Best Affordable Mattress of 2024

How is the Nectar mattress affordable? 

Nectar Sleep was founded in 2016 and born into a world of traditional mattress companies with stagnant business models. Over the years Nectar Sleep has secured itself a top spot as a mattress manufacturer juggernaut known for offering affordable mattresses without compromising on quality. There are several reasons why Nectar Sleep is able to offer affordable mattresses:

Firstly, they use a direct-to-consumer business model. Nectar Sleep sells mattresses directly to consumers online, bypassing the traditional retail brick & mortar store. This allows the company to offer its products at a lower cost without paying for overhead costs.

Nectar Sleep also uses high-quality materials in its mattresses, such as gel memory foam, which is more affordable than other materials like latex foam or organic cotton. Plus, Nectar Sleep uses a streamlined manufacturing process that reduces costs while maintaining quality. By manufacturing its mattresses in large quantities, the company is able to maintain their high value Nectar mattress.

Company Policies: 

• 365 night sleep trial

• Lifetime warranty

• Free shipping and returns

What it’s made of

The Nectar mattress is made from a gel-infused memory foam that combines conventional mattress technologies – but what sets this mattress apart, and why it’s ranked number one, is the quality and value of the materials used in its construction. Nectar uses cost-effective materials and an efficient manufacturing process that enables them to offer a great value for the price without sacrificing quality, making it an excellent option for those seeking a comfortable and affordable mattress.

Cover - The cover is created from a polyester and nylon blend infused with polyethylene yarn. Polyethylene is highly regarded for its ability to keep cool, making it ideal in a mattress for hot sleepers. 

Comfort layer - The comfort portion of this Nectar mattress offers 2 inches of high-density contouring technology infused with cooling gel to give you yet another layer of comfort. The benefit of memory foam, coupled with traditional coils, is that it allows that ‘mattress-hugging’ feel and molds around your body to promote staying asleep. 

Transition layer - The Nectar also has a transition layer made from Dynamic Support foam – of Nectar’s creation. Dynamic Support foam caters to heavier individuals who need added support in a mattress to help relieve pressure and aid spinal alignment. 

Base layer - The base layer of this mattress is curated from traditional foam, which provides a supportive structure and foundation for the rest of the mattress. When a mattress doesn’t have a supportive and structured base layer – it creates problems with the capacity of support it can give you. Each aspect of the mattress’ construction is vital to providing comfort, support in the right areas, and spinal alignment. 

Best Features

The Nectar mattress has several standout features that make it a top choice among budget mattresses. Firstly, it is a memory foam mattress that provides excellent pressure relief and support to the sleeper. The mattress is designed with multiple layers of high-density foam that contours to the body, providing a comfortable and personalized sleeping experience. If you love the feel of memory foam, then the Nectar is the best value memory foam mattress.

Another key feature of the Nectar mattress is its advanced cooling technology. The mattress is designed with a cooling cover and gel-infused memory foam layers that help dissipate heat and prevent the sleeper from becoming too hot during the night. Cooling features can typically become a detriment to an inexpensive mattress due to its high costs, however Nectar Sleep finds a great balance of providing cooling while keeping it a low cost mattress. 

Lastly, the Nectar mattress has excellent motion isolation capabilities, which means that movement on one side of the bed won't disturb the other sleeper. This is a great feature for couples or anyone who shares a bed with a restless sleeper.

Who it’s best for

With a medium firmness, almost any type of sleeper will enjoy the Nectar’s balance of comfort and support. However side sleepers of all weights will enjoy the medium firm feel that provides liberal cushioning for those high impact areas on your body including your shoulders and hips. 

Side and back sleepers on our team enjoyed the generous cushioning for sore spots in their joints and lower back without sinking excessively. Stomach sleepers weighing less than 130 pounds may also feel comfortable, but those who weigh more will likely need a more supportive mattress.

Sleepers who primarily sleep on their backs have given this mattress great reviews for how it helps keep their spine aligned and relieves pressure around their shoulders, back, and hips. While this position naturally dispurses your weight and pressure across your body, this mattress provides just the right balance of support and comfort that promotes additional weight and pressure distribution. However, if you’re a back sleeper who weighs more than 230 lbs, you might want to find a firmer mattress. 

For stomach sleepers who weigh up to 130 lbs, the Nectar mattress offers a supportive yet soft sleeping surface with minimal sinkage into its foam layers. That means your midsection should be supported without sinking into the mattress, misaligning your spine and shoulders from your hips. Ultimately it’s based on preference, but typically stomach sleepers will prefer a firmer surface so if you weigh more than 130 lbs, you may prefer a firmer mattress to suit your sleeping preferences.

Why is the Siena mattress so cheap?

As a child of the parent brand Resident who also makes our #1 best value mattress (Nectar), we knew the Siena mattress would have a top spot on our list of best budget mattresses. Although retailing at a higher price, the Siena memory foam mattress has been priced down with worthwhile discounts since its inception in 2022 making it one of the best mattresses priced under 500 dollars. Resident never compromises with quality, so you can be assured that this is a quality cheap memory foam mattress. As another cheap memory foam mattress on this list, what sets it apart from the Nectar Original? Read on below to find out more. 

Company Policies: 

• 180 night sleep trial

• 10 year warranty

• Free shipping and returns

What it’s made of

Siena doesn’t compromise on comfort and quality, even though it might cost a lot less than their competitors. 

Cover: Each Siena mattress is carefully crafted with a poly-blend top cover that is soft to touch and breathable to keep you cool and comfortable.

Comfort layer: Pressure relieving memory foam contours to your body shape – cushioning every joint and muscle to relieve pressure. 

Support layer: Below the comfort layer, you have a convoluted foam that further cushions your body, providing further comfort and support. The special design of this layer also allows further breathability throughout the mattress, which is important for all foam mattresses which have a tendency to sleep warmer than other mattress types. 

Base: 5.5” of sturdy bedrock layer is sturdy and supportive. It provides the stability and structure that prevents your mattress from sagging and enables it to last longer over time. Without solid and structured base support, the mattress won’t be able to hold and support you when you sleep – causing pain to build up in your shoulders, back, and hips. 

Best Features

The Siena mattress is an all foam mattress with a medium firm feel rated around 6.5 out of 10. According to Siena mattress reviews it’s a bit firmer than other cheap memory foam mattresses. If you love a memory foam feel but need something a bit firmer, this is a great cheap foam mattress to look into. You’ll find that a firmer mattress can also help with ensuring proper spinal alignment as well as relieving pressure for those who suffer from pain during the night.

Tend to sleep a little warmer? The Siena’s gel memory foam layer helps wick away excess body heat. And air pockets between the layers allow the mattress to breathe. So you can sleep comfortably, even when it’s hot out. Plus you’ll get a whopping 180 nights to try out this all foam mattress. Plenty of time to test out its cooling abilities throughout multiple seasons. 

Memory foam mattresses typically will rank very high in motion isolation, and the Siena mattress is no exception. With no springs and lots of motion-reducing foam, you won’t be bouncing up and down every time someone moves. Bad news if you’re 10 years old, great news if you just want to sleep without being disturbed by your partner.

Who it’s best for

Aside from appealing to those who are looking for a good budget mattress, the Siena mattress provides just about everything that any sleeper looks for in a bed. That’s why we’d pick the Siena as the best mattress for a guest room. A guest room bed should fit a wide range of sleepers, it should be comfortable and supportive while not breaking the bank. 

Side sleepers will love the contouring foam that provides pressure relief in high-impact areas but sleepers over 130 lbs will especially appreciate its firmer than usual surface. Side sleepers under 130 lbs might find this mattress a little too firm. 

Back sleepers and stomach sleepers will especially love the feel of whole-body support through the layers of the Siena. The firmness allows the mattress to fill the gaps in the lumbar and midsection regions to properly align your spine. If you weigh more than 230 lbs, you might want to try a firmer mattress. You can check out our best mattresses for heavyweight sleepers.

Why is the Cocoon mattress affordable?

Cocoon is a mattress brand owned by Sealy, which is one of the largest (and oldest!) mattress manufacturers in the world. Sealy has a long 140 year history of producing mattresses, so it’s safe to say they’ve streamlined the manufacturing process that reduces costs without compromising on quality. The Cocoon mattress is manufactured in the United States which you’d assume would actually drive up costs, however with a combination of thoughtful construction and use of materials, Sealy has solidified the Cocoon Chill as the best affordable cooling mattress on the market. 

Company Policies: 

• 100 night sleep trial

• 10 year warranty

• Free shipping and returns

What it’s made of

When it comes to individuals that can’t seem to stay cool throughout the night – having a mattress that prioritizes air circulation and has cooling technology is at the top of your list. 

Cover - Made with a blend of polyester and cotton incorporated with phase-changing technology that helps dissipate heat away from your body. 

Comfort layer - 2 inches of memory foam that targets motion isolation and helps ease the impact of tossing and turning throughout the night. 

Support layer - Similar to the mattresses previously discussed, comprising a responsive comfort form. Responsive comfort foam is designed to offer a cozier and superior feel with added support. 

Base layer - The base structural layer is made with poly foam that generates support to prevent sinkage into the mattress and is curated to be resilient and durable – to last a lifetime. 

Best Features

Adding cooling features to bed, especially to memory foam beds, can drive up costs due to the extra manufacturing needed to produce it. However the Cocoon Chill uses proprietary “Phase Change Material” that keeps the mattress cool while maintaining its low cost. 

The Cocoon Chill has a firm rating of around 7 out of 10, which means it’s quite firm compared to the other budget mattresses on our list. The memory foam layers will contour to your body while allowing you to rest on top of the mattress, with minimal sinkage. This is great for anyone who is seeking exceptional pressure relief and/or motion isolation. 

Who it’s best for

If you’re a side sleeper weighing over 130 lbs and prefers a firmer surface, the Cocoon Chill might be a great option for you – it provides the perfect balance of comfort and support that allows you to minimally sink into the mattress just enough to relieve pressure but is firm enough that you’ll feel supported in your hips and shoulders. 

Back and stomach sleepers are the prime audience for the Cocoon Chill mattress. Cocoon Chill’s construction promotes complete support and spinal alignment for back sleepers and stomach sleepers who need a mattress with a firmer feel to prevent their midsection and lower back from arching all night. This bed has higher-density transition and support layers that will promote spinal alignment while you sleep. 

If you’re a heavyweight sleeper weighing over 230 lbs, check out Cocoon’s hybrid version which will further support your weight with its use of coils in the construction. 

Lastly, if you’re a hot sleeper then the Cocoon Chill should be on your list as one of the best budget cooling mattresses. Its phase-change cover absorbs body heat and wicks away moisture from your body. You’ll feel it immediately on the cool-to-the-touch surface of the mattress. Just because you’re spending less on your mattress doesn’t mean you should compromise on great features like cooling.

Best mattress for back pain on a budget - how do they do it? 

Nolah is a relatively new player to the mattress game, being an exclusively online mattress company which allows them to reduce overhead costs which helps them keep their mattresses affordable. The Nolah Evolution uses high quality foam that is designed specifically to provide exceptional support and pressure relief. However, unlike other luxury foam mattresses, it uses proprietary foams that are less expensive to produce. For example, the Nolah Evolution 15 uses a high-resilience foam that is more durable than traditional memory foam and that’s less expensive to produce. Like other mattress companies on our list, Nolah manufactures their mattresses in the US and ships them directly to customers, which helps them reduce costs by cutting out the middleman and ultimately allowing them to keep their mattress price below. 

Nolah Signature 12” retails at a higher price than most of the mattresses on our list, but they will mark down their mattress throughout the year with promotions and sales. 

Company Policies: 

• 120 night sleep trial

• Lifetime warranty

• Free shipping and returns

What it’s made of

Cover: The 12” signature Nolah mattress uses a premium organic cotton cover that promotes airflow and keeps you cool throughout the night. The cotton cover has the unique property that helps wick moisture – not only keeping you cool, but dry as well. 

Comfort layer - Comprising another 2.5 inches of plush Airfoam which not only helps draw heat away from your body but cushions your curves without letting your body sink into the mattress. 

Response layer - The high-resilience, ultra-breathable foam is responsive and adds bounce to the mattress. 

Transition layer - Another 1” of firm pressure relieving Airfoam provides further support and pressure relief. This layer is meant to take away pressure from key areas of your body like the neck, hips and shoulders. 

Base layer - A high density core foundation of the Nolah holds it together and creates stability and structure for the layers above – making the entire mattress comfortable and able to relieve pressure from your shoulders, neck, back, and hips. 

Best Features

Nolah’s signature mattress is designed with cooling features throughout its design to help keep you comfortable throughout the night. The top layer of the mattress is made with a proprietary AirFoam™ that is designed to dissipate heat and keep you cool. Additionally, the cover is made with a breathable fabric that promotes airflow and helps to regulate temperature. 

Another great feature is its excellent pressure relief, which is especially beneficial for side sleepers. With a medium firmness of 5 out 10, the proprietary AirFoam™ layer conforms to your body to provide targeted support and pressure relief, while also promoting healthy spinal alignment. We’ve rated the Nolah Signature 12” to be the best affordable mattress for side sleepers.

Lastly, the Nolah Signature 12” is made with high quality materials that are designed to last. Highly durable and resistant, the layers of this Nolah mattress resist sagging over time. Also, Nolah will provide you with a lifetime warranty which speaks to the company’s confidence in the quality of their product. 

Who is it best for

With a medium firmness of about 5 out of 10, the Nolah Signature is best suited to side sleepers and lightweight back or stomach sleepers. 

Side sleepers will appreciate the Airfoam layer that is designed to conform to the body and provides targeted support for the hips and shoulders. The surface of the mattress will provide enough “give” to allow those key areas to sink into the mattress while providing the rest of your body support. 

Lightweight back and stomach sleepers might also end up enjoying the softness of the mattress - if you enjoy a softer mattress then it’s worth considering the Nolah Signature as your next budget mattress. However be aware that as a softer firmness, there will be more sinkage than a firmer mattress. If you are a particularly heavy sleeper or prefer a firmer feel, you may want to consider the Nolah Evolution mattress, which has a slightly firmer feel and is designed to provide even more support and durability.

What makes Brooklyn Bedding affordable?

Brooklyn Bedding is a reputable mattress company that has been in business for over 25 years, offering a wide range of mattress lines that include both luxury and affordable mattresses. One of the reasons why they’re able to produce affordable mattresses is that Brooklyn Bedding manufactures them in their own factory, giving them greater control over the production process and enabling them to reduce costs. In addition, they use a direct-to-consumer sales model, which eliminates the need for a middleman and further reduces the cost of their mattresses.

Company Policies: 

• 120 night sleep trial

• 10 year warranty

• Free shipping and returns

What’s it made of 

The Brooklyn Bedding Signature Hybrid combines the best of both worlds with its hybrid construction. If you’re wondering why there aren’t any other hybrid mattresses on our list of best affordable mattresses, then you’re not the only one! Hybrid mattresses tend to be more expensive than memory foam mattresses due to the complexity of their construction. The additional materials and layers (coils, springs, etc) contribute to a higher costing mattress. That’s why Brooklyn Bedding’s budget hybrid mattress is so impressive and why we’ve awarded it best affordable hybrid mattress.

What it’s made of

Depending on the firmness level you choose, the construction of the Signature 12” will change a bit. Notice below the distinctions. 

Cover: In the soft and medium firmness, the top layer consists of a 1” premium quilted top providing breathability and cooling while you sleep. In the firm option, this consists of a 1.5” tightly quilted top. 

Comfort layer: A 1.5” layer of hyper-elastic responsive foam that responds immediately to the movements of your body. In the firm option, this is a 1” layer of responsive foam. 

Transition layer - 1” layer of proprietary transitional foam that combines comfort with deep compression support. In the firm option, this layer is 2”. 

Support layer - In all firmness options, 8” of individually encased coils that are engineered to be exceptionally reactive. This layer helps with motion isolation and also creates a more durable edge support along the perimeter of the mattress. 

Base layer - In all firmness options, .25” high-density base adds durability and sturdiness to the foundation of the mattress. This layer also provides more reinforcement for the individually encased coils. 

Best Features

First of all, one of the standout features of the Brooklyn Bedding Signature Hybrid is the fact that it is highly customizable. The mattress is available in three different firmness levels - soft, medium, and firm - which allows customers to choose the level of support that is best for their individual sleeping preferences.

This affordable hybrid mattress is also a great option for couples. It’s designed to be highly responsive, which means it will quickly adjust to your movements as you sleep. This makes it a great choice for anyone who tends to move around a lot during the night. That’s why we’d consider this to be the best budget mattress for couples. 

Despite its high-quality construction and customizable features, the Brooklyn Bedding Signature Hybrid is priced lower than many other hybrid mattresses on the market. This makes it an excellent value for anyone who is looking for a comfortable and supportive mattress under 1000 dollars. 

Who is it best for

The Brooklyn Bedding Signature Hybrid Mattress is an excellent option for anyone seeking a high-quality yet affordable hybrid mattress. Hybrid mattresses, with their complex construction, are typically more expensive than other mattress types. However, this particular budget hybrid mattress offers all the benefits of a hybrid at a fraction of the cost.

One of the standout features of the Brooklyn Bedding Signature mattress is its customizable options, making it an ideal choice for combination sleepers. Regardless of your preferred sleeping position, this budget hybrid mattress has something to offer. For side sleepers, the soft option will contour to your hips and shoulders, while still providing enough support for the rest of your body, promoting natural spine alignment. Side sleepers weighing over 230 lbs may prefer the medium firmness for a better balance of softness and support.

Back and stomach sleepers will appreciate the firmer options for better support and alignment. Lightweight back sleepers will benefit from the medium firmness, while those weighing over 230 lbs should opt for the firmest option for optimal support and weight distribution.

Stomach sleepers typically need a firmer mattress to prevent their midsection from sinking too far into the mattress and causing strain on their back. For this reason, we recommend the firmest option, regardless of your weight.