Purple Renew Review

In This Review
Performance Tests | Firmness | Support & Sleeping Positions | Design | Materials | Comparisons | FAQs

At NapLab, we put each mattress to the test.

We test 10 different factors that impact the performance, comfort, and feel of the mattress. We then take the results of that test and compare to every mattress we’ve tested to date.

Check out the full performance table below to see how this mattress ranks:

Factor	Purple Renew	Average
Overall Score	8.28	8.55
Price (Queen)	$1,400	$2,082 (Specialty only)
Cooling – Score	9.0	8.6
Sinkage – Depth	1.98″	2.16″
Sinkage – Feel	Minimal	Moderate
Motion Transfer – Score	8.5	8.2
Motion Transfer – Acceleration	8.26 m/s²	8.74 m/s²
Response Time – Score	10	8.9
Response Time – Mostly Recovered	0.2 sec.	0.4 sec.
Response Time – Fully Recovered	0.3 sec.	1.0 sec.
Bounce – Height	8.87″	9.31″
Bounce – Feel	Moderate	Moderate
Edge Support – Score	7.0	8.6
Edge Support – Sitting	5.50″	4.06″
Edge Support – Lying	Fair	Good
Sex – Score	7.9	8.4
Pressure Relief – Score	7.0	8.7
Comfort Layer Thickness	4.0″	4.2″
Mattress Thickness	11″	12.1″
Off-Gassing – Score	8.6	8.2
Off-Gassing – Smell	Strong	Strong
Off-Gassing – Days	5 days	6 days
Company – Score	8.8	8.6
Trial	365 nights	178 nights
Warranty	10 years	25% have lifetime warranties, average of other 75% of mattresses is 13 years

How is Purple Renew Different?

The Purple Renew is a specialty mattress with a below-average overall score and a below-average price tag, $1400 for a queen mattress (considering specialty mattresses only). Specialty mattresses are a bit of an odd category because there is such a wide range of prices and features.

If we compare the Renew to the average foam mattress ($1,079) or the average hybrid mattress ($1,332), the price begins to look less attractive. But budgets aside, let’s talk about some of the pros and cons.

Advantages

Advantages to the Purple Renew include better cooling performance, slightly less motion transfer than average, and a very fast material response time.

The mattress also off-gasses one day faster than average, 5 days instead of 6 days. The trial is over twice as long as the average and is backed by free returns and a 10-year warranty.

Neutral Factors

This mattress has a minimal level of sinkage and a moderate level of bounce. Both sinkage and bounce are considered neutral factors since they largely depend on a sleeper’s personal preference.

This mattress has a bit of a floating feel, especially for lightweight sleepers. If you’re a side sleeper or just like more hug and contour, the Purple Renew is likely not right for you.

Disadvantages

Edge support is really lacking on this mattress. We measured 5.5″ of sinkage when seated directly at the edge (nearly 1.5″ deeper than average). In addition, the mattress only has a fair level of lying support.

Pressure relief struggled as well, despite having 4.0″ of comfort material. The Purple grid has an interesting feel that may be advantageous for some, but it does make it difficult to provide that deeper contour needed for exceptional pressure relief.

The Purple Renew has excellent cooling. During our tests, I did not feel any significant level of heat retention around my body.

The mattress remained comfortably cool and seemed to breathe well. The Purple grid, which is a hyper-elastic gel polymer, does a nice job of preventing heat retention, while the grid-like pattern creates ample air pockets for increased breathability.

• Baseline Temperature – the temperature of the mattress before anyone lies on it
• Maximum Temperature (0 minute) – the temperature of the mattress after lying on it for 15 minutes
• Ending Temperature (5 minute) – the temperature of the mattress after being lied upon and having no one on it for 5 minutes

In our objective temperature tests, we measured a max surface level temperature of 89.4° F. This is 0.3° less than the average of 89.7° F, based on all of our tests to date.

After getting off the mattress the temperature declined by 7.9° from minutes 0 to 1, which is 3.1° cooler than the average 0 to 1 minute temperature decline of 4.8°.

Heat Dissipation Over Time

When we consider the combination of objective data, my subjective experiences, and an analysis of the materials, I’m confident in my view that cooling is excellent.

The Purple Renew has minimal sinkage. During our tests, we measured a pressure point sinkage depth of 1.98″. This is 0.18″ less sinkage than the average sinkage depth of 2.16″, based on all of our tests to date.

The mattress creates more of a floating feel where the body lies more “on” the mattress instead of sinking down “in” the mattress. While the heavier parts of my body, namely butt and midsection, are sinking down to a moderate depth, the lighter parts of my body are floating more “on” the mattress.

The level of sinkage is documented in the image below.

The mattress does have some body contouring hug, however, it is far more restrained than what is typical for a memory foam mattress and many types of poly foam mattresses.

All that said, heavier-weighted bodies will experience more hug and contour, while lighter-weighted bodies will experience less.

The Purple Renew has a low level of motion transfer. During our tests, we measured a total acceleration range of 8.26 m/s². This is 5% less motion transfer than the average of 8.74 m/s².

Certainly, the materials and design of the Renew mattress are having a significant impact. While the mattress does use 2.0” of Purple’s grid on top, the vast majority of the mattress is polyurethane foam.

These foam layers are able to absorb and disperse much of the energy and bounce, resulting in a lower level of motion transfer.

The level of motion transfer is also documented in the video below.

In our motion transfer chart, which visualizes our accelerometer data, we can see the highest motion peaks from 0 to 0.22 seconds.

Motion drops off significantly immediately thereafter and by 1.08 seconds we return to near zero levels. I was surprised by the motion duration.

Typically, mattresses with this level of motion intensity would have a notably lower motion duration. Seemingly, the Purple grid material allows motion to persist for longer on the mattress, even though the motion intensity level is kept in check.

The hyper-elastic gel grid has a certain “jiggliness” to it. Seemingly, that jiggliness allows for the longer than average motion duration.

All that said, overall motion transfer is low and I don’t expect it to be a problem for most sleepers.

The Purple Renew has an extremely fast material response. In our mostly recovered test, we measured a recovery speed of 0.2 seconds, which is 0.22 seconds faster than the average of 0.42 seconds, based on all of our tests to date.

In our fully recovered responsiveness test, we measured a recovery speed of 0.3 seconds, which is 0.67 seconds faster than the average of 0.97 seconds.

The level of responsiveness is documented in the video below.

At this speed, the Purple Renew has effectively an instant material responsiveness speed.

It is tied for 1st with a number of other highly responsive mattresses we’ve tested. The fast response speed ensures the mattress is easy to move around on and won’t ever leave you feeling “stuck” in the mattress.

The Purple Renew has a moderate level of bounce. During our tests, we measured a total bounce height of 8.87″. This is 0.44″ less bounce than the average of 9.31″, based on all of our tests to date.

The Purple Renew’s bounce dynamic is really a tale of two materials. The hyper-elastic gel grid is springy, responsive, and capable of creating high bounce. However, the gel grid sits on 9.0” of poly foam layers, which absorb energy and reduce bounce.

The level of bounce is also documented in the video below.

While bounce is lower than average, it’s still sufficiently high enough to create good ease of movement. Even so, bounce at this level will negatively impact sex performance.

The Purple Renew has mediocre sitting edge support and fair lying edge support. In our sitting edge support test, we measured a sitting sinkage compression of 5.50″. This is 1.44″ more sitting sinkage than the average of 4.06″, based on all of our tests to date.

There’s just no sugarcoating it, while sitting directly on the edge of the mattress the support is simply insufficient. There is nearly a complete collapse of materials and I did not feel well supported on the edge.

The level of edge support while seated is documented in the images below.

Lying edge support is a similar story. While lying directly on the edge of the mattress I do not feel well supported. The Purple grid material simply collapses in upon itself along the edge of the mattress.

The level of edge support while lying is documented in the images below.

The mattress uses a perimeter edge support foam, which should be helping. However, it doesn’t look thick enough to be having a robust impact on edge support. Both lying and sitting edge support leaves much to be desired. 

The Purple Renew has fair sex performance. On the positive side, noise is minimal and cooling is excellent. However, that’s where the biggest pros end. In our bounce tests, we measured 8.87” of total bounce height.

Sex Factor	Factor Weight	Score	Rating
Bounce	65%	8.0	High
Edge Support	20%	6.9	Mediocre
Noise	5%	10	Minimal
Pressure Relief	5%	7.0	Fair
Cooling	5%	9.0	Excellent

This is enough to earn it a good score, but it’s far from amazing. When it comes to bounce, more is always better, and ideally, I want to see 10” or more.

In addition, pressure relief also leaves much to be desired. While the Purple grid material feels good, we only have 2.0”. There is an additional 2.0” poly foam comfort layer, but I wasn’t overly impressed by its quality or feel.

During our tests, we found some noteworthy pressure relief issues, which could compound and complicate sex performance comfort. Lastly, edge support is mediocre.

With 5.5” of sitting edge sinkage, the edge of the mattress will be difficult to use for many couples when it comes to your dance without pants. Overall, sex performance is fine, but also far from great.

The Purple Renew has a fair level of pressure relief. During our tests, I felt a moderate level of building pressure points on my body. I also found it difficult to lie in the same position for any extended period of time.

The Purple Renew has 0.16″ less comfort material than the average comfort layer thickness of 4.16″, based on all of our tests to date.

The most impressive part of the comfort layer is the 2.0” Purple grid material. However, the second 2.0” poly foam layer wasn’t overly impressive in terms of quality or feel.

Overall, I found the feel of the mattress simply wasn’t particularly comfortable. The mattress creates only a minimal level of sinkage and more of a floating feel where you lie “on” the mattress as opposed to “in” the mattress.

In my view, this feel weakens the pressure relief performance and creates a feel that is more likely to create pressure points.

In our pressure mapping tests, we recorded mixed results. While most pressure maps came back without any issues, we also recorded pressure points in excess of 2.0 PSI on multiple mapping runs.

A PSI of 2.0 is considered a high pressure point and it’s the highest our pressure map system records. Initially, I thought the pressure mat may have simply bunched up or we otherwise recorded an anomaly. However, in 4 pressure mapping test cycles (which include 4 sleeping positions each cycle, 12 maps in total), we recorded 4 pressure maps in excess of a 2.0 PSI.

In my view, this indicates a more significant pressure issue on the Purple Renew. Sometimes it seems the mattress does fine, but in certain positions with enough weight localized to a specific area (especially hips while sleeping on the side), the mattress seems to lack the necessary comfort material to create sufficient pressure relief.

When I consider our objective pressure maps, material thickness, material quality, and my subjective experience on the mattress, I’m confident most sleepers will find the pressure relief to be fair.

Pressure Map – Side Sleepers

Pressure Relief (PSI)	Average	Maximum
Side Sleepers	0.21	0.89

Pressure Map – Back Sleepers

Pressure Relief (PSI)	Average	Maximum
Back Sleepers	0.12	0.89

Pressure Map – Stomach Sleepers

Pressure Relief (PSI)	Average	Maximum
Stomach Sleepers	0.13	1.01

The Purple Renew had a strong smell upon the initial unboxing. The mattress smelled for 5 days. This is 1.4 days less than the average of 6.4 days.

The smell is quite unique and is primarily due to the hyper-elastic polymer gel material that Purple uses. Even so, I was pleased to see it only lasted for 5 days.

The Purple Renew is sold and distributed by Costco. This gives it the company trial and warranty that Costco offers, which actually ends up far more favorable than the standard Purple company terms.

Company Factor	Factor Weight	Score	Data
Trial Period	15%	10	365 nights
Warranty	10%	8.0	10 years
Shipping	5%	10	$0
Returns	20%	10	$0
Trust	50%	8.0	Good
Country of Origin	0%		USA

The Purple Renew comes with an effectively infinite trial period, due to Costco’s incredible return policy. In addition, it also has a 10-year warranty. The 10-year warranty is shorter than the average 13-year warranty, excluding 25% of mattresses that have a lifetime warranty.

The Purple Renew has a medium-firm feel, a feel of 6 out of 10 on our firmness scale. This firmness is typically suitable for a wide range of sleepers, but given the minimal sinkage of this mattress, I would primarily recommend this mattress to back or stomach sleepers.

Support on the Purple Renew is fair. During our tests, I felt reasonably well-supported. However, I also felt significant pressure points.

For a mattress to be supportive, it needs to keep the spine in a neutral alignment, while also creating sufficient pressure relief and comfort. While the mattress does support the body well, I also found it uncomfortable during many of our tests.

The mattress is equipped with a 7.0″ support layer. This is 0.87″ thinner than the average support layer thickness of 7.87″, based on all of our tests to date.

On paper, this mattress has the materials and design to create sufficient support. That said, the pressure issues we experienced and measured in our pressure mapping tests are problematic and make the total support dynamic less than ideal. 

Based on all of my tests to date, an analysis of the materials, and my subjective experiences, I’m confident most sleepers will find support on the Purple Renew is fair.

Check out the table below to see the sleeper weights and sleeping positions that would be best suited for this mattress.

Sleeper Weight	Stomach Sleepers	Side Sleepers	Back Sleepers
Under 150 lbs.	No	No	No
150-250 lbs.	Maybe	No	Maybe
250-300 lbs.	Maybe	No	Maybe

Design

The Purple Renew is a Costco-exclusive mattress designed to be a budget-friendly entry into the Purple market. There are currently only two other mattresses offered directly from Purple with a lower price tag (Purple and Purple Flex).

It uses a 2.0″ slab of their exclusive Purple Grid and pairs it with a 2.0″ poly foam comfort layer and all-foam support base. This mattress is 11″ thick and has a medium-firm feel.

Materials

In total, there are four layers used on the Purple Renew, which make up the total 11″ thickness. From top to bottom, the layers include:

• 2.0” gel grid
• 2.0” poly foam
• 3.0” support foam
• 4.0” support foam

The Cover

The cover of the Purple Renew mattress is thin and stretchy. It is breathable and provides a limited level of contour between the sleeper and the top layer of Purple Grid.

The Comfort Layer

Beneath the cover is the comfort layer, which is made up of two layers. On top, there is a 2.0″ Purple Grid slab, a hyper-elastic material that is exclusive to Purple mattresses. This material gives the mattress its minimal sinkage and floating feel.

A 2.0″ border foam wraps around the perimeter to help the mattress keep its shape. Beneath this top layer is a second layer of foam, this one being a 2.0″ poly foam. This secondary foam has a denser feel and is designed to help transitional sleepers from the fluidity of the Purple Grid into the support layer below.

The Support Layer

The support layer is made of two layers of support foam. This includes a 3.0″ layer of support foam followed by a 4.0″ layer of support foam.

Product Evolution

The Purple Renew was launched at Costco in 2023. Since its release, there have been no major changes made to the mattress.

Other Mattresses to Consider

Not sure if the Purple Renew is the right pick for you? Check out these three other top-rated mattresses for high-performing alternatives you may want to consider.

Frequently Asked Questions

Still have questions? Check out some of the top FAQs on the Purple Renew mattress below and get the answers you’re looking for.