The Strategist staff has tested over 40 mattresses, and these are the best foam mattresses we’ve found. The best overall is the Leesa Original Mattress.
A series where we methodologically and obsessively try new products to tell you if they’re worth it so you don’t have to do all that work yourself. Read more reviews) and without coils — are one of the most popular mattress types.
There are hundreds of models on the market, and a lot of variations, from soft tocan feel and function quite differently, depending on how they are built. Here, I’ve rounded up the best foam mattresses tested by the writers, editors, and contributors of the Strategist, myself included. Our approach toinvolves sleeping on them in our own homes for at least a week — though in practice it’s usually much longer — and sharing key details about each tester’s personal sleep preferences so you can find someone with similar criteria as you. .is made from rubber, so it is often touted as “more natural” and eco-friendly than polyurethane foam; the two most common types of latex areRegardless of foam type, foam mattresses are rarely made from a solid block of foam. They usually layer multiple varieties on top of one another, like a cake: aon top of a transition layer or three, with a base/support layer on the bottom. For each mattress below, I’ve described the basic construction and listed the types of foam it contains.What firmness is best for you will depend on your sleep position and personal preferences. Side sleepers typically need a little more pressure relief for their hips and shoulders, in addition to spinal support; soft to medium-firm is a good place to start. Stomach sleepers should look for a mattress that supports their hips, to avoid putting strain on their lower back; a firm mattress that doesn’t allow the body to “sink in” too deeply is often the best option. Back sleepers need enough firmness to keep their spine supported but may want some pressure relief and extra cushioning around their shoulders or lower back; a medium to firm mattress is usually best. However, what feels most comfortable firmness-wise can vary from person to person. For each mattress below, I’ve noted any discrepancies between how our tester described the firmness and how the brand describes the firmness.Simple in design and relatively affordable, the Leesa Original is medium in firmness, with enough pressure relief and support to work for all sleeping positions.Builder says the mattress felt soft and plush, but she never sank down into it. Her husband, who is “so enamored with sleeping on hard surfaces that he sometimes naps on a yoga mat on our hardwood floor,” raved about the pressure relief and comfort he felt from the foam contouring around the small of his back.Since the Leesa is right in the middle, firmness-wise, it can work for a wide range of sleepers. Though it provides plenty of pressure relief, the foam is responsive, with a bit of bounce, which keeps it from veering into full-on-squishy softness.The Leesa is made of three foam layers: a two-inch comfort layer of “cooling foam,” a two-inch transition layer of memory foam, and six inches of high-density foam for the base. The standard version of the mattress has a polyester-viscose-blend knit cover, but you can add a quilted cooling cover for an additional $185.According to Jamie Diamonstein, one of Leesa’s co-founders, the comfort layer is designed to offer just the right “pushback,” meaning it cushions your body but then “pushes back and balances your body out,” so you don’t completely sink into the mattress. This contributes to its squarely “medium” firmness.under $1,000 . It’s slightly firmer than the Leesa Original, above, but offers a similar mix of pressure relief and support that works for a wide range of people.Aranita slept on the Casper Original mattress for ten years and loved it because was firm without feeling like an upholstered rock — “I grew up in Hong Kong, where standard mattresses are so firm that’s how I usually describe them,” she says. When she tried the Casper One, which replaced the Casper Original in 2024, she was relieved to find it shared many of the same qualities. It’s firm enough to be supportive but soft enough to relieve pressure on her joints — “a Goldilocks sort of just right for me and my fellow-side-sleeper husband.” Aranita also likes how the mattress has give but not bounce. “I don’t like mattresses with springs; I just want to sleep on a firm sponge,” she explains.Aranita likes the One’s soft gray microfiber cover, and even though the mattress does not have a raised “lip” around the perimeter like the Original had, she can comfortably roll all the way to the side thanks to its strong edge support. It also doesn’t contain any fiberglass — another change that came with the launch of the One — that brought Aranita relief after she went down a fiberglass-in-my-mattress rabbit hole on TikTok.At full price, a queen-size Casper One is just under $1,000 — though you can often get it for around $200 cheaper during major sales holidays.While the edges are still very sturdy on the Casper One, Aranita misses the raised lip that the Casper Original had.The Casper One was designed as the brand’s new flagship product; it launched in 2024 as a replacement for the now-discontinued Casper Original that first came out 2014. The bed is constructed with three layers — a top layer of flexible polyurethane foam, a middle layer of memory foam, and a base layer of support foam. One noteworthy change in the Casper One, compared to the Casper Original, is that the Casper One is made without a fiberglass fire barrier. While fiberglass has been a common mattress component for decades — all mattresses are legally required to have a fire-retardant element — many brands are moving away from the material due toCasper describes the One as having a “medium feel” that’s best for back and stomach sleepers. We found it to be slightly firmer — more medium-firm than true medium — and thought it worked well for side sleeping, too.Twin, twin XL, full, queen, king, California king, split California king, short full, short queen, Olympic queen, short king, RV kingPlank says its mattresses are for people “who say a typical firm is never firm enough.” The Plank Firm is a flippable, all-foam mattress designed to reduce back pain. Brooklyn Bedding, Plank’s parent company, is based in Phoenix and constructs all its mattresses in-house at its factory., Strategist senior editor and a back-to-side sleeper, who frequently deals with back pain. Kitchens also edits the Strategist’s bedding coverage and is our resident firm-mattress connoisseur.Kitchens wanted to test the firmest mattress out there — or one of the many that claim to hold the title. When she unboxed the Plank and let it expand, her first impression was that it didn’t feel all that firm, and that it was even a bit squishy. But after a few weeks of sleeping on the ultrafirm side — “To be honest, I wasn’t even interested in trying the less-firm side,” she says — Kitchens nonetheless ranked it was the firmest memory-foam mattresses she’d ever laid down on.According to Kitchens, the Plank is not what the average firm-mattress-averse person might expect: This is not a rigid futon with no give. The initial squishiness she felt is actually part of the design and makes it appealing for people like her who might roll from side to side — no compressed shoulders in the morning.Where this impressively firm mattress really shines is when you’re lying on your back, Kitchens says. The foam doesn’t just fill in around the contours of your body, it puffs you up on top of it with your weight evenly dispersed. She describes the feeling of lying on it as “neutral spine” — similar to lying on the floor at the end of yoga class in Savasana, when the curvatures of your spine are all in alignment., with GOTS-certified organic cotton and Talalay latex. Each mattress has a flippable design, so you can choose a firm or firmer side. The company told me that the firmness of the models differs, but in general the Plank Firm, the style we tested, is its firmest option.Want to be emailed about sales and other updates to your saved products?, the Strategist’s sleep writer who has tested over 50 mattresses in my career. I’m a back and side sleeper who prefers a softer mattress.As a fan of softer mattresses, this Zinus Original Green Tea mattress was not a great fit for me . However, my partner actually loved the Original Green Tea; he even said he felt less neck pain, and as if his spine were better aligned, after we switched to this bed. He is a textbook combination sleeper and reported feeling comfortable in all three main sleeping positions, including on his side.It’s not especially easy to find a decent queen-size mattress for under $500. For those who like a firmer feel, this mattress is a really good value.Prior to testing this mattress, I had been sleeping on an ultracushy memory-foam mattress; the firmer Zinus was quite a change, as it doesn’t have much give. However, it’s not as firm as some other super-firm beds I’ve tried, such as the Plank . After a couple of weeks on the Original Green Tea, I started to feel more comfortable when lying on my back, but it still felt too firm for side sleeping — my shoulder felt jammed.The materials of the Original Green Tea also feel a little cheap to me, so I suspect this bed may not be super-durable in the long run.The least expensive mattress Zinus offers, the Original Green Tea is made of three layers of CertiPUR-U.S.-certified foams. According to the federal-law tag, the ratio is about 80 percent polyurethane foam to 20 percent memory foam . Zinus says its foam is infused with green tea to help “maintain freshness.” The mattress is covered with a polyester-knit cover that Zinus says should not be removed and is not washable, though I did notice mine had a zipper on the bottom of the cover.Zinus advertises its Original Green Tea mattress as soft and pressure-relieving, but I disagree — I think it’s pretty firm, and the foam didn’t conform around my body very much. I’d rank it as a 7.5 on a firmness scale of one to ten where one is soft and ten is firm.Although it’s pricey, the Tempur-LuxeBreeze is one of the most effective cooling mattresses I’ve tried — with a unique feel that’s, the Strategist’s sleep writer who has tested over 50 mattresses in my career. I’m a back and side sleeper who prefers a softer mattress.Cooling features are obviously a major selling point for a mattress with “breeze” in the name, and in my experience, the Tempur-LuxeBreeze succeeds here. In addition to cooling foams inside the mattress, the Tempur-LuxeBreeze has a cooling cover made from a blend of polyester, polyethylene, spandex, and nylon, according to the tag. Every time I lay down on the mattress, I noticed the cover’s coolness — even through my. And while that initial sensation would eventually fade, it usually lasted a good hour or so and was effective enough that I rarely overheated. Only on the hottest days of my two-month testing period did I ever get toasty. My partner, Sam, even noted that on chillier nights, he occasionally feltThough I knew Tempur-Pedic is renowned for its signature memory-foam formula, I didn’t expect this mattress to feel so very different from other memory-foam mattresses I’ve tried. The Tempur-LuxeBreeze was quite firm when I first lay down on it — normal for a memory-foam mattress — but rather than immediately making an impression in the foam, Islowly sank in, almost as if the foam were “melting” beneath me. It happened so gradually it was almost imperceptible until I got up and saw the deep impression where my body had been. This super-slow, melty characteristic allowed the foam to contour around me so precisely I felt as if I were floating.As a back and side sleeper, I was extremely comfortable on the Tempur-LuxeBreeze. On my back, my shoulders could sink in slightly for pressure relief, while the foam provided support for my lower back by filling the slight gap between me and the bed. On my side, I did feel some slight pressure buildup around my shoulders — a common issue for me — but was very comfortable overall. Thanks to the way the foam cradled his joints, Sam told me our time testing this mattress was the best he’d ever felt while sleeping on his side.The cover of the Tempur-LuxeBreeze can be partially removed for cleaning, which is not common but extremely convenient. There’s a zipper along the perimeter of the mattress ; once unzipped, the top portion of the cover comes off and can be thrown in the washing machine. You can’t take off the entire cover, so I still recommend using aIf I could spend the rest of my days sleeping on this mattress, I probably would. However, the cost is prohibitive; I personally can’t imagine spending almost $6,000 on a mattress. Given the unique feel and effective cooling plus the high-quality construction, I think the Tempur-LuxeBreeze is worth the price — but that certainly doesn’t make it affordable.The Tempur-LuxeBreeze is built from two memory-foam layers over a base of polyurethane support foam. According to the tag, the mattress is 61 percent. The top memory-foam layer is Tempur-Pedic’s proprietary Pure Cool Plus material, a foam the brand says is designed to “pull heat away from the body.” The second is Tempur-Pedic’s Ventilated Advanced Relief material, which is described as pressure relieving with increased ventilation for cooling. The cover is a blend of polyester, polyethylene, spandex, and nylon.The all-foam version of the Tempur-LuxeBreeze comes in soft and firm variations; there’s also a medium hybrid version with coils. I tested the soft model, and while it’s great for pressure relief, I wouldn’t exactly call it. It’s difficult to classify as the mattress feels firm at first before you sink into the foam. Even then, it’s not plush or squishy like many other “soft” mattresses. I think medium to medium-firm would be the most accurate way to label the Tempur-LuxeBreeze, with the caveat that it allows for deep contouring and pressure relief — you’ll definitely sink in rather than remaining “on top” of this one.Free shipping to 48 states; shipping to Hawaii and Alaska for an additional charge; white-glove delivery for $200With a unique construction and materials, Purple’s mattress is well suited to those who sleep hot — and those who want contouring without the “swallowing” feel of memory foam., the Strategist’s sleep writer who has tested over 50 mattresses in my career. I’m a back and side sleeper who prefers a softer mattress.I was surprised by how consistently cool the Purple mattress feels. It doesn’t initially feel as chilly as a mattress within the cover, but its coolness seems to last longer. Every time I lay down on the mattress, I could feel air flowing through the gridded top layer when I moved around — almost like little puffs coming through the top. In the few months I spent sleeping on the Purple, I frequently felt cold in bed, even when the weather was fairly warm. Of the cooling mattresses I’ve tested, this is among the more impressive for maintaining a consistently cool temperature.Purple’s signature gridded top layer gives this mattress a unique feel. While I didn’t experience the “floating” sensation I’d heard about from others, I definitely noticed how jellylike the mattress felt. It’s similar to the squishiness of a soft memory foam with the bounciness of springs — like latex but more flexible than most latex I’ve tried. You can feel the grid through the cover, which is weird at first but not off-putting to me.After spending a couple of months sleeping on Purple’s unique grid layer, I came away with the impression that it functions similarly to a soft memory foam in the way the mattress contours around your body. But compared with memory foam, the grid felt considerably less stiff — it’s flexible and has a much quicker bounce-back time than memory foam. It cradled my shoulders, hips, and back very comfortably. For those who need some pressure relief but don’t love foam, the flexy grid of the Purple may be the right middle ground.The Purple mattress is just over nine inches tall, which is pretty thin . For many people, this may not be an issue, but it does make me concerned about how supportive it will be in the long term — with a thinner mattress, any sagging from wear and tear over time will be more noticeable. It also means there is literally less material supporting you; when I sit down on the mattress, if I land with much force, I’ll actually sink through and hit the hard frame beneath. This doesn’t happen when I’m sleeping, but it makes me worry about how well this mattress would work for heavier people. would also require a second person, Kitchens says.The Zenhaven is a ten-inch-tall dual-sided latex mattress. It’s topped with an organic-cotton cover, padded with GOTS-certified organic New Zealand wool , and has layers of vented GOLS-certified organic natural latex for airflow and a supportive latex core. There are no petroleum-based foams, pesticides, heavy metals, or fiberglass in the construction. The Zenhaven is eco-Institut and Greenguard certified, and there was no off-gas smell.On a scale from 1 to 10, the softer side, Luxury Plush, is ranked 4 to 5; the firmer side, Gentle Firm, is a 7 to 8.Free shipping to 48 states; $250 shipping to Alaska and Hawaii; white-glove delivery and old-mattress removal for $199 in most statesLewis says that at first, the Nectar seemed almost too firm to the touch. “When I plopped down on a corner, it had nearly no bounce at all. But when I curled up to go to sleep, it was surprisingly enveloping,” she says. The mattress has just the right amount of give, Lewis says, in that it’s comfortable for her to move around on, but she doesn’t feel anyone else moving around.For the first time ever, Lewis says she didn’t wake up every time her dog flopped or fidgeted throughout the night.Lewis says her worries about the memory foam making her overheat never came to fruition. She had been skeptical about how effective the cooling gel in the foam would be but was pleasantly surprised. “While I still woke up with stress dreams, I never once woke up with sweat-soaked sheets,” Lewis says.Lewis found the Nectar to be quite firm, though the company rates it as a “just-right” 6.5 on a scale of one to ten, where one is soft and ten is firm.Even without springs, this mattress offered enough support to alleviate back pain, and despite its memory foam, it never caused overheating., Strategist senior editor and a back-to-side sleeper, who frequently deals with back pain. Kitchens also edits the Strategist’s bedding coverage and is our resident firm-mattress connoisseur.Kitchens says the Cocoon Chill was every bit as firm as the innerspring-coil mattress she had slept on for years, but the memory foam hugged her in a way that made her lower back feel particularly supported. “Imagine two open palms gently lifting up your sacrum area,” Kitchens says. There was no hip-sinking feeling — rather, “the foam filled in the areas around my lower spine that generally ache, making it feel like I was very much on top of the mattress,” she says. The first night, Kitchens says she doesn’t remember moving around all that much. The following morning, her usual roll-out-of-bed lower-back creakiness was gone.Kitchens says she has some very particular sleep issues: “I’ve had acupuncture and done physical therapy over the years to alleviate chronic back and neck soreness,” she says. Right before trying the Cocoon Chill, she had a new, specific bit of spinal pain. But much of that subsided after sleeping on the mattress. “Crawling into this bed at the end of the day gives me a floating yet hugged feeling that I find to be full-body relaxing,” Kitchens said.Memory foam can hold heat, and though it wasn’t a major issue on this mattress, Kitchens found herself cranking up the AC or opening a window more often than when sleeping on latex or a bed with coils.Cocoon Chill is Tempur-Sealy’s bed-in-a-box offering, and the mattress comes with a heat-dissipating knit cover. It has a pretty straightforward construction: layers conforming memory foam and “comfort foam” atop six inches of high-density foam for support. There is one firmness option, which Cocoon rates as a six out of ten on a firmness scale where one is soft and ten is firm.Our favorite less-expensive foam mattress overall, the Casper One, is also our favorite foam mattress for side sleepers because of the supportive-but-cushioning feel Aranita loves so much.beddingRight off the bat, Ro says the Tuft & Needle mattress felt substantial. The textured-fabric is plush, and when she pressed her open hand down on the mattress it bounced back with a friendly rebound. “Lying on the Tuft & Needle for the first time, I immediately felt embraced,” Ro says.When Ro slept on her back, she says she felt simultaneously supported and cocooned, and when she turned to her side, the transition felt natural. Tuft & Needle describes its in-house Adaptive Foam as soft and comfy while still being bouncy and supportive, and Ro agrees with that assessment. “My husband really likes it, and he’s a back and stomach sleeper whose temperature runs a little hotter than mine,” she adds.Ultimately Ro decided to get a firmer mattress with springs, but she has kept the Tuft & Needle Original in her guest room for a few years now. In that time, she had a friend who stayed with her for several months report that it was very comfortable, and other guests who’ve slept on it have asked what mattress it is. Still, for her it is too soft and squishy to sleep on every night.The Tuft & Needle Original has just two layers of material: a seven-inch support layer of dense foam as the base and a three-inch top comfort layer of proprietary Adaptive Foam infused with a “cooling gel” and graphite to help regulate your body temperature. The mattress’s simplicity helps explain its lower price.Tuft & Needle says the mattress has a “medium firm” feel, though Ro says she would put it on the softer side of medium.Not every mattress we test earns a spot in our guides. Here, I’ll explain why some popular mattresses didn’t quite meet our expectations.Tempur-Pedic’s most and least expensive mattresses . The Tempur-Cloud is the latter, though it is still significantly more expensive than many of the mattresses reviewed above. That’s part of why it didn’t earn a spot on this list — it’s a perfectly adequate mattress, but I don’t see much reason for it to cost $2,000 for a queen . I was comfortable sleeping on my back but didn’t feel much pressure relief on my side — that’s disappointing for a memory-foam mattress. If you can get the Tempur-Cloud for a few hundred dollars less , it’s a a good option for back sleepers or those who like a medium feel with some cushioning. Otherwise, you can save some money and still get a great mattress by choosing one of our other picks above.is designed to surface the most useful, expert recommendations for things to buy across the vast e-commerce landscape. Some of our latest conquests include the bestThe 65 Best Nordstrom Spring Sale Deals to Shop Before TonightYou’re in!
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