Saatva Mattress Review: Learn if Saatva is Right For You

Score: 9.4 out of 10

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Pros and Cons

Pros

• Superior pressure relief
• Helps keep spine neutral
• Great temperature regulation

Cons

• Expensive 
• Too soft for some sleepers

Features

• Type: Hybrid
• Firmness option: Supportive Plush
• Best sleeping positions: Side, back and stomach

Key takeaways from our testing

Relieves pressure in all positions. Our testers gave the Rx near-perfect pressure relief and spinal alignment scores in every sleeping position. “I feel very comfortable lying on my side,” said tester Donna, a 60-year-old side sleeper. On her back, she said she felt “weightless.” And on her stomach, typically the least popular position, she reported feeling “extremely supported.” Indeed, the Saatva Rx was made with chronic back and joint pain in mind. “There is the perfect amount of plushness and support combined, and I feel extremely comfortable,” Donna said. Like the Classic, the Rx has extra support in the lumbar zone to promote spinal alignment. Testers said the mattress’s combination of strong support and plush comfort cradled their joints. It’s important to note the Rx is one of Saatva’s softest beds. It’s only available in a Plush Firm firmness, while the Classic and Contour5 have two and three firmnesses to choose from, respectively. If you need a firmer mattress, the Rx might not be a good fit.

Impressive cooling. The Saatva Rx is a solid pick for hot sleepers. Its Wave Tech foam layer is infused with graphite and phase-change materials to regulate temperature by redistributing heat away from the body, and the bed’s organic cotton cover doesn’t trap heat. In fact, the mattress earned a perfect score in our cooling gun test, which measures how well the bed regulates temperature before and after applying heat for one minute. The faster the surface cools, the higher the score. In our testing, the surface warmed by about 11.3 degrees, which is well below the average of 15.9 degrees.

Pricey. The advanced lumbar support and cushion targeting pain doesn’t come cheap. The Saatva Rx costs $3,449 for a queen, which is the most expensive bed on this list by about $500. 

Saatva Contour5: Best Memory Foam

Score: 9.1 out of 10

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Pros and Cons

Pros

• Supportive, body-conforming foam
• Isolates motion well
• Excellent pressure relief for side and back sleepers

Cons

• No supportive coil base
• Traps heat

Features

• Type: Memory foam
• Firmness options: Medium and Firm
• Best sleeping positions: Side and back

Key takeaways from our testing

Body-hugging memory foam. If you love the sinking feeling of memory foam, you may like the Contour5, Saatva’s answer to Tempur-Pedic. Unlike the Classic and Rx hybrid mattresses, the Contour5 has no coils. Instead, it has a dense memory foam that conforms to your body's shape as you lie down. Our testers gave it a perfect pressure relief score for side and back sleepers, but only a 3 out of 5 rating for stomach sleeping. Surprisingly, the Contour5 performed well for edge support despite being an all-foam bed, garnering a 4 out of 5 in that test.

Great motion isolation for couples. The first two Saatva beds in this review are bouncy and responsive, which can spell trouble for couples who are sensitive to their partner’s movement. That's not the case with the slow-responding Contour5. The mattress’s memory foam layers are great at isolating movement. In our tests, the bed achieved a 4 out of 5 score for motion isolation. Tester Donna said that although she could feel someone join her on the bed, it was a minor disturbance. “I don't think it was jarring enough to wake me up,” she said.

Poor spinal alignment for stomach sleepers. Bryan, a 62-year-old combination sleeper, gave the Saatva Contour5 high scores for side and back sleeping in both pressure relief and spinal alignment, but he wouldn’t recommend it for stomach sleepers. “It was slightly uncomfortable and curved my lower back,” he said, rating it a 2 out of 5 for spinal alignment. That’s likely due to the fact that the mattress has no coils for underlying support, so your hips may sink deeper into the bed while lying on your stomach. It's also not the best choice if you tend to sleep hot — our cooling gun test found the bed retained heat more than comparable mattresses, receiving a 2 out of 5 for temperature regulation.

How much do Saatva mattresses cost?

The Saatva mattresses in this review cost between $2,179 and $3,449 for a queen, with the Rx being the most expensive. They’re far from budget mattresses, but their quality and superior pressure relief may justify their high prices.

Like other online mattress brands, Saatva runs regular sales that can knock a couple hundred dollars off the price. If you’re planning to buy a Saatva mattress, timing your purchase around a holiday like Presidents’ Day, Black Friday or seasonal sales event can help you save money. Saatva’s sales usually offer up to $600 off mattresses, with the discount varying by model.

Is a Saatva mattress right for you? 

Saatva mattresses have a lot going for them. In addition to the company’s white-glove delivery and generous trial period, Saatva beds provide great pressure relief, have strong edges and deliver targeted spinal support. 

If you’re interested in a Saatva bed but need a little help narrowing your options, ask yourself these questions:

What position do I sleep in?

For the average person, the Saatva Classic is a good choice regardless of their sleeping position. It’s the brand’s most accommodating bed, and it’s available in three firmness levels. We tested the Luxury Firm, which Saatva says is between a 5 and 7 (out of 10) on the firmness scale. That places it in the medium-firm sweet spot (6.5 out of 10) that works for most people. However, side sleepers may want to opt for the Plush Soft (3 out of 10) so their shoulders can sink deeper into the mattress to keep their spine aligned. The Firm model (8 out of 10) could be a good fit for back sleepers who want a firm mattress that has minimal sinkage.

Dr. Emma Lin, a board-certified pulmonologist and sleep medicine specialist in Chicago, says medium-firm mattresses are the best choice for most people. “An effective mattress should offer support to the lower back and relieve the shoulders and hips. If mattresses are too soft, patients experience more joint pain, and if mattresses are too firm, patients wake up more often,” she says.

Do I like the feel of memory foam? 

The Saatva Contour5 is the only memory foam mattress in this review. It has the dense, sinking feel of traditional memory foam that brands like Tempur-Pedic are known for. Memory foam provides a slow-moving, contouring feel that can help ease pressure on your joints. But there’s a caveat: Because memory foam “sucks” you in, you may need to work harder to change positions, which can aggravate joint pain. 

Do I have chronic pain? 

If you have chronic pain from conditions like sciatica, arthritis or a herniated disc, the Saatva Rx could be a good choice. Based on our testing, the bed’s thoughtful construction that targets pain and contours pressure points makes it one of the best mattresses for pain relief, whether it’s hip pain, arthritis or shoulder pain. That said, the Rx is the softest in this Saatva mattress review, and it only comes in one firmness option (Plush Soft). Back sleepers with back pain or those seeking a firmer feel might prefer the Saatva Classic. 

Am I a light sleeper?

Those who sleep with a partner who tosses or turns, or with pets that jump on the bed, know how much motion transfer can disrupt sleep. The best Saatva mattress for motion isolation is the Contour5. Its dense memory foam layers outperform the bouncy coils of the Classic and Rx at reducing motion.

Do I have mobility limitations?

Lin stresses the importance of edge support for people with difficulty breathing, muscle weakness, joint problems or balance. 

“Medically, this reduces the risk of falls and sudden decreases in oxygen levels due to overexertion,” she says. “It helps patients with lung diseases use less energy when getting up from a seated or lying position. It makes caregivers feel safe when assisting patients with mobility.”

Those with mobility limitations or who need a little assistance getting in and out of bed might prefer the Saatva Classic. It received a perfect score in our edge support test, which measured how much it caved under a 150-pound sandbag. Our testers said the bed's responsiveness from the innerspring layer, paired with its reinforced edges, felt like it was assisting them when standing up.

The Rx and Contour5 beds don’t have bad edge support, but they simply can’t match the bounce and reinforced edges of the Classic.

Am I looking for a cooling mattress?

All Saatva mattresses claim to have adaptive cooling features, but our tests found that some offer better temperature regulation than others. Our lab team was surprised by how well the Saatva Rx mattress performed in our cooling gun test — it aced that assessment, while the Classic and Contour5 trapped more heat.

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