Our mission is to help you find an optimal bed for your particular needs at the lowest possible price, while excluding any products that don’t make it through our rigorous testing and criteria.

We use these principles and a system developed over more than 12 months of analysis, research and many hours of sleep testing different beds. Some of them bad, some of them fantastic, that’s why we don’t want you to go through the whole. You can easily pick one of the winners and get on with your life.

Since we can’t expect all of you to know the terminology and phrases used in our mattress comparison tool and chart above here are some details:

Features Explained

We tried to keep everything as simple as possible, but we understand that you might not be familiar with some of the terms we used. To help you get an idea what each of these questions means, we’ve listed them in order with detailed explanation.

Type

This is the construction and material used to build the bed. We have a handful of options here and many properties directly depend on this:

• Memory Foam – Soft “hug” feel, contouring and pain relief and widely popular due to these properties. Although, it tends to sleep a bit hot that’s why most companies use gel foam these days.
• Foam Combo – Polyfoams and custom proprietary foams provide much better airflow while also giving better bounce and edge support. Considering that most products use memory foam as well, you will find this type in the above category.
• Latex – More expensive but also more durable and much cooler than any foam.
• Coils (Innerspring) – Traditional construction, but usually paired with a pillow top to add that extra comfort and padding.
• Hybrid – A combo of two of the above materials. Result? Better at most features, but not as a pronounced feel of either type. You will see many luxury options here with hotel grade design.

Cooling

This represents the overall capability of a mattress to disperse heat and prevent creating “hot spots.” You will often notice that lower-end memory foam beds have a worse cooling grade (OK or Good) while Latex, Hybrids, and Coils have way better (Exceptional or Very Good).

Firmness

This is a very subjective thing, and it’s rarely same for everyone. I might have 200 pounds and think that a bed is medium, while at the same time some people might have 110 lbs and think it’s firm. That’s why this is just a ballpark estimate, and most companies offer multiple firmness levels for this reason. For more information check our firmness guide.

Edge Support

Have you ever fallen off the bed? Not a good thing, I know. Cheaper foam products have this problem, and you can expect more sagging around the edges, giving you less sleeping space. All other types ar e better at this, and you can even sit on it during the day or have fun with amorous activities.

Motion Transfer

Sleeping with a wife or a husband? Low motion transfer allows one of the partners to toss and turn at will without waking up the other person. Foam products excel in this area while most others do not. See how the tables have turned. That's why most couples love this material.

Off-Gassing

Sleeping on a surface that smells of chemicals can’t be a good thing, right? Well, that’s what we have to do for a couple of days with most foam-based beds as that characteristic smell is a by-product of the manufacturing process. Latex and coils do not have this issue at all.

Trial

Different companies have different policies about trial, refund and return policies. We only show “number of nights” for your reference, and you should check the manufacturer’s terms and conditions page before buying for more details.

Warranty

Much like the above, it’s a period during which you can get your money back if the product doesn’t deliver what’s promised or advertised.

Value

This represents our subjective opinion how good a mattress is compared to its price tag. Even if it excels in every field but costs $20,000 we can’t call it a good deal, can we? In the end, it’s just a representation of how much bang you get for your buck.