Foam vs. Memory Foam

Foam vs. Memory Foam—Which is Better?

We conduct data-driven and objective tests for every mattress we review (see how we test here). Each mattress has 64 individual data points that are recorded and analyzed.

The comparison chart below looks at the average performance for each category based on all relevant mattresses we have tested to date.

Testing Factors	Foam	Memory Foam	Average Mattress
Top Picks	Best Foam Mattresses	Best Memory Foam Mattresses	Best Mattresses (All)
Average Price (Queen)	$1,113	$1,129	$1,523
Overall Score	8.40	8.10	8.52
Cooling	8.2	7.9	8.6
Motion Transfer	8.3	8.6	8.2
Response Time	9.3	7.6	8.7
Edge Support	8.7	8.1	8.7
Sex	7.9	7.0	8.2
Pressure Relief	8.2	8.4	8.6
Off-Gassing	8.2	7.7	7.9
Company	8.8	8.9	8.8
Sinkage	2.01″	2.18″	2.25″
Bounce	8.06″	5.86″	8.65″

What mattress is best for whom? It depends on what you’re looking for. The table below highlights the best mattress type for each category.

Best For	Winner
Overall Performance	Foam
Best for Cooling	Foam
Lowest Motion Transfer	Memory Foam
Fastest Response Time	Foam
Best Edge Support	Foam
Best for Sex	Foam
Best for Pressure Relief	Memory Foam
Best for Off-Gassing	Foam
Best for Balanced Feel	Foam
Best for Less Sinkage	Foam
Best for More Sinkage	Memory Foam
Best for Low Bounce	Memory Foam
Best for High Bounce	Foam

You should consider a foam mattress if you’re looking for:

• Better overall performance
• Fast material response time
• Better edge support
• Faster off-gassing
• A more balanced feel
• Less sinkage
• More bounce
• A better value

You should consider a memory foam mattress if you’re looking for:

• Less motion transfer
• Better pressure relief
• A more dramatic body-contouring hug
• Deeper sinkage
• Less bounce

What is a Foam Mattress?

A foam mattress is any mattress where the majority of layers are made up of various types of foam, typically a blend of poly foam, and may sometimes include layers of memory foam or latex foam as well.

For clarity, according to NapLab, foam mattresses will typically contain a blend of different types of foam and have a more balanced feel. In comparison, a distinct “memory foam mattress” will contain a large amount of memory foam and have a more dramatic contour and a viscoelastic feel (slower material recovery speed).

Types of Foam

There are three main types of foam that are used in mattresses—poly foam, memory foam, and latex foam.

Poly Foam: Poly foam is the shortened name for polyurethane foam. Poly foam offers a faster response time and is often stacked with other foams to balance out the feel.

Support foam is another type of poly foam, although it’s harder, firmer, and less dense (typically) than comfort poly foam.

Memory foam: All memory foam is poly foam. But not all poly foam is memory foam. Memory foam is a type of polyurethane foam that is characterized by its viscoelastic properties. Memory foam usually has a denser feel, deeper hug, and slower response.

Latex Foam: Latex foam is foam derived from the natural sap of a latex tree and typically falls within two main types, Dunlop latex or Talalay latex. Rubber tree sap is processed and manufactured to become a usable foam for mattresses. Latex foam is typically perforated for better performance and is known for its exceptional cooling and fast response time.

Among these three types, a foam mattress can use one or more of these foams in the same mattress.

Foam Design

In addition to the foam type, the design of the foam can also change the feel or performance as well.

The most common foam type is not specially formulated, cut, or formed in any particular way. It is simply poured into a large bun, cut into an individual layer, and glued to other foam or coils layers.

That said, some foam are specially formulated and/or have other design attributes to improve performance. Three of the most popular foam designs we see today include:

• Open Cell Foam: This foam is created when an inflating agent is added to the foam during its creation. This additive allows air to fill the gaps where the foam was originally, creating a lighter foam that is more breathable and more responsive as well.
• Convoluted Foam: With convoluted foam, the shape of the foam has a wave or egg-crate-like pattern on one side, which allows air to pass through more easily.
• Perforated Foam: This foam has two flat sides, unlike convoluted foam, but the surface of the foam has been perforated with hundreds of holes that span through the top and bottom. These holes are also for better airflow and faster response.

What does a foam mattress feel like?

The feel of a foam mattress varies depending on what type of foam is used.

• Poly foam tends to have a faster response time and gives off a very balanced feel.
• Memory foam has the deepest contour and hug among all foam types.
• Latex foam feels bouncier and typically has more pushback and a more restrained hug compared to memory or poly foam.

Advantages of a Foam Mattress

When a foam mattress uses a blend of different foam types, we typically see the following advantages compared to a memory foam mattress.

#1. Balanced Feel

A blended foam mattress is going to have a more balanced feel compared to a memory foam or latex foam mattress. It generally has less sinkage as well, according to our tests.

Memory foam is known for a more dramatic contour. Imagine pushing your hand into memory foam and then removing it. Your handprint remains for a few seconds, which is the nature of traditional memory foam.

On the other hand, non-memory poly foam has a more generalized contour. It is not as exacting or dramatic like memory foam, but instead it gently hugs and contours the body.

#2. Faster Response Time

Poly foam also has a faster response time, especially compared to memory foam. As you roll around or change position, mattresses with poly foam top layers are more likely to adjust and change quickly with you.

This type of fast response time can prevent sleepers from feeling “stuck” and help improve support.

The comparison above shows a side-by-side look at the Douglas (poly foam) and Nectar (memory foam) mattresses.

Fast response time helps sleepers feel supported as they move, but I will say that the more dramatic hug and contour of memory foam is a 2-sided coin. Although the response time is slow, the pressure relief is fantastic. So if you’re specifically looking for pressure relief, a slow response time won’t necessarily be a “con” for all sleepers.

Disadvantages of A Foam Mattress

#1. More Motion Transfer

One of the biggest disadvantages of a foam mattress is the higher levels of motion transfer. With less sinkage and faster response, that energy has to go somewhere.

Instead of being absorbed into the foam layers, like memory foam, this energy is spread across the surface of the mattress as motion transfer.

This could be especially problematic for sensitive sleepers, some couples, or sleepers with children or pets who crawl in or out of the bed throughout the night.

#2. Variable Performance

The bottom line is that the term “foam mattress” covers a very broad spectrum of mattresses. And the quality of the foam has a huge impact on the overall performance.

More simply put, not all poly foam is the same. The quality and performance varies widely from poly foam to poly foam.

For example, a low-quality poly foam may have a slower response than a luxury, modern memory foam.

Also, foam mattresses include mostly poly foams, but may also include layers of memory foam or latex foam as well. Adding other types of foam to a mattress can change the feel, firmness, and performance of the mattress.

Because of these variables, it can be tricky to generalize the performance and properties of all poly foam mattresses.

What is a Memory Foam Mattress?

A memory foam mattress predominately uses memory foams for the comfort layer of the mattress.

Memory foam, is a man-made foam, derived from polyurethane. Polyurethane is a plastic polymer that blends with chemicals to give memory foam its iconic viscoelasticity. Again, imagine the hand imprint. Take your hand away and the handprint stays ghosted into the foam momentarily. This is classic memory foam.

Like blended foam mattresses, memory foam mattresses can also take some of the same approaches to give the mattress a more balanced feel. Memory foam can be designed to be convoluted, channel-cut, or perforated to improve overall performance. In addition, and more commonly, it’s simply cut into standard layers without any advanced formulation, infusions, or designs.

Memory foam also commonly takes some steps to offset common disadvantages. For example, memory foam tends to retain heat more than other foams. Many memory foams can be gel-infused, copper-infused, or graphite-infused to improve cooling.

Additionally, they can include phase-change (cooling) covers to draw heat away from sleepers.

One of the biggest improvements to the overall performance of a memory foam mattress is to use a coil support base instead of foam. With a coil base, these mattresses are now classified as memory foam hybrids.

Memory foam hybrids are more expensive than most standard memory foam mattresses, but offer better overall performance, better cooling, and a faster response time (in most cases).

See our top-rated memory foam hybrids here.

What does a memory foam mattress feel like?

Memory foam mattresses tend to have the dramatic body contour of memory foam, giving the feel of the comfort materials hugging you.

The hug will likely be more dramatic than what you’d experience with a regular hybrid that does not contain memory foam.

But because of the support coils, the foams tend to be more responsive and there is more bounce than what you’d experience with an all-memory foam mattress.

Advantages of Memory Foam

With a memory foam mattress, we typically see the following advantages compared to a blended foam mattress.

#1. More Hug + Dramatic Contour

Along with offering sleepers deeper sinkage, memory foam contours more closely to the body. The viscoelastic property of memory foam responds to body heat, creating a custom impression, as shown in the image below.

Many sleepers find this type of body forming hug incredibly comfortable and greatly alleviates pressure points on the body.

#2. Less Motion Transfer

Because of its higher density, memory foam provides an enhanced dampening / isolating effect on motion. It also takes longer to fully compress, due to both the higher density and the viscoelastic response to heat.

For these reasons, our tests show that memory foam allows less motion to travel from one side of the mattress to the other.

Disadvantages of Memory Foam

#1. Worse Cooling

For cooling performance, we often break it down in terms of heat retention and breathability. In both respects, memory foam is at a disadvantage compared to other foam types.

The structure of memory foam includes more closed/smaller cells than poly foam, whose open cells are typically more visible to the naked eye (can even be sponge-like in appearance; see the image above).

For this reason, memory foam has a harder time allowing air to flow through its cell structure. Furthermore, the viscoelastic property of memory foam simply allows for more heat to be absorbed.

This results in higher maximum temperature readings in our tests and slower heat dissipation, as demonstrated in the video below.

#2. Slower Response Time

As we explained above, the denser structure of memory foam often results in a slower material response time. This makes the foam return to its original position more slowly and could affect the sleeper’s experience when moving or getting out of bed.

This classic feel of memory foam is often called the “cratering effect”, which describes the dramatic impression memory foam makes around your body. And it holds that shape longer than other materials, hence the name “memory foam.”

While this may not bother some, it is typically viewed as a negative. The slower material recovery speed makes it harder to move around, change positions, and get in / out of bed.

Which is right for you?

So you’ve made it this far… how do you know which mattress is right for you?

Foam mattresses are better if you’re looking for:

• Better cooling
• Faster response time
• Greater affordability
• Thinner profiles

Best Foam Mattresses

Memory foam mattresses are better if you’re looking for:

• More hug and contour
• Less bounce
• Minimal noise
• Less motion transfer

Best Memory Foam Mattresses