Sick of Your Too-Firm Mattress? Get One of These Cloud-Soft Toppers Instead

Melanie Yates
·9 min read
Photo credit: Getty Images
Photo credit: Getty Images


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If you've tried everything to get better sleep, but you're still waking up groggy, and in pain, it might be time to start looking for a new mattress. But, we get it — it's a big investment and can feel like a waste if your current one is only a few years old.

Thankfully, mattress toppers can provide a solution, so you can keep your current mattress and only spend a fraction on a brand-new feel for it. Layering on a mattress topper can help make the surface of your bed feel cushier, firmer, more contoured, or cooler in no time.

The Best Mattress Toppers

What to Consider

There are plenty of user-beloved mattress toppers on the market that can help you save money on a bedding upgrade while improving your sleep comfort. There are just a couple of things to keep in mind before you buy:

Material Choices

Mattress toppers are usually made of memory foam, though a few are filled with down-alternative fibers for more of a pillowtop texture. Memory-foam mattress toppers provide a contoured, body-hugging feel without the pushback that inner springs or a rock-hard surface can sometimes cause.

However, foam is a heat-retaining material, so it's a good idea to look for cooling elements and airflow features in your mattress topper. If you are not a very hot sleeper and you have the ability to temperature-control your bedroom, you're a good candidate for a memory-foam mattress topper.

Fiber-filled mattress toppers are lighter and airier than foam, but they may not drastically change the surface of your mattress. If you just need a little extra softness and you're not a fan of foam, these are a great choice.

Thickness

Fiber-filled mattress toppers tend to be on the thin side, barely exceeding 1.5 inches. On the other hand, memory-foam mattress toppers can be as thick as 4 or 5 inches, adding significant height and a completely transformed feel to a bed. This thickness can be great if you like a tall mattress, but keep in mind that you may have trouble getting your fitted sheets around it if they have shallow pockets.

No matter your budget or how you sleep, our mattress toppers guide brings you the best options for getting a much comfier night's rest.

Reviewer Favorite

  • Starting price: $125

  • Available sizes: Twin through California king

If you’re stuck with a mattress that's too firm for your liking, for the time being, this 3-inch-thick, user-favorite foam topper can help layer on a little relief. Comprised of flexible, high-density memory foam, it offers side sleepers extra support and much-needed relief from too-stiff joints. Many reviewers have deemed it the best mattress topper out there and love it for its soft feel that offers substantial support.

This mattress topper's infused gel is meant to add a cooling element to the surface, though this feature may not be as effective as other models on this list. However, its removable outer layer and elastic corner straps help to make it a seamless bedding addition.

Best Budget Buy

  • Starting price: $40

  • Available sizes: Twin through California king

For those who don’t love the “sinking feeling” that comes with some memory-foam models, this one offers a reasonable 2 inches of padding with just enough cushion to keep you comfortable. It combines the plushness of memory foam with the cooling factor of temperature-regulating gel, so you won't easily overheat in the warmer months. It'll keep you well within budget for other bedding upgrades, too!

Best for Extra Support

  • Starting price: $70

  • Available sizes: Twin through California king

This mattress topper from Lucid is pleasurably plush, and it's one that really sinks the sleeper into a comfortable yet supported sleep position. Though memory foam tends to retain warmth, this one combines cooling gel material with a ventilated construction to wick away the heat.

Because of the added 4-inch height, you may need to opt for sheets with deeper pockets or size up to prevent corners from slipping off in the night … but it’s a small price to pay for that rested and rejuvenated feeling.

Best for Temperature Regulation

  • Starting price: $37

  • Available sizes: Twin through California king

Instead of one flat surface, this unique memory-foam topper is comprised of five distinct zones that are differently textured to give specialized contouring to your body. Its ridges also provide added air circulation, making this non-ventilated model still a good choice for hot sleepers.

It’s also infused with a lavender scent that, right out of the package, smells pretty strong but mellows significantly over the first few weeks of use. Users tout its low loft and soft feel as being major plusses.

Best Flippable Topper

  • Starting price: $270

  • Available sizes: Queen and king

If you know you need the support of foam, but you're just not sure what level of firmness is right for you, check out the Coop Home Goods mattress topper. This 4-inch-thick topper is made to be flipped so that you can pick between a softer or firmer level of foam. Many reviewers, particularly those who cite body aches and back pain, tout that this topper was just what their mattress needed for that extra level of comfort. Some do say that it retains heat, though.

In addition to adding substantial cushiness to your current mattress, the brand also bundles its waterproof mattress protector with it! If you don't already own a mattress protector, this sweetens the deal, so you don't have to spend extra on a separate product.

Best Cooling Topper

  • Starting price: $399

  • Available sizes: Twin through California king

Finding a cooling memory-foam mattress topper is no longer an impossibility — this 3-inch-thick pick from TEMPUR-Pedic proves that. While it is an investment, it's the next best thing to a new mattress. The proprietary TEMPUR foam is soft and highly adaptive, so if you're used to memory foam feeling like quicksand, rest assured that this will make you feel like you're floating, not sinking.

The cooling element comes from its cool-to-the-touch cover, and reviewers say that it transfers effectively to the body, even through sheets. Users who are traveling ICU nurses, surgery patients, or those simply living with a too-firm, too-short mattress all tout this topper for providing unmatched comfort.

Best Texture

  • Starting price: $199

  • Available sizes: Twin through California king

A new memory-foam mattress topper will undoubtedly be an upgrade to your bed, but you may not love their muddled foam texture that's easily felt beneath your sheets. Eliminate this issue altogether with Layla's 2-inch-thick Copper Mattress Topper. Its smooth cover enhances the texture of your bed surface, which will make it feel more natural and less like an obvious add-on.

The foam of this topper is on the softer side, yet it's still supportive. It also has something that other toppers don't: copper cells that are infused within its foam core. Copper is antimicrobial in nature, adept at killing bacteria caused by skin cells, sweat, and other environmental allergens. This addition to the material is meant to help prevent the mattress topper from becoming a hotbed for germs.

Best Cushioned Mattress Pad

  • Starting price: $35

  • Available sizes: Twin through California king

While it's not a true mattress topper, a mattress pad is a far more affordable alternative that offers enhanced comfort and protection against dust mites, sweat, and spills. It's essentially a cross between a fiber-filled topper and a mattress protector.

This reviewer-favorite, quilted baffle-box mattress pad provides an extra 1.5 inches of cushion to your mattress surface. It helps to soften up a surface that is not quite as comfortable as you'd like it to be without transforming the feel. It is also machine-washable, so you can toss it in the wash to keep it as fresh and allergen-free as possible. Users adore how cool this one feels, and although it isn't super thick, its puffiness can be revived by tossing it in the dryer.

Best Foam-and-Fiber Topper

  • Starting price: $80

  • Available sizes: Twin through California king

This mattress topper is comprised of a 2-inch-thick baffle-box-stitched outer shell that encases 2 inches of cooling-gel-infused memory foam. The down-alternative fiberfill top layer lends a smoother feeling to the surface of the bed, while its stitching keeps it from clumping up and degrading.

Each of the two layers can be used independently if needed, but when combined, it grants users a cushy and smooth yet comfortably firm sleep surface. It's ideal for sleepers who need loft but aren't married to the idea of a memory-foam foundation.

Best Fiber-Fill Topper

  • Starting price: $169

  • Available sizes: Twin through California king

Because of its lighter and more malleable material, this microfiber-filled mattress topper from Parachute doesn't completely override the feeling of the mattress underneath. Rather, the sleeper can still enjoy the mattress' support level while enjoying increased softness from this added foundational layer.

The piece features cushy baffle-box stitching, along with a dual-chamber design, which keeps the fill lofty and securely in place. Parachute also has a down-feather mattress topper with the same construction if you want to further upgrade the feel.

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