Best affordable mattress 2024 – tested beds to suit your budget

You shouldn't have to spend a small fortune to get a good night's sleep. With the best affordable mattress, you don't have to. If you know where to look, you can find a high-tech hybrid or memory foam model for hundreds, rather than thousands, of dollars. 

You could pick up an affordable mattress at any of the major home retailers, but it's best to shop at one of the specialist sleep stores. That's where you'll find firm latex and plush foam mattresses to suit back, front, and side sleepers. With so much on the market, at such a range of prices, it can be hard to tell what is and isn't quality.

That's where I come in. As H&G's resident sleep writer, I know what makes the best mattress: breathable materials, quality craftsmanship, and a reasonable price point. I know exactly how much you should spend on a mattress to balance comfort and cost. and I can tell you where to pick it up at the fairest price. 

To save you time and money, I've narrowed the search to the six best affordable mattresses from big-name brands, such as Nectar and Leesa. Each of these mattresses is tried and tested by an H&G sleep expert and assessed against the same criteria: comfort; quality of construction; cooling properties; and the all-important price. 

The quick list

If you've already got your eye on an affordable mattress, you can skip straight to that section using the jump menu. If you'd rather take stock of your options, browse our best affordable mattresses below. 

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The best affordable mattresses we recommend in 2024

The best affordable mattress overall

Forget everything you think you know about memory foam. This Nectar mattress is sufficiently supportive for back and stomach sleepers and comes wrapped in a cooling cover to dissipate heat and wick moisture. 

Memory foam is made to mold to the shape of your body, absorbing pressure from your joints to alleviate aches and pains. Of course, no mattress is ever going to cure chronic pain. With that said, our expert tester, who suffers from fibromyalgia, found that the Nectar Memory Foam Mattress strikes just the right balance between comfort and support.

The Nectar Memory Foam Mattress comes in every size, from Twin to California King, including a Split King option to suit couples who share a bed, but not a sleep style. As far as affordable mattresses go, the Nectar Memory Foam Mattress boasts excellent motion isolation. Your partner could toss and turn all night beside you, and you shouldn't feel a thing. 

The Nectar Memory Foam Mattress isn't perfect. The edge support leaves a lot to be desired, and the memory foam takes its time to spring back into shape in the morning. There's also that unpleasant smell of off-gassing, but you'd get that with the best box mattress, and it should only last a few days. You won't find much better at this price.

You can find more details in our Nectar Memory Foam Mattress review.

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The best mattress under $500

Not everyone can afford to spend thousands of dollars on a brand-new bed. When you shop at Siena, you don't have to. In fact, you could bag a queen-sized mattress, two pillows, a mattress protector, and a sheet set for less than $500 total when you take advantage of their regular site-wide sales. 

I'm a shopping writer, not a salesperson: I'm not going to tell you to run out and buy a Siena mattress just because it's on sale. This memory foam mattress offers great value for money. Filled with five layers of thick foam and infused with a pressure-relieving gel, the Siena Mattress offers simultaneous comfort and support.

You don't have to take my word for it: you could try before you buy with Siena's 180-night mattress sleep trials. That way, you can test your mattress through heatwaves and cold snaps and monitor its performance throughout the seasons before you commit to the final purchase. 

The Siena Memory Foam Mattress isn't for everyone. If you tend to sleep right on the side of the bed, I'd suggest you look for a mattress with superior edge support. If you sleep on your side, or you like a mattress with a bit of give, you should consider something plush. This mattress is ideal for back and stomach sleepers looking for something soft, yet supportive.

You can find more details in our Siena Mattress review.

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The best affordable firm mattress

Whether you sleep on your front, back, or side, you'll find a soft, yet supportive sleep surface in the Emma Original Mattress. Filled with three layers of memory foam, this mattress is made to mold to the shape of your body and alleviate pressure from your joints. 

The Emma Original Mattress boasts tens of thousands of five-star reviews, with customers praising its comfort, fast delivery, and easy inflation. Like all the best box mattresses, the Emma Original is delivered straight to your door. All you need to do is unwrap the mattress and wait a few days for it to inflate (and for that unpleasant off-gassing smell to subside).

Like a lot of memory foam mattresses, the Emma Original sleeps a little hot. There isn't much space for air to flow through all that thick foam. Our expert tester slept on the Emma Original in early spring and still found she woke up in a sweat. 

If you're set on the Emma Original, but you know you sleep hot, you might want to invest in a set of the best cooling sheets to top off your mattress.

You can find more details in our Emma Original Mattress review.

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The best affordable foam mattress

The Leesa Original Mattress divides opinion. Soft yet supportive, I think it's a great fit for side and back sleepers, but it might not feel firm enough to please everyone. 

I'd hesitate to recommend the Leesa Original Mattress to anyone who shares a bed with a pet or a partner. One of our expert testers found that the motion isolation was a little lacking: she could feel her husband tossing and turning from the other side of the mattress. The edge support also left a little to be desired, though that seems to be a running theme with memory foam mattresses.

In my time as a sleep writer, I've found that the same mattress can suit one tester down to the ground but not quite meet another's needs. Case in point: our editor-in-chief sampled the Leesa Original not long after our expert tester, and loved it. She found that it relieved pressure from her aching joints and that the motion isolation, while imperfect, was sufficient.

Out of all the mattresses on this list, the Leesa Original is one of the most expensive. You'll have to pay more than $1,000 for a Queen outside of sales season. Of course, it's all relative: $1,000 is nothing compared to the price of the best luxury mattress, but it might not be the best fit for your budget. 

You can find more details in our Leesa Original Memory Foam Mattress review. 

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The best affordable hybrid mattress

The DreamCloud Luxury Hybrid Mattress offers the plush feel of memory foam with the airflow and support of an innerspring at a price that (almost) everyone can afford.

As you compare and contrast affordable mattresses, you might notice that memory foam models leave a little to be desired in terms of edge support. That's one of the areas in which the DreamCloud Luxury Hybrid shines. Running around the sides of the mattress is a row of reinforced steel coils, cushioned by thick foam.

The DreamCloud Luxury Hybrid offers medium-firm support to suit back and stomach sleepers, though it might not be squishy enough to cushion the necks and shoulders of side sleepers.

As the name indicates, this is a luxury mattress at a relatively reasonable price point. You should be able to snag a Queen-sized Luxury Hybrid for under $1,000 and a lot less during sales seasons.

You can find more details in our DreamCloud Luxury Hybrid Mattress review.

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The best affordable cooling mattress

If you're after the plush feel of memory foam without the heat retention, look no further than the Zinus Cooling Gel Memory Foam Mattress. Infused with green tea and natural charcoal, this foam works to wick moisture, block odors, and contour to the curves of your body.

The trouble with cheap memory foam is that it holds shape all too well, failing to bounce back when the weight is removed. You shouldn't have this problem with the Zinus Cooling Gel Memory Foam Mattress. Our expert tester experimented, stacking two 10-pound dumbbells in the middle of the mattress. As soon as she removed the weights, the mattress began to spring back into shape and looked as good as new in less than 20 seconds. 

Back and stomach sleepers should appreciate the medium-firm feel of the Zinus Cooling Gel Memory Foam Mattress, which allows your stomach to sink in while lifting your lumbar region to maintain proper spinal alignment. If anything, the mattress might be too firm for side sleepers, or anyone who prefers a softer surface.

You can find more details in our Zinus Cooling Gel Memory Foam Mattress review.

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How we test affordable mattresses

We put a lot of thought into how we test mattresses. It's more than a matter of sleeping on the job.

Every mattress you see on this site is tried and tested by one of our sleep experts. We sleep on mattresses through all four seasons, through heatwaves and cold snaps, to monitor their performance over time. To help you compare and contrast, we assess each mattress against the same criteria: comfort; quality of construction; breathability; motion isolation; edge support; and value for money. 

The comfort test is simple: we lie down on the bed and see how we feel. We try several sleep positions throughout the night to see how the mattress supports front, back, and side sleepers. We scour the specifications to work out what's inside the mattress and whether those materials are sustainably sourced. 

To test breathability, we make note of whether the mattress kept us cool, taking into consideration any cooling gels or conductive materials. To assess edge support, we just sit on the side of the bed and see how far we sink. The further we go, the poorer the edge support.  

Our motion isolation test might be the strangest of the lot: we fill a glass with water, set it in the middle of the mattress, and toss and turn beside it. The less the glass moves, the better the motion isolation. If you share a bed with a pet or partner, you need a bed with decent motion isolation, so that you don't move when they do. 

As we assess affordable mattresses, we take each of these factors into consideration and compare them to the price. We might be able to forgive insufficient edge support, for example, if the mattress shines in other areas and comes in under budget.

Meet the team

Emilia Hitching

Emilia is our resident sleep writer at H&G. She spends her days tracking down the lowest prices on the hottest products, and spends her nights testing bedding from the comfort of her own home.

Jaclyn Turner

Our former sleep eCommerce editor, Jaclyn frequently tests out and stays up to date on all things mattresses and bedding. She's not willing to sacrifice comfort or value and is after a mattress that makes it easy to sleep through the night. In addition to Homes & Gardens, you can find her work in Real Homes, Livingetc, Apartment Therapy, MyDomaine, and The Spruce. She lives in Atlanta, GA. 

Camryn Rabideau

Camryn Rabideau is a freelance writer and product reviewer specializing in home, kitchen, and pet products. In her five years as a product tester, she's tested hundreds of items first-hand, and her work appears in publications such as Forbes, USA Today, The Spruce, Food52, and more. Camryn does her product testing from her small homestead in beautiful Rhode Island.

Chiana Dickson

Chiana is our Junior Writer and spends most of her time producing content for the Solved section of the website. She helps readers get the most out of their homes through clever decluttering, cleaning, and tidying tips. She reviewed the Emma Original mattress for this guide.

Best affordable mattress FAQs

How should I choose a budget mattress?

When you're shopping on a budget, it pays to do your research. There's a fine line between a good deal and a low price on a poor product. Here are three key considerations to keep in mind as you shop for an affordable mattress.

• Stick to the specialist sleep stores: most of the big-name mattress brands, from Nectar to Emma, will offer a value mattress as an alternative to their more expensive models. You might miss out on a few high-tech features, but you should still get a good-quality bed with a decent sleep trial and watertight warranty.
• Check the specs: it's worth reading the fine print to work out exactly what you're getting for your money. A mattress might be marketed as luxury, yet feature a lot of the same materials as a more affordable mattress: in that case, you might as well take the savings and opt for the affordable mattress. 
• Comfort over cost: you're going to sleep on this mattress for the next seven years, if not more. While you should consider cost, and you could save hundreds if you get a good deal, you should only buy a mattress that suits your sleep needs. If you don't, you'll just have to buy another new mattress in a year or two.

Does a good mattress have to be expensive?

I don't think so. The best mattress will suit your sleep style and the size of your budget. A few of the affordable mattresses on this list also make it into our best mattress-buying guide. Their excellent edge support, motion isolation, and comfort for cost allow them to go head-to-head with luxury models.

How can I get the best price for a new mattress?

It pays to shop the mattress sales. Federal holidays tend to bring deep discounts on bedding: last Presidents' Day, I saw mattresses selling for a fraction of their RRP. If you don't want to wait for a holiday weekend, you could keep an eye out for site-specific sales. That's the best way to spot a good deal on your dream mattress.

Final thoughts

Once you've bought an affordable mattress, it's important to take good care of it. The best mattress protector should help to safeguard against spills, stains, and sweat.

If you're working on a tight budget, or you just like the feel of your old mattress, you might be better off with one of the best mattress toppers, instead. One of these thick layers of foam could transform the feel of your bed for a fraction of the price of a new mattress.