There are many reasons you might be looking for the best affordable mattress: Maybe you’re on a tight budget but you still want a good night’s sleep. Maybe you’re looking to furnish a guest room, an Airbnb, or even to trick out a camper van. No matter the reason, there’s no need to compromise on comfort, as most top-rated mattress brands offer high-quality memory foam and hybrid mattresses at lower prices than their top of the line models. They might have fewer frills—you might not find a temperature-regulating layer or multizonal support—but they’re all made with quality materials and have features like multiple layers of memory foam, gel-infused cooling layers, and motion transfer control.

Below, you’ll find the best affordable mattresses grouped into three price points (based on a standard queen size): Under $500 for the most budget-conscious, under $800 for those looking for some premium features, and under $1,000 for those looking for entry-level upgrades from D2C favorites like Casper and Tuft & Needle. Many of these high-quality mattresses include sleep trials, 10-year warranties, and free shipping, but be sure to check the fine print before hitting that checkout button.

Our Top Picks for the Best Affordable Mattresses:

• Best Overall Affordable Mattress: The Nectar Memory Foam Mattress, $649
• Best Affordable Mattress for Side Sleepers: The DreamCloud Hybrid Mattress, $665
• Best Affordable Hybrid Mattress: The Allswell Supreme Hybrid Mattress, $487
• Best Affordable for Back Sleepers: Zinus Green Tea Memory Foam Mattress, $399
• Best Affordable Mattress for Pressure Relief: Nolah Original Mattress, $942

Best Mattresses Under $500 | Best Mattresses Under $800 | Best Mattresses Under $1,000 | More AD-Approved Affordable Mattresses | How We Test | FAQs

The Allswell Supreme Hybrid Mattress

Hot sleepers, this one’s for you: Our social media manager Rebecca Grambone has this mattress in her space and can’t stop raving about its cooling technology. She notes that it “actively draws and releases excess heat away from your body through the cooling top cover and copper foam.” Aside from its breathability, she also points to its comfortable feel. While she said it took some time for it to feel more comfortable, she says it now offers a supportive and cozy feel to catch some z’s. Grambone’s verdict: “I would say that this mattress is a middle ground mattress. It’s not too plush but not too hard—it’s just right!”

Zinus Green Tea Memory Foam Mattress

Zinus’s popular memory foam mattress has green tea extract infused into its top layer to maintain freshness. Two additional layers—a high-density foam base foundation and a plush middle layer—combine to create a supportive mattress that cradles your body and offers head-to-toe pressure relief. The mattress is available in varying levels of thickness (6-, 8-, 10-, and 12-inch), with the increasing thicknesses distributed across each layer. (And if you’re looking for a bed frame for your new mattress, look no further than the Zinus Linda Wood Platform, one of the best sleep products we tested in 2022.)

[Editor’s note: You may have read recently that Zinus mattresses contain fiberglass, a common fire retardant that may irritate the skin or cause respiratory issues. Zinus notes that the mattress cover should never be removed and the Consumer Product Safety Commission stated that fiberglass exposure shouldn’t be an issue to users if the cover is left on, but we’ll keep you updated if any further news develops.]

Serta EZ Tote Mattress

Serta’s Arctic mattress is one of our favorite models for hot sleepers (read our full review here), but at over $3,000 for a queen, it’s not exactly cheap. If you’re looking for a more affordable mattress from the trusted brand, consider the EZ Tote, where the same size costs $649. It features Serta’s cooling gel memory foam that promotes airflow and a foam core that offers edge-to-edge support, as well as a transitional foam layer for added comfort. Reviewers describe it as having a medium firmness level and enough motion support that you won’t feel your partner move around or get up. And in terms of ease of delivery, it’s packaged in Serta’s smallest box ever, so you don’t have to plan your day around a mattress delivery.

The Nectar Memory Foam Mattress

The Nectar mattress is one of our top picks for side sleepers, as tested and reviewed by senior features editor Nick Mafi. “It felt like my body weight sunk into the mattress at just the right level of comfort,” he wrote. It’s also a great mattress for hot sleepers, featuring a two-inch layer of pressure-relieving gel foam that runs cooler than traditional memory foam, as well as a breathable top cooling layer that prevents overheating. Mafi found the medium-firm mattress to be comfortable and supportive not only for sleeping, but when sitting near the head of the bed to read as well.

Cocoon by Sealy Chill Mattress

Another great option for hot sleepers, the Cocoon Chill memory foam mattress features a stretch-knit cover designed to absorb and dissipate heat. Contributor Cade Hiser found the memory foam to be firmer than expected based on what the site said when he reviewed it. He quickly got used to (and loved) it, finding that the layers adjusted to his sleeping position. (Read his review here.) The all-foam mattress has a 10-inch profile and ensures motion protection, so you won’t feel your partner or your dogs move around at night.

Leesa Studio Mattress

While Leesa mattresses tend to get priced a little higher, their softer mattress, the Studio, stands out as a budget-friendly option for anyone looking for an affordable foam model—though commerce editor Audrey Lee reported you wouldn’t know that because of how high quality it is. “The mattress has three layers of foam that hug your body in a way that’s ultra-supportive while providing excellent pressure relief to boot,” she says. “I tend to move around in my sleep, ultimately landing on my side, so in addition to solid motion isolation, the Studio’s all-foam construction supplies a nice amount of give without being too soft for my taste.”

DreamCloud Hybrid Mattress

The DreamCloud Luxury Hybrid Mattress is a great mattress-in-a-box, and another great affordable mattress option for side sleepers. It’s made of seven layers, including five types of memory foam that provide pressure-relieving, contouring support. It offers the reduced motion transfer and improved airflow of a hybrid mattress thanks to eight and a half inches of innerspring steel coils, as well as edge support from thicker coils. Our tester, market director Madeline O’Malley found its feel to be “a great middle ground between firm and soft,” noting that though it’s bouncy, she didn’t sink in too much while sleeping. If you’re looking for a mattress that feels more luxurious than its price tag suggests, this is a great buy. Nicely, it also comes with a lifetime warranty.

Burrow Lyric Hybrid Mattress

For those who like a firm mattress, don’t overlook Burrow’s hybrid bed. Contributor Rachel Davies mentions that it’s pretty firm, but it is designed with pocketed coils, several foam layers, and targeted support zones to help cater to any sleep position. If the mattress feels a little stiff at first, Davies recommends giving it some time. “This mattress has gotten more comfortable as I’ve slept on it, but even at peak stiffness it was never really uncomfortable and I could always fall asleep (I think it took about a week or two to fully adjust),” they say.

Brooklyn Bedding Ecosleep Mattress

Described as a mattress that “excels in terms of movement isolation” by visuals editor Lizzie Soufleris, this affordable bed is a great pick for couples with different sleep patterns. While it might not come with features like a cooling cover, the mattress itself is flippable to offer a medium-firm to firm feel on either side. “I tend to stay away from squishier mattresses, so I opted for the firm side,” Soufleris says. “It provided plenty of support while still feeling plush thanks to a layer of latex over the coils.” She notes that it might not be ideal for sleepers who like lying on ultra-firm mattresses, but she thinks the range it offers is still a unique offering to consider.

Tuft & Needle Original Mattress

The Tuft & Needle Original Mattress is another foam mattress that feels more high-end than its price tag suggests (though a queen size is hovering just under $1,000). It has a firm, supportive core and a softer memory foam layer that contours to your body. Reviewer Elise Portale has had it for over four years and still finds it to be as springy and supportive as it was the first night. And if you’re looking for a cooling mattress, the T&N Original has a graphite and cooling gel-infused layers to ensure even air flow.

The Allswell Hybrid Mattress

This Allswell mattress has three key features: a cooling memory foam top layer with graphite and copper gel that absorbs your body’s heat, an extra-supportive base layer with pocketed coils, and a quilted top panel. This is a quality mattress for anyone who wants the durability of a traditional coiled mattress with the cushiness of memory foam. It’s noticeably less expensive than similar foam and hybrid models from Casper and Tuft & Needle, but reviewers say that the high-quality and price combination can’t be beat.

Wayfair Sleep 12" Plush Hybrid Mattress

Wayfair’s hybrid mattress from its bed-in-a-box line has all of the essentials: a gel memory foam top layer and two firm poly foam layers on top of a coil base, all resting on a high-density base foam. The top foam layers have a cushioned but supportive feel, while the innerspring layer ensures low motion transfer and durability. At less than $450 for a queen, it’s one of the best cheap mattresses you can buy.

Signature Design by Ashley Chime 12" Medium Firm Memory Foam Mattress

This medium-firm bed from Ashley Home marries the softness of a memory foam bed with the support of an innerspring mattress. It has 680 individually wrapped coils to make sure you feel cradled from head to toe (great for back sleepers), plus a plush memory foam top layer that feels soft enough for stomach sleepers.

Tuft & Needle Nod Hybrid Mattress

Here's a nice, more luxe hybrid option from Tuft & Needle. It's a stellar option for anyone dwelling in a cooler climate or those among us who love to feel warm and swaddled night after night. It features a layer of pressure-relieving memory foam, plus a layer of six-inch coils to support anyone with muscle soreness, back pain, or other everyday aches and pains. The Nod Hybrid has a medium-soft feel and is constructed with special high-density foam to reduce motion transfer.

Nolah Original Mattress

The Nolah 10-inch mattress has a four-layer construction consisting of a soft and crisp Tencel cover and three foam layers. The top foam layer is made of the brand’s proprietary AirFoam material, which is designed to offer better pressure point relief than standard memory foam. The mattress falls in the middle of the firmness scale; reviewers find it to be plush but firm enough to offer substantial shoulder and hip support for side sleepers.

From our favorite mattresses-in-a-box to beds for side sleepers, AD editors thoroughly test items across the sleep category on a rolling basis. For our affordable mattress reviews, our testers gave each new mattress a trial run of at least a couple weeks of consistent sleep to assess their qualities.

These are the factors we look for when testing the best affordable mattresses:

• Firmness: Our editors tested each mattress based on their firmness preferences, ranging from soft, medium, and firm. Some of our team members tried out mattresses that offered different firmness levels on either side of the mattress, which is ideal for shoppers who like to customize their sleep setup.
• Thickness: Most of the mattresses in our list averaged a 10” thickness. Oftentimes, this allows for several layers of materials, like memory foam base or layer of encased coils.
• Sizes available: We look for options that offer a variety of sizes to fit our needs and those of fellow shoppers. We included picks that start in a twin size and reach up to a California king size for any bedroom.
• Return policy: So you can properly assess the mattress that’s best for you, we chose options that have industry-leading return policies—some offering up to one-year return policies.

When searching for an affordable mattress, there are plenty of routes you can take to fit your sleep needs. Here are the most common to parse through:

• Materials: The most common materials to look for include memory foam, hybrid, and innerspring. Here’s what to know about each:
• Sleep Style: Opt for a mattress that’s well suited for different body types and sleep positions. For example, if you’re a side sleeper, you’ll likely want to choose a mattress that’s soft to help relieve pressure along your shoulders and hips.
• Breathability: Shoppers—especially hot sleepers—should look for materials like cotton covers that offer sweat-wicking qualities.

Memory foam: This material type is usually more affordable since it doesn’t cost as much as encased coils and is easy to compress in a mattress-in-a-box for streamlined shipping. Memory foam is ideal for side sleepers who like a cozy feel around their hips and shoulders, like we note below.

Hybrid: Hybrid mattresses are a combination between coils and foam. This is ideal for sleepers who like more support and spinal alignment, like back sleepers.

Innerspring: Innerspring is a traditional mattress type with encased coils and a firm feel, which is usually a great fit for stomach sleepers.

Are Affordable Mattresses Worth It?

Yes! Don’t let the price tag fool you: Many affordable mattresses boast quality materials like memory foam and steel innerspring coils and a comfortable feel for a good night’s sleep.

How Much Should I Pay for an Affordable Mattress?

Affordable mattresses typically start around $250 and reach up to $1,000. The price point you choose is largely based on your preference. Keep in mind that the special mattress features, like a pillow top or cooling cover, might make the price point higher.

How Long Does an Affordable Mattress Last?

Any quality mattress should last for about seven years, and the same goes for an affordable bed. To extend its lifespan and make it even more comfortable, shop for items like a mattress protector and mattress topper that will help ward off stains and give it a plush feel.

What Should I Avoid When Looking for an Affordable Mattress?

Affordable mattresses that do not have certifications like GOLS, GOTS, Oeko-Tex, GreenGuard, or Made Safe are good to avoid, as this illustrates a lack of organic materials and manufacturing processes.

To complete your sleep setup, check out more bedroom essentials below:

• The Best Mattress Toppers That Take Comfort to Another Level: From cooling to plush picks, shop this extra bedding layer for a snug night’s sleep.
• The Best Comforters for a Good Night’s Sleep: Satisfy your REM cycle with our editors’ selection of warm comforters.
• The Best Platform Beds Are a Big Boost for Your Sleep Setup: Give your mattress the throne it deserves.
• The Best Bed Sheets Feel Like a Dream Come True: Find your bliss between layers of cooling cotton, breezy linen, or silky-smooth sateen.
• The Best Pillows on Amazon for Perfecting Your REM Cycle: You won’t want to hit snooze on these AD-approved picks.
• 13 Best Quilts and Coverlets, Tested and Reviewed by Our Editors: From thick cotton to lightweight linen, here are some of the finest layers to keep you warm year-round.