Zinus Green Tea Memory Foam mattress review 2024

A comfortable introduction to memory foam at a great price

Zinus green tea memory foam mattress review
(Image: © Zinus)

Tom's Guide Verdict

The Zinus Green Tea Memory Foam mattress (10-inch) is a great-value mattress for anyone on a tight budget, or who likes a firmer mattress. It's also a top choice for kids' or guest rooms. We have some questions about its long-term durability, and it does sleep warm, but overall it delivers good comfort and pressure relief for the price. If you want a memory foam mattress that won't break the bank, this entry-level option is worth considering.

Pros

  • +

    Very low price

  • +

    Good pressure relief

  • +

    Free returns

Cons

  • -

    Not great for hot sleepers

  • -

    Too firm for some

  • -

    Some questions on durability

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The Zinus Green Tea memory foam mattress is a decent budget mattress. However, perhaps one of the main reasons its popularity has skyrocketed is its unusually low price. We slept on the 10-inch Zinus Green Tea mattress for a number of months, and enlisted the help of some overnight guests too. There aren't the same kind of bells and whistles you'll find in the pricer options in our best mattress guide, but the Zinus Green Tea delivers a perfectly adequate night's sleep and it's well worthy of consideration amongst the best budget mattress options around. In fact, we think it's the best mattress in a box you can buy below $300. 

There are plenty of happy customers to back this up, too. The mattress has over 139,000 user reviews (October 2022) on Amazon, with an impressive average score of 4.4 out of 5 – and nearly three quarters of the reviewers have given it a full five stars. That qualifies it for a spot in our best mattress on Amazon ranking. 

However, whether or not the Zinus Green Tea mattress is right for you will come down to your personal preferences. So, should you buy this budget memory foam mattress ? Our Zinus Green Tea mattress review will help you decide.

What is the Zinus Green Tea mattress?

  • Medium-firm to firm comfort level
  • 10-inches deep, with three layers of foam
  • Green tea and charcoal-infused for freshness

The Zinus Green Tea Memory Foam mattress is the company’s bestseller and comes in four different thicknesses: 6, 8, 10 and 12 inches. Geared towards every type of sleeper, it's a medium-firm mattress made from three layers of pressure-relieving foam. 

Zinus Green Tea mattress (10-inch) specs

Depth: 10 inches
Firmness: 6.5/10 (10 is firmest)
Sizes: Twin, Full, Queen, Short Queen, King
Material: Memory foam
Flip: No
Delivery fee: Free
Returns/exchange: Free
Trial length:
100 nights
Warranty: 10 years, limited

Its signature memory foam is infused with green tea and purified charcoal to absorb moisture and neutralize odor, helping keep the mattress fresh. However, its headline feature (and where it really stands out from the competition) is its wallet-friendly price. The six-inch version costs well under $300 for a king. Even the 10-inch model, which we tested, costs less than $400 for a king (more on price below).

So what's it made of? On top, there's a thin, soft polyester cover, followed by 2.5 inches of green tea and ActivCharcoal-infused memory foam, then 2 inches of Z Comfort foam and 5.5 inches of Z Base memory foam. CertiPUR-US certification ensures all three foam layers meet strict standards for content, emissions, and durability.  

Zinus Green Tea memory foam mattress review: illustrated cross section of the three layers

(Image credit: Zinus)

The Zinus Green Tea Memory Foam mattress is available in four sizes, from twin to king - however there are other sizes available in different thicknesses. There's an 8-inch deep twin XL, for example, while a short queen comes in 6 and 8-inch thickness options, and the 12-inch line has a Cal King.

If you buy the mattress through Zinus directly (rather than a retailer such as Amazon) it comes with free shipping, a 100-night trial and a 10-year limited warranty. Returns and exchanges within the trial period are free, as long as the mattress is in good condition.

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Zinus Green Tea Memory Foam mattress (10 inch): sizing
SizeDimensionsHeightWeight
Twin39 x 75 inches10 inches33.4lbs
Full54 x 75 inches10 inches45.8lbs
Queen60 x 80 inches10 inches53.9lbs
King76 x 80 inches10 inches67lbs

Zinus Green Tea Memory Foam mattress: price

  • Very low price point
  • Cheaper than Nectar and The Allswell
  • Choose a lower thickness to save more money

At full price, the Zinus Green Tea Memory Foam mattress (10 inches) starts from just $217. A queen will set you back $328, while a king costs $396. That places it firmly within the budget mattress category, where it's extremely competitively priced. It undercuts even its closest budget rival, the hybrid Allswell mattress, by $50 ($375 for a queen). We think it's one of the very best mattresses on Amazon under $400.

It's also over $450 cheaper than a good value, mid-range mattress, such as the Nectar Memory Foam mattress. That costs $799 for a queen (down from $1,198) – although the Nectar typically comes with $399-of free gifts too. Meanwhile, a queen-size of Casper’s Original foam mattress costs around $1,095, and a queen-size Purple mattress costs $1,149.

Here's the official pricing for all sizes of the 10-inch Zinus Green Tea mattress:

  • Twin (10-inch): $217
  • Full (10-inch): $291
  • Queen (10-inch): $328
  • King (10-inch) $396

If you choose a thinner version of the Zinus Green Tea Memory Foam mattress, the price is even cheaper: the 6-inch model starts from just $151, and the 8-inch from $194. Because of this low starting price, Zinus doesn’t often offer discounts or throw in free gifts, unlike other leading brands. 

However, if you sign up for the Zinus newsletter you’ll be privy to additional coupons and discounts. We have also seen the Zinus box spring for half price on Amazon in the past, so the company does run deals through its third-party sites – just check the T&Cs if you're not buying through Zinus, because the trial and returns policy may not be as generous. 

Zinus Green Tea mattress: performance

  • Surprisingly comfortable for the price
  • On the firmer side of medium-firm
  • Can sleep a little warm

We had several testers sleep on the 10-inch Zinus Green Tea memory foam mattress over the course of three months, including five overnight guests. Everyone was impressed by how comfortable the mattress felt, and despite the fact that our guests were all used to innerspring mattresses, most of them adjusted to the different feel quickly. One overnight guest said it felt better than the new mattress she has at home, which cost about four times as much. 

Overall, we found the mattress to be pretty firm. We graded it as a 7 out of 10 on the firmness scale (10 is the firmest), rather than the 6 out of 10 that Zinus suggests on its website. If you prefer a more cushioned sleep, we'd advise choosing the thicker 12-inch version of the mattress instead.

Some online reviewers describe the Zinus Green Tea memory foam mattress as like sleeping on a cloud, but we’d say that’s a pretty supportive cloud. We did try it in the fall and winter in New York, though - it's possible that the mattress may feel softer in the summer. 

The 10-inch Zinus Green Tea memory foam mattress has a classic memory foam feel: we sank into it, rather than sleeping on top of it. This feature enables the foam to contour to your body, and our reviewers all reported good pressure relief and a supportive night's sleep, no matter whether their preference was for back, side or stomach-sleeping. 

However, one of our medium-sized reviewers found the mattress to be more comfortable for side-sleeping than front-sleeping. On her side, the mattress offered support along her shoulder, hip and lower body without feeling like heavier body parts were sinking; whereas on her stomach she became aware of pressure on contact areas such as her hip bones.

Zinus green tea memory foam mattress review

(Image credit: Zinus)

The good thing about memory foam is that motion transfer is typically minimized because you don’t have the same bounce that you get from the coils in an innerspring mattress, and that was the case here. We didn't notice any motion transfer when sleeping on the 10-inch Zinus Green Tea mattress, and think it's a good choice for couples - you shouldn’t feel your partner getting in and out of bed, or notice if a small dog or feline hops in. However, this feature of foam also makes it harder to change position at night than an innerspring, such as the Saatva Classic mattress.

In addition, all-foam mattresses are more likely to sleep hot, and some of our reviewers noticed that they overheated at night when sleeping on the Zinus Green Team Memory Foam mattress. They slept on it in a basement room that started off cool, and a few were surprised by how warm they felt in the middle of the night. 

Finally, edge support was reasonable for a budget mattress. We had expected this area to be weaker - costs have to be saved somewhere - but the edges didn’t collapse when we sat on them to put shoes on. That said, foam typically doesn't provide the best edge support, so if you need a firm edge to get in or out of bed, we'd recommend the Saatva Classic mattress, which aced our edge support tests, or choose a perimeter-reinforced mattress instead. 

It's worth noting that the 10-inch Zinus Green Tea mattress can support a weight of up to 500lbs. When using this mattress in a guest room, we felt at ease that no matter the weight of our guests, they would find it comfortable and supportive - and they did. While we can’t speak to how supportive the mattress is for people or couples that total over 500lbs and are sleeping in it nightly for years on end, we can confirm that our reviewers of all different sizes said they found the mattress to be very supportive.

Zinus Green Tea mattress: What we didn't like

  • Temperature regulation could be better
  • Too firm for some

As we've mentioned, this mattress does sleep a little warm, and even though the Z foam layer has pockets to encourage a cooling airflow, the Zinus Green Tea mattress doesn't offer any specialty thermal technology. If you sleep cool, it won't be an issue - but if you tend to sleep hot, Zinus has a Cooling Gel hybrid line that you might want to try instead (starts from $254). Alternatively, try the mid-range Cocoon Chill memory foam mattress, from $469, which has among the best cooling capabilities of any mattress we've tested so far.

Some of our reviewers also felt that the mattress was too firm. One of our first-time memory foam reviewers is 6 foot 3, 208lbs and a back sleeper. When quarantined with COVID-19, he had plenty of time to get acquainted with the mattress and reported that this 10-inch model was too firm. He much preferred his own luxury firm Saatva Classic mattress.

Zinus Green Tea memory foam mattress review

(Image credit: Zinus)

Zinus Green Tea mattress: user reviews

  • Average score of 4.4/5 from over 100,000 Amazon reviews
  • Majority say it's very comfortable, but some find too firm
  • Reports of some mattresses not fully expanding

Everyone's experience of a mattress is different - body shape, height, weight and sleeping style can all affect how comfortable you find a mattress - so to build a more rounded picture of what the Zinus Green Tea memory foam mattress is like to sleep on, we've also analysed hundreds of user reviews and pulled out any recurring themes.

With over 100,000 user reviews on Amazon, 73% of which are five-star, the Zinus Green Tea memory foam mattress is one of the retailer's best-selling mattresses. Thousands of customers report that it's very comfortable and say they would buy it again (or have). Plenty say that durability and comfort extend well beyond the initial trial period, and they're still getting a supportive night's sleep with no pain on waking. 

However, lack of durability is a recurring theme in the fewer negative reviews, with some reporting indents and sagging in the middle after 12-18 months. Some users have also found that the edges of their mattress are unstable, and some have reported fibreglass particles on the fabric cover after removing it to wash it - however Zinus clearly states that the cover should not be removed as doing so could inhibit the fire safety system. (If you're wondering how to clean the mattress, spot cleaning should do the trick. It's also a good idea to buy one of the best mattress protectors while you're at it.) 

Overall, though, the two biggest complaints we saw is that the Zinus Green Tea memory foam mattress is firmer than expected. That's why we recommend buying it directly through Zinus - you can use the 100-night sleep trial to test whether it's right. If it isn't, you'll have to donate the mattress to charity before you can get your refund (Zinus suggests plenty that do free pick up on its site) or you can arrange for Zinus to collect it for a $75 fee.

Some online customers also say that the mattress didn't fully expand to the height they purchased - at the corners in particular. While this didn't happen to us, there are several customer photos showing it occurring. If a mattress doesn’t expand properly within the 100-night trial period, you'll get your money back. This problem is also addressed by the 10-year Worry Free warranty - although indentations less than 1.5 inches aren’t covered.

Should you buy the Zinus Green Tea mattress?

Zinus Green Tea memory foam mattress review: mattress shown on a bed in the centre of a well-lit bedroom with a log burner and coffee table

(Image credit: Zinus)

The Zinus Green Tea Memory Foam mattress (10-inch) is a great option for anyone on a budget, or looking to try memory foam for the first time. It's a good cheaper mattress, delivering support and comfort at a price that other brands can't beat. 

However, if you prefer a softer mattress, or suffer from over-heating at night, we wouldn't advise it. You could try the hybrid, entry-level Allswell mattress instead, which comes closest to the Zinus on price. However, for a little more money, we highly recommend the Cocoon by Sealy Chill for any hot sleepers who love the feel of memory foam. And if you can stretch your budget to the luxury Saatva Classic - which comes in three different firmness levels and two different heights - you'll get a premium mattress with top temperature regulation, outstanding edge support and a little more bounce.

Zinus itself offers a wide range of other mattresses, too, which are worth considering if you're not quite sold on the Green Tea memory foam line. There's a handy quiz on the site that will help you find the right option for your preferences. 

Overall, though, we think the Zinus Green Tea is a great-value mattress for anyone with a low budget, of average weight, who likes a medium-firm to firm feel. It's also a top choice for a spare room, or for children. Plus, you get 100 nights to try it out and a 10-year warranty if the materials don’t hold up, so if you like the sound of it, we don’t think you have much to lose.

Diana Kelly Levey

Diana is a trained journalist and experienced editor in the health and wellbeing and lifestyle sectors. Diana has created content for a range of leading brands including Real Simple, Bloomberg, Headspace, and WebMD. For Tom’s Guide Diana currently focuses on sleep, mattresses, and fitness equipment.