 | VS. |  |
|---|---|---|
| $146 – $299 | Price Range | $745 – $1,095 |
| See On Amazon | Offer | 20% Off Applied In Cart |
| Best For |
|
| 30 Days | Trial Period | 100 Nights |
| 1 Year | Warranty | 10 Years |
| No | Shipping Options | No |
| Shop Now | Shop Now |
Amazon Basics Mattress vs Tuft & Needle Synopsis
We realize a lot of consumers out there find reading about mattresses extremely boring, so to cater to that crowd, here are the main differences between the two beds.
- Price — The AmazonBasics mattress is one of the cheapest beds you can buy online. It’s about $600-$700 less than Tuft & Needle depending on size.
- Feel — Both mattresses have a soft, neutral-foam feel, but the AmazonBasics mattress does have a slight hint of memory foam due to its top layer.
- Trial Period/Warranty — Tuft & Needle offers a longer warranty and trial period.
Those are the primary points of differentiation. As you will read near the end, the two beds actually share a lot of the same characteristics. Keep reading to learn more.
What To Expect: AmazonBasics Mattress Comparison
Before we dig into the details of each bed, we just want to say that this was one of the tougher comparisons for us to complete. As you will find out below, these beds have a lot of similarities. Still, we’ll do our best to point out differences, and then at the end, we’ll cover what these two mattresses have in common. Let’s get it on.
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Amazon Basics Mattress Options
One advantage Amazon has over Tuft & Needle is the variety of options in which the bed is offered. The AmazonBasics mattress comes in 8″, 10″, and 12″ models. As you might expect, the price increases as you move up in height/thickness (the more material, the higher the price). Regardless of the thickness you select, though, the bed will still contain three foam layers.
Overall, we like that Amazon offers three different options. We think each model appeals to a different subset of people and situations. For example, we think the 8″ is perfect for kids or for outfitting your RV. The 10″ is great for teenagers and college students. And the 12″ is great for people who aren’t constrained by a tight budget and want a thicker, more premium option.
To be fair, Tuft & Needle does offer another model called the Mint in addition to their flagship bed-in-a-box. The T&N Mint mattress is the company’s more premium model. It’s 12″ thick and offers a ton of pressure relief for side sleepers. On the downside, it’s quite a bit more expensive than the Original Tuft & Needle and AmazonBasics mattresses.
More Affordable
This is perhaps the biggest advantage that the AmazonBasics beds have to offer. They’re just much more affordable, plain and simple. For comparison purposes, here’s how pricing breaks down between Tuft & Needle and the three Amazon beds for a queen size.
- Tuft & Needle: ~$900
- AmazonBasics 12″: ~$260
- AmazonBasics 10″: ~$230
- AmazonBasics 8″: ~$200
As you can see above, the Amazon mattresses are about $600-700 cheaper than Tuft & Needle, depending on the size you select. It’s also worth mentioning that Tuft & Needle and Amazon aren’t too keen on offering coupon codes or promo codes. However, we have noticed that pricing for all four mattresses fluctuates often. It wouldn’t surprise us to see the beds discounted by $50-$100 from time to time. As such, you may want to keep an eye on current pricing. Check Amazon for the AmazonBasics mattress and TuftandNeedle.com for the T&N mattress.
RELATED: Best Cheap Mattresses For Your Budget
Slight Memory Foam Feel
The top layer on the AmazonBasics mattress is comprised of memory foam. However, before you automatically categorize as a “memory foam bed,” let us explain a few things. Yes, you do get a slight bit of that traditional memory foam feel in that the top layer sort of wraps and conforms to your body as you lay down, but it’s not an overwhelming sensation.
As such, if pressed, we’d actually say the bed feels more like the Tuft & Needle mattress, which has more of a soft, generic foam feel (we also like to use the term “neutral” to describe this feeling). Overall, both beds are extremely comfortable, but if you do want more of a memory foam feel (albeit only a little), the AmazonBasics mattress is the way to go.
In addition, even though the top layer gives the bed a slight memory foam feel, it acts more like neutral-foam in terms of responsiveness. In other words, the top layer snaps back to position pretty quickly after pressure is released off the bed.
This means you won’t get any of that stuck-in-the-mud feeling that memory foam is known for, which is a good thing for active and combo sleepers who move around a lot. Typically, combo sleepers find it much easier to switch between positions on responsive beds. Also, just so you’re aware, the Tuft & Needle mattress is pretty responsive, as well (this is one of the many similarities the two beds share).
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Neutral-Foam Feel
Piggybacking off the last section a little, the Tuft & Needle mattress has a soft, neutral-foam feel. The top layer of the bed is comprised of what the company calls its “T&N Adaptive Foam.” Basically, it’s just a proprietary foam, meaning it’s not technically memory foam or latex foam. As such, the top layer doesn’t really contour or conform to your body the way traditional memory foam does, which is why we use the term “neutral.”
Ultimately, we’ve found that there’s no winner or loser when it comes to feel. Everyone has different preferences. Some people love the conforming sensation memory foam provides and some people dislike that feeling. If you fall into the dislike category, we think you’ll enjoy Tuft & Needle a little more than the AmazonBasics mattress. Again, though, if you prefer memory foam, the Amazon bed will provide a little more of what you’re looking for.
SEE ALSO: Tuft & Needle vs Casper Mattress Comparison
Longer Trial Period And Warranty
This is the biggest advantage Tuft & Needle has over AmazonBasics. To reiterate what we stated above, the Tuft & Needle mattress comes with a 100-night risk-free trial period and a 10-year warranty. The AmazonBasics bed only comes with a 30-day trial period (Amazon’s standard return policy) and a one-year warranty.
It’s important to note that it often takes 30-45 days to break in a new mattress and for your body to adjust to a new bed. Given this piece of information, the extra 70 days that Tuft & Needle allows you to test the mattress suddenly appears much more valuable. If that’s not enough for you, add in the fact that the Tuft & Needle mattress is protected from manufacturing defects and sagging greater than 3/4″ for nine years longer than the AmazonBasics mattress. All in all, it’s clear Tuft & Needle offers much friendlier customer policies.
Made In The USA
This might be a minor point, but I know it matters to some consumers. Tuft & Needle is backed by the bedding giant Serta Simmons and all of their mattresses are manufactured in the USA. The AmazonBasics mattress, on the other hand, is manufactured by a third party in China. To be fair, the foams used in both mattresses are CertiPUR Certified, meaning they are free of harmful chemicals or toxins.
Commonalities: Tuft & Needle & AmazonBasics
Now that we’ve covered the primary points of differentiation between the two beds, let’s now cover what they have in common.
Firmness And Sleeper Type
Overall, we think both mattresses land around a medium on our firmness scale. At the end of the day, both beds strike a nice balance between pressure relief and support. Ultimately, Tuft & Needle and Amazon created these mattresses to accommodate the vast majority of sleepers out there.
Given the soft yet supportive feel of both mattresses, we think all types of sleepers will be just fine on these beds. It doesn’t matter whether you primarily sleep on your back, stomach or side. Both beds provide adequate support for back/stomach sleepers and a decent amount of pressure relief for side sleepers.
SEE ALSO: Best Mattresses For Side Sleepers
Better Options For Heavy People
One negative attribute that both beds have in common is that they are not the best options for heavy people. Both mattresses have a very basic, all-foam construction that is not ideal for supporting people who weigh more than 250 lb.
Large individuals exert more force onto a mattress than small and average sized individuals. As such, we almost always recommend heavy folks choose a mattress that contains coils or innerspring units rather than beds made entirely of foam. That’s because coils have proven to be more durable and provide more support than dense poly foams that all-foam beds like Tuft & Needle and AmazonBasics use for their foundations. If you consider yourself a big buck (i.e. big person), be sure to check out our list of the Best Hybrid & Coil Mattresses.
Temperature Regulation
In terms of temperature regulation, we think both beds sleep temperature neutral. In other words, you won’t heat up on either bed, but they also won’t actively cool you down. Instead, we think external factors will be the primary reason why you sleep warm or cool. For example, factors like what you wear to bed, what temperature you keep your thermostat at, and what kind of sheets and comforter you use will play more of a role in determining your sleeping temperature.
Edge Support And Motion Isolation
We think both mattresses are viable options for couples. Both beds perform decently well in terms of edge support and motion isolation. These are the two most important considerations for people who share a bed with a partner (or pet).
First, both mattresses are proficient at deadening movement. In our tests, we noticed very little motion that was transferred from one side of the bed to the other.
This is especially important for people who share a mattress with an active sleeper. Luckily, with both of these mattresses, we don’t think you’ll be disturbed by your partner’s movements.
Next, both beds provide fairly solid edge support considering their simple, all-foam constructions. We we wouldn’t say they are the best ever in this department, but they’re good enough to get the job done.
This is particularly important for couples who sleep on a queen or full size bed. A mattress with good or decent edge support means there is more useful surface area for both partners to spread out comfortably without feeling like they are going to roll right off the edge.
Review Verdict: Tuft & Needle vs Amazon Basics
This is a tough call. As you read above, these beds have quite a few similarities. In our eyes, the decision of which mattress to go with really comes down to three factors.
- Price — If you’re buying strictly based on price, go with AmazonBasics. Chances are you’ll save yourself a few hundred bucks.
- Feel — If you like a strict, neutral-foam feel, Tuft & Needle is the ticket. If you want a little memory foam feel in your bed, AmazonBasics is the way to go.
- Trial Period — If you’re not really sure what type of bed you want, we’d suggest starting with Tuft & Needle since you’ll have three months to test it out risk free.
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