Trying to figure out which is the best mattress on Amazon can be tedious. This retail giant has hundreds of mattresses on offer, but we've done the research for you and found the best options, based on our own reviews and those of other customers.
Some of our best mattress picks are available via Amazon, but in general we're assuming you've landed on this guide because you're looking for a cheap and cheerful, basic model that won't break the bank.
Our best Amazon mattress guide includes plenty of strong choices that'd work perfectly well for kids, spare rooms, or anyone on a tight budget. You can expect to pay around $300 for a 10-inch thick queen size (the minimum thickness we'd recommend for an average-weight adult). Most of these cheap models are very similar, so your choice might just come down to the one you like the look of, or which is cheapest when you need to buy.
Better-known brands like Nectar and DreamCloud are available via Amazon, but we'd recommend you head direct to the brand to make your purchase. Prices are typically the same, but you might get freebies bundled in, and navigating things like the mattress trial and guarantee should be simpler too (figuring out how to return a mattress to Amazon isn't always straightforward.)
If you just want a good, not-too-expensive mattress, you might also want to check our best cheap mattress guide or best mattress for college students guide, as well as our Black Friday mattress deals roundup. The latter could get you a better quality mattress for a lower price (whereas Amazon's ticket prices are so low that good discounts are rare). All clear? Let's take a look at the best mattresses on Amazon right now.
The best mattresses on Amazon in 2023
The Casper Element used to be available to buy direct from the Casper, but these days you'll only really find it on Amazon. It's relatively rare to find an Amazon mattress that's made by a brand you've actually heard of, let alone one that is widely well respected, so that's already a major pro in the Element's favor.
The all-foam design is basic, but includes the same materials you'll find in Casper's (far) pricier models: an upper layer of AirScape foam, and a lower layer of sturdy base foam, both CertiPUR-US certified. The whole thing is wrapped in a knit cover that's made from recycled bottles (this zips off, but there's no word on whether it can be machine-washed or not). Based on Casper's description, we'd expect the AirScape to deliver some of the body-hugging, sink-in feel of traditional memory foam. The cover features four-way stretch, so you should get the full benefit of this contouring upper layer.
Casper promises a firm feel, but this is very subjective and customer reviews suggest it might be a bit softer than that. A medium-firm sleep feel should suit any sleep position (back, stomach, side), although lightweight side sleepers – and especially lightweight ones – might find it too firm, and prefer a medium feel mattress that allows their shoulders and hips to sink further into the surface.
As a rule, all-foam mattresses tend to sleep warm. Despite the fact that the Element is perforated to promote airflow through the mattress, amongst the Amazon reviews there are some complaints of it retaining heat. We'd expect this to be an issue with most budget foam mattresses – it's by no means exclusive to Casper. If you regularly struggle with overheating, consider upgrading to something like the Cocoon Chill, which comes in around the same price and boasts a very effective cooling cover.
Overall, though, comments from customers are extremely positive, with plenty of praise for the comfort and value on offer here. Specifically, there are a number of commenters who say they were pleasantly surprised by what they got for their money here. It's also by far the cheapest way to get some of that Casper magic onto your bed – even factoring in semi-regular Casper mattress deals on the brand's own website.
The best mattress on Amazon is the Nectar. This mattress stands head and shoulders above the rest of the entries in our list, if we're honest – we think it's the best memory foam mattress around. Up top we'll say that although the Nectar is available on Amazon, we'd recommend buying direct from Nectar if possible, especially as pricing is usually the same.
The Nectar Memory Foam Mattress is an excellent all-rounder, with a keen balance of softness and support that'll work for most people. A three-inch thick layer of memory foam at the top of the design delivers plenty of pressure relief. It has a medium-firm sleep feel (a 6.5/10) and we judged it to be one of the very best mattresses for side sleepers who need that bit of extra softness around their shoulders and hips. It'll also work for most stomach and back sleepers too, though.
The design performed well in all our review tests, absorbing motion well (so you won't be disturbed by a partner's movements) and delivering good edge support (so you can use the full sleep surface, and sit comfortably on the edge of the bed).
As a general rule, all-foam mattresses like this one tend to sleep warmer than anything with springs. While none of our testers found they overheated on the Nectar – even in hot summer weather – but if you know you sleep hot, you should consider a specialist cooling mattress (the best budget option is the Cocoon Chill). Cheap memory foam is the worst culprit for trapping heat, so we'd predict that the budget Amazon mattresses below will all sleep warmer than this Nectar model.
Price-wise, it sits in the lower-mid price bracket, with regular Nectar mattress sales taking the price of a queen size down to around $700. That's excellent value for what you're getting, but it's still the most expensive mattress in our best Amazon mattress list – scroll down for more budget options. If you buy direct from Nectar, you'll get a full year's sleep trial and forever warranty, which is the best you'll find anywhere. Amazon says it'll match those, but we suspect any aftercare will be more straightforward if you buy from Nectar direct.
- Read our Nectar Memory Foam mattress review
Lucid is one of the better known mattress brands on Amazon, although it's also available via places like Walmart and Home Depot. There's only one thickness option (10 inches, perfectly acceptable and about the minimum we suggest for most adults), but you can choose from three sleep feels – plush, medium or firm – to suit your sleep preference.
This model uses three layers of different foams, all CertiPUR-US certified. At the base is bamboo- and charcoal-infused foam, at the top is gel-infused memory foam, and there's a transition layer in the middle. The purpose of these kinds of infusions is to add extra properties to the foam – so gel is meant to help with cooling, while charcoal is odor-eliminating – but in reality they're added in such small quantities as to be unlikely to make much of a difference to how a foam performs. This is the case across the board, not just with Lucid.
The thing you really want to pay attention to is how well a mattress is reviewed. Overall the Amazon reviews are very positive, with customers describing a sleep feel that's slow-moving but not unpleasantly squishy, and commenting that it's a good purchase for the money.
Firmness is very subjective, but the reviews suggest this leans to the firmer side. A few comments that the edges aren't very supportive, which means you may not easily be able to use them push up off when getting up, and you might not be able to sleep right up to the edges either.
We'd expect a budget, all-foam mattress to sleep a bit warm, and there are indeed a number of reviewers who found it trapped body heat a little, although it's by no means a unanimous opinion. (We also tested out the topper from this company, and we're pretty impressed with the temperature regulation on that product – read about it in our Lucid Gel Memory Foam topper review).
There are a few unexpected perks when it comes to the extras. For example, you can upgrade your Amazon delivery to include haul away and unpacking. There's also the option to return for a refund or replacement within the first 30 days after delivery. Unfortunately, there's no information that we can see about a warranty, although we would expect there to be one. Finally, we were pleased to see that Lucid's parent company, Malouf, is B-Corp certified – an award given for responsible social and environmental performance, and fairly rare amongst mattress companies, on Amazon and elsewhere.
The Zinus Green Tea is an all-foam mattress that's consistently ranked as an Amazon #1 bestseller. We tried out the 10-inch thick queen size model (the minimum thickness we'd recommend for an average weight adult) and found it delivered good comfort and pressure relief for the low price. We'd recommend this as an affordable introduction to memory foam, and a decent choice for kids' or guest bedrooms.
The brand's signature mattress uses green tea-and-charcoal-infused memory foam, designed to absorb moisture and neutralize odors. The foams are CertiPUR-US certified, which means they meet certain health and environmental standards.
It'll come as no surprise that the temperature regulation here isn't the best. Cheap memory foam mattresses almost always cling on to body heat, and none of the budget options in this guide are going to be a great choice for hot sleepers, whatever the marketing materials claim.
Where this mattress does perform well is in pressure relief. This bed has a classic memory foam feel, in that you'll sink into it and it'll contour to your body shape. We judged it to be on the firmer side of medium-firm (around a 7/10), and most of our testing panel found it pretty comfortable in any sleep position. (If you want more options in terms of firmness, consider the Lucid at #2, which is available in soft, medium and firm feels.) The Zinus also isolates motion well, which is good news if you have a restless partner and/or are a light sleeper.
If you're after a budget mattress that includes springs, check out the Linenspa Hybrid. This cheap Amazon mattress uses steel springs alongside layers of foam and memory foam, with the aim of delivering the best of both worlds. (As a rule, anything with springs will cost a bit more, which is why most of Amazon's budget mattresses are all-foam models.) In our tests, we found this model offered decent comfort, support and quality for such a low price, but like most of the models in this roundup, it's best suited to lighter-weight people, children, or occasional use.
Generally, hybrid mattresses will sleep cooler than an all-foam mattress, because the springs create space within the design for air to circulate. However, our testers found that the Linenspa still struggled a bit with temperature regulation. (To avoid this, you'll probably need to spend a bit more, and opt for a mid-range mattress.)
The spring layer also adds some bounciness to the sleep feel. This will appeal to some customers – a more responsive sleep surface is easier to change position on, and not everyone loves the quicksand feel of pure memory foam – but be aware that this mattress won't absorb motion as well as the all-foam models in this ranking will.
We also had some complaints around how sturdy the edges felt, and how long this mattress took to expand to full height. The former will is particularly relevant if you like to sit on the edge of your mattress while getting dressed, for example, or want to be able to use every inch of the sleep surface.
Another well reviewed, affordable Amazon mattress comes from Novilla. The design is made from three layers of foam, including memory foam for body-contouring support and cushioning. One point of difference here is that the cover is made using bamboo, which is known for being naturally temperature-regulating. It's also removable and washable, making this a good option if you suffer from allergies and want something that's easy to clean.
The Novilla is an 'Amazon's Choice' model, and boasts some very positive reviews. It scores an average of 4.8/5 on durability, and also – weirdly – scent. There is plenty of praise for how comfortable and supportive this mattress is, particularly for lighter weight people and children. We'd expect this model to absorb motion well, which is important if you're sharing the bed and/or are a light sleeper. Once again, the brand claims this mattress is cooling, but the reviews, on the whole, disagree. While a few customers do praise the temperature regulation here, most complain that it traps body heat. That's exactly what we'd expect from an all-foam mattress at this price point.
A slight point of concern is over this mattress' warranty. At time of writing, one of the images has a graphic over it that says '10 year warranty', but there's no mention of that in the description on the page, only a paragraph telling you to contact the manufacturer directly for warranty details.
The Classic Brands mattress is one of the Amazon's Choice models, and is available in a range of depths – although they're all on separate pages, so you'll need to browse via the Classic Brands page to find the others. We'd recommend a minimum of 10 inches for most adults. Most of the focus here is on this mattress' cooling powers, so it's slightly awkward to scroll to the comments section and find that the overwhelming consensus is that this mattress sleeps quite warm. (There is an option to choose to upgrade to 'Cool Gel Chill', but there's no indication of what the difference is.)
While it's a little disappointing given the marketing materials, it's exactly what we'd expect from a low-priced, all-foam mattress. We'd imagine that the cooling performance is in line with most of other other beds in this Amazon mattress lineup – cheap, foam beds just aren't built to stay cool.
Don't discount this model immediately though. It'll likely be okay if you a. don't live in a particularly warm area, and b. don't struggle with overheating at night. And despite those underwhelming cooling powers, the Classic Brands mattress comes well reviewed. Impressively, it scores highly for durability (a 4.5 average) – something that often suffers with cheaper mattresses. Reviewers also feel it delivers good value for money (a 4.4 average), and there are plenty of positive reviews about how comfortable this mattress is.
Amazon mattress FAQs
How much should I spend on an Amazon mattress?
Amazon offers a variety of mattresses at different price points. Multiple product pages and different depth options make comparing prices tricky, but you can expect to pay around $300 for a 10-inch thick queen size (the minimum thickness we'd recommend for an average-weight adult).
Mattress sales are highly competitive in general, but Amazon isn't the best place to find them, because the ticket prices are so low to begin with. There are sometimes see further discounts on the best Amazon mattresses, but no real pattern to when they'll arise. If you are determined to find a discount, Prime Day is perhaps your best hope (more on that in the next section), or the Black Friday mattress deals and following Cyber Monday mattress deals in November.
Is Prime Day the best time to buy an Amazon mattress?
No. Every year we see plenty of incredible Amazon Prime Day deals... but it's rare that mattresses are among them. This 2-day deals extravaganza, for Amazon Prime members (or those using the free trial), typically takes place sometime in July. Over the past few years, genuinely good Prime Day mattress deals have been few and far between.
In the 2023 event on 11-12 July, there was just one worthwhile mattress deal (on Casper mattresses). There were, however, some strong mattress topper deals. A number of bigger brands, which aren't available via Amazon, ran their own 'Prime Time' rival deals to coincide with Amazon's event.
Will I get a sleep trial on Amazon?
Major brands (like Nectar or Saatva) understand the risk that goes into purchasing a bed online, which is why they offer generous months-long trial periods and seamless return policies. However, when these major mattress brands sell on Amazon, it's not always clear whether perks like year-long trials and free returns apply (figuring out how to return a mattress to Amazon can be far from simple). That's why we'd recommend buying direct from the brand, if that's an option.
Check the Warranty and Support section of the mattress listing on Amazon or contact the manufacturer directly to learn what their trial and return policies are if you purchase from Amazon (or any third-party seller). For cheap options that are only available via Amazon, you might need to accept that good aftercare is something you'll have to sacrifice for that lower price point.
Does Amazon make its own mattress?
Yes, Amazon does have its own mattress line, and it falls into the Amazon Basics store. Here, you'll find very affordable foam and hybrid models. Browse the full Amazon mattress range here.
