Cut through the noise directly on Google.

IKEA mattresses are ridiculously good value.

This one, for example, is $400 and more comfortable than any hotel mattress I've tried.

Their absolute bottom-range models aren't great, but anything $300 and up is fine. They last, too.

I bought this one: https://www.overstock.com/Home-Garden/Comfort-Dreams-Select-A-Firmness-11-inch-Queen-size-Memory-Foam-Mattress/3158654/product.html? And I swear 75% of my reviews comment on how great my bed is.

My husband and I got this one for our Airbnb: https://www.amazon.com/Zinus-Memory-Green-Mattress-Queen/dp/B00Q7EPSHI

We get many compliments on how comfy it is. Can't speak for lifespan, but it's been used for about 2.5 years, is still doing great, and is a reasonable price.

Where are you from? If it is in the US I have a different answer, but it will be potentially the best if you are ok with doing a little work. Find one on Craigslist or FaceBook Marketplace. What you are going to want to try to find is one from a person that has acquired one from one of the bed in a box variety places where the person returned it. Idk how these people get them, but they definitely exist. I got a Bear king mattress, three Purple.3 queens, and a Casper queen from one of these people for $1275 total. One Purple.3 queen alone is $2199 brand new. Yeah it wasn't brand new, but it was used for less than $100 days. Also, if you have a local Habitat for Humanity store check there. I got a Dreamcloud king mattress there for more than $1000 dollars off. Some people even get lots of mattresses that are brand new from Amazon warehouses. If you find one of those people you could get a great deal. The box might be damaged, but the mattress itself is perfectly fine. There is a review website called Slumber Yard that has a section devoted to new mattresses that they think would be good for an Airbnb. Basically neutral feel ones that offer good value.

I don't recommend putting a used sleep number bed in your Airbnb even though you can find some pretty good deals on them. It really isn't worth the hassle with setup. I have done it four times and even though I have never had a problem with them in use the setup is such a pain.

https://myslumberyard.com/best-mattress-for-airbnb-vacation-rental/

https://www.reddit.com/r/Mattress/

https://www.reddit.com/r/BuyItForLife/comments/4mk7gt/a_professionals_guide_to_buying_a_mattress/

https://www.reddit.com/r/BuyItForLife/comments/86c6re/request_for_those_whove_purchased_an_online/

Some good discussions of this in the Community forums too:

https://community.withairbnb.com/t5/Help/Mattress-recommendations/m-p/141319

https://community.withairbnb.com/t5/Hosting/Mattress-suggestions-and-size/m-p/634228

I think the mattress is one of the hardest things to research and buy. Most reviews aren't tested for anywhere near long enough to be worth anything and it's a shot in the dark

I went down this rabbit hole 3 years back. Some takeaways.

1. Ditto mattress underground mentioned in other comment. Great resource, but a rabbit hole in itself
2. We landed on a latex one. It is supposed to theoretically be “for life”.
3. We ordered from Arizona Premium Mattress. Ken there was super knowledgeable.
4. Most important thing is to know the firmness you want and whether you want the same or different firmness for two sides of the bed.
5. “Too firm” can be compensated by a softer topper (and some say this is indeed the one and only correct design). The other way around doesn’t work.

No mattress is for life and they are all overpriced.

I have two Beautyrest mattresses that I really like. But it's completely personal. Go to a store and try them out. There is no way to tell if you will like a mattress without trying it,

And get what you want. I like a very firm mattress. The sales guy told me I should not get the one I bought as it was too hard. I have never slept on a bed I like more and whenever I'm away from home I miss it.

Mattress underground is to place to go for education. A mattress person started this as a forum and it's grown into an excellent resource. That's partially how I go into online mattress purchases, you can easily find equivalents everywhere as long as you can get the ingredients for the mattress.

This podcast episode provides some interesting insights into the mattress industry.

Bought a purple mattress and can’t recommend it enough. My hip/back pain is no more. They’re a tad expensive but IMO definitely worth it.

We’ve got a really expensive Tempur mattress in our main bed, but I’m actually finding out IKEA Hellasted (spelling) to be as comfortable (if not more comfortable) for less than 1/4 the price.

reddit has a massive mattress sub that you should look at. here you go

As in the FAQ, low back pain (as opposed to upper/shoulder) is usually a sign your mattress is too soft. It can have to do with your pillow or just shifting your hips but if you tried that then your mattress is too soft, possibly hammocking.

You can try firming it up by putting something solid including plywood underneath it but firming a mattress is fairly tricky.

Personally I ended up on pro breeze (medium firm) from tempurpedic, paired with a block of foam for a pillow from sealy they sell through their amazon store. Pillow lasts about 6 months sometimes less.

This will prolly come off rude but what does being an athlete have to do with a mattress?

I got a Casper earlier this year and it's been a game changer. My back feels so much better.

hmm. definitely liking the idea of $400 to 2k.

Ordered a Saatva 11.5” Classic mattress and it is a great combo! No bolsters needed. Mattress is super comfy too.

We just ordered the thuma bed frame and a new mattress. We went with the stearns and foster lake ridge mattress, definitely going to need some of the boosters because it’s a 14.5 inch mattress.

Casper Hybrid Select from Costco is a good choice too. Has a layer of memory foam over plastic socket springs. Plus it's cheaper from Costco and can be returned.

[deleted]

1. There is no best, that's not a thing with mattresses. You asking this question is, respectfully, just like you asking what is the best appetizer at dinner. You have to make your own judgement on this.
2. Don't assume price makes it a con. What makes all mattresses a con is the entire industry, so no matter what you pick, you will get screwed out of money.
3. The BIFL recommendation may fly right in the face of your budget and weight and comfort desires as a latex mattress (this is TYPE of mattress) will last the longest, but they are expensive and hot sleeping and heavy ass things.
4. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rvlA9UxGvSg

The other comment is correct in saying there are too many personal factors that apply to your circumstances.

My parents have had a king-size Stearns and Foster mattress for two decades and it is the most comfortable thing I've ever slept on.

That thing cost over $2,000.

OK SO I JUST WENT THROUGH A 4 MONTH MATTRESS PURCHASE PROCESS!!!

There's a subreddit r/Mattress that has some great topics in the archive that are still relevant today.

Here are some general tips that will help you. For reference I'm a big guy, 6'3" 250 lbs, but my partner is 5'7" 130lbs and a completely different sleeper than me, so we had to do a LOT of shopping around to find absolute perfection.

The tl;dr is this: "Nest" bedding makes the best mattress on the planet under $4k.

​

If you're a side sleeper and weigh more than 150 lbs, get a PLUSH Owl Latex Hybrid. If you're a side-sleeper under 150 lbs, get the MEDIUM Owl Latex Hybrid. If you're any other kind of sleeper, go with the Medium-Firm or Firm depending on your preference. Latex hybrids are insanely comfortable, last a long time, and have really decent movement transference properties (meaning fitful sleepers won't keep you up shaking the bed) compared to memory foam. Plus they sleep VERY cool. Nest is also a sustainable company and gives you a super unique swap-out system wherein you just swap out the foam and keep the rest of the bed, rather than having to get a whole new bed.

​

General tips:1.) Side-Sleepers should stick with plushier options to avoid shoulder pain. Medium at the firmest

2.) Memory foam makes for nice firm support, but it will sleep hot and it will wear out fast. If you're going the memory foam route, go cheap because you will replace the mattress in a year or two...even better if you can find a company with a good warranty so you don't have to pay to replace it.

3.) Avoid mattresses where the plushness comes exclusively from a "pillow topper" as those will wear down significantly faster than a latex or memory foam comfort zone.

4.) It pays to spend more. Big time. The 1500-2500 range will get you a fucking amazing mattress from a bunch of different companies, and it will be a difference you notice for months and months on end. Not everyone can afford that much for anything these days, but if your budget can sustain that it is so worth it.

5.) Expensive doesn't mean better. Good companies making good products don't need huge markups to cover their marketing costs - that's why so many people warn folks away from Nectar and Casper beds, and especially warn folks away from Amazon brands - while the beds don't actually cost that much, the materials are super cheap and the quality control wanting, so they make up for it by blanketing the internet with ads. A high quality, sustainable hybrid mattress should be under $4k unless it's something crazy like a Purple hybrid

Look up the podcast Nice Try. They have an episode on mattresses that really changed how I look at mattress purchasing in general. Their episode on vacuums (and most of season 2 in general) is also great and falls in the spirit of this sub.

Ikea mattresses have a 25 year warranty. If you have the receipt or ordered online and know the email address you used then you can get a store credit for the original purchase price to put towards a new mattress. I was told if I claim it has a spring poking me or it is dipping where I lay etc, they are all reasons to qualify for the warranty. It just can’t have like blood or pee stains (so children mattresses need to be super protected), they’ll accept a picture of it as proof and your word about the issue and then require it to be returned to the store to be destroyed. They don’t make you even buy a new mattress technically. Is this an option for you? It was an absolute selling point for me when I bought my king mattress two years ago. We plan on cashing in at least once during the 25 years, likely twice. I feel like we can’t lose?

exactly this. you spend 1/3 of your life on this thing, I'd invest accordingly. same with comfortable shoes, eyeglasses, underwear, etc.

You got the cliff notes?

I recommend either the Talalay or Titanflex topper from mattresstopper.com. They come with a nice cover (skip the gimmicky "cooling" cover upgrade), which I prefer over using it bare, and offer 30 day free returns.

Go with the sleep on latex topper, it’s the best out there and is making my horrible mattress bearable. I got the soft 2 inch. It stays cool, doesn’t sink like memory foam and is all natural. It’s soft but firm enough to give support but also release pressure points.

Temperpedic topper all the way. I’m a smaller person but also a side sleeper and really love their topper!

You’ll see their name time and time again here but it’s for a reason.

SleeponLatex.

Got a topper from them a month ago. We really like it. It’s great! Highly recommend latex over memory foam. If you sleep hot you will NOT like memory foam. It literally envelopes you and holds heat. Also, if you’re a big dude, don’t get the soft SOL topper. We got one, I’m 6’1 215lbs and returned the soft and got the medium.

I went through a similar thought process at the beginning of the year, and after reading both this sub Reddit and "The Mattress Underground" for a while, I decided on purchasing an all-Talalay-latex mattress from FloBeds.

It's a modular and customizable mattress, and it took me a couple of tries reconfiguring it until I was perfectly happy. But once I got there, I can't say enough good things about the mattress. I would absolutely make the same choice again. And in fact, I ended up making a few follow-on purchases for the rest of the family (e.g. mattress toppers, mattress protectors, adjustable pillows, ...).

Feel free to ask specific questions.

I understand what you are dealing with. My Tempurpedic cloud luxe lasted 5 years and I couldn’t take the back pain anymore. Plus, I wasn’t sleeping well anymore. Currently, I’m sleeping on a different memory foam mattress with a latex topper. I really like the latex topper and I’m looking at possibly getting an all latex mattress. Particularly a latex mattress that is made up from layers of latex toppers. If the top layer loses it support or my needs change I can swap it out without having to purchase a new mattress. I’m also only looking at 100% organic latex because of all the chemicals. I also like a plush bed and I find the latex works for me. It just doesn’t have the sinking in feeling of memory foam. Good luck on your search for a new mattress!

Recently had Tempurpedic slowly fail to the point of giving me bad back and shoulder pain resulting in spasms that were difficult to remedy. Essentially this Luxe turned into a marshmallow in temps above 70 f.

Replaced it with Saatva Classic hybrid king in one room and a Spindle Queen -layered adjustable latex - in the other bedroom. Early Tempurpedics circa 2003 had more of a full latex feel to them. The more modern ones are very different and to me not for the better. Tempur overrated and way overpriced. Never again!

If you liked the purple you could try Intelllibed. They also use the buckling column gel but have higher quality materials. Typically they add a layer above the gel which I also like.