The best duvets tried and tested long-term at home, including warm duvets for chilly winter nights

As with a supportive pillow, comfortable mattress, mattress topper and cosy bedding set, the best duvet can have a tangible impact on your sleep quality. Better sleep advocates the Sleep Council say a duvet should be replaced every two to five years, so you’re probably due an upgrade. But it’s hard to know which to choose – duck feather, goose down, synthetic fill, microfibre, cotton or wool? What is the best duvet for a heatwave, or for a cold snap in winter? 

We answer all those questions in the FAQ section at the bottom of this feature. In short, duvets range from extremely cool 1.5 tog to extremely warm 15 tog and the most sought-after filling is goose down, due to the 'loft' (puffiness) it provides, although wool and synthetic fillings have their own benefits. If you already know your preference, here's a quick glance at our top five. Scroll down for the reviews in full.

At a glance – the best duvets for 2023

• Best overall – The White Company Hungarian Goose Down Duvet, £205
• Best winter duvet – Brook + Wilde Hungarian Goose Down duvet, £629
• Best summer duvet – Simba Hybrid Duvet, £199
• Best split-tog duvet – Eve Sleep Warm:Cool Hollowfibre Duvet, £135

How we tested the best duvets

Everyone has their own preference in terms of thickness and weight (our review of the best weighted blankets would certainly not appeal to everyone), so we were looking for quality. Sleeping under each duvet for at least a fornight, first in summer and then in winter, we assessed their thermoregulation properties – see the FAQ – and how cosseting they felt against the skin. The down duvets with the most 'loft' felt the most luxurious, but some of the thinner duvets had special properties that goose down can't match.

Best duvets

1. The White Company Hungarian Goose Down Duvet

£205 for a double, The White Company

Best overall, 9/10

We like: the luxurious, cloud-like down and feather filling

• Available in 4.5 tog, 10.5 tog and 13.5 tog (we tested 10.5)
• Available as single, double, king and superking (we tested double)
• Filling: 90% Pyrenean goose down, 10% Pyrenean goose feather
• Casing: 280-thread-count cotton
• 10 year manufacturer's guarantee

Recommended by Abigail Buchanan

Light yet warm and deliciously plump and cosy, there's a reason this duvet has aced our tests and won the top spot, despite being expensive. It's made from a high proportion of Hungarian goose down – 90 per cent down to 10 per cent feather – and you can really feel the quality of the down in its cloud-like softness. The down and feathers down are sourced from cruelty-free suppliers as a by-product of the food industry. 

The filling is distributed evenly, and the breathable cotton percale cover means I feel snug but not sweaty. I find the 10.5 tog version to be the perfect weight for most of the year, but it also comes in 4.5 and 13.5 togs, or two duvets can be buttoned together for customised warmth through the seasons. In short, it's a worthy investment – and since White Company duvets come with a 10 year guarantee, it's an investment that will last. 

2. Brook + Wilde Marlowe goose down duvet

£629 for double, Brook + Wilde

Best goose down duvet, 9/10

We like: luxurious feathery softness, although you certainly pay for it

• 10.5 tog (7 tog, 7.5 tog, 8 tog and 12.5 tog duvets available with different fillings)
• Available in single or double (we tested double)
• Filling: 90% Hungarian goose down, 10% Hungarian goose feather
• Casing: 100-thread-count Egyptian cotton

Recommended by Simon Lewis

At many times the price of other brands, this ultra-luxury duvet from British furniture-makers Brooke + Wilde needed to be something very special. My wife, who loves billowing, cloud-soft quilting and would spend 18 hours a day under it if she could, says it's absolutely worth it. I'm a bit tighter on the purse-strings but I must admit, it feels as good as anything we've ever slept in in luxury hotels, which are the gold standard to which we compare all bedding.

The fabric is Egyptian cotton and the filling is goose down. A quick word about that: it's not the breed of goose that matters or the climate they grow up in (cold geese supposedly growing warmer down), but the 'fill power' – how many cubic inches of space an ounce of down fills. For that you need good quality and Hungary simply has a well-established reputation for exporting the best. When you shake out the Brooke + Wilde to aerate it, it's the best part of a foot thick. At night that creates a very light but extremely cosy feeling that genuinely does give you a better night's sleep.

For me, 10.5 tog is a little warm, so I doubt I'd enjoy it as much in a heatwave, but at any other time this is as good a duvet as you can get – as long as you can live with spending a week's wages on it.

3. Simba Hybrid Duvet

£199 for a double, Simba

Best summer duvet, 9/10

We like: the remarkable thinness – the whole thing packs down to the size of a football

• 10.5 tog (all-season 3.5/7/10.5 tog version also available)
• Available in single, double, king and superking (we tested double)
• Filling: Simba Renew recycled PET fibres
• Casing: breathable cotton with Stratos active temperature regulation

Recommended by Simon Lewis

Online sleep specialists Simba took the top spot in our guide to the best mattresses with their Hybrid Pro mattress. Hybrid in that case means a combination of springs, foam and wool (and, incidentally, it's recommended as a good mattress for relieving back pain). Here it's a bit different.

The Simba Hybrid duvet is thin (about an inch) and very light, with a fleece filling made of recycled plastic bottles. Strangely in winter it was almost as warm as my usual feather duvet. That was with the breathable cotton side down. 

In the summer, I sleep with the temperature-regulating 'Stratos' side down, identified by the subtle hexagon-patterned sheen to the fabric. The sheen comes from polymers which absorb heat from your body, transferring it to the stuffing, whose fibres are coated with silicon to dissipate heat. If you sweat, the polymers wick that away too. If your body temperature cools, the material 'phase-changes' back to normal. Apparently this was developed to regulate astronauts' body temperature.

The cooling effect definitely works. During a run of hot nights I sweated less, woke up less and slept better. It's expensive, but given that the same cooling summer duvet can be warm in the winter, that potentially makes this a money-saving as well as a space-saving choice.

Update: since I tested the summer-weight Hybrid, Simba have released a brand new Hybrid 3-in-1 duvet (from £249, Simba Sleep) for year-round temperature regulation. It's actually two duvets – a 3.5 tog summer duvet and a 7-tog spring/autumn duvet – that can be fastened together to make a 10.5 tog mega-duvet for the coldest nights. I'll report back on that in the depths of winter.

4. Eve Sleep Warm:Cool Hollowfibre Duvet

£135 for a double, Eve Sleep

Best split tog duvet, 8/10

We like: it's brilliant solution to an age old problem

• One half 10.5 tog, other half 4.5 tog
• Available as double or kingsize (we tested double)
• Filling: 100 percent hollowfibre
• Casing: 233 threadcount cotton

Recommended by Simon Lewis

Everyone knows about the thermostat war - men always think it's too hot and turn it down, women think it's too cold and turn it up - but the duvet war is just as intractable. Being more warm-blooded than my wife, I suffer under our cosy duvet. She's blithely unaware (being asleep and all) but I often lie there sweating and wishing for a half-and-half solution, warm on her side and cool on mine.

I knew they existed, but only with a slight difference between the togs. Eve are the first to do it properly, with 10.5 tog on one side, which I'd consider far too warm, and 4.5 on the other, which she would consider far too cold. As it happened we tried it in May when we got our first mini-heatwave and were both completely comfortable despite warm nights with high humidity. 

It's plump and breathable, being made of a soft, hollow microfibre called Aerelle. Once on the bed it doesn't look any different than a normal duvet, so we soon forgot that we were sleeping under the physical embodiment of the war of the sexes. I genuinely think this will improve a lot of marriages.

5. Soak and Sleep Soft As Down Microfibre Duvet

£65 for a 10.5 tog double, Soak and Sleep

Best anti-allergy duvet, 7/10

We liked: It really does feel 'soft as down' 

• Available in 3 tog, 4.5 tog, 9 tog, 10.5 tog, 13.5 tog and all-season versions (we tested 10.5 tog)
• Available as single, double, king and superking (we tested double)
• Filling: 100 percent blown microfibre
• Casing: 233 threadcount cotton
• Five year guarantee

Recommended by Abigail Buchanan

I usually have a strong preference for natural fill duvets, but if you suffer from allergies, a microfibre or hollowfibre alternative might suit you better. Plus, synthetic duvets are significantly cheaper. The reason this one from Soak and Sleep is so good is that it really does emulate the plump feeling of goose down. 

It's filled with a very fine denier polyester fibre that has the loftiness and softness of down and feathers, and is cased in natural cotton to help with temperature regulation. No microfibre duvet is going to beat the luxurious feeling of down, but this is a close second. 

6. WoolRoom Organic Washable Wool Duvet

£174.99 for a light double, WoolRoom

Best wool duvet, 8/10

We like: brilliantly light and breathable, but costly

• Available in light (2-5 tog equivalent), medium (7-10 tog), warm (11-14 tog) and all-season (we tested light)
• Available as single, double, king and superking (we tested double)
• Filling: organic soft British wool
• Casing: 300 threadcount cotton

A far cheaper version of The Wool Room's excellent woollen duvet is available at £73.49 for a double, but I wanted to try the organic and washable version, which is fully sustainable and traceable right back to the specific British herd. While expensive, if properly cared for this is the only duvet on our list that could literally last a lifetime.

Funnily enough, the duvet this most resembles is Simba's warm/cool synthetic fibre hybrid. It's not puffy - or 'lofty', as the experts say - but relatively slim and cool to the touch thanks to the 200 thread count cotton outer layer. It feels nicely cosseting at night without feeling at all heavy. Wool, as any sheep will tell you, is good for temperature regulation, keeping you warm at night but allowing moisture to escape easily. 

That was definitely my experience. I tried the 2-5 tog light version which would easily see me through nine months of the year, although I am a very hot sleeper. Warmer 7-10 tog medium and 11-14 tog warm versions are available, as well as an even more expensive all-season version. These are certainly not budget duvets, but pound for pound (they pack away very small) they're one of the best sleep aids nature can provide. They're hypoallergenic, too.

FAQ

What is the best filling to have in a duvet?

The best duvet should keep you cool and comfortable in the summer months and warm in winter. This is called thermoregulation and it's the key to a good night’s kip. 

“Down is really very light,” says Emma Casson of The Bed Expert. “Feather-and-down is cheaper and a bit heavier – and some people like a bit more weight. Then you’ve got your synthetics, like microfibre. You can have really good quality synthetics nowadays. They’re really breathable.”

If you are allergic to feathers, you may want to opt for a synthetic duvet. These are usually filled with microfibre (a fine polyester yarn) or hollowfibre (which is very similar, but slightly warmer), but you may see them called, ‘soft as down’ or ‘down alternative.’ 

There are other natural duvet fillings out there, including wool, which Casson says is rising in popularity, “because it’s breathable, it’s good for heat and regulates your body temperature so in the summer it keeps you cooler, and it’s natural and hypoallergenic.” 

Other options include silk and linen, but down and feather remain the most popular for their warmth and breathability. Casson herself sleeps with a down duvet from luxury German brand Mühldorfer, “as it’s the lightest and most luxurious.” (Mühldorfer duvets are used in luxury hotels in over 100 countries, which answers the common question, "What duvet do hotels use?")

What tog duvet should I buy? 

The warmth of a duvet is measured in togs, which span from a light 1.5 tog to a thick, warm 15 tog duvet. “Tog rating is a very UK thing – I don’t know if anyone truly understands them,’ says Casson. “Those in Europe laugh at us.” 

However, it’s the easiest way of working out a duvet’s warmth here in the UK. “10.5 tog is a good mid-range that should last for most of the year, unless your house is very warm,” says Casson. “Otherwise, 4.5 tog is most common for summer and 13.5 tog is for winter.” Another option is an all-seasons duvet which consists of two layers which can be buttoned together. 

What is the best quality duvet to buy? 

That comes down to your personal preference. Natural-fill duvets are generally more breathable and can be recycled when you’re done with them. But they may not be suitable for those with allergies, plus they’re more expensive than microfibre or hollowfibre duvets. 

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