Menu

Home / Roundups / Best Goose Down Pillows

Best Goose Down Pillows

Candace Osmond
Updated October 23, 2023

A goose down pillow can provide a sleeper with both comfort and support for many nights to come. However, goose pillows aren’t identical to one another, which is why there are certain factors to consider when looking to buy one for yourself. We’ll take you through what you should look for when buying a goose down pillow and what are some of the best pillows that money can buy right now.

But first, here are our picks for the best goose down pillows that will satisfy the needs of different shopper categories. We’d first like to mention that a lot of the pillows you’re about to see are filled with a goose feather and down combination because they are best-selling products found right at the border between qualitative and conveniently priced (if we showed you only those filled entirely with goose down, this round-up would turn into an expensive shopping hunt).

1. WENERSI Premium Goose Down Pillows – Editor's Choice

Check Price
  • Available sizes: Queen, King
  • Fabric cover: 100% cotton

2. FineFeather 100% Hungarian White Goose Down Pillow

Check Price
  • Available sizes: Standard, Queen, King
  • Fabric cover: 100% cotton

3. Downluxe Pillows

Check Price
  • Available sizes: Queen, King
  • Fabric cover: cotton

4. JA COMFORTS Pillow Set

Check Price
  • Available sizes: Standard/Queen, Queen, King
  • Fabric cover: cotton

5. Queen Anne The Original Pillow

Check Price
  • Available sizes: Standard (soft/medium/firm), Queen (soft/medium/firm), King (soft/medium/firm)
  • Fabric cover: cotton

The Best Goose Down Pillows

1. WENERSI Premium Goose Down Pillows – Editor's Choice

Check Price

Highlights

  • Available sizes: Queen, King
  • Fabric cover: 100% cotton

Pros

  • Great loft and soft firmness
  • Thick enough for side sleepers
  • Very malleable

Cons

  • More feathers than down

Pick between either a soft or firmer pillow made with an 85% goose feather and 15% goose down fill mixture. This pillow makes our list simply because some people truly need a firmer surface but still love a malleable option- and you cannot get more malleable than a down or feather pillow. This is truly a luxury feeling option that works well for back and side sleepers and provides the loft needed for head and neck support.

The soft option is preferred for stomach sleepers and to use for joint support. The 100% cotton casing is thick and provides a comfortable, cooling surface, and helps hold everything in.

Who Should Buy This?

If you are in need of a thicker, slightly more firm pillow choice, this is the one to take advantage of. It is made specifically to provide options to down and feather pillow lovers, without the flattening and fluffing you have to embark upon with all down options.

2. FineFeather 100% Hungarian White Goose Down Pillow

Check Price

Highlights

  • Available sizes: Standard, Queen, King
  • Fabric cover: 100% cotton

Pros

  • Great side sleeping comfort
  • Excellent for neck support
  • Does not flatten out

Cons

  • Shaping required for proper support (typical of down and feather fills)

Available in 3 sizes, the FineFeather White Goose Down Pillow is designed for all sleep positions, and has 27 ounces of 100% goose down filling to provide a medium density feel. This allows you to shape it for your head and neck support needs, and it fluffs easily into a higher loft for excellent side sleeping support.

The 100% cotton cover is woven into a damask for a smooth, satiny, cooling feel. The double-stitched seams are perfect for avoiding any down quills from working their way through, and helps keep your pillow pliable and fluffy. It also can be machine washed and laundered.

Who Should Buy This?

Best for back and side sleepers, it may be a bit thick for stomach sleepers. However, it also serves as a great choice for hip and leg support.

3. Downluxe Pillows

Check Price

Highlights

  • Available sizes: Queen, King
  • Fabric cover: cotton

Pros

  • Hypoallergenic.
  • Machine washable.
  • Double layer cover.
  • 300 thread count.
  • Set of two pillows.

Cons

  • Complaints about being too firm.

As a side sleeper, finding the right bedding items and mattresses is increasingly more difficult, even if this is the most common sleeping position of all. That means that getting your hands on the proper pillow to support you in this position without hurting your ears and straining your neck is a challenge. In our effort to do a little bit of the homework for you, we came across the Downluxe pillows, which seems to have what it takes to be supportive and comfortable for side sleepers.

These pillows are made from a combination of goose down and feather, and it’s sad to see that we are not given the proportions for each (you know we’re big fans of brand transparency when it comes to the product they’re trying to convince us to buy). What we can tell you is that feel is highly adaptive and takes the contour of your head and neck, providing a really good level of support. The fill is also hypoallergenic, much to the delight of our allergy-suffering readers.

The shell is made entirely out of cotton, with benefits that we’re not going to get into, but you already know that you’re dealing with soft and breathable fabric. The thread count for the weave is 300, which is neither here nor there, giving us a pretty decent fabric in terms of durability. The pillow is machine washable, comes in a pack of two products, and available in a Queen and King size.

Who Should Buy This?

Those of you that sleep on the side and require a pillow that’s highly adaptive and supportive for your head and neck should give the Downluxe pillow set a chance.

4. Runner Up: JA COMFORTS Pillow Set

Check Price

Highlights

  • Available sizes: Standard/Queen, Queen, King
  • Fabric cover: cotton

Pros

  • Machine washable.
  • Cotton outer shell.
  • Multiple size options.
  • Good conforming.
  • Breathable cover.

Cons

  • Doesn’t stay fluffy for long.

Since pillows that are filled with natural down are more expensive compared to those that have synthetic fibers inside, we had to look for a less expensive option so that people who are on a budget can see they do still have access to such a product. The JA COMFORTS pillows are such products, and they are available in a set of two pillows but can also be purchased as individual products (purchasing a set gives you a better price per product).

Let’s start off by mentioning the cover. This is a product with an outer shell made entirely out of cotton, with a thread count of 233. First of all, kudos for being realistic about the thread count, as we’ve noticed a tendency to exaggerate and promise thread counts of 1,800 in some brands, which is just not realistic.

The pillows are filled with a combination of natural goose feathers and down (in a 95/5 percent proportion), which explains the relatively low price per product (pillows filled exclusively with down will always be more expensive). The pillows are also full machine-washable, so there’s the comfort of knowing that the products are easy to care for (make sure you closely follow cleaning instructions to avoid deteriorating the products).

Who Should Buy This?

Looking for a more affordable goose down pillow? Then how about purchasing a set of two pillows to get an even greater bang for your buck? Those of you on a budget should have a look into the JA COMFORTS pillow set.

5. Best goose & duck down fill: Queen Anne The Original Pillow

Check Price

Highlights

  • Available sizes: Standard (soft/medium/firm), Queen (soft/medium/firm), King (soft/medium/firm)
  • Fabric cover: cotton

Pros

  • Hypoallergenic.
  • 300 thread count.
  • Cotton cover.
  • Hotel-quality pillows.

Cons

  • Very expensive.

We never believed in compromising when it comes to the quality of your sleep because it can make or break your entire upcoming day. High-quality products designed for sleeping translate into so many different things, it would be a shame to let price get in the way of a product that can truly improve the quality of sleep. The Queen Anne pillow is surely an expensive item, but with indisputable quality and features that are out of this world.

What exactly can you expect from a product that costs this much? It is just a pillow in the end, isn’t it? It depends on how you look at it. First of all, consider the fact that this pillow is filled entirely with goose and duck down, no feathers included. The fill has been ethically sourced, which is important if you are against animal cruelty and suspect foul play when it comes to plucking down and feathers of birds.

The hand-filled pillows have a 650 fill power, which is more than enough to ensure comfort and fluffiness. The cover is made entirely out of cotton and has a thread count of 300, which is decent in terms of weave quality and durability. It is clear that the Queen Anne pillow is invested in fine details, as you can tell by the purple piped edges that look very royal-ish.

Who Should Buy This?

If you are not particularly interested in having a pillow filled exclusively with goose down and are willing to accept the comfort and support provided by the good/duck combo, you’re going to love the Queen Anne pillow. It’s a product for those willing to invest in a durable and really high-quality product.

Choosing a Goose Down Pillow

We always believe that educating buyers before investing in a product will lead to a happier customer and more positive feedback for the brand since not all products are created equal. If you want to make sure that you’re sleeping on a goose down pillow that’s right for you, here are some things that you should know beforehand:

Fill Proportions

If you truly want to enjoy the benefits of sleeping on a goose down pillow, you will have to pay attention to the exact proportions of the fill.  What we mean by this is that certain products are filled entirely with goose down while others contain goose down combined with goose feathers.  As you can expect, one type of product isn’t identical to the other so there will be differences in terms of how the pillow feels and what it has to offer.

Pillows that are filled with both goose down and goose feathers are generally cheaper compared to those that contain only goose down.  The difference in how the pillow feels isn’t extremely noticeable as long as you make sure that the pillow contains at least 50 to 75% goose down in order for you to benefit from the advantages of such a product.

Fill Power

If you’ve already purchased a natural down comforter, then you are probably familiar with the term of fill power.  Such a term is also applied when discussing pillows filled with natural down and it refers to the volume occupied by goose down.  The fill power of such a pillow starts off at 300 and can be as high as 900.  The quality and the price of a goose down pillow grow proportionally with its fill power.  A standard goose down pillow will have a fill power of 600 whilst higher quality products typically have a fill power of 800.

Firmness

When you are looking to buy goose down pillows, their firmness is something that should always be in the back of your head.  As you can expect, the preferred firmness level varies from one sleeper to another and it is typically a piece of information that is already provided on the product page.

If you’re looking to buy goose down pillows in a brick and mortar store, you can check the firmness of the pillow yourself.  As with mattresses, the right firmness for a pillow depends on your preferred sleeping position.  Some experts recommend that you opt for a firmer pillow that can provide you with sufficient neck and head support.  What you are always aiming for when choosing a pillow is to make sure that it doesn’t put a strain on your neck and doesn’t force the spine to rest in an unnatural position.

Fabric Covering

Naturally, the fabric of the cover is also important.  If the quality of the weave is poor, the cover itself won’t be resistant and you can actually end up seeing goose down coming out of the pillow.  It goes both ways since dust and natural face oils can also penetrate the cover and deteriorate the goose down.  What you’re looking for is a fabric with a dense weave, and cotton is typically the fabric of choice for most high-quality goose down pillows.

Allergies

One very important aspect that people have to consider if they want to buy a goose down pillow is a potential allergy. Before you invest in such a pillow, you will need to first make sure that you are not allergic to natural down.  As weird as it may sound, there are actually a lot of people who are allergic and if you already know that pet hair and dander trigger your allergies, then you are most likely allergic to natural down as well.

If you still want to sleep on a goose down pillow despite your allergies, there are two possible choices.  You can either look for pillows with a down that has been treated and is now hypoallergenic, or you can choose a pillow that’s filled with a synthetic material that mimics the feel of natural down.  If you are considering the former option, you need to look for pillows with a down fill that has been treated and washed with special mixtures.

Down Pillow Care

Surprisingly enough, many down pillows can be machine laundered and dried. Always follow the care instructions provided, but this makes them a much more desirable product compared to those that cannot be washed ever. Take into account the following tips for down pillow care:

  • Wash more than one pillow at a time to balance the washing machine
  • Always wash in cool water to avoid case shrinkage
  • Use gently soaps
  • Only use non-chlorine bleach when whitening
  • Do not use fabric softeners
  • Run an extra rinse cycle to ensure all soap is removed
  • Run an extra spin cycle to get out excess water
  • Tumble dry on low heat and always use dryer bass to fluff up.
  • Dry extra long to ensure it dries completely

Sleep Positions and Down Pillows

Your head-and-neck alignment is incredibly important to consider and can make it feel as if your mattress is the issue when, in fact, it might simply be your pillow. Your body needs to relax into a natural position each night for rue soft tissue relaxation. This increases blood flow and helps you sleep through the night.

Your natural sleep position influences the type of pillow you should be considering. Down pillows are excellent choices for all types of positions when used correctly. But you still want to consider the fill powers and proportions to get the support you need.

• Back Sleepers

Back sleepers need a low profile pillow that also offers good neck support. Down pillows are great choices for this because they can be shaped to cradle the head and keep the neck in a position that allows it to fully relax.

• Stomach Sleepers

Stomach sleepers do not technically always need a pillow as they are already in a compromised position due to the turn of the neck. Lifting the head out of alignment with the spine can create pressure on the lower back. Thin, soft pillows are a good choice for stomach sleepers to allows gentle support for the head and shoulders.

• Side Sleepers

Side sleepers require a loftier choice that helps lift your head and provide neck support to keep your spine in alignment with the rest of your body. Often a firmer choice, or malleable, overstuffed choice is best.

Bottom Line

Investing in a goose down pillow is actually a very good idea considering that natural down is very supportive and can closely conform to the shape of your body. It might be tricky to go with such an option if you’re allergic to down, but there are pillows treated to prevent your allergies from going off the rails.

If you keep in mind the things we told you at the beginning of this article, then you will have no problems in finding products that are suitable to your needs and can guarantee a good sleeping experience.