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The Spruce
Spacious enough for two (and sometimes more, with kids and pets in the mix) and just the right size to suit most bedrooms, the best queen mattresses are a perfect fit for many sleepers’ needs. And since sleep is one of the most, if not the most important, things you’ll do each day, owning the best possible queen mattress is a necessity.
After testing more than 30 different mattresses, we’ve discovered there are a few key details we think need special consideration when you’re shopping for the best queen mattresses: comfort, support, and durability. We also highly recommend choosing a product with a long sleep trial to ensure the mattress you choose offers ample break-in time, just in case it’s not up to your standards.
Additionally, our extensive testing and research has shown us that one particular mattress type wins out: Hybrid queen mattresses are our testers’ top choice because they offer the perfect combination of support without sacrificing comfort. That’s why more than half of the queen picks on our list are hybrids.
Our Top Picks
Best Overall
Saatva Memory Foam Hybrid Mattress
Works for all sleep positions
Immediately comfortable with no break-in period
Standout delivery, customer service, and warranty
Doesn’t eliminate motion transfer completely
Saatva’s Memory Foam Hybrid Mattress checked all of our boxes (and then some!) over the course of six months of testing, securing its spot as the best overall queen mattress.
We love that this memory foam hybrid offers a true medium firmness, with a uniquely firm feel that’s also slightly bouncy, creating a plush feel that didn’t cause us to sink into its surface too deeply. This balancing act worked to keep our spines aligned while also helping to alleviate pressure. We also found it works well for sleeping in any position, which means couples with different sleep styles will be comfy no matter how they choose to rest up.
Another perk of this queen mattress is its reinforced exterior edge, which helps offer additional support when you’re sitting on the edge of your bed. We found the edge was strong enough to keep us from sinking or sliding off.
The only drawback we discovered in testing was a slight bit of motion transfer. This memory foam model doesn’t completely eliminate motion transfer, so light sleepers with restless partners may feel some movement.
In addition to the impressive comfort this queen mattress offers, Saatva’s customer service really sets it apart. We found the delivery process to be incredibly easy, thanks to the included white glove delivery–which meant we weren’t responsible for lugging it upstairs and getting it onto our bed frame.
Type: Hybrid | Firmness: Medium | Thickness: 11.5 inches | Trial Period: 365 nights
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The Spruce
Best Under $500
Linenspa Memory Foam Hybrid Mattress
Molds to bodies comfortably
Quick out-of-the-box expansion
Suits back and side sleeping
Not as much edge support as other picks
No handles
Linenspa’s Memory Foam Hybrid Mattress successfully proves that a great night of sleep doesn’t have to be determined by wallet size. It’s available in three different thickness options: eight, 10, and 12 inches, but we tried the 10-inch option, which we found to be a perfect medium ground between firm and soft. Our favorite part about this pick is how comfortable it is on the first night, improving our sleep from the get-go with no break-in period.
Like our best overall pick, this one is a hybrid, using memory foam and springs, allowing our bodies to mold with it without us sinking in too deeply. That worked to keep us feeling supported, no matter if we were side or back sleeping. It also helped us to fall asleep more quickly, and to not have to constantly shift and adjust throughout the night.
This budget pick comes in a box and Linenspa suggests it takes between 24 and 72 hours to fully expand once opened, but we were impressed to see that it had resumed its normal shape within about five minutes of being taken out of the packaging.
Something to be mindful of is that this pick doesn’t have handles, and it also won’t be as supportive along the edges as other picks.
Type: Hybrid | Firmness: Medium firm | Thickness: 8, 10, 12 inches | Trial Period: 100 days
Best Under $1,000
Bear Original Mattress
Great for recovery
Molds to our bodies well
Supportive at joints and pressure points
May be too thin for some
A nice middle ground between our first two picks in terms of price, Bear’s Original Mattress is definitely a slight upgrade from Linenspa’s mattress. We put it to the test on a body that rigorously works out five to six times weekly, and it helped to alleviate pain and promote restful, recovery filled sleep at night. This pick also helped our tester to wake up less during the night.
As one of the only non-hybrid picks on our list, this memory foam mattress is a comfy choice for people that love a molding mattress. It’s a good pick for someone looking for joint support, a medium firmness, and responsiveness that works well to contour to their body. It’s also perfect for anyone who is sick of their hypermobile partner disrupting their z’s, with the memory foam working overtime to promote motion isolation. .
While not necessarily a drawback for everyone, do be aware that this pick is 10 inches thick which is thinner than other options. That means that if you have a low bed frame, this thinner mattress won’t add much height, which could be an issue for people that have mobility impairments.
Type: Memory foam | Firmness: Medium firm | Thickness: 10 inches | Trial Period: 120 nights
Best Firm
Purple Restore Hybrid Mattress
Excellent joint cradling
Dealt with pressure points
Promoted alignment
Shorter trial period
May be too thin for some
Purple’s Restore Hybrid is a firm queen mattress that works effectively to eliminate pressure points on our hips and knees, making it a great pick for side sleeping in particular. Make no mistake, despite being firm in nature, it’s not overly rigid; we felt like we were floating and we sank in just the right amount and we also think that it would work for people who normally opt for medium firmnesses
Importantly, this pick definitely took a few days to break in fully for us, with it causing some mild discomfort initially. After that, though, it worked to improve our sleep overall. It cradles every inch of our bodies, eliminates gaps, and helps to prevent tossing and turning. It also helps to deal with pressure points and to offer alignment, and we were able to sleep in any position comfortably with it.
This mattress features Purple’s proprietary gel-flex grid, which works to cradle pressure points while boasting over 1,400 air channels to increase breathability. As a bonus, it’s a hybrid, so responsive coils work to offer support and additional breathability. All of the tech in it surely paid off because we found it to work well for dissipating the heat of a hot sleeping partner while also isolating their movements.
At 11.5 inches thick, it’s slightly thicker than the Linenspa option above, but it does face some of the same potential drawbacks for people. It’s definitely thinner than most mattresses, which may require some folks to purchase taller bed frames for mobility or aesthetic purposes. Additionally, for the higher price, we wish it had a longer trial than just 100 days.
Type: Hybrid | Firmness: Firm | Thickness: 11.5 inches | Trial Period: 100 nights
PHOTO: The Spruce PHOTO: The Spruce PHOTO: The Spruce
Best for Couples
Saatva Solaire Adjustable Mattress
Both sides can be adjusted
Offers excellent support
Quick and easy set up
Not very conforming
Saatva’s Solaire Adjustable Mattress is definitely the most high tech mattress on our list, relying on internal air chambers that can be adjusted via remote to alter the mattress between 50 different firmness options. For queen sizes and anything larger, this pick can be adjusted independently on each side, making it particularly suitable for couples that have different sleep preferences.
While adjustable, it’s worth noting that we found the Solaire to definitely lean towards the firmer end of the spectrum, even when put at its softest setting. However, we actually preferred that, finding this to be a highly supportive mattress, while the top was still plush enough to offer excellent comfort.
While this pick arrived compressed, it was set up and inflated within 10 minutes and did not have a chemical odor to it. At the end of the testing period, it had no indentations or irregularities. Despite all of these positives, we do feel the need to mention that if you’re in the market for a conforming mattress, this definitely won’t be the right one for you.
Type: Memory foam | Firmness: 50 options | Thickness: 13 inches | Trial Period: 365 nights
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The Spruce
Best for Hot Sleepers
Casper Sleep Wave Hybrid Snow Mattress
Helps us stay cold all night
Supportive for all sleep positions
Wonderfully soft
Heavy and hard to move
Not too much edge support
There’s no shortage of mattresses that boast product descriptions about how cooling they are, but Casper’s Snow Max Mattress really lives up to the hype. It goes beyond temperature regulation that keeps you feeling neutral, actually working to actively keep us feeling cool. That means that every touch felt like holding the cool side of the pillow, so if your partner is a hot sleeper, this is just the ticket to eliminate trapped heat from affecting your side of the bed.
This mattress is amazingly soft to the touch while offering a medium firmness that is responsive and body enveloping and feels like a cloud. It was also comfortable in every position that we slept in, making it suitable for couples with different sleep positions.
This pick comes in a box, and is quite frankly compressed very impressively, actually shocking us by its sheer size once it was unrolled. Just be aware that it’s heavy and hard to move. It also doesn’t have much edge support.
Type: Hybrid | Firmness: Medium | Thickness: 14 inches | Trial Period: 100 nights
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The Spruce
Final Verdict
With a construction that works for all sleep positions, excellent white glove service, and instant comfort from night one, Saatva’s Memory Foam Hybrid Mattress is our best overall pick. If you’re looking to spend a bit less, Linenspa’s Memory Foam Hybrid Mattress and Bear’s Original Mattress are two great picks that come in at under $1,000.
How We Tested the Queen Mattresses
In our quest to find the best queen mattress on the market, we have tested more than 30 mattresses to date, both in The Lab and at home. In making our picks, we focussed specifically on comfort, support, effect on sleep quality, and durability.
Because bodies and preferences are so, we made sure to test these picks across a variety of heights, weights, and sleep styles to make sure that our final list had something for everyone. That also meant trying each mattress in different sleep positions to see exactly who could benefit from them. While gauging initial comfort, our testers also paid attention to support, so that our final picks included options that alleviated pressure points and promoted alignment
A byproduct of comfort and support, we needed to ensure that our picks promoted healthy, productive nights of sleep. We focussed on including models that didn’t just feel great, but noticeably improved our testers’ sleep performances through metrics like less wake up occurrences at night, and quickness of returning back to sleep after a disturbance.
Finally, because these mattresses are an investment, we picked models that demonstrated minimal to no wear and tear at the end of the testing period, ensuring that they are designed to last.
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The Spruce
What to Look For in a Queen Mattress
Hybrid Construction
While all mattress types have their time and place given the fact that people are so individual, our testing has resoundingly indicated that hybrid models just score higher. That’s because hybrid mattresses can really offer the best of both worlds by providing support and motion isolation with their coils, while the top layer of foam or latex can cater to more specific firmness and contouring feels that people are looking for.
In fact, four of the six mattresses on our list are hybrids: Saatva’s Memory Foam Hybrid Mattress (best overall), Best Under $500: Linenspa Memory Foam Hybrid Mattress (best under $500), Casper’s Snow Max Mattress(best for hot sleepers), and Purple’s Restore Hybrid Mattress (best firm).
The Right Level of Firmness
If you’re seeking out the ideal mattress for you, your sleep style, and your body type, the firmness of the mattress is going to be vital. As Dr. Jennifer O’Connell, a physiatrist at the Hospital for Special Surgery, explains, “An industry standard scale exists for mattress firmness, graded from 1, softest to 10, firmest. 6.5 is considered medium firm, the average considered to be best for back pain relief.”
Interestingly, while sleep position will play a role, Dr. O’Connell adds that body weight will be a big factor in choosing the proper mattress firmness for your needs, noting that heavier individuals will achieve “optimal alignment on a firmer mattress and lighter individuals [will benefit] from a relatively softer one.” Additionally, she tells us that “Height also plays a role with shorter people demonstrating better alignment on a softer mattress and taller people better served with a medium firm one”.
In our own testing, we found that Purple’s Restore Hybrid Mattress (best firm) was good for side sleeping while Linenspa’s Memory Foam Hybrid Mattress (best under $500) was best for back sleeping.
- Saatva Memory Foam Hybrid Mattress (11.5 inches)
- Linenspa Memory Foam Hybrid Mattress (8, 10, 12 inches)
- Bear Original Mattress (10 inches)
- Purple Restore Hybrid Mattress (11.5 inches)
- Saatva Solaire Adjustable Mattress (13 inches)
- Casper Snow Max Mattress (14 inches)
A Solid Sleep Trial Period
Even excellent mattresses may not be at their peak comfort on night one, as they can take some time to fully break in. And with the advent of online mattress companies that don’t have showrooms, mattresses with lengthy trial periods are even more vital. Considering this, it’s important to opt for picks that give you more than enough time to adequately break in and test the mattress, like Saatva’s Memory Foam Hybrid Mattress (best overall), which offers a full 365 night trial.
One More Thing
Sleeping with a partner, especially one who can’t seem to stay still, doesn’t have to impact your sleep negatively. Mattresses designed with motion isolation in mind, with things like individually encased coils or memory foam, can help to sequester the movement to the side of the bed it's happening on, so that you can still get a good night of sleep.
Why Trust The Spruce
Jack Byram is a writer and editor who has been covering all things sleep for The Spruce since 2022. He has spoken with some of the foremost sleep experts in the world, and he is also consistently trying new products to help ensure his sleep is as good as possible and to also offer helpful insights to his readers.
Our Experts:
- Jennifer O’Connell, MD, a physiatrist at Hospital for Special Surgery
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