Best Adjustable Pillow: Loose Fill vs. Foam Layers
Almost every adjustable pillow works one of two ways. You either scoop loose fill (shredded foam or fiber) in and out, or you add and remove solid foam layers. This guide puts the two head to head, round by round.
The short answer
For most sleepers, a pillow with foam layers is the better choice.
Exact heights you can measure and build again
Stays even at very low heights, with no thin spots
A firm layer that changes the feel without changing the height
No loose fill to spill, store, or fluff back into place
Loose fill still wins on one thing: a soft, fluffy pillow you can scrunch and hug.
Where we stand. Bluewave makes the Versalayer, so we have a side in this. Everything below explains how each design is built and what that means for you. It is not a lab test of other companies' pillows.
At a Glance
The scorecard
How the two designs compare on what matters when you adjust a pillow.
What you care about
Loose fill
Foam layers
Winner
Exact, repeatable height
Changes with how the fill settles
Known heights you can build again
Layers
Very low heights
Can leave thin spots and a baggy cover
Stays flat and even, edge to edge
Layers
Firmer feel at the same height
Height and firmness change together
Swap in the firm layer
Layers
Adjusting without a mess
Loose pieces end up on the bed and floor
A layer slides out in one piece
Layers
Holding its shape all night
Fill can drift out from under your head
No loose pieces to move
Layers
Storing what you take out
A bag or bin of loose fill
A flat layer on a shelf
Layers
A fluffy pillow you can scrunch
Easy to bunch, fold, and hug
Keeps its shape, so it won't scrunch up
Loose fill
General tendencies based on how each design is built, not lab results. Individual pillows vary.
The Contenders
The two designs
Loose fill (shredded foam or fiber)
Small pieces of foam, fiber, or a blend inside a zippered cover
You adjust by scooping fill out or stuffing it back in
Soft and shapeable: you can bunch it under your neck
Foam layers (like the Versalayer)
Solid sheets of foam, each a fixed thickness
You adjust by adding, removing, or swapping layers
Even and supportive, edge to edge
Some pillows mix the two, or split the fill into separate pockets. Those designs can ease some of the problems below, so check how any pillow you're considering actually adjusts.
Round1
Exact height
A quarter inch can be the difference between too tall and just right. To get it just right, you need to know exactly how tall your pillow is.
Loose fill
You adjust by the handful, and a handful isn't a measurement
The height changes with how the fill is spread and packed
Hard to know exactly what height you had last week
Foam layers
Each layer is a known thickness, so every stack is a known height
With the Versalayer, you can build every quarter inch from 0.75" to 5.25", plus 6"
Easy to try one step up or down, then go back
The same 2.75" stack, twice. Memory foam gives under the weight of your head, so the height you actually sleep on is lower than the stack height. How much lower depends on the weight of your head, the foam, and how warm the room is.
WinnerLayers. You get real numbers to work with. Any foam gives under your head, so still test the height in your own bed.
Round2
Very low heights
Stomach and back sleepers often want a low pillow. This is where the two designs differ the most.
Loose fill
Take most of the fill out and what's left can drift to the edges
That leaves a thin spot right where your head goes
The full-size cover gets loose and wrinkled
Foam layers
A 1.75" stack stays flat and even, edge to edge
You can go as low as a single 0.75" layer
The cover can feel a little roomy at the lowest heights
Two pillows taken down low. With loose fill, what is left can drift to the ends and leave a thin spot where your head goes, inside a cover that is now too big. With foam layers, the stack stays the same thickness from end to end. The cover was sized for a taller stack, so it can still feel a little roomy. These are drawings, not measurements.
WinnerLayers. A low stack stays even. Smaller covers and inner pockets help loose fill, but it is still hard to keep a low pillow from going flat in spots.
Round3
Height vs. firmness
Height is how thick the pillow is. Firmness is how hard it pushes back. The best pillow lets you set each one on its own.
Loose fill
The amount of fill is the only control
Less fill makes it lower and softer, and more fill makes it taller and firmer
A pillow that is low but firm is hard to get
Foam layers
The layers you choose set the height
Swapping in the firm 1" layer changes the feel, not the height
Move the firm layer up or down in the stack to fine-tune the feel
The shaded areas show where each kind of pillow can end up. Loose fill has one control, the amount of fill, so it stays in a narrow diagonal band: low and soft, or tall and firm. Low and firm is hard to reach. Layers set the height, and the firm layer changes the feel, so they cover the full range of heights and reach into all four sections. A different cover or fill blend can shift the loose-fill band. The shapes show the idea, not measurements.
WinnerLayers. You get two controls instead of one. The other layers still give under your head, so the firm layer won't make the whole pillow firm. Try it and see how it feels.
Round4
The mess factor
Adjusting a pillow shouldn't mean cleaning up after it.
Loose fill
Pieces stick to your hands and land on the bed and floor
Static can make fiber cling to you and your sheets
Removed fill needs a bag or bin until you put it back
Foam layers
Unzip, slide a layer out, zip it closed
Nothing loose to scoop, spill, or sweep up
A spare layer stores flat on a shelf or under the bed
Opening each kind of pillow to lower it. Loose fill comes out by the handful, so some pieces end up on the bed and floor, and what you take out needs a bag until you put it back. A layer comes out in one piece and goes back the same way.
WinnerLayers, easily. Inner liners and removable inner pillows make loose fill tidier, but a whole layer is as clean as it gets.
Round5
Staying put overnight
Setting up a pillow at bedtime is one thing. Having it stay that way until morning is another.
Loose fill
Your head's weight and your tossing and turning push fill away from the middle
By morning it can gather at the edges and leave a thin spot
Many makers suggest a quick shake to spread it back out
Foam layers
Nothing loose to shift around
The height you set at night is the height you wake up on
A layer can still slide out of line, so straighten it now and then
One way loose fill can shift in a pillow with no inner pockets. Your head's weight and your tossing and turning push fill away from the middle, so by morning it can gather at the edges and leave a thin spot where your head goes. Not every loose-fill pillow does this: inner pockets and some fill blends move less, and many makers suggest a quick shake to spread it back out. Foam layers have no loose pieces to move, though a layer can still slide out of line, so check it now and then.
WinnerLayers, for a pillow that stays the way you set it. Loose fill with inner pockets moves less, but it still needs reshaping now and then.
Round6
Matching your mattress
Your pillow and mattress work as a team. A softer bed lets your shoulder sink in, which changes the gap your pillow needs to fill.
Loose fill
You adjust for a new mattress by feel
Hard to know how much to take out
Hard to get back to the old setup if you change your mind
Foam layers
Firmer bed: build it taller
Softer bed: take a layer out
Write down a recipe for each bed you sleep on
The same side sleeper on two beds, seen from behind. On a firmer mattress the shoulder stays high, so the pillow needs to be taller. On a softer mattress the shoulder sinks in, so the same height would push the head up, and taking one layer out brings it back in line. The dashed white line follows the spine. These heights are examples: your numbers depend on your body and your mattress, so test on your own bed.
WinnerLayers. Small, exact changes let you fine-tune for your mattress, and you can undo them just as easily.
Round7
Keeping track of what works
Finding your best pillow height takes some trial and error. It goes faster when you can write down what you tried.
Loose fill
"A bit less fill than last week" is hard to repeat
Weighing the fill you remove helps, but it can still settle differently
No easy way to switch back and forth between two setups
Foam layers
Every stack is a recipe you can write down, like the one below
Note the layers, their order, and where the firm layer sits
Build the same setup again later, exactly
0.75"+0.75"+1.25"=2.75"
WinnerLayers. A recipe beats a guess.
To Be Fair
When loose fill still wins
Layers are the better pick for most people, but not for everyone. Loose fill is the better choice if you:
Love a fluffy pillow you can scrunch, fold, and hug
Reshape your pillow every night and like doing it
Don't like memory foam and want the soft feel of a fiber pillow
Choose the feel you enjoy first. An adjustable pillow that feels wrong to you is still the wrong pillow.
By Sleep Position
How layers help each sleeper
Position sets your starting point. Your body and your mattress fine-tune it from there.
Stomach sleepers
Start low
You need the lowest pillow, and layers stay even at low heights, with no thin spots. Start with one or two thin layers. Stomach sleeper guide
Back sleepers
Start low to middle
Compare neighboring heights like 2.5", 2.75", and 3". If the height is right but it sinks too much, swap in the firm layer. Back sleeper guide
Side sleepers
Start tall
Your shoulder leaves a bigger gap to fill, so start with a taller stack. Take a layer out if your mattress is soft. Side sleeper guide
Combination sleepers
Start in the middle
Set the height for the position you sleep in most, then check the others. The stack keeps its shape as you turn, so there are no surprises.
Our Pick
Inside the Versalayer
The Versalayer Adjustable Pillow is our layered pillow. It comes in Standard and King sizes and uses CertiPUR-US® certified foam.
Six gel memory foam layers: two 0.75", two 1" (one firm, with a red tag), and two 1.25"
20 stack heights: every quarter inch from 0.75" to 5.25", plus the full 6"
A zippered cover that comes off for the washing machine
0.75" layer
0.75" layer
1" layer
1" firm layer
1.25" layer
1.25" layer
Zippered cover, machine washable
Everything that comes in one Versalayer: six gel memory foam layers, each in a thin sleeve with a lettered tag, and the zippered cover they go into. Stack them in any combination to build your height.
Pick a height below to see one way to build it, with or without the firm layer.
Bar height is the stack height in inches. Every quarter inch from 0.75" to 5.25", then the full 6" stack. There is no 5.5" or 5.75".
2.75"
3 layers, top to bottom
0.75"
0.75"
1.25"
Can be built with or without the firm layer.
These are stack heights: what the layers add up to before your head presses down. Many heights can be built with or without the firm layer, so there are more than 20 setups to try. Each height is a thickness, not a firmness level.
Same height, different feel
Swap in the firm layer and the height stays the same, but the feel changes. Where you put it in the stack matters too.
Three ways to build the same 3" stack, and how far your head sinks into each. With all regular foam, every layer gives, so your head sinks the most. With the firm layer in the middle, the top layer still gives, but the firm layer under it gives less, so your head sinks less. With the firm layer on top, it holds up your head directly and spreads out its weight, so you sink the least. The dashed orange lines mark the top of the stack before and after your head rests on it. How much any stack sinks depends on your head and the foam, so treat these as setups to try. Flip the pillow over and the order of the layers flips too.
The firm layer fits most heights, with a few exceptions:
It can't go in the 0.75", 1.25", or 1.5" heights
The 4.5", 4.75", 5.25", and 6" heights need it
Every other height works with or without it
Step by Step
How to find your height
Start close to your current pillow. Build a stack about as tall as the pillow you use now, then write down what you want to fix: too tall, too low, or too soft.
Test in your real bed. Use your own mattress, pillowcase, and sleep position. A squeeze with your hand doesn't count.
Sleep on it. A quick test can rule out a bad fit. A full night tells you more.
Change one thing at a time. Go a quarter inch up or down, or swap in the firm layer at the same height.
Write down the winner. Note the layers, the order, and where the firm layer sits. When changes stop helping, you've found your height.
Choose adjustable if you're still finding your height, or a fixed height if you already know it. Both use CertiPUR-US® certified foam, come from a family-owned company in Indian Rocks Beach, Florida, and have 30-day returns through Amazon.
Still finding your height
Versalayer 0.75" to 6"
Six removable gel memory foam layers, including one firmer 1" layer. Build every quarter inch from 0.75" to 5.25", plus the full 6" stack, and move the firm layer to test the feel. Comes in Standard and King.
One solid piece of gel memory foam, cut to a single height. Comes in five heights: 1.75", 2.25", 2.75", 3.25", and 4.0". The 2.75" Ultra Slim is our best seller. Nothing to adjust and nothing to store.
Look for a wide range of heights, changes you can measure, and a way to get back to a setup you liked. Foam layers make that simple, since every stack is a recipe you can write down. Loose fill lets you adjust by feel, but it is harder to repeat. Pick the material you like first, then adjust to fine-tune the fit. No amount of adjusting fixes a feel you dislike.
Yes, if the cover unzips so you can reach the fill. Adding or removing foam changes the height and the feel, even though you can't set an exact height. Not every shredded foam pillow opens, so check before you buy.
Yes. A layered pillow can go under 2" if its layers are thin enough. The Versalayer can be set to 0.75", 1", 1.25", 1.5", or 1.75". Loose-fill pillows can get very thin too, but they can go flat in spots. Either way, check how much cushion is left once your head presses down, and how the cover fits.
Yes. Thickness and firmness are separate things. A thin pillow made of firmer foam can push back more than a thicker, softer one. In the Versalayer, you can try this with the firm 1" layer. How it feels depends on the whole stack and the weight of your head, and thin and firm isn't comfortable for everyone.
Start with the maker's instructions, take out a little at a time, and keep what you remove. There is no rule for how many handfuls make an inch. Take out too much and the pillow can feel thin in spots, with a baggy cover. If that happens, put a little back and spread the fill out evenly.
They can't drift into the corners the way loose fill can. A layer can still slide out of line, depending on how you handle it and how the cover fits. Stack the layers flat and keep them in the cover they came with. After a big drop in height, check that they are still lined up.
It makes your stack feel firmer. Many heights can be built with or without it, so you can compare the feel without changing the height. The height map above shows the layers for each one. Put it near the top for a firmer feel, or lower in the stack for a softer surface. The best spot is personal. Your sleeping height can also change a little, since a firmer stack sinks less.
It depends on the pillow and which part you want to wash. The Versalayer's cover is machine washable, but its foam layers should never be machine washed or soaked. Some shredded foam pillows can be washed whole if you follow their care instructions. Check the sewn-in label. A washable cover doesn't mean what is inside is washable.
Next Step
Build your height
Six layers, 20 heights from 0.75" to 6", free shipping, and 30-day returns through Amazon.
