HOW WE DECIDED
Mattresses Reviewed 150+
Brands 60+
Made the List 4
Number of Contributors 7
In this post, we give you tips on how to choose the right bed for your small space, whether that’s in the corner of your parents’ garage or your first apartment. In this review, we discuss our list of the top-rated beds for small bedrooms and apartments.
Buying a new mattress can often be a bit of a headache. There are a lot of details to consider—everything from what size and materials to what level of firmness and edge support. And now that mattress shopping is increasingly becoming an online endeavor, it can be even more of a struggle because you can’t actually try a bed without buying it and having it shipped to your front porch. That’s why we’re here! Keep reading to learn more about the best beds for small rooms.
5 Best Mattresses for Studio Apartments
- Best Foam Mattress :Casper ElementStarting at $495 Shop Now
- Best Memory Foam Mattress :Leesa StudioStarting at $499 Shop Now
- Best Hybrid Mattress :Brooklyn Bedding SignatureStarting at $599 Shop Now
- Best Firm Mattress :Cocoon by Sealy ChillStarting at $769 Shop Now
- Best Cheap Mattress :AllswellStarting at $279 Shop Now
Compare Best Mattresses for Small Spaces
Best Foam Mattress
Why Casper Element wins as best foam mattress
The all-foam Casper Element is a budget-tier mattress from one of the original bed-in-a-box brands, offering both comfort and affordability. It’s soft and accommodating and even features a layer of Casper’s AirScape foam, which is perforated to allow more airflow than traditional foam. It’s a safe, affordable, and comfortable bed pick.
Casper Element’s best features
- Comfortable neutral-foam feel that a majority of sleepers will appreciate
- Viable choice for all sleeping positions, including back, side, and stomach sleepers
- Low price point means it’s a great pick for budget shoppers
Why we picked this bed
If you’re short on space and budget, the Casper Element should be on your list as the best type of bed for studio apartment living. This mattress delivers a solid mix of value, comfort, and support — all from one of the biggest names in the industry.
Best Memory Foam Mattress
Why Leesa Studio wins as best memory foam mattress
Everything about the Leesa Studio makes it a great fit for this best mattress for studio apartment list — even its name. It’s the most affordable bed from the Leesa brand, featuring a three-layer memory foam construction that cradles your body. If you’re looking for a memory foam bed for your studio apartment, make sure the Leesa Studio is on your list.
Leesa Studio’s best features
- Medium firmness and light memory foam feel that slightly conforms to your shape
- Offers pressure relief and support, making it suitable for all sleeper styles
- Affordable price means that it won’t break the bank
Why we picked this bed
Just because you’re shopping for beds for small rooms or studio apartments doesn’t mean you should settle for an uncomfortable bed that you don’t like. With the Leesa Studio, you’ll get that contouring memory foam feeling without the big price tag of the more notable memory foam brands.
Best Hybrid Mattress
Why Brooklyn Bedding Signature Hybrid wins as best hybrid mattress
The Brooklyn Bedding Signature Hybrid bed is one of the best value-for-the-money mattresses on the market. As a hybrid bed, it’s better suited than all-foam beds to handle heavier folks, thanks to a durable layer of pocketed coils. It’s also extremely comfortable, responsive and suitable for a range of sleeping positions.
Brooklyn Bedding Signature Hybrid’s best features
- Three firmness levels to pick from (Soft, Medium, and Firm) so all sleeping positions can find their ideal mattress
- Pocketed coils offer more support than all-foam mattresses so it’s suitable for all body types
- Includes Brooklyn Bedding’s proprietary TitanFlex Comfort foam that’s soft yet responsive
Why we picked this bed
You’d expect a hybrid mattress like the Brooklyn Bedding Signature Hybrid to come with a massive price tag, but since BB manufactures and ships its own beds, they’re able to pass the savings along to their customers. Simply put, it’s an all-around comfortable and durable bed that is hard to dislike.
Best Firm Mattress
Why Cocoon Chill wins as best firm mattress
Cocoon Chill by Sealy is a cooling mattress, which has a cover that is infused with their proprietary phase change material to help absorb and disperse your body heat. In terms of firmness levels, we think it’s in between medium and medium-firm, meaning that it offers good support without being overly firm.
Cocoon Chill’s best features
- Dense, memory foam feel that will appeal to lovers of traditional memory foam
- One of the most affordable cooling mattresses on the market
- Firmness level makes it a great option for back, stomach, and combo sleepers
Why we picked this bed
If you prefer a slightly firmer bed or tend to sleep hot, we think that Cocoon Chill should earn your consideration. It offers the perks of memory foam without being overly hot, which can be an issue with other memory foam beds.
Best Cheap Mattress
Why Allswell wins as best cheap mattress
This is a hybrid bed from a brand owned by Walmart that incorporates both coils and foam. The reason it made the list is due to the fact that it’s (a) really affordable, (b) durable, (c) comfortable, and (d) one of the easiest coil beds to move (good for people living in an apartment). We really have been impressed with this mattress, and we think it will be a great option for people on a limited budget.
Allswell’s best features
- MSRP of a queen size bed is under $400, before any discounts or deals
- Ideal for all sleeper types (side, back, stomach, combo) and body types (small, medium, and large)
- Pocketed coils offer durability and increased airflow
Why we picked this bed
Overall, we really have been impressed with this mattress, and we think it will be a great option for anyone on a limited budget. With the Allswell, you get quite a bit for not a lot of money, making it the best type of bed for studio apartment living.
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.
The Review Team
Mattress Construction Types
Mattresses come in two basic construction types (plus gel, but that’s far less common). There are all-foam beds and hybrid beds.
All-foam beds are exactly what they sound like—all foam. They vary in the number of layers and types of foam used, which means despite them all being all-foam, they still come in different feels and levels of firmness. Here’s our list of the best memory foam mattresses and best latex mattresses.
Hybrid beds incorporate both foam and coils. Again, the layers and materials vary from bed to bed. They usually have a more bouncy feel that’s similar to the traditional innerspring feel. Here’s our list of the best hybrid/spring mattresses.
Small Mattress Sizes and Edge Support
I’m sure you’re familiar with the size range of mattresses: twin, twin XL, full, queen, king, and California king.
Not all companies produce the full range of sizes, though, so be sure to double-check what’s available before getting your heart set on a certain mattress.
This is common sense, but when you’re shopping for a small space, you don’t want to get an overly large bed. When it comes to beds for studio apartments, you’ll want to stick to a full or smaller, most likely. You might be able to get away with a queen, but my guess is that you’ll be trading a practical amount of living space for a slightly larger bed, and it might not be worth it.
Edge support is an important feature to consider when you’re buying a smaller-sized bed. Especially if you’re a couple planning to share a full, for example. You want to be sure you’re getting as much usable space as possible. Good edge support is a necessary part of that equation. Without decent edge support, laying on the outside inches of the bed will make you feel like you’re about to roll right off. Good edge support, though, means you’ll be able to sleep right up to the edge without getting woken up to that awful falling sensation.
How Weight Affects Mattress Feel
How a mattress feels to you is largely dependent on the materials incorporated and how it’s constructed, but it’s also affected quite a bit by your body. In general, the heavier you are, the softer a bed feels, and vice versa.
You should keep that in mind when you’re reading descriptions of feel and firmness on a company’s website. They use a general scale, so if you’re a heavier individual, say 225 lb+, or a petite individual, say under 125 lb, you’ll want to evaluate those scales with a grain of salt.
If you and your partner have a significant size difference, you’ll want to find something in the middle, but it’s also not unreasonable to cater more towards the heavier person since lighter people tend to find a larger range of firmness levels to be comfortable.
Caring For Your Apartment Mattress
Once you’ve picked out your new mattress, you want to make sure it lasts as long as possible, right? There are steps you can take to make sure it does.
First off, you should consult the company’s information on how often or if you should be rotating or flipping your bed. You should also check out the cleaning instructions. Most mattresses have non-removable covers, which means you can’t just toss them in a washing machine. And even if you can remove the cover, they’re rarely machine washable. For most beds, you’ll need to spot clean if you have a spill situation.
Spot cleaning, while maybe not the most convenient or thorough, is pretty easy. You just need warm water with a little detergent. Use a washcloth to dab at the stain. If it’s a wet stain, use a dry towel to soak up as much liquid as you can before spot cleaning.
Shipping, Returns, Warranties, and Trial Periods
The bed-in-a-box industry has some fairly standard policies in regards to shipping and warranties and the like, and because they’re standard, there isn’t really a reason for you to settle for anything less.
You can expect free shipping, a 100-night risk-free trial period, free returns and full refunds if you don’t like the mattress, and a 10-year warranty if you do.
Of course, not every company has the same terms, so it’s important that you check their website for their specifics. Some companies will offer longer trial periods, for example, and warranties often have all sorts of fine print that you ought to be aware of.
FAQS
For a studio apartment, you should think about a full or queen size mattress. Any larger and your overall space will be limited.
If you’re sharing a queen or full size bed with a partner, you want to make sure that the bed has strong edge support (i.e., it doesn’t compress excessively along the perimeter).
You need to handwash certain beds, but others will come with machine washable covers. Perhaps the best idea is to get a mattress protector. These are usually 100% waterproof and still quite breathable.
You can expect free shipping, a 100-night risk-free trial period, free returns and full refunds if you don’t like the mattress, and a 10-year warranty if you do.
It just depends on what you’re looking for. If you’re interested in a budget-friendly mattress, check out the Tuft & Needle bed. If you want something with a totally unique feel, explore Purple’s range of mattresses, which are made with their patented Hyper-Elastic Polymer.
The easiest way to hide a bed in your studio apartment is by adding a divider between your bed and the rest of the room. There are a number of objects you can use as a divider, including bookcases, folding screens, or dressers.
Yes, platform beds are the perfect solution to create more storage and a less cluttered look in your studio apartment. You can learn more about different types of bed frames in this article, or you can check out our platform bed reviews (here’s our take on the Zinus Lottie).