Buying a new mattress in the Black Fridays sales? Here's where to start
I'm a sleep editor — here's my 5 pro tips to buying a new mattress in the Black Friday sales
It's Black Friday, and if a new mattress is on your shopping list but you're unsure where to start, I'm here to help. Below, you'll find my 5 top tips to navigating the sales in order to get the bed you need at the price you want.
As a sleep editor, a large part of my job involves researching and reviewing the latest mattresses and tracking their prices. Most of the beds in our guide to the year's best mattresses for all sleep styles and budgets have dropped to their lowest price within the last 12 months, making now an excellent time to buy.
Our guide to the best Black Friday mattress sales includes over 50 deals spanning sleep needs, mattress type and sleep position. Unsure where to start? Don't waste hours scrolling through sale sites — follow my top 5 tips to buying a new mattress in the Black Friday sales instead.
The best Black Friday mattress deals in the US
- Saatva Classic: twin
from $1,195$995 at Saatva - DreamCloud Hybrid: twin from $419 at DreamCloud
- Nectar Classic Memory Foam: twin from $349 at Nectar
- Siena Memory Foam: twin
from $199$189 at Siena - Zinus Green Tea Memory Foam: twin from $189.99 at Amazon
- Helix Midnight Luxe: twin from $1,002 + $330 gifts at Helix - use: TOMS27
The best Black Friday mattress deals in the UK
- Simba Hybrid Ultra mattress: single from
£1,899£1,386.27 at Simba Sleep - Panda Hybrid Bamboo Mattress Pro: single from
£950£665 at Panda - Emma Elite Mattress: single
from £1,389£694.50 at Emma Sleep - Brook + Wilde Suprema: single
from £1,000£650 at Brook + Wilde - REM-Fit 500 Ortho Hybrid mattress: single
from £929£464.50 at REM-Fit - DreamCloud Hybrid mattress: single from £375 at DreamCloud
5 pro tips to shopping for a new mattress in the Black Friday sales
1. Be clear on your budget
Before you begin your search, think about your budget. How much are you able and willing to spend? As someone who writes about sleep for a living, I'll always recommend that you spend what you can on a new mattress, as an investment in a mattress that meets your sleep needs is an investment in your sleep quality and overall health.
That doesn't mean that you have to spend a fortune on a mattress for it to be a worthwhile purchase, though. Our guide to the best cheap mattresses offer a range of quality beds priced at $500 and under for a queen, such as the Siena Memory Foam mattress, which is currently $377 at Siena (that's the lowest price you'll ever be able to buy this bed for.)
As your budget increases, you can expect an increase in build quality and materials. Spending in the region of $500-$1,000 will a get you mid-range queen mattress that will likely be more durable and more suited to specific sleep styles. You can buy a queen DreamCloud mattress for $665 (was $1,613) at DreamCloud, which is an excellent price on a quality bed with a lifetime warranty. Meanwhile, premium beds can cost between $1,500 - $2,000 and more. While we rate some (certainly not all) mattresses within this price category highly, you certainly don't have to spend that much if you can't.
2. Think about your sleep position
You might not have given much thought to it before, but thinking about what position you spend most time sleeping in is one of the key factors to determining what type of mattress you should buy.
Side sleepers tend to require a medium-firm mattress with a little bit of sink in order to relieve pressure from around the shoulder, hips and knees, while stomach and back sleepers require a firmer sleep surface to ensure that their back is held in correct alignment as they sleep.
However, your body weight will also come in to play, with lighter weight adults requiring a softer sleep surface, while heavier bodies need a mattress with a firmer tension in order to ensure they get the support they require.
You'll notice when shopping that mattress firmness is rated out of a score of ten. This is how we would rate each of the three main mattress firmness levels:
- Soft or plush mattresses – usually a 4 to 5 out of 10 on the firmness scale
- Medium-firm mattresses – usually a 6 out of 10 on the firmness scale
- Firm mattresses – usually an 8 out of 10 or higher on the firmness scale
While all manufacturers will have a different idea as to what rating their bed is, most mattresses sit within the medium-firm category in order to appeal to most sleepers (you can find our favorites in our best medium-firm mattress guide). For more of a steer, check out our guide to how firm a mattress should be.
3. Ask yourself, what do I need from my mattress?
When we talk about your sleep needs, we're referring to what you need from your mattress in order to sleep comfortably. For some, that might be one of the best cooling mattresses to help prevent overheating and night sweats. For others, you might need a mattress that limits motion transfer, which is the movement you feel across the bed when someone shifts positions.
I always recommend that before you buy a new mattress, you spend some time thinking about what works about your current mattress, and what doesn't. For example, if you often wake with back or joint pain, it's a sure fire sign that your mattress is to blame. If that is the case, you should think about investing in one of the best mattresses for back pain, or a mattress that will properly relieve pressure from your joints and support your lumbar.
4. Don't be lead by discount alone
It's an easy trap to fall into, but never buy a mattress on the merit of the discount alone. We all want a great deal during Black Friday, but shopping on discount alone is a false economy when the mattress you end up with isn’t particularly comfortable or supportive, which inevitably means you'll have to replace it sooner.
Instead, take the above points into consideration and shop for a mattress that you know will suit your body type, sleep position and needs. That doesn't mean that you shouldn't try to maximize your savings, though. Keep an eye out for Black Friday mattress deals that come with free bedding, with brands like Helix, Tempur-Pedic and Leesa offering a range of freebies with your mattress purchase this year worth up to $418.
5. Opt for a mattress with a decent sleep trial
Some of the biggest savings on mattresses this year are coming from third party retailers. But while the savings might be big, buying from a third party retailer as opposed to directly from the brand can mean that you forgo your right to a sleep trial or warranty period.
A mattress sleep trial is the window of time within which you can return your mattress if it isn’t quite right. Without a sleep trial, you lose the option to swap or return it. All major brands offer a trial period ranging from the minimum 30 nights to a lengthy 365 nights, which you’ll get with Saatva, Nectar and DreamCloud.
Purchasing a mattress with a warranty period means you lose the option to return your mattress if it's damaged or faulty. Again, warranty periods differ between brands, with most ranging from 10 years to a lifetime. Mattresses are expensive, and this peace of mind is invaluable.
If you do opt to purchase through a third party retailer, double check that the sleep trial and warranty period is valid. If it isn't? Run the other way.
My top 3 Black Friday mattress deals to shop today in the US
1. Siena Memory Foam Mattress: twin from $529 $189 at Siena
Thanks to a strong evergreen sale, the Siena Memory Foam Mattress is one of the best value beds you'll ever buy. However, a new 60% off sale means it's dropped (just) to it's lowest ever price. You'll usually be able to buy a queen for $399, but can pick one up for $379. The lead tester in our Siena Memory Foam Mattress review rated it highly for its great temperature regulation, superb edge support, and minimal motion transfer. With a firmness rating of 8 out of 10, it's best suited to back and stomach sleepers.
2. Helix Midnight Luxe: twin from $1,373.33 $1,002.54, plus free bedding bundle at Helix
I've made no secret of my love of the Helix Midnight Luxe, rating it highly across all key areas of performance in my Helix Midnight Luxe mattress review. It provides blissful pressure relief for side sleepers, while packing enough support to make it comfortable for back sleepers too. The general public Helix mattress sale takes 25% off, plus a free mattress protector, sheet and pillow set. But you can boost that discount to 27% (and still get the freebies) by using our exclusive deal code: TOMS27 at checkout. That's the best Helix Black Friday deal you'll find.
3. Nectar Classic Memory Foam: twin from $1,063 $349 at Nectar
Like the Siena, the Nectar Classic is excellent value all year round. However, a new Nectar Black Friday deal takes an extra $100 off when you spend over $1,000, pushing the price of a split king down to $998 from $1,098, which is excellent value. The Nectar Classic Memory Foam is one of the best memory foam mattresses we’ve tested (check out our Nectar Classic mattress review for a closer look at test analysis), boasting improved foam, better edge support and new cooling cover for all sleeping positions.
And here's my top UK deal today...
1. Simba Hybrid Ultra mattress : single from £1,899 £1,386.27 at Simba Sleep
After rigorous testing, we've determined the Simba Hybrid Ultra mattress to be the best mattress available in the UK right now. Constructed with 11 luxurious layers with 8,500 springs and breathable Simbatex open-cell foam, it provides excellent full-body support as well as superior comfort. It boasts excellent pressure relief and great motion isolation, so no matter your needs or whether you sleep with a partner or alone, this mattress should meet your needs. With 25% off, this is the best price we've seen this year, starting at just £1,396.27 (was £1,899) for a single Simba Hybrid Ultra mattress. You'll also get some fabulous benefits, including a 200-night sleep trial, 10-year guarantee and old mattress removal. For more information about the pros and cons of this mattress, check out our Simba Hybrid Ultra mattress review.
Best for: all sleep positions, hot sleepers
Normal price: single from £1,899
Today's best Black Friday deal: single from £1,386.27 at Simba Sleep
Nicola is the Sleep Editor at Tom’s Guide, where she helps steer the mattress and sleep content published on Tom’s Guide, including our Best Mattress for Back Pain buying guide. With a career in journalism spanning the best part of two decades, Nicola brings experience to the team and the knowledge of what makes a great article, whether that’s a how-to mattress cleaning feature, a deep dive into melatonin gummies, or an in-depth mattress review. As a sleep editor, few better understand how important a decent mattress is to the overall quality of our sleep, and precisely how our sleep impacts our physical and mental health. As well as tackling the vast topic of sleep, Nicola joins the raft of expert mattress specialists at Tom’s Guide, who test and compare a wide range of mattresses in order to guide readers towards the very best options on the market.