Purchasing mattresses online isn't exactly the same as going to a mattress store and jumping on a bed. But online mattress retailers make it easy to cut through the sea of mattress brand and mattress type choices and features to consider in order to find the best mattress as well as return it if it's not perfect for your needs. More than ever before, now is a good time to consider buying a mattress online.
No longer do you have to go through the pain and hassle of dealing with a salesperson or lying on numerous floor models and testing out one sleeping position or another in full view of the general public. You can simply shop from the comfort of your own home, pick out the best mattress to fit your needs -- whether you want a queen mattress, king mattress, or a twin XL -- and end up with the optimal mattress type for a good night's sleep.
Starting about seven years ago, a number of online mattress retailers upended the mattress industry by simplifying the nightmare of the buying process. The movement was headlined by mattress brands such as Casper and Tuft & Needle, and it's transformed how we buy our beds.
Online mattresses, compared
Mattress
Buying info
Mattress Type
Price (Queen)
Trial period / Return policy
Warranty
The Casper
See at Casper
Foam
$995
100-day
10-year limited
Ikea Haugsvar
See at Ikea
Hybrid
$399
365-day; exchange, not refund
25-year limited
Leesa
See at Leesa
Foam
$995
100-day
10-year limited
Nectar
See at Nectar
Foam
$799
365-day (+30-day initial trial period), then you can donate or dispose of it
Forever
Purple Original
See at Purple
Foam*
$999
100-day
10-year
Saatva
See at Saatva
Coil
$1,199
120-day ($99 transportation cost)
15-year limited
Cocoon by Sealy Chill
See at Cocoon by Sealy
Foam
$930
100-day
10-year limited
Serta Blue 100
See at Mattress Firm
Foam
$1,099
120-day; 15% return and disposal fee + $200 S&H only for iComfort line
10- to 15-year limited
Tempur-Pedic Tempur-Adapt
See at Tempur-Pedic
Foam
$2,099
90-day
10-year limited
Tuft & Needle
See at Amazon
Foam
$595
100-day
10-year limited
Zinus Green Tea Memory Foam 10"
See at Walmart
Foam
$256
100-day; must be in good condition
10-year limited
*Proprietary "Purple Smart Comfort Grid"
But the revolution also drew a lot of attention to the $29 billion market. While the early disruptors maintain their hold, for the most part, a number of new mattress challengers have arrived, offering slightly different combinations of price, product, materials, and customer service.
After a series of parries and pivots by companies large and small, consumers now face a more nuanced mattress market, with different mattresses for different firmness requirements, preferred sleeping position and more. If you're a low-maintenance shopper looking to avoid the pain of going to a showroom, you're no longer locked into just grabbing a Casper -- other viable options may suit your needs better and ensure you find that perfect mattress, pillow top and all.
To add to the intrigue, older retailers have entered the online direct-to-consumer fray. These traditional outfits offer a combination of ease and industry gravitas.
If you want to find the best mattress you can buy online -- and finally get a good night's sleep -- you've come to the right place. We've rounded up which mattresses offer you the most bang for your buck, depending on price, firmness, coils, memory foam, pressure relief, and sleep comfort.
Below, we've laid out 11 of the best mattress brands you can buy online, sorted by price, market differentiators and process features (think return policy, warranty, and installation).
This guide is meant to give you a layout of the market as it stands today before you make your purchase. It's a roundup of our online research from reviewers, aggregators and the manufacturers themselves (all linked where cited).
This guide isn't meant to walk you through all the ins and outs of coils vs. memory foam or gel vs. adjustable air, or what's best for support, firmness and spinal alignment vs. comfort. Though many mattress types are available online, almost everything that's getting shipped to you in a box is probably going to be a foam mattress, and if you have specific sleeping requirements or needs (stomach sleepers, anyone?), regarding firmness, pocketed coils, innerspring, size, materials or an eco-friendly mattress, check out our buying guide first, then come back to find the best mattress with the right combination of price, features, comfort level and user sentiment.
Casper
Casper
While technically not the first to offer an easy online mattress shopping experience, Casper has come to represent the movement and very much awakened a sleeping giant for the mattress industry. When people are turned off by the old-school buying process, Casper is usually the first place they turn.
It started off with one model, The Casper mattress, but has expanded to offer a fancier version, The Wave, and a budget version, The Essential. Its standard hybrid foam hybrid mattress has four layers of zoned foam. Each layer is meant to get you right in the sweet spot of support, sleep, firmness, breathability and comfort for all sorts of sleeping positions including shoulders and stomach sleepers. The Casper mattress is available in a variety of sizes including a king-size mattress, queen-size mattress, twin XL and more. The company won't install your mattress or haul away your old bed, but it has a paid service available for those who don't want to bother.
Interestingly enough, Casper has started to flip the playbook and opened a number of brick-and-mortar stores across the country, in case you want to try a model out for comfort and feel in person. They've also been busy on the partnership front, and now thousands of Target locations carry Casper products.
As one of the older companies in the new guard, Casper's impressive sales numbers make it a safe bet for anyone who doesn't have super-specific mattress needs.
Cocoon by Sealy
Cocoon by Sealy
Sealy is another long-standing brand that entered the direct-to-consumer market with the Cocoon by Sealy brand, launched in March 2016. Cocoon has two mattresses, the classic along with a newer version, the "Chill Mattress," with a spiffy comfort layer made out of its proprietary "Phase Change Material" which is basically fancy lingo saying you'll stay cool in bed at night.
Each of its two models comes in either soft or firm, which is a nice option to have to suit your spine, and their price range is comfortably on the cheaper side of the industry leaders. They come with the standard 100-day trial and 10-year limited warranty, plus the added bonus of picking up your mattress if you want to return it.
Ikea
Ikea
It's no surprise that for those seeking a no-frills, low-cost shopping experience, Ikea has you covered. Ikea plays the role it knows best in the direct-to-consumer mattress market: itself. With around 15 different comfortable mattress options available, you have the choice between ultra-cheap ($120) all the way up to a $900 natural latex Queen, and endless foundation and furniture configurations to play with.
We've chosen the Haugsvär memory foam mattress for our best mattress comparison, and it stacks up well against other discount brands. The Haugsvar comes in two firmness options and at less than half the price of the market standard, ringing in at $399. It offers individually wrapped pocketed coils and a generous layer of foam for pressure relief or stomach sleepers. Ikea doesn't offer white-glove installation and haul-away, but they do have a 365-day trial period for their mattresses if you want to exchange it for something else (there is no risk-free refund period) and a 25-year limited warranty, which primarily covers manufacturing defects. Also, note that delivery costs around $50 depending on where you live. As with all Ikea furniture, you can try it out in the store and if you have a big enough car, pack it up yourself for free.
We didn't find any of the mattress review issues that Zinus has, so you're paying a little bit more for a better-known retailer with a proven track record. If you're looking for a good deal for your night's rest, it looks like trusty Ikea comes through.
Leesa
Leesa
Perhaps the most striking thing about the Leesa mattress is how average it is in every respect. We don't mean that as a criticism -- it's a compliment more than anything.
This type of mattress is designed to fit most body sizes and types, and the prices are right in line with the market. It offers two models, the classic and a newer luxury version, both with an average firmness, and a good balance of support and pressure relief comfort. Unlike the Purple mattress, which some users found difficult to move, the Leesa is easy to transport, so if you need a good mattress you can swap between rooms, this could be the best mattress for you. You can also test Leesa mattresses in selected Pottery Barn or West Elm stores, and it's even opened up a few Leesa "Dream Galleries" in select cities.
Leesa
Where Leesa does stand apart from the competition is its commitment to social impact. For every 10 mattresses sold, the company donates one to charity, and for every mattress sold it plants a tree. It's even teamed up with Olympian Aly Raisman to fight homelessness.
During our research, we also found a number of good discounts on Leesa mattresses (e.g., a President's Day sale on its site), so if you can snag it for $150 less, Leesa jumps into the bargain category. If you want a no-frills mattress experience from a company that seems to genuinely care, Leesa is a good option.
