The Best Mattresses In The World: A Buyer Guide

Here are a few quick check boxes that we run all our mattresses by to see if they’re up to standard:

This is so obvious we almost didn’t include it. But we did, just in case…

Comfort is the most important factor when it comes to the best mattresses. You can buy the most high-tech supportive mattress in the world, but if you don’t find it comfortable, it will have been a waste of money.

Of course, it’s hard to discern how comfortable a mattress is when you’re simply looking at a photo of it online — so you need to take note of where it falls on the comfort scale.

The three main categories are plush, medium-firm and firm, on a scale of 1-10. Most mattresses are found somewhere between 3 and 7-8.

If you know that you love that soft, floating on a cloud feeling, don’t go for a firm mattress. Similarly, if you’re looking for robust support, a plush mattress probably isn’t going to work for you.

If you’re not sure where your loyalties lie on the comfort scale, fear not — just take advantage of the trial period and see whether it works for you.

Some mattresses also come in a ‘universal comfort’ configuration so these are good ones to go for if you’re not sure what you want.

After comfort, support is the most important factor in finding the best mattress.

This is particularly important if you suffer from a bad back, or general aches and pains after sleeping.

A supportive mattress will usually be expertly engineered with multiple layers designed to correctly align your spine and neck, and ease any pressure points.

Memory foam is known for its supportive benefits and is often the main component in the best mattress for back pain.

Having a cool mattress that stays cool the whole night long is very important for some sleepers.

If you live in a hot climate, or if you tend to sweat during the night, you need a cooling mattress.

These products will usually be gel infused, and should be engineered for the most breathability and air flow possible.

Look out for cooling mattresses that come with a moisture-wicking cover — this should ensure that any sweat isn’t absorbed into the mattress, keeping it fresh for years to come.

Memory foam is known to be something of a heat trapping material while latex is lauded for its cooling benefits.

We’ve already spoken about how some mattresses are gel-infused for cooling purposes. Well, we’ve tested out enough mattresses now to know that ‘infusions’ are the new trend in mattress technology.

Many of these herbal infusions are designed to keep the mattress fresh and odor free, as well as to promote sound sleep.

Some of the infusions to look out for include green tea, lavender and charcoal.

If you or your partner suffer from sensitive skin, a hypoallergenic mattress is likely on your list of non-negotiables.

There’s nothing worse than spending a night on an expensive, comfortable mattress only to wake up itching and scratching because you’re allergic to one of the materials in it.

Most hypoallergenic mattresses are made from natural latex.

Some people love feeling their body sink deep into a mattress, but others want to feel a little resistance.

If that’s you, you should look out for mattresses that advertises ‘bounce’.

Not only is bounce good for sex, it’s also a great quality for sleepers who want to be able to get in and out of bed easily.

The Resort Sleep truly is an affordable mattress, and one of the best on the market to boot. We would have paid plenty more for it!

It boasts all the comfort and supportive benefits of memory foam while also managing to stay cool all through the night — something that even much more expensive mattresses haven’t managed to do.

Pros

Cons

We love latex mattresses but they generally come with a much higher price tag than we’d like.

Not the Best 2 Rest, however — this is a latex and memory foam hybrid that’s celebrated for it’s exquisite support and bountiful comfort while still being at an affordable price.

There are 3 layers: organic latex, cooling gel memory foam and high density support foam.

Pros

Cons

We honestly can’t say enough good things about the Nectar mattress.

Not only is it our pick for the best memory foam mattress, but it may well be overall the best mattress of 2020.

It’s insanely comfortable, with a total of 5 expertly engineered layers, including a tencel cooling cover, quilted gel memory foam and adaptive hi core memory foam as well.

It’s also cool and supportive — and what’s more, incredibly affordable.

Pros

Cons

The Brentwood Home Cypress Gel Mattress is a very popular memory foam mattress thanks to its low price and great reviews.

In terms of comfort, it’s almost unparalleled at this price point — we’ve heard people favorably compare it to the much more expensive TempurPedic mattresses. It’s also admirably supportive and engineered to ease aches, pains and pressure points, thanks to its quadruple layer technology.

Pros

Cons

The Perfect Cloud Lavender Bliss is another low-cost high quality memory foam mattress that’s making waves in the sleep hacking industry.

Setting it apart from its competitors, it’s beautifully designed with a wonderful lavender infusion that’s designed to help you fall asleep quicker and easier than ever.

It tends towards the plush side of medium and truly does feel as though you’re floating on a cloud as you lay down.

Pros

Cons

We love the Brooklyn Bedding mattress and agree that it could well be the #BestMattressEver!

This is one of those rare foam mattresses that’s better than most memory foams — it’s been intelligently engineered to take the best features of memory foam and elevate them, while minimizing the downside.

Their TitanFlex foam is made with open cell material and thermal titanium beads, resulting in a mattress that’s comfortable, supportive, cool and equipped with some much needed bounce. It’s a unicorn mattress!

Pros

Cons

The Tuft & Needle mattress is a real start-up success story.

Made with their unique T&N adaptive foam, they’ve created a mattress that combines the best of memory foam and latex into a universally comfortable design.

They are proudly headquartered in Phoenix and their mattresses all made in the USA — no wonder they’re so damn popular

Pros

Cons

The Eight Pod mattress gets a lot of press because it has a ‘smart’ component to it — the Eight Sleep Tracker can be bought to pair with it, which covers the mattress, tracking your sleeping patterns, changes the temperature and measures your sleep stats.

But the mattress itself is also worth writing home about: it’s incredibly comfortable and has a ‘bounces like latex, feels like foam’ texture, which we love.

Pros

Cons

The Lucid mattress is a major hit amongst consumers thanks to its latex composition and relative low price.

But most importantly, it’s genuinely comfortable — relieves any pressure points you may have, pleasingly responsive and impressively supportive.

It’s CertiPUR-US certified and very well ventilated so it doesn’t get too hot and sweaty, regardless of the temperature outside.

Pros

Cons

Nest are known for their excellent quality mattresses, and the Q3 Natural Latex mattress is no different.

It’s been constructed to feel ‘just right’ — the perfect combination of comfort and support — and it won’t break the bank either.

Sleepers with bad backs may be particularly interested in this mattress — it’s been designed to achieve spine neutral support.

Pros

Cons

In our opinion, the Helix Mattress is a likely contender for the best mattress of 2020, nevermind just the best hybrid mattress.

It’s truly expertly engineered to provide you with a personalized sleeping experience that’s perfect for your wants and needs. Before you buy, you’ll need to take the Helix sleep test, which will take account of your preferences in feel, support, temperature regulation and point elasticity.

With your answers, it will design the perfect mattress for you, deliver it within 4-8 business days and all for a very reasonable price.

Pros

Cons

The TEMPUR-Adapt is the first TEMPURpedic mattress to grace our list, despite the fact that the company is known for its innovative and excellent mattresses. The fact is that they’re very expensive, and rarely much better than the best mattresses at more reasonable price points.

But this is an incredible hybrid mattress that we had to include: its comfort and support levels are almost unrivalled, with the Tempur-Support material making for an incredibly fast response to your body.

It also keeps cool all night thanks to the premium knit technology and stays fresh thanks to the moisture wicking material of the cover.

Pros

Cons

The Aviya is a hybrid mattress with a slew of excellent reviews — probably thanks to the company’s marketing of, “A $2,000 mattress for less than $1,000”!

It’s another luxury mattress, handcrafted in the USA, that’s designed to hit the mark on both comfort and support. It is on the firm side, so opt for the ‘plush’ firmness option if you prefer a softer night’s sleep.

Also, unlike some of the best mattresses on this list, the Aviya has excellent support all the way to its edges. They’ve surrounded the sides with 3 inches of extra foam to ensure that you can sleep edge to edge.

Pros

Cons

The Nolah Mattress is making waves in the sleep hacking industry right now for being the best mattress for back pain.

It’s also just generally one of the best mattresses of 2020. Made from Nolah AirFoam, it’s a superior alternative to both memory foam and latex, able to provide 4x less pressure on the hips, shoulders and back, sleeps cooler, and is more durable.

Another thing we love about Nolah is that they adopt a wildlife animal for every mattress they sell — and you can actually choose the animal!

Pros

Cons