Quilt Versus Comforter: What's the Difference?

The main difference between a quilt and a comforter is the fill: a quilt is filled with flatter batting, while inside a comforter you’ll find a fluffier down or down alternative fill. While a comforter is usually puffier and warmer than a quilt, both are beautiful top layers of bedding and add a polished look and snuggle-worthy comfort to the bed. Knowing more about quilts and comforters will help you make the right choice for your bedding needs.

What Is a Quilt?

A quilt is a type of bedding made of three layers: visible top and bottom layers, and an insulating layer called batting sandwiched in between. At The Company Store, our handcrafted quilts contain all-natural cotton batting that is soft, lightweight, and breathable. Stitching—called quilting—secures the top, bottom, and batting together.

  • The top layer of a pieced or patchwork quilt is sewn together from smaller shapes.
  • The top layer of a wholecloth quilt is made of one single piece of fabric.

Solid and pattern quilts can coordinate with a variety of decor. Some traditional pieced quilts have a country or homey feel, while others offer a riot of bright color or a relaxing pattern of soothing hues. Elegant wholecloth quilts are often embellished with chenille or crewelwork for textural appeal; both wholecloth and patchwork quilts can also be enhanced with embroidery and appliqué. A reversible quilt allows you to fold back the top to offer a peek of a solid or block-printed back side, or flip the whole thing for a fresh new look.

Woman laying in bed under fluffy white comforter

What Is a Comforter?

Comforters are made of a top and bottom layer, or ‘shell,’ usually filled with down or down alternative, making them fluffy and breathable. Stitching keeps the fill distributed in chambers throughout the comforter. Comforters are often warmer than quilts. Depending on the type and amount of fill, comforters can provide just enough light insulation for mild climates, or heavy-duty insulation that keeps sleepers cozy on the coldest nights.

Quilt Versus Comforter: Which Is Better?

If you’re choosing between buying a comforter or a quilt, you’ll want to think about your warmth needs. Cotton batting is usually less insulating than the down or down alternative fill inside a comforter. After that, the most important considerations are your preferences for laundering, layering, and look.

Laundering Quilts and Comforters

  • When it comes to whether or not you can use a washer or dryer to clean your quilt or comforter, it’s best to check the specific care instructions. Many quilts, down comforters, and down alternative comforters at The Company Store can be machine-washed and -dried.
  • Due to their construction, pieced quilts may require more careful laundering than wholecloth quilts or comforters.

Layering Quilts and Comforters with Your Bedding

  • Flat quilts are versatile layers. They are great on their own in warmer climates and summer months and perfect for an extra layer in colder weather.
  • Fluffy comforters are generally the topmost piece of bedding. For extra warmth, you can easily fit a quilt or blanket underneath. (Dual weight comforters are the perfect solution when one person sleeps hot and one sleeps cold.)
  • Use both a quilt and comforter if you fall asleep chilly, but wake up hot. Choose a comforter to suit the season—lightweight or all-season for summer, shoulder seasons, or year-round in warm climates, and extra- or ultra-warm for chilly winter weather—then layer it with the quilt for a little extra insulation. You can add the quilt on top for a decorative layer, or put it beneath the comforter. Either way, it provides a bonus layer that can be folded down if you get too warm.
  • If you’re using both and you’d like to display the quilt more prominently, fold the comforter to the bottom of the bed—an S-fold, in thirds, makes it a snap to pull up the comforter while you’re in bed. Another option is to make the bed with the comforter pulled all the way up, and fold a quilt or blanket at the bottom.

Quilts Versus Comforters: You Got the Look

  • Quilts are flatter; comforters are fluffier. If you’re going for a puffy, cushy look, a comforter is your better bet.
  • Matching shams are usually available for both quilts and comforters. It’s common to use one sham with a Twin bed, two shams with a Full or Queen, and two King size shams with a King. The Company Store sells most of these items individually as separates, but we do carry some comforter sets, which include the comforter and coordinating shams.

Both quilts and comforters top off the bed for a polished look and welcome you in for a cozy night’s sleep. A quilt on its own will do the trick for warm weather or hot sleepers; for more warmth, snuggle up beneath a lofty comforter. Just can’t decide? Why not layer the two together and have the best of both worlds. Sweet dreams—and for the answers to the rest of your bedding questions, check out our Bedding 101 guide.