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The Insider Pick:
A great mattress can be the difference between a good night’s sleep that results in a productive day, or a horrible night that makes you feel like you didn't sleep at all. We've tested and researched dozens of mattresses and the Sapira Mattress by Leesa is the best one you can buy because it suits all kinds of sleeping positions.
Buying a new mattress is a pretty serious investment that you shouldn't have to make more than once a decade. If you’re in the market for a new mattress, you’ve likely spent plenty of time researching, trying out different mattresses in stores, and thinking about how much you’re willing to pay.
To make it a little easier to decide on the mattress you’ll ultimately want to buy, we've put together a buying guide for the best mattresses you can buy online. We've tested several mattresses from direct-to-consumer, bed-in-a-box mattress startups over the past few years to see how they stack up in comparison with big-name mattress brands. You can read about all our favorite new mattress companies on Insider Picks.
There are a ton of things to consider when buying a mattress, including firmness, materials, warranties, return policies, and whether to go with a direct-to-consumer mattress startup or a big-name brand. We break it down for you below:
Finding the right level of firmness
Before you buy, you’ll want to know what level of firmness is best for you. Side sleepers tend to like medium-to-soft mattresses, while back and stomach sleepers prefer firmer mattresses.
While your first reaction might be to get the plushest mattress out there, the fact is that sometimes ultra-soft mattresses can be bad for your back. On top of that, if you’re half of a couple, you’ll need to take into consideration what your partner wants, too. If you've got a big budget, you can go with a high-end mattress that allows for adjustments to be made on each side of the mattress.
Look for a good return policy or a long trial period in case the mattress you thought you wanted doesn't work out for you. Mattress choice is deeply personal and varies widely from person to person.
What kind of mattress do you want?
There are a lot of different mattress types, but Sleepopolis breaks them down extremely well. We've summarized each type of mattress below based on the site's expert mattress buying guide:
- Hybrid mattresses combine memory foam and latex with spring coils and other materials to appeal to a wide range of sleepers. These mattresses are great all-around options for couples.
- Latex foam mattresses are best known for being cooling, bouncy, and responsive.
- Memory Foam mattresses conform to your body's needs and offer excellent support. They're huggier than other mattresses, so they may not appeal to hot sleepers.
- Coil mattresses are more old-fashioned and traditional, but they're great for strong support and a long life. If you sleep on the edge, coil mattresses are good for you.
- Pillow-top mattresses are ideal for people who like soft, cushy mattresses. Pillow-top mattresses can have springs underneath or not, but they always have a fluffy, pillowy top for extra softness.
- Adjustable mattresses let you choose and alter the position and firmness of your bed and some even vibrate or massage you while you sleep. These are pricey but can be great for people with back problems.
Don't fall for big-name brands or add-ons
Anyone who's ever shopped for a new mattress has probably wondered why on Earth these things are so expensive. As The Sweethome and Slate explain, it's all about marketing costs, brand recognition, crazy profit margins, and monopolies in the mattress market. In the US, you have four major brands owned by two companies: Simmons and Serta vs. Tempur-Pedic and Sealy.
Often, these companies seem to be your only choices, so you end up paying a premium and the big brands end up reaping a killer profit. However, now there are dozens of mattress startups out there that are direct to consumer, offer great warranties, have long return windows, and low prices. We recommend you stay away from the big names and buy from one of these great startups.
You’ll also want to consider if you want any add-ons like a mattress cover, mattress pad, sheets, and so on. In the process of buying a mattress, you’ll likely be pitched all kinds of different accessories to get, and if you don’t go in with a clear idea of what you want, it’s easy to fall victim to those pitches and spend way more money than you thought you would.
It's best to buy everything else separately, and you can check out our buying guides for the best memory foam pillows, the best sheets, the best mattress toppers, the best pillows, the best comforters, the best duvet covers, the best light bulbs, the best area rugs, the best clothes hangers, the best laundry baskets and hampers, and more on Insider Picks.
Updated on 07/10/2017 by Christian de Looper: Added the Purple mattress after personal testing. Also added related links to other home and bedroom buying guides.
SEE ALSO: The 8 best online mattress startups for every type of sleeper
The best mattress overall
Why you'll love it: The Sapira by Leesa suits all kinds of sleepers with excellent support and a great cooling hybrid memory foam and coil mattress design.
While a little pricier than some of the others on this list, Sapira by Leesa has been very well-received, and for good reason. It's a hybrid memroy foam and coil mattress that suits every type of sleeper and offers great value for your money.
The mattress is made up of six laters, including 1.5-inches of performance foam for comfort and cooling, 1.5-inches of memory foam for contour and cooling, 1-inch of transition foam to cushion the coils, 6-inches of pocketed coils, and 1-inch of foam for the base of the mattress. The result? It’s a great all-around mattress for people who sleep in different positions and those who move a lot.
The mattress also has a specially designed cover, which is cut from a single piece of fabric and surrounds the entire mattress. It’s very breathable, so it should remain relatively cool while you sleep.
According to a review from Sleepopolis, the mattress is perfect for couples who have totally different sleeping positions, those who don’t have a single preferred position, and anyone who moves a lot in bed. Sleepopolis ultimately gave the mattress an excellent 4.9 stars, while Mattress Clarity gave it 4.5 stars.
Our full review of the Sapira mattress by Leesa was very positive, and commerce reporter Kelsey Mulvey still loves it after almost an entire year of testing. Customer reviews on Sapira's website are mostly positive.
Of course, Sapira's mattress isn't terribly cheap. It starts at $825 for the twin version, while the king will set you back $1,625. Luckily, you can try it for 100 days and return it if you don't love it. The company also donates one mattress for every 10 it sells, which is a nice way of paying it forward.
If money is an issue, you can check out the highly rated Leesa mattress line-up, which is made by the same company that makes the Sapira. Leesa's memory foam mattresses are considered the best you can buy by The Sweethome and they're highly rated by our own testers at Insider Picks. Leesa's memory foam mattresses are also a bit cheaper than the hybrid Sapira model.
Pros: Great for different sleeping positions, breathable cover, hybrid design offers great support, 100-day test period
Cons: A little pricey
The best mattress for hot sleepers
Why you'll love it: The Bear mattress isn’t just comfortable – It’s cool, too, thanks to its high-tech cover.
Looking for something to keep you a little cooler at night? The Bear mattress could be the right mattress for you.
Bear is another mattress-in-a-box company, but its mattress comes very highly recommended by experts and buyers across the board. The mattress combines 1-inch of graphite gel memory foam with 2.5-inches of response memory foam and 6.5-inches of high-density support foam to offer not just an extremely comfortable experience, but one that keeps you cool at night, too.
On top of those layers, the mattress also comes with a special polyester/Celliant blend cover that converts your body heat into infrared light. It's proven to be helpful when you sleep and decrease the temperature of the mattress.
The mattress is medium-firm, so it should be good for back and stomach sleepers. Some side sleepers may find it too firm, though.
Bear as a brand is pretty new, but it already has a loyal following, including our senior director of commerce, Breton Fischetti and commerce reporter Tyler Lauletta. Sleepopolis gives it a solid 4.6-star rating and praises how well it manages to keep you cool while you sleep. Mattress Clarity also rates Bear's mattress highly, especially for athletes and active types.
The Bear mattress starts at $500 for a twin size and ranges up to $950 for a king, which is pretty decent for a mattress of this caliber. You can also try it for 100 days to be sure that it's the one for you. If you dislike it, you can return it, no questions asked.
Pros: Keeps sleepers cool, relatively inexpensive, highly rated, good for active lifestyles
Cons: Not the best motion isolation or edge support
The best mattress for those who want neutral firmness
Why you'll love it: The Casper is a neutral mattress that's perfect for those who don’t have a preference between firm and soft.
Don’t necessarily want something too hard or too soft? Casper might be the right mattress for you. Casper is both self-described and reviewed as being extremely close to neutral, so if you just want an all-around solid mattress, Casper is a great option.
Casper has gone through a few changes over the years, but its latest mattress is very well regarded. The mattress is made from a top layer of 1.5-inch poly foam, 1.5-inches of memory foam, another 1.5-inches of poly foam, and 5-inches of base foam. That’s a lot of foam, and there are no springs involved at all.
Another great reason to buy Casper is the fact that it’s quite good at movement isolation – so if you move around, your partner should remain relatively undisturbed.
The mattress has been very well-reviewed, too. Sleepopolis gave it a nice 4.2 stars, and it currently has an average rating of 4.3 stars on Amazon. The Sweethome also rates the Casper mattress very highly, as its second-best memory foam mattress.
We wrote about Casper back in 2015 in our article about why you should buy a mattress online instead of in a big-box store, and Business Insider wrote up a review of the whole process, too.
On the price scale, Casper isn’t overly expensive – It’ll set you back $550 for a twin, while a king will cost $1,150. You can try it for 100 days and return it for free if you dislike it for any reason.
Pros: Neutral feel, great foam feel, relatively inexpensive
Cons: Not the best for those that like springs
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