The Best Hybrid Mattresses for the Best of Both Worlds
Combine softness and support with a hybrid mattress. These are the ones our team tested and loved.
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the best hybrid mattress is sort of like cake. There are always going to be a few key ingredients—in the case of a mattress, that’s springs and foam. Those two elements are layered up and combined with an almost endless assortment of other ingredients (latex, coils, foam layers of various densities, assorted fabrics). The art is in the details of the recipe, and mattress brands are carefully combining each ingredient in a specific ratio to create a comfortable bed.
Hybrid mattresses are what we recommend for most people because when they’re done right, they’re soft but supportive and much more breathable than an all-foam bed. The only way to pick the best is to sleep on them, which is why I or any other WIRED reviewer spends a week or more sleeping on each bed, taking careful notes, and then comparing it with teammates’ experiences if they have also tested that particular bed. Very rarely does one bed work for everybody, so this is especially crucial to find options tailored to your height, weight, sleeping position, and overall mattress wish list (for example, a cooling cover may be nonnegotiable for you).
We have tested all sorts of mattresses, from those focused on side sleepers, helping with back pain, organic options, and even what we deem the best mattresses overall.
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really balanced feel for those who want optimal pressure relief with the firmer support their lower back requires.”],”cons”:[“Supposedly, the cover is meant to keep a temperature of 88 degrees Fahrenheit.”,”If you're looking for a cool-to-the-touch feeling, you won't find that here.”],”rating”:””,”subtype”:null,”shouldUseAmazonPrimeDayLiveAPIData”:true,”commentsCount”:0,”order”:0,”totalCount”:8,”preHeaderOne”:””,”showOrderedGallery”:false,”hasAffiliateLinkDisabled”:false,”layout”:”ProductEmbed”,”component”:”enhanced_product_card”,”total_index”:2,”hasMultipleImage”:true,”componentType”:true,”showProsConsData”:false,”videoIds”:[],”offersLength”:1}”>
Best Overall
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Photograph: Martin Cizmar
Our fearless director and WIRED reviewer Martin Cizmar really, really, really likes the Leesa Sapira Chill. It’s been on our list of the best mattresses for a long time due to its comfortable hybrid construction. It features a temperature-regulating cover (which Martin reports effectively absorbs excess heat), a quilted pillow top that gently sinks in, four types of memory foam, and pocketed coils.
Each memory foam layer is designed to be breathable, keeping the cover from mimicking a baking sheet, while also serving its own purpose in terms of pressure relief and support. The topmost quilted layer and comfort layer are thicker and softer for a deeper sink, while the bottom responsive and transitional layers are designed for enhanced support. The pocketed coil core is also beneficial for heightened support in areas that require it most, specifically the lumbar zone. Coils are arranged in zones, so you get a firmer feel around your midsection. This helped Martin alleviate his back pain during testing. Plus, reinforced coils along the edge help with durability and edge support.
Materials Memory foam, pocketed coils, cooling cover Certifications CertiPur-US certified foam, GreenGuard Gold Firmness Plush, medium-firm, firm Height 14 inches Trial period 100 nights Warranty Limited lifetime -
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Best Hybrid Mattress for Side Sleepers
Courtesy of Nolah
We’re all familiar with Goldilocks (and how often that’s used in mattress reviews. Sorry, stick with me here for a moment) and her plight of trying to find a bed with the right firmness. That’s not too far off from the average side sleeper’s mattress experience. Finding the “just right” balance means getting something soft enough for your hips and shoulders to press into the bed without causing irritation. While doing that, it also has to be not too soft, because spine alignment is so important. With that in mind, the Nolah Evolution rises to the task—probably because it was developed for side sleepers.
It just so happens that this is the mattress I sleep on when I’m not testing. I especially appreciate that the quilted foam and four foam layers underneath excel in pressure relief—I love feeling cocooned in my bed. Two layers in particular stand out: the AirFoam Luxe layer that’s meant to keep firm lumbar support in place, and the TriZone Foam, which also adds a firm foam layer. If that weren’t enough, zoned coils are present. Like the Sapira Chill, the firmest coils are right in the center. Back pain? Not in my house.
Materials AirFoam, memory foam, pocketed coils, organic cotton cover, GlacioTex pillow top (upcharge) Certifications CertiPur-US certified foams, GreenGuard Gold Firmness Plush, luxury firm, firm Height 14 inches Trial period 120 nights Warranty Limited lifetime
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The Bear Elite Hybrid offers three firmness levels to choose from: standard soft, medium, and firm. However, if there’s one thing that testers with back pain on our team believe in, it’s the power of a firm mattress for support. Two WIRED reviewers have tested this mattress: Martin Cizmar and Nena Farrell. Both regularly deal with back pain, and found that the firm Bear Elite Hybrid model really did the trick for lumbar support. They note that while it feels quite firm at first, the mattress feels more and more welcoming as time goes on.
The mattress cover uses phase change material, which sucks up heat and makes it feel cool to the touch. If you have incredibly awful back pain, though, you may want to consider the $210 Celliant cover, an infrared-infused fabric. We haven’t tried it, but it supposedly helps with recovery. You’ve also got copper-infused foam for even more cooling, plus transition foam for pressure relief purposes. Surprise, surprise, there’s also zoned pocketed coils, so those coils located in the middle are doing the heavy lifting.
Materials Copper-infused memory foam, memory foam, pocketed coils, Phase Change Material (PCM) cover, Celliant cover (upcharge) Certifications CertiPur-US certified foams, GreenGuard Gold Firmness Soft, medium, firm Height 14 inches Trial period 120 nights Warranty Limited lifetime -
Best Hybrid Mattress for Couples
Wolf
Memory Foam Hybrid Premium Firm Mattress
I always empathize with couples attempting to mattress shop, because it’s always a tall order trying to find a suitable bed for two of everything: body types, sleeping positions, temperature preferences, and pain points. The Wolf Memory Foam Hybrid Premium Firm is a well-rounded, supportive hybrid mattress for couples (and their extracurriculars, if you catch my drift).
Its cooling cover does an outstanding job of staying cool-feeling, with a gel foam layer underneath that provides extra support. Four more layers of memory foam are present for pressure relief purposes, which, from experience, it more than delivers on. You then have your pocketed coils in the middle, which lift heavier areas with firmer-feeling support. Overall, I ranked it as a medium-firm, 6.5 out of 10, that was doable for all kinds of sleepers regardless of their build or sleeping position.
Materials Memory foam, pocketed coils, cooling cover Certifications CertiPur-US certified foams Firmness Medium firm Height 13 inches Trial period 101 nights Warranty Limited lifetime
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Best Cooling Hybrid Mattress
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Photograph: Molly Higgins
Bedgear
H Performance Mattress
Shoutout to all of my hot sleepers out there: At the end of the day, we literally want to cool off. Many mattresses claim to be cooling, but Bedgear’s H Series takes the hybrid cake, according to WIRED reviewer Molly Higgins. From top to bottom, this was a mattress made with cooling in mind. There are two versions, the H4 (medium-firm) and the H6 (medium-plush). Either way, you’re looking at some superb cooling.
The cooling cover on this bed uses a proprietary material called Ver-Tex, which felt silky and noticeably cool to the touch during Molly’s testing. This cover’s not doing all the work, though, as there are Air-X side panels that Molly describes as “meshlike” and are meant for air circulation. The memory foam layers on top are your best friend when it comes to pressure relief, and the pocketed coil core is contained within a foam perimeter for added edge support.
Materials Memory foam, Ver-Tex cover, Air-X panels, pocketed coils Certifications CertiPur-US certified foams Firmness H4 (medium firm), H6 (medium plush) Height 12 inches Trial period 30 nights Warranty 10-year limited -
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Best Memory Foam Hybrid
DreamCloud
Hybrid Mattress
Most of the time, when I encounter a hybrid, it involves some variation of memory foam and coils. Many brands put their own twist on foam—and coils, for that matter—so it’s often switched up for a unique mattress experience. Sometimes that experience is good, and others, not so good. But if there’s ever a hybrid mattress that nailed this balance, it’s the DreamCloud Classic Hybrid.
DreamCloud expertly put together pressure-relieving foams, pocketed coils, and a temperature-regulating cover to create its Classic Hybrid. It’s got a quilted surface, not a pillow top, but it still delivers on the pressure relief front. The medium-firm feel really speaks, instead, supports stomach and back sleepers–though I’ve never had any complaints while sleeping on my side.
Materials Memory foam, pocketed coils, CloudQuilt cover Certifications CertiPur-US certified foams Firmness Medium firm Height 12 inches Trial period 365 nights Warranty Limited lifetime
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Best Organic Hybrid Mattress
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Courtesy of Birch
Birch
Luxe Natural Mattress
Hybrid mattresses aren’t always just memory foam and coil pairings. While that does make up a good majority of the market (as far as I’ve seen), some people simply don’t want that. Enter: natural, organic materials. In hybrid mattress mode, they’re effective options that make them good contenders even if you weren’t looking for something within this category. A prime example of this would be the Birch Luxe Natural.
According to WIRED reviewer Scott Gilbertson, the mix of organic wool, GOLS-certified latex, GOTS-certified organic cotton, and pocketed coils was a winning combination for responsive support. There’s a lot to celebrate about latex, like its hypoallergenic status and natural heat resistance. The Luxe’s pillow top added that cherry-on-top bit of luxury to sink into, while the rest of the mattress did plenty to help with spinal support.
Materials Organic cotton, organic wool, organic latex, pocketed coils Certifications GOLS certified latex, GreenGuard Gold Firmness Medium firm Height 12 inches Trial period 100 nights Warranty Limited lifetime -
Best Hybrid Mattress for Pain Relief
As a side sleeper who struggles with chronic illness, I require support and pressure relief in a mattress. This is where I like the Saatva Rx as a specialty option for those dealing with literal pain points. The Rx, if you couldn’t already infer from the name, was designed for more medically inclined situations where you need to treat joints with care.
By following a hybrid design of therapeutic foams and pocketed coils, the Rx manages to pull this off. While this may not be the firmest option to support sleepers with back pain, WIRED reviewer Nena Farrell found that the softer appeal speaks to side sleepers. She reports that her joints felt weightless with no pressure buildup. The Rx features an organic cotton cover, support quilting, and a focused layer in the middle of the bed for lumbar support, incorporating microcoils, phase change material, and graphite-infused memory foams. Additionally, it includes pocketed coils, with extra reinforcement on the edges for enhanced edge support. Another perk for pain purposes? This mattress also comes with included white glove delivery, so you won’t have to handle the setup and removal of your old mattress.
Materials Organic cotton cover, lumbar support foam, gel infused foam, graphite- and phase change material-infused foam, micro coils, pocketed coils Certifications CertiPur-US certified foams, GreenGuard Gold Firmness Supportive plush Height 12 inches Trial period 365 nights Warranty Limited lifetime
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Frequently Asked Questions
We know how anxiety-producing it is to make a decision sight unseen as to what you may end up spending 10 years sleeping on. To that end, we spend a week or more testing these mattresses in our own homes, sleeping on them, relaxing on them, and just overall using them as a consumer would, to get insight on comfort, support, materials, and any other details that pop up. To give us some concrete data (since we’re not exactly conscious during testing), sleep trackers keep tags on our progress.
How Does WIRED Acquire Mattresses to Test?
All mattresses chosen for this guide were either samples provided by the manufacturer, with no obligation for coverage or promises for what coverage could look like, or purchased by us and expensed.
What Does WIRED Do With the Mattresses After Testing Them?
Once testing is complete, the mattresses are donated locally within the tester’s geographic region.
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Julia Forbes is a product writer and reviewer for the WIRED Reviews team, focused on all things related to sleeping well: mattresses, sheets, pillows, toppers, and tech. She is a Spencer Institute-certified Sleep Science coach and has been testing mattresses and sleep products for more than five years. Previously, Julia … Read More
