Best Duvet Covers: Our Cotton, Percale and Microfiber Picks

A duvet cover is the washable shell that slips over your duvet or comforter insert, so you can refresh the look of a bed and keep it clean without buying a whole new comforter. The picks below are genuine duvet covers from the feed, and we list only the fabric, closure, size and thread count each listing actually states. Remember that a duvet cover is the shell on its own, the insert is not included unless the listing says so.

Cotton, microfiber and the linen-look question

Fabric is the first decision. Most of these picks are cotton, from the plain 100% cotton Superity and National Allergy covers to the Egyptian cotton Kotton Culture covers and the cotton percale from Brooklinen, and cotton is the breathable, natural-feeling choice that tends to sleep cooler. The HOMBYS cover is microfiber instead, which the listing calls ultra soft and all season, generally easy to care for but less breathable than cotton. The Bedsure is prewashed for a lived-in, cotton-like feel. One honest note on the popular washed-linen look, none of these covers is actually flax linen, so if you specifically want real linen you would need to look beyond this group rather than assume a linen feel from any pick here.

Closure and corner ties that keep the insert in place

What separates a good duvet cover from a frustrating one is how well it holds the insert. A closure at one end keeps the insert in, and corner ties or tabs loop through the insert corners so it does not slide into a lump overnight. In this group the two Kotton Culture covers state a zipper closure with corner ties, and the HOMBYS adds a zipper plus eight corner tabs for extra anchoring on a very large insert. The Brooklinen, Bedsure, Superity and National Allergy listings do not spell out their closure type, so if a zipper or button closure matters to you, check the product page before buying rather than assuming one.

Sizing, and why the cover does not include the insert

Size your cover to the insert, not only to the mattress, because inserts vary in depth and fill. Several picks here are built for big beds, the Kotton Culture covers measure an oversized 120 by 98 inch King, the HOMBYS is a very large 120 by 120 inches, and the National Allergy is an oversized 110 by 96 inch King, while the Brooklinen is a standard Full/Queen and the Bedsure is a Queen. Just as important, every one of these is a cover only. The Bedsure and Kotton Culture 1000 thread count listings say duvet cover only outright, and the rest are sold the same way, so you supply the duvet or comforter insert that goes inside.

Care, washing and thread count

Part of the appeal of a duvet cover is that you can pull it off and launder it far more easily than a whole comforter. Always follow the care label on your specific cover, but as a rule cotton and percale covers machine wash well and may wrinkle, which is normal for natural fiber, and a prewashed cover like the Bedsure is meant to feel broken in from the start. On thread count, only the Kotton Culture covers state a number, 1000 and 600 respectively, so treat that as a rough signal of the cotton rather than a quality guarantee, and weigh the fiber and weave alongside it. We do not quote wash temperatures or shrink rates that these listings do not state.