A cheap mattress for every kind of sleeper

The best mattress for you depends on your sleep style and preferences. A back-sleeper may want a medium-firm mattress to give adequate support, whereas a side-sleeper may prefer something softer to sink into. One person’s dream mattress may be another’s back-aching nightmare.

Although there is no shortage of cheap mattresses that can be shipped straight to your door, most are likely to disappoint. Many of them may not expand to their full height, or they will start to sag after just a few months. We narrowed down our options to Zinus, Wayfair, Linenspa, and Tulo, all of which offer a free trial period (or a reasonable return policy), a 10-year warranty, and a 10- or 12-inch queen-size mattress for under $400.

We set up each mattress in our Long Island City office for a brand-concealed panel test. Seventeen testers of varying heights, weights, and sleep styles took their time trying out each mattress without knowing which was which. Each tester answered a detailed survey that asked them to rate the mattresses in order of favorite to least favorite, and to explain their reasoning.

In terms of our testers’ least favorite mattresses, the Wayfair Medium Hybrid garnered an immediate “oh, no” reaction from one individual. It felt like a cheap hotel bed, with too many springs and not enough firmness. The mattress “taco-ed” anyone the moment they stretched out on it. The Zinus Blackstone Green Tea Memory Foam was the firmest mattress of the bunch, which is something most of our testers noticed right away. Phrases like “slab of foam” and “jailhouse-firm” were submitted as feedback for this mattress.

Another tester flopped to their back on a memory-foam mattress and promptly exclaimed that it felt as if they were sinking into quicksand, noting how their body impression remained in the mattress long after they stood up. “I feel like I would be trapped in this bed,” they later wrote.

After culling the definitive dismissals, three promising contenders emerged from our testing that we think are great options within their price range: the Linenspa Memory Hybrid, Zinus Green Tea Memory Foam Hybrid, and Zinus Green Tea Memory Foam.

Several people chose the Linenspa as their overall favorite—beating out the higher-quality and pricier Novaform. The Linenspa’s top layer was soft without feeling sinky, and the mattress itself was bouncy while still feeling supportive. We think this mattress will appeal to side- and back-sleepers alike.

Slightly firmer than the Linenspa, the Zinus hybrid mattress resonated well with testers because it didn’t cuddle or hug—you sleep right on the top layer. This may appeal to back-sleepers or people who tend to run hot at night.

Finally, in our testing the 12-inch Zinus Green Tea Memory Foam was the only all-memory-foam model with relatively high scoring. Though many cheap memory-foam mattresses can feel like a slow sink in tar, the Zinus Green Tea has a little of that classic memory-foam sink with a firm underbelly. Stomach- and side-sleepers may prefer this mattress.

Sarah Kobos

The 12-inch foam-and-coil Linenspa Memory Hybrid was an unexpected hit. It’s going to replace the Zinus Cooling Copper Adaptive Hybrid Mattress as our new cheap-mattress pick. We tested the 10-inch version in 2020 and hated it. It turns out those extra two inches made an outsize difference.

The 10-inch foam-and-coil Zinus Green Tea Memory Foam Hybrid also stood out for its springy firmness. It will be an also-great pick in our guide.

The Zinus Green Tea Memory Foam is replacing the Classic Brands Cool Gel Memory Foam Mattress as another also-great pick, since it still offers a plushier, softer feel with better edge support and good pressure relief.