5 Best Memory Foam Mattresses of 2026: Tested and Reviewed

Best for Couples: DreamCloud Classic Memory Foam

Score: 9.4 out of 10

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Pros and cons

Pros

• Comfortable in all sleeping positions
• Strong, sturdy edges
• Great motion isolation

Cons

• Retains heat
• Not bouncy

Features

• Firmness: Extra firm
• Trial period: 365 nights
• Warranty: Limited lifetime
• Read our in-depth DreamCloud mattress review.

Key takeaways from our testing

Comfortable and pressure-relieving for couples with different preferences. Tester Bryan, 62, and his wife, Jennifer, 45, felt comfortable in every position on the DreamCloud Classic Memory Foam. “There's no pain or discomfort anywhere,” Bryan said. “My hips are sinking in just enough — same with my shoulders. I feel comfortable and relaxed.” Both testers are combination sleepers, meaning they change positions throughout the night. “I think this is a good mattress for everyone, especially if you and your partner have different sleeping positions,” Jennifer said. You also won’t need to worry about falling off the edges if you and your partner spread out at night. “I feel like I can sleep up close to the very edge,” Bryan said.

Fewer disruptions for light sleepers. Bryan, who wakes up easily reported barely feeling anything during our couples’ motion isolation test. “I was able to feel my partner moving, but very slightly,” he said. “I'm a very light sleeper and I don't think I would have woken up on this mattress.” The bed's ability to limit motion transfer makes it one of the best mattresses for couples.

Worst for cooling. Both Bryan and Jennifer tend to sleep hot, and they thought this foam bed retains too much heat. When our lab team conducted a cooling gun test, the DreamCloud Classic’s temperature increased by 28 degrees, earning it a disappointing mark for temperature regulation. Couples who sleep hot may want a cooler bed, like the The WinkBeds GravityLux.

Best for Back Pain: Saatva Contour5

Score: 9.1 out of 10

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Pros and cons

Pros

• Excellent cushion and support for easing back pain
• Edges stay firm under pressure
• Generous one-year  free trial and white-glove delivery 

Cons

• Not suitable for higher-weight stomach sleepers
• Pricey

Features

• Firmness: Medium or firm
• Trial period: 365 nights
• Warranty: Lifetime
• Read our in-depth Saatva mattress review.

Key takeaways from our testing

Exceptional spinal alignment and pressure relief. Bryan’s favorite thing about the Saatva Contour5 was how it supported his spine. “This bed feels wonderful. It keeps my spine straight and keeps the pressure off my back,” he said. “I feel really aligned and like no part of my body is more elevated than the rest.” He awarded this mattress a perfect score for pressure relief on his back and a near-perfect for spinal alignment.

Long free trial and white-glove delivery. Saatva has the longest free trial period on this list — customers can try out a mattress at home for a full year before deciding whether to return it for a full refund. The company also offers free white-glove delivery, which means Saatva will deliver your bed, set it up and remove your old one for free. That service can be a huge benefit for older adults with back or other pain who can’t lift a bed themselves. No other mattress company we’ve tested offers this service for free — they usually charge an additional fee of several hundred dollars. However, these set-up perks are reflected in the price. The Saatva Contour5 is the most expensive mattress on this list at about $3,000 for a queen. 

Too soft for higher-weight stomach sleepers. Bryan felt uncomfortable lying on his stomach when testing this mattress. “My chest feels a little elevated,” he said. “There’s some slight tension, and I can feel my lower back curving.” The Saatva Contour5 is listed at medium firmness, and Bryan is higher-weight. Higher-weight stomach sleepers will likely need a bit more firmness and support to prevent their hips from sinking too deeply and stressing their spines. For more options, take a look at our best mattresses for back pain review.

Best Cooling: The WinkBeds GravityLux

Score: 9.3 out of 10

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Pros and cons

Pros

• Impressive cooling for a foam bed
• Second-best alternative for couples
• Extra lumbar support

Cons

• Too firm for some stomach sleepers
• Poor bounce

Features

• Firmness: Soft, medium or firm
• Trial period: 120 night
• Warranty: Limited lifetime
• Read our in-depth WinkBeds Mattress review.

Key takeaways from our testing

Unexpected favorite for hot sleepers. The WinkBeds GravityLux is the only all-foam bed we’ve tested that earned a perfect score in our cooling gun test. Our lab team credits its cooling performance to its cover made of TENCEL — a type of fiber that promotes temperature regulation — and to aerated upper foam layers that allow more airflow. Since this bed also is excellent at isolating motion, we think it’s a good alternative to the DreamCloud Classic Memory Foam for couples who sleep hot.

Targeted lumbar support. Our lab team noticed a rare feature for all-foam beds: targeted lumbar support. One of the bed’s deeper foam layers is firmer in the center third to reinforce the lower back while cushioning the hips and shoulders. Toni, a 50-year-old tester with mild back pain, noticed the lumbar support right away. “This feels really nice,” she said. “My lumbar region feels very filled in and cushioned. I feel fully supported from head to toe.” 

Potentially too firm for some stomach sleepers. Toni didn’t enjoy the GravityLux while lying on her stomach. “It feels a little too hard and firm on my stomach,” she said. “I feel some pressure on my chest.” Other testers agreed the GravityLux doesn’t have much give for stomach sleepers.  

How we tested the best memory foam mattresses 

We started our process by researching the market. What mattresses are popular and why? Who has the best customer reviews — and are the reviews legitimate? We also consulted medical experts for professional insights regarding the best mattresses for various sleeping positions and health concerns.

After deciding which beds to review, it was time for objective lab testing. To identify their strengths and weaknesses, we used controlled tests to assess characteristics like edge support, bounce and temperature regulation. Then we recruited more than 15 testers ages 50 and older to give us their unbiased feedback. 

These testers answered questions like: Did the memory foam mattresses provide good pressure relief? Is the foam providing a good balance of cushioning and support for your pressure points? Does your spine feel aligned in all positions? Beds that excelled in our tests made our list of the best memory foam mattresses. For more details, see our mattress testing methodology.

How to choose the best memory foam mattress for you

There is no one-size-fits-all memory foam bed. The right one for you will depend on a number of factors, which we’ve outlined below. We think these are the most important factors to consider when shopping for a memory foam mattress, according to our testing experience, medical experts, focus group participants and survey respondents.

Pressure relief and contouring

Many people are drawn to memory foam for its pressure-relieving properties, says Pola Ham, an occupational therapist and certified aging-in-place specialist (CAPS) at Touro University in New York City. These materials can conform to the body’s natural curves and redistribute weight to reduce pressure points. 

But not all foam beds have pressure-relieving surfaces. Some are made of dense, resilient foam, which has a firmer feel and doesn’t contour to the body. For example, our lab team believes the Bear Original is the closest example of a firm foam bed on this list because it doesn’t have the forgiving feel we traditionally associate with memory foam.

So consider a memory foam bed that provides the right balance of support while contouring and easing pressure on your body. 

Support and spinal alignment

Ham, the occupational therapist, recommends choosing a mattress with adequate support to keep the spine in a comfortable, neutral position. “A practical tip is if you lie on your side, your shoulder and hip should 'sink in' a bit, but your waist shouldn’t collapse and your spine shouldn’t twist,” she says. 

Ham also recommends that her patients consider their body weight when selecting a supportive foam bed. Softer foam beds are more likely to compress under higher body weight, which can “bottom out” a bed’s materials. Our lab team found firm foam mattresses perform better for support and spinal alignment, which can benefit higher-weight sleepers who want the feel of memory foam and may sink further into the foam layers.

Firmness and sleeping position

Companies typically rank firmness on a scale of 1 to 10, with 10 being the firmest. Medium to medium-firm beds strike a comfortable balance between support and cushioning, says Joseph Hribick, a doctor of physical therapy and clinical assistant professor of physical therapy at Lebanon Valley College in Annville, Pennsylvania. So he recommends these kinds of beds in general. 

 “Avoid super-soft, deep-sink foams,” adds Ham. “You usually want contouring and stable support underneath.”

However, the best firmness level often depends on your sleeping position. Sleep experts generally recommend the guidelines below, regardless of the mattress’s material. 

• Side sleepers: Soft to medium-firm (4 to 6.5 out of 10)
• Back sleepers: Medium to medium-firm (5 to 6.5 out of 10)
• Stomach sleepers: Medium-firm to firm (6.5 to 9 out of 10)
• Combination sleepers: Whichever firmness matches your preferred sleep position

That said, these are not clinical guidelines. If you’re shopping for a new bed and want to relieve pain, talk with your doctor first to determine what would work best for you. Although medium-firm beds may offer more advantages for people with nonspecific lower back pain, research shows that some people may feel more comfortable with a softer or firmer option.

Mobility

Ham advises against softer foam beds because she says they’re hard to move on. “Older adults often overlook this. Some memory foam is so contouring that you can feel stuck, making rolling and standing up harder,” she says. “If balance, strength or joint stiffness is an issue, I’d look for responsive foam [foam that bounces back quickly when you press your hand on the surface] rather than sinkage.”

A bed’s responsiveness, which relates to how bouncy it feels, will determine how easy it is to move around on. Memory foam tends to respond more slowly after pressure is lifted off, meaning it won’t snap back or assist movement like a hybrid bed might.

Edge support

Sag-resistance and strong edges often are associated with highly supportive, firmer mattresses. “If the edge collapses when you sit, that’s a fall risk and a daily annoyance,” says Ham. 

Foam mattresses in this review provide above-average edge support when sitting or lying down.

If you want a mattress that stands the test of time, go for a medium to firm bed with ample support. Hribick, the professor of physical therapy, notes that multi-layered memory foam beds with firmer lower tiers break down more slowly over time. For example, the Nectar Premier Memory Foam has a firm foam foundation with two layers of memory foam on top for pressure relief and support.

Cooling

Research suggests higher bedroom temperature is associated with poorer sleep quality. And memory foam beds can trap heat. “As the mattress warms, it becomes softer and conforms more closely to our body. This process reduces airflow around the body, making it feel warmer,” says Hribick. 

Our lab team noticed that most all-foam beds perform at or below average for temperature regulation, despite any advertised cooling materials a company may add to the construction. The only surprising exception was The WinkBeds GravityLux, which outperformed all other mattresses we’ve tested and rightfully earned a spot on this list.

If you’re a hot sleeper, you may decide to invest in bed sheets that help dissipate body heat throughout the night. Our lab team found that TENCEL fabric regulates temperature well and is widely available in sheet sets. Or, you may want to consider an innerspring or hybrid bed (which includes a coil base and comfort layers) with better airflow.

Motion isolation

“Memory foam mattresses are known to have good motion isolation, which can help improve the sleep quality for couples as it minimizes the effects of movements,” says Hribick. This idea is consistent with our lab team’s testing results. Across all memory foam mattresses we’ve tested so far, the average motion isolation score between the ripple and couples' test is an impressive 4.2 out of 5. 

If you’re a person who has a restless sleeping partner, you may prefer a memory foam bed because you’d be less likely to feel your partner’s movements with this kind of mattress — and could therefore have a more restful night’s sleep. But there is a tradeoff: Motion-isolating foam beds are rarely bouncy, making them more difficult to move on than the average hybrid bed.

Setup and delivery 

The beds we’ve listed here also include lifetime or limited-lifetime warranties, under which the mattress company typically will repair or replace the bed for the original purchaser if it has a manufacturer's defect or premature wear after normal use. Warranty periods are especially important for memory foam beds, which are more prone to sagging than other materials. For example, Nectar will cover visible indentations greater than 1.5 inches that are not caused by negligence or by using an unsupportive foundation or base.

Some companies also offer white-glove delivery, which refers to in-home mattress delivery and setup. Remember, Saatva is the only brand that we tested that offers this delivery and set-up for free. Other companies we tested — including Bear, Leesa and Helix — offer these services for an additional fee, which is typically several hundred dollars. 

Most memory foam mattresses on our list (aside from the Saatva Contour5) arrive shrink-wrapped and rolled into a large box that may be heavy for some people. Unless you order white-glove delivery, you’re responsible for lifting the new boxed mattress and carrying it into your bedroom, removing your current mattress (if you have one), unpacking the new mattress and placing it on your bed frame. This may be difficult for one person to do alone, so if you choose not to use white-glove delivery, we recommend asking at least one other capable person to help.

Memory foam vs hybrid mattresses

Not sure whether a memory foam or a hybrid bed — a bed that typically features foam upper layers and a coil layer toward the base — is right for you? Consider asking yourself the following questions to help with your decision:

Is pressure relief important to me? 

All-foam beds tend to provide better pressure relief and motion isolation than hybrid beds, Ham says. And our lab team’s testing results confirm that memory foam beds provide above-average pressure relief, depending on how dense the foam layers feel. 

Do I tend to sleep hot? 

Ham and Hribick both warn memory foam beds retain more heat in general, and softer beds of this type may sink too much for people with mobility issues. So, a hybrid mattress can be a better option for someone who needs better airflow due to excess body heat, says Hribick.

Do I want to be able to move easily in bed — and do I want more support? 

A hybrid bed can be a better option for someone who wants more responsive materials so they can move with less effort in bed, Hribick says. And both Hribick and Ham recommend hybrid beds for people with higher body weights or people who benefit from a sturdier support system. That said, hybrid beds can have a drawback when it comes to motion: Since these beds have springs, couples are more likely to feel each other move. 

How much do the best memory foam mattresses cost?

The best memory foam mattresses on our list cost between about $1,000 and $3,000 for a queen. You can see the table below for a breakdown.

FAQs

Are memory foam mattresses good?

Yes, memory foam mattresses can be good options for their pressure relief and body-hugging contouring. Many focus group participants and survey respondents chose a memory foam bed and are satisfied with their decision. In general, traditional memory foam can provide pressure relief — particularly around joints — for individuals as well as helpful motion isolation for couples. 

Who are memory foam mattresses good for? 

Memory foam mattresses can be good for people who are looking for a pressure-relieving bed. They also can be good for couples who want motion-isolating materials to reduce motion transfer from a sleeping partner. But memory foam mattresses may not be a good choice for people with mobility issues, especially if the material is soft or allows too much sinkage.

Is memory foam good for side sleepers?

Yes, memory foam can be a good option for side sleepers because it conforms to the body and can help cushion the shoulders and hips. Side sleepers may prefer a bed with enough pressure relief to keep those areas comfortable, plus enough support to help the spine stay aligned.  

How long does a memory foam mattress last?

In general, memory foam mattresses can last about eight to 10 years, depending on factors such as how often you use them, how you care for them, and the quality of their construction. But different companies can note various mattress lifespans. For example, Nectar notes a quality memory foam mattress can last up to 10 to 15 years with proper care and regular mattress rotations.

How do you clean a memory foam mattress?

Cleaning instructions vary by company. For example, Nectar recommends cleaning your mattress every six months, while Bear recommends at least three times per year. Both companies recommend vacuuming, spot-cleaning and sprinkling baking soda to absorb odors and oils on both sides of the mattress. Nectar advises against soaking the memory foam in order to prevent damage. For detailed instructions on cleaning a specific type of memory foam bed, contact the manufacturer.

Questions or feedback? Email us at AARPSmartPicks@aarp.org.