Heavier sleepers as well as back and stomach sleepers may benefit from an extra firm mattress, having minimal sinkage, less contour, and maximum pushback.
Our best extra firm mattress picks showcase the best-performing mattresses at a range of price points and comfort dynamics while maintaining that extra firm feel.
For the sake of this guide, mattresses with a firmness of 9 are considered “extra firm”, but we have also included high-performing mattresses with a firmness of 8 out of 10 as well.
In This Guide
Plank Firm | Titan Plus | Saatva Classic | Nolah Evolution 15 | Nest Bedding Sparrow | Brooklyn Bedding Signature Hybrid | Mattresses We Considered | How We Choose
The 6 Best Extra Firm Mattresses
#1 BEST EXTRA FIRM MATTRESS
Plank Firm
9.61
Price: $1,111
Firmness: Flippable – Firm (8) or Extra Firm (9)
Poly Foam Hybrid
Titan Plus
9.43
Price: $936
Firmness: Extra Firm (9)
COIL ON COIL
Saatva Classic
9.95
Price: $1,695
Firmness: Firm (8)
Poly Foam Hybrid
Nolah Evolution 15
9.77
Price: $1,749
Firmness: Firm (8)
Poly Foam Hybrid
Nest Bedding Sparrow
9.76
Price: $1,812
Firmness: Firm (8)
Poly foam Hybrid
Brooklyn Bedding Signature Hybrid
9.63
Price: $999
Firmness: Firm (8)
Plank Firm
Best For
- One of the firmest mattresses we’ve ever tested (8-9 out of 10)
- Response time is extremely quick, 0.2 seconds
- Solid edge support while sitting and lying
Quick Specs
- 10.5″ thick + quilted cover
- 120-night trial, free returns
- 10-year warranty
Why It’s Best
The Plank Firm, also by Brooklyn Bedding, is the firmest mattress we’ve tested to date. It has a flippable design, but there’s not much variety between the sides because the two options are firm and extra firm (8 or 9 out of 10).
For a heavier person that wants a mattress with good support and pushback, the Plank Firm is a good choice. In addition, for those who just love tons of pushback and tons of firmness, it’s a great option.
It has minimal sinkage and the materials respond quickly. This mattress is particularly good for heavier weighted back and stomach sleepers. However, the extra firm feel makes it less than great for most side sleepers.
We tested both the firm and extra firm sides of the Plank mattress and the firm side scored 9.61 while the extra firm side scored 9.32.
Type: Foam
Firmness: Firm (8) and Extra Firm (9)
Plank Firm Performance
Performance on the Plank Firm mattress is good overall, with no real pitfalls to speak of. The cooling performance is good on the Plank Firm, with moderate sinkage, and moderate levels of motion transfer.
Response time is fast, although given the minimal sinkage and firm feel of this mattress, I wasn’t too surprised with good performance there.
Bounce and motion transfer levels are both slightly less than average. Despite its firmer feel, there is not a lot of energy transfer on the Plank Firm.
Edge support is about average (4.25″ of sinkage when sitting directly on the edge).
This is only a 10″ thick mattress so if you’re looking for a low profile with a very firm feel, the Plank fits the bill.
| Factor | Plank Performance |
|---|---|
| Overall | 9.61 |
| Price | $999 |
| Cooling | 9.5 |
| Max Sinkage | 2.11″ |
| Total Motion Transfer | 6.80 m/s² |
| Response Time | 0.5 sec. |
| Total Bounce | 8.05″ |
| Edge Support – Sitting Sinkage | 4.25″ |
| Mattress Thickness | 10.0″ |
| Sex Overall | 9.5 |
| Comfort Material | 3.0″ |
| Off-Gassing – Smell | Strong |
| Off-Gassing – Days | 3 days |
| Trial | 120 nights |
| Warranty | 10 years |
More Options By Plank
Plank also has two other extra firm mattresses worth considering. See the side-by-side comparison below for some quick specs on these two alternative mattress options.
Plank Firm Luxe
| Type: Hybrid |
| Thickness: 13.25″ |
| Firmness: Flippable, 8 or 9 |
| Read Review |
| Overall Score: 9.49 |
Plank Firm Natural
| Type: Latex Hybrid |
| Thickness: 10.5″ |
| Firmness: Flippable, 8 or 9 |
| Read Review |
| Overall Score: 9.37 |
Titan Plus
Best For
- Back or stomach sleepers
- Budgets under $1000 (for a queen)
- Optional cooling cover
Quick Specs
- 11″ thick + thin cover
- 120-night trial period, $99 return fee
- 10-year warranty
Why It’s Best
The Titan Plus hybrid mattress is an 11″ high hybrid with a quilted cover, gel memory foam, poly foam, and a pocketed coil support base. It is extra firm and designed for sleepers who need max support and heavier weighted bodies.
This mattress also has the option of a cooling cover that integrates phase change material for improved cooling performance and limited heat retention.
Although the score is lower than other mattresses in this guide, if you’re specifically looking for a mattress with a very firm feel (9 out of 10), the Titan Plus is the 2nd best option after Plank.
Type: Hybrid
Firmness: Very Firm (9)
Titan Plus Performance
Performance on the Titan Plus is not the best we’ve seen from this list, but with a price tag under $1000 and a firmness of 9 out of 10, it’s certainly worth a mention here.
The areas where the Titan really shines include cooling, response time, and edge support.
The materials push back nearly instantaneously and have fantastic edge support when sitting or lying directly on the edge.
It also has very high levels of bounce. While this is great for sex performance, it also is likely linked to higher levels of motion transfer.
As you can see in the video below, when the ball is dropped, energy from the ball drop resonates across the surface of the mattress.
If you are a sensitive sleeper or sleep with an active partner, this could be problematic, but not necessarily a deal break for all sleepers.
At the end of the day, the Titan Plus is still a solid extra-firm option, and paired with the lower price tag, it’s worth a mention in this guide, despite its shortcomings.
| Factor | Titan Plus Performance |
|---|---|
| Overall | 9.43 |
| Price | $937 |
| Cooling | 9.5 |
| Max Sinkage | 1.97″ |
| Total Motion Transfer | 14.00 m/s² |
| Response Time | 0.3 sec. |
| Total Bounce | 12.83″ |
| Edge Support – Sitting Sinkage | 2.25″ |
| Mattress Thickness | 11.0″ |
| Sex Overall | 9.9 |
| Comfort Material | 3.0″ |
| Off-Gassing – Smell | Strong |
| Off-Gassing – Days | 6 days |
| Trial | 120 nights |
| Warranty | 10 years |
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, $99 return fee
- 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 comfort foam within a euro-top.
The Firm Saatva Classic is a great example of a firm mattress that still retains a pressure relieving feel with the Euro-top cover.
This mattress has a fantastic performance score of 9.95 overall, which ranks it in the top 1% among all coil mattresses as well as the top 1% among all mattress types we’ve tested.
Type: Coil
Firmness: Soft (3.5), Medium (5.5), Firm (8)
Saatva Performance
Note: We tested the Luxury Firm version. Performance on the recommended Firm Saatva may vary from the data shown.
The performance of the Saatva Classic is on-par with the highest-performing mattresses we’ve tested to date.
The mattress features a coil-on-coil design as well as a Euro cover. If you’re looking for a firm mattress, but want the contour of a Euro cover, the Saatva is a solid pick.
Edge support is also exceptional, with only 3.0″ of sinkage when sitting right at the edge of the mattress. 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″).
It’s not as firm as a 9 out of 10, but still certainly worth the mention within this list, especially if you are looking for more pressure relief.
| Factor | Saatva Classic |
|---|---|
| Overall | 9.95 |
| Max Temp. | 94.0° F |
| 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″ |
| Edge Support – Lying Support | Exceptional |
| Sex Overall | 9.9 |
| Comfort Material | 4.50″ |
| Off-Gassing – Smell | None |
| Off-Gassing – Days | 0 days |
| Trial | 365 days |
| 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, $99 return fee
- Lifetime limited warranty
Why It’s Best
The Nolah Evolution 15 is a hybrid mattress with a 15″ profile made of poly foam and pocketed coils and an extra thick comfort layer.
It offers three firmness options—plush, luxury firm, and firm. For this particular “Best of” list, we will focus on the firm version (an 8 out of 10 on the NapLab firmness scale).
Like the Saatva, the firmness on the Nolah is also 8 out of 10. This isn’t really enough to qualify as “extra firm”, but for sleepers looking for exceptional pressure relief, it’s a great pick (thanks to the 6″ comfort layer).
With an overall performance score of 9.77, the Nolah mattress ranks among the top 5% of all mattresses currently tested.
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 recommended Firm Nolah Evolution may vary from the data shown.
Performance on the Nolah Evolution 15 is exceptional, excelling in most categories.
Cooling is exceptional, with a fast material response time and moderate levels of bounce.
The 6″ of comfort material really helps to take the Nolah Evolution to the next level in terms of comfort and pressure relief. Heavier sleepers, in particular, would really benefit from this mattress, where thinner mattresses may fall short.
The only testing category that struggled was motion transfer. One note, in our tests we measured 33% higher levels of motion transfer than average (8.33 m/s²).
While this may not be a big issue for everyone, sensitive sleepers or couples might want to keep that point in mind.
| Factor | Nolah Evolution 15 |
|---|---|
| Overall | 9.77 |
| Max Temp. | 88.6° F |
| 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″ |
| Edge Support – Lying Support | Exceptional |
| Sex Overall | 9.8 |
| Comfort Material | 6.00″ |
| Off-Gassing – Smell | Strong |
| Off-Gassing – Days | 3 days |
| Trial | 120 days |
Nest Bedding Sparrow
Best For
- Great pressure relief and comfort for sleepers of all sizes
- Excellent cooling, despite having a pretty significant level of hug and sinkage
- Lifetime Exchange Renewal program provides good value for long-term use
Quick Specs
- 12″ thick with a quilted cover
- 365-night trial period, free returns
- 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—extra soft (3.5), medium (5), and firm (8). In this recommendation, we’ll be focusing on the firm version.
While it costs a bit more than your average firm hybrid mattress, it comes with a number of 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). This feature is fantastic for couples with different body weights or sleep preferences because everyone can get exactly what they need for a great night’s sleep.
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.
Type: Hybrid
Firmness: Extra Soft (3.5), Medium (5), Firm (8)
Nest Bedding Sparrow Performance
Note: We tested the Medium version. Performance on the recommended Firm Sparrow may vary 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.
| Factor | Nest Bedding Sparrow |
|---|---|
| Overall | 9.76 |
| Max Temp. | 90.6° F |
| 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″ |
| Edge Support – Lying Support | Very Good |
| Sex Overall | 9.9 |
| Comfort Material | 6.00″ |
| Off-Gassing – Smell | Moderate |
| Off-Gassing – Days | 2 days |
| Trial | 365 days |
| 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, free returns
- 10-year warranty
Why It’s Best
The Brooklyn Bedding Signature Hybrid is a budget-friendly hybrid mattress that is available in three different firmness levels (soft, medium-firm, and firm).
This mattress has an overall performance score of 9.63. This above-average performance falls within the top 30% of all mattresses tested to date.
Outside of performance, the value of this mattress is the real stand-out feature. The Brooklyn Bedding Signature is priced below $1000 for a queen size. That is 30% less than the average hybrid mattress.
Considering performance and price, the Signature is arguably the best value $1K mattress on the market.
Type: Hybrid
Firmness: Soft (4), Medium-Firm (6), Firm (8)
Brooklyn Bedding Signature Hybrid Performance
In terms of performance, the Brooklyn Bedding Signature hybrid is an excellent value and achieves an impressive overall score of 9.63. 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 (9.62″).
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 (8.33 m/s²), the Signature Hybrid has 22% more motion transfer.
| Factor | Brooklyn Bedding Signature Hybrid |
|---|---|
| Overall | 9.63 |
| Max Temp. | 90.7° F |
| 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″ |
| Edge Support – Lying Support | Excellent |
| Sex Overall | 10 |
| Comfort Material | 3.00″ |
| Off-Gassing – Smell | Strong |
| Off-Gassing – Days | 3 days |
| Trial | 120 days |
| Warranty | 10 years |
Mattresses We Considered
When selecting the best extra firm mattress, we’re looking at a combination of performance factors, material quality, firmness, and price.
With these criteria in mind, we scoured our performance data from 175+ mattresses we’ve personally tested to make the selections.
Mattresses with a firmness of 9 out of 10 were given preference over mattresses with a softer feel. There was no performance score cut off for mattresses with a 9 out of 10 firmness.
To round out our recommendations, we also included a few mattresses with a firmness level of 8 out of 10, but with a performance cut-off of 9.52.
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.
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 Extra Firm 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.
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.
