The L-shaped sleeper sofa comes with an "L" either on the left or right-hand side of the sofa. This depends on how you want to fix the sofa at your place. Whereas the U-shaped sectional sleeper sofa is itself a sectional in the shape of a U. What makes it different from the L-shaped sofa is that it comes with two extended arms that face each other. Both U-shaped and L-shaped sectionals can be moved to form different shapes in your space.