Best wedge pillows
A wedge raises your whole upper body, and whether that helps depends entirely on how long the slope is.
I earn a commission if you buy through some links on this page. It never changes what I recommend, and I publish negative verdicts on brands I earn from. Editorial independence.
See a GP if any of this applies
Wedge pillows are frequently bought for reflux, breathing or swelling. Persistent heartburn or reflux, difficulty breathing when lying flat, swelling in one leg, or pauses in breathing during sleep all need a GP rather than bedding.
A wedge can make a condition more comfortable to live with. It does not treat one, and using it instead of getting assessed delays treatment that works.
What a wedge does mechanically is raise your whole upper body on a slope. That is different from propping your head on pillows, which bends the neck forward and puts the fold at the wrong place.
So the two specifications that matter are the angle and the length of the slope. A short steep wedge lifts your head and folds you at the middle of your back. A long shallow one raises the torso as a unit.
The picks
The pick, if you want one answer
Simba Body Pillow, 7.4 / 10. A full-length support that raises the torso rather than folding you at the waist.
| Product | Best for | From | Score |
|---|---|---|---|
| Simba Body Pillow | Best for positional support | Mid range | 7.4 / 10 |
| Simba CustomFlex Pillow | Best head pillow to use with a wedge | Mid range | 7.7 / 10 |
| Origin Coolmax Latex Pillow | Best if the wedge sleeps hot | Mid range | 7.8 / 10 |
| Silentnight Airmax Topper | Best whole-bed alternative | Budget to mid | 7.4 / 10 |
Simba Body Pillow: Best for positional support
Mid range · 7.4 / 10
Scores 7.4. A long bolster placed under the shoulders and back supports a length rather than a point, which is the property a short wedge lacks, and it doubles as a knee or front support.
Buy it if
You want something long enough to support the whole torso or hold a side position.
Do not buy it if
You need a fixed incline held all night.
Read the full Simba Body Pillow review
Simba CustomFlex Pillow: Best head pillow to use with a wedge
Mid range · 7.7 / 10
Removable fill, so you can take height out. On a wedge you need less head pillow, not more, because the wedge has already raised your shoulders. Stacking a normal pillow on a wedge is the commonest way people give themselves neck pain.
Buy it if
You are on a wedge and your neck now aches.
Do not buy it if
You want the wedge to do everything.
Read the full Simba CustomFlex Pillow review
Origin Coolmax Latex Pillow: Best if the wedge sleeps hot
Mid range · 7.8 / 10
Scores 7.8. Wedges are almost always solid foam, which is the warmest material in bedding, and your back is in full contact with it. Changing the head pillow to something with airflow helps more than it sounds because it is the part nearest your face.
Buy it if
You find the foam under your back holds heat.
Do not buy it if
You want to sink in.
Read the full Origin Coolmax Latex Pillow review
Silentnight Airmax Topper: Best whole-bed alternative
Budget to mid · 7.4 / 10
Scores 7.4, and it is here to make a different point: raising the head end of the whole bed on sturdy risers tilts the torso and neck together, which some people find works where a wedge does not. A topper then keeps the surface comfortable on the slope.
Buy it if
You would rather raise the bed than sleep on a wedge.
Do not buy it if
You need a steep incline.
Read the full Silentnight Airmax Topper review
Angle and length, which decide whether it works
| Shape | Effect |
|---|---|
| Short, steep | Lifts the head and folds the body at the mid back. Frequently uncomfortable. |
| Long, shallow | Raises the whole torso as a unit. What most people actually want. |
| Full bed-width | Lets you turn without sliding off the edge of the wedge. |
| Under the knees | A different job: takes tension off the lower back when lying on your back. |
The usual advice for reflux is a gentle incline of roughly 15 to 30 degrees, and a wedge long enough that the slope starts at your hips rather than your shoulder blades.
Raising the head of the bed itself achieves the same thing with no wedge at all: sturdy risers under the two legs at the head end, a few centimetres, with the frame checked for stability. Many people find this more comfortable and it does not interfere with turning over.
Use less head pillow, not more
This is the mistake that turns a wedge into a neck problem.
A wedge has already raised your shoulders. Adding a normal pillow on top pushes your head forward and tucks your chin toward your chest, which is exactly the position that causes ache at the back of the neck.
Use a thin pillow or none. Then run the usual check: lie in position for ten minutes and have someone look from the side. Your head should sit in line with your torso, not propped.
The practical problems nobody mentions
You slide down it. Gravity, all night. A wedge with a slightly textured cover, a fitted sheet over both wedge and mattress, or a small pillow under the knees all reduce it.
It is difficult to turn on. Side sleeping on a narrow wedge means half your shoulder overhangs. A full bed-width wedge solves this and takes up the whole top of the bed.
It is hot. Solid foam with your whole back against it, and no air movement. A cover that moves moisture helps; the foam underneath still holds heat.
It affects a partner. A full-width wedge raises both of you, which one of you did not ask for. Two singles or a zip and link lets each person choose.
Other jobs a wedge does
Under the knees, lying on your back, to take tension off the lower back. A different use of the same object and a genuinely useful one.
Leg elevation, where a clinician has advised it. Follow their guidance on height and duration rather than a product page.
Sitting up in bed to read, where a wedge beats stacked pillows because it supports a length of back rather than a point.
If a wedge has been recommended to you by a GP, physiotherapist or midwife, take the angle and duration from them and use this page only for choosing between products.
What not to do
Stack a normal pillow on top of a wedge. It tucks your chin and causes neck ache.
Buy a short steep wedge for reflux. It folds you at the mid back rather than raising the torso.
Use a wedge instead of seeing a GP about persistent reflux, breathing difficulty or swelling.
Buy a narrow wedge if you turn over. Half your shoulder will overhang.
Assume your partner wants the same incline.
Also considered, and why they are not here
A roundup is only as useful as what it leaves out, so here is what was assessed and rejected for this list.
| Product | Why it is not on the list |
|---|---|
| Kally Sleep Body Pillow | Scores 7.3. A long bolster that supports a length of body, which is the property a short wedge lacks. |
| Simba Hybrid Pillow | The highest scoring pillow here at 7.9, and on a wedge you want less head height rather than more, so consider it only once the wedge height is settled. |
| Tempur Pillow | Excellent height consistency and the warmest fill in the category, which compounds a wedge's heat problem. |
| Short steep foam wedges | The commonest type sold and the one most likely to be abandoned, because it lifts the head and folds the body rather than raising the torso as a unit. |
How this list is made, and who made it
Independence
No brand pays to appear on this site and no placement is sold. Some links earn a commission if you buy, which never changes a score, an order or a verdict. Several of the lowest scores here are on products that carry commission, and several recommendations carry none.
Who writes this. Kyle Klinkradt has worked in the mattress and bedding industry for over ten years across retail, distribution and brand partnerships, and has handled, sold or assessed products from every major UK bed-in-a-box brand. Every review on this site is written by one person, so the scores mean the same thing from page to page.
What the assessment is. Construction specifications against what they physically do: spring height and where in the mattress it sits, spring count for the size, gauge, whether the base is sprung or foam, foam density where it is published, comfort layer depth and material. Then the commercial terms that decide what you are actually buying: trial against returns policy, guarantee length against the company's UK trading history at Companies House, and the regulatory record.
What it is not. This is not a laboratory. I do not publish pressure-mapping data or claim to have slept eight years on every mattress here, because nobody has and pages that imply otherwise are not telling you the truth. Where a judgement rests on construction rather than long-term use, the review says so.
What gets a product removed. Leaving the UK market, a specification change that makes the review inaccurate, or a corrected fact. Brands that have withdrawn are kept on the site with the score removed rather than quietly deleted, because people still search for them.
See editorial independence, corrections and the author page.
How these were chosen
Every product here has its own review on this site with a score out of 10, and the score is a judgement rather than an average. Nothing appears in a list because it pays more.
A score is against the market, not against its own range. The cheapest mattress in a lineup is usually priced to make the model above it look reasonable, and the flagship of a budget range has risen into a bracket where better brands compete. Both are judged against what else you could buy for the money.
Everything listed can actually be bought in the UK. That is not a given: Casper withdrew in July 2020 and Leesa no longer sells here, and both still appear in current British roundups with affiliate links attached.
I do not pad the list. Where only three or four products genuinely qualify, there are three or four. A list of seven when the category contains four good ones is a list with three bad recommendations in it.
Prices move constantly. Judge the cash price on the day rather than any percentage beside it. See every review on this site or where the real savings are.
Questions people ask
What angle should a wedge pillow be?
Commonly a gentle incline of roughly 15 to 30 degrees, and the length matters more than the angle: the slope should start at your hips rather than your shoulder blades, or you are folded at the mid back.
Should I use a normal pillow on top of a wedge?
No, or a very thin one. The wedge has already raised your shoulders, so adding a normal pillow pushes your head forward and tucks your chin, which causes ache at the back of the neck.
Is raising the bed better than a wedge pillow?
Many people find it more comfortable, because sturdy risers under the head end tilt the torso and neck together and do not interfere with turning over. Check the frame is stable.
Can a wedge pillow treat reflux or sleep apnoea?
No. It can make a condition more comfortable to live with, and persistent reflux, difficulty breathing when lying flat, or pauses in breathing during sleep need a GP rather than bedding.