The best soft mattresses are the kind of beds you dream about. Just imagining layers upon layers of cushy foam (give or take a plush pillowtop cover) is soothing enough to induce sleep. That is unless you’re one of those people who tends to feel swallowed in marshmallow-y quicksand when you encounter too much squishy foam. That’s why AD editors have taken it upon themselves to search for comfy beds. These specialize in spinal alignment and pressure relief for any sleeping position just as much as a plush-to-the-touch feel—including the Nectar Classic Memory Foam mattress we named as our favorite.

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Best Overall

Nectar Memory Foam Mattress

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$649

Amazon

Best Customizable

Sleep Number Innovation Series

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$5,499 $2,749 (50% off)

Sleep Number

Most Cooling

Cocoon by Sealy Chill Hybrid Mattress

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$1,149

Sealy

Everyone needs some kind of support as they rest, even side sleepers who tend to lean towards softer mattresses to get some shut-eye. As for the materials, our team found options that run the gamut from ultra-soft all-natural rubber to medium-firm memory foam. Contrary to popular belief, the mattresses we found with an all-foam construction also have great edge support and enough durability to put motion transfer to bed.

Even though a hybrid mattress—also seen as a firm mattress in some shoppers’ eyes—has a blend between foam and springy coils, our team has spotted and slept on several with strong cushioning that might trick you into thinking they’re all foam. Below, find all of our top-recommended picks from our favorite mattress brands that specialize in couture-level upholstery and heritage craftsmanship. Plus, we’ve noted steep sales so you can transform any space into a sanctuary at a fraction of the price.

To keep our list streamlined, all of the mattress prices reflect queen sizes. However, you can find our top picks ranging from twin XL to California King.

Nectar Memory Foam Mattress

$649

Amazon

$1,548 $649 (58% off)

Nectar

Reviewer: Katie Henwood, the associate director of audience development at Condé Nast

If you’re looking for a mattress that’s a catchall between comfort and support, this Nectar is for you. Henwood has this mattress in her home and calls it a “dream come true for all kinds of sleepers” thanks to its pressure-relieving yet plush memory foam build. Henwood describes it as having a cloudlike feel to sink into night after night, and she says you can’t go wrong if you’ve been on the hunt for a bed with supreme motion isolation. “For any fellow light sleepers who share their bed with a loud partner: you won’t feel a thing when your bed mate is tossing and turning,” she says. “It's the best memory foam mattress I've tried—it cancels out any movement so you can sleep peacefully through the night, regardless of what is going on around you.”

Hot sleepers: Keep in mind that she says this mattress can lean a little warmer despite its cooling top layer. However, she says it’s not a knock against all its perks—including its ability to relieve her lower back pain she experienced from her old first-post-college bed. “I think any memory foam bed will retain heat more than a regular mattress, and to me it’s worth a few warmer nights for the overall comfort this mattress offers,” she says. Aside from the actual comfort of the mattress, Henwood appreciates Nectar since the brand itself typically offers free extras like a sheet set, mattress protector, and pillows with a bed purchase to round out your sleep setup. “It's definitely one of the best mattress brands I’ve tried!”

Best Customizable

Sleep Number Innovation Series

$5,499 $2,749 (50% off)

Sleep Number

Reviewer: Lisa Aiken, the senior vice president of commerce at Condé Nast

If you’re a restless sleeper, co-sleeping, or just want to try something more high-tech for your sleep setup, Aiken recommends Sleep Number’s i8 smart bed to handle all the above. Aside from calling this mattress an “innovative and technical approach to sleep,” Aiken says the brand itself was really helpful in getting everything set up—from the white glove delivery to talking through “the Sleep Number App and how to the get the best sleep experience from the mattress as well as explaining how the integrated base system works in detail.”

Once you get the Sleep Number app squared away, you can adjust the firmness on each side of the bed, which Aiken loves so she and her husband can personalize to their individual sleep needs. “It also automatically adjusts to match your movements while sleeping and lets you track the quality of sleep that you are getting,” Aiken says. “Based on comfort, customer service, and quality, I would 100% recommend this mattress and integrated base system.”

Cocoon by Sealy Chill Hybrid Mattress

$1,149

Sealy

Reviewer: Cade Hiser, contributor

This mattress is specifically designed to help you chill out—hence the name—with a cooling cover made to absorb and wick away heat. Hiser seconds these sentiments and gives the mattress an 8 out of 10 for its overall comfort, especially when reflecting on his old bed. “While my previous mattress was on the firmer side, it was not a memory foam or very cool mattress,” he says, adding that he now stays at a comfortable temperature throughout the night. “With the Cocoon Chill Memory Foam mattress, I do not wake up in the middle of the night like I used to, tossing and turning.”

Since this memory foam mattress leans firmer, Hiser says it may take some getting used to if you’re more familiar with purely soft beds, but he says the memory foam layers adjust to any sleep position to ease him into sleep. With all this in mind he notes that the bed was exactly what he was looking for, as it helps him “wake up feeling refreshed and energized.”

Leesa Studio Mattress

$799 $599 (25% off)

Leesa

$880

Amazon

Reviewer: Audrey Lee, commerce editor

After sleeping on this Leesa mattress, one of the best beds-in-a-box for streamlined delivery, for over two years, Lee has no complaints. “The Studio is Leesa’s ‘budget-friendly’ option, though you would never know because it certainly doesn’t feel like it comes at a low price point,” she says. “The mattress has three layers of foam that hug your body in a way that’s ultra-supportive while providing excellent pressure relief to boot.” Lee mentions that she moves around in her sleep but usually ends up on her side, so the solid motion isolation has been a must. Although edge support is a bit harder to come by in this mattress, she says she can roll from one side of the bed to the next without feeling like she’s going to fall off. If you’re worried about a mattress that’s too marshmallowy, this one won’t let you down. Just take it from Lee: “Before the Studio I slept on mainly box spring mattresses, but it’s safe to say I’m a foam convert now—it's one of the best mattresses I've ever had the pleasure of sleeping on.”

Best Sustainable

Cariloha Resort Bamboo Mattress

$2,099

Cariloha

Reviewer: Lisa Aiken, the senior vice president of commerce at Condé Nast

This memory foam mattress takes sleep to new heights with its proprietary bamboo-infused design that helps it sleep cooler than a typical mattress and gives the cover (removable and machine washable, by the way) a soft and buttery feel. “It strikes an excellent balance, offering an extremely comfortable and luxurious feel while still being firm enough to provide substantial support,” says Aiken. “The mattress is constructed from bamboo memory foam with five distinct layers that adapt and mold to your body shape, resulting in a sleep experience that is both very supportive and pleasantly soft.”

The soft bamboo memory foam isn’t the only standout feature, though. The side wedge supports are Aiken’s favorite. “They not only contribute to a feeling of a wider sleep surface (Cariloha claims a 25% increase) but also provide excellent additional structure and reinforcement along the edges and even in the center of the mattress,” she adds. “This significantly enhances overall comfort and support and is an excellent feature.”

Bear Elite Hybrid Mattress

$2,427 $1,578 (35% off)

Bear

Reviewer: Audrey Lee, commerce editor

Even though Lee opted for the Bear Elite Hybrid Mattress in an extra firm, don’t let the bed’s description fool you. “As I’ve gotten older, I find myself gravitating towards firmer beds because they really help my back,” she says. “While I can confirm the bed is ultra supportive, it still feels comforting thanks to several top layers of cushioning foam.” Included in these top layers are cooling copper-infused memory foam and contouring transitional foam to give the bed its cushy feel.

“The mattress stands 14 inches tall in total and what’s nice is you can tell all the different components are working together to deliver a stellar sleep experience,” Lee says of the coil-and-foam bed. “It’s also extremely breathable and very cooling, so while I’m not typically a hot sleeper, in the summer it’s definitely a godsend when you’re looking for any and all ventilation.” Top-tier edge support is the finishing touch for Lee, who says it’s great for working from bed and being able to sit up without sinking in too much.

The WinkBed

$2,570 $1,799 (30% off)

Winkbeds

Reviewer: Mark Burka, contributor

“When looking for the right mattress, my partner and I knew we wanted a firm, luxurious model with a firmer pillow top,” says Burka, adding that after stumbling across WinkBed, it offered the perfect medium-firm mattress to sink in each night. This brand offers various firmness levels, including softer, luxury firm, firmer, and an even firmer “plus” for heavier sleepers. Unlike a typical soft memory foam mattress, this one is designed with coils throughout the bed and has a euro-pillow top quilted with patented gel-infused Hypersoft Foam cover to wick heat and sweat away from the body. “The mattress is a more affordable hybrid option compared to others on the market, plus, for those who are hesitant about purchasing an online mattress, WinkBed provides a 120-day warranty—that’s a six-month sleep trial period!—which is plenty of time to decide if the money was well spent (in my case, it was!),” Burka adds.

As experts on all things rest—if you haven’t already, check out the full rundown on our annual Sleep Week event to design a dream bedroom—we know a thing or two about finding the best mattress for you. Instead of lab testing, our editors round up the best by nodding off and reviewing the industry-leading beds in their homes. To find the softest mattress possible for every personal preference, our team caught countless hours of sleep and kept the below factors in mind.

Mattress Type: Our list mainly consists of these three categories: memory foam, hybrid, and organic mattresses.

• Memory Foam: A memory foam is most commonly known as a plush mattress. These usually have a cradling design to contour to the body.
• Hybrid: A hybrid mattress feels firmer at times due to a combination between coils and foam. However, these can lean towards a medium-soft feel depending on how many layers of foam there are. To make it an even more comfortable mattress, you can look out for options with an extra comfort layer or pillowtop cover.
• Organic Blend: Similar to memory foam, this mattress type is going to feel incredibly soft but it will include only sustainably sourced materials. Like the Earthfoam pick, you’ll often find layers of latex, eco-friendly wools, and more to give the beds a dense feel.

Comfort: To uncover the comfortable mattress to meet each of our needs, we looked to factors like edge control, motion isolation, and soft-and-supportive qualities. When it comes to the former, we looked for crisp sides to keep us from feeling like we’d slip off the bed. Motion isolation was huge, as some soft beds, especially hybrids, can get a bad rap for being too bouncy. Our luxe picks are dense, so feeling a partner get up in the night was few and far between in our reviews. Lastly, we love our selections because they feel soft like you’d expect. But they are also supportive thanks to targeted pressure points to keep chronic issues like back or neck pain at bay.

Sleep Position: We recommend hybrid options for combination sleepers as well as back and stomach sleepers since we find that a firm bed is usually the most supportive for these positions. Side sleepers are in for a treat since memory foam and latex mattresses are cushy to keep them comfortable as they lie down.

Temperature Regulation: Foam beds are often known for trapping heat, but we hardly noticed this in our guide. Many boast patented cooling technology in an all-foam construction and coils to promote airflow in a hybrid bed. Plus, many options also have moisture-wicking top covers to satisfy hot sleepers.

For extra assurance on the bed you choose, look to these important points.

Certifications: Any mattress with an Oeko-Tex certification is going to be a great bet for your sleep setup since this means the fabrics included are free of harmful chemicals. You can go a step further with other certifications like the Global Organic Textile Standard (GOTS) that indicates that the mattress in its entirety is organically made all the way through the production process.

Warranty: The majority of mattress brands out there give out a 10-year warranty for their beds, while some reach up to a lifetime like top retailer Saatva. Look for options that have a sleep trial, too. In many cases, you can try out the bed for up to a year to get a real feel if it’s right for you.

Price: A soft bed can truly vary in price, as you can see our list ranges from mattresses in the $500 range up to $3,000 or so. Since a bed is an investment piece, checking for mattress sales before checkout is always a good idea to score your dream mattress at a discounted price. Many affordable mattresses—including our top Nectar pick—are also available on Amazon at a lower price point.