Looking for a new bed? Purple and Tuft & Needle are both bed-in-a-box mattresses that you can purchase online and try out risk-free from home. These beds are made from vastly different materials that make them better for different people.
In this review, we’re going to compare the flagship Purple mattress with the Tuft & Needle Mint mattress. By the end, you’ll know which one is the mattress of your dreams.
Purple and Tuft & Needle Mint Overview
Customer Rating
MA Score
Summary
Firmness
Type
Trial Period
Warranty
Customer Rating
MA Score
8.4/10
Summary
Proven pressure relief for people with back pain; good for back and side sleepers
Firmness
Medium-firm: 6.5/10
Type
Hybrid: hyper-elastic polymer and foam
Trial Period
100 days
Warranty
10-year limited warranty
Customer Rating
MA Score
9/10
Summary
One-step up from the original Tuft & Needle while still being a budget-friendly mattress
Firmness
Medium: 5/10
Type
Foam combo
Trial Period
100 days
Warranty
10-year limited warranty
Purple
Tuft & Needle Mint
Customer Rating
MA Score
8.4/10
9/10
Summary
Proven pressure relief for people with back pain; good for back and side sleepers
One-step up from the original Tuft & Needle while still being a budget-friendly mattress
Firmness
Medium-firm: 6.5/10
Medium: 5/10
Type
Hybrid: hyper-elastic polymer and foam
Foam combo
Trial Period
100 days
100 days
Warranty
10-year limited warranty
10-year limited warranty
Key Similarities
- Both provide excellent spine alignment, great for those with aches and pains.
- Both have a similar price point that’s around the average cost for a bed-in-a-box mattress.
- Both come with a 100-night sleep trial and industry-standard 10-year warranty.
Key Differences
- The Tuft & Needle mattress works for all sleeping positions, while the Purple isn’t great for stomach sleepers.
- Purple is a medium-firm mattress, and T&N is a bed with medium firmness.
- The Original Purple is a hybrid mattress made from a hyper-elastic polymer and polyfoam, while the T&N mattress is an all-foam bed.
- The T&N Mint is more responsive than the Purple, so it’s easier to move around on.
- The Purple offers better pressure relief than the Mint mattress.
Purple Mattress Review Highlights
- The Purple Grid comfort layer is unlike any other mattress material. This hyperelastic polymer offers the same pressure-relieving benefits of memory foam mattresses while being cooler and more responsive.
- The Original Purple mattress scored highly in our tests for pressure relief and spine alignment. Combined, these attributes make the Purple hybrid one of the best mattresses for sleepers with aches and pains.
- Thanks to the breathability of the grid-like top layer, the Purple mattress provides a temperature-neutral sleeping experience great for hot sleepers.
- The Purple has sturdy and comfortable edges, so you can sit or sleep along the edge of the bed with ease.
- Looking for even more pressure relief? The Purple Hybrid Premier comes with an additional 1-2” of the pressure-relieving Purple Grid.
Tuft & Needle Mint Mattress Review Highlights
- The T&N Adaptive foam is more responsive than memory foam, so you won’t feel like you’re sinking into the T&N mattress. The ease-of-movement is perfect for combination sleepers.
- The Mint mattress is similar to the fan-favorite Tuft & Needle Original mattress, but with thicker comfort layers for a more luxurious feel.
- The T&N Mint earned a 9.5/10 in spine alignment, ideal for sleepers with back pain.
- With impressive scores in our edge support and motion isolation tests, the Mint bed is a good fit for couples who sleep together.
- Tuft & Needle also offers two different mattresses: the Tuft & Needle Original mattress and the Tuft & Needle Hybrid.
Compare Mattress Sizes
Both mattresses come in the same standard mattress sizes. The primary difference is that the T&N Mint mattress is 2.5” thicker than the Purple. As such, it’s better for heavy sleepers.
| Purple | Tuft & Needle Mint | |
| Thickness | 9.5” | 12” |
| Twin | 38” x 75” | 39” x 75” |
| Twin XL | 38” x 80” | 39” x 80” |
| Full | 54” x 76” | 54” x 75” |
| Queen | 60” x 80” | 60” x 80” |
| King | 76” x 80” | 76” x 80” |
| California King | 72” x 84” | 72” x 84” |
Learn more about mattress sizes.
Purple vs T&N Mint
When you compare the Tuft & Needle vs Purple prices, you’ll see that they have a similar standard price point. By using the check price buttons below, you can take advantage of our exclusive Mattress Advisor discounts.
| Purple | Tuft & Needle Mint | |
| Twin | $649 | $695 |
| Twin XL | $749 | $745 |
| Full | $949 | $945 |
| Queen | $1,099 | $1,095 |
| King | $1,399 | $1,245 |
| California King | $1,399 | $1,245 |
What’s Inside Each Mattress?
In this section, we’re going to take a look at what’s inside each mattress and how this influences the sleeping experience and who’s a good fit.
Inside the Purple Mattress
The Purple mattress is unlike any other mattress on the market. What sets the Purple bed apart is its Purple Grid top layer. This hyperelastic polymer grid collapses once a certain amount of pressure is applied, delivering the same level of pressure relief that you’d expect from a memory foam mattress, but with a completely different feel. Rather than a sinking memory foam feel, the Purple Grid delivers an almost weightless, floating sensation.
The smart comfort grid allows ample airflow that keeps the sleeping surface cooler than most all-foam beds. Additionally, the grid is slightly more responsive than memory foam, but not quite as responsive as the Tuft & Needle polyurethane foam top layer. As such, it’s relatively easy to switch positions and get comfortable quickly.
While the Purple mattress rates as a medium-firm to firm mattress, falling at a 6.5 on the 1-10 firmness scale, its unique design makes it better for different sleepers than most mattresses at this firmness level. Side sleepers and back sleepers achieve nearly-perfect body alignment, while stomach sleepers may experience back strain as their hips dip too low.
- SoftFlex Mattress Cover: An ultra-stretchy, soft, and breathable fabric made from a blend of polyester, viscose, and Lycra spandex.
- Purple Grid Comfort Layer: A hyperelastic polymer grid that provides an almost weightless feel with impeccable spine alignment and pressure relief.
- Comfort Foam Transition Layer: Purple utilizes high-density polyurethane foam with a medium-firm feel to protect the body from the extra-firm foam below. It’s this layer that limits excess sagging.
- Support Layer: A high-density support foam adds structural support and durability.
Inside the Tuft & Needle Mint Mattress
The Tuft & Needle Mint is a 3-layer foam mattress. Its Adaptive foam top layer boasts similar pressure-relieving cushion as memory foam without the quicksand feeling. This layer of proprietary polyfoam is incredibly responsive, making it easy to move around and get comfortable—a must for combination sleepers and those who toss and turn a lot.
T&N utilizes a variety of cooling technology to combat heat retention and keep sleepers cool. Graphite, cooling gel, and open-cell foam distribute heat away from the mattress surface, while a knit fabric cover ensures ample air flow.
The Mint is a medium mattress, falling at a 5 on the 1-10 firmness scale. This medium feel works well for every sleep position, although back, side, and combination sleepers are the best fit.
- Cozy Mattress Cover: A grey knit fabric is soft-to-the-touch and breathable.
- Adaptive Foam Comfort Layer: An almost springy foam that’s pressure relieving and easy to move around on. Graphite and gel infusion keep the mattress cool.
- Adaptive Foam Transition Layer: A medium-firm, responsive foam stops the body from sinking too low.
- Supportive Base Layer: A high-quality dense polyfoam boosts edge support and durability.
Compare Test Scores
We’ve spent hundreds of hours testing and evaluating mattresses at the Mattress Advisor lab. Let’s compare how the Original Purple and Tuft & Needle Mint performed.
| Purple | Tuft & Needle Mint | |
| Shipping | 7 | 9 |
| Trial Period | 9 | 9 |
| Return Policy | 10 | 10 |
| Warranty | 9 | 9 |
| Set-Up Test | 6 | 9 |
| Motion Transfer Test | 7.5 | 8.1 |
| Edge Support Test | 8.5 | 8.25 |
| Pressure Relief Test | 8.5 | 8 |
| Spinal Alignment Test | 9.5 | 9.5 |
| Responsiveness Test | 7 | 8.75 |
| Cooling Evaluation | 8 | 8.5 |
| Durability Evaluation | 9 | 8.5 |
| Customer Service Score | 9 | 10 |
| Social Impact Score | 4 | 8 |
| TOTAL SCORE | 8.4/10 | 9/10 |
Responsiveness
Do you move around a lot at night? If so, you’re probably not a fan of the sinking memory foam mattress feel. Certain materials, such as memory foam, make it harder to move around, while others, like innerspring coils, support ease-of-movement.
We test every mattress for its responsiveness by switching positions and assigning a score of 1-10 based on how quickly our sleep testers get comfortable in a new position. The Tuft & Needle Mint bed was exceptionally easy to move around on, while the Purple mattress was a bit harder. If you’re someone who tosses and turns a lot at night, the Mint may be a better fit.
Motion Transfer
Couples who share the bed should look for a mattress that dampens motion. Mattress type is one of the biggest indicators of how well a mattress will perform when it comes to motion transfer, with all-foam beds typically superior to innerspring and hybrid mattresses.
The Tuft & Needle Mint mattress does a slightly better job of isolating motion than the Purple mattress, helping couples snooze soundly all night long. This superior motion isolation is thanks to this bed’s generous foam layers.
Pressure Relief
Understanding how well a mattress distributes weight and cushions pressure points is essential to finding the right fit, especially for side sleepers. In our pressure relief test, the Purple mattress narrowly outperformed the Tuft & Needle mattress, although both scored highly.
What this means is that many side sleepers are going to prefer the Purple mattress over the Mint. However, thanks to variations in their comfort and transition layers, the Tuft & Needle Mint is better for side sleepers who weigh more than 230 pounds. The Purple’s pressure-relieving polymer is only 2” thick, compared to the generous 3” comfort foam and 2” transition foam found in the Mint mattress. The thicker pressure-relieving layers create sufficient cushion for heavier side sleepers.
The Bottom Line: Which Is the Best Mattress?
After testing the flagship Purple mattress and Tuft & Needle Mint mattress at our mattress lab, the T&N Mint outperformed the Purple thanks to exceptional responsiveness, cooling properties, and motion isolation abilities. However, the Purple’s incredible pressure relief and unique feel make it an excellent choice for average-weight side sleepers.
Stomach sleepers will find better support with the T&N mattress, while both mattresses are excellent options for back sleepers. But if you’re someone who moves around a lot at night, T&N’s responsiveness can help you sleep more soundly.
Still unsure which mattress is best for you? When you buy a new mattress from either Purple or Tuft & Needle, you have 100 nights to try it out in the comfort of your home. If you find that you made the wrong choice, return your mattress for a full refund and find one that works for you.
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