Shopping for the best budget mattress online can be a challenge, especially when looking for an affordable yet comfortable and durable bed. Lucky for you, we’ve tested over 175 of the most popular online mattresses ranging from under $300 beds to $4,000 luxury mattresses. As such, we feel like we have a good grasp of the current market offerings and which budget beds offer the most value to consumers. Whether you’re after a firm mattress or the best value available, we’ve done the hard work, so you don’t have to.
Top 8 Best Cheap Mattresses Of 2021
- Best Cheap Memory Foam Mattress :NectarStarting at $898 Shop Now
- Editor’s Choice :Bear MattressStarting at $695 Shop Now
- Best Budget Hybrid Mattress :Brooklyn Bedding Bowery HybridStarting at $549 Shop Now
- Best Cheap Comfortable Mattress :Casper ElementStarting at $395 Shop Now
- Cheapest Mattress-in-a-Box :Tuft Needle OriginalStarting at $645 Shop Now
- Best Firmer Cheap Mattress :AllswellStarting at $265 Shop Now
- Best Value Mattress on Amazon :Lucid 10 Memory Foam HybridStarting at $220 Shop Now
- Best Cheap Cooling Mattress :Cocoon by Sealy ChillStarting at $600 Shop Now
Compare Best Cheap Mattresses
Best Cheap Memory Foam Mattress
Why Nectar wins as best cheap memory foam mattress
Nectar is one of the most popular budget mattresses in a box on the market. It’s an annual choice on this list for a good reason—it’s a solid memory foam bed. Unlike some inexpensive memory foam mattresses, Nectar has more of a viscous memory foam feel. As such, it provides more support than the typical memory foam bed, yet it is still a comfortable mattress.
Nectar’s best features
- Not only is this an affordable memory foam mattress, you almost always get two free pillows ($150 value) with your purchase. If you recently moved or you’re just tired of your current bedroom setup and have a tight budget, the Nectar mattress plus pillow combination deal is hard to pass up.
- We think it’s around a medium to medium-firm on the firmness scale, which is great for almost all sleeper types (especially back and stomach sleepers).
- The company often offers discounts in the $100 range.
Why we picked this bed
Overall, we think that Nectar is an excellent value and best for those who love a slow-responding, hugging memory foam mattresses. A Nectar bed will go for about $700 for the queen, plus some sort of accessory. For the king mattress, it’s affordable as well, and we usually see it go for around $1,000.
Editor’s Choice
Why Bear wins as our editor’s choice
Sometimes the word “cheap” is tied to the connotation of “bad-quality.” While that doesn’t ring true for any of the beds on this list, Bear Mattress is one of the highest-quality foam beds offered online, and it’s sold at an extremely reasonable price.
Bear’s best features
- The flagship Bear Mattress is 10” thick with a dense memory foam comfort layer and a special Celliant cover that is supposed to boost your sleep quality and revitalize you by utilizing infrared energy. While we don’t have a scientific method to prove it works, we do think it’s a nice perk. Plus, it’s comfortable and accommodating for folks who like memory foam without the “stuck-in-the-mud” feel.
- On our scale from soft to firm, we rated Bear Mattress slightly firmer than a medium, or around a six out of ten on the numerical scale. It’s perfect for most sleeper types, especially back and stomach sleepers or combo sleepers who like to switch positions during the night.
- Now, let’s get to the price. A queen size will retail for about $800, but with the Slumber Yard’s discounts, you’ll get about 20% off (or more). As such, you’ll usually walk away with around $160 off.
Why we picked this bed
The Bear mattress is a comfy memory foam bed with the special added touch of a Celliant-infused cover. Not only is it from a quality brand we trust, but it’s offered at a great value. If you’re a back, stomach, or combo sleeper under 230 lbs who enjoys the dense feel of memory foam, this is a great pick. We also appreciate their range of options, so folks who want more support can purchase an affordable hybrid mattress instead.
BEST BUDGET HYBRID MATTRESS
Why Brooklyn Bedding Bowery wins as best budget hybrid mattress
For those unfamiliar with Brooklyn Bedding, the company makes its own mattresses, unlike most online mattress-in-a-box brands.We think the Bowery Hybrid mattress is a good choice for people of all shapes and sizes looking for a good cheap mattress.
Bowery Hybrid’s best features
- Bowery Hybrid is a firm mattress with a neutral-foam feel—technically, it lands around a medium-firm on the firmness scale.
- We think the mattress is ideal for back, stomach and combination sleepers. However, if you’re a strict side sleeper over 230 lbs, you’ll likely be fine.
- One of the more affordable hybrid mattresses we’ve tested because the brand owns their own manufacturing factories, cutting out costs of the middle-man.
Why we picked this bed
If you’re looking for the best affordable mattress you can find, this bed qualifies. The queen-size Bowery Hybrid mattress has an MSRP of $800; however, you can often use a discount code to make the mattress even cheaper. We’ve seen the queen size drop to around $650 before. That’s crazy considering the high-quality construction, making it one of the best value mattresses. Bottom line, if you’re looking for a comfy, well-made hybrid mattress for one of the lowest prices possible, it’s hard to find a better option than Bowery Hybrid.
Best Cheap Comfy Mattress
The Element is Casper’s budget-tier mattress, made with two layers of foam. We think it’s incredibly comfortable, especially for the price.
Why Casper wins as best cheap comfy mattress
We are big fans of this bed. Casper first introduced the Element in early 2020 to compete in the budget mattress space. It checks a lot of boxes and is essentially a cheaper alternative to the popular Casper mattress.
Casper’s best features
- The Element has a soft, neutral-foam feel that most people will really enjoy, and rates about a medium on the firmness scale.
- Not only will the majority of people out there like the bed’s feel, but it will also accommodate all sleeper types.
- The Element finds a nice balance between pressure relief and support and should be a comfortable mattress for most people.
Why we picked this bed
The Element is on this list for a reason. The mattress limits motion transfer exceptionally well, which is helpful when one (or both) partners tend to toss and turn or get up a lot during the night. It also doesn’t make you feel “stuck” when you switch positions like some memory foam might. Overall, the Element is a value mattress-in-a-box, considering all that it offers and the sizes you can get for the price. As of writing this, the king-size was roughly around $800 on Casper.com, making Casper one of the best affordable king mattresses.
Cheapest Mattress-in-a-Box
Tuft & Needle is quite possibly the most popular budget mattress online. The original bed is comfortable and accommodates all types of sleepers.
Why Tuft & Needle wins as cheapest mattress-in-a-box
Tuft & Needle was one of the first major players in the mattress-in-a-box industry alongside Casper and is often credited for bringing the concept into the mainstream spotlight. This gave the company a huge leg up in terms of brand awareness. Still, to this day, Tuft & Needle is sort of known as THE budget mattress in the online industry.
Tuft & Needle’s best features
- The Tuft & Needle mattress is an all-foam bed that has a neutral, soft foam feel.
- It comes in around a medium on the firmness scale, making it an excellent option for back, stomach, side and combo sleepers. There is a good chance that you will consider this the most comfortable, affordable mattress.
- Like most of the beds on this list, Tuft & Needle also performs well in limiting motion transfer and edge support. That means couples sharing a queen-size bed (or smaller one) will be fine.
Why we picked this bed
Overall, Tuft & Needle is a solid mattress we couldn’t leave off this list. If you’re tired of mattress shopping and just want to go with a trusted brand and get a generally comfortable mattress that performs well in almost all categories, Tuft & Needle is your meal ticket. After all, this mattress very well could be the best cheap foam mattress. Last we checked, the queen mattress was about $895, but visit T&N’s website for current deals.
BEST CHEAP FIRM BED
The Allswell from Walmart is a hybrid mattress that sells for a surprisingly low price, which of course, is very on-brand for the company who stresses affordability.
Why Allswell wins as best affordable firm mattress
Often, a hybrid mattress will come out to be more expensive than a foam mattress like Casper or Nectar. Allswell, on the other hand, offers additional support with a firm hybrid design (innerspring and foam) for a low price, making it one of the best budget mattresses.
Allswell’s best features
- Allswell is Walmart’s online mattress offering, so it’s not a huge surprise that it has such a wallet-friendly price tag.
- The mattress can save you money and still offer you comfort and durability.
- The mattress is suitable for all body types including sleepers over 230 lbs, and thanks to its slightly firmer profile, it’s a more ideal affordable mattress for back and stomach sleepers.
Why we picked this bed
The Allswell mattress offers the best of both foam and innerspring beds. It’s firm without being overly supportive, and it provides a comfortable neutral-foam feel most people seem to love. Additionally, it supports all body and sleeper types. We don’t think you can go wrong with this reasonably priced mattress.
Best Value Mattress on Amazon
Why Lucid Memory Foam Hybrid wins as best value mattress on Amazon
Like the Bowery Hybrid mattress, the Lucid Memory Foam Hybrid incorporates both coils and layers of foam. This makes it a good option for heavier people (250 lbs+) looking for the best budget hybrid mattress. It is truly an excellent value for all that the bed offers, and you can easily get this brand from Amazon.
Lucid’s best features
- The feel of the mattress is similar to a blend between memory foam and neutral foam.
- Overall, we think most people out there will find the bed to be a comfortable, inexpensive mattress.
- The bed comes in around a medium on the firmness scale, making it great for all kinds of sleepers. It provides enough pressure relief for side sleepers and support for back and stomach sleepers.
Why we picked this bed
Lucid is a brand known for providing solid beds at low price points, and this mattress is no exception. You can often find a queen size below the $300 mark, but pricing is constantly changing, so keep an eye on Amazon. Despite being a hybrid mattress, this is also a fairly inexpensive bed with a comfortable memory foam feel. We think memory foam lovers of all sizes will be happy with it!
Best Cheap Cooling Mattress
Why Cocoon Chill wins as best cheap cooling mattress
Sealy is one of the most popular mattress brands in the sleep industry, not just the online market. Cocoon Chill is their cooling bed in a box mattress, and it has a 10” all-foam construction and a dense memory foam feel. Not to mention it contains cooling tech to help hot sleepers feel more comfortable.
Cocoon Chill’s best features
- The trick to the bed’s cooling is its phase-change cover, which absorbs your body heat and disperses it away from your body. We also think it’s a bit cool-to-the-touch, so you can tell it’s a cooling bed right away.
- We rated this mattress around a medium to medium-firm, so it’s ideal for back, stomach, and combo sleepers.
- We also recommend this bed to sleepers under 230 lbs, but they offer a hybrid mattress that’s built to be more supportive, and it’s easy on your wallet.
Why we picked this bed
Cooling beds tend to be on the more expensive side because of the extra time and labor required to design a mattress with effective cooling technology. On the other hand, Cocoon by Sealy managed to make an affordable cooling mattress for hot sleepers. Price-wise, the queen-size Cocoon Chill mattress retails around $1,080. Though, with additional promotions and deals, it’s usually around 35% off.
How To Pick Quality Cheap Mattresses
When you’re looking for an inexpensive mattress, you do need to consider other elements beyond just the price. The materials will make a big difference in how good your bed is, affecting durability and quality of sleep. You don’t want to end up with a mattress that you have to replace too soon or change because you can’t get comfortable in it.
If you have 100 to 365 nights to test out whether you like a bed for most of these online brands, why not try it? If you hate it, you can always return it. But if you like it, that’s money well saved. Just remember that value is distinct from price.
There are plenty of fantastic budget mattress brands, but some of our favorites are Bear, Nectar, Casper, Leesa, and Tuft & Needle.
If you’re on a tight budget, you should be able to get a really nice bed for $700 or less (queen size).
You might, as some bed in a box mattress brands have showrooms or are available in retailers around the country. To make it easier to find, brands like Nectar, Purple, Casper, Brooklyn Bedding, Bear and Tuft & Needle have store locator tools on their websites.
It depends on the person, but most people (90%) are “combination sleepers” meaning they rotate positions. As such, the “medium” firmness is the most popular.
If you’re buying a cheap mattress, you want to make sure it has the CertiPUR-US certification. This guarantees that the foams used in the bed don’t contain harmful chemicals.
That depends on the person asking. If you’re under 130 lbs, you can get away with just about any mattress thickness you want. Those around 130 lbs to 230 lbs may wish to consider a mattress at least 10” thick, and those who are over 230 lbs should look into thick hybrid mattresses. In general, the more you weigh, the thicker you want your bed to be. Though, anyone can sleep on a thick mattress, whether you’re more petite or heavy-set.
Good news. Nearly all online mattress brands offer 100% free returns if you live in the contiguous United States.
Why Trust Us
Get the kind of sleep you’ve only dreamed of with some help from our team of mattress experts. We personally test more than 175 of the best sleep solutions from over 60 leading brands on site, so you can be sure you’re getting unbiased reviews, fair comparisons and personalized recommendations.
