Foam density is measured in pounds per cubic foot. It tells you how much foam is packed into the cushion. Denser foam holds its shape longer, sags less over time, and feels more supportive for years down the road. Cheap foam feels fine in the store — it just doesn't last. Scores marked with a star (*) are estimates.

Score	Density (lbs/cu ft)	What to Expect
10	2.5+ lb	Commercial / High-Resilience — built to last for decades
9	2.2–2.4 lb	Premium residential — excellent durability and recovery
8	2.0–2.1 lb	Quality residential — holds up well under daily use
7	1.8–1.9 lb	Upper-standard residential — good for most homes
6	1.6–1.7 lb	Standard residential — acceptable for moderate use
5	1.5 lb	Entry-level — will compress and flatten over time
4	1.3–1.4 lb	Low — noticeable wear within a few years
3	1.0–1.2 lb	Very low — flattens quickly, not suitable for daily use
2	Under 1.0 lb	Foam filler — decorative use only
N/A*	Not Published	Unknown — penalizes MCD Rating

ILD stands for Indentation Load Deflection. It measures how firm the foam is. Think of it as how much push-back you feel when you sit down. The right ILD depends on the type of seat — lounge sofas need softer foam, upright dining chairs need firmer. We score based on how well the ILD fits the piece's intended use.

Score	ILD Range	Feel & Best Use
10	28–36 ILD	Ideal seat cushion firmness — supportive without being hard
9	24–28 ILD	Slightly soft — great for lounge and deep-seat sofas
8	36–42 ILD	Firm — good for upright seating and high-use dining
7	20–24 ILD	Soft — comfortable lounge feel, less long-term support
5	42–50 ILD	Very firm — hard feel, often used in commercial settings
4	15–20 ILD	Very soft — sinks easily, limited support over time
2	Under 15 ILD	Too soft for seat use — better suited for back cushions only
N/A*	Not Published	Unknown — most brands don't publish this; penalizes rating

This is how the cushion is put together — what layers are inside and how they're combined. A cushion can have great foam and still be poorly built. The best cushions layer materials so you get support at the core and softness on the outside. This is the score that most directly affects how a sofa feels to sit on every day.

Score	Construction Type	What It Means
10	Spring-Down	Coil springs wrapped in down and feather — the gold standard. Soft on top, supported underneath, holds its shape for decades.
9	HR Foam + Down Wrap + Fiber Batting	High-resilience foam core surrounded by down, wrapped in a fiber layer. Very comfortable and durable.
8	HR Foam + Down Wrap	High-resilience foam core with a down-and-feather wrap. Great feel and long life.
7	HR Foam + Fiber (Dacron) Wrap	High-resilience foam wrapped in a polyester batting. Supportive and consistent — just not as plush as down.
6	Standard Foam + Fiber Wrap	Regular foam with a dacron wrap. A common mid-range build — decent comfort, moderate lifespan.
5	Standard Foam Only	Foam with no wrap. Functional but will feel firmer and show wear faster than wrapped options.
4	High-Quality Fiber Fill Only	No foam core — just a dense fiber fill. Soft initially but flattens and bunches over time. Requires frequent fluffing.
3	Low-Density Foam	Cheap foam that compresses quickly. Fine for light decorative use, not for daily seating.
2	Low-Quality Fiber Fill	Loose, thin fiberfill. Looks fine in the showroom. Flattens within months of regular use.
1	Memory Foam	Memory foam is bad for upholstery. It doesn't spring back fast enough, traps heat, and breaks down quickly under repeated compression.

When a cushion includes down or feathers, this score measures how good that down is. Down and feathers are not the same thing. Down is the soft, fluffy part found under the feathers — it's what makes a cushion feel luxurious. Feathers are stiffer and can poke through fabric over time. Higher down percentages mean a softer, loftier, longer-lasting cushion. If a cushion has no down at all, this category doesn't apply.

Score	Down Content / Fill Power	What It Means
10	95%+ down / 800+ fill power	Luxury goose down — exceptionally lofty, soft, and long-lasting
9	90% down / 700+ fill power	Premium down — very high quality, used in top-tier residential pieces
8	80% down / 600+ fill power	High quality — noticeably soft and recovers well after use
7	70% down / 500 fill power	Good quality — comfortable blend with solid longevity
5	50/50 down-feather blend	Mid-range — softer than foam but requires more fluffing
3	30% down or less	Mostly feather — can poke through fabric; needs regular maintenance
1	100% feather / no down	All feather — pokes through ticking, flattens quickly, not recommended
N/A	No down used	Foam or fiber-only construction — scored on Fill Construction instead

The MCD Cushion Rating is one final number that tells you how good a cushion really is for everyday home use. It looks at all the scores together. Like our fabric rating, the weakest score pulls the whole number down. A great construction with cheap foam still scores poorly — and that's on purpose.

The worst score pulls the rating down. A cushion with a great foam density score but poor construction still can't score above a 6 overall.

Missing data caps the ceiling. If a brand doesn't publish foam density or ILD, the MCD Rating tops out at 6 or 7 — even if construction looks good.

Spring-down is the gold standard. A cushion built on coil springs wrapped in down scores higher than any foam-only option, no matter how dense.

Memory foam always scores low. Memory foam scores a 1 on Fill Construction and drags the final rating down to 3 or lower, regardless of other factors.

Fiber fill is a middle-ground at best. Fiber-only cushions typically score MCD 3–5. They're fine for back cushions, not great for seats you sit on every day.

9–10

Best in Class

Spring-down construction or HR foam with a premium down wrap. High-density foam (2.2+ lb) with the right ILD for the seat type. This is what high-end custom furniture uses.

7–8

Excellent

High-resilience foam (1.8–2.1 lb) with a fiber or down wrap. Good density, correct firmness for the use. A solid everyday choice that holds up well.

5–6

Good

Standard foam with a fiber wrap, or solid foam-only construction. Fine for moderate use. Will show wear sooner than higher-tier options but is totally livable.

3–4

Fair

Low-density foam or fiber-only fill. Will flatten or lose shape with regular use. Better for light-use rooms or guest seating.

1–2

Not Recommended

Memory foam, very cheap fiber fill, or foam under 1.0 lb density. Will break down quickly. Not suitable for a sofa you actually use.

Some words in cushion specs can be confusing. Here's what they actually mean.

Foam Density

How much foam is packed into a cubic foot of cushion, measured in pounds. Higher density = more material = cushion holds its shape longer. This is the single biggest factor in how long a foam cushion lasts.

ILD (Indentation Load Deflection)

A number that tells you how firm the foam is. It's measured by how many pounds it takes to press a disk 25% into the foam. A higher number means firmer foam. The right ILD depends on how the piece is meant to be used.

High-Resilience (HR) Foam

A higher-quality type of foam that springs back to its original shape faster after you get up. It also lasts longer than standard foam. Most quality residential furniture uses HR foam — it's what makes the difference between a cushion that feels new after five years and one that looks tired after two.

Memory Foam

A type of foam that molds slowly to your shape and recovers slowly when you stand up. Great for mattresses. Bad for sofa cushions. It traps heat, doesn't spring back fast enough between uses, and breaks down under the repeated compression of daily sitting.

Spring-Down

A cushion built around small coil springs wrapped in layers of down and feather. It's the most luxurious cushion construction available — soft on top, supported underneath, and built to last for decades. You find it in custom and high-end furniture. Most big-box brands don't use it.

Down vs. Feather

Down is the soft, fluffy cluster found underneath a bird's outer feathers. It's what makes a cushion feel lofty and light. Feathers are stiffer, flatter, and can poke through fabric over time. The best cushions use a high percentage of down. The more feather in the mix, the lower the quality.

Fill Power

A measure of how much space one ounce of down takes up. Higher fill power means the down clusters are bigger and loftier. 600+ fill power is good. 800+ fill power is excellent. Higher fill power means a softer, more resilient cushion that bounces back better after use.

Dacron / Fiber Wrap

A layer of soft polyester batting wrapped around a foam core. It makes the edges of the cushion feel softer and rounder and gives the cushion a more "plush" look. It's a common and perfectly good upgrade over bare foam — just not as luxurious as a down wrap.

Ticking

The fabric casing that holds the down or feather fill inside the cushion — like a pillowcase but tightly woven so the fill can't poke through. Good ticking matters a lot in down cushions. Cheap ticking lets feathers poke through, which is uncomfortable and shortens the life of the cushion.

Asterisk (*)

When you see a star (*) next to a number, it means we had to make our best guess — the brand didn't share that information. We update those scores whenever the real data becomes available.

FOAM & FEATHER RATINGS