The best soft mattresses have a softer feel (typically 3 – 4.5 out of 10 on the NapLab firmness scale, where 10 is the most firm) and deeper hug and contour, all without sacrificing support.
A soft mattress does not equate to an unsupportive mattress. The best soft mattresses strike that balance between a soft feel and adequate support for all sleepers.
Our guide will walk you through how to pick the best soft mattress as well as our top recommendations (a list compiled by testing and comparing 163+ different mattresses).
In This Guide
Saatva Classic | Nolah Evolution 15 | Nest Bedding Sparrow | Winkbed | Amerisleep AS5 Hybrid | Bear Elite Hybrid | Brooklyn Bedding Signature Hybrid | Mattresses We Considered | How We Choose
The 7 Best Soft Mattresses
#1 Best Overall
Saatva Classic
9.95
Price: $1,695
Firmness: Extra Soft (3.5)
Poly Foam Hybrid
Nolah Evolution 15
9.77
Price: $1,749
Firmness: Soft (4)
Poly Foam Hybrid
Nest Bedding Sparrow
9.76
Price: $1,812
Firmness: Extra Soft (3.5)
Gel Foam Hybrid
Winkbed
9.74
Price: $1,499
Firmness: Soft (4)
Memory Foam Hybrid
Amerisleep AS5 Hybrid
9.73
Price: $2,199
Firmness: Extra Soft (3.5)
Copper Memory Foam Hybrid
Bear Elite Hybrid
9.72
Price: $1,478
Firmness: Soft (4.5)
Poly foam Hybrid
Brooklyn Bedding Signature Hybrid
9.63
Price: $999
Firmness: Soft (4)
Saatva Classic
Best For
- Plush euro-top cover, but still good cooling performance
- Moderate bounce with fast response time
- Ships uncompressed, includes in-home delivery and setup
Quick Specs
- 2 height options—11.5″ or 14.5″ with Euro top
- 365-night trial period
- Lifetime limited warranty
Why It’s Best
The Saatva Classic is a coil-on-coil, mattress meaning that it uses two layers of coils, topped with a small amount of comfort foam within a euro-top.
The Plush Saatva Classic is a soft mattress with a deeper hug and contour, the plushness of a Euro-cover, and exceptional support. It is available in three firmness level—soft, medium, and firm.
This mattress has a fantastic performance score of 9.95 overall, which ranks it in the top 1% of all mattress types we’ve tested. The price is 25% above the cost for the average hybrid, but for excellent performance, it’s a worthwhile investment for many sleepers.
Read Review
Type: Coil
Firmness: Soft (3.5), Medium (5.5), Firm (8)
Saatva Performance
Note: We tested the Luxury Firm version. Performance on the Plush Soft Saatva may vary slightly from the data shown.
The performance of the Saatva Classic is tied with the highest-performing mattress we’ve tested to date.
In our tests, this mattress excelled in all categories, marked by exceptional cooling, exceptional edge support, and fast material response time.
Because of the coil design, the Saatva Classic has higher levels of bounce—14.67″, which is over 50% more than the average level of bounce across all mattress types (9.67″).
Note: This bounce level was measured on the Luxury Firm. The Plush Saatva would likely be expected to have a bit less bounce due to the softer feel, but coils will nearly always have more bounce than an all foam mattress.
| Factor | Saatva Classic Performance |
|---|---|
| Overall | 9.95 |
| Price | $1,756 |
| Cooling | 10 |
| Max Sinkage | 2.40″ |
| Total Motion Transfer | 5.86 m/s² |
| Response Time | 0.4 sec. |
| Total Bounce | 14.67″ |
| Edge Support – Sitting Sinkage | 3.00″ |
| Mattress Thickness | 11.5″ |
| Sex Overall | 9.9 |
| Comfort Material | 4.5″ |
| Off-Gassing – Smell | None |
| Off-Gassing – Days | 0 days |
| Trial | 365 nights |
| Warranty | Lifetime |
Nolah Evolution 15
Best For
- 6″ of comfort material creates exceptional pressure relief for side sleepers
- Excellent cooling performance
- Deep sinkage and hug (2.48″)
Quick Specs
- 15″ thickness + Euro-top
- 120-night trial
- Lifetime limited warranty
Why It’s Best
The Nolah Evolution 15″ is a high-quality hybrid mattress that uses a combination of poly foam and pocketed coils to provide comfort and support.
It offers three firmness options—plush, luxury firm, and firm. For this particular “Best of” list, we will focus on the plush version (a 4 out of 10 on the NapLab firmness scale).
With an overall performance score of 9.77, the Nolah mattress ranks among the top 5% of all mattresses currently tested.
It has exceptional pressure relief, thanks in large part to the 6.0″ comfort layer. This allows for improved pressure relief and better deep compression support compared to thinner mattresses.
Read Review
Type: Hybrid
Firmness: Soft (4), Medium (5.5), or Firm (8)
Nolah Evolution 15 Performance
Note: We tested the Luxury Firm version. Performance on the Nolah Evolution Plush may vary slightly from the data shown.
Performance on the Nolah Evolution 15 is comparable to performance on the Winkbed Soft, with outstanding cooling performnace, material response time, and pressure relief.
It has a mattress thickness of 15″ and slightly less bounce than average (8.72″). It’s likely that the Soft version of the Nolah may have less bounce since its softer foams create less push-back than the Luxury Firm version.
The 6″ of comfort material really helps to take the Nolah Evolution to the next level in terms of comfort and pressure relief. This much material allows for a wide range of sleepers (especially side sleepers) to still feel fully supported,despite the softer feel.
That being said, heavier back or stomach sleepers will likely prefer the feel of the Luxury Firm Nolah compared to the Soft.
One disadvantage of the Nolah, much like the Winkbed Soft, is motion transfer. The Nolah struggles a bit with higher levels of motion transfer, measuring 11.10 m/s², 36% more motion than the average across all mattresses tested to date (8.13 m/s²).
Motion transfer may not be an issue for all sleepers, but its worth noting if you’re a sensitive sleeper or have a partner that moves around often.
| Factor | Nolah Evolution 15 Performance |
|---|---|
| Overall | 9.77 |
| Price | $1,999 |
| Cooling | 10 |
| Max Sinkage | 2.48″ |
| Total Motion Transfer | 11.10 m/s² |
| Response Time | 0.2 sec. |
| Total Bounce | 8.72″ |
| Edge Support – Sitting Sinkage | 3.25″ |
| Mattress Thickness | 15.0″ |
| Sex Overall | 9.8 |
| Comfort Material | 6.0″ |
| Off-Gassing – Smell | Strong |
| Off-Gassing – Days | 3 days |
| Trial | 120 nights |
| Warranty | Lifetime |
Nest Bedding Sparrow
Best For
- Lifetime Exchange Renewal program provides good value for long-term use
- Great pressure relief and comfort for sleepers of all sizes
- Optional split internal firmness (King size only)
Quick Specs
- 12″ thick with a quilted cover
- 365-night trial period
- Lifetime limited warranty
Why It’s Best
The Nest Bedding Sparrow is a 12″ hybrid mattress with a quilted cover. There are three firmness options—very soft (3.5), medium (5), and firm (8). This makes it a great option for many different kinds of sleepers.
This mattress has a performance score of 9.76 (out of 10), which puts it within the top 7% of all mattresses tested to date.
While it costs a bit more than your average soft hybrid mattress, it comes with some advantages. One of the biggest perks is that the King size option has an internal firmness split.
This allows for a different firmness on each side while still enjoying the unified look and feel of a single mattress (King size only). If you or your partner have different needs (IE, one wants soft and the other medium or firm), then the internal firmness split is a great option.
Read Review
Type: Hybrid
Firmness: Extra Soft (3.5), Medium (5), Firm (8)
Nest Bedding Sparrow Performance
Note: We tested the Medium version. Performance on the Plush Sparrow may vary slightly from the data shown.
Performance on the Nest Bedding Sparrow mattress is impressive in all categories we test for. It scored a perfect 10 for fast material response time, exceptional pressure relief, and fantastic company score (thanks in part to the long 365-night trial).
Even though it’s only 12″ thick, the pressure relief is just as good as many other mattresses that have a thicker profile.
Cooling, motion transfer, and edge support all had high scores of 9.5, giving the mattress green scores across the board.
Another notable benefit of the Nest Bedding Sparrow is the optional Split Internal Firmness. Since the Sparrow comes in three different firmnesses, you can opt for Soft on your side and your partner can select the firmness that is right for them, with both firmnesses being uniformly contained within a single mattress.
This is the only mattress in this guide that has this option (without purchasing a split king in two different firmnesses).
| Factor | Nest Bedding Sparrow Performance |
|---|---|
| Overall | 9.76 |
| Price | $1,812 |
| Cooling | 9.5 |
| Max Sinkage | 2.70″ |
| Total Motion Transfer | 7.12 m/s² |
| Response Time | 0.3 sec. |
| Total Bounce | 10.64″ |
| Edge Support – Sitting Sinkage | 4.00″ |
| Mattress Thickness | 12.0″ |
| Sex Overall | 9.9 |
| Comfort Material | 6.0″ |
| Off-Gassing – Smell | Moderate |
| Off-Gassing – Days | 2 days |
| Trial | 365 nights |
| Warranty | Lifetime |
Winkbed Original
Best For
- Excellent cooling with a fast response time
- Excellent pressure relief
- Side sleepers looking for deep contour and hug
Quick Specs
- 13.5″ thick with Euro-top
- 120-night trial
- Lifetime limited warranty
Why It’s Best
The WinkBed mattress is a hybrid mattress that utilizes pocketed coils and a layer of gel-infused foam to provide comfort and support. Like the Saatva, it features a Euro cover and is available in three different firmness options, the softest being a plush feel (4 out of 10 on the firmness scale).
Concerning performance score, the WinkBed mattress matched the Saatva with a score of 9.95 (on the luxury firm version), tying for the top-rated mattress we’ve tested to date. The soft version of Winkbed (which we did personally test) saw slightly worse performance at a 9.74, primarily due to the slightly worse motion transfer and edge support.
It is priced 15% above the average price for a hybrid mattress, but despite its higher cost, the WinkBed mattress maintains great value due to its performance.
Read Review
Type: Hybrid
Firmness: Soft (4), Medium-Firm (6), Slightly Firm (7)
Winkbed Performance
Note: We have tested the Luxury Firm and Soft versions of the Winkbed. The scores above and data below reflects the performance of the Winkbed Soft. For a side-by-side comparison between Luxury Firm and Soft, be sure to check out our full review here.
During our performance tests, the Winkbed Soft delivered exceptional performance in almost all areas. It has excellent cooling performance with fast material response time, despite having extremely deep levels of sinkage.
In our sinkage tests, the Winkbed Soft has 3.16″ of sinkage which provides a deep level of contour and hug, especially benefitical for side sleepers.
The Winkbed also has excellent pressure relief with 5.0″ of comfort material and an average level of bounce, 9.68″ in our tests.
| Factor | Winkbed (soft) Performance |
|---|---|
| Overall | 9.74 |
| Price | $1,499 |
| Cooling | 10 |
| Max Sinkage | 3.16″ |
| Total Motion Transfer | 9.50 m/s² |
| Response Time | 0.3 sec. |
| Total Bounce | 9.68″ |
| Edge Support – Sitting Sinkage | 4.50″ |
| Mattress Thickness | 14.0″ |
| Sex Overall | 9.8 |
| Comfort Material | 5.0″ |
| Off-Gassing – Smell | Minimal |
| Off-Gassing – Days | 2 days |
| Trial | 120 nights |
| Warranty | Lifetime |
Amerisleep AS5 Hybrid
Best For
- Lightweight side sleepers who want a soft feel
- Fantastic cooling performance
- Excellent pressure relief with 5.0″ of comfort material
Quick Specs
- 14″ with phase change cover
- 120-night trial period
- Lifetime limited warranty
Why It’s Best
The Amerisleep AS5 is a hybrid mattress with memory foam and pocketed coils. It has a softer feel and would likely be best suited for lightweight side sleepers or moderate-weighted sleepers who prefer a very soft feel.
It has excellent well-rounded performance with its only real weakness being higher levels of motion transfer.
The AS5 has an overall score of 9.73 and is priced 42% higher than the average hybrid. Although the price is higher, the AS5 is a true luxury mattress for side sleepers, offering a 14″ high profile, 5″ comfort material, high-end memory foam, and excellent pressure relief.
Read Review
Type: Hybrid
Firmness: Extra Soft (3.5)
Amerisleep AS5 Performance
The Amerisleep AS5 hybrid mattress has perfect scores for excellent cooling performance, extremely fast response time, and exceptional pressure relief. This mattress has a 5″ comfort layer, which provides great support for sleepers in all positions.
It has moderate levels of bounce and sinkage, both about average. Motion transfer levels are a bit higher than I like to see, but that may or may not be an important factor for all sleepers.
In our tests, we measured 9.65 m/s² of acceleration range. This is 1.83 m/s² more than the average level of motion transfer (across all mattresses tested to date).
Concerning the feel of this mattress, the AS5 is going to have a more memory foam feel with moderate sinkage and slight contour when lying on your side.
It has less sinkage than what we saw on the Nest Bedding Sparrow or Winkbed Soft mattress.
| Factor | Amerisleep AS5 Hybrid |
|---|---|
| Overall | 9.73 |
| Max Temp. | 87.6° F |
| Max Sinkage | 2.21″ |
| Total Motion Transfer | 9.65 m/s² |
| Response Time | 0.2 sec. |
| Total Bounce | 9.71″ |
| Edge Support – Sitting Sinkage | 4.25″ |
| Edge Support – Lying Support | Excellent |
| Sex Overall | 9.8 |
| Comfort Material | 5.00″ |
| Off-Gassing – Smell | Strong |
| Off-Gassing – Days | 7 days |
| Trial | 100 days |
| Warranty | 20 years |
Bear Elite Hybrid
Best For
- Very low levels of motion transfer, only 3.74 m/s²
- 3 firmness options
- Excellent pressure relief with 5″ of comfort material
Quick Specs
- 14″ with phase change cover
- 120-night trial period
- Lifetime limited warranty
Why It’s Best
The Bear Elite hybrid mattress is a 14″ tall hybrid with copper-infused memory foal and a pocketed coil base. This mattress is available in three firmness levels, which makes it a solid pick for a wider range of sleepers.
Looking at overall performance, the Bear Elite excels in nearly every category, with an overall score of 9.72, well above the average mattress score (9.51). Bear’s only weakness is edge support.
Considering value, the Elite is 14% more expensive than average, but you’re also getting a thicker mattress (14″ compared to the 11.9″ average) as well as better overall performance. For many sleepers, the performance makes this mattress a fantastic value.
Read Review
Type: Hybrid
Firmness: Soft (4.5), Medium-Firm (6), Firm (7.5)
COUPON — Save 35% off any Bear mattress with code NAPLAB35.
Bear Elite Performance
Note: We tested the Medium version. Performance on the Soft Bear Elite may vary slightly from the data shown.
Performance on the Bear Elite hybrid is excellent, scoring a perfect 10 for exceptional cooling, extremely low motion transfer, and extremely fast response time.
The 14″ thickness provides great pressure relief and overall comfort, with 5″ of that thickness devoted fully to comfort material (the average is 4.1″). This mattress also has higher levels of bounce at 10.32″, where 9.65″ is the average bounce across all mattresses tested to date.
Despite having a thicker profile, the Bear Elite does struggle in one area—edge support. When sitting directly at the edge, there was 4.75″ of sinkage. And this was on the Luxury Firm. It’s likely that the Soft version will have even more sinkage.
The average among all hybrids we’ve tested to date is 4.20″ so the Bear Elite is a little beyond that. Still, when lying on the edge support was excellent.
| Factor | Bear Elite Hybrid Performance |
|---|---|
| Overall | 9.72 |
| Price | $1,373 |
| Cooling | 10 |
| Max Sinkage | 2.14″ |
| Total Motion Transfer | 3.74 m/s² |
| Response Time | 0.4 sec. |
| Total Bounce | 10.32″ |
| Edge Support – Sitting Sinkage | 4.75″ |
| Mattress Thickness | 14.0″ |
| Sex Overall | 9.8 |
| Comfort Material | 5.0″ |
| Off-Gassing – Smell | Strong |
| Off-Gassing – Days | 3 days |
| Trial | 120 nights |
| Warranty | Lifetime |
Brooklyn Bedding Signature
Best For
- Sleepers on a budget, queen mattress under $1000
- Excellent edge support
- Moderate levels of bounce
Quick Specs
- 11″ thick + tufted, plush cover
- 120-night trial
- 10-year warranty
Why It’s Best
The Brooklyn Bedding Signature Hybrid is the last mattress featured on this list, but the performance score of 9.63 and the price under $1000 for a queen makes this mattress an easy pick for sleepers on a budget. At this price, the Signature Hybrid is 30% less than the average hybrid we’ve tested to date.
This mattress is an 11″ hybrid with a plush cover, poly foam comfort layer, and pocketed coil support system. It is available in three different firmness levels (soft, medium-firm, and firm).
Considering performance, price, and the wide range of firmnesses available, the Signature is a great value mattress overall.
Read Review
Type: Hybrid
Firmness: Soft (4), Medium-Firm (6), Firm (8)
Brooklyn Bedding Signature Hybrid Performance
Note: We tested the Medium version. Performance on the Soft Brooklyn Bedding Signature Hybrid may vary slightly from the data shown.
In terms of performance, the Brooklyn Bedding Signature hybrid is an excellent value with a price under $1000 and performance score of 9.63 overall. This mattress excels in most categories, but most notably for extremely fast response time, exceptional edge support, and its 10 out of 10 sex performance.
The Signature Hybrid has a moderate level of bounce (9.99″), just slightly bouncier than the average bounce level tested to date (9.67″).
The only real downside to the Signature Hybrid is motion transfer levels, where we measured a total of 10.23 m/s².
Comparing this to the average among all hybrids we’ve tested to date (8.08 m/s²), the Signature Hybrid has 26% more motion transfer.
| Factor | Brooklyn Bedding Signature Hybrid Performance |
|---|---|
| Overall | 9.63 |
| Price | $999 |
| Cooling | 9.5 |
| Max Sinkage | 2.27″ |
| Total Motion Transfer | 10.23 m/s² |
| Response Time | 0.3 sec. |
| Total Bounce | 9.99″ |
| Edge Support – Sitting Sinkage | 2.75″ |
| Mattress Thickness | 11.0″ |
| Sex Overall | 10 |
| Comfort Material | 3.0″ |
| Off-Gassing – Smell | Strong |
| Off-Gassing – Days | 3 days |
| Trial | 120 nights |
| Warranty | 10 years |
Mattresses We Considered
When selecting the best soft mattress, we’re looking at a combination of overall score and firmness.
With these criteria in mind, we scoured our performance data from 163+ mattresses we’ve personally tested to make the selections.
For this guide, the performance cut-off score was 9.72.
In addition, we also eliminated any mattress with a firmness higher than 4.5 out of 10.
The last recommendation on our best of list is the Brooklyn Bedding Signature Hybrid, which scored a 9.63 / 10. This puts it below our cutoff of 9.72. However, we believe it still earns a spot on this list due to its extraordinarily good value. At just $999 for a Queen it’s considerably less expensive than any other option on this list and among the best value soft mattresses (or mattress in general) on the market.
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 | Reason |
|---|---|---|
| Diamond Flurry Lux | 9.84 | Brand is very new to most sleepers |
| Spindle | 9.69 | Score below 9.72 cutoff |
| Layla Hybrid | 9.59 | Score below 9.72 cutoff |
| Helix Sunset | 9.57 | Score below 9.72 cutoff |
| Brooklyn Bedding Aurora | 9.56 | Score below 9.72 cutoff |
| Winkbed GravityLux | 9.55 | Score below 9.72 cutoff |
| Lytton Signature | 9.55 | Score below 9.72 cutoff |
| Propel Hybrid | 9.54 | Score below 9.72 cutoff |
| Sleep EZ | 9.52 | Score below 9.72 cutoff |
| Casper Nova | 9.49 | Score below 9.72 cutoff |
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 Soft Mattress list, we based our selections on the best scoring / highest-performing mattresses according to our battery of objective tests.
These tests analyze performance across 8 critical factors. In addition, we only considered mattresses that fell into the extra soft and soft firmness levels.
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.
