Top Mattresses For Comfort and Style
You may not be ready to buy a new mattress or your old one might have lost its comfort. The right top mattress will breathe new life into your bed.
Pillow top mattresses are padded mattresses with extra padding sewn on top of the mattress cover. They are usually comfortable, but not suitable for all sleeping styles.
Support
A mattress topper can be an inexpensive way to make your bed more comfortable. It is placed directly on top of the mattress and is held in place with straps. They can vary in thickness from about an inch or two to as thick as eight inches or more. Thinner ones don’t usually offer much extra support or cushioning, but they can help hide lumps and bumps in your current mattress.
Memory foam conforms with the body and relieves pressure points. It also provides good motion isolation, meaning partners won’t disturb each other as much when changing positions in bed.
This topper is available in six bed sizes and is made in the U.S. using natural latex that’s sustainably farmed. It’s breathable, helping to keep the sleep surface cool and dry. It is encased with a cotton cover which looks and feels luxurious. It’s washable and hypoallergenic, resisting mildew and dust mites. It is backed by a generous warranty.
Comfort
This mattress is built with foams that create a plush feel and medium amount of body contouring. It provides a solid support that can promote spinal alignment and relieve back pain. It’s great for those who sleep on their backs, stomachs, or sides.
It’s also flippable, so you can choose between a soft or firm side of the bed. It has a layer made of softer latex and a layer made of memory foam.
Comfort varies by person and can be hard to quantify, but this mattress has plenty of positive feedback from our team, including anecdotal evidence like waking up without back pain or never sweating through sheets. It’s also affordable and comes with a generous trial period. It doesn’t provide the same comfort as an all-foam mattress and tends towards compression around the edges. You’ll also need a deep fitted sheet to properly cover it.
Durability
A pillow top mattress has a thick layer of soft material that is glued or stitched to the mattress cover. It is usually between 2 and four inches thick and made from a variety of materials.
The cushioned topper helps reduce pressure on key points like the hips, shoulders and back. It also evenly distributes weight for a better sleep. This is especially important for people with back, shoulder or hip pain.
Pillow top mattresses tend to sag with time. It is difficult to avoid this, but rotating your mattress every few months will help extend its life. Also, pillow top mattresses tend to be deeper than standard mattresses, so it’s important to select sheets that can accommodate the additional cushioning.
Value
The Allswell is the latest mattress-in-a-box from Walmart, and it offers great value at $699 for a queen. It’s a hybrid bed with layers of temperature-regulating foam and copper-gel-infused memory foam. It isn’t as plush as the top ten mattresses but is still comfortable enough for most people.
It also has a very good edge support for a foam mattress. It comes in a variety of sizes including California king, and a huge 80 by 76-inch King for heavyweight couples.
As Tom’s Guide’s mattress expert, Claire is responsible for all sleep product testing for the site. She has years of experience in product testing and is a certified Sleep Coach to help readers find their perfect bed. She has written for The Spruce and Apartment Therapy as well as Livingetc. She loves helping readers solve their sleep problems and wind down well at night. Her favorite mattress is Nest Bedding Alexander medium firm.