With so many Amazon Prime Day discounts on budget mattresses and bed toppers, it can be difficult to know which deals are truly good value for money. On top of that, you need to be sure you're buying a mattress that has enough comfort and support for your body type and sleeping position.
With more of the brands behind this year's best mattresses for all sleepers and budgets now appearing on Amazon, shopping the Prime Day deals for an affordable mattress is more enticing than ever, not to mention convenient thanks to free and fast shipping. But not all deals are good, and not all Amazon mattresses are worth it.
To help you spot a good Amazon Prime Day cheap mattress deal, we've put together this mini guide on the four key things to look for. We've also included our top tips on how to buy a good quality cheap mattress, plus the three sales we recommend shopping this weekend for better sleep on a budget if you can't wait for Prime Day.
What to look for in a budget mattress
If you find yourself dazzled by a super-cheap price on a budget mattress, take a second to think before hitting that 'buy' button. Why? Because while you may save a lot of money right now, that super-cheap mattress will cost you more in the long term if it doesn't suit your body weight and sleep needs. You'll end up having to replace it fast, wasting your time and money.
It's no secret that most cheap mattresses have a much shorter lifespan than mid-range ones too, so paying attention to the mattress warranty, how long it lasts for and what it does and doesn't cover will give you a good indication of how long you can expect the mattress to last.
So if you're shopping the Prime Day sales for the best cheap mattress for comfier sleep on a budget, we'd advise keep the following in mind:
- Height – Children and teens sleep comfortably on 8" mattresses, while most healthy adults sleep well on 10-12" mattresses. Heavier bodies weighing 230lbs or more should look at 12-14" mattresses as these will have extra support and comfort layers.
- Materials – Memory foam mattresses are affordable, and excellent at isolating motion and contouring the body, but some retain heat. The best hybrid mattresses (foam and coils) are more breathable, offer good pressure relief and generally have strong edge support, but they can be bouncier and more expensive.
- Sleep position – Side sleepers tend to fare well with softer, contouring mattresses made from memory foam. Stomach and back sleepers would suit all-foam or hybrid beds, as long as they have enough support to keep the spine aligned to prevent the hips from dipping.
How to spot a good Prime Day cheap mattress deal
1. Use price tracking history
When scouring Amazon's Prime Day mattress deals, there are tools you can use to help you check whether the sale price is genuinely good or not. For example, price history trackers like CamelCamelCamel and Keepa enable you to see how much a mattress has sold for on Amazon in the past compared to this year's Prime Day price.
2. Ensure the mattress returns policy is clear
Most mattresses found in the Prime Day sales are sold by Amazon, but many mattresses on the site can also be sold by third party sellers. You'll know if a mattress is sold by a third party seller if it doesn't say 'Amazon' after 'Sold by'. You can find this information under the 'Buy now' button.
Most products sold by Amazon have a 30-day returns policy, but a third party seller's return policy can differ. If you click on the seller's username and visit their profile, you'll find their returns information. If their policy seems sketchy or confusing, you may want to consider whether the mattress is worth buying.
3. Check to see if better deals exist elsewhere
Before assuming that the Prime Day deal price really is the best, check the price of the specific model you're considering buying against the price it's selling for on the mattress manufacturer's website and other third party mattress retailers such as Mattress Firm.
While Prime members enjoy free shipping, most mattresses sold direct from a mattress manufacturer's own website come with free shipping in addition to other perks such as free bedding. Not all brands offer this though. Plus, you may get a better returns policy in the form of mattress trials.
We track monthly mattress sales and deals and have a number of dedicated guides to different brands to help you compare their normal sale prices with Prime Day deals. These include the best Nectar mattress sales for all budgets, as well as our guide to Purple mattress deals on memory foam and hybrid beds, and the best DreamCloud mattress sales with up to 50% off.
4. Look for verified user reviews
Sometimes a mattress deal can seem too good to be true, especially if it has a lot of overly positive review. Some mattresses on Amazon have a lot of reviews that are fake endorsements, which helps the product to get a higher ranking.
Wondering how to spot fake reviews? Well, there are some tell-tale signs. If a review is overenthusiastic or positive without giving a reason why they liked the mattress, hen it's probably fake. Also look out for too many typos, generic statements, repeated use of the product's full name, and overuse of all caps.
