The Best Mattresses on Amazon, According to Sleepers With High Standards

Mattresses get a lot of mileage, which is why we don’t want to settle for anything less than perfection. You deserve a memory foam slab that could rival a mother’s love in comfort, and instill as much peace in you as a Nobel Prize laureate. 

This isn’t too much to ask, and yet, when we’ve presented these needs to the mattress outlet store manager, we’ve been met with a defeatist, “Well, how much can a mattress really change your life?” attitude. No more. 2023 is the year when we finally upgrade our landlord special apartments, and investing in a great mattress—without wasting a Saturday on a trip to the mattress outlet—is a smart place to start. 

We know you’re busy, so we’ve scoped out the best mattresses on Amazon that have racked up great accolades from real reviewers, from Casper mattresses to budget picks with 100K+ ratings. Put on your dangly-ball Father Time sleeping hat, and let’s find you an affordable, life-changing mattress.   

Zinus makes Amazon’s #1 bestselling mattress (as well as—pro tip—some of the sturdiest wood bed frames for sex). The 10-inch-thick Green Tea Memory Foam Mattress has an impressive 4.4-star average rating from over 145,700 reviews, which means there’s basically a sizable colony of people who stan the slab. Fans of the mattress write that it’s perfect for sleepers who like a supportive mattress that alleviates pressure points, including one who explains that “it’s very good at not transferring movement, so my girlfriend could roll or move and I wouldn’t wake up.” There’s an impressive amount of people who fastidiously track their experience with the mattress over time on the mattress’ review page, with another fan writing, “Update as of 11/27/17. I'm a month late on my promised update. This mattress has survived a move to a new home. I have slept on it every night and it hasn't given an inch.” Cop it while it’s 16% off, and see what all the brouhaha is about. 

Perhaps you crave the squishy support of a human-sized marshmallow (same), in which case Zinus’ high-rated Cloud Memory Foam Mattress is a bestseller in the über soft mattress category. It has over 26,000 reviews on Amazon, and a microfiber quilted jacquard cover for an extra cloud-like layer of support. Plus, as one reviewer writes, it’s designed to keep you from overheating at night; “One of the most important things to me as a person who is generally hot all the time is that it stays cool, and this does.”

Casper and I go way back, from the time I brought home one of its dog beds to see if it was comfier than my couch (it was), to the moment I finally made the switch to the Element Pro mattress. As I explained in this VICE review, the cooling memory foam mattress is perfect for hot sleepers who like a medium-soft squish. Amazon reviewers agree, because this mattress from the Element range has a 4.5-star average rating from over 5,000 reviews, including many that praise the all-encompassing support it provides to your body. As one fan writes, “It’s honestly hard to wake up in the morning because of how comfortable I am.”

Aside from inspiring daydreams of naked spring frolicking and honeysuckle blossoms, the sleep brand Nectar makes a Goldilocks-worthy medium-firm mattress. This 12-inch thick number has a 4.3-star average rating from over 5,000 reviews on Amazon, including one customer who writes that it’s fresh-from-the-box comfortable (most boxed mattresses will take a few days to fully expand): “Wow wow wow! I overslept and was late to work. This mattress gets an 11 out of 10. And that’s sleeping on it half an hour after opening it.” 

Tuft & Needle’s adaptive foam mattress has a layer of cooling ceramic gel and heat-conducting graphite that is designed to auto-regulate its temperature so you sleep like an unbothered bébé. It has earned a 4.5-star average rating from over 1,100 reviewers, including one customer who writes, “Best mattress after 40 years of searching. This review could be a book [...] My back pain is slowly disappearing, and this mattress has completely changed my life in many ways.” Bring it home while it’s 26% off.

Another big player in the sleep industry is Purple, whose mattresses are ~famous~ for its GelFlex Grid technology, designed to provide an extra layer of flexible gel that's firm enough to support your frame, but soft enough to reduce tension in your body. This Purple mattress has a 4.5-star average rating on Amazon from over 1,200 reviews, including one fan who writes, “Uhm… this mattress is effin amazing [...] It ACTUALLY supports places that need support, instead of just places where there’s more weight. The support it gives is real support, as opposed to feeling like your bed is actively trying to push against you.” Plus, it comes with handles on the sides for easy set-up and maneuverability. 

If you want the best of both worlds, Sealy makes a high-rated hybrid spring and memory foam mattress with over 1,200 reviews on Amazon. Its premium memory foam top is infused with CopperChill technology that keeps you cool night after night.  As one fan writes, “[It’s] not too firm. Not too soft. The springs are completely supportive. The thick top pad is cushy but doesn't trap you. It's easy to roll and move.”  

Another beloved softie with over 6,800 reviews, this Amazon Brand mattress is both highly affordable and a hit amongst sleepers who want a plush feel for a lower price tag. One reviewer writes that “the king 10-inch plush did it for me,” while another says, “I went from a shredded sack of lumps on a hard unyielding board to a space aged sleep overnight.”

Sleep tight. 

The Rec Room staff independently selected all of the stuff featured in this story. Want more reviews, recommendations, and red-hot deals? Sign up for our newsletter.