Choosing the best mattress for your sleep style, body and budget needn’t be difficult. That’s because mattresses are far superior these days, and we should know - we’ve spent hundreds of hours reviewing and researching the latest and greatest models. We’ve done this by sleeping on them, as well as through evaluating feedback from thousands of mattress users.
We’ve ranked the top-rated models right here in our best mattress guide, with options to suit all budgets, from cheap to luxury. So whether you want a good value memory foam mattress that excels at pressure relief, a cooling option, or an organic mattress for non-toxic sleep, you’re in luck. Proper support and comfort are our main criteria, so expect that from any of the mattresses featured here. Choosing between them is then a matter of personal taste and budget.
Buying a mattress online is easy too, and prices are often cheaper than you’d pay in store. You’ll also enjoy free shipping with most brands, plus some even throw in free gifts. So in just a few easy clicks you can have the best mattress delivered straight to your door, and if you change your mind, you'll be refunded and the company will collect the mattress.
Our best tip? Look for a brand offering a risk-free trial of at least 30 nights (our top picks come with at least 100), as it can take up to three weeks to adjust to a new mattress. And unless you have an urgent need to buy, it’s worth waiting if you can’t find a sale on your top choice right now. The mattress world is competitive and there's usually a discount to be found though. To help, we’ve tracked down the latest mattress deals for all our best mattress recommendations below.
The best mattress in 2021 - as rated by experts
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The popular Nectar Memory Foam mattress is tough to beat when it comes to sheer value for money. This all-foam, medium-firm, mattress in a box delivers superb comfort and support - and for a lot less than the competition. We tested it for two months and loved sleeping on it. The five layers of foam contour to your body, providing excellent pressure relief around your shoulders, hips and back, while also helping align your spine. We also found temperature regulation to be very good for a memory foam mattress. We didn’t overheat once at night, even during the hot summer months.
This mattress is a very good choice for couples. It absorbs motion well, so you won’t be disturbed by a restless partner. We found the edge support to be good too. We could sleep comfortably right up to the perimeter, which made it feel wider.
Where the Nectar Memory Foam mattress really stands out, of course, is value. Thanks to a permanent $400 discount on most sizes, it’s dramatically cheaper than the competition, undercutting Casper and Purple by a few hundred dollars - and comes with $399-worth of free gifts too. There’s also an industry-leading year-long trial, free shipping and returns, and a lifetime warranty, all of which makes it a very compelling proposition indeed.
Memory foam isn’t for everyone, so if you like the sound of the Nectar mattress (and want the free gifts) but prefer to sleep on top of your mattress rather than sinking into it, we'd recommend the hybrid DreamCloud at number seven. And if you have a bigger budget to play with, the luxury innerspring Saatva Classic mattress at number two is outstanding. But Nectar beats them all on value for money: if you’re looking for an extremely comfortable mattress and want the most bang for your buck, it's easily the best mattress around.
- Read more: Nectar mattress review
The flagship Saatva Classic is a premium, hotel-quality mattress from luxury online brand Saatva. On quality alone, it’s the best mattress we’ve tested so far - the only reason it doesn’t take the top spot in our guide is the $1,000-plus price tag. But if you have the budget, this high-end hybrid innerspring is a sound investment and delivers a stunning night’s sleep.
One big selling point is how customizable it is. The Saatva Classic comes in soft, medium and firm versions, and your choice of height: 11.5 or 14.5 inches. We tested the 11.5-inch luxury firm option and were impressed: premium, eco-friendly foams and a plush pillow top provide soft cushioning, while a super-durable, dual steel coil system delivers exceptional support for your lower back. The Saatva Classic has been awarded a Seal of Approval from the Congress of Chiropractic State Associations, and the luxury firm option is a great choice for anyone suffering from back pain.
We love how buoyant this mattress is: you won’t sink into it while you sleep, which is good news for anyone who tends to overheat at night - we consistently slept cool. (If you do want the ‘hugging’ sensation that comes with memory foam, you’ll be better off with the Nectar above, or the Cocoon Chill at number six.) It's also durable. Some of our reviewers are one year in now, and their mattress is still performing well. Edge support, in particular, is as firm as it was 12 months ago, and we'd recommend it for anyone who struggles to get in and out of bed.
All this quality comes at a cost, of course. The Saatva Classic isn’t the cheapest option in our best mattress guide - but it is very good value for a premium mattress, undercutting its luxury hybrid rivals by up to a few hundred dollars. Plus it comes with free white glove delivery to the room of your choice, and a 180-night trial. If you're looking for pure luxury at an affordable price, this is it.
- Read more: Saatva Classic mattress review
The Tuft & Needle Original mattress is a very good budget mattress. It isn’t the cheapest in our guide - that’s the Zinus Green Tea Memory Foam mattress at number 10 - but when it comes to balancing performance with price, this no-frills mattress has a lot to offer.
Made from two layers of foam, the Tuft & Needle Original is a surprisingly supportive medium-firm mattress. There’s no memory foam here, so you don’t get the contouring you’d expect from the other options in our best mattress guide, but we found T&N’s adaptive foam to be responsive, with good cushioning and pressure relief for back and side sleeping.
Stomach sleeping wasn’t quite as comfortable, however - we’d have liked a little more support. Also, it’s worth noting that despite the mattress’s various cooling features (graphite and cooling gel), we woke up in a sweat a few times. If you're prone to overheating and need a budget mattress, we'd recommend a hybrid instead, such as the Allswell mattress at number nine.
Still, despite a few complaints about indents appearing after a year or so of use, the Tuft & Needle Original mattress has racked up over 40,000 positive user reviews across the T&N site, Amazon, Google and Yelp. And that’s because it's good at the basics. If you can do without the bells and whistles of more premium options, it’s a top choice for a budget mattress.
- Read more: Tuft & Needle mattress review
The Purple mattress offers a premium night’s sleep at a mid-range price. Made by one of the most innovative mattress brands in the US, it stands out thanks to its unique ‘Purple grid’ technology. This patented material is a dynamic, hyper-elastic gel-like foam that instantly adapts and flexes under your body to deliver tailored support right where you need it.
We gave the Purple mattress high marks across the board when we reviewed it. It was easy to order, and when it arrived it was fairly simple for two people to unpack and unroll, with no off gassing or plastic smell. It does feel different to other foam mattresses: the gel grid instantly responds to movement, cradling pressure points and aligning your spine, and springing back into place when you adjust your position. We felt like we were floating, cushioned by the soft, plush top, while also being supported by the surprisingly firm durable base layers.
The Purple mattress is a particularly good choice for couples - the grid does an excellent job of isolating movement, so you won’t be disturbed by tossing and turning. It’s also a great option for anyone who overheats at night. There are over 2,800 open air channels to allow cooling throughout the mattress, plus breathable foams and a soft flex cover help prevent heat from building up. Not everyone gets on with the Purple grid - some people report that the unique soft but supportive feel takes a while to get used to. We say it’s totally worth the wait.
- Read more: Purple mattress review
While all the top picks in our best mattress guide are well-suited to side sleepers, only one has been specifically designed for people who prefer this sleeping position: the Helix Midnight. This medium-firm hybrid is the brand’s most popular mattress, with five layers that are designed to support your body’s contours and cushion your shoulders and hips while you're sleeping on your side. Soothing memory foam and dynamic polyfoam hug your body and relieve pressure, while hundreds of individual coils cradle your body, provide extra support, and limit motion transfer.
We particularly like Helix as a brand because aside from making brilliant mattresses, the company also has one of the best websites for buying a mattress online. If you’re doing this for the first time, you’ll find a handy sleep quiz on the site that will help you decide whether the Helix Midnight is the best mattress for your sleeping style and preferences, or whether you (and your partner) might be better suited to another model from Helix’s excellent range.
- Read more: Helix Midnight mattress review
The Cocoon Chill Memory Foam is a 10-inch deep memory foam mattress made by industry giant and household name Sealy. Designed to adapt to your body to provide tailored support all over, this medium-firm mattress has three different foam layers, with luxury memory foam for deep contouring; responsive comfort foam to reduce motion transfer and prevent you sinking into the mattress; and a durable support layer.
But where the Cocoon Chill Memory Foam mattress really stands out is its high-end stretch-knit cooling cover. It’s infused with phase-change material, which absorbs and dissipates heat from your body and helps you stay sweat free all night. During the entire period in which we tested the Cocoon Chill, we didn’t overheat once - even our hot-sleeping reviewer didn’t wake up in a sweat. This feature, alone, elevates this mattress above its all-foam rivals.
The Cocoon Chill Memory Foam mattress should be well-suited to most body types and sleeping positions. We found it especially comfortable for side sleeping, and it's a particularly good option for hot sleepers who want the 'hug' of memory foam.
Edge support could be better, as is often the case with foam mattresses. But overall we highly recommend the Cocoon Chill Memory Foam, with top marks for its comfort and cooling abilities, and superior marks for its motion isolation and lack of sound. The price, too, is very appealing: it's permanently sold with a 35% discount - making it extremely competitive. If you're looking for an affordable, medium-firm memory foam mattress, there's a lot to like about the Cocoon Chill.
- Read more: Cocoon Chill Memory Foam mattress review
If you liked the sound of the Nectar mattress at number one but don’t want an all-foam option, we highly recommend trying the DreamCloud. This popular, luxury hybrid mattress is sold at a lower-mid-range price: it isn't quite as plush as the premium Saatva Classic, but it's a few hundred dollars cheaper and comes with free pillows (plus free sheets and a mattress protector in the current sale too).
At 14 inches, this medium-firm mattress is one of the tallest in our guide, and it comes packed with five generous layers that offer firm, responsive support as well as deep, soft cushioning.
The core of the mattress consists of a layer of individually wrapped coils. These provide custom relief by adapting to your body shape, and give the DreamCloud a traditional innerspring mattress feel, with more bounce than you’ll get from an all-foam option. The springs also boost airflow, helping dissipate heat during the night. Above these sit a gel memory foam layer, which is designed to contour to your body, cradling your shoulders, hips and other pressure points. There’s also a cooling, quilted cashmere cover on top.
Existing users love it: the DreamCloud averages a full five stars from almost 3,000 reviews on the DreamCloud website, and 4.2 out of 5 on independent review site TrustPilot, from a smaller pool of 800 users. The majority of reviewers comment on how comfortable the mattress is, how much better they sleep now, and how good the customer service is at DreamCloud. A few users say that edge support could be a little better for sitting on the side of the bed.
Bear in mind that the DreamCloud is heavier than some other mattresses (a queen size weighs 85lbs compared to Nectar’s 74lbs, while a king size weighs 107lbs) so you’ll want two people to move it. Alternatively, in non-covid times you can pay an extra $149 for white glove delivery. We love that the DreamCloud comes with a huge 365-night trial and forever warranty. Shipping and returns are also free, which makes testing this mattress at home incredibly easy.
