Helix vs. Leesa Mattress Comparison
The Leesa Original is an all-foam bed with a responsive feel, while the Helix Midnight is a hybrid mattress with a traditional memory foam hug.
In our Helix vs. Leesa mattress comparison, we outline everything you need to know to decide whether the memory foam Leesa Original or hybrid Helix Midnight has the features that can help you get the best sleep.
If you want to know more about how we test and review our mattresses, read up on our testing methodology.
Helix vs. Leesa Overview
Both the Helix and Leesa mattresses are popular choices because they both accommodate a wide variety of sleepers. Here’s an overview for each mattress’s strong points.
| Helix is best for… | Leesa is best for… |
| Side sleepers of every body type | People with back pain |
| People with joint pain | Back and side sleepers |
| Hot sleepers who like memory foam | Couples and those who co-sleep |
Who Should Choose the Helix Mattress?
- Side sleepers of every body type: The Helix Midnight’s memory foam comfort layer gives at the shoulders and hips, limiting pressure for side sleepers no matter their body weight. It’s soft and supportive enough for all side sleepers.
- People with joint pain: The Helix Midnight’s pressure-relieving memory foam layer is gentle on joints: an important feature if you have arthritis.
- Hot sleepers who like memory foam: The Helix Midnight’s top layer has a slow-response, doughy memory foam feel. While this material can sleep hot, the breathable coils limit heat retention, helping you stay cool.
Who Should Choose the Leesa Mattress?
- People with back pain: The Leesa Original’s soft top layer and contouring foam transition layer provide exceptional spinal alignment for most sleepers, helping ease aches and pains.
- Back and side sleepers: The Leesa Original pairs medium-firm memory foam with plush polyfoam for a sleeping surface that’s both supportive and pressure-relieving. The combination is comfortable for lightweight and average-weight side and back sleepers.
- Couples and those who co-sleep: The Leesa Original provides superb motion isolation, which means you and your partner can move around without waking one another. Additionally, the medium-firm feel will likely work for plenty of sleep positions.
In this section, we’ll learn more about the most distinct similarities and differences between the Helix and Leesa mattresses.
Helix vs. Leesa: Top Similarities
- Sleeping positions: The Leesa Original and Helix Midnight are best for side sleepers and back sleepers, although both are okay for lightweight stomach sleepers.
- Pressure relief: Both the Helix Midnight and Leesa Original generously cradle pressure points, limiting pain and pressure on areas like the shoulders, hips, and lower back. If you’re waking up in pain, check out the best mattress for back pain.
- Feel: Both types of beds provide a solid level of responsiveness, which means that sleepers should feel as if they’re sleeping “on” the mattresses instead of “in” them.
Helix vs. Leesa: Top Differences
- Temperature regulation: The Helix Midnight sleeps a touch cooler than the Leesa Original thanks to the breathability of its thick pocketed coil base layer. In contrast, the Leesa Original’s all-foam construction holds onto more body heat.
- Construction: The Helix Midnight is a memory foam hybrid mattress made with four layers of foam measuring 12” tall. The Leesa Original is a three-layer memory foam mattress that’s 10” thick. The most significant difference in construction is that the Helix Midnight contains coils while the Leesa Original doesn’t.
- Edge support: The Helix Midnight has sturdier edges due to the reinforced innerspring perimeter.
- Body types supported: The Leesa Original’s thinner construction and all-foam build are best for people weighing less than 230 lbs. The Helix Midnight’s thicker layers and durable innerspring coil layer accommodate people of all body sizes.
Helix vs. Leesa: Firmness & Feel Differences
Here’s everything we learned about the differences between the two mattress brands in terms of firmness and feel.
What’s the Firmness Of the Helix & Leesa Mattresses?
Here at Mattress Nerd, we rate mattresses on a 1–10 firmness scale, with 1 being the softest and 10 the firmest. Your weight and most typical sleep position are two factors that influence the right mattress firmness for you.
The Leesa Original mattress and the Helix Midnight both register at a 6/10 on the firmness scale, which makes them fall on the softer end of the medium-firm spectrum.
What Do the Helix & Leesa Mattresses Feel Like?
The Helix Midnight is a hybrid foam mattress with a cushioning foam top and a bouncy, supportive coil base. Lying down on it, we felt a slink sink into the top layer but not before immediately feeling the stable, conforming support of the support system. This makes it a great choice for all sleeping positions.
On the contrary, we felt we slept “in” the Leesa than “on” it like the Helix Midnight. It provides a hugging feel that comes with traditional foam mattresses. However, we also found its foam layers to be springy, responsive, and supportive.
What’s It Like to Sleep On the Helix & Leesa Mattresses?
The Helix Midnight provides a balanced feel that works well with all types of sleeping positions. However, it shines the most when it comes to accommodating side sleepers of all sizes, thanks to its supportive and conforming top layer. Lightweight and average-weight back sleepers will also sleep comfortably on it, while stomach sleepers may feel like it lacks adequate hip support. If you toss and turn in bed, there may be better options out there than the Helix Midnight.
Leesa is also capable of accommodating all sleeping positions, but when it comes to catering back sleepers, it outperforms the Helix Midnight. Lightweight to average-weight side and stomach sleepers will also find comfort in the mattress thanks to its natural body-contouring capabilities, but heavier folks may experience some excessive sinking.
The Helix vs. Leesa Mattresses By Body Type
Helix Performance By Body Type & Sleeping Position:
| Body Type: | BACK SLEEPERS | STOMACH SLEEPERS | SIDE SLEEPERS |
| Lightweight (< 130 lbs): | 4 | 4 | 5 |
| Average-weight (130–230 lbs): | 4 | 4 | 5 |
| Heavyweight (> 230 lbs): | 3 | 3 | 4 |
Leesa Performance By Body Type & Sleeping Position:
| Body Type: | BACK SLEEPERS | STOMACH SLEEPERS | SIDE SLEEPERS |
| Lightweight (< 130 lbs): | 5 | 5 | 5 |
| Average-weight (130–230 lbs): | 5 | 4 | 5 |
| Heavyweight (> 230 lbs): | 5 | 1 | 2 |
1 = Very poor, 2 = Not good, 3 = Fair, 4 = Good, 5 = Excellent
Average-Weight Sleepers (130–230 lbs)
Average-weight back sleepers will be comfortable on both the Helix Midnight and Leesa, but we think the majority will be happier with the more supportive foam layers of the Leesa mattress.
Both mattresses provide excellent support and pressure relief for the hips and shoulders to give average-weight side sleepers a good night’s sleep.
Average-weight stomach sleepers will also be happy with either mattress because they both do a great job keeping the hips elevated and properly aligned with the spine.
Average-weight combination sleepers who toss and turn in bed will probably sleep better on Leesa than the Helix Midnight since the former is more responsive and easier to move around on.
Heavyweight Sleepers (> 230 lbs)
Heavyweight back sleepers will probably find better support and cushion on the Leesa than the Helix Midnight since most back sleepers will feel like they sink in too much on the latter.
On the other hand, we think heavyweight side sleepers will appreciate Helix Midnight’s conforming yet supportive foam layers. Leesa struggles when it comes to supporting heavier folks, so most may feel like they aren’t getting enough pressure relief.
For heavyweight stomach sleepers, the Helix’s coil base will provide just enough support and cushion for your hips to keep them from blowing out of neutral alignment.
Lastly, heavyweight combination sleepers may feel like they’re stuck on both mattresses at times. We recommend going for more responsive yet supportive mattresses like our picks in our best mattresses for combination sleepers list.
Lightweight Sleepers (< 130 lbs)
Lightweight back sleepers will probably prefer Leesa’s slightly softer and cushioning foam layers over the Helix Midnight’s springy coil base.
For lightweight side sleepers, both mattresses are a fantastic choice since both provide ample cushioning and support for the shoulders and hips.
The Leesa mattress is the more comfortable choice for lightweight stomach sleepers since it offers better support and contouring for the hips.
Lightweight combination sleepers will have a better night’s sleep on the more responsive Leesa than the Helix Midnight.
Differences In Mattress Construction
Helix Midnight is a 12” hybrid foam mattress, while Leesa is a 10” all-foam mattress. Here’s a close look at how each mattress is constructed.
| Helix Mattress Materials | Leesa Mattress Materials |
| “Soft Touch” Cover | Soft Twill Cover |
| 2” Memory Plus Foam | 2” LSA200 Foam Layer |
| 1” Polyfoam Transition Layer | 2” Memory Foam Recovery Layer |
| Pocketed Coils + 1” DuraDense Foam | 6” High-Density Base Foam |
Cover
Helix’s “Soft Touch” cover has a soft, stretchy feel and helps you sleep cool through the night. Leesa’s twill cover is soft, smooth to the touch, and durable.
Comfort Layers
Helix’s proprietary Memory Plus Foam system is designed to provide great pressure relief and cushion. On the other hand, Leesa’s patented LSA200 Foam focuses on being responsive and providing a cooling effect.
Support Layers
The Helix Midnight’s support layer consists of individually wrapped coils and a 1” foam layer, while Leesa uses a 6” high-density foam as a sturdy base.
Helix vs. Leesa Pricing
| Size | Helix Prices | Leesa Prices |
| Twin | $ | $ |
| Twin XL | $ | $ |
| Full | $ | $ |
| Queen | $ | $ |
| King | $ | $ |
| California King | $ | $ |
For exclusive discounts on both beds see our Helix mattress coupons and Leesa mattress coupons.
Helix vs. Leesa Mattress Performance Ratings & Differences
Temperature
Sleeping hot is uncomfortable, which is why so many mattresses incorporate cooling technology into their construction. Despite sleeping cool for a memory foam bed, the Leesa Original’s all-foam build can trap heat next to the body. Because the Helix mattress includes individually wrapped coils, hot sleepers should feel cooler on the Helix Midnight. If you’re a hot sleeper, see our recommendations for the best cooling mattresses.
Motion Transfer
When you toss and turn at night—or when you get in or out of bed—that motion can travel across the sleep surface and disturb a partner’s rest. A mattress that reduces motion transfer will help stifle movement at the source and allow both partners to sleep undisturbed all night long.
While both the Leesa Original and Helix Midnight mattresses offer decent motion isolation, the Leesa Original generally does a better job at preventing motion transfer because of its all-foam construction, making it a better mattress for couples.
Edge Support
A mattress with good edge support allows you to lie or sit along the edge of your bed without feeling like you might slide off.
The Leesa Original has adequate edge support when a sleeper rests right along the edge of the mattress, but sitting on the edge might feel a bit unstable. Because all Helix mattresses come with a tall layer of reinforced steel coils in the support layer, the Helix Midnight provides better edge support than the Leesa Original. If you are looking to make the most out of your mattress surface, see the best mattresses for sex.
Pressure Relief
Pressure relief is important in a mattress because it means that areas of the body that stick out or are heavier don’t experience too much pressure. Typically, the softer a bed is, the greater the pressure relief. However, too soft of a surface can sometimes cause strain on other areas, so it’s all about finding the right balance.
The Helix Midnight and Leesa Original are two of the best beds for pressure relief for back sleepers, thanks to their balanced feel and close contouring. We also like both for side sleepers, although the polyfoam top layer of the Leesa Original gives a bit more for lighter folks, which leads us to recommend it over the Helix Midnight for lightweight sleepers. On the other end, Helix’s memory foam top layer and greater support outperform the Leesa Original when it comes to those who are heavier weight.
Pain Relief
For a mattress to have great pain-relieving properties, it also has to have the ability to relieve pressure efficiently. If you’ve ever woken up sore in certain parts, there’s a big chance those areas are where pressure builds up while you sleep.
If you’re suffering from back pain, both mattresses offer excellent pain relief, especially if you’re an average-weight or lightweight sleeper. However, the slightly softer polyfoam top layer of Leesa accommodates lightweight sleepers just a bit better.
On the other hand, those experiencing side pains and aches should go for the Leesa since it does a great job at conforming to the body’s natural curves, thereby lessening pressure build-up in the shoulder and hip areas.
Durability
Well-made, high-quality mattresses should last for years without losing their shape or softening too much. That is why you should choose a bed with a strongly built base layer that includes a lot of support. Both of these mattresses are durable, but the 8” steel coils in the Helix Midnight make it slightly more durable than the Leesa Original.
Shipping, Returns, & Warranties
Helix
Helix offers free shipping in the contiguous U.S., with extra fees for orders to Canada (around $250 + customs tax). Each Helix mattress comes with a 100-day sleep trial and a 10-year warranty.
Leesa
Leesa provides free shipping to 50 U.S. states and optional white glove delivery for an extra fee of $150. Each Leesa mattress also comes with a 100-day sleep trial where you can apply for a free return and full refund after 30 nights and a 10-year warranty that covers full replacements for any defects not caused by daily wear and tear.
More Mattresses to Consider
Our Final Take
Both the Leesa Original and Helix Midnight are great mattresses for side and back sleepers, but they each have unique strengths. The Leesa Original mattress better isolates motion, making it a top choice for light sleepers who share the bed. The Helix Midnight is cooler and more durable, with superior support for heavier folks. Bottom line— you can’t go wrong with either of these mattress companies, it just depends on your needs.
Helix & Leesa FAQs
How firm is a Helix Midnight mattress?
According to tests we did, the Helix Midnight scores a 6/10 or medium-feel on our 1-10 firmness scale (with 1 being the softest to 10 being the firmest).
How long does a Leesa mattress last?
Like all mattresses, your Leesa mattresses will eventually degrade in time. Expect your Leesa mattress to last you around seven to ten years, which falls in the ballpark lifespan for most foam mattresses. To maximize your mattress, regularly clean and maintain it.
Is the Helix Midnight good for side sleepers?
Yes. In fact, the Helix Midnight excels when it comes to providing support and pressure relief for side sleepers of all weights. The Helix’s polyfoam layer does a great job of contouring and conforming to the body’s natural curves to prevent pressure build-up and amp up comfort.
Is the Leesa mattress good for back pain?
Yes, a Leesa mattress is an excellent choice for those experiencing back pain. It has firm foam memory layers that provide great support and cushion for a healthy, neutral spine alignment. It also provides good pressure relief to alleviate any aches and pains.
