ChartStandard dimensions — nothing to enter.
A standard pillow is 20 × 26 inches (51 × 66 cm). Queen is 20 × 30, king is 20 × 36 — and the reason those numbers exist is that two of them are meant to span your mattress.
| Pillow | Size | Pillowcase | Two of them span |
|---|---|---|---|
| Standard | 20 × 26 in | 20 × 26 to 30 in | 52 in — a Full (54 in) |
| Super standard | 20 × 28 in | 20 × 26 to 30 in | 56 in — a Full with a little spare |
| Queen | 20 × 30 in | 20 × 30 to 34 in | 60 in — a Queen (60 in) exactly |
| King | 20 × 36 in | 20 × 36 to 40 in | 72 in — a California King (72 in) exactly |
| Euro square | 26 × 26 in | 26 × 26 in sham | 52 in — decorative, sits behind the sleepers |
| Body | 20 × 54 in | 20 × 54 in | Single pillow, used alone |
| Travel or toddler | 14 × 20 in | 14 × 20 in | Cot, crib and car |
Sizes are the US retail standards. Depth or loft is not standardized at all and runs from about 3 in to 8 in, which is the measurement that decides comfort.
A standard pillow is 20 × 26 inches. That is 51 × 66 cm, and it is the size sold plain as "pillow" in the United States. Every other size keeps the 20 in height and changes only the width, which is why one pillowcase depth fits the whole family.
The pattern nobody points out: pillows are sized in pairs to the mattress. Two queen pillows are 30 + 30 = 60 in, and a queen mattress is 60 in wide. Two king pillows are 36 + 36 = 72 in, and a California king is 72 in wide. Two standard pillows are 52 in against a 54 in full. The names are not decoration — a matched pair is cut to span the bed it is named for.
Which pillow your bed takes. A twin or twin XL (38 in) takes one standard. A full (54 in) takes two standard. A queen (60 in) takes two queen. A king (76 in) takes two king, with 4 in to spare, or three standard laid across. Full dimensions for every bed are on the mattress size chart.
Pillowcases are cut longer than the pillow. A standard case runs 26 to 30 in against a 26 in pillow, because the case has to swallow the loft as well as the length. If a case fits perfectly flat on the bed it is too small once the pillow is in it — buy to the pillow name, not to a tape measure.
Loft is the measurement that actually matters. Width and length are standardized; height is not. A side sleeper generally needs a high loft to fill the gap between ear and shoulder, a stomach sleeper a low one, and a back sleeper something in between. None of that is on the label as a number, which is why two "standard" pillows can feel completely different.
20 × 26 inches, or 51 × 66 cm. It is the default US pillow size and the one that fits a standard pillowcase.
Four inches of width. A standard is 20 × 26 in and a queen is 20 × 30 in. The height is identical, so the difference on the bed is that a pair of queen pillows spans exactly 60 in — the full width of a queen mattress.
Two king pillows (20 × 36 in each) span 72 in on a 76 in mattress, leaving 4 in. Three standard pillows span 78 in and will overlap slightly, which most people prefer to a gap.
Usually not well. A standard case is cut for a 26 in pillow and a queen pillow is 30 in, so the pillow either will not go in or fills the case so tightly that it firms up. Queen cases run 30 to 34 in for that reason.
26 × 26 inches, square. Euro pillows are decorative rather than sleeping pillows — they stand up at the back of the bed in front of the headboard, with the sleeping pillows in front of them.
No. The common UK pillow is 20 × 30 in, closer to a US queen than to a US standard, and the European square is 26 × 26 in and used for sleeping rather than decoration. Cases bought abroad often will not fit US pillows.