Best mattress in a box for 2021

How to choose the best mattress for your new apartment

A bad night’s sleep on a mattress you just bought is a miserable experience. But you know what’s worse? A bad night’s sleep on a mattress you just bought and hauled up a million flights of stairs to your apartment! That’s why we’re huge fans of mattresses-in-a-box deliverable to your doorstep. Simply open the seemingly tiny box (didn’t you order a Queen?) and step back and watch your mattress expand to its full size and shape. Really, the best mattresses in a box are quite amazing.

Now that we’ve shared our views on the magical mattress-in-a-box, it’s your preferences that matter most, level of firmness and edge support, lifetime of the materials, return policies, and of course, the cost. We’ve slimmed down the options to the best mattresses in a box priced under $1000 that can be easily delivered and returned.

Our top picks for the best mattress in a box

Mattress	Mattress Type	Overview	Return Policy	Pricing*
Purple	Memory Foam	The Purple mattress uses proprietary technology to remove pressure points and keep you cool. This mattress offers the perfect compromise between comfort and support.	100-night trial, free returns	$649
Puffy Mattress	Memory Foam	100% made in the USA, Puffy Mattresses offer great support as well as their own ClimateComfort layer that helps prevent drastic swings in temperature that can affect your slumber.	101-night trial, free returns	$495
Zinus Green Tea	Memory Foam	The lowest-priced mattress shown, the Zinus Green Tea Mattress is made with green tea extract and ActivCharcoal to help you wake up feeling more refreshed and ready to take on the day.	100-night trial	$112
DreamCloud	Memory Foam	DreamCloud mattresses utilize a combination of memory foam, a plush mattress topper, and micro coil supports to offer the ultimate night’s sleep.	365-night trial, free returns	$179
Awara Sleep	Organic Latex Hybrid	Constructed with organic cotton, New Zealand Wool, and natural Dunlop latex, Awara offers luxurious mattresses made of natural materials.	365-night trial, free returns	$899
Casper – Casper Essential	All Foam	The Casper Essential offers various foam firmness for different parts of your body as well as breathable materials to let hot air escape and give you the comfort you desire.	100-night trial	$600
Nectar	Memory Foam	Nectar’s memory foam mattresses hug your body while you sleep as well as keep you cool, providing a great night’s sleep every time.	365-night trial, free returns	$499

What’s your mattress type?  

Thanks to mattress manufacturers, we have a whole new batch of terms to add to the dictionary, like “memory foam” and “ActivCharcoal.” These features are pretty handy and comfy, but it also means that comparing apples-to-apples gets tricky. Here are a couple of the common types of the best mattresses in a box:

Innerspring mattresses

Innerspring mattresses offer lots of support and extreme durability. This is the oldest and most commonly used mattress construction. It uses steel coils for body support. The catch with innerspring mattresses is the motion transfer, meaning if you or your partner moves in their sleep or get up, you might get bounced off the bed (okay, that’s a bit of an exaggeration).

Memory foam mattresses

These mattresses are some of the most popular because they combine pretty darn good comfort with affordability. The basic kind is made out of polyurethane, a material commonly found in most sofas, mattresses, car seats and spray foam. Memory foam is durable when it has a high enough density (so it’ll last a while). While there are undoubtedly some memory foam mattresses better than others, this is a good mattress to explore if you don’t want to spend a fortune.

Hybrid mattresses

Hybrid mattresses combine the bounciness of the innerspring mattresses with the added comfort of the memory foam. This enables you to get everything you might want in a mattress, but they do tend to cost a bit more.

How much do you want to spend on a new mattress?

One thing’s for sure: mattresses ain’t cheap. On the other hand, if you think about how much time you spend sleeping, it’s probably one of the best cost-per-hour purchases you’ll ever make. Cost is usually influenced by a couple of factors — the construction, the materials, and the size.

Memory foam mattresses offer some of the best bang for your buck. Hybrid mattresses have raving fans, but you’ll usually pay more. If you want a mattress made from natural and organic materials, expect to pay nearly $900 for a twin mattress. As the size increases, prices go up as well. This is why it’s a good idea to measure out how much space you actually have in your apartment. It’s a waste of money to spend a bunch extra on a larger mattress, unpack it and discover that you have about three inches of room between the sides of your bed and the walls. Plus, you’ll save on bedding!

If you’ve found one of the best mattresses in a box that you really want but don’t quite have the money upfront, some companies offer payment options, some for as little as $55/month. Make sure you read the fine print in any payment contract, however, and if they charge fees or interest, calculate how much the total cost of your mattress plus financing will actually be.

What’s your sleeping type?

While we all tend to shift positions before falling asleep, most of us tend to have a preferred position for most of the night. This can be even more complicated if you’re part of a couple that shares a mattress. Finding a mattress with good reviews by people that sleep in the same position as you is a great way to help narrow down your search. However, there are some general recommendations:

Stomach-sleepers

While you don’t want to sleep on a mattress that’s as hard as a board, you’ll likely want one that’s on the firm side. This is because you don’t want to feel like your stomach is sinking into your mattress. A mattress on the firm-ish side keeps your midsection supported and your spine aligned.

Back-sleepers

Back-sleepers tend to do well with a medium-firm mattress. You want a mattress that aligns your spine but keeps all your important parts— your hips, shoulders and lower back — nicely cushioned.

Side-sleepers

As a side-sleeper, look for a soft, cushy mattress. This will help relieve pressure on your shoulders and hips, but don’t go too cushy or else you’re likely to start putting a strain on your spine. Go a little firmer if you tend to start on your side and rotate to your belly or back.

What’s the return policy? 

When you used to go shopping for a mattress, you’d hop from one bed to the next and test ’em all. But since we make many purchases online now, and we’re fans of doorstep delivery, we can’t always try-before-you-buy. Fortunately, mattress companies have started to offer generous return policies, sometimes even 100-night or 365-night trials. This is even better than store testing because it gives you multiple nights to test a mattress out instead of ten minutes in a department store.

One important detail to consider is the process of returning a mattress if it doesn’t work out. We rank ease-of-return nearly as important as ease-of-delivery, and it’s something worth researching before you buy. If it’s a total pain to get your mattress picked back up for return, you might want to explore other options, so you’re not hauling it back down the stairs and to a shipment center.

Find your perfect mattress match

Finding the best mattresses in a box is easier than ever — you don’t even have to leave your home! With a mattress-in-a-box, you can order it from your couch, have it hauled up the stairs and gently delivered to your doorstep. Your biggest job won’t be awkward maneuvering; it’ll be figuring out which firmness, price and size you want. Ahhhh…so, dreamy.