25 of the best affordable mattresses 2024 (that are actually good quality)
Gone are the days when the phrase 'cheap mattresses' evoked images of lacklustre, short-lived bedding solutions. In today's market, affordable yet supportive mattresses have taken centre stage, offering durability and comfort without breaking the bank. Whether you're in search of memory foam mattresses, hybrid, or spring-based options, reputable sleep tech brands like Emma and Simba have ensured that quality doesn't have to come with a hefty price tag. Thankfully, some of the top-performing mattresses can now be acquired for under £500, ensuring that a restful night's sleep is within reach for everyone, regardless of budget constraints.
Supporting a range of sleeping styles, whether you tend to lurk on your front, back, or side, the right affordable mattress will always work hard for you. And, if you buy wisely, it can even be the answer to your sleep related woes, relieving your joints of pressure and ensuring you feel comfortable when moving around at night and feel less disturbed by your partner.
But where to start when it comes to finding the best cheap mattress for you? Enter: our exhaustive guide of the best affordable mattresses, from memory foam, pocket-sprung, hybrid and open coil, these are the best cheap mattresses to invest in for a better night’s sleep — and how to choose the right one for you. Settle onto your comfy bed frame, get under your duvet, perch your head on that fluffy pillow and allow us to reveal all.
SKIP TO: What is the best basic mattress support type? | What is the difference between memory foam, spring and hybrid mattresses? | What are the benefits of a cheap mattress? | How to we test and review the best budget mattresses? | How does the GLAMOUR star rating system work? | Browse our full round up.
The best affordable mattresses 2024 at a glance:
- Best Memory Foam: Emma Original Mattress, £271.20, Emma
- Best Hybrid: THE Simbatex® Essential Foam Mattress, £399, Simba
- Best Firm: Sleepeezee Ortho Mattress, £249, Mattress Online
- Best Mattress In A Box: Memory Foam Mattress, £379.60, Nectar Sleep
What is the best mattress support type?
Whether it’s memory foam or 1,000 springs helping you get your beauty sleep, Silentnight's sleep expert, Hannah Shore says the first thing to look at is the type of support you need in your budget mattress.
“The support will usually come from the spring unit (or high-density foam) that is in the mattress," Hannah said. "Look for how the springs are made up: a pocket spring will give you a more tailored support layer, however a continuous coil may offer you the right level of support for your body type and are often cheaper. The bigger your frame, the firmer your supportive layer needs to be.”
What is the difference between memory foam, spring and hybrid mattresses?
It can get confusing when shopping for cheap mattresses. How does memory foam support you? What even is a hybrid?
Memory foam is a layer of foam that moulds with your body shape, helping to distribute your body weight, while responding to your body temperature. “The benefits of memory foam are that it is very durable so easy to care for as it won’t need turning as often, and it also offers great pressure relief,” says Hannah.
Most spring-based beds today are supported by pocket springs - small wire springs, surrounded by fabric, which help to support and create the bounce in a mattress. And you’ve guessed it - a Hybrid mattress is when these two forms of support are mashed together to allow for the benefits of both.
What are the benefits of a cheap mattress?
Aside from providing buyers with a better mattress deal, value-wise, than their premium counterparts, an inexpensive mattress can often do away with some of the more superfluous mattress features. For instance, while a gel-infused mattress may boast some serious sleep appeal, you might find that similar and more affordable materials and technologies can offer the same spinal support and breathability. Take the Simbatex foam alternative within Simba's bed-in-a-box foam rolled mattress; it “provides 30x more airflow than standard memory foam,” according to the brand, not to mention supporting the shoulders specifically with its zoned foam layer, much like a gel-infused mattress.
We believe that this, alongside other high-end mattress technologies, like wool-fill and ‘no-flip’ models, do not define the perfect double, king or single mattress. Of course, there are benefits to be had of an extra 3-7 layers of foam, pocketed coils and/or tufting but, in 2023, the cheap mattress market has a lot to be said for it.
How to we test and review the best budget mattresses?
By using buyer feedback from customers who've tried and tested the products, data on what you've been searching for via. Google, as well as checking thoroughly to see which products feature durable/less durable materials. From this, we then pulled together what we feel is a round up of the very best inexpensive mattresses for nightly use. We've rifled through the good and bad comments (and there were some awful ones), so you don't have to, not to mention we - as a team of fashion, interiors and beauty experts - happen to know a thing or two about which brands in the sleep industry have earned their respective places as the ‘best’. Plus, with a team of 30+ here at team GLAMOUR, of course some of us have trialled a cheaper mattress in our time, be it as a student or first-time home owner. Naturally, we have some of our own dos and don't knowhow. Our aim is to find you mattresses which will last and, should anything about one of them signal that that's not the case, you'll be the first to know - happy sleeping.
After more sleep content? Shop weighted blankets and mattress toppers, the best duvets, best pillows, anti-allergy pillows and cooling pillows. We've also got silk bedding, mattress protectors, summer duvets, mattresses for back pain, silk pillowcases and linen bedding to keep you cool all year-round, plus body pillows, and pregnancy pillows to invest in if you're expecting, sleep masks to keep the morning light at bay and pillow spray to help you nod off. **For more from GLAMOUR UK's Commerce Writer Mayola Fernandes, follow her on Instagram @mayolafernandess. **