same across the Sleepgram and Casper pillows as far as I can measure, so the Sleepgram inner pillows are individually thinner than the Casper inner pillow. I find this to be an advantage for the Sleepgram pillow because it does allow for more configuration options. Sleepgram labels one inner pillow with a blue tag and the other with a red tag. The instruction booklet that comes with the pillow says that the inner pillow with the blue tag is softer than the one with the red tag, so you can get different firmness levels by keeping different configurations of the two inner pillows. Because I can't get the support I need for side-sleeping on the Sleepgram pillow even with both inner pillows loaded inside, I tend to prefer stomach-sleeping when I use it. For stomach-sleeping, I'll remove the inner pillow with the blue tag. Though I appreciate the configuration options, I still prefer the ability to micro-adjust with the Saybrook and Coop pillows.

Finally, the zipper on the Casper pillow that I purchased feels significantly easier to operate for me compared to the zipper on the Sleepgram pillow that I purchased. This contributes to my overall perception that the Casper pillow has higher quality construction. The zipper on the Sleepgram pillow regularly stalls when I try to operate it.

For stomach-sleepers who might want to try out different loft levels on the softer end of the spectrum, the Sleepgram pillow can be a good option. For side-sleepers and back-sleepers, I'd recommend other options, especially if you want to feel your head supported by your pillow.