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The best sheets can make your bed a cozy, dreamy oasis that you look forward to falling into each night — they’re comfortable, fit your mattress well, and hold up to regular use and washing.
For this guide, we slept on over 25 sheet sets and put them through multiple wash cycles to test for long-term comfort and durability. We also spoke to hospitality experts and a textiles scientist. Most of our picks are made from cotton, which offers the best balance of comfort, durability, and affordability. Experts told us a high thread count doesn’t necessarily make for better sheets, though you should look for 100% long-staple cotton for your sheet material.
The L.L.Bean Percale Sheet Set has been our top pick for several years and offers the ideal balance of breathability, comfort, and fit at a midrange price. If you’re after the buttery soft feeling of sateen, we can’t get enough of the Brooklinen Luxe Sateen Core Sheet set for its cozy and durable design as well as stylish colors and prints.
The best sheet sets are just one piece to curating your ideal sleep set up. Refresh the essentials with our recommendations for the best mattress, best pillow, and best comforter, too.
Learn more about how Insider Reviews tests and researches home products.
Of all the percale cotton sheets I tested, L.L.Bean’s set stood out for its ultra-softness and comfort. It’s our overall pick for best sheets because it boasts a bit of everything that most shoppers are looking for: lightweight, breathable, and cool fabric; crisp yet soft feel; and strong construction that can reliably stand up to multiple washes.
The sheets are made from Pima cotton, a high-quality, extra-long-staple cotton. Karen Leonas, a professor of textile sciences at the Wilson College of Textiles, NC State University, told us extra-long-staple cotton is even stronger and more resistant to abrasion than long-staple cotton. That’s likely why the L.L.Bean sheets are extra soft and durable, even though the 280-thread count is on the lower end of the spectrum. Even after many washes, they had a great feel and experienced no loose threads or shrinkage in the last three months.
The fitted sheet fit well and never slipped off, but there was a little excess (it fits up to 15-inch mattresses) on my IKEA Haugesund mattress. I loved that the long and short sides were labeled, a thoughtful touch that always sped up the annoying task of putting on my sheets. (You notice and appreciate these things when you’re constantly trying and washing different sheets.)
The sheets are available in a handful of light colors and have hemstitched detailing (decorative threading at the edges). If you prefer a simple look that fits into pretty much any room style, the L.L.Bean sheets won’t disappoint. If you like fun prints and patterns, try Brooklinen’s sheets. They came in a close second to L.L.Bean for comfort and durability and are also reasonably priced.
Read our full L.L.Bean Percale Sheets review.
No one does sateen sheets better than Brooklinen. Sateen is a type of cotton weave that produces a silky, buttery texture when compared to the matte, cool texture of percale. Think of it as the difference between a soft cotton t-shirt (sateen) and a crisp button-up shirt (percale). While we think percale sheets are best for most people since they sleep a bit cooler, sateen has a luxurious and soft feel that many prefer for a hotel-like experience.
Brooklinen’s Luxe sateen sheets are incredibly comfortable to sleep in, and they have many thoughtful touches that make them a great buy. For starters, you can choose whether or not you want to include a flat sheet in your set — a nice way to eliminate waste and save some money if you prefer to sleep without one. The short and long sides of the sheets are also labeled, so making the bed is a breeze. If you don’t love them, you’ll have a whole year to initiate a return.
One of our editors has owned the same set of Brooklinen sateen sheets for almost a decade now, and they’ve held up remarkably well to years of use and washing. Our one complaint is that, like most sateen sheets we’ve tried, Brooklinen’s sleep a bit hot.
Read our full Brooklinen Luxe sateen sheet review.
It’s the price tag that’ll catch your eye first, then the great fit and soft feel that’ll sell you completely on these budget-friendly sheets from Target brand Threshold. Of all the sets I tested, Threshold’s fitted sheet was the easiest to put on and fit my mattress the best, despite being designed for mattresses up to 18-inch deep. The extra stretch in the corners of the sheet made a big difference and helped the sheet cling to my mattress without showing excess material on top. It also has a top and bottom label to speed up the fitting process.
Once on, the sateen sheets are smooth and silky. They’re made from 100% cotton and have a 400-thread count on the higher end of all the sets I tried.
After some use, however, I noticed that they seem to trap body oils more readily and feel greasier than other sets, making them less pleasant to sleep on. I wondered if this was because Target uses a short-staple cotton, or if they applied some kind of treatment over the sheets to give them their “performance” qualities (wrinkle-resistant, bleach-friendly), but the brand didn’t respond to my requests for additional clarification. The problem seems to disappear if I wash the sheets more often.
Either way, I had a comfortable experience overall; they just weren’t the best sheets I tried. And though they’re touted as “performance sheets,” most notably as being wrinkle-free, they certainly wrinkle. The best way to get rid of the wrinkles, as with all cotton sheets, is to iron them.
Be warned — the sheets have a strong sour and chemical smell when you first take them out of their packaging. The smell lingers even after the sheets are aired out for a couple of days, so you’ll definitely want to wash them first. It’s also good practice to wash before using any new textile you bring into your home, regardless of whether it arrived with a manufacturing odor.
If you’re on a budget, a college student, or a frequent host looking to outfit a guest bed, these sheets are a smart decision. We’re continuing to test and wash them to look for any durability issues, but so far, we haven’t run into any.
Linen is a contentious textile. It wrinkles easily, feels rough, and is notoriously expensive. On the other hand, some prefer the casual, lived-in look, and it does get softer with time and use. Most importantly, because it’s made from hollow flax fibers, which absorb moisture and let air pass through, linen is breathable and stays dry even on the warmest, stuffiest nights. When treated according to their care instructions, they should last you years.
Among the best linen sheet sets we’ve reviewed, the Brooklinen Washed Linen Sheet Set impressed us with its immediate softness, perhaps contrary to what you may expect from a new set of linen sheets. It’s thin and light for the ultimate breathability without feeling flimsy.
Unlike percale or sateen bedding, linen sheets are not identified by thread count, but by grams per square meter or GSM, which is a measure of a textile’s weight, with a higher number indicating a denser fabric. Brooklinen’s 145 GSM falls on the light to medium scale of typical linen sheeting.
Brooklinen’s linen sheets are available in four core neutral options, and they rotate in seasonal hues throughout the year, with the ability to pick and choose the pieces you need and will use. They also feature long and short label tags that make putting sheets on the bed go by that much quicker. If you’re looking for more color choices, Quince is a comparable option with a slightly heavier drape that sleeps a little warmer, though still very breathable. It’s also half the price.
Read our Brooklinen Washed Linen Sheets review for more information.
For hot sleepers, finding a set of sheets that don’t leave you drenched in sweat or that you need to kick away your bedding to find comfort can feel like a never-ending cycle of trial and error. When I think about cooling bedding, while cotton is a breathable textile, linen’s natural moisture-wicking properties ebbs out as my cooling sheet of choice. Sijo Luxsheets are among the best cooling sheets I’ve tried because they strike the right balance of comfort, coolness, durability, and price. After a couple of months of testing, Sijo sheets are downright soft and comfortable they are, even while having the signature grainy texture of linen. And they get softer and better after multiple washes.
If your preconception of linen is too scratchy to enjoy, Sijo’s sheets will change your mind. They’re also airy and light, keeping me cool on California spring nights that already feel like summer (we recently had temps in the high 80s in late March).
I loved the wrinkled look, especially combined with the soothing Blush color. I’m also a fan of Sky, a dusky blue. The color and overall construction have held up well, and the fabric feels substantial and lightweight. You should expect some shedding in the first few washes — it’s a natural part of the process but a little annoying to pick off your bed.
You can also opt-in or out of a flat sheet, which provides great flexibility and can bring the price of your purchase down.
From lined sleeping bags to shirts, L.L.Bean is renowned for its flannel products. The company’s flannel sheets are a fantastic buy if you want to stay warm on cold nights. We love them so much that we named these sheets the best overall pick in our guide to the best flannel sheets.
The sheets are not overly thick and weigh only 5 ounces per square yard. Yet, they’re thicker than sateen and percale sheets. The balanced thickness supplies comfortable warmth without overheating.
L.L.Bean claims the sheets work well all year round. After testing them for a summer, we believe it. They were surprisingly breathable and comfortable.
L.L.Bean’s flannel sheets shed copious amounts of lint in the dryer, which is typical of flannel. With each subsequent wash and dry, the lint decreased significantly. The sheets stayed velvety smooth and didn’t pill. And, the sage sheets have maintained their pleasant green hue without any color loss after several washes.
Ultrasoft Comfort Flannel Sheets are available in an array of patterns and colors, including floral, striped, and checkered options.
Few things irk me more than sheets that bunch up as you sleep, creating uncomfortable pressure points. I recommend trying jersey sheets if this is a frustration for you, too.
Jersey is a tightly woven cotton/polyester blend that has the feel and stretch of a soft t-shirt. The cotton provides softness, while the polyester gives the fabric some snap, which helps keep the sheets taught across your mattress all night long.
I’ve tried a number of jersey sheet sets, and this one from Target’s Room Essentials line provides the most bang for your buck. I particularly like that the ends of the fitted sheet are labeled so you know which side goes where as you make your bed.
These sheets are incredibly soft, but they tend to sleep hot, which could be good or bad, depending on your preferences. They’re a nice alternative to flannel sheets in the winter if you don’t love the look or feel of brushed cotton. The set currently comes in eight colors, including basic black and white.
Ritz-Carlton, St. Regis, and Kimpton hotels worldwide turn to the iconic bedding brand Frette for their bedding needs. The Italian luxury brand was also once the official linens maker for the Italian royal family.
You’ll feel like royalty when sleeping in Frette’s soft and smooth sateen sheets. H by Frette is Frette’s consumer line of linens and whisks you away into the sumptuous hotel bed of your dreams. But rather than paying for a single night in a high-end hotel, you’re dropping $300 for years of hotel luxury from the comfort of your own home
The sheets are, of course, only available in white, and you can get them in sateen or percale, depending on your preference. The resulting bed looks simple, clean, and fresh.
Frette uses 100% extra-long-staple cotton, so it feels very soft even though the set doesn’t have the extraordinarily high thread count (300) you might expect from hotel sheets. Extra long-staple cotton is also very durable — important for hotels where housekeeping teams are washing each room’s sheets constantly and important for you as a consumer if you want to be sure your investment goes a long way.
Sateen sheets can be too warm for me sometimes, but Frette’s felt perfect and cooler than other sateen sets I’ve tried. The sheets have a subtle gloss and a silky feel and remain comfortable after every wash.
You’ll find less expensive and equally comfortable sheets in the rest of this best sheets guide, but if you want the sheets used in and approved by hundreds of hotels, then you’ll be very happy with Frette’s. I look forward to this set whenever I rotate through my sheets because I know it’ll feel like a treat.
I have a mattress that’s about 16 inches thick. Even sheets labeled as deep pocket tend to slip off one corner somewhere around night four or five. After trying over 10 sets of deep-pocket sheets, I can say the sateen set from Cuddledown was one of the few that stayed on for a full week.
Cuddledown says its deep-fitted version of the sateen sheet set fits mattresses up to 21 inches. I measured the pocket at around 20 inches, and it was the deepest I tested. (The next closest were 17 inches.) I didn’t have to tug the fitted sheet to make it fit over the mattress.
The 400-thread count sheets are made of long-staple cotton and have a sateen weave. They feel soft and have a bit of luster. They’re available in 26 colors, several of which are deep or vibrant.
After several washings, the sheets were still exceptionally soft and hadn’t started the pill. The color hadn’t faded, and the fitted sheet hadn’t shrunk much.
I used the sheets during the winter and a cool spring. They felt warm yet light, but they weren’t as crisp as percale or linen for summer.
One unique feature of Cuddledown’s sheets is its guarantee, which lets you return them if you’re not satisfied. They’re also Oeko-Tex-certified, meaning they meet safety standards to ensure they’re not made with harmful substances.
If you have a thick but not overly deep mattress, the standard size is still accommodating at 16 inches. Otherwise, you’ll likely have some excess fabric hanging down if try and use the deep-fitted set. — Jenny McGrath
Bed sheets can be made of natural fibers like cotton and linen, or synthetic materials like polyester. The most common material for sheets is cotton, but there can still be vast differences in price, feel, and appearance depending on the type of cotton used. Here are the most common materials and terms to know:
Contrary to popular belief, percale, sateen, and flannel are not different materials. All are made from cotton, just weaved differently to produce different textures and appearances. Here are the main differences:
Oeko Tex: Some of our best sheet picks have a Standard 100 by Oeko Tex certification. This label means the final sheet product has been independently tested for more than 100 harmful chemical substances and is safe for human use. While it’s not the only certification out there, it’s widely used and known in the textiles industry.
STeP by Oeko Tex: Our experts say you should look for the Oeko-Tex Standard 100 certification for basic safety, but if you also care about manufacturing, look for STeP by Oeko Tex. It checks for environmentally friendly, socially responsible, and safe practices all along the production process.
GOTS: The Global Organic Textile Standard (GOTS) is another certification used specifically for organic textiles. GOTS-certified sheets contain at least 95% certified organic fibers and meet environmental and social standards at every stage of processing and manufacturing.
Here’s how we tested for the best bed sheets over the course of nine months.
1. Washed and dried each set according to its respective instructions at least five times. Usually, we washed the sheets in a cold cycle with gentle detergent and dried them on a low tumble cycle.
2. Put the fitted sheet on a 10-inch-thick mattress and noted slipping, sliding, post-wash shrinkage, and stretchiness of elastic.
3. Slept on each set for at least one week and noted texture, overall comfort, breathability, and coolness.
Yes, to a certain extent. However, don’t use it as your sole determining factor because its definition can be manipulated, and after a certain number, the difference in feel and durability is negligible. You can read more about thread count here.
Percale and Sateen are two of the most common fabrications among the best cotton sheets, and that decision ultimately comes down to personal preference. Percale offers a cool and crisp feel that typically sleeps cooler and is more breathable, while sateen is regarded for being silky and smooth and sleeps warmer.
Percale is a good option for warmer months, while in the winter, you may like the coziness offered from Sateen.
Drape relates to the fluidity or rigidity of a fabric. A fabric with a high or fluid drape, such as silk, is flowy and clings more to the object. A fabric with a low drape is stiffer and holds its shape more.
Top hotel brands often use 100% long-staple cotton sheets because they’re soft, breathable, and durable, resulting in luxurious sleep experiences for their guests. Ave Bradley, senior vice president of design and creative director at Kimpton Hotels, says the hotel uses 200-300 thread count cotton sheets from Frette.
If you want to get rid of wrinkles, the best way is to iron them before fitting them onto your bed or removing them from your dryer a little before the cycle ends and putting them onto your bed while slightly damp.
It’s best to choose a duvet cover with the same fabrication as your sheet set — if you like how your sheets feel below you, you’ll like how the same type of fabric feels on top of you. If you want to mix and match bedding pieces. Check our guide to the best duvet covers for more information.
According to various bedding brands, you should wash your sheets every one to two weeks and have alternate sets to preserve their quality. We recommend following the care instructions that come with your sheet set.
Based on our experience, brands generally advise washing the sheets in a cold or warm cycle with gentle detergent, then drying in a low tumble cycle. Hot water can make colors bleed, cause shrinkage, and weaken fibers. Drying at high heat can also weaken fibers and cause pilling.
Always read the label for care instructions for your sheets, and find out more tips for washing sheets here.
