Best Cheap Mattresses

Finding a balance between comfort and support in a mattress with the right price tag can be a hassle. You don’t want to end up with a cheap mattress that leaves you with aches and pains and gives you a bad night of sleep. However, it is possible to find a bed that satisfies your comfort preferences at a low price.

In this guide, we will teach you what to look for in a mattress and what the appropriate price range is for a decent mattress. Expensive mattresses often feature additional layers, materials, or target specific sleeper types, but those bells and whistles are not always needed for a great night’s sleep. One of our top picks is sure to be the right mattress for your body type, comfort preferences, and your budget.

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The Best Affordable Mattresses For Your Budget

• Nerd’s Pick – Nectar
• Best Affordable Mattress for Couples – Helix Midnight
• Best Affordable Mattress for Side Sleepers – Nolah Original
• Best Affordable Mattress for Combination Sleepers – Brooklyn Bedding Signature Hybrid
• Best Affordable Mattress for Active Lifestyles – Bear Original
• Best Affordable Firm Mattress – Plank Firm
  
• Best Affordable Mattress for Back Pain: Cocoon by Sealy Chill
• Best Affordable Mattress for Seniors: Serta Perfect Sleeper
• Best Affordable Mattress for Lightweight Sleepers: Siena Memory Foam Mattress
• Best Affordable Cooling Mattress – Dreamfoam Hybrid 

Who Are The Mattress Nerds?

At Mattress Nerd, our team tests upwards of a dozen new mattresses per month, with models ranging from under $500 to over $2,000. We run each mattress through the same comprehensive tests, regardless of the price tag. Through our testing, we’ve found the mattresses on this list to be high quality, comfortable, supportive, and, most importantly, affordable. To learn more, check out our review process.

Video Breakdown

Nerd’s Pick: Nectar

The Nectar is a good mattress for just about any sleeping position. It gives you a close contouring feeling, relieves pressure and promises a great night’s sleep. Most of all, it’s an affordable mattress.

The Nectar’s flagship mattress is made of high-density premium memory foam. If you are looking for an affordable mattress for you and your partner who have different sleepers positions, the original Nectar is a great fit. The edge support, motion isolation, cooling properties and year-long trial earn it our top spot on the list of best affordable mattresses. After common deals, a Queen size Nectar mattress retails for approximately $800.

This mattress comes with a generous 365-night trial and lifetime warranty, along with free shipping and returns.

How We Select Nerd’s Pick

You might be surprised to see that our top mattress on this list does not have the highest overall Nerd Score. While it’s true that the Nectar isn’t the best overall mattress compared to the others featured here, in our opinion it performs the best for people shopping for a reliable, affordable mattress. The most important factor in this decision was of course the cost, but we didn’t simply put the cheapest mattress at the top of the list. The Nectar, while affordable, performs well for a wide range of sleepers and has impressive durability for its price point.

Read our full Nectar mattress review to learn more!

Best Affordable Mattress for Couples: Helix Midnight

Helix Sleep makes several mattresses in a variety of firmness levels, but there is a reason that the Helix Midnight is their best seller. It has a medium-firm feel that suits all types of sleepers, regulates body temperature at night and does a good job of isolating motion on either side of the bed, all factors which are very important if you and your partner would like to sleep comfortably at night.

The Helix Midnight contours around all sizes of side sleepers and most back sleepers to promote spinal alignment and help alleviate back pain in sensitive sleepers. Similar to the Nectar mattress, its medium-firm feel is pleasing to a wide variety of sleepers, and the addition of the coils provides extra support for stomach sleepers to keep their hips lifted. A queen Helix Midnight costs right around $900, and there is a more elevated “Luxe” version of the Helix Midnight that costs approximately $500 more.

This bed is complete with free shipping, as well as its 100-night trial and 10-15 year warranty.

See our full Helix Midnight mattress review for more info!  Not sure the Helix Midnight is the Mattress for you? Check out other great recommendations for our best mattresses for couples!

Best Affordable Mattress for Side Sleepers: Nolah Original

Thanks to our super scientific pressure map in the Mattress Nerd lab, we’re able to determine how well a mattress performs for side and back sleepers. And, according to our readings, the Nolah mattress does exceptionally well when it comes to supporting the sensitive pressure points of side sleepers. Not only that, but it does so at the affordable price of $1,149 for a Queen.

The three foam layers of the Nolah mattress provide comfort and support, particularly to lightweight and average-weight side sleepers—demographics which require ample comfort and support in order to avoid hip and shoulder pain.

Plus, this mattress comes with a 120-night trial and lifetime warranty. Comfort, support, and dependability at a fair price. What more can you ask for?

Read our full Nolah mattress review to learn more! 

Best Affordable Mattress for Combination Sleepers: Brooklyn Bedding Signature Hybrid

The Brooklyn Bedding Signature mattress is great for anyone looking for a quality mattress on a budget. In addition to being at an affordable price point, the bed comes in three firmness options, so you’ll be able to find the right fit for your body type and sleep position.

We tested the “medium” firm option in our sleep lab, and found it to have the right amount of responsiveness for combination sleepers who may toss and turn on their mattress. The bed’s individually wrapped coils in the support core allow for good ease of movement. 

This bed-in-a-box comes with free shipping and returns, along with a 10-year warranty and 120-night trial.

Check out our Brooklyn Bedding Signature Hybrid mattress review to learn more. Not sure the Brooklyn Signature Mattress is for you? Check out other recommendations for the best mattresses for combination sleepers.

Best Affordable Mattress for Active Lifestyles: Bear Original

Whether you start each day with a jog or like to lift weights at your local gym, recovery is an essential part of an athletic lifestyle, and an essential part of recovery is a great night’s sleep. The Bear mattress, specifically designed with athletes in mind, promotes deep sleep and muscle recovery at the affordable price of $995 for a Queen.

Constructed with graphite-gel memory foam, transition foam, and high-density support foam, the Bear mattress provides exceptional pressure relief⁠—a quality which helps prevent aches and pains around sensitive areas like your shoulders and hips. Not only can this help you sleep more comfortably after a long workout, but also help you perform more capably and confidently the following day. In short, if you’re after a bed that will support your active lifestyle but not break your bank then the Bear mattress may be right for you.

You can test out the Bear with its 120-night trial and lifetime warranty, along with free shipping and returns.

See our Bear mattress review for more information. Not sure the Dreamfoam Mattress is for you? Check out our other expert recommended mattresses for athletes to find your perfect night’s sleep.

Best Affordable Firm Mattress: Plank Firm

If you’re looking for a firm feel, the Plank Firm mattress is a fantastic value product for its cheap price. It’s difficult to find such a supportive, durable mattress for a low price, but you can find this model for under $1,500 before discounts.

The Plank Firm is flippable, boasting two different firmnesses. The firm side ranked a 7.5/10 on our firmness scale, and the extra firm side ranked a 9/10 on our firmness scale. Heavier back and stomach sleepers of heavier weights should do well on the extra firm side, while lightweight sleepers will want more softness on the firm side. 

With the Plank Firm, you can enjoy free delivery, a 120-night trial, and a 10-year warranty.

See our full Plank Firm mattress review for more information. Not sure the Plank Firm is your perfect fit? Check out our other best firm mattresses recommended by our experts.

Best Affordable Mattress for Back Pain: Cocoon by Sealy Chill

Sleepers who experience back pain may worry that they have to shell out thousands of dollars to find a mattress with good presure relief. Thanks to Cocoon by Sealy’s Chill memory foam mattress, though, excellent pressure point relief doesn’t have to be expensive.

When our testers slept on this medium-soft mattress, we found that lightweight and average-weight sleepers experienced almost no pressure, while heavyweight sleepers should opt for the Chill Hybrid for better support in their hip and low back area.

Customers receive a 100-night sleep trial and 10-year warranty, plus free shipping.

Read our full Cocoon by Sealy Chill mattress review for more details. If you aren’t interested in the Cocoon by Sealy Chill mattress, check out our list of the best mattresses for back pain for more great options.

Best Affordable Mattress for Seniors: Serta Perfect Sleeper Mattress

The Serta Perfect Sleeper mattress is a hybrid bed that comes in three firmness options. Its solid edge support makes it a great option for seniors or anyone who would benefit from a supportive surface to ease into and out of bed. It’s also a responsive mattress, which can help make it easier to move on the bed.

Not looking to deal with the set-up of a typical bed-in-a-box mattress? Serta offers white glove delivery for an additional fee, which means you don’t have to do any of the heavy lifting yourself.

Read our full Serta Perfect Sleeper mattress review to learn more. 

Best Affordable Mattress for Lightweight Sleepers: Siena Mattress

The Siena mattress is a good fit for sleepers that weigh less than 130 lbs. It’s also a good fit for couples thanks to its stellar motion isolation.

If you’re in the search for an affordable memory foam mattress, be sure to check out the Siena. It also comes with a 180-night sleep trial and 10-year warranty to ensure you’re happy with your purchase. 

Read our full Siena mattress review to learn more. 

Best Affordable Cooling Mattress: Dreamfoam Hybrid

The Dreamfoam Hybrid mattress (formerly known as the Dreamfoam Arctic Dreams mattress) is a bargain for those who enjoy sleeping on a cooler mattress. We recommend it for lightweight and average-weight back sleepers as well as some combination sleepers.

The features of this gel memory foam mattress include some of our favorite types of cooling materials. The gel-infused foam and cooling panel helps to keep things chilled, while the breathable coil system keeps air moving to prevent heat buildup. The Queen size Dreamfoam Hybrid can be yours for the low price of $749, and that’s before the sales that the company often run.

Read our full Dreamfoam Hybrid Review to learn more. Not interested in the Dreamfoam Hybrid Mattress? Check out our list of best cooling mattresses for other great recommendations.

How Much Should You Spend on a Mattress?

What’s the Cheapest Type of Mattress?

Of all the different mattress types available, the most budget-friendly is memory foam. Memory foam mattresses range anywhere from $250 to $1,000 and last roughly seven years. A durable mattress features a strong support base and a top layer that prevents unnecessary sagging. The best memory foam mattresses use high-density foam to support larger sleepers, combination sleepers or stomach sleepers– in addition to lighter sleepers.

These same sleepers often need mattresses with additional layers and a stronger construction, leading to a higher price.

An innerspring mattress provides extra bounce and breathability for hot sleepers, and is often stronger for larger sleepers. Hybrid mattresses combine the foam layers of a memory foam bed and the coil construction of an innerspring mattress.  A decent hybrid mattress ranges anywhere from $1,000 to $2,000 and lasts about 10 years. Hybrids are more durable than memory foam, and you will pay for that.

Latex mattresses can reach prices up to $3,000 because of their naturally sourced materials, which cost more to produce. Latex mattresses often incorporate natural wool or cotton to increase breathability and increase the organic materials within the mattress construction. However, like hybrids, latex mattresses are highly durable, lasting up to 15 years and less likely to sag than layers of foam. 

What To Expect from a Cheap Mattress? 

• Firmness & Feel: The most common mattress firmness is a medium-firm feel, resting somewhere in the middle of our mattress firmness scale. With 1 being the softest and 10 being the firmest, most budget mattresses will be a 5 or 6 level of firmness. Because of this, the best affordable mattresses will appeal to a wide range of sleepers. The medium firmness will prevent combination and stomach sleepers from feeling stuck within the foam layers. Back and side sleepers will benefit from the softer foam top layers that provide optimal pressure relief.
• Motion Isolation: While not everyone loves the feel of a memory foam mattress, foam absorbs motion transfer between couples better than an innerspring coil mattress. The best mattress for couples is able to suit multiple sleeping positions while preventing motion spread across the bed. Young couples looking for a durable and quality mattress should find a bed that works in our list above.
• Edge Support: Mattresses with a foam encasement or a coil base will have stronger edge support than a standard all-foam mattress. For those who spend time on the edge of the bed or couples who need to maximize the sleepable surface, edge support should be considered in their mattress choice. See our article on edge support in mattresses for more info.
• Pressure Relief: As with many of the mattresses on this list, pressure relief is common in mattresses with foam layers that contour around pressure points at the hips and shoulders. While pressure relief is found in other mattresses, we believe that these affordable mattresses excel in this area.
• Spine Alignment: Spinal alignment is important in all sleeping positions, especially back and stomach sleepers. For proper spinal alignment, a mattress must have pressure relief and a strong support layer. Hybrid mattresses and dense foam mattresses should provide firm enough support to keep the spine aligned and keep the hips lifted on top of the mattress. To learn more, check out our article on spine alignment and sleep.
• Durability: Mattress durability ranges on the materials used. We estimate that most of the mattresses on your list will last about seven years, a good amount of time for budget mattresses. If you begin to notice normal wear on your mattress, there are things you can do to prevent or fix mattress sagging.
• Temperature: Some of the mattresses on our budget list incorporate gel-infused memory foam, coils, or phase-changing materials to combat overheating. Many of these construction additions can be found in more expensive mattresses but you may want to consider a cooling mattress topper for less of an investment. 

Where To Buy A Cheap Mattress?

When debating mattress price, quality is key, but the price tag is important too. If you don’t want to compromise on quality but are worried about spending too much, shop online. The best online mattresses are generally cheaper than mattresses sold in a store.

That’s because online mattress retailers cut out all the middle man costs, floor markups and mattress salesman tricks. Online mattresses are sold direct-to-consumer, so you don’t have to worry about a salesman trying to make a commission off you. 

Plus, online retailers often have incredible sales on the best mattresses and many mattresses are available for purchase at third-party retailers like Amazon. Check out our recommendations on the best mattresses on Amazon for mattresses available for purchase. For more info, check out our article on buying a mattress online vs. in-store.

Pros and Cons of Cheap Mattresses

Pros

• Cheap mattresses are easier on your wallet (obviously).
• An affordable mattress is less of a commitment—perfect for starter or transitional mattresses.
• A cheaper mattress may allow you to worry less when it comes to spills, pets, or children staining or damaging the mattress.

Cons

• The quality of construction may not be on par with more expensive mattresses.
• The materials in a cheap mattress may degrade faster, meaning you will need to purchase a new one sooner than you’d expect.
• They may not offer the comfort and support that you seek in a mattress.

FAQ

Recap of the Top Rated Affordable Mattresses

Mattress	Award	Nerd Score
Nectar	Nerd’s Pick	4.9/5
Helix Midnight	Best Affordable Mattress for Couples	4.8/5
Nolah	Best Affordable Mattress for Side Sleepers	3.4/5
Brooklyn Bedding Signature	Best Affordable Mattress For Combination Sleepers	4.7/5
Bear Original	Best Affordable Mattress for Active Lifestyles	4.0/5
Plank Firm	Best Affordable Firm Mattress	4.0/5
Cocoon by Sealy Chill	Best Affordable Mattress for Back Pain	2.5/5
Serta Perfect Sleeper	Best Affordable Mattress for Seniors	3.8/5
Siena	Best Affordable Mattress for Lightweight Sleepers	4.0/5
DreamFoam Cool	Best Affordable Cooling Mattress	4.6/5