Best Soft & Plush Mattress Reviews

Mattress Nerd consulted Dr. Tom Ingegno to ensure that this article met our editorial standards

With thousands of soft mattresses available today, choosing the one that’s perfect for you can present a challenge. There are many questions to be asked. Will it be soft enough? Will it be too soft? Will it sag excessively? Which mattress firmness level is right for me? Can it support my body weight and have a plush feel at the same time? What’s best for my sleeping position? In this guide, we’re sharing our top picks for the best soft & plush mattresses, why we love them, and who they are best for!

Related: Soft vs. Firm Mattresses

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The Best Soft Mattresses

• Editor’s Pick – Helix Sunset
• Best Soft Hybrid Mattress – Amerisleep AS5 Hybrid
• Best Soft Memory Foam Mattress – Nectar
• Best Medium Soft Mattress – WinkBeds GravityLux
• Best for Side Sleepers – DreamCloud
• Best Soft King-Size Mattress – Layla Memory Foam
• Best Soft Mattress for Back Pain – Casper Original Hybrid
• Best Cooling Mattress –Purple Hybrid Premier

There is a common misconception that soft mattresses lack adequate support. That you can not both sink deeply into a cloud-like bed and also have an aligned spine and pressure relief. Well, Helix set out on a mission to prove that you really can have it all, and with the Sunset, they delivered. This mattress does not take away anything sleepers love about a soft mattress and also adds zoned support technology, layers engineered specifically to relieve pressure and cooling features throughout. If you love an extra soft bed but have been wondering if it is really a good option for you long-term, we love the Helix Sunset as an option that keeps you comfortable, but also safe.

See our full Helix mattress reviews for more info. 

This ultra-soft AS5 Hybrid is the perfect solution to loving the feeling of a soft mattress, but not loving the feeling of being “stuck” in a memory foam bed, or feeling like you are lacking adequate support.  The AS5 hybrid combines pressure-relieving memory foam with supportive Active Flex to offer side sleepers, combo sleepers, and heavy sleepers a comfortable night’s sleep.

Amerisleep also uses plant-based, Bio-Pur foam so you can feel good about the surface you are sleeping on. Since it is a hybrid, you won’t have to worry about the overheating you usually think about on a memory foam mattress. Even the all-foam version (AS5) of this mattress does. great job keeping you cool, due to the breathable and cooling foams used in its construction.

See our full Amerisleep mattress reviews to learn more! 

The Nectar mattress is a memory foam mattress made with cooling gel. It provides pressure relief and comfort without causing sleepers to overheat at night as many memory foam mattresses do. If you are an average-weight side sleeper or a lightweight back sleeper, you should feel especially supported.

Nectar has a great balance of contouring to the body and supporting the body. If you sleep with a partner moves a lot during the night, the Nectar does a good job of isolating motion. You’ll likely feel a little shaking if they are tossing and turning, but the movement isn’t significant enough to wake most people up, so we still think it is a great option for couples who like memory foam. Those who like the traditional feel of memory foam but tend to sleep hot will appreciate the gel-infused memory foam, and sleepers on a budget will appreciate this quality mattress at an affordable price.

See our full Nectar mattress review to learn more. 

The WinkBeds Gravity Lux is a memory foam mattress with cooling layers. The top layer is made with aerated, open-cell foam, which makes the bed very soft and draws heat away from the body.

People who love softer mattresses often face a challenge when it comes to finding a mattress that sleeps cool, considering most plush mattresses are either all-foam or contain memory foam, which tends to sleep warmer. Thought the GravityLux is also a foam mattress, the layers focus on keeping you cool. Along with the open-cell foam layer, the mattress cover is made with tencel and is infused with gel. As with all WinkBeds products, it comes with free shipping, a lifetime warranty, and a 120-night risk-free trial.

Read our full WinkBeds mattress reviews to learn more!

The DreamCloud mattress is an affordable, luxury hybrid mattress. The memory foam used in this mattress is infused with gel to keep you cool and also offers pressure relief. Side sleepers with extra-sensitive pressure points can opt to add a pillow top to the mattress for additional cushioning.

The DreamCloud works well for sleepers who tend to switch positions throughout the night, and it also works well for committed back, side, and stomach sleepers who love the feel of a thick, luxurious mattress. It’s a bed-in-the-box mattress that’s easy to set up, and the company offers free shipping, a 365-night sleep trial period, and a lifetime warranty on the product.

Read our full DreamCloud mattress review for more details!

Layla is a flippable mattress made with copper-infused memory foam. The mattress is double-sided, which allows sleepers to have two options within the same mattress. One side of the Layla is medium-soft, which gives sleepers some pressure-relieving, and the other side is firm which is better for support. 

The cover of the mattress will keep you cool if you tend to heat up at night, no matter which side you turn it to. If you are looking for a soft mattress, are a side sleeper and are light to average weight, the medium-soft side of the Layla will be good for you. If you are a heavier sleeper, the firm side of the mattress may still provide enough softness for your liking. The copper also kills bacteria naturally, helping extend Layla’s lifespan.

Read our full Layla Mattress review to learn more.

With the Casper Hybrid, the company essentially took the original all-foam Casper mattress and added pocketed coils. The Casper is an extremely comfortable bed, and the Casper Hybrid maintains that same feel and sensation in a hybrid construction with an airy, latex-like, open-cell top layer, two layers of memory foam, and pocketed coils.

The Casper Hybrid has a generally soft, airy feel and might be one of the most accommodating beds on the market. It provides support and bounce, as most innerspring mattresses do, but the foam layers give it a really nice, soft feel that’s hard not to like. The airflow is great in this mattress as well, as both the pocketed coils and open-cell top layer encourage cooling. While almost the same firmness as the original Casper, it falls slightly on the softer side. Casper offers free shipping, a 100-night sleep trial, and a 10-year warranty.

Read our full Casper Hybrid mattress review to learn more.

The Purple Hybrid Premier incorporates the company’s unique Hyper-Elastic Polymer material in its construction. This material is supportive and pressure-relieving in all the beds, but the Purple Hybrid Premier is the most luxuriously designed of the pack, with a four-inch comfort layer that makes it extra soft and supportive.

Heavyweight sleepers who want a mattress with a soft feel can have a difficult time finding a match. This is because their bodies naturally sink further into the mattress and may come into contact with firmer support layers, which won’t give the soft feel desired. A deviation from the original Purple, the Purple Hybrid Premier adds a pocket coil system, which provides the supportive base heavy sleepers need and is topped with four inches of the Purple grid system, which gives enough cushioning to prevent heavy individuals from pressing too deep into the mattress. The Purple Hybrid Premier comes with a 100 night trial period, ships free with white glove delivery and comes with a 10-year limited warranty.

Read our Purple Hybrid Premier Review to learn more.

What It Means for a Mattress to Be Soft

Mattress softness is subjective, but only to a point. It is true that what feels soft to you may feel firm to somebody else, but most mattress companies, as well as we here at Mattress Nerd, grade mattress firmness on a scale of 1 to 10. If a mattress falls under a 5/10 on that scale, then it is considered soft. If you think you’re someone who would prefer a soft mattress, take a look below at some factors to consider before you make any final decisions. 

Is a Soft Mattress Still Supportive? 

Firmness and support are two of the most important aspects to consider when mattress shopping, but they can be easily confused. While interrelated, they should be thought of separately. Most people assume that a mattress must be firm to provide support, but it’s possible to find a supportive mattress that meets your pressure relief needs while still feeling soft to the touch. 

Firmness refers to the feel of a mattress with regard to comfort. While every individual has a subjective definition of what soft and firm mean, the industry uses a scale of 1 to 10 in an attempt to objectify this quality, with one being extremely soft and 10 being extremely firm. To put it simply, firmness is the feeling you get when you first lie on the mattress.

Related: Best Firm Mattresses 

Support refers to how well a mattress will support spinal alignment and is not a subjective quality. In other words, when you’re lying in your preferred sleeping position, is your spine straight? Mattresses that feel hard to the touch can offer just as much pressure point relief and spinal support as a mattress that feels soft to the touch.

Other Things To Consider 

Spine Alignment

If you are someone who suffers from back pain, sinking into a soft mattress may sound like a dream to you. However, soft beds can actually cause your spine to rest out of alignment, especially for stomach and back sleepers. If you’re lightweight or primarily a side sleeper, this may not be an issue for you. If you do sleep on your back and are heavier than average, check out our best mattresses for back sleepers list.

Motion Transfer

If you sleep with a partner, pet, or child, you know that motion isolation is one of the most important factors when mattress shopping. Soft mattresses vary in their ability to suit couples but typically do well. If a mattress is too soft however, you may find yourself feeling stuck, making moving around more difficult, disturbing your partner on the other side of the bed.

Related: Best Mattresses for Couples

Edge Support

Soft mattresses provide a plush, sinking feeling that many people find very comforting, but this can also result in a lack of edge support.

Edge support measures the perimeter of a bed’s ability to remain stable under your weight. This is an important quality if you like to sit on the edge of your bed, or spread out and take up a lot of surface area as you sleep. 

Though softer mattresses are prone to sinkage at the edges, a lot of companies specifically address this issue by adding sturdy blocks of foam around the interior perimeter of the bed. When shopping for your soft mattress, keep an eye out for this in mattress construction descriptions.  

Responsiveness

If you are a notably restless sleeper who switches positions frequently, then responsiveness is a key factor for you. High responsiveness is a quality that is usually associated with firmer mattresses. Basically, it is what allows you to switch positions easily and sink into new ones quickly. 

Since soft mattresses do allow for sinkage, getting cozy in a new position usually isn’t a problem, but switching out of it may be slightly more difficult than it would be on a different firmness. 

Materials

Foam

Latex

Innerspring

Hybrid

Are Soft Mattresses Good for Cooling?

It depends on several factors, the most important of which is the construction of the mattress. Soft mattresses are usually made with one or several foam layers, which is known to trap heat more than a type of mattress made exclusively with, say, natural latex or innersprings. 

That is not to say, however, that a soft mattress cannot be cool. Many companies incorporate high-quality gel memory foam into their mattresses, which helps to disperse body heat rather than store it. If you’re a hot sleeper who loves a soft mattress, make sure you keep an eye out for this material.

There are also ways to enhance the cooling abilities of your new mattress. Consider purchasing cooling sheets, or even one of our best cooling mattress toppers. The addition of these sleep accessories can make a world of difference when it comes to temperature regulation. 

Related: Best Cooling Mattresses

Who is a Soft Mattress Best For? 

Shoppers often see the words “soft” or “comfortable” and allow this advertising to heavily influence their choice. After all, phrases like “sleeping on a cloud” are often associated with deep REM sleep, which is necessary in getting the amount of sleep that you need. However, many buyers find that soft mattresses are actually too soft, failing to provide the support they need. Here’s who should sleep on a soft mattress:

Side Sleepers

This sleeping position creates pressure points at the hips and shoulders, and a soft mattress will alleviate pain in these areas with contour. Aim for a firmness level in the 4 to 5 range. A soft bed can also help alleviate numbness and tingling inside sleepers’ arms, which can get tucked beneath the body in this sleeping position. Our best mattresses for side sleepers can provide some more information on this topic.

Lightweight Sleepers

When it comes to lightweight sleepers, it’s helpful to think of taking the firmness scale needs of an average sleeper and knocking them down a few levels. People with a lower body weight won’t sink into a firm mattress, so soft mattresses can provide the comfort and pressure relief they desire. We recommend mattress firmnesses of 1 to 5 for lightweight sleepers. 

Couples

If you or your sleep partner tosses and turners throughout the night, then one of you has likely experienced the frustration that comes with being woken up by someone else’s movements. Of all the firmness options, soft mattresses are apt to absorb movements rather than allowing them to spread across the surface—making for a sounder night sleep for you and your partner.

Who Should Avoid a Soft Mattress?

Stomach Sleepers

Stomach sleepers represent the smallest percentage of sleepers in the country, and they require a rather unique set-up in order to achieve the healthiest sleep. In order to keep their hips from sinking too much and throwing their spines out of alignment, stomach sleepers need a sturdy, firm mattress—typically made with a layer of coils or a base layer of high-density support foam. 

If you sleep on your stomach, we recommend something firmer than the soft mattresses included on this list. Take a look at our best mattresses for stomach sleepers to see some of our favorites.

Big & Tall Sleepers

The opposite of lightweight sleepers, heavyweight, and naturally larger-bodied individuals may feel swallowed and unsupported by a mattress that’s too soft. We recommend knocking up the firmness scale for this body type, with better firmnesses found in the 7 to 10 range. The larger you are, the thicker and more firm your mattress will need to be in order to provide deep compression support. 

Related: Best Mattresses for Heavy People

Individuals with Lower Back Pain

On a very soft mattress, the spine can become misaligned and cause parts of the body, especially the low back and neck, to sink down. This is why we generally don’t recommend mattresses on the very soft side of the firmness scale to individuals struggling with low back pain. Medium-firm or firm mattresses will better suit these sleepers, as you can see in our best mattresses for back pain roundup.

Accessories for Soft Mattresses 

Mattress Toppers 

Typically, if you are shopping specifically for a soft mattress you may not need a mattress topper. However, a topper could be useful if you like a softer mattress but need a firmer base for spinal support. You can find great mattress toppers that are available as pillow-top additions, filled with down feathers, constructed with memory foam, and various other versions. 

Pillows 

If you are looking for a lofty, fluffy pillow to compliment your new soft mattress you may want to reconsider. Since you will already be deeper into your mattress, you will likely want a lower soft, soft pillow. Avoid anything too firm or overly fluffy. 

Related: Best Pillows

Benefits of Sleeping On A Soft Mattresses 

They’re soft, comfortable, and luxurious to the touch, which makes you look forward to curling up in bed every evening. When made with high-quality materials, they provide an almost hotel-like feel, and what’s not to love about that?

Like we’ve mentioned, soft mattresses are helpful for aligning the spine of side sleepers, especially average and lightweight individuals. The give of the top layers in these mattresses allows the shoulders and hips adequate relief to be able to relax in this position without sinking down too much. Most people sleeping on their sides, which is a rather large percentage of the population, will find relief in a soft or medium-soft bed, depending on their weight.

Soft mattresses can help with general back pain, and are especially good mattresses for seniors who experience joint problems. The sweet spot here will be finding a mattress that’s adequately supportive, keeping your spine in a neutral position, with a softness that feels good to you. Those with back pain who want a mattress on the soft side should ensure the materials used are durable, as some soft mattresses break down more quickly over time, causing uncomfortable sinkage and improper spinal alignment. For further help in your shopping process, visit our mattress buying guide.

Recap of the Top Rated Soft Mattresses of 2021

Dr. Tom Ingegno is part of our panel of medical expert contributors on the subject of sleep health. They provide important perspectives on the topics we discuss to help make our content as accurate and dependable as possible. They do not personally endorse any products, nor are they associated with any brands featured in our review content.