Credit:
Reviewed / Betsey Goldwasser
Recommendations are independently chosen by Reviewed's editors. Purchases made through the links below may earn us and our publishing partners a commission. Prices were accurate at the time this article was published but may change over time.
Credit:
Reviewed / Betsey Goldwasser
Reviewed's mission is to help you buy the best stuff and get the most out of what you already own. Our team of product experts thoroughly vet every product we recommend to help you cut through the clutter and find what you need.
Learn more about our product testing
The Leesa Sapira hybrid mattress offers excellent motion transfer, cooling, and support for all sleeping positions. Read More
The Tuft & Needle Original is a firm foam mattress that offers a supportive sleep surface we think most people will like. Read More
The Avocado Green Mattress is a solid choice for side and back sleepers, and its coolness is ideal for people who sleep hot. Read More
The Lull Original has a firm sleep surface, great edge support, and sleeps cool—all around, it's a great option for most. Read More
The Purple Mattress lives up to some of the marketing hype—it's cool and supportive. The only thing it really lacks is adequate edge support. Read More
Mattresses are easier to buy online than ever since most brands can ship them directly to your front door in a conveniently sized box. Not all beds in a box, although, are created equally. The best mattresses in a box offer the perfect blend of comfort and support.
Still, there’s a lot more that goes into a decision to buy a bed online—budget, mattress type, and return policy, to name just a few. The best mattress for you will depend on your needs, including what type of sleeper you are, whether you suffer from back pain, and whether you share your bed with a partner or even a pet.
While mattress companies often offer generous sleep trials, our experts extensively test mattresses in our lab to help you make an informed choice. We analyze mattresses on a number of factors, including comfort, overall support, edge support, pressure point relief, cooling, the unboxing process, and odor.
After testing, we found the Leesa Hybrid (available at Leesa) to be the best hybrid mattress in a box you can buy. Its combination of memory foam with supportive, responsive springs offers a top-shelf sleep experience.
We also love the Tuft & Needle Original (available at Tuft & Needle). Its firm surface manages support while still being supple.
We think everyone will love the Leesa Hybrid, and that it's worth every penny.
Tuft & Needle's Original Mattress offers a lot of bang for your buck.
We tested the Avocado Green Mattress at home and in our Cambridge labs.
The Lull Original is surprisingly firm and provides great edge support for an all-foam mattress.
Effective cooling
Comfortable
Effective motion dampening
Poor edge support
Mediocre pressure relief
Minimal motion transfer
Comfortable for every sleep positions
Cool
Supportive
Poor edge support
Good balance of support
Good edge support
Doesn't sleep hot
Took a long time to expand
Some untidy stitching
Comfortable
Cool
Noticeable motion transfer
Potential durability concerns
Cradles body
Stays cool
May be good for side sleepers
May be too soft
Felt warm at times
Limited edge support
We use a barbell in lab tests to assess how well a mattress does (or doesn't) curve up under pressure.
At Reviewed, every mattress in a box is lab tested. We scientifically evaluate the performance of each mattress and then score the results to find the best. Criteria we consider includes comfort, support, the unboxing process, and more.
Mattresses in a box can be difficult to unpack and move once they’ve opened to their full size. Our testing process takes note of how difficult it is to remove the mattress from its packaging and how feasible it would be for an individual to move it once it fully expands.
Mattresses that contain foam can go through a process called “off-gassing” when they’re first sprung from their packaging. The manufacturing and packaging process can trap smelly chemicals. When the package is opened, these chemicals are released into the air.
Our testing process takes note of the smell when each mattress is opened and again 24 hours later (the time that companies recommend letting a mattress off-gas before sleeping on it).
Once a mattress expands fully, we attach pressure sensors to a weighted barbell that loosely represents the human form to assess overall support. The barbell is placed on the mattresses to measure pressure at different points like the shoulders and hips.
Mattresses in a box don’t have a wire cage found in traditional innerspring beds, and many rely on foam, which can limit the edge’s ability for load-bearing. To test edge support in our lab, we roll a heavyweight bag to the edge of the mattress until it’s about to fall off and measure how much of the bag is past the periphery of the mattress.
Our testing process also includes heat retention. We microwave silicone bead-filled bags and place them on the mattress for several hours as we monitor the temperature.
Additionally, we consider motion transfer and bounciness, and the customer experience, among other things.
Mattresses are a big investment. Fortunately, most companies offer a trial period so you can be sure the mattress you buy is the right fit for you.
Buying a mattress online is convenient but also challenging, because you can’t touch or feel the bed before it’s at your doorstep. It’s important to do your research, especially considering how much time you spend in bed and the impact of quality sleep on your waking hours. Here are some things to consider when shopping for the best box mattress.
As comfort is subjective and personal, it’s essential to keep your own preferences in mind. Different mattress types have unique qualities that may be better suited to a specific type of sleeper.
Foam and memory foam mattresses: Because these mattresses provide sufficient support for the spine, they can be a good fit for side sleepers. In general, they excel at even weight distribution and are good at minimizing motion transfer. Foam does have a tendency to absorb heat, though. To combat this, some companies use specially constructed materials that aim to cool sleepers.
Hybrid Mattress: These mattresses are made of foam layers for cushion on top of a base of coils for structure, support, bounce, and circulation. Typically, hybrid mattresses are more costly. Like foam mattresses, they also come with some off-gassing. Because they tend to be on the firmer side, hybrids are often good matches for back sleeper and stomach sleepers.
Latex Mattress: These mattresses are made from natural or synthetic latex, and they tend to sleep cooler than foam. Latex mattresses are not as strong at motion isolation, though, and they are among the priciest on the market. A latex cooling mattress can be a good pick for people who sleep hot. Latex mattresses can have different levels of firmness, so you can choose the correct level of plushness.
Mattress in a box brands tend to be slightly more affordable than traditional beds, especially when factoring in delivery costs. The average queen size bed in a box ranges from $1,000 to $2,000 for high-quality mattress that will last you roughly 7 to 10 years.
Setting a budget and sticking to it should be the first step to buying a mattress online. Thankfully, good beds can be found at different price points, whether you’re looking for a cheap mattress or the best mattress that money can buy. When looking at cost, you should also factor in delivery. Some companies offer free shipping, while it’s an extra fee for others.
Most bed in a box companies offer a sleep trial so you can test out a bed to see if it’s the right fit for you. Sleep trials vary from company to company. Often there are conditions too, so make sure you read the fine print.
It's essential to take each company’s return policy into account. Some make it super-easy by retrieving the mattress free of cost, but others require you to coordinate the mattress's return, donation, or disposal to receive a full refund.
The majority of mattress brands ship their beds in boxes, so you can find a great mattress that arrives at your doorstep without the hefty delivery fee of a more traditional bed. However, there are a lot of bad beds out there, too. That’s why we test them, so you can make an informed decision.
Also, mattress brands thankfully offer a sleep trial period—because no amount of research can make up for the experience of actually sleeping on a mattress. Just make sure to read the fine print about their return policy before you purchase.
Generally speaking, it’s best to open your bed in a box as soon as possible. Every mattress manufacturer is different, but most contain foam, which can start to lose its intended shape if the mattress is left in the box for more than three weeks.
Following the manufacturer’s directions is also an important step in the unboxing process. Not doing so may impact the quality of sleep you get on your new mattress. Worse, it could create warranty issues.
Foam mattresses do a good job of distributing weight evenly. Foam tends to absorb heat rather than dissipate it, so some companies have designed mattresses that aim to mitigate this with perforated or cooling gel, or fabric encasements made from materials that wick.
Hybrid mattresses utilize foam layers atop a base of innerspring coils to try to bring the best of both worlds. The coils give them more structure, supportiveness, “rebound,” and offer better air circulation for keeping you cool. The foam provides cushion to cradle you just enough without letting you totally sink in.
“Off-gassing” can be an issue with both foam mattresses and hybrids.
Lindsey writes about sleep, lifestyle, and more for Reviewed. In her waking hours, she likes to spend time outside, read, cook, and bake. She holds a master’s in journalism from Boston University and bachelors' degrees in English Literature and Anthropology from the University of Utah.
Our team is here for one purpose: to help you buy the best stuff and love what you own. Our writers, editors, and lab technicians obsess over the products we cover to make sure you're confident and satisfied. Have a different opinion about something we recommend? Email us and we'll compare notes.
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