Best duvet 2024: Top-notch tested feather, synthetic and silk quilts

A duvet is a bedroom essential at any time of year in the UK. Of course, the best duvets cover a huge range of types, materials and price points. For top notch sleep, you’ll want to choose the right type and weight of duvet for your sleeping style and the time of year, so you’re kept cosy without feeling too hot.

Having tested more than 30 duvets all year round, we were surprised to find such a huge range of styles and prices, from £11 to £4,500 (yes, really), with various levels of warmth, softness, eco-friendliness and value for money. We know natural materials such as wool or silk feel luxurious and last for decades, but you can save money and opt for synthetic fillings such as hollowfibre. In our experience, these feel light and springy and, unlike their luxury counterparts, are machine washable.

Like the best mattresses, duvets often now come with trial periods of a month or more, but you’ll still want a good idea of your ideal match before you buy. Read on to discover our expert picks, plus a buying guide to help you choose the best duvet for you.

Can’t sleep on hot summer nights?
Read our rundown of the best cooling mattresses you can buy

Best duvet: At a glance

How we test duvets

Just as with mattresses and pillows, we test duvets by sleeping with them for weeks on end. We can’t always spend a whole year wrapped in a duvet to find out how it performs on hot summer nights, freezing winter nights and everything in between, but we do put them through their paces in different temperatures. Ideally, they will keep us cosy without making us feel too overheated.

Some duvet pros and cons are subjective. Some of our testers like a heavy duvet (like a weighted blanket), while others prefer a much lighter covering that still feels warm. We’ve gone into detail about each duvet’s performance in the mini reviews but as a general rule, the best duvets we tested managed to regulate our bodies’ temperature all year round, ensuring we never felt too hot or too cold in bed.

Some of the duvets we tested are a serious investment, so we also ranked value for money as a key factor. Lengthy free trials are common in the bed-in-a-box mattress market, and they’re now beginning to feature in the duvet market too, so you can test a duvet for yourself before committing to it for keeps.

READ NEXT: Best firm mattress

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The best duvets you can buy in 2024

1. Fogarty Duvet: Best budget duvet

Price when reviewed: From £11 | Check price at Dunelm

• Great for… value for money, range of size and tog options
• Not so great for… softness against your skin

You would be a fool to expect much from a duvet that sets you back little more than a tenner – or would you? We couldn’t believe our luck with this cosy non-allergic comforter, which we discovered to be all you need to keep you warm on colder nights without leaving you feeling clammy in the summer. You can even stick it in the washing machine and tumble dryer. As a bonus, this duvet comes in a bigger range of tog options and sizes than most other duvets we’ve ever tested.

Any downsides? In our tests, we did think that the duvet casing could be softer. It’s hardly the worst we’ve experienced though, and easy to remedy with a soft duvet cover.

Check price at Dunelm

2. Silentnight Cooler Summer Duvet: Best affordable summer duvet

Price when reviewed: £36 | Check price at Amazon 

• Great for… staying cool on summer nights
• Not so great for… keeping you warm

Silentnight’s 4.5 tog Cooler Summer duvet did an outstanding job of keeping us cool during summer nights. It’s one of the thinnest duvets we tested, but its soft microfibre filling gave us the snuggly comfort of a thicker duvet with the breathability of thin linen.

It’s available in single, double or king size and it’s not only hypoallergenic, it’s machine washable. That means you can easily keep things fresh and hygienic. While it’s not the cheapest duvet you can buy, it’s our favourite affordable option that’s both skin-friendly and comfortable.

3. Simba Hybrid Duvet: A synthetic duvet that’s as soft as down

Price when reviewed: From £139 | Check price at Simba

• Great for… a vegan-friendly duvet with the softness of down
• Not so great for… chunkiness – it won’t weigh you down

Bed-in-box brand Simba reigns supreme in our roundup of the best hybrid mattresses, and it’s now turned its bedding expertise to duvets. Like Simba’s hybrid mattresses, the Hybrid Duvet is designed to give you the best night’s sleep possible.

Made from recycled plastic bottles, its microfibre filling is stitched evenly into square pockets throughout the duvet so that it never becomes lumpy. Not only is this ‘Simba-Renew’ filling eco-friendly, but we also found it to be strikingly soft – more than we’d expect from a synthetic microfibre material. If you’re hunting for a vegan-friendly alternative to down feathers, it’s a compelling option.

Unlike some duvets on this roundup, the Simba Hybrid is designed for year-round use with the brand claiming that its astronaut-inspired ‘Stratos’ material (used in the cotton casing) will help to regulate your temperature regardless of the season. It’s not cheap, but if you want a comfortable duvet you can use all year round that boasts the latest technology, we’d recommend the Simba Hybrid duvet.

Check price at Simba

4. Panda Cloud Bamboo Duvet: A luxuriously soft, competitively priced duvet

Price when reviewed: From £100 | Check price at Panda

• Great for… softness in summer without feeling too warm
• Not so great for… creating a toasty cocoon in winter

We’ve tested a number of products from London-based bedding brand Panda, and we’ve been consistently impressed by their quality as well as their affordability.

The Cloud Bamboo Duvet, like Simba’s Hybrid Duvet, is a light and soft vegan alternative to a down feather duvet. Its hypoallergenic and antibacterial filling is made from a blend of “nano-microfibre” and bamboo while the duvet’s casing is 100% bamboo. During testing, we found the duvet to be very soft and comfortable indeed. And crucially, it’s more affordable than the Simba duvet at just £145 in a king size (rather than £199). You also get a 30-night trial period, during which you have the option to return it for a full refund.

Because of bamboo’s temperature-regulating qualities, the Panda Duvet is designed to be light and cool in the summer yet warm in the winter. That said, during particularly cold nights, we didn’t find it quite warm enough on its own. Depending on how prone you are to feeling cold in bed, we recommend keeping an extra blanket handy for when winter rolls around.

Nevertheless, we like the Cloud Bamboo Duvet for the same reasons we like Panda’s pillow and mattress topper: it offers good quality at a reasonable price. If you like the sound of Simba’s duvet but your budget can’t stretch that far, this might be your next best option.

Check price at Panda

5. Emma Cloud Duvet: Best for its money-back guarantee

Price when reviewed: From £70 | Check price at Emma

• Great for… a long trial period
• Not so great for… keeping cool in summer

UPDATE: Since publishing our review, Expert Reviews has noticed a recent influx of negative customer reviews for Emma Sleep on Trustpilot, with many customers complaining of delays to shipping and a lack of communication over when deliveries will happen. According to Emma Sleep, these delays have been caused by factors “not under [the brand’s] control”, and a spokesperson said that the process of transitioning “order management and fulfilment platforms” has led to these issues. We’ve also been told that resolving these issues is a top priority for Emma Sleep and the company is expecting to resolve the issues in the coming weeks. We will be sure to bring you more information as we receive it.

Cloud by name, cloud by nature. Despite its 100% polyester construction (meaning it doesn’t feel quite as breathable as those using natural fillings), the Emma duvet is very light, soft and comfortable. With a middling tog rating of 6.7, Emma claims that it’s the ideal duvet for autumn and spring. That said, we tested the duvet in December (albeit a mild one) and didn’t have any problems.

The Cloud Duvet starts at the competitive price of £115, though there’s a good chance you can find it discounted in one of Emma’s sitewide sales. Another key selling point is the duvet’s lengthy trial period: as with Emma’s mattresses, you’ve got 200 nights to decide whether or not you like your new duvet. If you don’t, then there’s the option to return it for a full refund. While Panda and Scooms also offer similar guarantees, neither are as generous as Emma’s trial.

6. Scooms Hungarian Goose Down duvet: Best all-seasons duvet

Price when reviewed: From £145 | Check price at Scooms

• Great for… an investment that’ll serve you for years
• Not so great for… vegans – it uses goose feathers

The Scooms all-seasons duvet isn’t cheap but it is truly the only duvet you will ever need – for the next ten years, anyway. Thanks to its easily detachable fasteners, you can quickly choose between a 4.5-tog summer duvet, a 9-tog duvet for autumn and spring or a combined 13.5-tog duvet that will keep you snug on even the coldest of winter nights. It’s also available in 7-tog (2.5 and 4.5) and 11.5-tog (2.5 and 9) combinations, as well as separate 9-tog, 4.5-tog and 2.5-tog duvets.

The duvet is made from 90% Hungarian goose down and 10% Hungarian goose feathers and is sourced responsibly, meaning the materials come from geese that have been treated well and never live-plucked. We found it kept us nice and comfortable in all weather conditions, without ever feeling too warm or sweaty.

It might be made from down and feathers, however there’s no problem with putting your Scooms duvet in the wash. The company recommends doing so every six to twelve months and it can be both line and tumble dried. If you’re struggling to justify spending upwards of £200 on a duvet, you will also be pleased to learn the Scooms comes with a 60-night trial. If for any reason you don’t get on with it in that period, you’re entitled to return it for a full refund.

Check price at Scooms

7. Soak & Sleep Supreme Eiderdown Quilt: The ultimate duvet

Price when reviewed: From £4,500 | Check price at Soak & Sleep

• Great for… an ethical down duvet
• Not so great for… a cost of living crisis

For sheer indulgence, this is hard to beat. In order to understand why it’s quite so luxurious, you will need some context about the eider duck, which breeds in extremely cold climates, hence its unusually warm yet lightweight down. The result is a duvet that made us feel like we were sleeping under a fluffy cloud – lofty and toasty warm, but practically weightless.

As for the eye-watering price, remember that a) this is a rare bird and b) they only use down that is hand collected in Iceland once the chicks have left the nest. Not surprisingly, it’s made to order so allow six weeks for delivery.

Check price at Soak & Sleep

8. Gingerlily Silk Filled Duvet – All Seasons: Best silk duvet

Price when reviewed: From £294 | Check price at Seymour’s Home

• Great for… keeping warm in winter without feeling weighed down
• Not so great for… weighing you down, if that’s what you prefer

There are plenty of reasons to buy a silk duvet – for a start, it’s clean and hygienic on account of being naturally resistant to dust mites and other allergens.

We found this duvet to be ideal for using all year round, thanks to silk’s natural temperature regulating properties, which keep you warm in winter and cool in summer. Plus, it’s natural – absolutely nothing artificial goes into this duvet and it uses A-grade long-strand mulberry silk, which is the best out there.

One caveat is that it’s on the thinner side, so if you like to feel cocooned by your duvet, this probably isn’t for you.

Check price at Seymour’s Home

9. Simba Summer Hybrid Duvet: Luxurious cooling summer duvet

Price when reviewed: £129 | Check price at Simba

• Great for… a cooling summer duvet that’ll last for years
• Not so great for… noise levels, snuggling in the cooler months

Simba’s summer duvet costs four times as much as the Silentnight Cooler Summer Duvet. Both are hypoallergenic, machine washable 4.5-tog comforters to keep you covered but cool when the nights are balmy, so why is the Simba so much more expensive?

The Simba is packed with high-tech features, most notably their special ‘Stratos’ finish on one side, which they claim responds to body temperature to provide instant cooling. We didn’t find this effect to be particularly dramatic, but the duvet was certainly cooling enough to allow us to sleep in the heat; however, so was the much cheaper Silentnight.

We also found the Simba to be decidedly noisier than the Silentnight, thanks to the crinkly cotton sound that you may find comforting or distracting, depending on what you’re used to.

Materials are all top quality – including ethically-sourced pure cotton and an extremely lightweight down-like filling made from recycled plastic – and the whole thing has a really luxurious, durable feel and finish. It is likely to last many years longer than much cheaper duvets, even after multiple spins in the washing machine.

How to choose the best duvet for you

What tog duvet do I need?

Tog ratings are based on a duvet’s ability to trap warm air – the higher the tog rating, the warmer the duvet. For a summer duvet, look for anything between 2.5 and 4.5 tog. For winter, go for 10.5 to 13.5. And for spring/autumn, seven to 10.5 tog is ideal. For an all-year duvet, you should hover around seven tog and you can also get all-season duvets, which consist of two separate duvets – generally a lightweight 4.5 tog for summer and a warmer nine tog for autumn and spring – which you can connect together for 13.5 tog in winter.

What about duvets for children?

Go for a lighter weight duvet of 4.5 tog, unless your child’s bedroom is very cold. Children are smaller, which means their duvet automatically traps more air and will feel warmer than it would to an adult. For a full-size single bed, go for a full-size single duvet, while for cots and cotbeds there are smaller duvets available. A duvet is not recommended for a child under one.

How do I choose the right size duvet for my bed?

It’s important to know that duvets come in six different sizes, and you will want to choose the right one for your bed. Too small and you will be fighting over who’s got the most cloth all night with your significant other; too big and it will be draping over the sides – not ideal if you want your bed to look nice and tidy once made. And if you’ve already got your duvet cover, buying the right size will save having to buy another.

Here are the duvet measurements for the six different types of duvets and the corresponding beds they are fit for:

• Cot bed: 120 x 150cm
• Single: 135 x 200cm
• Double: 200 x 200cm
• King: 230 x 220cm
• Super king: 260 x 220cm
• Emperor: 290 x 235cm

Make sure these measure up to the duvet cover on the labels before you buy.

Are heavier duvets warmer than lighter ones?

Not necessarily. As natural duvets have better thermal properties than synthetically filled ones, they need less filling to achieve the same level of warmth, making their weight misleading. Some high-end down duvets feel practically weightless, for example, yet can keep you toastier than a cheap, heavy man-made one.

What about fill power?

Duvets also have a “fill power”, which is essentially a measurement of quality. The higher the fill power, the better the duvet, both in terms of content and how long it’s likely to last. Fill power is measured in cubic centimetres per gramme and ratings vary between 345gsm (grammes per square metre) and 750gsm for feather and/or down duvets, and 475gsm to 750gsm for synthetic and specialist duvets.

In our testing, we found that some high-end down duvets felt practically weightless, but they still managed to keep us warmer than a cheap, heavy man-made duvet.

What filling should I go for?

Your first choice is between natural and synthetic. Duvets made from natural fillings – wool, silk, feathers or down – tend to be more breathable – proved to be more breathable in our tests (and, therefore, suitable for all seasons) and they last longer, sometimes up to 30 years. The most lightweight are those with down filling – great for insulation as they trap warm air in and keep cold air out. Meanwhile, feather fillings tend to be heavier, due to the quills. You can also get a combination of both. But while these are no good for allergy sufferers, both silk and wool fillings are naturally hypoallergenic and dust mite resistant.

While most synthetic fibre-filled duvets don’t last as long (generally no more than ten years), they’re usually cheaper and, unlike many natural duvets, can often be washed in the machine. There are plenty of options, each with their own characteristics, so be sure to do your homework. Examples include classic hollowfibre (warm, springy, plump), quadfill hollowfibre (lightweight), cirrus hollowfibre (breathable) and microfibre hollowfibre (feels like down), to name but a few. And don’t assume that synthetic duvets are inevitably inferior – the Rested duvet from Outlast, for instance, is made from NASA-designed thermo-regulating fabric that exceeds the quality of many of its natural peers.

What other features should I look out for?

With natural duvets, check that the filling is contained in separate chambers to ensure even distribution. To help prevents cold spots and flattening, regularly shake the duvet from side to side. You don’t need to worry about this with synthetic duvets, however, because they are constructed so that the filling stays in its place, making it easier to maintain. Also consider the quality of the casing, which can affect softness against the skin (even with a duvet cover over it) and breathability.

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