Where to buy: Castlery sells the Owen ($1,649) and the Jonathan ($1,998) on its own site. West Elm sells the Haven ($1,749 at 82 in) and the Harmony ($2,549 at 92 in) on its own site. West Elm’s price changes with the width you pick and whatever sale is on, and these two prices are for sizes and fabrics that are in stock.

• Castlery vs West Elm sofas, side by side
• Castlery Owen vs West Elm Haven
• Castlery Jonathan vs West Elm Harmony
• Which sofa is softer, Castlery or West Elm?
• Castlery vs West Elm warranty
• Which is easier to return, Castlery or West Elm?
• How much delivery costs, and how long it takes
• Which sofa lasts longer, Castlery or West Elm?
• Should you buy Castlery or West Elm?
• Questions people ask

Castlery vs West Elm sofas, side by side

Castlery costs less on both pairs, and its Jonathan is the firm one. West Elm’s two are soft, with more room to sit and more than 130 fabrics each to choose from.

Castlery Owen vs West Elm Haven

If the sofa is mostly for two of you, buy the Owen. If three of you pile onto it every night, buy the Haven. The Owen costs less, and the Haven gives you a lot more room to sit.

Three people fit on the Haven. The Owen looks like the bigger sofa, but more of its width goes into the arms, so it suits two better than three.

Best for two, for less moneyCastlery Owen Sofa

• Castlery $1,649

A solid, comfortable sofa for a couple, under $1,700, with covers that come off.

Buy the Owen if it is mostly the two of you and you would rather keep the money.

People who own the Owen mostly just call it comfortable, and they say it feels well built. The few who were let down found it smaller or firmer than they expected, so if you want a sofa to sink into, the Haven is the safer bet.

When owners do complain, it is mostly about the fabric. It pills, so buy a fabric shaver with the sofa and run it over the cushions when they start to look fuzzy, which takes a few minutes.

The seat and back covers come off, which makes cleaning easier. Look after them, though, because owners who asked Castlery for new ones were quoted a high price or told there were none.

It sits a touch higher than the Haven, so it is the easier of the two to get up from.

84.3 x 39 x 31.9 inSeatable width 55.5 inSeat depth 23.6 inSeat height 18.9 inRemovable cushion coversYou screw the legs on

Best for three across, on a soft seatWest Elm Haven Sofa

• West Elm $1,749, 82 in, in stock

A soft sofa for three, under $1,800 at 82 inches.

Buy the Haven if three people use your sofa every night and you like to sink in.

The Haven is soft. You sink into the seat instead of perching on it, which is lovely for a movie and less so if you like to sit up with a laptop.

The cushions flip over, except in Astor Velvet, so when one side starts to look tired you can turn it face down. The covers unzip and come off, too.

Choose the fabric from swatches before you order. West Elm sends them free, and seeing a fabric in your own room is the easiest way to narrow down 137 of them.

Then buy it in a fabric and size that is in stock. An in-stock Haven can go back if it is wrong, and a made-to-order one cannot.

82 x 39 x 33 inSeat width 72 inSeat depth 25 inSeat height 18 inSeats 3Cushion covers unzipAssembled by the delivery crew

Castlery Jonathan vs West Elm Harmony

If you like to sit up, buy the Jonathan. If you like to sink in and do not mind paying over $500 more, buy the Harmony.

On the Jonathan you sit on top of a firm cushion, low to the floor. On the Harmony you lean back into soft, down-filled cushions, and the seat is nearly four inches higher, so getting up takes less effort.

Best if you like to sit up on a firm seatCastlery Jonathan Sofa

• Castlery $1,998

A firm, low sofa that wipes clean and arrives built, for under $2,000.

Buy the Jonathan if you like to sit up on a sofa rather than sink into it.

It is firm. You sit on the cushion, not down into it, closer to a restaurant banquette than to a club chair, and that is exactly what the people who own it wanted.

Spills wipe off, which is why owners put it in game rooms and family rooms. It turns up fully built, so there is nothing to do but take the wrapping off.

It sits low, lower than the photos suggest. If anyone in the house needs a hand getting up from a low seat, buy the Owen instead.

Check it over the day it arrives, because a few come with one side firmer than the other or the stitching uneven. A few owners also find the seat losing its shape within the first year.

The Castlery reviews page goes deeper on the Jonathan, the Owen and the Hamilton.

89.8 x 39.4 x 27.6 inSeatable width 69.3 inSeat depth 24.8 inSeat height 16.1 inFixed coversFully assembled

Best for sinking in, in almost any fabricWest Elm Harmony Sofa

• West Elm $2,549, 92 in, in stock

Soft and roomy enough for three or four, under $2,600 at 92 inches.

Buy the Harmony if you want a sofa you disappear into and you are happy to pay for it.

This is the one to curl up on, and it is softer still than the Haven.

If the standard seat is too deep or too shallow for your legs, West Elm also makes it as a Petite and an Extra Deep.

Buy it in stock, which skips the wait and keeps the return open. One buyer ordered a Harmony in July, had a chaise turn up in August instead of the sofa, and was handed a new production date in October.

92 x 41 x 35 inSeat width 82 inSeat depth 21 inSeat height 20 inSeats 3 to 4Assembled by the delivery crew

Which sofa is softer, Castlery or West Elm?

West Elm. Both of its sofas here are soft, and the Jonathan is the firm one.

West Elm puts the Harmony at the very soft end of its own scale and the Haven a step firmer. Both are sofas you sink into.

The Jonathan is the opposite, and its owners like it that way. Most Owen owners simply call it comfortable, and a few found it firmer than they expected.

If your sofa is where you nap and watch movies with your feet up, go soft. If you sit up to talk, eat or work on a laptop, go firm.

Not sure? Sit on a few before you order. West Elm’s listings show whether a store near you has the sofa on the floor, and Castlery has one US showroom, in Chelsea, New York.

Trying first matters more at Castlery. If the sofa turns out too firm for you, sending it back still costs you a fifth of what you paid.

Castlery vs West Elm warranty

Castlery promises 10 years on the frame in writing. West Elm covers defects and does not say for how long.

So if a Castlery frame fails through a defect in year six, you are covered. The foam, springs and legs get two years and the fabric one, and after that, repairs are on you.

Castlery’s 10 years comes free with the sofa. If you want more, it sells a paid Guardsman extended warranty on top.

West Elm’s paid plan covers accidents and stains from people and pets for three years, at under $300 on either sofa here. Worth a look if you have kids or pets.

Which is easier to return, Castlery or West Elm?

Castlery takes back any standard sofa within 30 days and keeps 20%. West Elm takes back only an in-stock sofa, and a made-to-order one cannot come back at all.

Send a Castlery sofa back and you lose 20%, the delivery and any White Glove fee, and $50 more if you no longer have the boxes. Clearance and customized pieces cannot go back at all.

So keep the boxes. Flatten them and slide them behind a door for the month.

At West Elm, an in-stock sofa can go back, and West Elm publishes no restocking fee. The delivery fee is not refunded, and you may pay the return shipping, depending on why it is going back.

West Elm contradicts itself on the in-stock return window, 7 days on one of its pages and 30 on another, so ask before you order.

So at West Elm, buy a fabric and size that is in stock. It is the only kind you can send back.

How much delivery costs, and how long it takes

Castlery’s standard delivery is free over $1,399 to selected cities. West Elm charges $279 to $429 on these sofas and carries it in and sets it up, so compare what each costs at your door.

Castlery’s free delivery leaves the sofa on the ground floor or in the lobby, still in its wrapping. Room of Choice adds $50 to $70 and carries it to the room you want, up to two flights of stairs. White Glove adds $100 to $150 and also unpacks it, sets it up and takes the packaging away.

The Jonathan arrives built, so Room of Choice is all it needs. The Owen needs its legs on, which White Glove does for you, but White Glove also takes the boxes away, and a return without them costs $50 more. If you might send the Owen back, skip White Glove and screw the legs on yourself, so the boxes stay with you.

West Elm’s fee depends on how far you are from its warehouse, from $279 nearby to $429 at 200 miles or more. For that, a crew puts the sofa in the room you choose, sets it up and takes the packaging, in the 48 contiguous states only.

So add the delivery you would actually pay for before you compare. In a city Castlery delivers free to, the Owen with White Glove comes to under $1,800. The Haven with West Elm’s fee comes to over $2,000, so the gap between them grows once both are in your living room.

West Elm quotes two to four weeks for an in-stock sofa and eight to twelve for a made-to-order one. The made-to-order dates are the ones owners say slip by weeks or months, so leave yourself time if you order one.

Which sofa lasts longer, Castlery or West Elm?

There is no way to know from a listing. Castlery at least puts 10 years on the frame in writing, and West Elm gives no length.

The wear owners complain about is the same on both sides. Castlery’s sofas pill, and a few Jonathans lose their shape within the first year. West Elm’s pilling and flat-cushion complaints come from Harmony and Haven sectionals rather than these sofas, but it is the same kind of wear.

Buy a fabric shaver with whichever sofa you choose.

Castlery’s Trustpilot rating looks far better than West Elm’s, but Castlery invites its customers to review it and West Elm has never asked.

Reviews of the Haven and Harmony there are mostly about made-to-order pieces arriving weeks or months late, and customer service that does not fix it.

Should you buy Castlery or West Elm?

Castlery for most people. West Elm if you like to sink in, need room for three or more, and want to sit on it first.

• Buy the Jonathan if you like to sit up and want a sofa that arrives built.
• Buy the Owen if it is mostly the two of you and you want to spend the least.
• Buy the Haven if three of you use it every night and you like to sink in.
• Buy the Harmony if you want to sink in with room for up to four, and you can buy it in stock.
• Skip the Jonathan if anyone in the house struggles to get up from a low seat.
• Skip a made-to-order West Elm sofa if you have a date to hit or might change your mind.
• Skip Castlery if you like to order two sofas and send one back. Every return costs 20%.

If you want a sofa where every cover comes off, look at the Hamilton on the Castlery reviews page. For a sofa from neither brand, read the Wade Logan Azriah sofa review.

Questions people ask