Saatva vs DreamCloud 2024: which mattress brand is best on test?

Saatva and DreamCloud are some of the biggest names in sleep. These specialist stores produce a wide range of hybrid mattresses, designed to strike a careful balance between comfort and support. We wanted to pit Saatva vs DreamCloud head to head to help you decide which mattress brand meets your sleep needs.

For the sake of a fair fight, we wanted to test a similar mattress from each store. We settled on the Saatva Classic Mattress and the DreamCloud Luxury Hybrid Mattress. Each claims to combine the plush comfort of foam with the airflow and support of an innerspring. We put each mattress through its paces to see which is best on test. 

Here at H&G, we assess each mattress against the same criteria. The best mattress should be comfortable; supportive; and cooling; with excellent motion isolation and edge support. The right mattress should bear your weight while supporting your spine. Ideally, the best mattress is sustainably made and reasonably priced. Both the Saatva Classic Mattress and the DreamCloud Luxury Hybrid Mattress excel in (almost) all of these categories, though the Saatva Classic takes the crown. 

Saatva vs DreamCloud: head to head

Before we begin, I'd like to introduce our testers. Jaclyn Turner, our former sleep editor, tested the Saatva Classic Mattress for almost two years before she wrote her review. Three years on, she's still sleeping on it: it's just that good. Camryn Rabideau is one of our contributing writers and she tested the DreamCloud Luxury Hybrid Mattress back in 2022. She's gone on to test more beds for us, but the DreamCloud Luxury Hybrid still comes out on top.

Saatva vs DreamCloud: head to head

Saatva vs DreamCloud: which is more comfortable?

WINNER: Saatva

For custom comfort, I recommend the Saatva Classic. This mattress comes in three comfort levels – Plush Soft, Luxury Firm, and Firm – to suit every style of sleeper. Jaclyn sampled the Luxury Firm, which strikes a careful balance between comfort and support. She appreciated the plush Euro-top, which allowed her hips and shoulders to sink in, while the innerspring coils worked to lift and lengthen her spine. Jaclyn is a combination sleeper, which means that she cycles between all three sleep positions throughout the night. The Luxury Firm worked for her, but she recommends the Firm mattress for strict stomach sleepers, who need a little more support to keep from sinking.

That's not to say that the DreamCloud Luxury Hybrid Mattress is uncomfortable. As a side sleeper, Camryn appreciated the top layer of plush quilted foam, which has just enough give to cushion her neck, knees, hips, and shoulders. Beneath that top layer is a firm mattress, which works to maintain the natural alignment of your spine. Camryn likes a firm mattress, but her partner doesn't: he misses the cradling feeling of memory foam.  

Saatva vs DreamCloud: which is better for keeping cool?

WINNER: DreamCloud

There's not much in it. Both the Saatva Classic and the DreamCloud Luxury Hybrid are hybrid mattresses, filled with innerspring coils that enhance airflow as they compress and depress beneath your body. Compared to your average memory foam mattress, both of these beds are breathable, but only the DreamCloud Luxury Hybrid Mattress is actively cooling. That plush top layer might be made from foam, but it's infused with cooling gel to dissipate heat and wick moisture. Camryn is a hot sleeper, while her partner sleeps cool, so this thermally incompatible couple appreciated the thermoregulating properties of the DreamCloud Luxury Hybrid.

The Saatva Classic is plenty breathable, if not quite as cooling. Jaclyn started testing the mattress during an Atlanta heatwave, and she never once overheated, though the bed did feel a little warm right under her lower back. If you're set on the Saatva Classic, but you're keen to sleep cool, you could always top it off with one of the best cooling mattress toppers and pads. 

Saatva vs DreamCloud: which offers better motion isolation?

WINNER: Saatva

With any hybrid mattress, some level of motion transfer is inevitable: I blame all those bouncy coils. If you're a light sleeper, or you share a bed with a pet or partner, you might sleep better on the Tempur-Pedic ProAdapt Medium Hybrid Mattress. It has the best motion isolation of any mattress we've tested.

When it comes to Saatva vs DreamCloud, though, the Saatva Classic Mattress has better motion isolation. Jaclyn found that there's a little bit of bounce, but it's hugely softened by thick layers of dense foam. She could sometimes feel when her partner moved around in the night, but she'd hardly call it disruptive. Camryn conducted a more scientific motion isolation test. She filled a glass with water and set it in the center of the DreamCloud Luxury Hybrid Mattress before tossing and turning beside it. She found that the closer she came to the glass, the more it started to topple and teeter, indicating higher levels of motion transfer.

Saatva vs DreamCloud: which offers better edge support?

WINNER: DreamCloud

The DreamCloud Luxury Hybrid just takes it. Since Camryn shares a bed with her partner and their dog, she often ends up shunted to the side of the bed, so she's had a lot of time to test the edge support of the DreamCloud Luxury Hybrid. She appreciated the heavy-duty gauge edge shield, which features thicker springs around the edge of the mattress. Even if she sits right on the edge of the bed, she only ever sinks a few inches. 

According to Jaclyn, the Saatva Classic also has excellent edge support. It's lined with high-density foam rails around the perimeter of the mattress, which makes for more comfortable sleeping and sitting. 

Saatva vs DreamCloud: which is better for weight bearing?

WINNER: DreamCloud

Jaclyn was seriously impressed with the weight-bearing capacity of the Saatva Classic. It molded to her curves and contours, then sprang right back into shape as she removed her weight. 

Here at H&G, we appreciate anecdotal evidence, but we're all about data. That's why Camryn chose to measure the weight-bearing capacity of the DreamCloud Luxury Hybrid with two 10-pound dumbbells, the sort you'd find in any home gym. She set the weights in the middle of the mattress, where they quickly sank through the top layer of plush foam, but only created a small divot in the meat of the mattress. As a medium-firm mattress, the DreamCloud Luxury Hybrid can bear greater weight without forming any unsightly indents or impressions.

Saatva vs DreamCloud: which is more sustainable?

WINNER: Saatva

Each mattress is filled with CertiPUR-US foams, certified free from toxic chemicals so that you can breathe cleaner, healthier air in your sleep. While DreamCloud mattresses are finished overseas and made with some imported materials, the Saatva Classic Mattress is made entirely in the USA and lined with recycled steel coils. No fiberglass or toxic flame retardants here: just a natural, plant-based thistle pulp flame barrier.

In the battle of Saatva vs DreamCloud, the Saatva Classic wins for sustainability, but it's far from perfect. Eco-conscious shoppers and sensitive sleepers might sleep better on the best organic mattress, instead.

Saatva vs DreamCloud: which should I buy?

Let's talk money. The DreamCloud Luxury Hybrid is far more affordable than the Saatva Classic: in fact, it's one of the best affordable mattresses on the market. At full price, a DreamCloud Luxury Hybrid Mattress costs $1,332 for a Queen size, while the Saatva Classic Queen is listed for $2,095. Each mattress is often discounted in the mattress sales. Right now, you could pick up a DreamCloud Luxury Hybrid Mattress in a Queen size for just $665 or save $300 on the Saatva Classic Mattress.

If you just want a good mattress, get the DreamCloud Luxury Hybrid. It's hundreds of dollars cheaper than the Saatva Classic and offers comparable performance, with excellent edge support and superior breathability. If you want the best mattress, bar none, you need the Saatva Classic. Yes, it's a little more expensive, but that's the price you pay for sustainable materials and custom comfort. Plus, the benefits are better: when you purchase a Saatva Classic mattress, you get a 365-night mattress sleep trial and lifetime mattress warranty. That means you can sample your mattress through all four seasons and protect your purchase once you commit. 

How we test mattresses

We put a lot of thought into how we test mattresses. It's more than a matter of sleeping on the job. Our expert testers sample mattresses for months, if not years, to monitor their performance over time. One of our testers, Jaclyn, sampled the Saatva Classic for almost two years before she wrote her review. She got to see the mattress through all four seasons, twice over, and see how well the foam and springs withstood nightly wear and tear. 

We assess each mattress against the same criteria: comfort; support; cooling properties; motion isolation; edge support; weight bearing capacity; sustainability; and the all-important price. Since the Saatva Classic and the DreamCloud Luxury Hybrid are both hybrid mattresses, we'd expect similar results in each of our mattress tests. It takes an expert to split the difference, which is where we come in. 

Some of our mattress tests are pretty subjective, while others are more scientific. To assess the comfort and support of a mattress, we just lie on the bed and see how we feel. To assess cooling properties, we sleep on a mattress through warmer weather and see how well it dissipates heat and wicks moisture. To assess edge support, we sit on the side of the bed and see how far we sink: the further we fall, the worse the edge support. To assess weight bearing capacity, we set a dumbbell in the center of the mattress and measure how far the surface sinks, as well as how quickly it springs back into shape once the weight is removed. 

Our motion isolation test might be the strangest: we fill a glass with water and set it in the center of the mattress, then toss and turn beside it. The more the glass moves, and the more water is spilled, the worse the motion isolation. To assess the sustainability of a mattress, we take into account the materials used, as well as the manufacturing process. We compare all our findings against the cost of the mattress to help you determine value for money. 

Saatva vs DreamCloud FAQs

Which Saatva mattress is best?

The Saatva Classic. Soft, yet supportive, and suitable for all sleep positions, the Saatva Classic isn't just the best Saatva mattress: it's the best mattress, period, with consistently impressive performance across four years of testing. 

Still, Saatva make a lot of mattresses, and one of their other models might better meet your sleep needs. There's the Saatva Latex Hybrid Mattress, which offers excellent pressure relief for anyone who suffers from neck, back, or joint pain, though the edge support leaves a lot to be desired. There's also the Saatva Zenhaven Natural Latex Mattress: naturally breathable and thermoregulating, this is a great option for hot sleepers and anyone who prefers to shop sustainably.  

Which DreamCloud mattress is best?

The DreamCloud Luxury Hybrid. It's filled with gel memory foam to relieve pressure, reinforced with stainless steel coils for support and covered in cashmere for plush comfort: all that for less than $1,000 for a Queen. 

If you're willing to spend a little more money, you could invest in the DreamCloud Premier or the DreamCloud Premier Rest, but I wouldn't bother. Yes, these mattresses are a little thicker, and could offer enhanced pressure relief if you lie on them just right, but there isn't really that much difference between the models.

Final thoughts

Once you've invested in the best mattress from Saatva, DreamCloud, or somewhere else entirely, it's important to take good care of it. You'll need one of the best mattress protectors to safeguard against sweat, stains, and spills. Every so often, dirt and dust will slip through the cracks, but don't worry: you can learn how to clean a mattress with our expert guide. 

You might have made it all the way to the end of this article in window-shopping mode. You know that a better bed is the first step towards better sleep, but you just can't justify the cost of a new mattress. If that sounds like you, then you might be better off with one of the best mattress toppers. I recommend the Saatva Organic Quilted Mattress Topper: that way, you get the fit and feel of a Saatva mattress for a fraction of the price.