Give your Sleep an Instant Upgrade With the Best Mattress You Can Buy Online

Jillian Mueller
·12 min read
Best Online Mattresses
Best Online Mattresses

Getty Images

Best luxury

hellogiggles - 1574 Available at Saatva

Best customizable

hellogiggles - 1099 Available at Helix

Best value

hellogiggles - 1298 Available at Nectar

Best memory foam

hellogiggles - 1099 Available at Leesa

Best innerspring

hellogiggles - 1799 Available at WindBeds

Best hybrid

hellogiggles - 1995 Available at Bear

Best for side sleepers

hellogiggles - 1199 Available at Purple

Best for back pain

hellogiggles - 1095 Available at Casper

Best cheap online mattress

hellogiggles - 895 Available at Tuft & Needle

Best latex

hellogiggles - 1499 Available at Avocado

Best for stomach sleepers

hellogiggles - 1239 Available at Cocoon

Buying a mattress online may seem a little daunting at first. But once you see how easy purchasing a new bed from home can be, you'll never want to go to a mattress store again. The best online mattress brands offer high-quality beds at an affordable price, ship them right to your door, and often throw in discounts and freebies with your purchase. Just be sure to consider policies like sleep trial, warranty, and shipping and returns, so you can buy with confidence.

To say there's a lot of mattresses to choose from online is an understatement. To put you at ease, the testing pros at Mattress Advisor selected the best of the best and put them to the test to help you pick out your new online mattress.

Our recommendations:

What to consider before adding to cart

Sleep trial

Most online mattresses come with a risk-free trial period, so you can sleep on your new bed and still return it for free (or at a low cost) if it isn't the one for you. It takes up to 30 days to break in a mattress and see if it works for your sleep style, so make sure to take advantage of the full trial period before making any final decisions about your new mattress.

Warranty

A mattress warranty is a promise from the company to refund or replace your mattress if it has any physical defects outside of normal wear and tear within a certain time period. The length of a warranty is a good way to gauge the quality of a mattress, so look for a bed with at least a five- or 10-year warranty to make sure that you won't have any issues with your mattress in the near future.

Shipping and returns

When it comes to mailing, most online mattress brands compress mattresses into compact boxes that can be carried through narrow doorways and hallways. If you need extra help getting your mattress inside, some companies will move the mattress into your bedroom for you and remove your old bed for an additional fee. Many will even sweeten your shopping experience by offering free or low-cost shipping options and lenient return policies.

Foundations

Choosing the right mattress foundation for your new bed will help increase its comfort and durability. Box springs are the most popular mattress foundation and offer sturdy support, but they won't be supportive enough for some memory foam beds. Slatted platforms, meanwhile. offer increased support for heavier mattresses while also allowing you to use the space underneath the bed for storage.

The 11 best online mattresses

Best luxury: Saatva Classic

The Saatva Classic mattress has luxe perks that will have you waking up like royalty each morning. This hybrid mattress is made of organic cotton and wool, two layers of coils, and a Euro-style pillow top—all wrapped in a cozy cashmere cover. And as far as online mattresses go, it's one of the most durable. Mattress Advisor testers scored it a perfect 10 out of 10 in durability thanks to its sturdy dual innerspring coil system. This supportive base also makes it a good choice for sleepers with back pain; testers told HelloGiggles that the Saatva kept their spines in near-perfect alignment, helping it earn another perfect score in this category. Saatva also pampers you with free white glove delivery; deliverers will remove your old bed and set up your new mattress right in your bedroom.

  • Mattress type: Hybrid (foam and coils)

  • Mattress Advisor score: 9.3/10

  • Firmness: Plush soft (3/10), luxury firm (6/10), and firm (8/10)

  • Trial period for returns: 180 nights

SHOP IT $1,574, saatva.com

mattresses
mattresses

Best customizable: Helix Midnight

Helix is an online mattress brand known for its versatility. Customers can choose from seven mattresses, all set at different firmness levels and constructed from alternating combinations of coils and foams. To get a customized fit, Helix offers a quiz that allows you to input information like your sleep position, height, and preferred feel in order to match you with your ideal bed.

The Helix Midnight mattress is the brand's most popular model, achieving high test scores for spine alignment, motion isolation, responsiveness, and pressure relief. This makes it an especially great fit for side sleepers—Mattress Advisor testers told HelloGiggles this hybrid mattress cushioned their sides and kept pressure off their joints, helping it earn a 8.5/10 in pressure relief. Plus, the coils help break up any heat retained by the foam layers, making this bed a good choice for hot sleepers, too (it earned a 8/10 in cooling).

  • Mattress type: Hybrid (foam and coils)

  • Mattress Advisor score: 8.9/10

  • Firmness: Medium (5.5/10)

  • Trial period for returns: 100 nights

SHOP IT $1,099, helixsleep.com

mattresses
mattresses

Best value: Nectar

The Nectar mattress proves that a top-of-the-line mattress doesn't have to break the bank. This cooling gel memory foam mattress earned high scores of 8.5/10 for both pressure relief and responsiveness—plus, it has edge support that prevents the bed from sagging over time. The Nectar mattress also comes with a 365-night sleep trial period and a lifetime warranty. Not that you'll necessarily need it—Mattress Advisor testers were so impressed with the Nectar's high-density foam base that they scored this bed a 8.5/10 for durability.

  • Mattress type: Memory foam

  • Mattress Advisor score: 8.7/10

  • Firmness: Medium-firm (6/10)

  • Trial period for returns: 365 nights

SHOP IT $1,298, nectarsleep.com

mattresses
mattresses

Best memory foam: Leesa Original

The Leesa Original mattress has a medium-firm feel that's well suited for side, back, and stomach sleepers. It received top scores across the board in testing thanks to its ultra-responsive foam that provides pressure relief and deep cradling, without making you feel stuck. In fact, Mattress Advisor testers found that this memory foam bed not only excelled at pressure relief but also kept testers resting in a healthy, supported posture, earning it a 9/10 in this category. And if you want a guilt-free online purchase, the Leesa mattress is the way to go, as the company donates one mattress for every 10 purchased, plants one tree for every mattress sale, and donates all returned mattresses. Happy shopping!

  • Mattress type: Memory foam

  • Mattress Advisor score: 9.3/10

  • Firmness: Medium-firm (6/10)

  • Trial period for returns: 100 nights

SHOP IT $1,099, leesa.com

Mattress Lifestyle Photos
Mattress Lifestyle Photos

Best innerspring: WinkBed

If you love the bouncy feel of an innerspring mattress but want a more luxurious upgrade, check out the luxury fim WinkBed. This mattress combines two rows of springy, responsive coils with a high-quality gel foam layer, all topped with a quilted cooling pillow top. These materials also help with temperature regulation, scoring an 8/10 for cooling during expert testing. The WinkBed mattress comes in four firmness options, ranging from soft to extra firm, so you can find a perfect firmness level for you. And for those who toss and turn at night, the responsive coils of this mattress will help you transition positions effortlessly—Mattress Advisor testers told HelloGiggles that this bed's springy feel helped them quickly roll into their next position.

  • Mattress type: Hybrid (foam and coils)

  • Mattress Advisor score: 8.6/10

  • Firmness: Soft (4.5/10), luxury firm (6.5/10), firm (7.5/10), and plus (8/10)

  • Trial period for returns: 120 nights

SHOP IT $1,799, winkbeds.com

mattresses
mattresses

Best hybrid: Bear Hybrid

If you can't decide which mattress type you like best, a hybrid mattress is the way to go. The Bear Hybrid mattress is made with five unique layers of coils and foam to create a cozy sleeping surface that helps with spine alignment and pressure relief. The coils firmly support your spine to prevent back pain while the foam gently fills in around your curves, delivering much-needed relief from aches and pains. Mattress Advisor testers were so impressed with this bed's ability to keep their back in a neutral posture that they awarded it a near-perfect 9.5/10 for spine alignment. Plus, this durable bed will also help keep you cool; the coils allow airflow and a layer of gel foam moves body heat away from the top of the bed as you snooze.

  • Mattress type: Hybrid (foam and coils)

  • Mattress Advisor score: 9/10

  • Firmness: Medium-firm (6.5/10)

  • Trial period for returns: 100 nights

SHOP IT $1,995, bearmattress.com

mattresses
mattresses

Best for side sleepers: Purple

Side sleepers need the perfect balance of support and cushioning to avoid waking up with aches and pains. That's where the Purple mattress delivers. A unique grid-shaped layer of comfort foam at the top of the bed gently supports your pressure points while keeping the spine lifted. The effectiveness of this unique design shows in the Purple's high marks in both spine alignment and pressure relief—9.5/10 and 8.5/10, respectively—which are key categories for side sleepers looking for a restful night's sleep. Mattress Advisor testers told HelloGiggles that the combination of the supportive grid with the soft foam layers up top left them with a weightless feeling they loved. This grid design also allows air to flow through the bed to keep you cool all night long.

  • Mattress type: Hybrid (hyper-elastic polymer grid and foam)

  • Mattress Advisor score: 8.4/10

  • Firmness: Medium-firm (6.5/10)

  • Trial period for returns: 100 nights

SHOP IT $1,199, purple.com

mattresses
mattresses

Best for back pain: Casper Original

The Casper Original mattress is an all-foam bed that features a lumbar support layer designed with a healthy spine in mind. This layer is built with three zones that provide firm support under the shoulders, spine, and hips while softening around pressure points to keep your spine in a healthy, neutral alignment. The top layer of the Casper Original quickly responds to movement to keep your back supported no matter how much you move around at night, which helped it earn a perfect 10 out of 10 from Mattress Advisor testers in this category.

  • Mattress type: Memory foam

  • Mattress Advisor score: 9.1/10

  • Firmness: Medium-firm (6/10)

  • Trial period for returns: 100 nights

SHOP IT $1,095, casper.com

mattresses
mattresses

Best cheap online mattress: Tuft & Needle Original

You generally can find good deals on bed-in-a-box mattresses, but the Tuft & Needle Original mattress is an exceptional steal. This gel foam mattress performed so well on the motion transfer test that it earned an impressive 9/10 for motion isolation, so you can sleep undisturbed even if your partner tosses and turns. Plus, thanks to its high marks of 8.5/10 in spine alignment, sleepers of all positions can rest supported. The Tuft & Needle Original mattress is under $900 for a queen-size bed and comes with a 10-year warranty.

  • Mattress type: Foam blend

  • Mattress Advisor score: 8.7/10

  • Firmness: Medium-firm (6/10)

  • Trial period for returns: 100 nights

SHOP IT $895, tuftandneedle.com

mattresses
mattresses

Best latex: Avocado Green

The Avocado Green mattress is an eco-friendly hybrid bed that combines the durable pressure relief of latex with a row of extra-responsive innerspring coils. This mattress is made with breathable, hypoallergenic, and organic materials, and it earned a near-perfect score of 9.5/10 in the review team's spine alignment test. The durable bed is also highly responsive to movement, thanks to its bouncy latex and springy innerspring coils. Because of this combo, the Avocado earned high marks in responsiveness in the testing lab, making it a good fit for combination sleepers who switch positions frequently at night. It is also backed up with a 25-year warranty.

  • Mattress type: Hybrid (natural latex and innerspring)

  • Mattress Advisor score: 8.5/10

  • Firmness: Medium-firm (6/10)

  • Trial period for returns: 365 nights

SHOP IT $1,499, avocadogreenmattress.com

mattresses
mattresses

Best for stomach sleepers: Cocoon Chill Memory Foam

Stomach sleepers sleep best on a firm mattress topped with a comfort layer that cushions areas that press into the mattress, like your shoulders. The Cocoon Chill mattress is a memory foam bed that provides the ideal balance of firm pushback on your midsection and plush contouring for your body's curves. It also earned a high spine alignment score of 9/10, which stomach sleepers need to prevent any back pain from sinking too far into bed. Plus, Mattress Advisor testers gave the Cocoon Chill high marks in both pressure relief and responsiveness, so stomach sleepers who flip to their sides can do so with ease, while also getting the relief and support they need.

  • Mattress type: Memory foam

  • Mattress Advisor score: 8.7/10

  • Firmness: Medium-firm (6/10)

  • Trial period for returns: 100 nights

SHOP IT $1,239, cocoonbysealy.com

mattresses
mattresses

Mattress Advisor's Review Process

Each mattress on this list was put to the test (literally) in Mattress Advisor's lab, which is located in Raleigh, North Carolina. Bedding experts spent over 1,200 hours evaluating and comparing mattresses using a 14-point testing methodology to find the best online mattresses.

While some of the factors tested are tied directly to performance, like responsiveness, edge support, and pressure relief, others are based around brand operations, such as customer service, shipping policies, and trial period. The Mattress Advisor team combines this proprietary methodology with in-depth interviews and customer experience to arrive at a weighted score out of 10.

Jillian Mueller is a writer for Mattress Advisor.