In our hunt for the best cheap mattress, we have personally tested 180+ mattresses, with 45 of those mattresses costing under $1000 for a queen mattress. This guide is going to look at the best cheap mattresses (all recommended picks costing under $800 for a queen mattress).
How cheap is too cheap?
A mattress can be inexpensive, but still be of good quality. Or a mattress can be downright cheap—costing a cheap price, but also made of cheap, low-quality materials.
At the end of the day, most sleepers aren’t looking for a cheap, uncomfortable mattress. But rather looking for an inexpensive mattress that also has good performance.
The best cheap mattresses will typically skip costly extras like high-profile thicknesses, extra comfort layers, cooling phase-change covers, and natural or organic materials.
Average Mattress Prices
For reference, the average cost for a mattress among all types tested to date is $1,423 for a queen-sized mattress. This considers all mattress types—foam, latex, hybrid, coil, adjustable, organic, and other specialty mattress types.
In our years of testing we have found that foam mattresses and hybrid mattresses provide the best value in most cases.
Here are the average mattress prices for a queen-sized mattress, divided between foam and hybrid mattresses, from comparing over 173+ mattresses tested to date.
- Average foam mattress: $1,167 / queen
- Average hybrid mattress: $1,365 / queen
For the best cheap mattress, we’re targeting high-performing mattresses that are priced at least 30% cheaper than the average.
So with all these things in mind, let’s dive in.
In This Guide
BedInABox Original | Silk & Snow Hybrid | Siena | Emma Original | Mattresses We Considered | How We Choose
The 4 Best Cheap Mattresses
Gel memory foam
BedinABox Original
9.62
Price: $749
Firmness: Medium-Firm (6)
Memory Foam Hybrid
Silk & Snow Hybrid
9.56
Price: $700
Firmness: Medium-Firm (6)
Memory Foam
Siena
9.55
Price: $399
Firmness: Medium-Firm (6)
Combo Foam
Emma Original
9.50
Price: $529
Firmness: Medium (5)
BedInABox Original
Best For
- Fantastic cooling performance
- Extremely fast response time
- Good pressure relief, with 3″ to player of gel memory foam
- Minimal sinkage, only 1.86″
Quick Specs
- 13″ thick with plush, cooling cover
- 120-night trial
- Limited lifetime warranty
- 36% cheaper than the average foam mattress
Why It’s Best
The BedInABox mattress is a memory foam mattress that combines minimal sinkage with a higher degree of contour. It’s a nice pick for sleepers who want that memory foam feel, but don’t want to feel stuck (especially side sleepers).
While the Original BedInABox isn’t the highest-performing mattress from the brand, it’s a fantastic value given its above-average score of 9.62. (Note: The average score among all mattresses tested is 9.52.)
If you’re looking for a memory foam mattress with a thicker profile (13″) and high-quality performance that won’t break the bank, this is a solid option.
Read Review
Type: Memory Foam
Firmness: Medium-Firm (6)
COUPON: Save $50 off any Bedinabox mattress with code NapLab50.
BedInABox Performance
In our performance tests, the BedInABox Original performs a lot like how we’d expect memory foam to perform.
It has extremely low levels of motion transfer, 64% lower than average levels, and low levels of bounce.
In addition to these classic memory foam properties, it also has a fast material response time and minimal levels of sinkage (25% less sinkage than average).
It’s a great choice for sleepers who are looking for a classic memory foam feel, but one that won’t envelop or create that “stuck” feeling.
This mattress also has a fast response time and very low bounce. In our tests, it has only 5.40″ of bounce, which is 43% less than the average amount of bounce (9.53″).
It also had great cooling, better than expected considering this is a budget memory foam mattress. Despite the top 3″ of memory foam, this mattress had limited heat retention and I felt very comfortable on this mattress.
The gel-infused foam helps to reduce heat retention and improve cooling performance.
| Factor | Bedinabox Original Performance |
|---|---|
| Overall | 9.62 |
| Price | $799 |
| Cooling | 9.5 |
| Max Sinkage | 1.86″ |
| Total Motion Transfer | 2.85 m/s² |
| Response Time | 0.5 sec. |
| Total Bounce | 5.40″ |
| Edge Support – Sitting Sinkage | 4.50″ |
| Mattress Thickness | 11.0″ |
| Sex Overall | 9.2 |
| Comfort Material | 3.0″ |
| Off-Gassing – Smell | Moderate |
| Off-Gassing – Days | 3 days |
| Trial | 120 nights |
| Warranty | 20 years |
Silk & Snow
Best For
- Exceptional edge support
- Very fast response time, mostly recovered by 0.3 seconds
- Low levels of motion transfer, 20% lower than average
Quick Specs
- 12″ thick + quilted cover
- 100-night trial
- 15-year warranty
- 48% cheaper than the average hybrid mattress
Why It’s Best
The Silk and Snow mattress is a 12″ hybrid with a medium-firm feel and 3.0″ of comfort material. It is best suited for lighter to moderate-weight sleepers, as the thinner profile may not be supportive enough for heavier sleepers.
That being said, if you’re looking for a deal, it is difficult to beat the savings from the Silk and Snow. Typically, a hybrid mattress is more costly than an all-foam mattress, but a queen Silk & Snow hybrid costs only $700. This is 48.7% less expensive compared to the average hybrid mattress.
Silk and Snow is far from a perfect mattress. Cooling left something to be desired and off-gassing was quite strong. Even so, when we consider the price point it really is a fantastic value for the money.
Read Review
Type: Hybrid
Firmness: Medium-Firm (6)
Silk & Snow Performance
Performance on the Silk & Snow hybrid mattress was good across the board having lower levels of motion transfer (20% below average), fantastic edge support, and a fast material response time.
This mattress has a 12″ thick profile and deep sinkage. In our tests, we measured 2.44″ of surface sinkage, which is 0.26″ deeper sinakge than the average.
This deeper sinkage creates more contour and gives the mattress more of a memory foam feel, despite having a coil support system.
The mattress conforms more closely to the exact shape of your body. This level of contour (combined with the use of more budget-friendly foams) does cause issues for cooling.
To hit this price point Silk & Snow is likely using foams that don’t quite breathe as well as higher-end foams. If cooling isn’t your main aim, the performance factor may be less important to you.
| Factor | Silk & Snow Hybrid Performance |
|---|---|
| Overall | 9.56 |
| Price | $700 |
| Cooling | 9.0 |
| Max Sinkage | 2.44″ |
| Total Motion Transfer | 6.39 m/s² |
| Response Time | 0.3 sec. |
| Total Bounce | 8.89″ |
| Edge Support – Sitting Sinkage | 3.00″ |
| Mattress Thickness | 12.0″ |
| Sex Overall | 9.7 |
| Comfort Material | 3.3″ |
| Off-Gassing – Smell | Strong |
| Off-Gassing – Days | 18 days |
| Trial | 100 nights |
| Warranty | 15 years |
Siena All Foam
Best For
- Extraordinarily budget friendly
- Extremely low motion transfer
- 5″ of comfort material with excellent pressure relief
Quick Specs
- 10″ thick with thin cover
- 180-night trial
- 10-year warranty
- 65% cheaper than the average foam mattress
Why It’s Best
The Siena is a budget-friendly mattress with an all-foam construction and balanced feel. It comes in a medium-firm firmness (6 out of 10) and did well in our performance tests, with no single scoring category scoring below a 9.0.
It has a performance score of 9.55, which is slightly higher than the average mattress performance score of 9.52, despite its low cost.
Beyond just the overall score, the value of this mattress is arguably the best we’ve seen to date at this price point. Compared to the cost of the average foam mattress ($1,167), the Siena is 65% less at only $399 for a queen.
Read Review
Type: Memory Foam
Firmness: Medium-Firm (6)
Siena Performance
The performance of the Siena mattress is well-rounded with no real outliers in terms of disadvantages. Cooling is good, motion transfer levels were very low, and response time was extremely fast.
It has a deep level of sinkage (2.34″), which is slightly more than average (2.18″). It also has low levels of bounce. Being a memory foam mattress, the lower bounce isn’t terribly surprising, but low bounce can mean worse sex performance for some couples.
The Siena isn’t a perfect mattress. Cooling is the biggest issue, with edge support and sex being good, but far from great. Even so, considering the price point it’s got far more going for it than against it.
| Factor | Siena Performance |
|---|---|
| Overall | 9.55 |
| Price | $399 |
| Cooling | 9.0 |
| Max Sinkage | 2.34″ |
| Total Motion Transfer | 1.79 m/s² |
| Response Time | 0.5 sec. |
| Total Bounce | 6.49″ |
| Edge Support – Sitting Sinkage | 4.50″ |
| Mattress Thickness | 10.0″ |
| Sex Overall | 9.2 |
| Comfort Material | 4.0″ |
| Off-Gassing – Smell | Strong |
| Off-Gassing – Days | 2 days |
| Trial | 180 nights |
| Warranty | 10 years |
Emma Original
Best For
- Good cooling for an all-foam mattress
- Fast response time
- Excellent pressure relief
- Long 365-night trial period
Quick Specs
- 12″ thick with thin cover (zippered)
- 365-night trial
- 10-year warranty
- 65% cheaper than the average foam mattress
Our Verdict
The Emma Original is an all-foam budget-friendly mattress that has a medium firmness and balanced feel. It provides the softest feel among all mattresses listed within this “best” list.
In our performance tests, it had great scores across the board with the only weakness being higher levels of motion transfer (23% higher levels than average).
This isn’t a perfect mattress. However, at this price point, it offers an incredibly good value.
Read Review
Type: Combo Foam
Firmness: Medium (5)
COUPON – Save 5% off your order with code NAPLAB.
Emma Original Performance
Performance on the Emma Original is good overall. For an all-foam mattress, the Emma has better cooling performance and during our tests, I did not experience any notable heat retention.
Response time is also very fast with moderate levels of surface sinkage. When seated right at the edge of the mattress, there was 4.75″ of sinkage. This is just a little more than 0.5″ beyond the average level of sinkage we have seen to date (4.18″).
Suffice to say, it’s fine, but definitely not great edge support.
Bounce levels are slightly below average, 9.0″ on the Emma and 9.53″ as the average to date.
The only real disadvantage to the Emma Original is the higher levels of motion transfer. In our tests, we measured a total of 10.50 m/s², 23% more motion than average (the average is 8.07 m/s²).
For single sleepers or those who don’t awaken easily, this could be a non-factor but may be more of a disturbance for sensitive sleepers.
| Factor | Emma Original Foam Performance |
|---|---|
| Overall | 9.5 |
| Price | $699 |
| Cooling | 9.5 |
| Max Sinkage | 2.24″ |
| Total Motion Transfer | 10.50 m/s² |
| Response Time | 0.2 sec. |
| Total Bounce | 9.00″ |
| Edge Support – Sitting Sinkage | 4.75″ |
| Mattress Thickness | 12.0″ |
| Sex Overall | 9.7 |
| Comfort Material | 6.0″ |
| Off-Gassing – Smell | Strong |
| Off-Gassing – Days | 2 days |
| Trial | 365 nights |
| Warranty | 10 years |
Mattresses We Considered
When selecting the best cheap mattresses, we’re looking at a combination of performance factors, material quality, firmness, and price, testing over 173+ mattresses.
Mattresses that were automatically excluded from this guide include:
- Mattresses that cost over $800 / queen
- Mattresses with a performance score below 9.50
- Mattresses only approved for children (ie: limited weight limit)
- Mattresses must be available for purchase within the US
Below we discuss the mattresses that just barely missed the cut and / or were excluded based on the inclusion requirements set out in our best mattress selection framework here.
| Mattress | Score | Price | Reason |
|---|---|---|---|
| Zoma Start | 9.45 | $599 | Performance score below 9.50 |
| eLuxury Signature Hybrid | 9.45 | $599 | Performance score below 9.50 |
| Vaya Hybrid | 9.35 | $799 | Performance score below 9.50 |
| SweetNight Dreamy | 9.33 | $456 | Performance score below 9.50 |
| Leesa Studio | 9.31 | $749 | Performance score below 9.50 |
How We Choose The Best
Each “Best of” list is put through a customized performance analysis with specialized consideration given to our objective & data-driven performance tests, mattress type, design, materials, value / price, and more.
For our Best Cheap Mattress list, we based our selections on the lowest-priced, best scoring / highest-performing mattresses according to our battery of objective tests.
These tests analyze performance across 8 critical factors.
Our testing and selection process is incredibly detailed and rigorous. The links below have detailed write-ups on our testing process, scoring formulas, and the precise criteria for how we choose the best mattresses.
