best firm mattress
Available classics
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Best Firm Mattress for Hot Sleepers
Brooklyn Bedding Aurora Luxe
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The best organic firm mattress
avocado green mattress
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Best Firm Mattress for Back Pain Relief
Purple revitalizes
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cheapest firm mattress
dream bubble doze
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Best firm mattress for heavy sleepers
spiral plus
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A firm mattress isn’t for everyone, but if you’re a stomach sleeper, it could be your savior. What you may not realize is that the extra stiffness helps promote proper spine alignment. This can help relieve pain and discomfort in the neck, back, and hips. Firmness is a scale, so just because you need a firmer bed doesn’t mean you’ll sacrifice pressure relief. What’s right for you depends on your support needs and personal sleep preferences. A medium-firm mattress will provide some pressure relief, while a firm mattress will provide the most support.
Over the course of my career, I’ve tested over 100 different mattresses and slept on several of them at work to honor our selection for CNET’s Best Mattress. For our best firm mattress reviews, we’ve compiled a list of the most comfortable hybrid mattresses, affordable firm beds, memory foam models, and more. Keep reading to find your ideal mattress match.
Continue below to find your ideal mattress match.
What is the best firm mattress overall?
Get a feel for the Saatva Classic mattress.
The Saatva Classic is a premium mattress available in three different firmness levels and two height configurations. Considering every mattress is custom-made, you essentially get a bed tailored to your preferences. It also has an ultra-supportive design, unlike most beds I’ve tested. The interior of the Saatva Classic boasts two coil layers and additional lumbar reinforcement.
Please note that all prices quoted are for queen beds and do not include discounts often offered by mattress manufacturers.
read more: Mattress Firmness Ratings Explained
Best Firm Mattress: Video
Watch CNET Video Maker Owen Poole Check out the best firm mattresses.
The Best Firm Mattress of 2024
What we think – The Saatva mattress is a premium mattress worthy of a luxury five-star hotel room. Two-thirds of the Saatva Classic’s firmness options fall into the firmness range, giving you the opportunity to buy a hybrid mattress with medium or firm firmness. Looking for more support? The Saatva Classic has two different coil layers and a lumbar support spine line for all the extra reinforcement you need. I also love its comfortable, airy organic cotton pillow top.
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Warranty
Lifetime warranty
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What we think – Brooklyn Bedding is known for producing quality beds at affordable prices. The Evoque Deluxe Edition is no exception. This is a premium mattress with five layers of comfort foam, pocketed coils, and cooling technology. You have to be careful with cooling sleep products because many don’t actually cool you, but you can rest assured that the CooperFlex foam and Titan Cool cover give this mattress a physical cooling feel.
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sturdiness
Soft: (3) Moderate: (5) Medium-sized enterprises: (7)
Warranty
10-year limited warranty
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What we think – Almost as natural as the fruit it’s named after, Avocado Green is a certified organic, eco-friendly mattress. All materials are either recycled or responsibly sourced from organic farms that follow strict regulatory guidelines. Its main latex foam comfort material is perforated, so it also increases airflow and doesn’t retain heat like memory foam. The avocado green is firm, and if you add the pillow top, it becomes medium firm.
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sturdiness
7 or medium firm (with pillow top) (9 or firm without)
Warranty
25 year limited warranty
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What we think – Nectar is a popular online mattress brand whose beds have a memory foam feel, similar to expensive Tempur-Pedic mattresses. The best part? Nectar beds are a fraction of the cost. As the foam is heated by your body, it slowly molds to your body. You won’t fall into the pit in the middle of the bed. The Nectar is perfect for firm bed lovers up to 230 pounds.
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type
memory foam mattress
Warranty
Permanent warranty
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What we think – When it comes to back pain, the most important thing is support. The Purple Rejuvenate mattress is ultra-supportive, with an edge-to-edge zoned coil system that provides targeted support for your back.
Warranty
10 years warranty
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What we think – When you are looking for the best firm bed in a medium profile, the WinkBed Classic is a premium option that fits your requirements. It’s a premium hybrid, medium-firm model that offers a comfortable, responsive feel that’s more like a neutral or hybrid foam. It’s sturdy without being overly firm, and each WinkBed is rigorously simulated to ensure long-lasting durability and support. This is one of those mattresses you find in fancy hotels or expensive AirBnBs.
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sturdiness
3 Firmness Levels | Softer: Medium Soft or 3 | Luxurious Firm: Medium or 5 | Firm: Medium Firm or 7
Warranty
Lifetime warranty
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What we think – If you’re on a budget, you’ll love the DreamFoam Doze mattress. This all-foam bed retails for $240 in its thinnest version, making it affordable and comfortable.
type
Neutral foam mattress
sturdiness
medium to medium hardness
Warranty
10-year limited warranty
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What we think – Heavier sleepers with back pain should look for a durable mattress with extra support, and the Helix Plus ticks those boxes. With a thick hybrid construction, a medium-stiff profile, and extra-large pocketed coils that can support up to 1,000 pounds, it’s a sturdy pick that won’t weigh down your arms and legs.
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sturdiness
Medium enterprise: (7)
Warranty
15-year limited warranty
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spiral dawn mattress: The Helix Dawn bed is a very supportive hybrid mattress, similar to the Plank, that’s as firm as a firm bed. With a firmness rating of about 9 to 10, it could be a good firm mattress option for anyone under 230 pounds who wants maximum support at an affordable price. I also like the general foamy feel; it’s similar to the foam on your favorite comfy couch. It is more breathable and more pressure sensitive than memory foam.
GhostBed elastic mattress: Based on the mattress firmness scale, the GhostBed has a score of 6 to 7 out of 10, making it a medium-firm mattress. It’s made from a combination of latex-like memory foam that has a soft, bouncy feel but also offers enough support so you don’t feel like you’re sinking into the mattress (and then wake up in pain). It also has two rows of reinforced coils around the edges of the bed, which cradle the layers and help provide excellent edge-to-edge sturdiness.
read more: The Best Mattresses for Side Sleepers in 2023
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Videographer Wes tests the edge support of the Nectar mattress
CNET editors select the products and services we write about based on editorial merit. When you buy through our links, we may earn a commission.
To test mattress firmness, we use our intuition and pay close attention to the firmness of the bed. Especially compared to other mattresses. We look for how the foam reacts to our bodies, how far we sink into the bed, and how supportive the bed is in each sleeping position. If the bed presses strongly into our shoulders and hips when we lie on our side, it means the bed is firm.
Learn more about how we test mattresses.
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Sleeping position
Back and stomach sleepers generally sleep most comfortably on a firm mattress. Side sleepers often prefer softer beds, which take pressure off their hips and shoulders. If you like to sleep on your side, you may not need a firm bed.
weight
The lighter you weigh, the firmer the mattress will feel. People who weigh less than 150 pounds may consider medium-firm beds to be hard. For heavier sleepers, the opposite is true. The heavier you are, the softer the bed will feel. If a bed is about medium-firm and you weigh 245 pounds, it will probably feel closer to medium-firm. Keep this in mind when you are shopping for a bed so you can choose the best one.
Rugged
Not all sturdy beds are created equal. A bed that is considered firm is between 6 and 10 on the firmness scale. Beds around level 6 to 8 are considered the medium firmness range, while levels 8 to 10 fall within the firmness range. A medium-firm bed provides pressure relief and support, while a firm bed provides maximum support.
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The best firm mattress depends on your personal preferences, body shape, and sleep style. Some of the best firm mattresses (medium-firm to firm) we’ve found include:
- Available classics
- Brooklyn Bedding Aurora Luxe
- plate
- avocado green
- nectar
- Purple revitalizes
- blink bed
- dream bubble doze
- spiral plus
This mainly depends on your favorite sleeping position. If you’re a back or stomach sleeper, a firm mattress can work well at keeping your neck and spine properly aligned.
Hotels tend to equip their rooms with medium to medium firm beds. This way, they can accommodate a wider selection of sleeping positions, as the bed won’t be too hard or too soft.
Compared to other foam mattresses, latex foam mattresses are generally the firmest, followed by innerspring mattresses. That being said, there are many softer latex mattresses and innerspring mattresses available. It’s hard to generalize about firm mattresses when there are so many different mattresses on the market.
If you sleep on your back or stomach, a firm mattress can keep your spine and neck straight, preventing you from slumping onto the bed and developing back pain. If you sleep on your side, a firm mattress can compress your body and cause your spine to curve.
