Inside Weather vs Joybird: Who Has Better Couches?
Ready to find out who takes the crown for the best couches between Inside Weather and Joybird?
Alex Back | Couch.com CEO & Founder
Let's settle the debate between Inside Weather and Joybird once and for all. Join us as we break down their couch offerings and declare a winner.
Side By Side
Features
Inside Weather
Joybird
Made to Order Lead Times
5-6 weeks
4-8 Weeks
Free Shipping Option
White Glove Delivery Option
$175
$129-$299
Return Option
Warranty Included
Financing Option
Shop Pay
Affirm
Assembly Required
Large Fabric Selection
Free Swatches Available
Manufacturing Origin
USA
Mexico
Avg. 3-Seat Couch Price
$$$$
$$$
Inside Weather and Joybird both shine in the couch market with their customizable offerings and emphasis on style. However, there are key differences in lead times, shipping options, and manufacturing origin. Inside Weather has a lead time of 5-6 weeks, slightly shorter than Joybird's 4-8 weeks. While Inside Weather offers free shipping for orders over $1,500, Joybird provides white glove delivery options starting at $129, giving customers varying choices. Additionally, Inside Weather manufactures its couches in the USA, whereas Joybird's production takes place in Mexico.
BRAND #1: Inside Weather
Inside Weather was founded in 2018 with the goal of bringing sustainable, eco-friendly, modular sofas to the masses. Their Bondi Sofa is extremely stylish and has become an incredibly popular option for families.
Inside Weather | Brand Summary
Inside Weather has a gorgeous website and an incredible emphasis on sustainability. They only offer two couches, including the versatile and comfortable Bondi sectional, which is particularly well-suited for households with pets and children. The Bondi sectional is praised for its durability, modern aesthetics, ease of maintenance, and flexible modular design that enhances living space functionality. Both couches are beautiful and extremely customizable (thanks in no small part to the hundreds of cleanable fabric options).
However, the questionable material quality for the price, the farce of a 365 day trial period, and the lack of customer review transparency undermines an otherwise nice offering.
Massive emphasis on sustainability (sustainably-sourced hardwood frames)
Free shipping (orders over $1,500)
High quality, eco-friendly fabric options (some machine washable!)
Cons
Misleading and pricey 365-day home trial return option
Only a 1-year warranty
No spring support system
Assembly can be challenging
Only 2 in-person showrooms
You might love the way Inside Weather’s Bondi Sofa looks, but here are a few things to consider before you buy it. The return policy of Insider Weather can be misleading and pricey. The 10-25% return fee is based on pre-discounted pricing. And with such large discounts (sometimes 50% off), you could spend thousands to return your Bondi Sofa.
While we love the style of the Bondi Inside Weather couch and its hardwood frame, the support system is elastic webbing, which isn’t super durable and it isn’t great at this price point.
If you don’t pony up for the white glove delivery, you could face a challenging assembly process.
But don’t let the cons spook you. Inside Weather’s Bondi has plenty of pros. There are tons of ways to configure and customize your Bondi Sofa. Inside Weather also has tremendous, eco-friendly fabric options to choose from. They’re super cleanable and many are machine washable.
Their hardwood frames are sustainably sourced, and many of their materials have eco-friendly benefits, too.
Any order over $1,500 ships free, and you can add on white glove delivery (including assembly) for only $175. That’s a budget-friendly white glove option, especially with the amount of assembly required.
The Bondi is also made in the USA using high-quality craftsmanship. This majorly cuts down on Inside Weather’s carbon footprint.
Joybird was launched in 2013 and instantly charmed the world with their Instagram-worthy couches. They've since cemented themselves as one of the top online furniture brands. They are currently owned by La-Z-Boy.
Joybird | Brand Summary
Joybird has stood the test of time and firmly cemented themselves as one of the best online couch retailers at their price point. They have a professional-yet-fun presentation, offer great quality products for the price, and allow customers to pick from dozens of beautiful fabrics.
I have a few minor gripes with the website shopping experience and I’d encourage everyone to thoroughly examine the shipping and return policies, but overall there’s very little to criticize. Dare I say that Joybird sparks joy? I do dare.
Couch Potato Note: Joybird is almost always on sale for up to 30% off. For this review, their price point is assumed to be 30% off the listed price. You should always wait for a sale before you buy a couch from Joybird (and you won’t have to wait very long). For all intents and purposes, their sale price is their actual price.
Joybird presents itself as a fun, trendy, and flashy brand. And for the most part, their couches deliver on that promise. But there are a few aspects that might detract from their appeal. Their couches are all made in Mexico, which also means that their lead times are not quite as good as other brands. Pricey white glove delivery and potentially costly returns might make ordering online feel like a gamble. And while Joybird has a huge fabric selection for their custom couches, choosing certain fabrics can add hundreds of dollars to your order.
On the flip side, Joybird furniture has many brick-and-mortar locations in major metropolitan areas, allowing you to test out their couches in person. This is rare for an online couch company but is a major perk. Like Apt2B, Joybird has a large selection of stylish couches in a huge range of sizes and configurations. They offer loveseats all the way up through large modular sectional sofas. Joybird also has a great selection of affordable sofa beds and sleeper sectional sofas. They also back their high-quality couch frames with a lifetime warranty as well as a 1-year warranty on their top-tier upholstery craftsmanship. If you want it, Joybird has it.
And the winner is Joybird! With its wide fabric selection, fast lead times, lifetime warranty on sofa frames, and convenient financing options, Joybird stands out as the clear winner in the competition against Inside Weather. When you're looking for a couch that combines style, quality, and great customer service, Joybird is the brand to go for.
Alex Back
Couch.com CEO & Founder
Alex Back is the founder and CEO of Couch.com. Previously, he was the co-founder and COO of the popular furniture brand, Apt2B, which was acquired by a large US retail furniture chain in 2018. He worked to integrate Apt2B, one of the very first online furniture retailers on the Shopify platform, into the operations of the 100 year old larger business entity and was deeply immersed in the business operations of both online and brick and mortar retail for 4 years before leaving in 2023 to start Couch.com. Working in various parts of the furniture industry since 2004, he has 20 years experience in retail sales, e-commerce, marketing, operations, logistics and wholesale manufacturing and distribution. He has worked extensively with partners such as Costco, Bed Bath and Beyond and Amazon and his work has been highlighted in many publications such as Forbes, CNN and HGTV, among others. Alex is delighted to bring his experience and authority on couches and the furniture industry to this platform, along with many of his industry colleagues who are helping him keep the Couch.com audience informed and engaged on a daily basis.
