The best bed sheets of 2026, tested and reviewed

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When it comes to upgrading your bedding, finding the perfect set of sheets is the best place to start. The best sheets are a joy to slip into every night, with a comfortable and breathable feel. They should also be made from high-quality, durable materials that will last for hundreds of laundry days.

After sleeping on and washing 50 sheets, talking to experts, and adding sets to our bedding rotation, we’ve selected the best sheets for your bedroom reset. Most of our picks are made from cotton, which offers the best balance of comfort, durability, and affordability, but bamboo, eucalyptus, and linen fabrics also introduce increased softness and breathability. Our best overall pick is the L.L.Bean Percale Sheet Set, a crisp, cool set of sheets that spruces up any bed. If you’re looking for the softest sheets you’ve ever felt, we recommend the Brooklinen Luxe Sateen Core Sheet Set. This set stays warm, even in the cold months, with a silky soft feel.

Learn more about how Business Insider Reviews tests and researches home products.

Our top picks for the best sheet sets

Best overall: L.L.Bean Percale Sheet Set – See at L.L.Bean

Best budget: Threshold Solid Performance Sheet Set – See at Target

Best bamboo: Quince Bamboo Sheet Set – See at Quince

Best sateen: Brooklinen Luxe Sateen Core Sheet Set – See at Brooklinen

Best flannel: L.L.Bean Ultrasoft Comfort Flannel Sheets – See at L.L.Bean

Best linen: Brooklinen Washed Linen Core Sheet Set – See at Brooklinen

Best cooling: Sijo AiryWeight Eucalyptus Sheet Set – See at Amazon

Best patterned: The Company Store Patterned Sheets – See at The Company Store

Best hotel: H by Frette Classic Sheet Set – See at H by Frette

Best deep-pocket: Cuddledown 400-Thread Count Sateen Sheet Set – See at Cuddledown

Best overall

These are the perfect crisp, cool sheets. Of all the percale cotton sheets I tested, L.L.Bean’s set stood out for its ultra-softness and comfort. It’s an overall favorite 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 set is made with premium cotton.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.

They fit the bed well and include bed-making tags. 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.) 

I love the simple design. 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.

Read our full L.L.Bean Percale Sheets review.

Best budget

If you’re shopping on a budget, these are the best sheets you can buy. 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.

The sheets are silky, but make sure you wash them frequently. 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.

I noticed mild wrinkling and an odor after opening. I definitely 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.

This set also comes in a range of patterns. In addition to solid colors, Threshold Performance Sheets are available in prints. We tested the tulip toss pattern and loved the cute, simple addition of pink flowers to traditional white sheets.

We recommend these sheets for dorm mattresses, guest beds, and budget-friendly bedrooms. 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. The 365-night return policy also gives you ample time to live with them and decide for yourself.

Read our full Threshold Performance Sheet Set review.

Best bamboo

Quince makes the best bamboo sheets we’ve ever slept on. Bamboo bedding has become a team favorite sleeping material for its insanely soft, breathable, and eco-friendly properties. After a lengthy testing process to find the best bamboo sheets, Quince’s bamboo sheet set emerged as a favorite for its luxurious softness with a crisp and silky-smooth sateen weave, breathability, affordability, and color offerings.

They’re eco-friendly and available in over a dozen colors. The sheets are made with 100% viscose from bamboo and Oeko-Tex Standard 100 certified. There are 15 colors to choose from, and you can purchase a set with or without a top sheet. We also liked the ease of use when it came to making the bed with these bamboo sheets, from top and bottom tags on the fitted sheet to fitting the bed well.

We’ve noticed mild durability issues, but Quince offers a 365-night trial. Quince also offers a year-long trial to decide if you love them, which matches Brooklinen’s policies. Our only drawback to these sheets is that they pill and stain easily.

Read our Quince Bamboo Sheets review for more details.

Best sateen

Sateen is the best material for soft, warm sheets. 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 makes the best sateen sheets ever. Brooklinen’s 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. 

New colors sell out fast, and sateen sleeps warm. Brooklinen frequently rotates in new colors and prints throughout the year while offering a number of neutral mainstays as part of its essentials collection, giving a sort of collectability for the limited editions. 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 warmer than percale.

Read our full Brooklinen Luxe sateen sheet review and check out all of our favorite products we’ve tried from Brooklinen.

Best flannel

L.L.Bean knows how to make great flannel. 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 them the best overall pick in our guide to the best flannel sheets.

They’re definitely warm, but they’re breathable, too. 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.

Like other flannel products, they produce a ton of lint. 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.

The colors stay sharp, and they’re also sold in patterns. The sage sheets have maintained their pleasant green hue without any color loss after several washes. They’re available in an array of patterns and colors, including striped and checkered options.

Best linen

Some love linen, some hate it. Many love linen for its casual, lived-in look, and the fact that it does get softer with time and use. On the other hand, linen also wrinkles easily, feels rough on first unboxing, and is notoriously expensive. 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. 

Brooklinen’s linen sheets are anything but rough. Among the best linen sheet sets we’ve reviewed, the newly upgraded Brooklinen Washed European 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 light for the ultimate breathability without feeling flimsy. The sheets are made in Portugal of 100% European Flax, and garment-washed for softness.

The fabric is thick and breathable. Unlike percale or sateen bedding, linen sheets are not identified by thread count,  but by grams per square meter (GSM), which is a measure of a textile’s weight, with a higher number indicating a denser fabric. Brooklinen’s 155 GSM falls on the light to medium scale of typical linen sheeting.  The revamped set has a higher GSM than its predecessor, and comes across as more durable without losing the soft and airy characteristics we admired from the original.

The set is sold in traditional colors and patterns. Brooklinen’s linen sheets are available in six colors options and several stripes, 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 full Brooklinen Washed Linen Sheets review.

Best cooling

Sijo’s sheets are game changing for hot sleepers. 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 the best cooling sheets, while cotton is a breathable textile and linen’s natural moisture-wicking properties is also a great choice, the Sijo AiryWeight Eucalyptus Sheet Set is refreshingly soft and strikes the right balance of comfort, coolness, durability, and price.

These Sijo sheets wicked away heat and moisture and allow air to flow through. Plus, they were slightly cool to the touch. They’re available in 13 colors across six sizes, and you can also opt-in or out of a flat sheet, which provides great flexibility and can bring the price of your purchase down.

Sijo recently added a trial period to its sheets. Sheets purchased after November 2025 are now subject to a 30-day trial, so you’ll be able to test them out before deciding if they’re right for you. They lack the easy top and bottom labels found on many of the other sets we love, but that by no means makes them a dealbreaker — they just require more patience to fit the bottom sheet on the bed. 

We also love Sijo’s linen sheets. The AiryWeight edged out our previous pick, also from Sijo, the LuxeWeave Linen Sheet Set. Both sleep exceptionally cool; it can really come down to your desired feel of silky eucalyptus versus weightier linen that gets softer with each wash. 

Best patterned

The Company Store is the best place to buy patterned sheets. For those who love a colorful aesthetic in their bedroom, patterned sheets are a must. The Company Store is the top pick in our best patterned sheets guide for its collection of prints on comfortable, high-quality sheets.

The Company Store has a range of patterns, from vibrant floral prints to classic plaids in neutral tones. No matter your aesthetic, you’re sure to find a pattern that aligns with your style.

We’re in love with the brand’s collab with Rifle Paper Co. You’ll find plenty of patterns as part of the collaboration with Rifle Paper Co. I tested the sold-out Strawberry Fields print in percale and loved the colorful floral design featuring strawberries. With so many colors in the design, it was easy to pair it with a solid duvet cover, or opt for one of the collections coordinating designs. Senior home editor, Jaclyn Turner, tried the Peacock Floral print in sateen, featuring elegant peacocks and green leaves. The Rifle Paper Co. collaboration is usually excluded from site wide promotions and sales, though.

Each set we tested was incredibly comfortable. Besides the design, these sheets are ridiculously comfortable. The percale sheets are crisp and cool, while the sateen sheets are silky soft. They’re sold in sets and separately, so it’s easy to replace one piece of your bedding.

But there’s limited availability and a return fee. Some patterns have limited twin XL availability and there’s a return fee of $4.50 per an item, but otherwise, these are excellent patterned sheets to spruce up your bedroom.

Best hotel

Frette’s sheets are loved by luxury hotels. 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.

These sheets are truly luxurious. 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 design is simple yet durable. 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. 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.

Both the sateen and percale weaves are excellent. 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.

They’re definitely pricey. 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.

Best deep-pocket

If you have a thick mattress, you’ll need a set of deep-pocket sheets. 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’s sheets fit mattress up to 21 inches. 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 set is comfortable and durable. 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 27 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.

Cuddledown has a generous return policy. 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. —Jenny McGrath

What to look for when choosing the best sheets

Material

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:

• Long-staple cotton: We’ve found that the best sheets typically use long-staple cotton. Long-staple cotton has longer-staple fibers that result in smoother and stronger yarn. Short-staple cotton has fiber ends that stick out and cause the sheets to be rougher. Brands will generally call out when they use long-staple cotton; otherwise, you can probably assume it’s short-staple. Leonas says the industry definition of long-staple cotton is a fiber length of 1.15-1.22 inches. 
• Pima cotton: Also known by its trademark name, Supima cotton, this is an extra-long-staple cotton that is grown only in the US and has a fiber length of at least 1.5 inches. Extra long-staple cotton is even smoother, more flexible, and more resistant to pilling than long-staple cotton.
• Egyptian cotton: It’s often assumed that Egyptian cotton, which is grown in Egypt, is long-staple, but it could also be lower-quality, short-staple cotton that just happens to be from Egypt, so be careful of this labeling and look specifically for “long-staple cotton.” 
• Linen: Linen is a type of fiber made from flax plants. It’s slightly rigid, with a rougher texture, and it feels cool and breathable. It wrinkles easily. 
• Polyester: Polyester is a type of synthetic fiber that may be blended with cotton or used to make microfiber. It’s less breathable and traps moisture more easily, and it may not be suitable for people with sensitive skin. 
• Microfiber: Microfiber is a type of synthetic material made with very fine polyester fibers. It’s very soft and drapeable but doesn’t breathe well. 
• Lyocell: Also known as Tencel, this is a type of semi-synthetic fiber made from wood (often eucalyptus) pulp. It’s soft, silky, and breathable. Alternative fibers like bamboo lyocell or microfiber are appealing because they’re often very comfortable and affordable. However, in testing, the durability doesn’t match up to that of cotton or linen. They’re more prone to pilling, abrasion, and shrinkage. Plus, the production and care of these alternative fibers can be murky and bad for the environment.

Weave

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:

• Percale: A type of cotton weave where one thread is woven with another thread into a tight, grid pattern. It has a matte, crisp feel. It’s airy and more breathable. 
• Sateen: A type of cotton weave where three or four threads are woven over one thread into a looser grid pattern. It has a smooth, silky feel and a slight sheen to it. Compared to percale, it’s less breathable and may not be suitable for hot sleepers. According to Leonas, sateen tends to snag more easily and show dirt more readily due to its unique “float” weave.
• Flannel: Thickly woven cotton that’s been brushed to give it a slightly soft and fuzzy texture, and it feels warm.

Certifications

• 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.
• Oeko-Tex STeP: 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 Oeko Tex STeP. 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.

How we tested the best sheet sets

Here’s how we tested for the best bed sheets over the course of over a year

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.

4. Evaluated policies around trial and warranty periods and noted colors and bedding assortment. 

How to care for your sheets

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.

Bed sheet FAQ

Does thread count matter?

Thread count does matter, but it’s not the only thing to consider when buying a set a sheets. Its definition can be manipulated by brands, and many high-count sheets have a nearly identical feel and durability. Learn more about thread count here.

What’s a good thread count for sheets?

We recommend sheets with a thread count between 300-400, though you’re sure to find excellent sets under that range. Always be sure to check the quality of material in addition to the thread count.

Percale vs sateen: which is better?

Percale and sateen are different weaves of cotton, so selecting the best depends on your personal preference. Percale is cooling and crisp, whereas sateen is silky, smooth, and retains heat. Generally, percale is best for warm months or hot sleepers, whereas sateen is best for cool months or cold sleepers.

Read more about the topic in our percale vs sateen cotton comparison. 

What sheets do hotels use?

Hotels usually use 100% long-staple cotton sheets, since they’re soft, breathable, and durable. 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.

How do you prevent sheets from wrinkling?

To prevent sheets from wrinkling, always remove them immediately after they’re been dried in the dryer. If they’re still wrinkly, iron them before putting them on the bed or use wool dryer balls.

What kind of duvet cover do you pair with your sheets? 

Choose a duvet cover with the same material as your sheet set for a seamless feel. Of course, you can always experiment with different materials and textures for a mix-and-match look. Check our guide to the best duvet covers for more information. 

Source: The best bed sheets of 2026, tested and reviewed