HOW WE DECIDED
Mattresses Reviewed 150+
Brands 60+
Made the List 6
Number of Contributors 8
Our List Of The Top Beds Under $1,000
There are a lot of mattresses to choose from these days thanks in large part to the rapid growth of the online bed-in-a-box industry. And while we clearly like more mattresses than the five or six we’ve included on this list, we had to draw the line somewhere. Therefore, we paid special attention to price for people on a constrained budget.
For the record, all of the beds on this list are under $1,000 after discount for a queen size, and some for the king size. If you’re not tethered to a specific budget, we’ve published dozens of other reviews. For the rest of you, here’s a look at our list of the best mattresses for under $1,000.
- Softer Option – Layla Sleep
- Best Memory Foam Mattress Under $1,000 – Nectar Sleep
- Great Airflow – Purple Mattress
- Best Hybrid Under $1,000 – BB Signature
- Best King Mattress – Tuft & Needle
- Custom Design – Helix Mattress
Now, just in case you aren’t too familiar with the advantages and disadvantages of purchasing an online mattress, here’s a quick overview. All of these beds come with completely free shipping.
They will typically all also come with a trial period where you can test the bed for yourself. If you don’t absolutely love your bed, you can usually get all of your money back as long as you’re within the trial period. Basically, all of these brands really want you to have the opportunity to try their mattress in-person and are willing to put up with the cost of returns because they’re so confident that you’ll be happy with your bed.
Additionally, you should expect your mattress to come with a 10-year warranty at minimum. Obviously, if it’s the cheapest mattress you can find, then the warranty won’t be 10 years, but that should be the minimum of what you’re looking for.
| AT A GLANCE | PRICING | HEADLINE | |
 | Memory Foam | $160 Off + Gift Code: RIZSLUMBER | Layla is a memory foam mattress that’s flippable and features a “Soft” and “Firm” side. |
 | Memory Foam | $100 Off + Gift Applied In Cart | Nectar could be the most popular memory foam mattress online. It’s affordable, comfortable, and usually comes with free pillows. |
 | Unique Popular Pick! | Free Gifts w/ Mattress Purchase | The Original Purple mattress is one of the most sought after beds online. It’s completely unique and is a great option for those that are interested in trying something new. It’s one of the only beds to feature Hyper-Elastic Polymer, a proprietary comfort material. |
 | Soft Foam | 25% Off Code: ANNIVERSARY25 | Brooklyn Bedding Signature is one of the best mattresses for the money online. It has pocketed coils, it’s made in the USA, comes in three firmness options, and sells for far less than you’d expect. |
 | Soft Foam Value Pick! | 15% Off Discount In Cart | Tuft & Needle is quite possibly the most popular budget mattress online. The bed is comfortable and accommodates all types of sleepers. |
 | Mixed Foam | $100 Off + Gift Code: SY100 | Helix Dusk is a hybrid mattress with a medium “feel” and added support for those with back issues. |
Different Types Of Mattresses
Chance are that you’ve heard of the most common materials used in mattresses, but you aren’t completely familiar with their relative advantages and disadvantages. We’re lucky in the sense that there are plenty of mattresses and mattress types to choose from nowadays, but making a decision can be hard given the marketing rhetoric from all of these brands.
It’s hard to know exactly what a bed is like without actually trying it in person. With that in mind, here’s even more information about the beds on this list. Just so you know, we have published a number of other mattress reviews on our website.
Of the dozens of mattresses we’ve tested, very few are doubled-sided and flippable, which is part of the reason that we like the Layla mattress so much—it’s unique, comfortable, and has a design we think most people will like. The bed combines poly foam and copper-infused memory foam for a light and airy memory foam feel. The bed also comes with a lifetime warranty, which is pretty rare in the industry.
It’s worth mentioning that there is no “main” side to the Layla mattress. It really just depends on your sleeping preferences. If you want a softer mattress with a fluffy memory foam feel, try out the “soft” side. It’s best for side sleepers that want a lot of pressure relief.
If you want a firmer mattress that’s in the medium to medium-firm range (good for all sleeping positions), try out the “firm” side. It will have less of a memory foam feel since the actual layer of memory foam on the “firm” side of the bed is only about 1″ thick. Also, keep in mind that all beds soften with use, so even though the “firm” side might be a touch too firm from the outset, it will soften after the first few weeks of sleeping on it.
In addition to having a really cool and unique look to it, the cover on the Layla mattress is extra soft. Apparently, Layla uses a special softening process, and you can tell. This is one of those covers that you don’t want to put sheets on because it looks so neat and is so comfortable.
- Free Shipping & Returns
- 120 Nights Trial Period
- Lifetime Warranty
- Made in USA
Nectar is one of the most popular foam mattresses online, partly because it’s really affordable and party because it’s really comfortable (assuming that you like memory foam, of course). Last time we were on Nectar’s website, the queen mattress was under $1,000—well under, in fact. It was about $700, post-discount, for the queen mattress.
The bed has what we consider to be a dense memory foam feel. As you lay down, the surface of the bed feels firm at first but then after a few seconds, you’ll notice the top memory foam layers start to contour and conform to your body’s curves and pressure points.
Overall, we think the mattress comes in around a medium to medium-firm on the soft-to-firm scale and is good for all types of sleepers. The Nectar mattress provides a good amount of support for an all-foam bed (back and stomach sleepers will like that) yet the memory foam top layers also do a good job of cradling your hips and shoulders (side sleepers will like that).
Lastly, the other really nice thing about Nectar (beyond the affordable price tag) is that you almost always get two free pillows with your purchase of a mattress.
- Free Shipping & Returns
- 365 Nights Trial Period
- Forever Warranty
Purple is one of the more unique beds available today. The big star of the show is a proprietary material that makes up the bed’s top layer—Hyper-Elastic Polymer. It was invented and patented by the founders of the company before they even dreamt up a mattress.
What makes Hyper-Elastic Polymer interesting is that it’s oddly supportive and pressure relieving at the same time, not to mention that it’s great for airflow, responsiveness, and motion isolation.
Having said that, since the bed is so unique, it tends to divide people a bit (even within our company). Some people love the material and others just find it too different.
Additionally, since the Original Purple mattress is only 10” thick and has a foam support core, it’s not really the most ideal option for heavier individuals in terms of long term support. Normally, I’d then add that you should look into the Purple Hybrid mattresses since those have coils, but they are also quite a bit more expensive—certainly above $1,000 for a queen size bed.
Bottom line with Purple is that we think it’s extremely comfortable with lots of advantages, but you have to be open to something completely new. As for pricing, the Original Purple is under $1,000 for the queen mattress when they are running promotions. Otherwise, it’s at the $1,100 mark.
- Free Shipping & Returns
- 100 Nights Trial Period
- 10 Years Warranty
- Made in USA
The Brooklyn Bedding Signature mattress is interesting for a number of reasons. Most notably, the bed is offered in Soft, Medium, and Firm feels. This means all types of sleepers (side, back and stomach) will be able to choose a model that accommodates their particular sleeping habits.
On top of that, the mattress is highly supportive because of its foundation of pocketed coils. Generally speaking, coils are more ideal than foam support cores since they’re more durable and supportive. As such, we think the Brooklyn Signature mattress is a good option for people of all sizes.
All in all, if you want a softer mattress that’s more ideal for side sleepers, we’d point you to the Soft or Medium option. If you sleep primarily on your back and stomach, you may want to look into the Firm option. And lastly, if you tend to move around and don’t sleep strictly in one position, the Medium option is very accommodating. And similar to beds like Casper and Leesa, the Signature mattress has more of a soft neutral-foam feel, which people tend to really like.
It’s also worth noting that the Signature mattress is actually made in a facility in Phoenix, AZ that is owned by Brooklyn Bedding (i.e. they actually make their own mattresses, which is rare in the online bedding space).
In terms of pricing, we can’t imagine that you’ll find a better value for a hybrid mattress. The queen mattress is significantly under $1,000 after discounts—it ends up being about $850. But that’s not it. Even the king mattress is under $1,000 after you apply a coupon code.
- Free Shipping & Returns
- 120 Nights Trial Period
- 10 Years Warranty
- Made in USA
If you’re working with a particularity tight budget, it’s hard to find a better mattress than Tuft & Needle. Not only is it surprisingly cheap (you can often find a queen size around the $600), but it also has a tried and true construction. Even more, the king mattress from T&N is (well) under $1,000.
Like the Brooklyn Signature mattress, the bed has a neutral-foam feel. It’s one of the original online beds, and is largely considered a “safe pick.”
Overall, we think the bed is suitable for all sleeping positions. Combination sleepers who spend a little bit of time on their side will like the mattress as well. For most people, it’s about a “medium” on our firmness scale.
All in all, we are big fans of the Tuft & Needle mattress. I mean how can you not be. It’s a comfortable, well-built mattress that you can often snag for around $600.
- Free Shipping & Returns
- 100 Nights Trial Period
- 10 Years Warranty
- Made in USA
Helix is our top pick as a “custom mattress” not because it’s fully custom, but because the brand offers a personalized experience through the Sleep Quiz on their website. Helix offers about 10 different mattresses and through their Sleep Quiz they can match you up with the most ideal model for you. In other words, Helix takes the guess work out of shopping for a bed online.
All of the Helix Sleep mattresses have foam and coils, but density, thickness, and firmness of those layers will depend on which specific model you choose. For instance, the most popular bed is Helix Midnight, and that’s about a “medium” in terms of firmness, but they also offer Helix Moonlight, which is considerably softer.
The idea here is that they can offer a bed for all sleeping styles and body types. So, whether you’re 135 lbs and sleep on your stomach, or 265 lbs and sleep on your back, they offer a mattress for you.
The cool thing about Helix is that their “core” models–which as a reminder, are all hybrid mattresses under $1,000—vary in both firmness and support. Therefore, if you want a bed that’s stiff as a board, they offer that. Or if you want a bed that’s feather-soft, they have an option for you as well.
All of the “core” models are about $1,000 pre-discount, but after applying a coupon code, they are closer to $900 for the queen size mattress. You can check HelixSleep.com for current deals, as they are almost always running some sort of promotion. If you look at even the king size mattress. Sure, it’s not under $1,000, but after a discount, it’s not far off.
Helix now offers “Luxe” models which are upgraded pillow top mattresses. They still span the entire firmness spectrum, but add a pillow top for even more comfort. We are huge fans fo the Helix Luxe beds, and think they are some of the nicest pillow top mattresses online today.
The bottom line with Helix Sleep is that it’s one of the top bed in a box mattress brands, and they offer really nice beds for reasonable prices. And, if you don’t like your new hybrid mattress, you can return it for a full refund within the first 100 nights.
- Free Shipping & Returns
- 100 Nights Trial Period
- 10 Years Warranty
- Made in USA
Review team
JD Christison
Combo Sleeper
Dillon Lopez
Combo Sleeper
McKenzie Dillon
Combo Sleeper
Owen Poole
Side Sleeper
King Size Mattress For $1,000
It’s rare to find a king size bed for under a thousand dollars, however, we make an effort to find a bed whenever we update this list. If you check the list above, we have a designation for “budget” or something to that effect. Typically, it is under $1,000 for the king mattress.
Polyurethane Foam
This is the most common foam that you’ll see with online mattresses. It comes in various thicknesses, densities, and firmness levels, and is incredibly affordable to manufacture. You will generally see it as the foundation for all-foam beds and even the middle and top layers depending on the mattress. While it’s affordable, it also can be really comfortable and there are a lot of people that like its more neutral feel. On our list of the best RV mattresses we mainly link to poly foam beds because they offer such a good blend between price and comfort.
Memory Foam Mattresses Under $1,000
This is just polyurethane foam, but with a viscous material injected to make it remember shapes, hence the name “memory” foam. It is fairly cheap to manufacture, but is usually great in terms pressures relief and support. It also can be somewhat of a dividing material—some people love it and some people really don’t. If you’re not sure whether you like memory foam or not, you may want to stop in your local mattress store to see how it feels. Chances are, the store will have a wide selection of memory foam beds for you to test. Alternatively, you can also take advantage of the generous risk-free trial periods online companies offer.
In terms of downsides, it can warm up as it contours to your body and retains heat. It can also make switching positions a little more difficult. And it tends to feel firmer when in colder environments and softer in warmer environments—not surprisingly, some people do not like this. We’ve also posted a review of the best memory foam mattresses.
Innerspring
Innersprings are more of a traditional support system and—like anything—they have pros and cons. One the positive end, the innersprings can be very supportive and grant the bed a little of that bounce that you may be used to and prefer. Also, they allow for plenty of airflow and typically last longer than their poly foam counterparts, especially for heavy folks. As for the negatives, innersprings generally transfer motion more, which can disrupt your partner if you’re active during your sleep. And given how much space there is between the coils, there is technically more room for dust mites, which may perturb people with allergies.
Pocketed Coils – Hybrid Mattress
While innersprings can have issues with motion transfer, pocketed coils tend be much better here. Unlike an innerspring unit, pocketed coils are just individually-wrapped coils that are stacked next to each other. Therefore, the motion or pressure on one coil doesn’t necessarily impact the other. Like innersprings, pocketed coils are generally regarded as being more durable and supportive than foam materials, particularly for heavier individuals who can wear down thin, all-foam mattresses in short order. Just so you know, we’ve also published a list of the best hybrid and spring mattresses.
Latex
This is a natural material actually made from the sap of a rubber tree. Latex (whether Talalay or Dunlop) is bouncy, airy, and really supportive. In fact, if you lay on an entirely latex mattress it may actually feel like the bed has springs, that’s how bouncy the material is. As such, it tends to be very resilient and you’ll end up sleeping more on the mattress rather than in it. It’s naturally cooler than a lot of poly foam products, as well.
There are a lot of people that are drawn to latex because it’s natural (mostly), durable, responsive, and comfortable, but latex beds tend to be quite expensive, heavy, and hard to move, which is partly why you see so many poly foam beds out there.
Pillow Top Mattress
Typically, you won’t find a lot of pillow top mattresses under $1,000. They are reserved by the brands as a higher end product, for better or worse. We had a really difficult time picking the best pillow top mattress under $1,000, purely because there aren’t many to choose from. But, what is a pillow top mattress?
In its simplest form, a pillow top mattress is a bed that otherwise would be complete, but the company added extra layers on top to give it even more cushioning. It’s basically a mattress with a big, fluffy mounded cover. A couple pillow top mattresses that come to mind are Helix Luxe, WinkBed, and Saatva. They all have this giant pillow top that’s fluffy and comfortable. Technically, you can find the pillow top for under $1,000, but you have to reach down to the full size or smaller.
FAQs
Yes you can. There are a handful of really nice king mattresses that sell for under $1,000 after-discount. We’ve highlighted at least one in our post.
We get this question a lot. The answer is that it all depends on the person. If you like a responsive, bouncy feel, then you’ll probably like latex mattresses. If you want a fluffy/airy feel, well then, a pillow top mattress might make sense for you.
Most of the time you can! A lot of the online mattress brands offer 100% free returns inside the Contiguous US.
Yes, indeed it is. We have reviewed plenty of really nice mattresses that cost under $1,000 for the queen size.