Article updated on December 19, 2024 at 4:00 AM PST
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Caroline Igo Editor, Sleep
Caroline Igo (she/her/hers) is a wellness editor and holds Sleep Science Coach and Stress Management certificates from the Spencer Institute. She received her bachelor's degree in creative writing from Miami University and continues to further her craft in her free time. Before joining CNET, Caroline wrote for past CNN anchor, Daryn Kagan.
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The quality of your sleep can have a huge impact on your overall health and wellbeing. Having a comfortable mattress can certainly help improve your rest, but a new mattress can be a big investment. Luckily, there are plenty of affordable options on the market, making it easier to experience or gift top comfort and support without breaking the bank this holiday shopping season.
Whether your prefer sleeping on your back, side, stomach or a combination of all three, there’s a quality mattress to suit your needs. From softer mattresses to memory foam mattresses with supportive layers or budget-friendly hybrids, we’ve found something for everyone looking to save.
The prices in this guide are based on queen-size mattresses, the most popular size choice. But that doesn't mean choosing a different size won't still save you money. Keep in mind that the MSRP prices below don't reflect current discounts and deals. These best cheap mattresses are often even cheaper than they appear on this list. Check out our Best Mattress Deals page for all the up-to-date mattress discounts.
What's the best cheap mattress overall?
Allswell is well-known for making comfortable, affordable mattresses. Its flagship model, the Allswell, not only is our pick for the best cheap mattress overall, but it also made our Best Mattress list. The bed is a great value — its hybrid model of pocketed coils and poly foam is similar to a lot of others on the market, yet it’s very affordable. It offers a medium to medium-firm profile and a bouncy, neutral foam feel that should please most sleepers. If you don't want to sacrifice quality when buying a cheap mattress, the Allswell is your best bet.
Video: Best cheap mattresses for 2024
Watch CNET mattress expert Owen Poole review the best cheap mattresses for 2024.
The best cheap mattresses of 2025
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Why we chose the Allswell mattress: The Allswell brand comes from one of the most popular and cheapest retailers in the world, Walmart. Allswell’s lineup includes four mattresses: the Allswell, the Allswell Supreme, the Allswell Luxe and the Allswell Organic. Its flagship model, the Allswell, is a hybrid mattress that combines pocketed coils, gel-infused memory foam and poly foam. Beds like this usually cost around $700, yet the Allswell is just over $300.
The Allswell mattress is 10 inches thick — similar to standard all-foam beds. The bottom layer is made of high-density foam and the next layer is its pocketed coils. Topping the coils is a 0.75-inch of gel memory foam, and the top is a quilted cover. The mattress’ construction is a suitable choice for heavy and normal body types. It doesn't feel like typical memory foam where it remembers your body. I think the innerspring layer makes it feel a little firmer, so I'd rate it around six or seven out of 10 on the firmness scale, and it is best for back or stomach sleepers. Starting at $217 for a twin size, prices are unbeatable.
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Why we chose the Dreamfoam Hybrid mattress: Hybrid mattresses tend to be on the pricey side, so the Dreamfoam Hybrid is a steal. A queen size retails for just under $800, yet frequent deals knock off $200 more. And while this mattress is cheap, the quality is not. Just over 10 inches thick and constructed with four distinct layers, this bed is thicker and more durable than other low-cost, all-foam mattresses we’ve tested. Its medium firmness level and neutral foam feel should suit most sleeping positions.
The Dreamfoam Hybrid is made up of a layer of high-density foam and a 6-inch layer of individually encased coils that help minimize motion transfer and allow for airflow. On top of the coils is a comfort layer of gel memory foam that is responsive and provides pressure-point relief for the shoulders and hips.
One of the best parts of this bed is its soft, quilted cover that has phase-change cooling materials sewn into it — this is a nice feature we often see on luxury beds. This material draws heat away from your body to prevent overheating, similar to the Cocoon Chill. Dreamfoam by Brooklyn Bedding often has deals that bring the queen-size down to $599, which is a fantastic value for all this bed offers.
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Why we chose the Nectar Luxe mattress: Side sleepers on a budget should look for a soft memory foam bed, the Nectar Luxe mattress is the perfect fit. We found the mattress to be around a medium-soft to medium or a 3 to 4 out of 10 on the firmness scale. So, it's soft enough for both side sleepers who need pressure relief on their shoulders and hips and petite sleepers who love all-foam designs. Its memory foam is dense and conforms and cradles to the body’s pressure points.
The Nectar Luxe mattress is made of three layers of foam and a soft cover. Another great aspect of this mattress for side sleepers is that the cover is also cool to the touch. Memory foam tends to hold onto your body heat and if you are already a hot sleeper, you will need something to dissipate your heat. Also, if you sleep with a partner, the material of this bed should isolate most cross-mattress motion. However, due to its construction, the edge support is not the best.
The Nectar Luxe might seem pricey, but Nectar, like a lot of other brands on this list, often run promotions to cut the price in half.
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Why we chose the Dreamfoam Doze: This neutral foam mattress is perfect for a guest room. First, it’s possibly one of the most affordable mattresses we have ever tested. You don’t want to spend too much money on a bed that will sit in a guest room. Second, this is a very basic mattress. It is all foam, and its feel is very neutral, meaning it isn’t too dense. This feel appeals to most audiences, so your guests will likely find it comfortable.
The Dreamfoam Doze comes in three thickness options that change its firmness profile. The most affordable option is seven inches thick, which is the firmest. We estimate it's medium-firm. Then, the 9-inch thick option is around a true medium, while the 11-inch mattress is the thickest and softest, around a medium-soft. The 9-inch option with medium firmness is likely your best choice to accommodate guests with different sleeping positions or preferences.
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Why we chose the Cocoon Chill mattress: Most cooling beds on the market cost around $1,500. However, with the Cocoon Chill by Sealy, you get cooling technology in a great bed at a fraction of the cost (Sealy deals usually bring this bed down to $700). While the Cocoon Chill is made of memory foam — a material that tends to sleep warm — it is still cool to the touch. The mattress has a phase-changing cover that actively draws heat away from your body and won’t increase your temperature.
The Cocoon Chill is 10 inches high, feels like dense memory foam and is slightly firmer than a medium. We think it’s more around a medium to medium-firm or six out of 10 on the firmness scale, so side sleepers or petite individuals might not find this bed comfortable. However, back and stomach sleepers or those who like firmer beds should enjoy this mattress.
While the retail price looks hefty at first, that's not usually the price you'll pay. Sealy is generous with its discounts, which is why we included this mattress on this cheap mattress round-up. You can usually get a queen size for around $300 to $400 off.
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Why we chose the Lucid Gel Memory Foam mattress: Lucid is another popular mattress brand often bought on Amazon. The affordable Lucid Memory Foam mattress has a dense memory foam feel that responds slowly to pressure and morphs around your body's curves. It's ideal for side sleepers as it provides ample pressure relief to the hips and shoulders. Unlike other affordable memory foam mattresses on this list, this bed is available in three different firmness levels and three height options, so you can customize your mattress to fit your specific needs.
The Lucid Memory Foam bed is made up of a layer of gel memory foam, a layer of transition foam and a sturdy charcoal base. The thickness of these layers depends on the chosen firmness and height. While there are multiple heights to choose from, the 10-inch model is a good value for the price; it isn’t too thin nor too thick. Side sleepers will love the plush or medium model, while back and stomach sleepers will probably prefer the medium or firmer model. Note that many sizes and models are out of stock currently.
Much goes on behind the scenes to curate our best lists, including countless hours of mattress testing to find out which beds are truly worth your money. Our CNET Sleep editors, including myself, curated this best affordable mattress list by choosing our top favorite cheap beds from the 300+ we’ve tested. With that being said, here are a few honorable mentions below that could also be up for your consideration.
Bear Original mattress: The Bear Original mattress isn't the cheapest bed we've encountered, but it offers excellent value. When it’s on sale, which it normally is, you can snag a queen size for under $700. The Bear Original is made with graphite-gel memory foam, so it doesn't retain heat like older types of memory foam mattresses used to, and it provides that signature hugging feel memory foam has become known for. One of the best parts — besides the budget mattress price — is the optional Celliant-infused cover, however, this is an added charge.
Dreamfoam Essential mattress: Dreamfoam offers affordable mattresses that we love — as you can see, two of its beds already made this list. The Dreamfoam Essential is also cheap, you can get a queen mattress around $525 and discounts usually knock off another $100. It’s available in multiple thicknesses that will affect the firmness level. However, it didn’t make this list because it doesn’t feel like the Dreamfoam Hybrid or Doze. The mattress is firmer and denser than those two models, so it might not appeal to a wide range of sleepers.
My fellow CNET sleep editors and I chose mattresses based on firmness, feel, performance, durability, features and the brand’s policies. We test beds by lying on them, testing edge support and motion isolation and switching between sleeping position, for example. We also test a mattress’ firmness with our proprietary machine, appropriately named the Mattress Smasher 9000. This heavy duty tool presses into the middle of a bed and our corresponding software measures firmness on a scale of 1 to 10, with 1 being the softest and 10 being the firmest. While we also test each bed personally for perceived firmness and feel, we have data from the MS9000 to backup our conclusions.
Here's the data we learned testing the best cheap beds with our Mattress Smasher 9000. Sorted from the softest beds to the firmest, here's how the mattresses scored on our firmness scale.
However, with this list specifically, price and value were two of the main metrics we examined. The mattresses we considered "cheap" are anywhere from $300 to $800 (after discounts are applied) and are very basic, often flagship models. They don’t have to have any fancy bells and whistles, yet the chosen mattresses are still comfortable, quality beds at affordable prices.
Read more about our sleep team, our mattress warehouse, the Mattress Smasher 9000 and how we test mattresses.
With any cheap mattress, you get what you pay for. That said, there are cheap mattresses out there that are both worth the money and comfortable to sleep on each night. You can't expect any crazy bells and whistles, but that's not typically what you look for in a cheap mattress, after all.
- Construction: The type of mattress you need is determined by your body type. People over 230 pounds should opt for a hybrid mattress because the construction includes steel coils that help to provide more support and durability. People under that weight can opt for an all-foam mattress. Those who are petite or average should also consider thickness; the thicker the mattress, the more supportive and firm it is.
- Brand reputation: It’s important to do your own research when looking for the best cheap mattress, especially on Amazon. Some companies try to sell knock-offs of popular cheap beds like the Tuft & Needle Nod, so be vigilant.
- Firmness: The best firmness level for you depends on your sleeping position. Side sleepers should consider a soft mattress, whereas back and stomach sleepers may want something on the firmer end for ample back support.
- Price: Remember, you get what you pay for. You likely won't find a bed under $100 or even $200 unless it's designed to fall apart in a year or is already used.
It's important to also state possible downsides of buying a cheaper mattress:
- They typically aren't as thick or durable as an average foam or hybrid bed.
- Unless they have specific cooling technology, cheaper beds can sleep hotter than a regular mattress.
- Unless it's a hybrid, a cheap mattress likely isn't supportive enough for someone over 230 pounds.
- Cheap mattresses are made with cheaper or fewer materials to achieve a lower price.
You can buy cheap mattresses online at a brand's website (such as Zinus) or on Amazon. For your convenience, Amazon carries a lot of cheap and affordable brands such as Tuft & Needle, Zinus, Lucid and some Dreamfoam mattresses.
We have tested a bunch of budget mattress brands over the years. We have found the budget brands to be Lucid, Zinus, Allswell, Tuft & Needle, Dreamfoam and Sealy.
Mattress holidays are typically the best time to buy a new mattress. These include Labor Day, Memorial Day, Fourth of July and Black Friday. Brands typically run deals throughout the year, so keep an eye out. Check out our Best Mattress Deals page for more information.
The information contained in this article is for educational and informational purposes only and is not intended as health or medical advice. Always consult a physician or other qualified health provider regarding any questions you may have about a medical condition or health objectives.
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