6 Best Cheap Mattresses for 2024 – Save on Your Next Bed

My fellow CNET sleep editors and I chose mattresses based on firmness, feel, performance, durability, features and brand policies. We test beds by lying on them, testing edge support and motion isolation and switching between sleeping positions, for example. We also test the firmness of a mattress with our own machine, aptly called the Mattress Smasher 9000. This robust tool is pressed into the center of a bed and our accompanying software measures firmness on a scale of 1 to 10, with 1 being the softest and softest. 10 is the firmest. While we also personally test each bed for perceived firmness and feel, we have data from the MS9000 to support our conclusions.

Here’s the data we collected when testing the best cheap beds with our Mattress Smasher 9000. Sorted from the softest to the firmest beds, here’s how the mattresses scored on our firmness scale.

Specific to this list, however, price and value were two of the most important metrics we examined. The mattresses we considered “cheap” cost anywhere from $300 to $800 (after discounts are applied) and are very basic, often flagship models. They don’t have to have fancy bells and whistles, yet the mattresses chosen are comfortable, quality beds at affordable prices.

Read more about our sleep team, our mattress warehouse, the Mattress Smasher 9000 and how we test mattresses.