Egyptian cotton is known for producing ultra-soft and durable sheets, and is widely regarded as one of the most luxurious textiles on the market. However, not all Egyptian cotton bedding is the same, and there’s a method to separating the best from the rest. In this guide, I’m presenting my top five favorite Egyptian cotton sheet sets, all of which I’ve personally tested. Plus, I’ll impart some expert tips you can use to improve your search. Let’s get started.
Our Top Pick for the Best Egyptian Cotton Sheets
The Parachute Sateen Sheet Set is my favorite Egyptian cotton sheet set on this list. These sheets are durable, soft, and look as great as they feel. If you’re looking for Egyptian cotton sheets that don’t pill, shrink, or fade after a few washes, this set fits the bill perfectly. After using them extensively, I can honestly say they’ve held up incredibly well and only get softer with every wash.
Best Egyptian Cotton Sheets – Our Top 5 Picks
- Best Sateen – Parachute Home
- Best Percale – Snowe Home
- Best for Hot Sleepers – Luxor Linens
- Best Affordable – Parachute Percale Sheets
- Best for Tall Mattress – Pure Parima Yalda Sheets
Our Best Egyptian Cotton Sheets Video
What We Look for in the Best Egyptian Cotton Bed Sheets
Durability
Egyptian cotton sheets are an investment, so you want to find something that’s made to last. Throughout our testing, we see if the materials can withstand several washes without losing their softness or strength. The best sheets should resist pilling, shrinking, and fading over time.
Softness and Comfort
Egyptian cotton is known for its smooth and silky texture, so we focus on finding sheets that provide luxurious comfort. We evaluate the weave and thread count to ensure the sheets are soft yet breathable for a comfortable night’s sleep.
Value
Since Egyptian cotton sheets are such an investment, we want you to get plenty of bang for your buck. We consider the price, material quality, and performance to ensure you get a great deal. We aim to recommend sheets that provide five-star-hotel-level comfort and durability without breaking the bank.
First on my list is the Parachute Sateen Sheet Set, perfect for folks who love lustrous bedding.
Spun from 100 percent Egyptian cotton and woven into a silky sateen weave, these sheets feel smooth and soothing on the skin. And I personally love the fact that the sheets look as silky as they feel. Every brand’s sateen sheets are different (some have a more subtle luster), but these are some of the shiniest I’ve ever seen.
Meanwhile, those long Egyptian cotton fibers make the fabric extra resistant to pilling, shrinkage, and color fading. In fact, I can vouch for how well these sheets maintained their color and luster after every time I washed them.
If you’re in the market for some lustrous, super-cozy sheets, be sure to peruse my full Parachute sheets review for the scoop.
Price: $129–$169, with a 60-day trial period.
Perfect for: Sleepers in search of a silky, lustrous, and durable set of Egyptian cotton sheets.
Parachute Sateen Sheets
Egyptian cotton makes these Parachute sheets incredibly soft and cozy!
Sleepopolis Score
4.40 / 5
Read Full Review
Up next is the Percale Sheet Set from Snowe Home, a fantastic choice for folks who prefer a crisp, cotton feel.
Like the Parachute sheets we just discussed, these are made from 100 percent Egyptian cotton. However, they’re percale woven rather than sateen, which gives them a different look and feel. Make no mistake — this bedding is still very comfy, but it feels more crisp than silky, and looks way less shiny. If you’re looking to boost your crisp, cotton bedding essentials, these percale sheets are a great place to start.
The sheets have a luxuriously high thread count of 500, which makes them feel ultra-smooth to the touch. Thread count is a measurement of the tightness of a fabric’s weave — and when it comes to Egyptian cotton, it can also be a great indicator of durability, resistance to pilling, color retention, and overall performance. Believe me: These sheets check all those boxes without sacrificing their cool, light, and breathable feel.
Price: $225–$275, with free shipping and two-week returns.
Perfect for: Sleepers wanting crisp percale Egyptian cotton sheets.
Snowe Percale Sheet Set
Snowe’s percale woven sheets are designed to feel crisp, light and and breathable. And while those traits are typically characteristic of a percale weave, Snowe’s percale sheets have an exceptionally smooth handfeel.
Sleepopolis Score
4.40 / 5
Read Full Review
Next up is the Delano Organic Sheet Set from Luxor Linens, a cooling sheet set that’s perfect for hot sleepers.
These sheets are lightweight, airy, and made from a blend of Egyptian cotton and bamboo. As we’ve learned, Egyptian cotton is very soft and strong, but the bamboo makes these sheets extra breathable, moisture-wicking, and ideal for warm weather. If you’re on a mission to wake up every morning feeling cool and dry, this is probably the right sheet set for you.
Folks looking specifically for 100 percent cotton can take comfort in the fact that this brand offers a wide variety of sheet sets, many of which are made entirely of Egyptian cotton. But this particular set made my top picks because it blends two of the coziest, most durable materials out there. Plus, bamboo has great antimicrobial properties as well, which makes this bedding resistant to allergens, mildew, and mold.
Learn everything there is to know about these bedsheets in my full Luxor Linens sheets review.
Price: $235–$350, with a 30-day trial period.
Perfect for: Hot sleepers in search of light, breathable, dreamy bedsheets.
Luxor Linens Sheets
The Luxor Linen Organic Cotton Sheet Set is a luxury and crisp option made of 100% organic cotton.
Read Full ReviewHere we have another pick from Parachute Home because, frankly, I’m a big fan of this brand’s Egyptian cotton bedding (and it comes at a surprisingly affordable price point).
Made from 100 percent Egyptian cotton, the Parachute Percale Sheet Set is smooth, strong, and offers a breathable feel that hot sleepers are sure to enjoy. Compared to the Parachute sateen sheets we looked at earlier, this bedding is lighter in weight and feels much more crisp. Additionally, it has a matte appearance rather than a lustrous sheen — which is ideal for folks who want to avoid the slippery look of shinier bedding.
Something great about this set is that it’s quite reasonably priced (the most affordable on this list, in fact). Parachute also gives you the option to mix and match colors and fabrics in order to customize your sheet set. So, if you’re having trouble deciding between this brand’s percale and sateen options, you can actually try both in the same set.
See how Parachute’s percale and sateen compare in my full Parachute sheets review.
Price: $109–$149, with a 60-day trial period.
Perfect for: Sleepers on a budget looking for some crisp and breathable Egyptian cotton sheets.
Parachute Down Mattress Topper
This mattress topper has two layers of down and feathers, creating an especially plush sleeping experience.
Sleepopolis Score
4.30 / 5
Read Full Review
Finally, we come to the Yalda Sheet Set from Pure Parima — a brand that specializes in Egyptian cotton bedding.
Before I get into the details of the Yalda Sheet Set, keep in mind that this brand offers a variety of bedding, all of which is certified by the Egyptian Cotton Association. This means that its sheets are woven from extra-long fibers that have been handpicked from the Nile River Valley. If you’re looking for a brand that exclusively sells Egyptian cotton, I recommend you take a look at what Pure Parima has to offer.
I picked the Yalda Sheet Set for this roundup because it features a silky sateen weave and a high 400 thread count. The fabric feels smooth, looks lustrous, and drapes elegantly over my mattress. And for a special aesthetic flare, a decorative, double open hemstitch borders the pillowcases and top sheet. Plus, the fitted sheet has super-deep 18-inch pockets, perfect for folks with taller mattresses.
For all the details, be sure to check out my full Pure Parima sheets review.
Price: $195–$260, with a 100-day return policy.
Perfect for: Egyptian cotton enthusiasts on the hunt for deep-pocket sateen sheets.
Pure Parima Yalda Sheet Set
The sheets are Egyptian Cotton Certified so you know you are getting high quality sheets with a high thread count for a luxurious look and feel!
Sleepopolis Score
4.50 / 5
Read Full Review
Methodology: How to Shop for Egyptian Cotton Sheets
Okay, sleepers, now that you’ve seen my personal favorites, let’s cover the basics of Egyptian cotton shopping. When you’re searching for the perfect Egyptian cotton sheet set, it’s important to consider materials, weave style, and thread count.
Choosing the Right Materials
Shopping for Egyptian cotton sheet sets can be tricky because they’re not all made from 100 percent Egyptian cotton. Some are blended with other textiles in order to manipulate the look and feel of the finished fabric, so it’s important to take note of the specific materials used. For example, a brand might blend Egyptian cotton with bamboo in order to enhance its breathability and moisture-wicking properties.
Meanwhile, some bedding brands blend a small percentage of Egyptian cotton with less durable materials like polyester or short-staple cotton in order to charge a higher price. In fact, some sheet sets are categorized as “Egyptian cotton” despite having only 5 percent of the material itself. That’s why I urge you to examine the exact material breakdown (listed on the product’s tag or retailer’s website) to get the best sense of what you’re working with.
That said, pure Egyptian cotton bedding is a safe bet when it comes to quality. It’s known for being exceptionally strong and soft thanks to its extra-long fibers, and many consider it to be the best type of cotton. Remember, longer cotton fibers contribute to better color retention, resistance to pilling, and overall better performance.
More: Check out my best cotton sheets review.
Weave Style
The next thing I consider is weave style, which refers to the way in which textiles are woven on the loom. When it comes to Egyptian cotton, there are three main weave styles from which to choose, and each one offers a distinct look and feel.
- Percale – A percale weave offers a classically crisp feel and light breathability that’s usually best suited to hot sleepers. Additionally, it produces a matte finish rather than a lustrous sheen, ideal for folks who shy away from shiny sheets.
- Sateen – In many ways, sateen is the opposite of percale. It’s silky instead of crisp, and lustrous instead of matte in appearance. It’s also usually more compatible with folks who run cold, as a sateen weave tends to produce a thicker, warmer set of sheets.
- Twill – While sateen and percale are the most popular, you might encounter a twill weave on your hunt for Egyptian cotton sheets. It’s known for superior durability, and is characterized by visible diagonal lines (think denim jeans). Of the three weave styles, this one usually produces the heaviest fabric, ideal for wintertime or those who sleep cool.
More: Check my guide to the difference between percale and sateen.
While these weave styles typically stick to the traits I mentioned above, bedding brands occasionally employ proprietary manufacturing techniques to switch things up. For example, Snowe’s sateen sheets are crafted to offer a subtle luster, while Parachute’s sateen bedding is extra shiny. So, when you’re shopping, be sure to pay attention to the brand’s description of its product.
Thread Count
Finally, I consider thread count, which refers to the amount of individual yarns per square inch of fabric. While many might be under the impression that a high thread count guarantees high quality, that’s not necessarily the case. In fact, thread count loses its value if you’re working with weak, inferior materials.
Fortunately, Egyptian cotton is known for its superior quality, so a high thread count can actually be a great indicator of durability and resistance to shrinkage and fading. Not to mention, a high thread count in Egyptian cotton can really boost the softness factor. In general, a count of 250–800 is a good benchmark to follow, with the latter half of that range being luxuriously high.
FAQS
Is Egyptian cotton the best?
Egyptian cotton is widely regarded as a superior type of cotton because of its long, fine, supple fibers. It’s known for being extra soft and durable, and typically lasts longer than cotton woven from short fibers.
Is Supima better than Egyptian cotton?
The quality of Egyptian and Supima cotton is quite comparable, as both feature long, durable fibers. The main difference between them is geographical, as Egyptian cotton is sourced from the Nile River Valley, and Supima is grown in the U.S.A.
Is percale better than Egyptian cotton?
Egyptian cotton is a type of fabric, while percale refers to a specific weave style. Egyptian cotton can be woven in the percale style, and is generally best suited to hot sleepers who prefer a crisp feel.
Will Egyptian cotton make me hot?
If you’re worried about Egyptian cotton making you too warm, I suggest picking sheets that are percale woven, or blended with materials like Tencel or bamboo. Percale woven sheets are usually extra breathable, and Tencel and bamboo are both known for their moisture-wicking properties.
Final Thoughts
Now that you are all experts on Egyptian cotton, you’re ready to find the sheet set of your dreams. Just be sure to pay close attention to weave style, thread count, and the specific materials used in order to find the bedding that’s best for you. Happy shopping and sweet dreams, everybody!
Sarah Riccio
Former Senior Writer and Bedding Expert
About Author
Sarah is the former senior writer and bedding expert at Sleepopolis. She received her degree in Creative Writing from Brooklyn College and spends her free time doing stand-up, making pasta, and hanging with her cats.
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