Mattress shopping is kind of like dating. Sure, there are plenty of fish in the sea — but finding your perfect match can be absolutely exhausting. 😴
That’s where we come in. We dug through all of the potential mattress contenders out there and found the top 20 mattress picks you should consider swiping right on.
Best mattresses of 2021
- Best for back sleepers: Saatva Classic Mattress
- Best for side sleepers: Saatva Loom & Leaf Mattress
- Best budget: The Nectar Memory Foam Mattress
- Best hybrid: Brooklyn Bedding Signature Hybrid
- Best extra firm: Plank by Brooklyn Bedding
- Best adjustable: Saatva Solaire Adjustable Mattress
- Best foam: Casper Original Mattress
- Best for stomach sleepers: Helix Dawn
- Best cooling: Brooklyn Bedding Aurora Hybrid
- Best for back pain: Casper Wave Hybrid Mattress
- Best for combination sleepers: Helix Birch Natural Mattress
- Best mattress in a box: Puffy Lux Mattress
- Best for pressure relief: The Purple Mattress
- Best flippable: Layla Memory Foam Mattress
- Best for people with higher body weight: The Big Fig
- Best smart: Eight Sleep The Pod
- Best organic: Avocado Green Mattress
- Best soft: Amerisleep AS5
- Best latex: Nest Bedding Natural Hybrid Latex
- Best firm: Sealy Response Performance Mattress
How we chose the best mattresses
This list features a lot of different mattresses, but each one has a few key things in common, including:
- It’s made by a reputable manufacturer that’s transparent about how their products are made.
- It’s made using materials that meet federal safety standards.
- It comes with a “try it before you buy it” policy, so you can test it out and see if it’s really the mattress of your dreams.
- It comes with a solid warranty.
- It gets consistent, positive reviews from customers.
Pricing guide
All prices below are based on standard queen-size mattresses.
- $ = under $1,200
- $$ = $1,200–$1,800
- $$$ = $1,800–$2,500
- $$$$ = over $2,500
Get ready to swipe right: The best mattresses
Best mattress for back sleepers
Saatva Classic Mattress
- Price: $$
- Mattress type: hybrid
- Firmness: plush soft, luxury firm, firm
The mattress comes in three firmness levels: plush soft, luxury firm, and firm. You can also choose between two different heights — with the thicker version having a plusher feel.
The mattress is made with CertiPUR-US certified foam, which guarantees it’s free from harmful chemicals. It also has two separate layers of coils, which means it has maximum support that’s much-needed for back sleepers. The Congress of Chiropractic State Association also gives it two thumbs up.
Best mattress for side sleepers
Saatva Loom & Leaf Mattress
- Price: $$
- Mattress type: memory foam
- Firmness: relaxed firm or firm
When you sleep on your side, you put extra pressure on your shoulders and hips. Softer memory foam mattresses can help relieve that pressure so you’re not waking up with aches and pains every morning.
Saatva’s Loom & Leaf model is a memory foam mattress designed to provide supportive pressure-point relief, making it a solid pick for side sleepers.
It also has a cooling gel layer to prevent you from getting too hot, which is super common with memory foam mattresses.
Best budget mattress
The Nectar Memory Foam Mattress
- Price: $
- Mattress type: memory foam
- Firmness: medium-firm
The Nectar Memory Foam Mattress is a luxury mattress at a budget price. A quilted cover provides a touch of softness, and a gel layer regulates temps to keep you cool throughout the night. The gel also helps prevent that sinking-in quicksand feel of memory foam.
A lengthy 365-day trial period means you can try out the Nectar for a full year and still get your $$$ back if you decide it’s not for you.
Best hybrid mattress
Brooklyn Bedding Signature Hybrid
- Price: $
- Mattress type: hybrid
- Firmness: multiple levels
Hybrid mattresses tend to cost a bit more than other types because they have layers of coils and foam. But this model from Brooklyn Bedding is one of the most affordable (and highly rated!) hybrid mattresses out there. Reviewers rave about its comfort and many wish they had purchased it sooner.
The mattress’s foam layers are designed to cradle your body while still having a little bit of bounce. Its spring coils are individually wrapped — rather than being all interconnected — which means more targeted support for heavier areas of your body.
Best extra firm mattress
Plank by Brooklyn Bedding
- Price: $$
- Mattress type: foam
- Firmness: extra firm
While this isn’t the kind of plank that can give you rock-hard abs, this extra firm mattress is designed for people who love a rock-hard sleep surface.
It’s flippable with a firm and ultra-firm side. Reviewers say the mattress helps with back pain and that they love having the option between two firmness options. They also recommend springing for the optional cooling panel.
Best adjustable mattress
Saatva Solaire Adjustable Mattress
- Price: $$$$
- Mattress type: air mattress
- Firmness: adjustable
An air mattress sounds far from fancy, but the Solaire is nothing like that crappy blow-up mattress you always end up on when you rent Airbnbs with your friends.
A dual chamber air system means you can customize the firmness of each side of the mattress — and there’s 50 firmness options to choose from. Saatva also prioritizes using eco- and people-friendly materials: the foam layers are made with CertiPUR-US foam, Global Organic Textile Standard (GOTS) certified organic cotton, and OEKO-TEX Standard 100 certified latex.
Saatva offers free white glove delivery, which means they’ll deliver your mattress straight to your bedroom, set it up, and even remove your old mattress.
Best foam mattress
Casper Original Mattress
- Price: $
- Mattress type: foam
- Firmness: medium
The Casper Original is a super popular and affordable foam mattress made with CertiPUR-US certified foam.
It has three ergonomic zones designed to let your shoulders and hips sink in to keep your spine aligned. It’s also made with perforated foam that’s supposed to improve air flow and prevent you from waking up in a pool of your own sweat.
Reviewers like the medium firmness and describe it as being firm but still comfy. But some reviewers with smaller body frames say it feels a little too firm to get comfortable.
Best mattress for stomach sleepers
Helix Dawn
- Price: $$
- Mattress type: hybrid
- Firmness: firm
If you’re a stomach sleeper, keep an eye out for a mattress with firm support that keeps your spine aligned. Anything too soft will let your spine sag too much, which is an equation for pain.
The Helix Dawn has multiple layers of firm foam and supportive coils to help prevent that sinking. It’s also pretty affordable compared to other similar hybrid models.
Best cooling mattress
Brooklyn Bedding Aurora Hybrid
- Price: $
- Mattress type: hybrid
- Firmness: soft, medium, firm
This cooling mattress from Brooklyn Bedding uses phase change materials — which means they adapt to your body temperature — and copper-infused foams to help keep you cool. The brand says these materials pull heat away from your body so you won’t wake up sweaty.
Reviewers go wild for this mattress, saying it really does sleep cool and even feels cool to the touch.
Best mattress for back pain
Casper Wave Hybrid Mattress
- Price: $$$$
- Mattress type: hybrid
- Firmness: medium-firm
A combo of foam and spring coils provides standard comfort and support, but it’s the cleverly placed gel pods that prevent sinking and deliver extra support to areas that need it most, like your lower back. This support helps keep your spine aligned all night long. 🎶
Its middle-of-the-road firmness level is also ideal for people with back pain. Try it out for 100 nights and make sure it works for your body and fave sleeping position. And you shouldn’t have any issues if you do end up wanting to return it because reviewers say Casper’s return process is pretty easy.
Best mattress for combination sleepers
Helix Birch Natural Mattress
- Price: $$
- Mattress type: hybrid
- Firmness: medium-firm
Latex foam is bouncier and provides better pressure relief than other foams, which is why it’s a solid pick for people who switch positions a lot in their sleep. Whether you end up on your side, back, or stomach, you’ll be comfy and easily able to toss over into your next position.
With layers of GOTS-certified organic cotton, organic wool, and Talalay latex, this mattress is also all-natural and built to last. Reviewers also love its plush comfort and say it’s worth a splurge.
Best mattress in a box
Puffy Lux Mattress
- Price: $$$
- Mattress type: foam
- Firmness: medium plush
Reviewers say this mattress is like “sleeping on a cloud.” The bed-in-a-box from Puffy contains supportive, CertiPUR-US certified foams that are designed to prevent uncomfortable pressure points.
The brand also says it’s super breathable and airy to prevent any overheating. The stain-resistant cover is machine washable to help reduce allergens, too.
Bonus: The Puffy Lux comes with a lifetime warranty.
Best mattress for pressure relief
The Purple Mattress
- Price: $
- Mattress type: foam
- Firmness: medium-firm
Purple claims that its OG mattress is universally comfortable because it can adapt to any sleeping position and eliminate pressure points. This is thanks to their super unique “Purple Grid” material — it’s supposed to sleep cooler and last longer than traditional memory foam, too.
Reviewers generally agree that the Purple is comfy and supportive. Purple also says it’s made with nontoxic and hypoallergenic materials.
Best flippable mattress
Layla Memory Foam Mattress
- Price: $
- Mattress type: memory foam
- Firmness: dual-sided soft and firm
This flippable memory foam mattress has one soft side and one firm side, so you can easily flip it to switch up the feel. Flippable mattresses also tend to last longer than one-sided mattresses.
The Layla mattress contains copper, which the company claims makes it more supportive, cooling, and resistant to bacteria. The research on this is slim, but many reviewers confirm that the copper material feels cooler than traditional memory foam.
Best mattress for people with higher body weight
The Big Fig
- Price: $$$$
- Mattress type: hybrid
- Firmness: firm
Even the firmest mattress can feel too plush for people with higher body weight. People in larger bodies also tend to wear out mattresses quickly, which can lead to some major disappointment if you’re spending your hard-earned cash on a new bed.
With supportive coils and four total layers of foam, The Big Fig is specifically designed to support up to 1,100 pounds. Reviewers give the mattress top marks for its high quality construction and say it’s super comfortable.
Best smart mattress
Eight Sleep The Pod
- Price: $$$$
- Mattress type: foam
- Firmness: medium
Research suggests that hot temps and sweating can actually tank your sleep quality. And hot sleepers know all too well how tough it is to sleep under sticky, sweaty sheets.
The Pod mattress uses a hi-tech water pump system to regulate the temperature on each side of the bed — great for couples with wildly different temperature preferences. You can adjust the temp from your phone, making it easier than ever to Netflix and chill ❄️.
Best organic mattress
Avocado Green Mattress
- Price: $$
- Mattress type: hybrid
- Firmness: medium-firm
This dreamy, organic mattress gets top marks from reviewers. It’s made with GOTS and Global Organic Latex Standard (GOLS) certified organic materials like cotton, latex, and wool. It’s also Greenguard Gold certified, which means it’s free from harmful chemicals.
The mattress only comes in a medium-firm option, but you can add on a pillow topper for a plush feel. The mattress also comes with a generous 25-year warranty.
Best soft mattress
Amerisleep AS5
- Price: $$$
- Mattress type: foam
- Firmness: soft
Melt into this ultra-soft mattress like it’s the marshmallow and you’re the graham cracker — and your sheets are… the chocolate? (We’ll stop.)
The AS5 is made with the brand’s special memory foam that’s supposed to feel super soft and provide max pressure relief. The all-foam design also prevents a ton of motion transfer, making it a sweet pick for couples.
Best latex mattress
Nest Bedding Natural Hybrid Latex
- Price: $$
- Mattress type: hybrid
- Firmness: plush, medium, firm
When you think of latex, you probably think of condoms. But scrub that from your mind for a sec. In the world of mattresses, latex offers top-notch comfort and durability.
Latex foam is also more eco-friendly and responsive (read: bouncier) than other foams. It doesn’t produce those nasty off-gassing smells either.
This mattress from Nest Bedding is a much-loved latex hybrid made with eco-friendly materials. It also has a zipper so you can swap out layers of foam for a different feel and to expand the lifetime of your mattress. Nest Bedding says this design helps decrease the amount of mattress waste in landfills — a win win!
Best firm mattress
Sealy Response Performance
- Price: $$
- Mattress type: innerspring
- Firmness: multiple levels
Reviewers describe this traditional innerspring mattress as firm, yet comfy. Its spring coils make for a responsive mattress with plenty of support all the way to its edges, where some mattresses tend to fall flat.
The coils are also individually wrapped instead of interconnected, which helps minimize motion transfer and better support heavier parts of your body.
Mattress shopping 101
Shopping for a mattress can feel overwhelming. But if you’re going to spend the next decade of your life sleeping on it, it’s important to get it right. Here are a few key things to consider when shopping:
Mattress type
Foam mattresses are known for providing pressure relief and being excellent at isolating movement, which means that you’re less likely to feel your partner or pet get up or toss and turn during the night. They’re also cheaper but often less durable than models with coils.
Innerspring mattresses have bouncy coils and a very thin top layer of foam or pillow top materials. Coils make them responsive and supportive — so you’ll feel more bounce and movement. They’re also usually the cheapest option.
With hybrid mattresses, you’ll be getting the best of both worlds (cue Hannah Montana theme song). Hybrids have spring coils and multiple layers of foam for comfort. They’re usually a good mix of supportive, durable, and comfortable — but they’re also usually the priciest.
Outside of these traditional options are adjustable and smart mattresses. Adjustable mattresses (aka air mattresses like the Saatva Solaire) are pretty sweet because you can adjust the firmness as often as you want. Most adjustable mattresses can also have different firmness levels on each side, so they’re perf for partners with different preferences.
Smart mattresses usually have high-tech features like temperature control to keep you as cool or toasty as you want all night long.
Firmness
If you sleep on your back or stomach, you probably feel comfiest sleeping on a firmer sleep surface. A softer mattress may feel better if you’re a side sleeper.
But keep in mind that this isn’t a hard and fast rule. Go with what feels best for you. Comfort is totally subjective, so it might take a little trial and error to figure out what you like best.
Materials
If avoiding strong off-gassing odors (aka that “new mattress” smell) and being eco-friendly are important to you, opt for a mattress made with CertiPUR-US, certified organic, or Greenguard certified materials. These certifications guarantee that the materials used are free of harmful chemicals and are safe for you and the environment.
Price
Generally, the more expensive the mattress, the more high quality the materials are and the longer it’ll last. Pricier models are also usually thicker and more supportive. They might also come packed with special features like cooling or adjustability.
Good quality cheap mattresses do exist — especially if you shop seasonal sales. Just make sure you’re reading customer reviews to get an accurate picture of the quality and how comfortable and durable it is.
Company policies
Say it loud for the people in the back: A trial period is a MUST. Many mattress companies offer more than 3 months to change your mind and get a full refund so you’re not stuck uncomfortably counting sheep for years after a bad pick.
Also always be sure to scan through customer reviews to find out if the returns or exchange process is as smooth as advertised.
Frequently asked mattress Qs
When’s the best time to buy a new mattress?
Basically every mattress retailer will have pretty big sales multiple times per year. If you wait for major holidays like Memorial Day, Labor Day, Independence Day, and President’s Day, you’ll def be able to score a lower price. You should also keep an eye out during major shopping events like Black Friday or Prime Day.
During these sales, mattress retailers usually offer major discounts on mattresses or on bundles of products (like mattress protectors, bed frames, and other accessories). Mattresses are a big purchase, so it could be worth the wait.
What’s the best kind of mattress for side sleepers?
A 2011 study on a group of 25 males found that a mattress should be soft enough to let your hips and shoulders sink in, but firm enough that your pelvis doesn’t sink lower than your neck. The firmness that achieves that perfect spinal alignment depends on your body type — a medium firmness mattress will feel softer to people with higher body weight (more than ~230 pounds) than people with lower body weight. But in general, side sleepers should look for a supportive mattress with a little give.
Pressure point relief is also super important for side sleepers because they put a lot of pressure on their hips and shoulders. Latex and memory foam mattresses are usually solid picks for relieving pressure so you’re not waking up with aches and pains.
What’s the best kind of mattress for back and stomach sleepers?
Back and stomach sleepers need a little more support than side sleepers do. That means a firmer mattress that won’t let your body sink in too much and knock your spine out of alignment.
Hybrid mattresses are also a good choice for back and stomach sleepers because of the extra support they get from a base of spring coils. Coils can help keep the heaviest parts of your body (that booty!) from sinking into the mattress.
What’s the best kind of mattress for people with back pain?
A 2015 study found that medium-firm mattresses that are self-adjustable (like a high quality air mattress) are ideal for people with back pain. Adjustable air mattresses tend to be a bigger investment than foam or hybrid mattresses because you’re also paying for air pumps and electronic parts, but adjustability can be a major key for keeping back pain at bay.
If an adjustable mattress isn’t in your budget and you’re dealing with nagging back pain, then look for a medium-firm mattress (sometimes called “luxury firm”) — that same study found that medium-firm mattresses can help decrease back pain and improve sleep quality in people with chronic low back pain.
What’s the best affordable mattress?
Foam mattresses are usually your cheapest option in the mattress world. You’ll typically pay more for hybrid mattresses because of the extra materials needed to make them (hi, spring coils!). Air mattresses are also usually pretty pricey because they need pumps and electric components to make them adjustable.
If you’re looking for something cheap, do your homework before buying. A cheap mattress might be easy on your wallet now, but if it sags or falls apart in a few years, you’ll have to buy another mattress anyways. Try to budget for a mattress from a well-known company with good reviews — a good quality mattress should last you 7 to 10 years.
What kind of mattress should I get if I sleep hot?
Traditional memory foam mattresses are notorious for trapping heat, so if you sleep hot, do your best to avoid ’em. Instead, look for mattresses with gel memory foam or memory foam that’s described as “open cell” (which basically means there are holes in it). Some mattresses also have phase-changing materials in them, which means they’re designed to adapt to your body heat.
If you sleep really hot though, it might be a good idea to consider a hybrid or smart mattress. Hybrid mattresses allow for better airflow than all-foam mattresses do. There are also smart mattresses that are built to keep you cool all night long — all you need to do is set a temperature and drift off to an icy dreamland.
The bottom line
We know choosing a mattress is overwhelming — but don’t settle on a mattress that you don’t love. With a little research and some inevitable trial and error, you’ll find the right mattress that helps you sleep better and live your best life — your soul mattress, if you will.
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