Saatva vs Nest Sparrow Mattress Comparison

Saatva, as a company, makes three different mattresses. They have the original Saatva mattress, Zenhaven, and Loom & Leaf. And while these beds do have some core similarities, they are completely different beds—both in terms of construction and feel.

Zenhaven is a premium latex mattress that’s double sided and is made from certain natural and organic materials. It is the most expensive mattress that Saatva offers. Loom & Leaf is a high-end memory foam bed that’s available in multiple firmness levels and looks like it belongs in Hearst Castle. And then you have the original Saatva mattress—the one we’re discussing in this review.

So, what advantages does the original Saatva mattress have over Nest Alexander Hybrid? Let’s start with the basics.

Free White Glove Delivery With Saatva

Most mattresses that you can buy online will ship via FedEx or UPS in a cardboard box (hence the moniker bed-in-a-box). Saatva isn’t most mattresses. By default, they have white glove delivery, which is sort of like an upgraded system.

Rather than having to cart the mattress inside and set it up yourself, someone else will do it for you. Same goes for mattress removal—they’ll take away your old bed, for free.

White glove delivery typically does take longer and perhaps can be a small hassle in the sense that you need to schedule delivery, but it also completely eliminates any physical work on your part. I don’t know about you, but I’m not a huge fan of carrying a mattress up stairs. White glove definitely can be very helpful.

Now, if you live in a single story home and you don’t mind the set-up process, white glove delivery won’t do much for you. But if you live in a high-rise, you have a two-story home, or you’re physically unable to move the mattress, white glove delivery is the way to go.

Just to be clear, shipping is 100% free with both brands. It’s just that, by default, you’re getting a more premium service with Saatva. Nest Bedding also offers white glove delivery, but there is an additional fee that will be assessed.

Saatva Tends To Be Firmer

With each of these mattresses you have the option between three different firmness levels. Both brands are taking the soft-medium-firm approach, but there is a difference in practical terms between the feel of the beds. Saatva, in general, leans more toward the firm end of the spectrum.

As you can see in the graphic above, Saatva offers their mattress in Plush Soft, Luxury Firm, and Firm. Even so, the beds are sort of shifted up the soft/firm scale such that they really don’t have anything on the extra soft end of the spectrum.

To be fair, the Plush Soft is quite soft, but it’s still a hair firmer than the Medium option from Nest. What I’m trying to get at here is that if you want a truly firm mattress, Saatva is better. But if you want an extra soft mattress, Saatva really doesn’t have an option for you.

We do think the Plush Soft mattress from Saatva will be ideal for side sleepers, the Luxury Firm version is best for back, stomach, and combination sleepers, and the Firm version is specifically designed for back and stomach sleepers.

In terms of the feel of the mattress, they’re actually fairly similar. The softer beds have more of an airy, giant-pillow feel. The firmer ones feel more like laying on a bed of thick grass that just happens to bounce a little. Generally speaking, Saatva and Nest Alexander have the same construction. They both use a coil foundation, a little memory foam, proprietary foam, and a quilted pillow top.

If you dig into the weeds a little you’ll find differences. For instance, Saatva uses a layer of traditional innersprings and then pocketed coils on top. Nest Alexander Hybrid has 8″ pocketed coils. There is a difference, but for the average consumer, it’s not worth squabbling over. The bottom line is that both offer plenty of support and a little bounce.

While Nest Bedding isn’t as well known as Saatva, we happen to love their products. They’re made in the US and ship directly from a factory in Phoenix, Arizona. You can just tell that Nest obsesses over their beds, especially when you compare them to a lot of these budget tier mattresses.

They also make more than one mattress. In fact, Nest has an almost overwhelming number of mattresses. They have the Signature, the hybrid version (discussed in this post), the Owl, the Quail mattress, and so on.

One interesting thing about Nest is that you can visit one of their showrooms (see full list on NestBedding.com) to test a bed in person. That way you know for sure whether or not you like the bed. The process from there is pretty straightforward. You place your order, and within a few days the bed will arrive, just as if you ordered online.

As for the relative advantages for Nest Alexander Hybrid over Saatva, the list is short, but there are some significant items.

Completely Free Returns With Nest Bedding

While Saatva offers white glove delivery, Nest Bedding ships their mattress in a box and offers 100% free returns. In other words, Nest Bedding has a true risk-free trial.

Saatva might technically have a longer trial period (180 nights vs. 100 nights), but Nest Bedding provides you more downside protection in the event that you simply don’t like the bed. Saatva charges $99 for returns. It’s reasonable, but not when you compare it to free. The reason they do this is because they incur more costs with the shipping process (i.e. white delivery is more costly than FedEx).

Nest Bedding Has More Soft Options

At the risk of stating the obvious, since Saatva has more firm options, Nest Bedding necessarily has more soft options. The Medium version is even on the softer end. If what you’re looking for is maximum pressure relief and a truly soft mattress, Nest Bedding makes more sense.

We do think the majority of people will end up with the Medium version, but if you’re a side sleeper dealing with nagging shoulder or hip pain, you might actually consider the Plush version. It will offer the deepest amount of pressure relief.

So Who Wins: Saatva or Nest Bedding?

There is no clear cut winner—they’re both good. It really just depends on what you want in a bed. Do you want more soft options or firm ones? Do you care about white glove delivery or completely free returns? Do you want an organic cotton cover or one with a phase-change material? The list goes on.

The one thing that I can say is that we receive very little, if any, complaints about either brand. They have stellar reputations and make high quality products.

In terms or price and value, these are both great beds. We would not consider their prices to be outlandish. It’s going to come down to feel, firmness, design, comfort, etc. more so than price.