Best mattress on Amazon 2024: convenient, quick, and very budget-friendly

Finding the best mattress on Amazon isn't an easy job. There are far too many options to choose from, most of them from brands that you've never heard of, and it's the devil's own job to work out which are the ones that are actually worth your money.

The good news, though, is that we've put the hours in and found five of the best mattresses on Amazon right now: affordable beds that are just one click away, delivering decent quality and comfort for what you'll pay. To be clear: none of these options will compete with our overall best mattress picks. In fact, if you're just looking for a bargain, you're better off consulting our best cheap mattress roundup, or our guide to the best mattress for college students. However, we're assuming you've ended up on this page because, for whatever reason, you'd like your next mattress to come specifically from Amazon. And there we can help.

Amazon tends to do its own thing with mattress sales and you'll find that some prices fluctuate on a fairly regular basis, so if the price on a mattress you're interested in seems a little steep it can pay to wait a few days to see if it drops a bit.

A quick note before we start. Some big-name brands, like Nectar, do have an Amazon store. However, unless the price is very different (which it rarely is), we'd always recommend you buy direct from the brand. This is to make aftercare easier – figuring out how to return a mattress to Amazon isn't always the easiest, and things like trial periods can be tricky to navigate too. All clear? Let's take a look at the best mattresses on Amazon right now...

The best mattress on Amazon 2024 - as chosen by experts

Casper is one of the best-known sleep brands, and we're big fans of its mattresses. The Element is its budget-friendly mattress, and is only available via third party retailers like Amazon. The design is basic – a layer of AirScape foam on top of a durable base layer of sturdier foam. The softer AirScape foam is designed to contour to the sleeper's body (although it's not described as memory foam, so don't expect that sink-in, contouring feel). It's also perforated to encourage airflow through the mattress. The foams use recycled plastic bottles, as a nod to sustainability. 

This mattress is only available in one depth: 10 inches, which should be perfectly fine for most adults. The sleep feel is described as 'medium' – that's pretty vague, but as a general rule that should be suitable for side sleepers, as well as lighter weight back/stomach sleepers.

The pricing isn't as cheap as other models in our list. With the queen typically selling for around $600, it's in the lower mid-range price bracket. There are occasional Casper mattress deals that take the price down even lower, and you can sometimes pick up a queen for less than $500. Compared to other Casper mattresses, this is a real bargain. And here you're getting the same quality foams used in much pricier models, as well as the reassurance of a trusted brand name. It doesn't look like you'll get the same trial and warranty as you would if you were buying a mattress direct from Casper, but it's worth double-checking the small print when you make your purchase.

Amazon makes its own mattresses, as part of its Basics range. If you're looking for an affordable mattress to use for occasional guests, growing teenagers or as a budget replacement for your existing bed, then we reckon this will do the job nicely. 

Unusually amongst our picks, you have the choice of two different sleep feels. We'd point most people towards the medium-firm option, but lightweight side-sleepers and anyone who loves a soft bed might prefer the plush version. You've also got a choice of four different heights, ranging from 6 to 12 inches (typically, we'd suggest 10 inches or above for most adults). 

The straightforward, all-foam design includes a top layer of contouring memory foam, a middle layer of 'soft foam' and a base layer of 'hard foam' for support. The bottom two layers feature channels or perforations to allow the mattress to conform better to the sleeper's shape, as well as promoting airflow – the latter is important because cheap memory foams can have a habit of clinging on to body heat. 

There's some reassurance that comes from the fact that it comes from a recognized brand (albeit not one particularly know for sleep products). There are free returns within 100 days, although note that this is only for unopened products – this is not like the sleep trial you'd get with a dedicated mattress brand. In terms of price, the Amazon Basics Memory Foam mattress sits solidly in the budget category, at around $300 for a 10 inch tall queen size. That's almost exactly the same price as all the other entries in our list, bar the Casper at #1 and the Nectar at #3 – if you can afford it, those mattresses are significantly better in almost every way.

The Nectar Memory Foam mattress is an anomaly on this list for a few reasons. One, it comes from a brand that's widely know and respected for its sleep products. Two, it's more expensive than most mattresses on this list and by some margin. Three, it's a big step up in quality (in fact, we think it's the best memory foam mattress around). The reason we've put it at #3 in our list is because we actually don't recommend you buy it from Amazon – we'd always go to Nectar direct, for reasons we'll get into below. 

Let's back up and take a look at the mattress itself. This is an all-round great mattress, offering gentle contouring as well as excellent support and strong motion isolation. In our tests, we judged it to be a 7 out of 10 on firmness, which will suit most sleep styles (back, side, stomach) and body types (with the exception of heavier people, who should seek something firmer). All-foam mattresses can have a habit of trapping body heat, but in our review period we were impressed with the temperature regulation here – we'd expect the cheaper models in our ranking to sleep warmer than the Nectar. 

Price-wise, the Nectar sits in the lower mid-range of the market overall. The regular Nectar mattress deal takes the price of a queen size down to around $700, which is more than twice the price of the other models in this Amazon mattress ranking. If you need a cheap model, this isn't it – but if you can afford it, the Nectar is well worth the asking price.

The extras are outstanding: you'll get a full year's trial and forever warranty. Such things are ambiguous or non-existent for the other mattresses listed here. We'd recommend buying from Nectar direct rather than buying via Amazon where possible – generally, prices are the same, and going straight to the brand makes aftercare, if needed, more straightforward.

• Read more: Nectar Mattress review

Zinus is one of a handful of fairly well-known sleep brands on Amazon, and this budget-friendly memory foam mattress promises to deliver decent quality for a very affordable price. The upper level of memory foam is designed to mold to the shape of the sleeper's body to provide custom support. We'd expect it to also do a good job of isolating movements on the mattress surface – important if you share a bed.

The headline feature here is that it's designed to be cooling, thanks partly to infusions of gel. In practice, despite being widespread across the market, gel is usually added in such small quantities as to not make any real difference to the feel of a mattress. The only real ways to assess a mattress' cooling properties is to sleep on it, or trawl through existing customer reviews. We've done the latter, and the general consensus is that this mattress does still sleep a little warm, but not problematically so. So that's a decent result for the price.

Amongst common complaints, some customers report body indentations appearing quickly. That's unfortunately to be expected for this price, especially if you or your partner is heavier than average. This mattress is available in four different heights to suit the way you sleep – the 6in depth is firmer for stomach sleepers, while side sleepers might prefer a medium-soft 12 inch option. 

• Read more: Is the Zinus Green Team mattress worth buying?

Linenspa is another of the relatively well-known budget bed brands on Amazon. It's notable because it's a hybrid with springs. Typically these cost more than all-foam models, but the Linenspa is in line with all the other cheap models in this roundup (that is, around $300 for a 10 inch tall queen size). 

The design is mostly springs, topped by a Euro-top that comprises a transition layer of foam and an upper layer of 'quilted' memory foam. The fact the memory foam has been quilted suggests it's a thin layer, and the overall feel is more like a traditional mattress, with some bounce. If you're looking for a contouring, sink-in sleep surface, consider one of the full-foam models instead. When we tested the 10 inch version, we found it lacked cushioning, so probably isn't the best choice for side sleepers, who may experience pressure building up in their shoulder in this position.

The base layer of coils provides plenty of space for air to circulate within the mattress, which means this mattress will be more breathable, and sleep cooler, than a full-foam option. A potential downside for some is that the bouncier, more responsive surface means higher levels of motion transfer, and especially because it's a continuous coil rather than pocketed coil design. Based on our experience, we wouldn't recommend this model to those who share a bed and don't want to be disturbed by their partner's movements should consider a mattress with a higher proportion of foam. In our tests, we also found it lacked edge support. 

A couple more things to flag. We're surprised not to see a CertiPUR-US certification here, as that's a minimum standard you'd expect in mattress foam. However, we're assuming it has just been missed off the Amazon listing. And like some of the other models here, the warranty is unclear. That's something worth double-checking before you commit to purchasing. 

• Read more: Linenspa mattress review