Quality craftsmanship and excellent value for money make Emma mattresses a popular choice, but how do you choose between them? In this Emma Original vs Emma Hybrid Comfort comparison piece, Emma’s most popular mattress is taking on the newest addition to its sleep suite. And there’s never been a better time to buy either, with Emma currently offering up to 60% off of all of their mattresses at Emma, which is one of the best Black Friday mattress sales we’ve seen so far.
Like many of our best mattress selections, the Emma Hybrid Comfort is, as the name would suggest, a hybrid crafted from a combination of foam and coils. The Emma Original is an all-foam mattress and subsequently has a very different feel to the Hybrid Comfort. We will explore those key differences in finer detail throughout this piece, so that you can decide which mattress is right for you before you snap one up this holiday season.
If you’d like to read more about the Emma Original, you can read our full Emma Original Mattress Review for all the details and test data (this is the UK version, but the makeup of the mattress is exactly the same). We haven’t tested the Emma Hybrid Comfort yet, but Emma is a highly regarded brand so we expect great things. Let’s take a closer look in our Emma Original vs Emma Hybrid Comfort Mattress comparison...
Emma Original vs Emma Hybrid Comfort: Black Friday sale price
Emma has some incredibly generous Black Friday discounts on their site already, with the Emma Hybrid Comfort currently reduced by 60%, which takes the price of a queen down to $479.
That’s astonishingly good value for a high-end hybrid mattress, plus you’ll also get a 365-night trial, 10-year warranty and free shipping. Add in two pillow and / or a mattress protector with the mattress and you’ll get an extra 10% off these as well.
Although the Emma Original is cheaper than the Emma Hybrid Comfort at full price, the current discount of 55% means a queen is $469, which a price difference of just $10.
Even though it’s slightly more than the hybrid, we still think this is another great value offer for an extremely popular mattress. Plus, you get all the perks listed above for the Emma Hybrid Comfort. You can keep up to date on all the Emma sales and offers by bookmarking our Emma mattress sales page.
Emma Original vs Emma Hybrid Comfort Mattress: Benefits
Like all the best hybrid mattresses, the Emma Hybrid Comfort is made from a combination of foams and coils. It’s rated medium firm, although customers say it’s firmer than rated by Emma (coming in at between 7-7.5) and is particularly suited to back sleepers, who will appreciate the seven-zone pocket springs that adapt to the spine for more support and alignment.
Light and average weight stomach sleepers may enjoy the firmer feel of this mattress, although there’s still some sinkage. It’s likely to be too firm for lighter weight side sleepers and too soft for heavy stomach sleepers though.
The Emma Original is made out of Emma’s proprietary breathable Point Elastic Airgocell foam, Halo memory foam and HRX support foam. Like the best memory foam mattresses, it offers a distinctive memory foam ‘hug’ that’s particularly suited to side sleepers. That being said, our back and stomach sleepers also found it comfortable during testing, but the softer feel (it’s rated at a 5/10) won’t appeal to everyone and it’s certainly too soft for heavier weight sleepers.
Both Emma mattresses offer great pressure relief, so you should find that they help to ease aches and pains. They’re also great at isolating motion, although you will get a little more bounce from the Hybrid Comfort due to its coils.
Emma Original vs Emma Hybrid Comfort Mattress: Design
Emma uses some of the same foams in both mattresses, but the Hybrid Comfort obviously has more layers. Underneath the breathable and moisture-wicking cover is a layer of Emma’s proprietary Point Elastic Airgocell foam that is designed to absorb and release excess body heat. Up next is a cool memory foam layer to mold to the body, followed by durable HRX foam.
This sits on top of the seven-zoned edge-to-edge pocket springs, which are individually wrapped to encourage airflow. The springs are designed to adapt to each sleeper’s spine, for optimal support and spinal alignment. The whole mattress sits on a stabilizing base and an anti-slip lower cover with handles.
The Emma Original is a simpler affair, with just four layers. The breathable and moisture-wicking cover is removable for washing and this sits on top of a layer of Point Elastic Airgocell foam to regulate temperature. Next up is Emma’s Halo memory foam, which gives the mattress its distinctive ‘hug’, adapting to the body for spinal alignment and pressure relief.
The mattress is completed with a layer of HRX foam for stability, featuring three adaptive cut-out zones for counter pressure and further spinal alignment. All the foams in Emma mattresses are CertiPUR US certified, meaning they don’t contain any harmful chemicals.
Emma vs Emma: Comfort & support
The Emma Hybrid Comfort is a firmer mattress than the Emma Original, with more bounce from the coil layer. It’s particularly suited to back sleepers, with the seven-zoned spring layer doing a great job of easing aches and pains.
The foams in the Hybrid Comfort are also a little firmer and, while there’s great pressure relief around the hips and shoulders for back and stomach sleepers, we think that many side sleepers (and lightweight side sleepers in particular) are likely to find this mattress too firm.
Considering there are three layers of foam in this mattress, the Emma Hybrid Comfort does an excellent job of keeping sleepers cool at night, with well-spaced coils for airflow, a breathable cover and Emma’s own Point Airgocell foam to wick away moisture and regulate temperature.
The Emma Original is a much softer mattress with a traditional memory foam feel. Side sleepers will feel their aches and pains soothed away, with plenty of pressure relief at the shoulders and hips from the contouring memory foam layer. Our back and stomach testers also slept well on the Original, but we wouldn’t recommend the mattress to those of a heavier weight.
It’s also worth noting that the feel of a memory foam mattress isn’t for everyone. For an all-foam mattress, the Emma Original actually does a pretty good job of keeping sleepers cool at night, thanks to the aforementioned Point Airgocell foam and breathable cover. But if you’re a particularly hot sleeper, we’d still recommend a hybrid mattress or even one of our recommended best cooling mattresses.
Emma Original vs Emma Hybrid Comfort Mattress: User reviews
We analyze user reviews to gain a broader understanding of how others have experienced these Emma mattresses, and to see if these are similar to different to our testing panel (if the mattress has been tested by us). Overall, Emma has a great reputation amongst customers.
The Emma Hybrid Comfort is a newer mattress but is currently rating well amongst buyers. There’s a lot of praise for how much the mattress helps ease back pain, with one user saying their back pain of 25 years had disappeared overnight. Many reviews mention how much firmer the mattress is than its official rating, with a lot of side sleepers and those of a very light build finding it too firm to sleep on.
On the flip side, many customers are delighted with the extra support, feeling it’s a great choice for those who like a mattress they sleep ‘on’ rather than sinking into. Temperature regulation is praised, but some sleepers said they could feel their partner moving about at night.
The Emma Original is also praised for relieving back pain and being extremely comfortable to sleep on. Side sleepers in particular mention how cushioned their joints were, and motion isolation is frequently praised, with users not feeling any movement from their partners at night. Like all mattresses, some people think it’s too soft and others too firm – you can claim a free comfort layer from Emma to make the Original firmer or softer as suits. Overall, Emma is reviewed positively, and with a 365-night trial there’s very little risk in trying one out.
Emma Original vs Emma Hybrid Comfort Mattress: Which should you buy?
Buy the Emma Original mattress if...
✅ You sleep on your side: The distinctive ‘hug’ of the Halo memory foam and all-foam construction of this mattress means it’s a great choice for side sleepers, who will get plenty of contouring and deep sinkage at the pressure points of their shoulders and hips.
✅ You share your bed with a restless partner: The all-foam construction of the Emma Original means that it does an excellent job of absorbing and isolating motion, meaning you won’t be disturbed by a restless partner.
✅ You’re on a budget: Usually, the Emma Original is the brand’s cheapest mattress. You’ll nearly always find around 40% off the mattress, rising higher during national sales events, making this an extremely cheap and reasonably priced mattress.
Don't buy the Emma Original mattress if...
- You’re of a heavier build: Heavier sleepers won’t get enough support from the softer Emma Original and may find that they’re sinking too far into the mattress or ending up with a dip in their back (which can cause pain and discomfort).
- You want superior edge support: Edge support isn’t great on the Emma Original, which means that you may not be able to sleep right up to the edges of the mattress without feeling as if you might slide off.
Buy the Emma Hybrid Comfort mattress if...
✅ You want to be kept cool at night: This mattress has plenty of features to help keep you cool, including a breathable top cover, Emma's Airgocell foam to absorb and release excess body heat and moisture, a cool foam layer and pocket springs that promote airflow.
✅ You sleep on your back or stomach: The slightly firmer feel of the mattress means that it's particularly supportive for those that sleep on their back or stomach. Emma's supportive HRX foam combined with a 7-zone ergonomic layer of pocket springs prevents the mattress from dipping or hollowing under pressure areas.
✅ You want a firmer mattress: The Emma Hybrid Comfort is a firmer mattress that you sleep ‘on’ rather than sinking into. There’s still contouring around the hips and shoulders, but the mattress is more responsive and easier to move around on and change sleeping position.
Don't buy the Emma Hybrid Comfort mattress if...
- You sleep on your side: We think side sleepers are likely to find the Emma Hybrid Comfort a little too firm, particularly if they’re of a lighter to average weight. There’s not enough sinkage around the shoulders to provide adequate pressure relief.
- You like a memory foam ‘hug’: Those looking for the deep contouring of memory foam should go for the Emma Original instead, as the Hybrid Comfort doesn’t provide the deep contouring of memory foam.
✅ You sleep on your side: The distinctive ‘hug’ of the Halo memory foam and all-foam construction of this mattress means it’s a great choice for side sleepers, who will get plenty of contouring and deep sinkage at the pressure points of their shoulders and hips.
✅ You share your bed with a restless partner: The all-foam construction of the Emma Original means that it does an excellent job of absorbing and isolating motion, meaning you won’t be disturbed by a restless partner.
✅ You’re on a budget: Usually, the Emma Original is the brand’s cheapest mattress. You’ll nearly always find around 40% off the mattress, rising higher during national sales events, making this an extremely cheap and reasonably priced mattress.
