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Warranty: 10-year
Sleep Trial: 100-Nights
Price Range: $315-$675
Our Verdict: The Tuft & Needle mattress is a medium-firm mattress that provides good support for your back, shoulders, and neck. It uses a unique design to keep you and the mattress cool, and its foam blend technology helps with motion transfer. The more pressure applied to the mattress, the more support it gives the sleeper, making the Tuft & Needle a good fit for sleepers of all sizes. Shoppers looking for a traditional foam mattress may not prefer the Tuft & Needle.
Tuft & Needle began as an idea by two Penn State grads. Back in 2012, one of them had a traumatic experience buying a mattress. The duo found out the hard way that the mattress industry had turned into the Wild Wild West. Crazy markups, like five or 10 times the cost of making a mattress. Aggressive sales tactics, like selling the same mattress for $500 more than in another place with a different tag. By year’s end, the second direct-to-consumer mattress outfit in the U.S. opened its doors. Tuft & Needle is so successful that, in August 2018, it was purchased by the biggest mattress manufacturer in North America—Serta Simmons Bedding.
Now, the current version of the Tuft & Needle mattress is aimed at the average sleeper wanting a budget-friendly choice. It was made for anyone who wants to decrease the hassle of buying a mattress but maybe gun-shy about doing that online-Tuft & Needle makes it easy!
In this review, we will cover some highlights of the Tuft & Needle, who this mattress is best for, and what you should expect when shopping for a new mattress. Let’s get started!
Best For… |
May Not be Best For… |
| ✅Those who sleep hot
✅Back and stomach sleepers ✅Co-sleepers and those who sleep with a partner ✅Shoppers who want a supportive mattress |
❌Shoppers that like the “sinking sand” feeling of a traditional foam mattress |
The Tuft & Needle is a foam blend mattress. It also has some pretty cool materials within its’ layers; Graphite (to absorb heat), Ceramic Gel (Cooling Beads), Open-cell Support Foam, and their T&N Adaptive Foam.
As noted above, Tuft & Needle uses several interventions to keep you and the mattress cool all night long. The ceramic gel and graphite injected into the mattress allows the mattress to breathe well.
The Tuft & Needle mattress is a medium-firm mattress. It is made with T&N adaptive foam, which closely resembles well-known memory foam. It is included in our round-up of best memory foam mattresses.
Even though the Tuft & Needle sleeps fairly firm, it does not excel in edge support. It is ok for sleeping near the edge of the ned, but if you sit on the edge to tie your shoe, you will probably feel like you are about to fall off. Since it is a foam mattress, it does a good job keeping one partner’s movement from disturbing the sleep of the other. Again, when you use the full surface of the bed, you won’t slip off the side due to good support in the base layer, but be careful about sitting on the edges too much. The proprietary T&N foam should also support the natural alignment of your spines. If you are both average-sized people, both in weight and shape, the mattress should be appointed well enough to relieve back, shoulder, and neck pain. See: Best Mattresses for Scoliosis
| Back | Stomach | Side | Combination |
| ✅Even support along the entire body
✅Contours lower back to keep the spine aligned |
✅If you are very petite it will support your hips enough
❌May sink too much in the hips |
✅Will soften up & contour hips and shoulders over time
❌May experience some pressure |
✅If you are a dominant back sleeper, you will do well on the Tuft & Needle
❌May not be great for dominant stomach sleepers or lightweight side sleepers |
Back Sleepers: The Tuft & Needle shines when it comes to back sleepers. It noticed my weight was evenly distributed across the entire bed. This prevented pressure being put on my lower back and I could tell it was keeping my spine aligned. I think this mattress is a great blend of support and comfort and, for me, feel like the perfect firmness. See all of Mattress Nerd’s top picks for Best Mattresses for Back Sleepers.
Stomach Sleepers: The top foam layer is what many love about the Tuft & Needle, but it may be the reason it is not the best option for strict stomach sleepers. While comfortable at first, this foam layer started to let my hips sink significantly, putting pressure on my lower back. If you are a very lightweight stomach sleeper, this mattress may be okay for you, but I wouldn’t recommend it for average to heavy sleepers. For more options see: Best Mattresses for Stomach Sleepers
Side Sleepers: When I first laid down on my side, I was surprised to feel as much pressure on my shoulders as I did. However, after a while, the pressure relieved and I felt very “hugged” by the mattress. If you are very lightweight, you may not ever get into the mattress enough to experience this feeling so I wouldn’t recommend. For average sleepers who like a close hug, and heavy sleepers who want something to conform to them over time this could be a winner. See also: Best Mattresses for Side Sleepers
Combination Sleepers: As usual, how happy combo sleepers fare on the Tuft & Needle will depend on what their dominant sleeping position is. Moving around on this mattress, it was easy enough and I never really felt “stuck.” However, if you lay in one spot the majority of the night and then try to move, you may find it takes a significant amount of effort. If you are mainly a back sleeper, you will do well. If you are mainly and side or stomach sleeper, refer to our advice above. See: Best Mattress for Combination Sleepers
Top Layer: This comfort layer is a 3-inch slab of the company’s own T&N adaptive foam. The triple-layer formulation feels like some combination of memory foam (responding to your movements and body curves) and latex (some bounce). It is also infused with a cooling gel and graphite that disperses heat and saves you from the discomfort of a hot mattress.
Base Layer: This support layer is 7 inches of a high-density support foam that most foam mattresses have. The surface is a synthetic rayon/polyester blend. The Tuft & Needle Mattress should be a good fit for people of all sizes due to the reactive properties of the bed. With increased pressure on the bed, it increases the support it provides to the sleeper.
| Twin | Twin XL | Full | Queen | King | Cal King |
| $350 | $395 | $495 | $595 | $750 | $750 |
See: Tuft & Needle Mattress Coupons
72 pounds for a queen size
10 inches
Tuft & Needle gives customers a 100 day trial period to test out their new mattress. If you decide to return the mattress you ordered, simply call Tuft & Needle and they’ll arrange to pick it up and have it returned. As always, the company strongly urges you to take at least 30 nights to sleep in the bed before making a decision one way or the other. Especially for this mattress, as it starts to conform to your body over time.
Additionally, Tuft & Needle mattresses come with a 10-year warranty. As with most mattresses, the warranty only covers defects, like unexplained indentations of great than 3/4 inch; seams that are coming undone or something that causes the foam to crack or split. It doesn’t cover anything resulting from abuse or wear and tear, like stains or torn fabric or the fact that you just don’t like the way the mattress feels.
Tuft & Needle mattresses are available for on their website and also on Amazon.com. If order through their site, it delivers free to the lower 48 states and for a fee to Hawaii and Alaska. You can expect the mattress to arrive in 2–5 business days from the day you order.
The Tuft & Needle mattress comes compressed, rolled, and boxed. You will simply unbox the mattress, unroll it on your foundation, and wait for it to expand. Tha mattress may take several hours or several days, depending on conditions to reach its full specifications. See: Best-Bed-in-a-Box
The Mint mattress by Tuft & Needle is an upgrade of the original model. This luxe version uses a new adaptive foam layer with more graphite to disperse body heat so you sleep even cooler. It also comes with enhanced edge support and two additional inches of thickness. The Mint mattress appeals to those seeking a middle-of-the-road option as it is still reasonably priced.
See our full Tuft & Needle Mint Mattress Review for more details.
The Tuft & Needle Hybrid mattress is the first hybrid mattress by T&N. This mattress combines Tuft & Needle’s pressure-relieving adaptive foam with a base layer of supportive coils. The result? A bed that combines cooling comfort and unmatched support.
Read our full Tuft & Needle Hybrid mattress review to learn more.
Tuft & Needle set out to fulfill a difficult task; make one mattress to fit everyone’s tastes and needs. While this is an essentially impossible task, they got pretty close.
The Tuft & Needle Original mattress is a quality, foam mattress that fits just about any budget. It is the perfect bed for college apartments, first time home buyers, guest rooms, and kids’ rooms. I really liked the way the mattress felt on my back and side, once it started to conform. If you are an average or heavy stomach sleeper, I’d advise against this one. It
The Tuft & Needle Original is a great, value option, and while it may not last you the rest of your life it is used every night, it will appeal to a wide range of sleepers for quite some time.
The Tuft & Needle mattress is compatible with most bed frames (platform beds, box springs, slatted frames, bunkie boards, and adjustable frames). Just make sure it’s a sturdy foundation. And if you decide to use a slatted platform, just make sure the slats are no more than 5″ apart. It sells metal bases and box foundations if you want those.
In short, yes. Most foam beds-in-a-box will come wit some off-gassing smell once unboxed. That being said, Tuft & Needle mattresses off-gassing should not last very long at all. After several hours they should start to disappear.
FYI – While the Tuft & Needle mattress does not contain latex foam as you stated it does contain a synthetic latex used in the adhesive. I know because I had a prior contact latex allergy and now after having the mattress for 2 1/2 months have a full blown respiratory latex allergy that is affecting my ability to do my job as a Nursing Instructor.
That seems strange. “Synthetic latex” isn’t latex (and thus wouldn’t cause latex allergies), latex isn’t generally used as an adhesive to my knowledge, and it seems unlikely that you could be exposed to latex through all of the layers from the mattress.
Additionally, you said you just “know” that the “latex in the adhesive” is what’s causing your symptoms, because you previously had a latex allergy? That seems like the kind of thing that would require a lot of testing.
I think it’s far more likely that you’re allergic to something else. You might be very well allergic to the adhesive, I have no idea, but that doesn’t sound like it would be related to a latex allergy. On the other hand, I am no doctor.
Luckily, you’re in the return period, so just send it back for a refund.
My comment is not spam. I am inquiring as to the correctness of placing a brand new hybrid T & N mattress on a brand new box spring. Will this harm the mattress?
As long as the boxspring is rigid (i.e. doesn’t actually have springs in it; very few do these days), it’s fine.
This is actually the softest bed I’ve ever slept in, to the point there was no support. Gave me raging lower back pain.
Luckily, that’s what the free return policy is for.
But I suspect you haven’t slept in many soft mattresses if this one is the softest.
You are definitely right about the firmness my side was killing me after a week!! And this bed also off gasses a lot!
I am not a huge fan about mattress stores either, but ended up going to mattress firm and trying there “Tulo Mattress” and fell in love its also a bed in the box difference is you get a 120 nights to sleep on it, with a full refund or credit towards another bed, has a 10 year warranty and has 3 comfort levels firm, medium, and soft! and you can try it in the store before you buy it, a queen retails for $650 but I got mine during a big promotion where they were doing queen for twin pricing and I got it for $375! I definitely recommend!
I have a really bad back, so I need pretty good side support. Would medium soft work best? I have been sleeping on a recliner sofa for the past 2 years. I would like to sleep on a bed again. So what you recommend?
Have you looked at the “new” Tuft and Needle mattress? It supposedly sports a new, adaptive memory foam. It seems pretty economical.
Not yet, thanks for letting me know about it.
Just want to know whether u have tried the purple bed yet? If so, please let me know what you think.
Thank you..
Haven’t tried it. It seems pretty gimmicky to me, since it uses such a thin comfort layer, but people seem to like it.
We tried out the T&N and I’m not sure what the problem is. I switch sleeping positions in the night quite a bit, and feel I have to wake up to move on this mattress. Plus, when my husband tries to cuddle, I wind up falling in his indentation with him. He loves the feel of the T&N, but I’m waking up with lower back pain when I sleep in the bed with him – especially when I sleep on my side. (When he was out of town, I slept fine.) I’m not sure if we need something more or less firm. This is our first new mattress purchase, so I’m At a loss. Any advice is welcome!
Just saw an ad for Leesa on TV, so went on line to read reviews and you are the
first. Most interesting !
My most important question is: will they provide a twin size mattress? In your
review, only the queen size is mentioned.
Space-limited,
Thank you!
Marilynn
Yes, when you go to their website, you’ll see options for size. Queen is just the most popular.
I am looking for 3 twin mattresses for a second home. They will be used twice a year for one week. Do you recommend the T&N or should I look for somethings on overstock?
Honestly, something that will be used one week a year isn’t a critical purchase, and you’d be fine going with either. The T&N is fine for something like that, especially if you prefer a firmer mattress.
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