Eight Sleep FAQs: 2023 Buyer's Guide

1. How does the Eight Sleep Cover work? Is the setup easy?

The Eight Sleep Cover has an active grid with water-cooled or heated coils. It can regulate the bed temperature from 55°F to 110°F, based on your preferences and sleep patterns. The cover fits over your current mattress.

The setup is straightforward, and there’s a step-by-step video tutorial. You need to place the encasement on your mattress, add straps, then attach the active grid to the encasement, and connect the hose to the hub. The hub controls the system, and you need to fill the reservoir with water and hydrogen peroxide and prime the pump to cycle the water through the bed for a couple of hours.

Eight Sleep's initial questionnaire asks about your sleep preferences to recommend an ideal temperature for each stage of your sleep. Once your bedtime and wake-up times are set, the Pod will automatically heat or cool your bed, so it’s at the correct temperature at bedtime. The setup takes about an hour to complete.

2. What’s the difference between the Pod Cover and Pod Mattress?

You won’t see a difference in your experience tech-wise between the cover or the mattress.

When you buy the Pod Mattress set, you get Eight Sleep’s branded mattress, along with the encasement cover, the active grid cover, and the hub.

When you buy just the Pod Cover, you get the same set without the mattress. You’ll either buy your own mattress or use your existing one.

The decision to buy Eight Sleep’s mattress or use your own comes down to how old and how much you like your current mattress.

Eight Sleep’s essentially charging $1,000 for their mattress. Unfortunately, I can’t vouch for it because I haven’t tried it. Because I didn’t know what to expect from the comfort of Eight Sleep’s mattress, I bought a $500 mattress on Amazon, which I already had experience with, and saved a little bit of money instead.

3. Is Eight Sleep worth it? What are the benefits?

I went over the benefits of Eight Sleep Cover detail in my Pod 3 Review, but my favorites include better sleep quality (more deep sleep), sleep tracking without the need to wear anything (my Apple Watch can charge while I sleep), and the vibration alarm.

If you're often hot or uncomfortable at night and/or you want to optimize your overall health and wellness, the Eight Sleep Cover will make a lot of sense. Just keep in mind, the cost of ownership for five years will likely be over $3,000 (after paying for the yearly subscription).

However, if you’re already sleeping well and $2,500 is meaningful to you, I’d skip it.

For me, Eight Sleep’s benefits are worth the price of $2,500, plus the $180/year for the subscription. However, while I love my Eight Sleep, I recognize that it’s a luxury purchase. I slept fine without one for almost 30 years.

4. Is the Eight Sleep subscription required? What comes for free?

This question breaks my heart because, before 2023, there was no need to buy their subscription plan. All of the must-have features were completely free!

New customers are now required to buy the Standard plan for $120/year for the first year, while previous customers are grandfathered in and continue to get everything for free.

You can opt out of the subscription plan after the first year, but all of the basic features will be behind the paywall. Without the subscription, you're allowed to heat and cool your cover by tapping the button in the app each night, but that's the extent of your features. You'll need to remember to turn it off in the morning too. Without the subscription, you'll lose scheduled heating and cooling, the vibration alarm, and sleep tracking.

Since most users will likely be stuck paying the $120/year with the Standard plan, I recommend upgrading to the Pro plan for $180/year instead to get the sleep tracking features.

5. Is the Eight Sleep Cover compatible with all mattress sizes?

The Eight Sleep Cover fits the following mattress sizes: Full, Queen, King, and Cali King.

As for the mattress height, the regular "Pro 3 Cover" fits mattress heights between 10" and 11". While the "Pod 3 with PerfectFit" (an extra $100) fits mattress heights between 10" and 16".

If the height of your mattress is under 10”, you’re likely out of luck. In this case, I recommend upgrading your current mattress.

6. Is the Eight Sleep Cover compatible with adjustable base beds?

Unfortunately, it's not. There's too much tech inside of the active grid between the coils and the sleep-tracking sensors.

7. Do I need sheets for the cover?

Sheets? Yes! Never sleep directly on the cover.

Mattress protector? No. This would prevent the thermoregulation and sleep tracking from working correctly.

8. Does the Eight Sleep Pod 3 Cover have a leaking issue?

I don't think so! I covered this situation in detail in my review.

There were a noticeable number of Pod 2 owners who had leaking issues, and I was one of them. Search “site:reddit.com eight sleep leak” on Google to get an idea of how many people. It wasn’t a widespread issue, but it was definitely happening to some.

As for the Pod 3? I’ve been sleeping on it for six months with no signs of leaks. And I can’t find anyone else on the internet yet who has had issues either. Tentatively, the issue appears to have been fixed in the latest iteration of the Pod.

9. What’s the warranty for the Eight Sleep Cover?

You’re covered for any damage for two years. If you don't think two years is enough, you can buy the Eight Sleep Plus subscription plan that provides a lifetime warranty for an additional $108/year.

I can vouch for solid customer service because when I found a leak in my Pod 2 Cover after eight months of use, Eight Sleep replaced it for free, within a week.

10. How does the Eight Sleep Cover compare to the alternatives?

The Sleep Number Climate360 and Tempur-Pedic Breeze are two nice looking alternative options, but they come with a hefty price tag of over $4,000 and $10,000, respectively.

But I think the Dock Pro (Chilisleep), Cube, and Ooler from Sleepme are a better comparison to Eight Sleep due to their similar features and price.

The Dock Pro and Ooler are comparable to the Eight Sleep in terms of temperature range and vibration alarm, and they're slightly less expensive because they don't require a yearly subscription.

However, there’s an interesting difference between them: they come with smaller hubs that fit better under the bed, and each side of the bed is controlled by its own hub, as opposed to one central hub like the Eight Sleep. If you don't share a bed with anyone, the Dock Pro or Ooler are a more budget-friendly option because you only need the tech and hub for one side of the bed. But it's important to note that some users report that they’re noisier than the Eight Sleep's hub.

I have no idea how the performance and app functionality of the Sleepme products hold up next to Eight Sleep in real life, but I'm skeptical based on the Amazon ratings (2.7 stars for the DockPro & 3.9 stars for the Ooler) and a worse Apple App Store rating. If I test one of these alternative active cooling covers, it’ll likely be the Ooler.

11. Does Eight Sleep have discount codes?

This likely isn’t a frequently asked question because Eight Sleep’s discounts are easily found, but I selfishly wanted a place to share my affiliate link!

After purchasing and reviewing the Pod 2, Eight Sleep approached me to become an affiliate. I accepted their offer on the condition that I wouldn't have to alter my content. As a result, I now have a discount link that saves new buyers $200.

My discount link isn’t unique because it’s readily available from other sites, so don’t feel obligated to use it. However, if you found my Pod 3 Review or this FAQ helpful and decide to use my link, I’ll receive a commission, which I’d appreciate!