Our expert, award-winning staff selects the products we cover and rigorously researches and tests our top picks. If you buy through our links, we may get a commission.
Reviews ethics statement
Caroline Igo Editor, Sleep
Caroline Igo (she/her/hers) is a wellness editor and holds Sleep Science Coach and Stress Management certificates from the Spencer Institute. She received her bachelor's degree in creative writing from Miami University and continues to further her craft in her free time. Before joining CNET, Caroline wrote for past CNN anchor, Daryn Kagan.
Expertise Sleep | Mattress Accessories | Vitamins and Supplements | Nutrition | Personal care Credentials
- Carl R. Greer/Andrew D. Hepburn Award for Best Nonfiction Essay (Miami University, 2020)
With 5-plus years of mattress-testing experience, we use our different sleeping-position and body-type perspectives to offer well-rounded, honest reviews.
How we sort our mattresses
Best cheap mattress for guest rooms
Dreamfoam Doze
View details
25% off sitewide with code:
View details
Sleep is a luxury that doesn't have to feel as distant with the right direction. The mattress on your bed plays a huge role in getting a good night's sleep. You shouldn't have to break the bank to do so. Fortunately, a lot of affordable and great mattress options have come to market recently, making it easier to experience the best comfort and support without hurting your wallet.
From side sleepers to stomach sleepers, there's a quality mattress out there for you. Whether you are looking for a softer mattress, a memory foam mattress with great foam layers or the best budget hybrid mattress around, we’ve found something for everyone on a budget.
The prices in this guide are based on queen-size mattresses, since it's the most common. That doesn't mean going up or down a mattress size will keep them from being inexpensive; it will likely still be a cheaper mattress for the size you need compared to others on the market. Also, keep in mind that the MSRP prices below do not reflect current discounts and deals. These best cheap mattresses are often less expensive than they appear. Check out our Best Mattress Deals page for all up-to-date mattress discounts.
What's the best cheap mattress overall?
Allswell is well-known for making comfortable, affordable mattresses. Its flagship model, the Allswell, not only is our pick for the best cheap mattress overall, but it also made our Best Mattress list. The bed is a great value — its hybrid model of pocketed coils and poly foam is similar to a lot of others on the market, yet it’s very affordable. It offers a medium to medium-firm profile and a bouncy, neutral foam feel that should please most sleepers. If you don't want to sacrifice quality when buying a cheap mattress, the Allswell is your best bet.
Video: Best cheap mattresses for 2024
Watch CNET mattress expert Owen Poole review the best cheap mattresses for 2024.
The best cheap mattresses of 2024
7.6 /10
SCORE
Photo Gallery
Firmness
Medium to medium firm: (6)
Warranty
10-year limited warranty
Dreamfoam Hybrid
Best cheap hybrid mattress
Our take - Hybrid mattresses tend to be on the pricey side, so the Dreamfoam Hybrid is a steal. A queen size retails for just under $800, yet frequent deals knock off $200 more. And while this mattress is cheap, the quality is not. Just over 10 inches thick and constructed with four distinct layers, this bed is thicker and more durable than other low-cost, all-foam mattresses we’ve tested. Its medium firmness level and neutral foam feel should suit most sleeping positions.
Read full review
7.8 /10
SCORE
Photo Gallery
Firmness
5 or about a medium
Warranty
10-year limited warranty
Nectar Luxe mattress
Best cheap mattress for side sleepers
Our take - Side sleepers on a budget should look for a soft memory foam bed, the Nectar Luxe mattress is the perfect fit. We found the mattress to be around a medium-soft to medium or a 3 to 4 out of 10 on the firmness scale. So, it's soft enough for both side sleepers who need pressure relief on their shoulders and hips and petite sleepers who love all-foam designs. Its memory foam is dense and conforms and cradles to the body’s pressure points.
Photo Gallery
Dreamfoam Doze
Best cheap mattress for guest rooms
Our take - This neutral foam mattress is perfect for a guest room. First, it’s possibly one of the most affordable mattresses we have ever tested. You don’t want to spend too much money on a bed that will sit in a guest room. Second, this is a very basic mattress. It is all foam, and its feel is very neutral, meaning it isn’t too dense. This feel appeals to most audiences, so your guests will likely find it comfortable.
Read full review
7.5 /10
SCORE
Photo Gallery
Type
neutral foam mattress
Firmness
medium to medium-firm
Warranty
10-year limited warranty
Cocoon Chill
Best cheap mattress for hot sleepers
Our take - Most cooling beds on the market cost around $1,500. However, with the Cocoon Chill by Sealy, you get cooling technology in a great bed at a fraction of the cost (Sealy deals usually bring this bed down to $700). While the Cocoon Chill is made of memory foam — a material that tends to sleep warm — it is still cool to the touch. The mattress has a phase-changing cover that actively draws heat away from your body and won’t increase your temperature.
Read full review
8.3 /10
SCORE
Photo Gallery
Type
cooling memory foam mattress
Firmness
medium to medium-firm or 6
Warranty
10-year warranty
Lucid Gel Memory Foam
Best cheap mattress on Amazon
Our take - Lucid is another popular mattress brand often bought on Amazon. The affordable Lucid Memory Foam mattress has a dense memory foam feel that responds slowly to pressure and morphs around your body's curves. It's ideal for side sleepers as it provides ample pressure relief to the hips and shoulders. Unlike other affordable memory foam mattresses on this list, this bed is available in three different firmness levels and three height options, so you can customize your mattress to fit your specific needs.
Read full review
7.6 /10
SCORE
Photo Gallery
Type
memory foam mattress
Firmness
medium-soft or 3
Warranty
10-year limited warranty
Much goes on behind the scenes to curate our best lists, including countless hours of mattress testing to find out which beds are truly worth your money. Our CNET Sleep editors, including myself, curated this best affordable mattress list by choosing our top favorite cheap beds from the 300+ we’ve tested. With that being said, here are a few honorable mentions below that could also be up for your consideration.
Bear Original mattress: The Bear Original mattress isn't the cheapest bed we've encountered, but it offers excellent value. When it’s on sale, which it normally is, you can snag a queen size for under $700. The Bear Original is made with graphite-gel memory foam, so it doesn't retain heat like older types of memory foam mattresses used to, and it provides that signature hugging feel memory foam has become known for. One of the best parts — besides the budget mattress price — is the optional Celliant-infused cover, however, this is an added charge.
Dreamfoam Essential mattress: Dreamfoam offers affordable mattresses that we love — as you can see, two of its beds already made this list. The Dreamfoam Essential is also cheap, you can get a queen mattress around $525 and discounts usually knock off another $100. It’s available in multiple thicknesses that will affect the firmness level. However, it didn’t make this list because it doesn’t feel like the Dreamfoam Hybrid or Doze. The mattress is firmer and denser than those two models, so it might not appeal to a wide range of sleepers.
Show more
My fellow CNET sleep editors and I chose mattresses based on firmness, feel, performance, durability, features and the brand’s policies. We test beds by lying on them, testing edge support and motion isolation and switching between sleeping position, for example. We also test a mattress’ firmness with our proprietary machine, appropriately named the Mattress Smasher 9000. This heavy duty tool presses into the middle of a bed and our corresponding software measures firmness on a scale of 1 to 10, with 1 being the softest and 10 being the firmest. While we also test each bed personally for perceived firmness and feel, we have data from the MS9000 to backup our conclusions.
However, with this list specifically, price and value were two of the main metrics we examined. The mattresses we considered "cheap" are anywhere from $300 to $800 (after discounts are applied) and are very basic, often flagship models. They don’t have to have any fancy bells and whistles, yet the chosen mattresses are still comfortable, quality beds at affordable prices.
Read more about our sleep team, our mattress warehouse, the Mattress Smasher 9000 and how we test mattresses.
Show more
With any cheap mattress, you get what you pay for. That said, there are cheap mattresses out there that are both worth the money and comfortable to sleep on each night. You can't expect any crazy bells and whistles, but that's not typically what you look for in a cheap mattress, after all.
- Construction: The type of mattress you need is determined by your body type. People over 230 pounds should opt for a hybrid mattress because the construction includes steel coils that help to provide more support and durability. People under that weight can opt for an all-foam mattress. Those who are petite or average should also consider thickness; the thicker the mattress, the more supportive and firm it is.
- Brand reputation: It’s important to do your own research when looking for the best cheap mattress, especially on Amazon. Some companies try to sell knock-offs of popular cheap beds like the Tuft & Needle Nod, so be vigilant.
- Firmness: The best firmness level for you depends on your sleeping position. Side sleepers should consider a soft mattress, whereas back and stomach sleepers may want something on the firmer end for ample back support.
- Price: Remember, you get what you pay for. You likely won't find a bed under $100 or even $200 unless it's designed to fall apart in a year or is already used.
It's important to also state possible downsides of buying a cheaper mattress:
- They typically aren't as thick or durable as an average foam or hybrid bed.
- Unless they have specific cooling technology, cheaper beds can sleep hotter than a regular mattress.
- Unless it's a hybrid, a cheap mattress likely isn't supportive enough for someone over 230 pounds.
- Cheap mattresses are made with cheaper or fewer materials to achieve a lower price.
Show more
You can buy cheap mattresses online at a brand's website (such as Zinus) or on Amazon. For your convenience, Amazon carries a lot of cheap and affordable brands such as Tuft & Needle, Zinus, Lucid and some Dreamfoam mattresses.
Cheap mattresses are great for those who aren't concerned about long-term durability. These beds may be ideal for young people looking to save money or those who need a bed for a guest room, a college dorm room or a first-time apartment. However, if you need a mattress to last more than five years, I recommend saving for a more expensive mattress that is built to last.
We have tested a bunch of budget mattress brands over the years. We have found the budget brands to be Lucid, Zinus, Allswell, Tuft & Needle, Dreamfoam and Sealy.