My Hunt to Find the Best Mattress Brands
Buying a mattress is one of those purchases that sounds simple until you actually start researching. There are hundreds of mattress models, countless review sites, and no shortage of brands claiming to be the best.
When my husband, Quin, and I started shopping for a new mattress, I found myself wondering which brands real owners would actually recommend after sleeping on them for months or years.
So I asked my friends, family, and Instagram followers for their recommendations.
The responses started pouring in, but as often happens with Instagram question boxes, I ended up with lots of opinions and not a lot of clarity. People were telling me which mattresses they loved (or hated), but it was difficult to identify broader patterns or understand exactly why they felt that way.
As someone who designs and analyzes surveys for a living, I wanted to dig deeper than a simple Instagram question box could allow. I wanted to know not only which brands people recommended, but how strongly they felt, why they would recommend them, why they wouldn’t, and whether certain brands consistently stood out across multiple measures.
So using the previous IG question box responses, I developed a survey that ultimately collected feedback from 1,026 respondents across dozens of mattress brands.
In this post, I’ll share which mattress brands earned the strongest recommendation ratings, which brands owners were most likely to recommend to family and friends, and the most common reasons people said they loved (or disliked) their mattress.
If you’re currently shopping for a mattress, my hope is that these results provide a useful data point to help narrow down your options! (I know it certainly helped us decide which mattress brand to go with!)
This post contains commissionable links. When you shop through these links it helps support the time spent researching and comparing these products.
Mattress Recommendation Ratings
First, I asked people about their current mattress. Respondents selected their mattress brand from a list of 55 brands, with an additional “Other” option.
After selecting their current mattress, respondents were shown the following statement: “I would recommend my current mattress to family or friends.”
They could respond using a 4-point scale:
- Strongly disagree (coded as -2)
- Disagree (coded as -1)
- Agree (coded as +1)
- Strongly agree (coded as +2)
Respondents were also given the opportunity to rate a mattress they had owned previously. For those responses, they were shown a similar statement (“I would recommend my previous mattress to family or friends.”) with the same response options.
The chart below summarizes the recommendation ratings for the most commonly selected brands.
Because averages generally become more stable and reliable with larger sample sizes, I’ve prioritized charts showing brands with 30 or more responses.
All brands included in the analysis received average scores above +0.7, indicating generally positive owner experiences. Higher scores reflect a greater likelihood to recommend the brand to others.
Average recommendation ratings by mattress brand
Note. Averages were calculated for brands with at least 30 responses. The number of people who rated each brand is shown in parentheses next to the brand name.
Key Takeaways
- Helix earned the highest average recommendation rating in the survey, with Saatva close behind. Stearns & Foster, Purple, and Nectar also stood out for having especially enthusiastic owners.
- One thing I found encouraging is that every brand included in this chart received an average score above +0.7, suggesting that most owners generally felt positive about their mattress.
Using responses to the same survey questions, I also calculated the percentage of people who selected “agree” or “strongly agree” for each brand. I labeled this group the respondents who would recommend the brand to family or friends. I plotted this in the next chart along with the percentage of people who selected “disagree” or “strongly disagree,” that is, the respondents who would not recommend the brand.
Percentage of respondents who would or would not recommend each mattress brand
Note. Percentages were calculated for brands with at least 30 responses. The number of people who rated each brand is shown in parentheses next to the brand name.
Key Takeaways
- Helix had the highest percentage of owners saying they would recommend the brand to family or friends (93%), followed by Saatva (88%), Avocado (87%), Nectar (86%), and Stearns & Foster (85%).
- The top-performing brands combined high recommendation rates with relatively few people saying they would not recommend the brand.
- Even among the lower-ranked brands, more owners were willing to recommend their mattress than not recommend it. The biggest difference between brands was how consistently positive the ownership experience appeared to be.
- Helix, Saatva, Avocado, Nectar, and Stearns & Foster all had both high recommendation rates and relatively low levels of dissatisfaction, making them stand out from the rest of the pack.
I made one last chart from the recommendation rating questions that shows the percentage of respondents who selected the original response options for each brand. I think this chart is especially helpful because it shows more than just whether people would recommend a mattress or not. It also shows how strongly they felt about it.
Distribution of responses to the statement "I would recommend this mattress to family or friends" by mattress brand
Note. Percentages were calculated for brands with at least 30 responses. The number of people who rated each brand is shown in parentheses next to the brand name. Stars are next to the top five recommended brands, which had the highest percentage of respondents who said they “agree” or “strongly agree” that they would recommend the brand to family or friends.
Key Takeaways
- Helix stood out for having both the highest percentage of owners saying they would recommend the brand and the highest percentage of “strongly agree” responses.
- Stearns & Foster, Saatva, and Avocado also showed especially high levels of owner enthusiasm, while Nectar stood out for having the 4th highest combined recommendation rating (86%) that was made up of a more balanced mix of “agree” and “strongly agree” responses than the other top brands.
Why people do or don't recommend these mattress brands
The survey had follow up questions to understand more about people’s recommendation ratings.
People who selected “agree” or “strongly agree” when asked whether they would recommend their mattress brand to family or friends were asked to give the main reason for that recommendation. The follow-up question had 11 response options
- Very comfortable / great overall feel
- Good for back pain or physical support
- Has held up well over time (durable)
- Sleeps cool / doesn’t overheat
- High-quality materials or construction
- Organic / environmentally friendly (“green”) materials
- Good value for the price
- Good customer service / strong warranty or trial
- Adjustable / customizable features
- Purchased from a retailer I trust (e.g., Costco
- Other: (with an option to write-in their own reason for recommending the mattress)
People who selected “disagree” or “strongly disagree” were shown a similar question with a different set of 9 response options:
- Too firm / too hard
- Too soft / too squishy
- Sagging, dipping, or body impressions
- Caused back or body pain
- Slept too hot
- Did not hold up over time (durability issues)
- Felt like an air mattress
- Not worth the price / too expensive
- Other: (with an option to write-in their own reason against recommending the mattress)
The response options were developed based on open-ended responses that many of my followers previously shared in my Instagram stories.
There was too much data from these questions to fit in a single chart, but I summarize the responses to these questions for the Top 5 mattress brands below.
If you want the responses for the other mattress brands in the charts above, you can click this link to open a Google Sheet that summarizes the main reasons people gave for recommending their mattress (or not!).
More About the Top 5 Recommended Mattress Brands
Why Helix stood out:
- Highest average recommendation rating overall (1.6)
- Highest percentage of owners (93%) saying they would recommend it to family or friends
- Highest percentage of people saying they “strongly agree” that they would recommend it among brands with 30+ responses.
- Very few negative ratings overall.
Why owners recommended Helix:
- Very comfortable / great overall feel
- Good for back pain or physical support
- Good value for the price
Personal note about Helix:
I took the NapLab mattress quiz at the start of my mattress search and they matched me with the Helix Midnight Elite. After additional research, conversations with @my.sister.made.me.buy.it (they wrote an extensive review here), and testing mattresses in person at the Online Mattress Showroom in Minneapolis, Quin and I decided the Helix Midnight Elite is the best fit for us!
**Update: the Company gave me a coupon code to share. Code GOALSTOGETGLOWING will save you 22% off at Helix.
Why Saatva stood out:
- Second highest average recommendation rating (1.5)
- 88% of owners said they would recommend Saatva to family or friends, and among the relatively few negative responses, most were “disagree” rather than “strongly disagree”
- Saatva also received especially strong customer service ratings from owners who reported interacting with the company’s customer service team.
- Note: This survey did not assess why people interacted with customer service, so higher interaction ratings do not necessarily mean that there more customer service problems.
Why owners recommended Saatva:
- Very comfortable / great overall feel
- Good value for the price
Why Avocado stood out:
- Above-averge recommendation rating (1.3)
- 87% of owners said they would recommend Avocado to family or friends
- Stood out from many other brands because “organic / environmentally friendly materials” was one of the top reasons owners recommended it.
Why owners recommended Avocado:
- Very comfortable / great overall feel
- Organic / environmentally friendly (“green”) materials
Why Nectar stood out:
- Third highest average recommendation rating (1.4)
- 86% of owners said they would recommend Nectar to family or friends.
- Among the relatively few negative responses, most were “disagree” rather than “strongly disagree”
- Unique combination of comfort, durability, and perceived value for the price.
Why owners recommended Nectar:
- Very comfortable / great overall feel
- Good value for the price
- Has held up well over time (durable)
Why Stearns & Foster stood out:
- Tied for the third highest average recommendation rating (1.4)
- 85% of owners said they would recommend Stearns & Foster.
- Second highest (behind Helix) percentage of owners selecting “strongly agree” when asked if they would recommend it.
Why owners recommended Stearns & Foster:
- Very comfortable / great overall feel
- Has held up well over time (durable)
Final Thoughts
One thing that stood out to me from these results is that there wasn’t a single mattress brand that was loved by everyone. Even the highest-ranked brands had some owners who wouldn’t recommend them, while many of the lower-ranked brands still had more owners who would recommend them than not.
What these results can tell us is which brands have the highest levels of owner satisfaction and the fewest dissatisfied customers. Helix, Saatva, Avocado, Nectar, Stearns & Foster and several other brands consistently performed well across multiple measures, suggesting they may be good places to start your search.
That said, the “best” mattress for you will still depend on factors like your sleeping position, body type, firmness preferences, budget, and any specific needs such as pressure relief, cooling, or back support.
My goal with this survey wasn’t to crown a single winner. Instead, it was to provide a data-driven look at which mattress brands owners are most likely to recommend after sleeping on them. Hopefully these results help you narrow down your options and feel more confident in your mattress search!