Best cheap mattresses for 2024

Do you need a new mattress, but are short on cash? We've picked out five of the best cheap mattresses, so you can sleep easy. 

Spending more may get you premium materials, such as silk and cashmere, but our tests show it doesn’t always guarantee superior support or stability.

We’ve tested mattresses costing £1,500 – the equivalent of more than 40 pence per night for 10 years – that are less supportive and long-lasting than mattresses costing £200 – or five pence per night for 10 years.

Want to see more mattress recommendations? Go to our pick of the best mattresses.

Best cheap mattresses

All these mattresses, cost less than £350 for a double (at the time of writing, prices change regularly) and all are Best Buys.

Only logged in Which? members can see the results in the table below. If you’re not yet a Which? member and want access to all these results and more, join Which? now.

See our guide to the top five most popular Ikea mattresses.

Where to buy a cheap mattress

There are several retailers that offer mattresses for under £350. Below, we've picked out some retailers that stock a variety of budget mattresses that we've tested. 

• Ikea offers a wide range of pocket sprung, foam, and hybrid mattresses that are mostly under £350 for a double. You can try out and collect their mattresses in store, or order online for home delivery.
• Silentnight sells several budget-friendly mattresses, including many we've tested. Read our Silentnight mattress reviews to find out whether you should buy one.
• Sleepsoul has a good selection of mattresses that are easy on the wallet – including some doubles under £250. You can buy direct, and Sleepsoul mattresses are also sold at retailers like Mattress Online. Read our Sleepsoul reviews to find out how comfortable they are.
• Happybeds sells a variety of mostly pocket-sprung, budget mattresses. You can pick up a double for under £150, and most of its mattresses are priced under £350. Read our Happybeds reviews to see if they beat other mattresses at a low price.
• Habitat/Argos stocks several own-brand mattresses, many of which cost under £220. There are also several other mattress brands in stock online. Read our Argos mattress reviews to find out if they're worth your money. 

Our advice on mattress brands and UK bed sizes will help you choose the mattress for you.

Which? mattress reviews

Not only are we completely independent and impartial, but every mattress we test is subjected to an extensive series of lab tests, designed by mattress experts.

Our body support tests, for example, use special equipment to measure spinal shape at 36 different points which indicates how supportive a mattress will be when lying down. When lying on your back, a good mattress should keep your spine in the same shape as when you’re standing, and when lying on your side your spine should be parallel to the mattress.

We also measure the firmness, warmth (insulation) and breathability of mattresses, as well as dropping weights on them and measuring the bounce to see how stable they are. A stable mattress will be good at preventing movement from transferring from one side of the bed to the other, ideally without making it more difficult for you to roll over and switch sleeping positions during the night.

We also simulate around 8-10 years of use by rolling heavy human-sized barrels over each mattress thousands upon thousands of times. We then do our body support tests all over again to see whether the mattresses have sagged or softened so you can be sure the mattress you end up investing in will have your back for years to come. 

We’ve tested good and bad mattresses at every price. See our full list of mattress reviews.