Best Travel Pillows

When we are in an unsupported position, we tend to protrude our heads forward, so a travel pillow can help alleviate potential neck pain or stiffness if it provides support in the right places and keeps the spine in a neutral position, says Jim Edwards, the rehabilitation manager at Cleveland Clinic Rehabilitation and Sports Therapy. 

Never judge a pillow by its appearance. I was skeptical about this one at first because of its unusual shape, but I’m so glad I was proved wrong.

The first thing I want to address is the hurdle I have faced with other inflatable pillows in the past. I’ve never been able to inflate anything in my life before—not a pillow, not a balloon. They always come out sad and deflated. So, before I tried this pillow, I expected inflating it to be another ordeal, with a lot of sound and fury signifying nothing.

The Manta Travel Pillow from Manta Sleep claims that it’s fast to inflate, and I can attest that it’s true. I was taken aback (in a good way) by how quickly the pillow inflated. No need for huffing and puffing. It was three breaths for me, and the job was done.

Most of us enjoyed the support that the pillow provided. As suggested by the manufacturer, there are many ways to use the pillow. For example, you can have the pillow cradle your head when you lean back or lock the pillow around your neck by attaching the clasps in the front. You can also fit the pillow in front of you so that your chin rests on it if your head bobs forward when you sleep. Or hug the pillow in front of you to give your neck support. (Read more about the positions suggested by the manufacturer.)

“I thought the head and neck support was great when leaning in all directions in the ‘lock,’ ‘nod,’ and ‘cradle’ positions. The support was so stellar that it felt like my head didn’t weigh anything,” says Wendy Greenfield, CR’s copy chief, who flies abroad about twice a year. 

The Manta Sleep Manta Travel Pillow was especially supportive when I tried it with my shoulders leaning against a wall, simulating a window-seat position. Maybe because of the height of the pillow, I felt it gave more support on the side than the other pillows we evaluated. 

It gets a few points deducted because it might lose air over time, as was the experience of Anna Kocharian, one of our evaluators and a CR shopping editor. She used the pillow on a red-eye flight that was around 5 hours, and by the end of her flight, the pillow had deflated a fair amount. So, if you plan to use it for more extended travel, just know that you might have to re-inflate it.

The pillow’s microfleece cover feels comfortable, but it’s not very breathable. Because it’s inflated with air, it has less give than a memory foam or microbead pillow, which is softer. 

On the pillow, there is a side pocket that the manufacturer suggests you use to store your earplugs, phone, or headphones. It’s handy, but the size of the pocket is better suited for earplugs or earbuds. When Greenfield tried to squeeze her iPhone 14 Pro Max into the pocket, only a third of the phone fit inside.

But if you don’t mind that rigidity and you’re looking for a supportive pillow that will enable you to travel light, the $29 Manta Sleep Manta Travel Pillow is the pillow to purchase. It’s lightweight and portable and provides a great deal of support. When it’s not inflated, you can fold the pillow into the travel pouch it comes with and fit it into your carry-on.

“This is the one I’m planning to buy for an upcoming long flight. One leg of my trip is 14½ hours, and I think this pillow will make a long time in that economy seat a little more tolerable,” Greenfield says.

If you prefer a travel pillow that offers soft, cushy support, the Cabeau Evolution S3 Neck Pillow could be the one for you.

The $40 memory foam pillow has raised sides near the jawline to prevent your head from bobbing left and right. There’s also an adjustable clasp in the front for you to modify how tightly you want the pillow to encircle your neck.

As someone whose head tends to flop to the side when I’m sleeping, I loved how snugly the pillow fit me when I adjusted the clasp to be the tightest it could be. That said, the pillow can feel hot after wearing it for a while.

Its fit also might not be for everyone. For Kocharian, the pillow felt too snug for her head. She had trouble keeping the pillow in place because it would either slide backward or rise up to her ears when she moved her shoulders.

Though this pillow is bulky and heavier than many of the other pillows we tried, you can roll it into the travel case that it comes with, which significantly reduces its size. However, the label in the case warns that you shouldn’t store the pillow inside for more than one month because the pillow might not return to its original shape afterward.

It’s a pillow that comes with a lot of convenient features. It’s the only pillow we evaluated that comes with seat straps you can attach to the headrest of your plane seat to help keep your head from bobbing forward. (The brand warns, however, that you shouldn’t use it on a car’s head restraint because it could interfere with the vehicle’s safety features.) There’s also a small storage compartment on the side of the pillow where you can store your earbuds or earplugs if you’d like.

On my recent trip to Europe, I took this pillow along with me in my carry-on bag. After trying it on flights that lasted for more than 7 hours, I’m happy to report that it helped me sleep more comfortably, and when I woke up, I experienced very little pain and stiffness. 

The Cloudz Microbead Travel Pillow is a good budget pick that’s light, soft, and most supportive of the back of your head.

The surface of the pillow is comfortable to the touch. On one side, it’s a warm, cozy plush, and on the other side, it’s a cooler spandex for people who’re afraid of their necks getting too hot from travel pillows.

This pillow offers the strongest support for the back of your head, but it doesn’t provide as much support if your head is leaning to the side or drooping to the front.

While it might take up more space than an inflatable pillow, this microbead travel pillow is pretty lightweight, weighing only 5.5 ounces, according to my measurements. We purchased it for $16, and it was one of the least expensive pillows we evaluated.

Our evaluators were split on the support this pillow offered. Two of us felt that it didn’t offer much support, particularly when one’s head was leaning on the side, while one of us thought it did a decent job. “I appreciate the way it hugs my face and, in a way, conforms to the contours of my head and neck,” Kocharian says.

The memory foam pillow is comfortable, but its fabric doesn’t feel super-breathable. Like the Cabeau Evolution S3 Neck Pillow, it has a buckle in the front that allows you to adjust how tightly you want the pillow to fit your neck.

One drawback of the pillow is that it is bulkier and heavier than most pillows we evaluated. It’s close to the Cabeau Evolution S3 in size and slightly heavier at 3 pounds, 3.9 ounces. You can, however, roll it up and place it in a travel case that takes up less space, though from our experience it might not always be easy to stuff it perfectly into the case.

As a pillow, this one feels like the middle of the road for me. It’s nice, but it doesn’t leave a super big impression. It’s not the most snug and supportive compared with the Cabeau Evolution S3, which it’s close to in form, and it’s not lightweight enough to compete with other pillows that offer a similar level of support.

The Open Story Travel Neck Pillow is soft and comfortable to wear, though it offers limited support. It’s decent when your head is leaning back, but it’s not supportive enough on the sides or when your head is leaning forward, Greenfield says.

If you’re in a window seat, however, where your head is less likely to bob side to side or forward, you might want to consider it. When I tried it at home in a seat placement simulating a window seat, I felt that it provided a certain level of support to my neck that most of the other pillows didn’t.

As a microbead pillow, it’s bulkier than inflatable pillows, which can be adjusted in size. And unlike the two memory foam pillows we evaluated, the Cabeau Evolution S3 Neck Pillow and the Napfun Travel Pillow, it doesn’t come with a travel case that you can squeeze the pillow into. So if you’d like to travel with it, you’ll have to fit it into your carry-on or snap it around the carry-on’s handle.

One of its biggest draws is its price. At $13 at the time of purchase, it’s the least expensive pillow we tried. “For this price (and if I was in a pinch), it’s not a bad option! It’s not the most supportive neck pillow I’ve had, but it gets the job done,” Kocharian says. “However, for those who require more support for their head and neck, a more ergonomic alternative would be better.”

The Trtl Travel Pillow certainly stands out with its unique design. Unlike the U-shaped microbead or memory foam pillows, this one looks like a scarf. The supportive plastic frame inside the fabric has the contour of a neck. To use it, you extend the pillow, wrap it around your neck, and hold it in place with the fastening tape inside.

So is it supportive? Yes, but it has its flaws. While it’s easy to use and it does support your head and neck, it needs to be repositioned if you want to change the direction your head is leaning. It’s better for people who don’t move a lot when they’re sleeping because it can definitely get annoying having to reposition the pillow every time your head is leaning in a different direction.

It can also feel constricting at times. “The Velcro is very strong (for good reason), but a downside is that attempting to take the Trtl off wasn’t as seamless as with the others. I didn’t like the fact that I couldn’t easily move it around and felt claustrophobic at times,” Kocharian says.

The pillow, when placed at certain angles, can also feel uncomfortable. “The plastic support pushed too hard on my ear,” Greenfield says. “The discomfort to my ears was pretty close to actual pain.”

But size-wise, it’s less bulky than the microbead and memory pillows. It looks more like an article of clothing and not a full-blown pillow, Kocharian points out. “This means that when traveling, I can seamlessly slip it into my weekender without a second thought. Portability is a major plus for me, and the fact that this one is lightweight to boot is hard to beat,” she says.

And with a cost of $65 at the time of purchase—the most expensive of the pillows we evaluated—is it worth the price? The answer is eh, maybe. It depends on your sleeping habits. I wouldn’t mind bringing this along on a long flight because it’s portable, and I do like the support it gives. The one catch is that you have to accept the fact that its support is applicable only one position at a time.

Let’s start with the good things first. It’s portable and lightweight. In fact, it’s the lightest of all the pillows, weighing only 2.3 ounces, according to my measurements. It’s also fairly easy to inflate, though the process isn’t as smooth as with the Manta Sleep Manta Travel Pillow, the only other inflatable pillow in our evaluation.

The fabric, which is a fleece cover with a polyester underside, felt cooler than the material of the other pillows, which is a big plus if you’re afraid you’ll end up too hot while you’re sleeping.

When it comes to support, some of us enjoyed it. For Greenfield, it gave her support when her head leaned to the side and the front. The support was less apparent when she was leaning her head back.

But some of us felt that it was inadequate. For me, the support the pillow provided came dead last out of all the pillows we tried. The support it offered my head and neck when I tried leaning to one side felt slight to the point of being nonexistent.

“It can be useful in a pinch but not as a primary neck pillow for someone who requires serious or comfortable support. I would use it if I had it lying around, but despite its small size and portability, I wouldn’t go out of my way to purchase this product,” Kocharian says.

If your goal for a travel pillow is one that’s small and offers a little extra comfort, you might still like this pillow. But don’t expect this to offer much comfort and support on a long red-eye flight, Kocharian says.