A pricey mattress isn’t always practical, especially for guest rooms, dorms, or tight budgets. While many budget beds are flimsy or uncomfortable, we researched dozens of affordable foam, innerspring, and hybrid models to find four that deliver comfort, support, and surprising quality without breaking the bank.
Zinus Cooling Comfort Hybrid Mattress
Springy support
This medium-firm foam-and-coil mattress feels supportive and springy, with decent edge support and solid motion isolation for its price.
Buy on AmazonThe Zinus Cooling Comfort Support Hybrid Mattress has consistently impressed testers with its supportive and springy feel, solid construction, and better-than-average details. If you like a mattress with a bit of bounce, this is a great option.
It features a cloudlike pillow top that provides support and some pressure relief, though it may not be ideal for dedicated side-sleepers. The mattress has a firm base that makes it easy to change positions. The springs add noticeable bounce without making the bed feel unstable.
This mattress is available in 10, 12, and 14-inch versions. Zinus includes a 100-night trial and a 10-year limited warranty.
Novilla Bliss Memory Foam Mattress
Adaptive memory-foam feel
This medium-firm mattress offers a body-contouring hug, along with reliable edge support and strong motion isolation for a stable, restful sleep.
Buy on AmazonThe all-foam Novilla Bliss Memory Foam Mattress offers a classic memory-foam feel that contours to your body and cushions pressure points. It’s a good choice if you want the feel of a Tempur-Pedic without the high price.
This mattress provides solid edge support and excels at motion isolation, thanks to its stable, non-bouncy surface.
The Novilla Bliss is available in 8, 10, and 12-inch versions. It includes a 100-night trial and comes with a 10-year warranty.
Siena Premier Hybrid Mattress
Generous home trial period
This medium-firm hybrid mattress won customers over with its substantial, supportive feel and excellent edge support. Siena also offers a very long home trial.
Buy on AmazonThe 10-inch Siena Premier Hybrid Mattress stood out in the latest rounds of group testing. More testers picked it as their favorite than any other, and it received positive feedback from side, back, and stomach sleepers.
Testers described it as substantial and supportive. With layers of memory foam, polyfoam, and 768 pocketed coils, it delivers a medium-firm feel, good pressure relief, and a bit of bounce. It also had the strongest edge support among the mattresses we tested.
Siena includes a 180-night trial and a 10-year warranty with all of its mattresses.
Casper Sleep Element Mattress
Solid upgrade option
This medium-firm memory-foam mattress offers a noticeable upgrade in quality and comfort for a slightly higher price than basic budget options.
Buy on AmazonThe Casper Sleep Element is a budget-friendly all-foam mattress designed for reliable support and everyday comfort. It combines a top layer of breathable perforated foam with a durable base layer to create a firm, stable surface that works well for back and stomach sleepers.
This mattress has minimal bounce and does a good job limiting motion transfer, making it suitable for people who share a bed. Its simple construction focuses on comfort and support without extra features that drive up the price.
Casper offers a 100-night trial and a 10-year limited warranty with all of its mattresses.
After years of research, it’s clear that with mattresses, you usually get what you pay for. Most options under $500 are all-foam or foam-heavy hybrids, rather than traditional innerspring models, which often start around $500 for a queen. These budget mattresses typically use lower-quality polyfoam or memory foam, with fewer layers and minimal extra features like zoned support or cooling covers. That said, many of those premium add-ons may not offer much added value anyway.
Durability is a valid concern when it comes to cheaper foams. Lower-quality memory foam is more likely to lose its structure over time, which can lead to sagging or body impressions—especially for people over 200 pounds or those who sleep in the same spot each night.
In general, companies that sell low-cost mattresses are often more difficult to contact, offer less reliable customer service, and provide limited transparency about how their products are made.
Still, if you’re mindful of what to expect, a budget mattress can be a worthwhile purchase—especially for temporary setups like guest rooms, college housing, or short-term apartments. The best cheap mattresses strike a balance between comfort, support, and price, offering good sleep without unnecessary extras. While they may not last as long as premium models, the right one can meet your needs without exceeding your budget.