The best mattress in a box 2023
Opting for one of today’s best mattress in a box options is a convenient way to get set up with a new bed. Once upon a time, mattresses were delivered full size, to be awkwardly wrangled into your room, knocking over furniture and getting stuck in stairwells on the way. Now, mattresses are compressed, vacuum-sealed and rolled into a much more manageably sized package. They can then be easily maneuvered into place in your room before being unleashed from their wrappings and left to expand.
Originally, beds in boxes were associated with more basic offerings, but these days even the most luxurious beds can be delivered this way (most of our best mattress picks are bed in a box models). Many of the mattress in a box brands are online-only, and come with generous free trial periods, giving shoppers time to test their purchase out properly in the comfort of their own homes.
Because these brands don’t have the overheads of bricks-and-mortar stores, they can often offer lower pricing. Mattress sales happen all year round, and if you’re not in a particular hurry, national holidays tend to bring with them bigger discounts.
So what’s the best mattress in a box out there? Below are our top picks – which we’ve either slept on and reviewed ourselves, or plan to in the near future. The models we’ve yet to test have been thoroughly vetted by our expert team based on verified customer reviews. All clear? Let’s take a look at the best mattress in a box options for 2023…
Nectar’s incredibly popular five-layer all-foam mattress has nabbed the top spot in our best mattress in a box guide because it hits that sweet spot between price and performance. In short, you’re getting a superbly comfortable and good-quality mattress for an extremely reasonable price.
We tested this 12-inch tall, all-foam mattress for two months and loved it. The medium-firm memory foam offers a fantastic balance of softness and firmness, providing luxury comfort without the feeling of sinking into the mattress. When our reviewers lay down, the mattress contoured to their bodies, providing full, tailored support and helping align their spines, while cushioning pressure points like shoulders and hips. We also noticed good edge support and very little motion transfer, making it a particularly good choice for couples.
Let’s take a closer look at the design. At the top you’ll find a quilted cover, which can be removed but, annoyingly, isn’t suitable for machine washing. Next up, there’s a layer of gel-infused memory foam. The gel is to help regulate temperature, as memory foam can trap body heat. We found it worked well on this front – none of our testers found they overheated on this mattress (although if you know you sleep hot, you should check out the GhostBed below). Underneath this you’ll find a layer of hi-core memory foam for extra support so you don’t sink too far into the mattress. Finally, a base layer helps stabilize the sleeper, and a bottom mattress cover keeps it from slipping on your bed frame or floor.
Where the Nectar Memory Foam mattress really stands out is value for money. You can ignore that MSRP, because these beds are basically never sold at full price; a queen will typically set you back around $779 – considerably cheaper than rivals Casper and Purple. You’ll almost always get a big bedding bundle thrown in for free too (worth up to $499). Add to that a generous one-year trial period to decide whether it’s right for you, and a lifetime warranty. When it comes to sheer value for money, we think the Nectar is the best memory foam mattress you can buy. You’ll just need to be prepared to wait a little longer than usual to actually sleep on it – our test model took 48 hours to full expand.
The Helix Midnight is a medium-softness hybrid mattress in a box that excels when it comes to pressure relief. We rate it as the very best mattress for side sleepers, because that plush surface is dreamily comfortable around the shoulders and hips in this position. That cushioning is thanks to Helix’s own version of memory foam, which provides soft sinkage and deep body contouring, as well as cradling pressure points. A lower level of 8-inch coils that boosts breathability, as well as adding a touch of bounce. The sleep surface also absorbs motion impressively well, making this a good choice for couples on different sleep schedules.
Although it’s not billed as a cooling mattress (like the GhostBed Luxe and Cocoon by Sealy Chill, elsewhere in this list), we were impressed by the temperature regulation here – none of our reviewers overheated during the testing period. A stretchy, soft-touch cover comes as standard, but there is also the option to upgrade to a GlacioTex Cooling cover if you need a little extra cooling power.
In fact, our only slight complaint is that the edge support could be better. It’s fine for sleeping, but sitting on the edge of this mattress for long periods feels a little unstable. You have 100 nights to test it out (and you’re required to give it a go for at least 30 nights), and it comes backed with a 10-year warranty.Read More