The 4 best comforters of 2024, tested and reviewed
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We all look forward to crawling into bed at the end of a long day to be enveloped by a cozy, fluffy comforter. The right combination of the best comforter, paired with a cushy pillow and a crisp set of sheets, will make your bedroom feel like a luxurious hotel room.
We spoke to four experts in bedding and hospitality and tested multiple comforters on their performance, durability, and return policy to find the best comforters for various needs. The best comforter, also commonly referred to as a duvet, should have features like a baffle-box construction to keep filling evenly distributed and loops to secure one of the best duvet covers, while filling and shell material can come down to personal preference.
Our best comforter overall is Brooklinen's Down Comforter; it's a great pick to use year-round and has a fluffy, well-made construction. If you are looking for a budget option, Target's Room Essentials Comforter is a down-alternative option that is notably soft and a fraction of the price of Brooklinen.
Find out more about how Insider Reviews tests and reviews home products.
Our top picks for the best comforters
Best overall: Brooklinen All-Season Down Comforter - See at Brooklinen
Best budget: Room Essentials Down-Alternative Comforter - See at Target
Best down-alternative: The Company Store Conscious Down-Alternative Comforter - See at The Company Store
Best for hot sleepers: Lands' End Essential Down Comforter - See at Lands' End
Best overall
The Brooklinen comforter gives the true wrapped-in-a-cloud feeling. It's light and compressible, and the down inside stays evenly distributed thanks to the baffle-box construction. Brooklinen's comforter felt the most luxurious and comfortable of all the contenders.
The outer shell is soft and stays quiet as you move in bed. While the comforter may compress quickly depending on how you sleep on it, it re-fluffs easily if you give it a shake.
On the downside, it had the most noticeable down smell. I had to fluff it in the dryer a few times for the smell to subside.
Because of the high fill power, it may be too warm for some sleepers. One of my testers, who normally sleeps with a thin silk blanket, thought it was too warm and liked the Lands' End option better.
Our senior home editor, Jaclyn Turner, has slept with the Brooklinen all-season down duvet for nearly three years. It's been a comfortable mainstay from hot Georgia summers through colder-than-average winters. It's still going strong overall, with a few clusters coming through, but it does need a good shake every few days to help redistribute the fill.
Overall, the Brooklinen comforter is still one of the best comforters when it comes to versatility for many sleepers, especially if you don't want to bother with switching blankets every season. In case it's not the best fit for you, Brooklinen also has lightweight and ultra-warm options you can try.
Read our full Brooklinen All-Season Down Comforter review.
Best budget
The comforter from Target's budget-minded Room Essentials brand is made from polyester with a brushed percale cotton shell. Many down-alternative fill comforters with a similar construction tend to be thin and flat.
Still, this model surprised me with its moderate thickness and fluffiness, rivaling more expensive comforters. It's not as airy or compressive as down, but it's undoubtedly cushiony and comfortable.
The shell is exceptionally soft — the softest of all the products in this guide. While it's still best to use a duvet cover to preserve the longevity of a comforter, Target's is the only one I'd consider sleeping under without a cover because of how soft and cozy it feels.
Though it's marketed as a mid-weight, all-season comforter, I think it works best for warm or mild seasons. It provided comfortable, breathable insulation for spring nights in California, but I don't see it being warm enough for a winter's night in the Midwest.
We'll continue to monitor this model for long-term durability to see whether the quality matches the price.
Best down-alternative
The Company Store's down alternative comforter is thoughtfully constructed from a mix of traditional and environmentally conscious materials, resulting in a duvet that's both comfortable and ethical.
The fill is made from polyester spun from recycled plastic bottles and Tencel lyocell, a naturally breathable and cool material made from wood fibers. Meanwhile, the shell is half cotton and half Tencel lyocell woven into a smooth, silky sateen weave.
The comforter has a box construction, which keeps the fill in place throughout the night. It's a good middle-of-the-road option that's neither too warm nor cool.
Overall, the comforter feels very similar to down: fluffy, soft, and compressible. The main difference I noticed is that the shell is a little stiffer and crinkly. Another significant difference is there's no down smell.
Whether you prefer not to buy animal products or want to be more environmentally friendly, this is one of the best comforters when it comes to comfort and warmth.
Best for hot sleepers
Those who sleep hot should look for a comforter with a lower fill power. The Lands' End comforter has a fill power of 550, which makes it less insulating than the 700 fill power of the Brooklinen duvet. At the same time, it's cushiony and fluffy enough that you won't miss out on the luxury of sleeping with a down comforter. It also compresses well, but again, less so than a product with a high fill power. We named it the top down pick in our guide to the best cooling comforters.
Out of all the down models I tested, the Lands' End has the least amount of down smell. That's because the down and feather filling is washed a couple of times to eliminate odor and dust. The International Down and Feather Lab labeled it "hypoallergenic," making it one of the best comforters for people with allergies and sensitivities.
My testers who regularly sleep hot found this lightweight comforter the least stifling of all the contenders. It acts as a soft cover-up layer, but it doesn't trap heat. In addition to being a great year-round option for warm sleepers, it's suitable to put on your summer bedding rotation (along with the best linen sheets).
What to look for in a comforter
The best comforters can be made of down, cotton, wool, polyester or a combination. Depending on your preference for fill and shell materials, comforters can vary when it comes to price and weight.
Filling
Comforters are typically filled with down, synthetic materials, or wool.
- Down: Down is made from the fluffy fibers underneath the feather layer of a duck's or goose's underbelly. It's used in bedding like pillows and comforters as well as clothing and outdoor equipment like sleeping bags. It's insulating, breathable, and soft. Down comforters have that fluffiness that wool does not. Look for comforters with a Responsible Down Standard (RDS) certification, which ensures the sourcing, manufacturing, and final down product are ethical and humane.
- Synthetic materials and down alternatives: Synthetic materials are the animal-friendly alternative to down and are made to mimic the properties of natural down. Down alternative comforters are perfect for people that suffer from allergies, whether it be from wool or feathers.
- Wool: Made from sheep's fur, wool is great for layering during the winter months or for folks who are generally cold. It's naturally thermoregulating. We've yet to test wool comforters to the same degree as down or down alternative options, but Woolroom and Nest Bedding are two trusted brands that offer high-quality wool duvets.
Fill power
If you buy a down comforter, you'll want to consider fill power, which is the amount of space, measured in cubic inches, that one ounce of down occupies (e.g., a 700-fill power pillow takes up 700 cubic inches of space). You may also see fill power referenced as weight, where brands describe their products as lightweight, heavyweight or all-season. If you tend to sleep hot, you want a product with a lower fill power. The higher the fill power, the lighter and fluffier the comforter is, and, somewhat counterintuitively, the warmer it is. A lower-fill-power comforter won't feel as fluffy and cloud-like, but it'll be less insulating. It's also a good idea to switch comforters based on the season unless you live somewhere with mild weather year-round.
Shell material
We recommend opting for a duvet cover. Most comforters also come with corner loops or tabs so you can put a duvet cover over it. A duvet cover protects your comforter from your body oils and is easier to wash. If you aren't looking to cover yours, the shell or exterior fabric will be important to you. You'll want something that feels comfortable, smooth to the touch, and fits your sleeping needs. The main shell materials to look out for are natural fabrics like cotton or bamboo.
Construction
Comforter construction is important because it gives you insight into the durability of your comforter. Depending on the weave it will reflect how the stuffing will lay inside and how warm you will be.
- Baffle-box construction: A design that separates the top and bottom layers of the comforter with a vertical fabric layer. This maintains an even fill distribution and consistent fluffiness.
- Sewn-through construction: A design that sews the top and bottom layers of the comforter directly together, with no middle layer of separation. This can lead to uneven distribution of filling and cold spots, which is why a baffle box is generally the preferred design.
Laundering or maintenance
If you are looking to clean your comforter at home, make sure you buy a comforter that isn't dry clean only. Maintenance can vary depending on the materials your comforter is made of or filled with, so make sure you pick a comforter that is accessible to you and your needs. If it's made from a synthetic material, it's OK to wash it in the machine with a gentle detergent. If it's made from down, it's best to only air dry or put it in the dryer on air fluff.