Sweet dreams start with soft sheets. Or, at the very least, great sheets mean I sleep better, whether my dreams are peaceful or a hallucination of failed superpowers and the internet. There’s a lot to navigate when buying sheets for your bed, from understanding percale and sateen to thread counts. But the right set of sheets can make your old bed feel like a hotel, or be the perfect pairing with a brand-new mattress. (Because what’s the point in pairing your new mattress with stale sheets?)
We’ve tested dozens of options to find the best sheets in nearly every style. However, there’s an endless supply of sheets out there, so we’ll keep updating this guide as we test more. All of the prices shown are for queen-size sets. For more bedding recommendations, read our related guides, like the Best Mattresses, Best Mattresses for Side Sleepers, Best Mattresses for Back Pain, Best Organic Mattresses, Best Pillows, and Best Pillows for Side Sleepers .
Updated January 2025: The flannel section has been updated with new picks for the winter season. There are also new notes on Rough Linen and Boll & Branch sheet sets.
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Linen Sheets
Why buy linen sheets? Linen is a woven fabric made from flax plants. It’s a highly breathable material and doesn’t trap heat, so it keeps you cool during the summer months. It’s great for people who sleep hot. It’s rougher at first than a simple cotton set, but it should soften up the more it’s washed. Linen is often expensive, but it’s also more durable than cotton, so a good sheet set should last a lot longer. Linen sheets are not for everyone, but if you love linen clothing, you’ll probably love linen sheets.
Our Favorite Linen Sheets
I’ve slept on a lot of linen (don’t miss my entire guide to linen sheets), and the Citizenry’s linen set are my Goldilocks sheets. They’re lightweight and breathable but still have a nice drape and softness you don’t often find in brand-new linen. It usually takes a little breaking in to get to this stage, but the Citizenry’s sheets feel like you’ve already washed them and soften them up. Thanks to great airflow, these sheets are cool enough for warm nights but not so cool that I wouldn’t use them year-round. They’re also Oeko-Tex certified, meaning they’ve been tested for harmful substances and have been deemed harmless.
The Citizenry’s linen sheets not only feel fantastic to sleep on but come in lots of colors to go with any color scheme your bedroom might have. Parts of the sheet set (just the top sheet, pillowcases, etc.) can be purchased individually if something happens to one of your pieces.
The Softest Linen Ever
These sheets are the softest linen I’ve ever tried—so soft that my husband didn’t even realize I had swapped out a soft flannel set for these! They’re super comfortable to sleep on but still have that light linen feel. The Cultiver sheets feel a little silkier (a word I never thought I’d use to describe linen) and drape a little more nicely around my body and on the bed. These sheets are a splurge, but if you want extra-soft linen, these are the way to go.
The only thing I didn’t like about them was the overflowing lint tray after drying them. My husband noted that they were “slippery” compared to other sheets we usually slept on, adding to the almost-silky experience of these sheets. But such softness doesn’t come cheap, and these sheets are a splurge. You’re able to buy pieces individually if you want to work your way up to a full set or worry that one piece could get shredded by your cat (though my cat has yet to do any damage to these).
Other Great Linen Sheets
- Pottery Barn Belgian Flax Linen Sheet Set for $299: These are my favorite cooling linen sheets, as they have the most breathable weave I’ve slept on. The airflow is great with these sheets, keeping me nice and cool. These sheets are a little thinner than the Citizenry’s but not quite as soft.
- Quince Linen Bamboo Deluxe Sheet Set for $240: These aren’t 100 percent linen, but I love the combination of bamboo softness and linen breathability they offer. They’re a great pick if you want the benefits of linen but are uncertain about the roughness or texture of standard linen (or about spending too much!) The original sheet set is discontinued, but there’s still the deluxe set, though it’s sold out and on waitlist right now. Quince’s European Linen Sheets ($170) are also a great price if you’re looking for affordable all-linen sheets.
- Rough Linen Orkney Sheet Set for $540: If you’re a linen lover and wish for heavier linen, then this Rough Linen set is perfect for you. These are the heaviest our team has tested, with about 260 gsm (grams per square meter) of linen—most others we’ve tested and recommend are around 160 gsm. WIRED reviewer Scott Gilbertson says despite the heavy weight, these still dry quickly, and he loves the rich colors these sheets come in. He says the forest green is one of the most intensely green sets of sheets he’s ever tried.
Looking for more linen? Read about every set of linen we’ve tested and our shopping advice in our guide to the best linen sheets.
Percale Sheets
Why buy percale sheets? Percale is a type of cotton weave, not a type of fabric. It’s also referred to as a plain weave. It looks how you might picture a classic weave to look, with an over-under style like a checkerboard. These sheets tend to be crisp, cool, and lightweight, and they make for great cooling sheets. Think of hotel sheets or your favorite button-up shirt. They’re a good middle ground if you sleep hot but don’t want to spring for linen and its higher prices.
Our Favorite Breathable Percale Sheets
I shouldn’t be surprised how much I loved these percale sheets, after how much I loved the Citizenry’s linen sheets. The Citizenry launched its percale line this summer, and it has become one of my favorite cooling sheets to sleep on. I’m usually not a huge percale fan, since I don’t like a super crispy sheet, but the Citizenry’s percale manages to be soft without losing the airflow and slight stiffness that makes percale, well, percale.
While these aren’t as super soft as Supima or Egyptian cotton—more options with those below!—the Citizenry uses long-staple cotton that helps these sheets feel softer than regular cotton percale sheets. This sheet set is also organic and is Oeko-Tex and Global Organic Textile Standard (GOTS) certified.
Another Great Percale Set
Buffy is famous for the alternative materials behind its bedding. Specifically, Buffy usually uses eucalyptus-based lyocell to make its sheets and comforters. But Buffy now has its first cotton bedding on the menu: Supima Cotton Percale Sheets. The name gives away that it’s not made of just cotton, but Supima cotton, which is a higher quality cotton that has a longer fiber and better strength. That longer fiber helps make these cotton sheets softer than your standard percale without sacrificing the airflow and structure that makes percale so nice to sleep on.
Buffy runs a ton of sales, so while these sheets are usually a similar price to the Citizenry’s, you might be able to find them for even cheaper.
Other Great Percale Sheets
- Saatva Percale Sheet Set for $205: I love these sheets as much as the Citizenry’s above. They cost a little more, but both are fantastic percale sets that keep you cool and are crisp while still being soft.
- Pure Parima Ultra Percale Sheet Set for $230: These sheets are super soft thanks to their Egyptian cotton. They’re a little more expensive and a touch heavier than other percale, but if you want something super soft without going full sateen or bamboo, these are a great choice.
- Riley Percale Sheet Set for $260: Riley makes nice percale sheets, but they’re pricey—a fitted sheet and pillowcases cost $135, and the flat sheet costs an additional $85. We liked their crispness, but Brooklinen’s are cheaper for even the organic set.
- Parachute Percale Sheet Set for $269: WIRED reviewer Julian Chokkattu says these sheets feel rough at first but soften up the more they’re washed. They’ve held up extremely well after years of use, even with a dog sleeping in the same bed.
Looking for more percale or cooling options? We’ve got a whole guide to cooling sheets that includes more percale picks and testing notes.
Flannel Sheets
Why buy flannel sheets? Flannel sheets are made of cotton, but the cotton fibers are brushed out to create a fuzzy texture. Those fluffed-out fibers also are what make flannel so warm and cozy to sleep on—the teased layers of cotton do a better job of retaining heat than other styles of cotton sheets, so you’ll stay much warmer sleeping on these than other sheet styles. They’re great for cooler climates and seasons.
What about brushed cotton? Brushed cotton is similar to flannel in that it has brushed-out fibers, but brushed cotton is usually brushed out on one side, making it a little less fluffy and warm than your classic cotton. It’s a great choice for hotter sleepers who are trying to stay a little warmer without overheating.
Our Favorite Flannel Sheets
These sheets are super soft and fantastic to sleep on. They’re warm and cozy, yet a little lighter than the Company Store’s set that we used to recommend, making it a great pick for people who want to stay cozy without overheating. It’s a splurge compared to other flannel you can find, but no more than a great linen set will cost you. Plus, these sheets are made with organic cotton.
Our Favorite Brushed Cotton Sheets
These brushed cotton sheets from Riley are my current go-to for winter. These are some of the softest I’ve tried without being overly hot, thanks to the brushed cotton rather than full flannel, which makes it a little lighter while still being fuzzy to the touch. They retain more heat than percale cotton sheets, but not so much heat that I needed to remove my extra quilt I use in the winter. These have been a perfect option for myself and my husband since we’re naturally hot sleepers. (Doesn’t help we’re in a third-floor room in Southern California!)
Riley also lets you choose if you want a flat sheet (aka a top sheet) or not with this set, which can make it a little cheaper. You might want to skip a flat sheet if you’re a super warm sleeper, or already have a duvet cover you prefer.
Other Great Flannel (Or Similar) Sheets
- L.L. Bean’s UltraSoft Flannel Sheets for $139: These are definitely soft, but not as soft as our top flannel pick, and they feel lighter too. They’re almost like a warm jersey rather than a flannel. If you’re looking for a light but still soft set of sheets, this is a good choice.
- The Company Store Legends Hotel Velvet Sheet Set for $179: This was our previous top pick, but The Company Store has replaced it with the Company Cotton Velvet Flannel Sheet Set ($184) which I’m testing now, along with the Legends Luxury Luxe Ultra-Cozy Flannel Fitted Sheet ($63) and Flat Sheet ($59). I’ll update this guide soon with my notes.
- Brooklinen’s Heathered Cashmere Sheets for $350: These sheets are a major splurge. They’re 95 percent cotton and 5 percent cashmere wool, giving them a little rougher texture than your usual flannel sheets. I still really liked sleeping on them and found them warm and cozy, but my husband, who favors soft sheets, didn’t care for them.
Sateen Sheets
Why buy sateen sheets? Sateen is a cotton weave similar to percale, but it uses a three-over-one thread style weave compared to one-over-one. Those extra threads give it a silkier feel even though it’s still cotton, and it tends to be both cooler and a little heavier. They’re great for summer months if you want something cool to the touch, but they also work for colder months if you aren’t looking for something too heat-trapping like flannel but still want to retain some heat.
Our Favorite Sateen Sheets
I have a few sets of JCPenney’s Wrinkle Guard sateen sheets in my linen closet thanks to my wedding registry. They’re soft and cool to the touch, with the silky finish sateen is known for without being slippery. They drape well on my bed and don’t keep me too warm, but be careful how you fold them, as they aren’t completely wrinkle-free.
The craziest thing to me about these sheets is that I can barely tell the difference between them and the Brooklinen Luxe Core Set, which is double the price (also courtesy of my wedding registry). They’re similar and both incredibly comfortable to sleep on, but JCPenney’s sheets are just hard to beat on value.
