Best Soft Mattresses

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 firmness level is right for me? Can it support my body weight and be plush at the same time? What’s best for my sleeping position? 

We created this guide to help you get started in your search. In it, we’re sharing our top 7 picks for the best soft mattresses, why we love them, and more information about soft mattresses, like their health benefits and the sleeping positions they work best for.

The Best Soft Mattresses

MATTRESS NERD’S TOP 7 PICKS

Looking for the softest, plushest mattress out there? The Nerd Squad recommends the following brands:

• Nolah
• Puffy
• Brooklyn Bedding
• Casper
• TEMPUR-Pedic
• Purple
• Layla
• WinkBeds

The Nolah Signature 12 is the company’s luxury mattress and features a double-sided comfort system that delivers a soft feel on one side and a firmer feel on the opposite side. The soft side of this 12” mattress wins our award for the most comfortable soft mattress, with a cooling cotton cover, 2.5” of Nolah AirFoam™, the company’s extra-deep, cooling, pressure-relieving foam, a transition layer, and a high-density core foundation. 

We love the soft side of this bed because it gives you the feeling you’re sleeping “in” the bed rather than “on” it, while the thick foam core provides the spinal support and ergonomic stability all sleepers need. If you’re simply looking for a mattress that’s really, really comfortable, look no further. The Nolah Signature 12 checks just about every box possible to create an incredible night’s sleep. The AirFoam contours to the body like memory foam but has the subtle bounce of latex, it stays cool throughout the night, and the cotton cover is luxuriously soft. While this is our pick for the most comfortable soft mattress, it’s especially great for the socially conscious, as Nolah donates a portion of the proceeds from each mattress to sponsor an endangered wildlife species.

The Puffy Lux four-layer memory foam mattress is an upgraded version of the original Puffy. The memory foam used in this mattress is extremely soft yet more responsive than traditional memory foam, making it easier to switch sleeping positions throughout the night.

The Puffy Lux works well for lightweight and average weight 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 an all-foam mattress but don’t want to feel stuck in a bed. It’s a bed-in-the-box mattress that’s easy to set up, and the company offers free shipping, a 101 night trial period, and a lifetime warranty on the product.

The Brooklyn Aurora is a hybrid mattress with 8” pocketed coils and layers of memory foam. The top layer is a 1.5” layer of copper-infused phase change Energex 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 something that sleeps cool, considering most plush mattresses are either all-foam or contain memory foam, which tends to sleep warmer. Brooklyn Bedding answered the call for a soft, luxury hybrid that sleeps cool with the Aurora. The copper-infused memory foam (TitanCool™) top layer maintains what they consider to be the optimal sleep temperature of 88 degrees throughout the night, so you can say goodbye to waking up sweaty. As with all Brooklyn Bedding products, it comes with free shipping, a 10-year warranty, and a 120-night risk-free trial.

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, thanks to the pocketed coils, 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 trial, and a 10-year warranty. 

The LuxeAdapt from Tempur-Pedic is an all-foam mattress with a base of high-density polyfoam covered by two plush, thick layers of memory foam. It comes in two different firmness levels, but the Soft it what most sleepers prefer.

This bed is one of the top-of-the-line mattresses available today, especially for those who love a medium or medium-soft feel. The comfort materials used are top-notch and include the company’s new APR+ (advanced pressure relief) foam, which is the best material for pressure-relief they’ve ever created. In the Soft version of the mattress, APR+ is the top material, making the sleep surface extra cozy while simultaneously providing outstanding contouring and pressure relief. This bed absolutely feels like a luxury product, but keep in mind that its price tag will indicate that too, with a queen coming in at about $4,000.

The Purple 4, like Purple’s other beds, 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 4 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 layers, which won’t give the soft feel desired. A deviation from the original Purple, the Purple 4 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 4 comes with a 100 night trial period, ships free with white glove delivery, and comes with a 10-year limited warranty. 

The Layla is a copper-infused memory foam mattress that’s double-sided, allowing you to choose from two firmness levels in the same mattress. The medium-soft side is pressure-relieving, and the firm side provides more support. 

Regardless of which side you choose, the cover design on this bed will keep you cool and makes flipping the bed a cinch. We recommend the medium-soft side for most side sleepers, but heavier individuals may enjoy the firm side. As an added bonus, the foam in this mattress is copper-infused, which keeps you cool by drawing heat away from the body. The copper also kills bacteria naturally, helping extend Layla’s lifespan. 

The WinkBed is one of the most luxurious hybrid mattresses that can be purchased online. It comes in four firmness levels, with the softest option designed “specifically for those wanting to feel like they’re sleeping on a cloud,” according to the company’s website. 

The comfort of this mattress comes primarily from the extra plush, three-layer, euro-pillow top. This fluffy top contours to the body and rests on micro springs, temperature neutral foam, and zoned, pocketed coils. If you like the idea of purchasing a soft bed that you might encounter in a luxury hotel, this is an excellent choice. While a mattress from WinkBeds isn’t cheap, the company’s policies make it worth the investment. They offer a free 120-night trial, free shipping, free returns, a lifetime comfort replacement option, and a lifetime warranty, which is almost unheard of in the mattress industry.

Mattress Support vs. Firmness

Firmness and support are two of the most important aspects to consider when mattress shopping, but they can be easily confused. It’s important to note that firmness and support are not synonymous. 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.

Support refers to how well a mattress will support spinal alignment and is not a subjective quality. In other worse, 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.

Balancing firmness and support in a mattress comes down to your individual preferences, body weight, and sleeping style. It may be helpful to think of firmness in terms of overall feel preference and support in terms of spinal health. For example, an average weight stomach sleeper who prefers a soft feel may meet their match in a medium-firm mattress with comfort layers that don’t compress too much. This style would offer the support they need to keep their spine aligned in that position while giving them the soft feel they desire.

Who Should Sleep on a Soft Mattress?

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. 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 create 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 6 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.
• 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.

Who Should Not Sleep on a Soft Bed?

As mentioned, a soft bed isn’t for everyone. Here’s who should avoid soft mattresses: 

• Heavyweight 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 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. 
• Individuals with Low 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.

Benefits of Sleeping on a Soft Mattress

Perhaps the greatest benefit of sleeping on a soft mattress is that they feel so good. 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, especially for aging individuals 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.