We tried five seat cushions in our labs, including those from Purple, Cushion Lab, and Tempur-Pedic
Just a few of the seat cushions we evaluated had a positive effect on posture.
By Jodhaira Rodriguez
Sitting at a desk every day can wreak havoc on your body. An achy back, slumped shoulders, and the dreaded tech neck are all symptoms of too much time sitting. Paul Ritchey, DrPH, CR’s ergonomics expert, says we should avoid long-held static postures when working at a desk, but if standing or walking breaks aren’t an option for you, a comfortable office setup is absolutely necessary to keep your body pain-free.
Richey says that if you have the right office chair, you shouldn’t need a seat cushion; in fact, a cushion could block the lumbar support of a high-end office chair and cause more problems. But if the chair you currently work from isn’t the most comfortable, and a new chair isn’t in your budget, a seat cushion could provide some much-needed relief.
When we asked a panel of testers at CR what the most important factor was when choosing a seat cushion, five said it was overall comfort. Ritchey says the density, stability, lower and upper back comfort, pressure distribution, and material breathability are also important factors to consider. “A too-soft cushion traps heat, doesn’t allow for proper pressure distribution, and makes it harder to adjust your body,” he says.
To find the best seat cushions, we recruited six people who sat on five seat cushions for a week, providing feedback on comfort, ease of setup, firmness, and more. After compiling the information and sitting on each cushion myself, we selected three to hold you over until you can upgrade your office chair.
Sneak Peek: The mattress maker Tempur-Pedic offers a seat cushion that was a favorite of our testers. While the mattresses from the company that we’ve tested haven’t made the top spot on our lists, its seat cushions almost made it to the top. Read on to find out why we liked it.
Cushion Lab Cloud Cradle Seat Cushion
Comfort: Our testers were asked to rate how comfortable each cushion was on a 1 to 5 scale, with 5 being very comfortable. Half of them gave the Cloud Cradle Seat Cushion a 5 rating; the rest gave it a 4. It was the only cushion that wasn’t rated lower than a 4 by any of our testers. Kristen Dorrell, a Consumer Reports senior statistician, called this cushion “top tier,” and Michelle Ma, a CR video producer, said it was the most comfortable model tested.
The cushion didn’t slide off the chair when testers sat on it, and it maintained its height and shape throughout the evaluations. Mathew Schimmenti, who leads vacuum and chainsaw testing at CR, was the only person to note some sinking in the first few minutes of using the cushion, but said it eventually settled and didn’t sink further.
All but one tester reported better posture while sitting on this cushion. As a chronic leg-crosser, I found that when I sat on it, I crossed my legs less and actually sat upright in my office chair for longer periods.
It was the thickest model we tested (4 inches), and because of its height could block the lumbar support on an office chair. Three testers reported that it felt slightly warm after sitting on it for a while.
The pillow material in this cushion is called CloudSupport foam by Cushion Lab, and is described as a “memory foam pillow core” on its website. It was firm, very dense, and bounced back quickly when pressed. All six testers said the firmness/softness balance was just right.
Ease of Use: David Schipper, who oversees new product categories at Consumer Reports, had this to say about the ease of setting up this cushion on a chair: “I rated setup as difficult because I was confused as to which side was forward/back. It actually wasn’t intuitive looking.” He was the only one to report any difficulties in this regard.
This cushion’s cover is removable and machine-washable. The pillow itself isn’t washable.
We tested the standard size of this cushion, but it’s also available in a larger size recommended by the company for users over 190 pounds.
Tempur-Pedic Seat Cushion
Comfort: The cushion’s comfort ratings were mixed. Two testers called it very comfortable, while the others varied from just comfortable to uncomfortable. Still, it earned the second-highest comfort score. Dorrell, who considered this cushion’s comfort level to be poor, said, “Initially, it was straight up uncomfortable—felt too flat and too firm—but it got better after sitting on it for about an hour.” Ma rated the comfort more favorably, saying, “Overall, it’s very comfy, and I like that it cradles my tush.”
The Tempur-Pedic Seat Cushion is just 2 inches thick and doesn’t prevent you from leaning back in an office chair. A few testers thought that it was too flat and firm, and that it caused some discomfort in the lower back and tailbone.
Just one person reported an improvement in their posture using this cushion. Three testers said it became too warm during use. One tester also noted that the cushion slid off his chair after just a few minutes.
The Tempur material inside this model felt just right to three testers, was too firm for another two, and was too soft for the tester who reported that it didn’t accommodate his size.
Ease of Use: Four of the six testers said it was easy to set up. It has indentations to cradle a user’s buttocks, which help orient the cushion on a chair.
The cushion’s cover is removable and machine-washable. The cushion itself shouldn’t be washed.
It’s not available in other sizes, and our tallest tester didn’t think the cushion was designed to accommodate larger people.
Everlasting Comfort Memory Foam Seat Cushion
Comfort: This Everlasting Comfort cushion earned the third-best comfort score. Schimmenti said it was his second-favorite cushion after the Cushion Lab model. Dorrell shared that this was the model she uses at home, and that she had to adjust her seat height each time she uses it.
Most of our testers said the firmness of this cushion was just right, with two rating it as too firm. Just one tester reported an improvement in their posture, and another said they noticed it sank more than others did while using it.
Four testers reported feeling the cushion made their bottoms feel slightly warm during use. It slid off the chair of one of our testers, but only when she got up.
Everlasting Comfort says the cushion’s interior is made of memory foam. It’s dense, very firm, and bounces back when pressed.
Ease of Use: A few of our testers had trouble figuring out the proper orientation of this cushion because there were indicators. The right way is with the infinity symbol facing forward.
The cushion’s cover is removable and is machine-washable.
We tested the large size, but it’s also available in extra-large.
Other Seat Cushions We Tested
The other two seat cushions we tested from Purple and TushGuard were fine, but they didn’t earn the stellar reviews of our three favorites.
Purple Simply Seat Cushion
Comfort: Sitting on this cushion was like sitting on a block of gelatin. The purple grid interior could be felt through the cover, and most of our testers didn’t appreciate this. Schimmenti said: “The feel of this cushion was odd for the first 5 or so minutes. I think I got used to it like one stops feeling a wristwatch on their wrist after a few moments.” Dorrell said, “The voids in the seat material feel weird under the butt, especially compared to memory foam.” It didn’t feel like much of a cushion at all and earned the lowest comfort score.
Schipper, however, really liked this cushion, but wished it were a little bit thicker. It was the thinnest cushion we tested.
The textured bottom kept it firmly in place once placed on a chair. No one reported any sliding. It also had a slightly cooling effect that none of the other models had. No testers reported any improvement in their posture, and in fact, one said it made their posture worse.
Ease of Use: The cover of this cushion is machine-washable. The interior should be hand-washed with warm water and detergent.
This was the easiest cushion to set up on a chair because it was just a flat square; there was no front or back side.
It’s available in only one size, but Purple makes three other cushions with varying thicknesses.
TushGuard Seat Cushion
Comfort: The TushGuard seat cushion earned the second-to-last comfort score from our evaluators. One tester tried sitting on this cushion with the hump facing forward and backward, hoping one orientation would feel more comfortable, but gave up after just an hour. Four other testers felt the cushion was just fine, but not as comfortable as the others. A single tester said they would purchase this for themselves.
The cushion caused heating issues for three of our testers, and one tester said it caused tailbone pain, too.
It tied in second place with the Everlasting Comfort cushion for thickness. The memory foam interior felt firmer than the others, and it maintained its shape throughout our evaluation.
Two testers said they felt their posture improved with this cushion.
Ease of Use: As with the similarly designed Everlasting Comfort model, this cushion proved a bit tricky for some of our testers to orient on their office chairs. Also, as with that model, the proper orientation of this cushion was with the hump facing forward.
Like all the others, the cushion’s cover is removable and machine-washable.
We tested the large size, and it’s also available in X-large, XX-large, and XXX-large. TushGuard recommends the large size for users weighing 200 pounds or less.
How We Evaluated Chair Cushions
We had testers of different heights and weights sit on each cushion for at least an hour before submitting feedback on comfort, ease of setup, and firmness. They were also asked to note any sliding while sitting on the cushions, any overheating, whether the cushions maintained their height and shape, and whether they improved their posture. I sat on each cushion for a minimum of 3 hours before submitting my own feedback.
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