In-depth Comparison (2024): Purple Harmony Pillow vs. Pillow Cube Pro Pillow

Solid Latex Foam

The Purple Harmony Pillow has a very unique feel since it is made of latex foam on the inside and a rubber-like grid built into its cover. The material is fun to squeeze because it is bouncy and squishy, but what makes a good stress ball doesn't necessarily make a good pillow. For back sleepers particularly worried about sweating, the Purple Harmony Pillow is worth trying, but I wouldn't recommend the pillow due to the bounciness.

When I lie down on the pillow, I am distinctly reminded of a water balloon. It is soft enough to squish down and compress, but the elasticity of the latex foam means that my head bounces back. I'll also feel a small trembling vibration make its way through the pillow, not unlike the feeling of water swashing back and forth. Every time I shift my weight on the pillow, the pillow will jiggle. Because I shift my weight occasionally as I fall asleep, the wobbling of the pillow will snap me back awake. I've had several instances where I was close to falling asleep only to be brought back to attention from the wobble. Nevertheless, I do eventually fall asleep, so the pillow doesn't completely prevent me from sleeping.

The signature Purple Grid can be found in the cover of the pillow. The substance of the grid feels like a gel-grip pen. It is fun to squeeze, but when I lay my head on it, I mostly just feel the latex foam underneath. The latex foam is what gives the bounce. The grid serves mainly to provide aeration since solid foam pillows tend to trap heat and sweat against the sleeper. In my experience, I find the grid to be pretty effective in preventing sweat build-up, but if heat and sweat is a concern, down and down alternative pillows tend to be better for breathability than solid foam pillows in general.

The Purple Harmony Pillow comes in three different loft levels, but the options are separated by one inch each, according to the Purple website at my time of purchase. Though I appreciate the different options, a one inch difference is the difference between a size 6 and a size 9 shoe (for both men and women), and I'd prefer a fully adjustable pillow that can accommodate sizes in between. Because the Purple Harmony Pillow is not adjustable, I wouldn't recommend it for side-sleepers.

Overall, I consider the Purple Harmony Pillow a novelty experience akin to a water bed. It's fun to try once, but I don't want to sleep on it regularly. I would not consider it worth purchasing again at the price point that I paid.

Solid Memory Foam

I do not like sleeping on the Pillow Cube Pro Pillow, and I would not consider purchasing it or any other cube-shaped pillow again. The Pillow Cube advertises its unique shape (a cube or a rectangular box in the case of the Pro Pillow), but in my opinion, there is a reason why other pillows aren't shaped like a box, and it's not because no one else realized it was possible. Instead, it's because our necks and shoulders don't connect in sharp angles, so regular memory foam pillows have a curve instead of an edge. When I use the Pillow Cube, the sharp angle digs into my neck.

The Pillow Cube Pro Pillow is a solid memory foam pillow in the shape of a rectangular box. The pillow is available in a 4-inch, 5-inch, and 6-inch size. The website, as of my time of purchase, advertises that the different sizes allow the pillow to perfectly fit the pillow gap, but the website also recommends the 5-inch option for everyone between 5'4" and 6'3". Since that is a wide range of heights and body types, I was already skeptical that the pillow would fit perfectly. As expected, now that I've tried the pillow, I can confirm that the 5-inch pillow doesn't fit my shoulder gap perfectly. Though the 5-inch starting loft is a relatively low starting loft, because the foam is incredibly firm and doesn't compress when I lay my head on it, the effective loft of the pillow feels relatively thick. My neck ends up angled uncomfortably when side-sleeping. In general, the 1-inch gap between sizes is the same as the size difference between a size 6 shoe and a size 9 shoe (for both men and women), so I would expect many people won't be able to find a perfect fit. Instead, for side-sleepers, I recommend looking at an adjustable pillow like the Saybrook or Coop pillows, which can be micro-adjusted to the perfect fit.

I consider the shape of the pillow a downside as well. The boxy shape makes the pillow worse for back-sleeping and stomach-sleeping because I can feel the corners dig into my neck. Though the pillow is designed for side-sleepers, the way the pillow affects back-sleepers and stomach-sleepers is worth noting because many people switch among the positions even if they favor side-sleeping. Even for side-sleeping, the edges don't improve the experience for me. Instead, I would prefer the corners to be rounded out, which would result in the same shape as a normal memory foam pillow.

The Pillow Cube foam feels much firmer than the Weekender memory foam, which already feels much firmer than the Tempur-Pedic memory foam. I consider the Tempur-Pedic memory foam extra soft, the Weekender memory foam extra firm, and the Pillow Cube memory foam off-the-charts-firm, applying unwanted pressure against my ear and jaw when I use it. The Pillow Cube has a removable zippered cover, and taking it off reveals the grey foam inside. The foam reminds me of the industrial foam used to pad furniture in moving trucks or the foam used in gymnasiums.

Putting the cover back on is a daunting challenge. Imagine the difficulty of fitting a duvet cover on a duvet. The corners are always annoying to fit into the cover. Now imagine there are eight corners instead of four corners, as well as eight edges that also need to fit into the proper place in the cover. The most difficult part, though, is getting the foam into the zipper opening in the first place. The zipper sits along the long edge of the pillow, and even though the long edge measures 24 inches, I measure the zipper opening at only 19 inches in length. As a result, the challenge is to fit an ultra firm 24 inch by 12 inch by 5 inch block of foam through a one-dimensional line-shaped zipper opening that measures 19 inches long.

If you want a pillow that is as firm as possible, then the Pillow Cube might be an option, but I would recommend trying the Weekender first because the Weekender memory foam is already very firm. If you want a pillow designed for side-sleepers, I would recommend looking at an adjustable pillow like Saybrook or Coop.

Update (1 year later): I tried the newest version of the Pillow Cube Pro, and it seems they updated the firmness of the foam from much too firm to medium firm. They also updated the zipper opening for the cover to wrap around. These are welcome updates for this pillow. Unfortunately, at the new firmness level, the pillow is now too thin when I lay my head down because it has more give. The pillow went from angling my head upward to angling it downward. They advertise that side-sleepers need a pillow that fits the shoulder gap, but this pillow does not solve the problem. If you are a side-sleeper, you need a pillow that is adjustable to fit your shoulder gap. Adding a right angle does not solve anything.