What is the Leesa Original Mattress?
The American-made Leesa Original mattress is a 10-inch tall, all-foam mattress that's designed to provide comfort and support for all types of sleepers. It features a two-inch top layer of breathable foam, two inches of contouring memory foam in the middle, and a six-inch core support foam base, all capped by a seamless twill fabric cover. We slept on one for several weeks to see how it compares to the rest of today's best mattresses.
We found it had a medium-firm sleep feel (somewhere between 5 and 7 out of 10), and delivered a comfortably cradling sleep feel, with excellent support for back and side sleeping. However, stomach sleepers should seek something firmer to keep their spine properly aligned,
The Leesa Original also delivered good temperature regulation and absorbed movements well, making it suitable for anyone sharing a bed. While the support in the centre was good, the edges are much softer, which might be an issue if you want to be able to use the whole sleep surface, or sit comfortably on the edge of the mattress.
When we first reviewed it, this mattress in a box was Leesa's entry-level model, but since then the brand has added a more budget-friendly option (head to our hands-on Leesa Studio review to find out how we got on with that one). You'll also find more advanced hybrid options in the range – you can read about one in our Leesa Sapira mattress review.
At full price, a queen bed size Original is $1,299, but you shouldn't have to pay that – mattress sales run all year round, and this brand's evergreen deal knocks $200 off, taking this into the mid-range price bracket.
Since entering the market in 2015, Leesa has made it a point to use its business for good. Although it sadly seems to have lost the B-Corp certification, it still balances purpose and profit, and for every 10 mattresses sold, Leesa donates a mattress to one of its many charity partners. The Leesa Original mattress comes with a 100-night trial and 10-year limited warranty. Read on for more information in our full Leesa Original mattress review...
Leesa mattress: Price and deals
- Mid-range pricing
- Regular deal cuts $200 off the price and includes free pillows
At full price, the Leesa Original mattress costs from $749 for a twin size, and maxes out at $1,599 for king and California king. However, a permanent Leesa mattress deal knocks $200 off, and throws in two free pillows. It sits in the mid-range price bracket.
Here's the official pricing for all sizes, and what you can expect to actually pay:
- Twin: MSRP $849 (usually sold at $749)
- Twin XL: MSRP $899 (usually sold at $799)
- Full: MSRP $1,099 (usually sold at $999)
- Queen: MSRP $1,299 (usually sold at $1,099)
- King: MSRP $1,599 (usually sold at $1,399)
- California King: MSRP $1,299 (usually sold at $1,399)
If you're looking to save the most money possible, then the two best times of year tend to be during the brand's Memorial Day mattress sale in May, and in November, via a Black Friday mattress deal.
There is a Leesa Amazon store, where deals crop up now and again. As a rule, Amazon will price-match the brand's own website, and if that's the case we'd recommend buying direct from Leesa – not only are there free accessories and charitable initiatives to take into account, but things like the trial period and warranty are likely to run much smoother when you don't have to navigate a third-party seller.
When it comes to value for money, the Leesa Original sits in a very competitive market. Memory foam competitors such as the Nectar Memory Foam mattress and Cocoon Chill mattress both undercut the Leesa by significant margin. However, for some, Leesa's ethical credentials will hold a value of their own, and it still compares well to the rest of the best affordable mattresses around.
Leesa Original mattress review: Comfort and support
- Medium-firm sleep feel (somewhere between 5 and 7 out of 10)
- Comfortably cradling sleep feel
- Best for side or back sleeping, not firm enough for most stomach sleepers
Leesa says its Original mattress is medium-firm, with a range between 5-7 out of 10 (firmest) on the comfort scale. To sleep on, we found it sat at the higher end of that range. However, when we placed a 15lb weight in the middle to gain an objective measurement, it sank in 2.5 inches, which puts it in our medium bracket.
We slept on the Leesa Original mattress for three weeks, and during that time we were most impressed by how supportive it was – we fell asleep each night feeling comfortably cradled by the mattress. Our lead tester experienced the most support and pressure relief when lying on her side or back. While she wasn't uncomfortable on her stomach, her hips did begin to sink slightly in that position, which can lead to back pain developing over time.
Leesa Original mattress review: Performance
- Sufficient heat wicking
- Minimal motion transfer
- Poor edge support
As well as comfort and support, during our three-week testing period we also assessed how well the Leesa Original performed in a number of other areas – namely temperature regulation, edge support and motion isolation. These are all things that can lead to disturbed sleep or a generally poor experience with a mattress, and are worth paying attention to when deciding which mattress to buy.
Temperature regulation
The top cooling layer, combined with the twill fabric cover, makes for a comfortable night’s sleep. Granted, we tested the mattress during the winter, but our reviewers cranked up the heat and wore multiple layers, and didn't wake up in a sweat once. However, as a general rule, all-foam mattresses like this one will sleep slightly warmer than hybrid models, due to the denser structure – a coil layer helps boost breathability. Our best hybrid mattress guide has some recommendations if you want to explore that option.
Motion isolation
Motion transfer refers to how much movement reverberates across the surface of the mattress. This can disturb your sleep if you're a light or restless sleeper, or if you share a bed with a wriggler.
We were impressed by the lack of obvious motion transfer with the Leesa Original mattress. Despite shifting in her sleep and occasionally having to share the bed with a restless tabby, our lead tester didn't have any issues with having their sleep disturbed.
We tested this again by placing a wine glass on the surface, and dropping our 15lb kettlebell as distances of 4, 10 and 25 inches away. The glass wobbled slightly at all distances, but never fell over, which is a good result. We found this model had slightly more motion transfer than the cheaper Leesa Studio, which isolates movements extremely well, though.
Edge support
Relative to the rest of this medium-firm mattress, edge support is lacking. This seems to be the case for many basic or entry-level foam mattresses, but we'd expect better from a mid-tier model like this one.
When we tested this out by placing our 15lb kettlebell on the edge of the mattress, our impressions were confirmed. The weight sank 3.1 inches on the edges, compared to 2.5 inches in the centre. For good edge support, we'd expect the sinkage at the edge to be equal to, or less than, the sinkage in the centre. So that's a poor result. (In fact, it was difficult to even get the weight to stay on the edge of the mattress to be measured.)
Leesa Original mattress review: Delivery & extras
- Delivered rolled and boxed, but can take up to 14 working days
- Takes a couple of days to reach final firmness
- We experienced some off-gassing
The Leesa Original is made-to-order and ships in under 14 business days, which is a little on the slower side (when we first tested this mattress, the delivery period was one to three business days). Delivery is free to your doorstep, or you can pay extra for two Leesa partners to set up your new mattress and take away your existing one.
This is a mattress in a box, which means the Leesa Original mattress arrives vacuum-sealed in a conveniently sized box. Unroll it onto your bed frame, remove the plastic, and within seconds it’ll shape itself into a full-fledged mattress. Setup can be done solo, but it’s less cumbersome with the help of another person. It took about an hour for the Leesa Original mattress to fully expand, but a couple of days for it to reach full firmness. We were able to sleep on it pretty much immediately without any issues though.
One complaint is that our review model of the Leesa Original mattress had a potent off-gassing smell. While it's far from the worst we've whiffed, it’s still not a pleasant smell to fall asleep to. It took three nights before the off-gassing totally dissipated. Proper ventilation will help mitigate this. Note that off-gassing experiences can vary from person to person, even within the same model.
A minor thing to note: it looks like we set up the Leesa Original mattress the wrong way around. The four-stripe design is meant to be at the bottom of the bed per promo photos, not up by your head. But take it from us – it’s comfortable either way.
The Leesa Original mattress comes with a 100-night trial and 10-year limited. You’re required to try the mattress for at least 30 nights before initiating a return. That's common with mattresses, because it can take up to three weeks for your body to adjust to sleeping on something new.
Leesa Original mattress: User reviews
- Average score of 4.5/5 stars from nearly 19k reviews
- Majority like the support and heat wicking
- Some found the foam is prone to sagging
In this Leesa Original mattress review, our lead tester is sharing their experience as a side sleeper of average build, who's prone to waking up in a sweat. Mattresses are subjective though: your shape, size, weight and sleeping style all affect how comfortable you find a mattress. So, to give you a more rounded view, we’ve combed through hundreds of Leesa Original mattress reviews from customers to look at what this mattress does well... and where it falls short.
This mattress has 4.5 stars out of 5 from nearly 19k customers on the Leesa site (July 2023). At Amazon, it averages 4.2 stars out of 5 from just over 1,000 reviews.
Favorable user reviews praise the Leesa Original's support, lack of motion transfer, and cooling properties. Several satisfied sleepers even credit this mattress with alleviating their back and shoulder pain. Leesa’s customer service also received high marks for a quick turnaround to queries.
Many of the Leesa Original’s critical reviews regard the initial off-gassing smell. Even customers who were happy with their mattress have knocked off a star for that alone. Another common theme among the negative reviews is the degradation of the memory foam. Sleepers of various sizes and builds said that their Leesa mattress developed indentations and dips within a year. (Leesa says its mattress supports individual weights up to 300 pounds.)
Should you buy the Leesa Original mattress?
The Leesa Original mattress does many things well for its price – and knowing that one Leesa mattress is donated to charity for every 10 purchased may well help you sleep better at night. Certainly, if you're a back or side sleeper, the Leesa Original mattress is worth your consideration.
For most people, it should provide the right amount of give without creating too much movement if you (or your partner) shift positions during the night. Its top layer of breathable foam and twill fabric cover sufficiently wick away heat, which is good news for hot sleepers.
It won't suit everyone. Front sleepers should probably seek something firmer (head to our best firm mattress guide), and although officially this is suitable for individual weights up to 300lb, we'd probably recommend those over 250lb opt for something firmer too (if your much over that, our best mattress for bigger bodies roundup has some recommendations). We're also a little concerned by those reports of the mattress softening within a year. Fortunately, Leesa's limited 10-year full replacement warranty covers indentations of at least one inch that are not a result of improper use. Of course, you hope to not have to use your warranty, but it's good to know it's there.
