A good mattress improves your sleep, say mattress makers – and they would, wouldn’t they? But they’re right. The older I get, the more I know it. When I was 20, I could sleep anywhere: a friend’s floor, a filthy sofa – even a phone box one night. These days, I won’t get a single one of 40 winks if I’m not lying on a decent mattress. Comfy but firm, cosy but breathable, and with loads of cool spots for my feet.
Today’s best mattresses promise all this and more. Gone are the days when your biggest decision was between a sprung double and a sprung king size. Pocket springs are still around, but they face stiff – well, medium-firm – competition from hybrid mattresses that combine springs and memory foam to provide that all-important balance of comfort and support.
The in-vogue bed brands tend not to have showrooms, so you can’t normally try out their mattresses before you buy. Instead, they vacuum-shrink them in the factory for delivery straight to your door. These bed-in-a-box mattresses come with long trials, but you’re still buying blind. I’ve tried to shed some light on which are the best by trying them out for you.
I, along with a panel of my family members, tested seven bestselling bed-in-a-box mattresses. Among them were two pocket-sprung models and five hybrids (which combine memory foam with other materials), covering various degrees of firmness, features and price tags. I’ll test more – including at least one all-foam mattress – in the coming months. Meanwhile, here’s how my family got on with our top picks, including the one my dad gave up on and the one my niece didn’t want to give back.
At a glance
Why you should trust me
I’ve spent three decades testing products, from mattress toppers to heated clothes airers, so I’m professionally sceptical of manufacturers’ claims to magically improve our lives by buying their stuff. I also have a solid background in napping, insomnia and swearing at alarm clocks, so I welcomed the chance to sleep on the job.
How I tested
First, I needed some sleepers. I wanted a broad range of feedback from people of varying sizes who sleep in various positions. I asked my dad (84), my niece (22), my sister and our husbands to join my mattress panel. We each spent at least a fortnight (and sometimes months) sleeping on an allocated mattress.
Before we divvied them up, my panel assembled to offer their impressions of every mattress on test. I turned my house into a mattress showroom, invited everyone over and asked them to sit, bounce and lie down on every test sample, alone and together. This enabled us to compare the mattresses side by side and get an overview of their pros and cons. I collected scores out of 10 for everyone’s assessment of firmness and other factors such as breathability, motion isolation and overall comfort, then worked out our average score for each mattress.
We then divided the mattresses and began the sleeping tests. To quantify sleep quality, I used the Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index, which uses a questionnaire to assess factors such as how long it takes to nod off. I used this as the basis and added questions such as whether they felt back pain or woke up in the night. Some of us also used our smartwatches to gather sleep-tracking stats.
Other factors were easier to test on my own. I used dumbbell weights to measure how far each mattress sank under various weights, while an infrared thermometer and heat pad revealed how fast they could cool under a warm body. A glass of water on the surface gave an idea of how well the mattress would absorb the movement of a restless partner (“motion isolation”).
Environmental credentials were another important consideration. Mattress makers are secretive about the life cycles of their products, but I discovered what I could about the materials used, their manufacture and their potential for recycling. I also checked verified reviews from paying customers and excluded any mattresses for which delivery and customer service received significant negative feedback.
Read on for my guide to the best mattresses, based on these thorough tests.
The mattresses sourced for this article are being donated to two charities: Southampton-based poverty support group Scratch and Hampshire-based survivors’ advocacy organisation Stop Domestic Abuse.
To dive deeper in to my testing process, read how I tested mattresses for comfort, cost and sustainability
The best mattresses you can buy in 2025
Best mattress overall:
Otty Original Hybrid
From £499.99 (single) to £874.99 (emperor) at Otty
Otty’s flagship offering is a firm but cosy and supremely comfortable mattress that helped me sleep fantastically from the first night of testing. The only other one that managed this was the Simba Hybrid Pro, which is hundreds of pounds more expensive.
Why we love it
The Otty has an outstanding balance of support, cushioning and breathability. My husband and I slept on it for two months and were sad to see it go. It feels ergonomically supportive from edge to edge, with no dip in the middle even after several weeks.
It’s not too hard for comfort, though. As a small side sleeper, I get lower back pain on very firm mattresses, but this didn’t happen with the Otty. My sleep tracker also revealed that I woke up briefly in the night (“microarousals”) less often than usual. The surface felt breathable and cooled down faster than most other hybrids in my heat-retention tests.
When I asked my family to dive in, they put the Otty fourth overall on firmness – squarely at the firm end of the wide medium-firm spectrum – and gave it the highest rating for overall comfort, with an average of 8.3/10.
It’s a shame that … the firmness we loved won’t be welcomed by everyone. If you’re upgrading from a well-used pocket-sprung mattress, the strong flat surface of the Otty may take some adapting to.
Suitable for: anyone who wants to upgrade to a hybrid without forking out four figures
Type: hybrid
Firmness: advertised as medium firm, panel rated as 8/10
Depth: 25cm
Cover: unzip to wash at 40C
Turn or rotate: rotate once a month for first 12 months, then every three months
Trial period: 100 nights
Warranty: 10 years
Old mattress recycling: £40
Sustainability credentials: foam is CertiPur- and Europur-approved for environmental standards
To find out more, read our full Otty Original Hybrid mattress review
Best mattress for couples:
Simba Hybrid Pro
From £799 (single) to £1,399 (super king) at Simba
This sumptuous mattress also had me sleeping soundly from the off. It’s expensive, and won’t be firm enough for some, but its wonderfully comfy surface makes you feel like you’re sleeping on a cloud – and it may even bring peace if you share your bed with a fidgety partner (or the dog, or the kids).
Why we love it
The medium-firm Simba Hybrid Pro is supportive enough for most people, but it has a cosy, yielding feel that may be down to its upper layer of natural wool. The overall effect is luxurious and decidedly soporific.
The Hybrid Pro had the best motion isolation in my test. The mattress doesn’t completely lack bounce, especially on a slatted base, but its foam layers absorb movement so well that it genuinely helped me and my husband sleep through each other’s tossing and turning.
Temperature regulation was less impressive, and I wanted to disown my armpits a few times after waking up. The mattress also softened noticeably in the middle after several weeks of testing, but this is common with hybrids and may be welcomed by sleepers who like the way foam adapts to our bodies over time.
Our panel’s collective firmness score was 7/10, and our comfort average was an excellent 8.1/10, although my husband and sister found it a bit too soft.
It’s a shame that … the price tag is chunky, especially for a mattress that may not maintain its support consistently enough for firm-bed fans.
Suitable for: couples who crave a bit of peace (but still want to share a bed)
Type: hybrid
Firmness: advertised as medium firm, panel rated as 7/10
Depth: 28cm
Cover: unzip to wash at 40C
Turn or rotate: rotate once a month for first three months, then every three months
Trial period: 200 nights
Warranty: 10 years
Old mattress recycling: £50
Sustainability credentials: Simba is B Corp certified and aiming for net zero by 2030. Hybrid Pro foam is CertiPur approved
To find out more, read our full Simba Hybrid Pro mattress review
Best budget mattress:
Ikea Valevåg
From £149 (single) to £359 (super king) at Ikea
Ikea’s popular mattress is a bed-in-a-box bargain. It’s not a hybrid but instead wraps its pocket springs in slim layers of polyfoam for cushioning. It feels much less robust than its pricier rivals, but it’d be a great choice for the kids or the spare room.
Why we love it
Simplicity has its benefits. The Valevåg expanded to full size faster than the hybrids and was much lighter. Finally, a mattress I could lift and manoeuvre by myself, including up and down stairs.
For similar reasons, Ikea’s mattress is wonderfully breathable and may feel cooler in summer than a hybrid. With no memory foam to trap heat, it cooled down faster than any other mattress in my temperature-control test. Hi-tech open-cell foam is all very well for letting the air circulate, but plain old springs do the same for a lot less cash.
My 22-year-old niece, Alex, slept on the Valevåg for two months and was energetically reluctant to give it back. She said it felt supportive enough without being “solid like some of the others”.
It’s a shame that … the Valevåg doesn’t hide its cheapness. Our average firmness score was 6.8/10, which barely qualifies for “medium firm” (although Ikea does make a “firm” version). The bounce of the springs also means motion isolation is poor.
Suitable for: young buyers starting out, or for a guest room
Type: pocket sprung
Firmness: advertised as medium firm, panel rated as 6.8/10
Depth: 24cm
Cover: not removable
Turn or rotate: not needed
Trial period: 365 nights
Warranty: 10 years
Old mattress recycling: £40 via the Mattress Recycling People
Sustainability credentials: 2025 target of 20% recycled content in all Ikea mattress foams
To find out more, read our full Ikea Valevåg mattress review
The best of the rest
Millbrook Wool Luxury 4000
From £549.95 (single) to £1,459.95 (super king zip and link) at Mattress Online
From £549.98 (single) to £1,119.98 (super king) at The Range
Best for: keeping cool on hot summer nights
This is the only true pocket-sprung mattress in our roundup. A layer of UK-sourced wool just below the sleeping surface adds a slightly spongy feel, but there’s no memory foam in here, and the mattress is double-sided. Once it starts to soften, which happens fairly quickly, you can flip it to get the fresh, cool firmness of the other side.
after newsletter promotion
I tested this mattress for six weeks from early May, when the nights were still chilly, until mid-June, when conditions approached 24/7 mugginess. Initially, I loved its robust, traditional feel and liked the way its tufted surface allowed the air to circulate in the way modern hybrids often don’t. I often struggle with night sweats, and the breathable surface and wool layer genuinely helped me dial down the sogginess.
The Millbrook doesn’t offer much in the way of motion isolation, however. Its bounciness amplified my husband’s and my tossing and turning – we’re both hit-and-miss sleepers. Another issue to emerge over the weeks was a surprising level of softening, even on my side of the bed (strange considering I’m smaller than your nan). Flipping the mattress made it feel lovely and supportive again, but we were disappointed to have to do this after just four weeks of sleeping.
It didn’t make the final cut because … initially, this mattress offers plenty of support, but it needs flipping after just a few weeks. It’s also a little too bouncy for couples who want to sleep in peace.
Type: pocket sprung; firmness: advertised as medium to firm, we rated as 8.5/10 then 7/10; depth: 28cm; cover: not removable; turn: “regularly”; trial: 60 nights; warranty: 10 years; old mattress recycling: £35 with Mattress Online if you buy a new mattress; sustainability: Millbrook Beds uses fabrics and fillings “from sustainable sources”; no memory foam or chemical treatments used; Planet Mark certified
Origin Hybrid Pro
From £523 (single) to £833 (super king) at Origin
Best for: couples who both love a firm orthopaedic mattress
Origin claims its Hybrid Pro is “medium firm”, but it is nothing of the sort and instead came top in all my measures of firmness. If, like my sister Maeve and her husband, Ben, you crave the strong pushback of a solid mattress, you will love it. Lucky for them, they got to test it for two months.
This gigantic, heavy hybrid also delivers outstanding temperature regulation and motion isolation. Maeve and Ben reported that the “silky surface with long dents” kept them cool without feeling cold, and after years on a pocket-sprung mattress, they declared its movement-absorbing powers to be “life changing”.
It didn’t make the final cut because … this level of firmness is too hard for many, including me. The 31cm depth also means your standard fitted sheets won’t fit, and the cover isn’t removable.
Type: hybrid; firmness: advertised as medium firm, panel rated as 8.2/10; depth: 31cm; cover: not removable; rotate: not needed; trial: 200 nights; warranty: 15 years; old mattress recycling: £54; sustainability: foam is CertiPur approved; returned mattresses go to the British Heart Foundation
To find out more, read our full Origin Hybrid Pro review
Eve Wunderflip Premium Hybrid
From £499 (double) to £599 (super king) at Eve
Best for: couples who like a well-cushioned surface
Eve describes the Wunderflip as a double-sided mattress. It has a solid central section that’s firmer on one side than the other, so you flip it (with a little effort) to select your level of firmness. You then zip on a thick, spongy “comfort layer” – much like a mattress topper – on whichever side you choose.
My weight tests and family feedback revealed the two sides to be disappointingly similar. Both were too soft for Maeve and Ben, who slept on this mattress for a fortnight before switching to the much firmer Origin. Their daughter Alex tried it out and also found it too soft, as did my husband.
I liked the Wunderflip much more than my family did. Its supportive base layers provide strong, consistent pushback beneath the cushioned top layer, especially when you choose the “firmer” side. The foamy cushioning is brilliant at absorbing movement, and it all feels extremely robust.
It didn’t make the final cut because … the “flip for firmness” idea doesn’t really work, because both sides are similarly soft – perhaps because the removable “comfort layer” is so soft. The hulking weight (more than 50kg for a double) makes it tricky to manoeuvre. Better to pick a side and stick with it.
Type: hybrid; firmness: advertised as medium on one side and firm on the other, panel rated as 4.3 and 6.5 respectively; depth: 28cm; cover: not removable; rotate: once a month for first 12 months, then every three months; trial: 200 nights; warranty: 10 years; old mattress recycling: £50; sustainability: foam is CertiPur approved and CFC/PBDE-free; cover is Oeko-Tex certified
Panda Hybrid Bamboo
From £649 (single) to £1,050 (EU emperor) at Panda London
Best for: couples who sleep on their sides, and anyone who overheats at night
This fabulous-looking hybrid excels at motion isolation and temperature regulation, and its naturally hypoallergenic bamboo yarn cover may help limit morning sneezes. Its high-density foam makes it feel very firm at first, but over weeks of testing, it softened significantly without ever feeling saggy.
I had allocated the Panda to my dad for the sleep test, but he couldn’t get on with it, describing it as “hard on my joints”. It felt too firm for me at first, too. But this mattress is a great illustration of why you shouldn’t judge memory foam too quickly. It adapted to become a cosy sleeping surface for me and my husband.
It didn’t make the final cut because … the softening means it’s hard to judge whether it’s right for you. The cover is removable, but inconveniently in one big unit, like one big mattress shell.
Type: hybrid; firmness: advertised as medium firm to firm, panel rated as 6.8/10; depth: 25cm; cover: remove to wash at 30C; rotate: every six months; trial: 100 nights; warranty: 10 years; old mattress recycling: free; sustainability: foam is CertiPur approved; polyester content is made from “recycled ocean bottles”; will recycle old mattress
What you need to know
The bed-in-a-box industry is like Deliveroo for mattresses. Instead of packing a takeaway in a plastic box and whizzing it to your door, companies such as Otty, Eve and Simba shrink their mattresses into metres and metres of plastic and deliver them to your home.
Is it necessary? No, but like Deliveroo, it’s convenient. The downside is that you’re left with an awful lot of packaging. I mean, a hideous amount. Your recycling collection may take the huge cardboard boxes, but in most areas (including mine), they won’t take the huge volume of plastic wrapping. You’ll have to take it to a household waste centre – unless you’re redecorating and need a dust sheet.
Bed-in-a-box companies don’t have showrooms, so they let you sleep on your new mattress for months before you have to decide whether to keep it. My experience of these trials has been fairly smooth, with Otty and Emma both collecting mattresses and issuing refunds quickly. However, neither team was directly employed by the brands (only Ikea sent a branded van when delivering), and the Emma team didn’t know what they were collecting.
No delivery team offered to take away my old mattress. Most brands offer to recycle old mattresses for a fee of about £50, but you have to organise that in addition to ordering your new mattress. It also seems expensive given that my local council’s recycling team collects mattresses for £20.
Bed-in-a-box warranties typically cover 10 years. That’s excellent, but you’ll have to be careful you don’t void your guarantee by, for example, standing on the mattress or using an electric blanket (as foam can soften and even crack under too much heat).
How do I know it’s a good deal?
It’s Black Friday all year round in mattress world. Bed-in-a-box companies seem to regard “sale” prices as the rule rather than the exception, and Simba, Emma and Dormeo have all been sanctioned by the ASA for misleading marketing tactics.
There are genuine deals to be found, however. If you’re looking at a mattress deal and wondering how legit it is, search Pricerunner to see its price history. Free app Anytracker is less quick but delivers richer results, including alerts when your desired mattress meets your desired price.
How to clean a mattress
Here are a few stats to help you sleep at night: the average mattress contains between 1.5 million and 10 million dust mites, depending on whom you believe. These mites feast on dead skin cells, of which you shed up to 40,000 a minute, and thrive on moisture, of which you leak about a pint a night. “Up to 10% of the weight of an old pillow could be made up of dust mite faeces,” say researchers from UCL. Sweet dreams.
The war on dust mite poo begins with a good mattress protector and clean sheets, which you should change about once a week. A zip-off washable cover, as featured on many of our best mattresses, including the Otty Original Hybrid and Simba Hybrid Pro, is another key line of defence against grossness. Just make sure all these covers are fully dry after washing, because the last thing you want to do is get more moisture into the mattress. That will lead to mould – and you really do not want to share your bed with mould spores.
With all the covers removed for washing, get out the vacuum cleaner. Vacuum every surface of the mattress, including the bottom if it’s one-sided, and get the nozzle into any nooks and crannies. While you’re at it, rotate the mattress from head to toe to keep it as sag-free as possible, or turn it if it’s two-sided. Now let your mattress air for a while, with an open window if the weather allows. You could even make like the Germans do and hang your duvet out to air for a few hours. Just remember that while fresh air can help dissipate smells, it also lets in allergens, so it’s worth vacuuming your mattress again before you put all the freshly cleaned elements back together again.
If there are no stains or spillages on the mattress, that’s as far as you should go. But if there’s been a bed-wetting accident or breakfast-in-bed mishap, use a dry, clean sponge to mop up as much liquid as possible. The aim is to ensure no moisture soaks in. Recent blood, sweat or urine stains can be tackled by dabbing with a little cold water and washing-up liquid (don’t rub; this can spread the stain). Don’t spray carpet cleaner on the mattress because it will damage the fabric, but upholstery cleaner is safe in small doses. If there’s a smell, sprinkle baking soda over the whole surface of the mattress and leave it for several hours, then vacuum it thoroughly.
How often should you replace a mattress?
Your mattress is likely to need replacing after seven to eight years, according to organisations including the Sleep Foundation and Bed Advice UK. “After that time, your mattress will have had around four bathtubs of sweat applied to it,” says Hannah Shore, head of sleep science at Mattress Online. “Dust, dead skin cells and other matter will also collect in the mattress, making it unhygienic.”
That may be true, but most of the mattresses we reviewed come with 10-year warranties, and one – the Origin Hybrid Pro – even stretches to 15, so seven years seems short. Do I smell a mattress industry trying to sell me a new bed before I really need it? Surely it’s more environmentally and financially responsible to hang on to a mattress until it’s falling apart? Maybe, but studies suggest it’s not good for your health or your sleep.
The cocktail of bacterial sleep goo that leaches into a mattress under the weight of at least one human every night eats away at its springs, fillings and foam. The result is a lumpy surface that loses its comfort and support. Support is key when choosing a mattress – without it, you’ll suffer all manner of maladies, including back pain, aching shoulders and poor sleep. One US study tracked a cohort of men and women with minor sleep-related pain, and whose beds were an average of nine-and-a-half years old. Switching to new, medium-firm mattresses resulted in “significant improvements” in their back pain and sleep quality.
The seven-year switch is not an exact science, though. Mattress durability varies widely, and some mattresses made using high-quality materials such as natural latex can have a lifespan of up to 20 years, according to UK mattress company Latex Sense. Rather than assume your mattress will need replacing in seven years, learn the signs to look for.
Sagging and failing springs are the most obvious signs it’s time for a new mattress. Others are that you wake up sneezing, feel your partner moving in bed more than you used to, and feel the bed giving way when you sit on the side. “One of the best signs is that you sleep better elsewhere,” says Shore. “If you sleep significantly better in a hotel bed, it’s probably a sign that your mattress at home needs replacing.”
A few provisos, though. One thing I’ve learned from sleep-testing more than a dozen mattresses over the years is that a new bed can mess up your sleep for the first couple of nights, especially if you’re used to a much softer surface. Your body needs to adjust to being supported properly. Bear in mind that even the firmest foam layers soften quite a bit over the first few months, so give your new bed a chance – and take advantage of free trials if you don’t get on with it.
Also, take mattress companies up on their recycling offers. At about £40-£50, these services cost more than kerbside council collections, but they guarantee your old bed will be disposed of responsibly and not simply chucked into landfill.
Jane Hoskyn is a consumer journalist and WFH pioneer with three decades of experience in rearranging bookshelves and “testing” coffee machines while deadlines loom. Her work has made her a low-key expert in all manner of consumables, from sports watches to solar panels. She would always rather be in the woods
The article was originally published on 6 February 2025. Reviews published in the Filter may be periodically updated to reflect new products and at the editor’s discretion. The date of an article’s most recent update can be found in the timestamp at the top of the page. This article was last updated on 2 July 2025; the Millbrook mattress was added alongside information about how often to replace a mattress, and prices were updated throughout.