Top Mattresses For Comfort and Style
Maybe you’re not quite ready for a new mattress, or maybe your old one has lost its comfort. The right top mattress will breathe new life into your bed.
Pillow top mattresses have extra padding sewn to the top of the mattress cover. They’re typically comfortable but not suited for every sleeping style.
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 range in thickness from an inch to eight inches. The thinner ones are not as supportive or cushioning but can hide lumps and bumps on your mattress.
Memory foam conforms to the body, providing comfort and pressure point relief. It also provides good motion isolation, meaning partners won’t disturb each other as much when changing positions in bed.
This topper comes in six sizes and is made from sustainably cultivated natural latex in the U.S. It is breathable and helps to keep the sleeping surface cool and moist. 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 offers solid support that promotes spinal alignment and can help relive 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. However, it doesn’t have the same cradling feel as an all-foam model and tends to compress around the edges more than some other mattresses. 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’s usually between 2 and 4 inches thick and can be made of many different materials.
The cushioned topper helps reduce pressure on key points like the hips, shoulders and back. It also distributes weight evenly for a better night’s sleep. This is particularly important for those with shoulder, back or hip pain.
Unfortunately, pillow top mattresses have a tendency to sag over time. This is often unavoidable, but rotating the mattress every few months can help prolong 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’s not as plush as top ten mattresses, but it is still comfortable for most people.
It has excellent edge support for a mattress made of foam. 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.