Best Innerspring Mattresses in 2024
Get our take on the best innerspring mattresses for all kinds of needs.
Our Experts
What to consider
Firmness
Sleeping Position
Feel
Construction
Body type
Performance
Company policies
Our Picks
While memory foam mattresses are nice, they aren't going to be right for someone looking for extra support. While an innerspring mattress has a more traditional mattress build, that doesn't mean they haven't changed. If you've tried all-foam mattresses and hybrid mattresses and felt like they weren't quite right, this might be for you. Those who sleep with a partner will find that you'll both have a restful night with more motion isolation offered by the innerspring mattress.
Sorting through all of the options to find the best innerspring mattress can be a bit tricky. Given the sheer number of choices on the market, it takes some work to separate the good ones from the way-too-bouncy. That's why I did the comparison shopping for you. Here are my favorites.
What's the best innerspring mattress?
There are plenty of good innerspring mattresses available from top-notch brands. The bed that stands out from the rest is the Beautyrest Black C-Class Pillow Top Mattress. Beautyrest is known for making luxury mattresses with high-quality materials.
The Beautyrest Black C-Class is the best overall innerspring mattress, because it's a hybrid bed available in seven different firmness options. Beds always get extra points if they have customization because it allows you to pick the firmness that best suits your needs. That's not the only thing that sets it apart. Besides being extremely comfortable, each of the coils in the mattress has three types of steel. Beautyrest Black isn't what I would consider a budget mattress, but it's worth the money if you're looking for a bed that will last.
Best innerspring mattresses of 2024
Beautyrest Black C-Class 16-inch Plush Pillow Top Mattress
Best overall innerspring mattress
SCORE
Saatva Classic Mattress
Best innerspring mattress for back pain
SCORE
Stearns & Foster Estate Rockwell Mattress
Best traditional innerspring mattress
SCORE
Avocado Organic Luxury Plush Mattress
Best organic innerspring mattress
SCORE
Sealy Posturepedic Silver Pine 15-inch Medium Euro Top Mattress
Best innerspring mattress for combination sleepers
SCORE
Beautyrest Silver Plush Innerspring Mattress
Best budget innerspring mattress
SCORE
Factors to consider when choosing an innerspring mattress
Shopping for a mattress is an extremely subjective process. What works for one person may not suit your preferences and needs. There are key factors that you should keep in mind when comparing innerspring mattresses. They include your sleeping position, body type, health conditions and budget.
Sleeping position
Your sleeping position is one of the most important factors in deciding what mattress will be best for you. It will determine how firm or soft your mattress needs to be to keep you comfortable at night.
- Side sleepers need a softer mattress to ensure they don't develop pressure points on their shoulders, hips and knees.
- Strict back sleepers should get a medium firm or firm mattress so their spine is in a neutral alignment all night. This level of firmness will prevent back pain.
- Combination sleepers have the most flexibility in choosing their firmness level. You have two options, choose a bed based on the sleep position you spend the most time in or opt for a medium firmness that works for any sleeper type.
Body type
Your body type will determine how much pressure you put on the mattress and which mattress you should choose. People who weigh over 230 pounds should generally choose hybrid mattresses for their support and durability.
Your weight also influences the firmness level of a bed. The more you weigh, the more pressure you put on your mattress, meaning it will feel softer. Petite body types will experience mattresses firmer because they put less pressure on the bed.
Health conditions
When shopping for mattresses, your health conditions also affect your decision-making process. For example, if you have joint pain, you would want to choose a soft mattress with plenty of pressure relief. If you have back pain, stick with a firmer mattress to keep your spine aligned.
Budget
Mattresses are big investments; there's no way around that. Thankfully, there are mattresses at every budget level. Luxury mattresses are going to be more expensive than the average mattress. That doesn't mean you can't get a nice mattress for a fair price. Most brands run big sales around holidays and events. If you time it right, you can get a couple hundred dollars off the price tag.
How we test the best innerspring mattresses
CNET editors pick the products and services we write about based on editorial merit. When you buy through our links, we may get a commission. We tested each of the mattresses on this best innerspring mattress list.
Firmness and feel
When we start mattress testing, we first determine the firmness and feel of the mattress. Think about firmness as how hard or soft a mattress is. We rate each mattress on a ten-point scale for firmness.
The feel of the mattress describes how the mattress reacts. Is it slow responding like traditional memory foam? Does it snap back like latex foam? This will translate to how it will feel rolling around on the bed at night.
Durability
The durability, or how long a mattress will last, is based on what it's made from. Mattresses with pocketed coils as the base are more durable than all-foam options. They also tend to be more expensive.
Mattress performance
The key performance criteria we assess for mattresses include motion isolation, edge support and temperature.
We test how the mattresses isolate movement by placing a glass of water on the edge of the bed and rolling around to see how much it moves. Motion isolation is a big deal if you have a partner who rolls around and wakes you up.
Edge support is how strong the perimeter of the bed is. The test for this is simple, we sit and lay on the edge to see if it gives way under the pressure. When assessing temperature, we examine the materials and construction of the mattress. Materials like latex and gel memory foam can keep a mattress from retaining body heat.
Read more on how we test mattresses.
Other innerspring mattresses we've tested
Our CNET Sleep editors collectively write our best mattress lists based on their experience with over 100 different mattresses. The beds listed above are all top picks, but with so many to choose from, there are a few great beds that deserve an honorable mention.
Leesa Legend mattress
The Leesa Legend mattress is a thick, premium bed with two layers of coils. One layer is made with pocketed coils, while a micro-coil layer in the top layers offers a ton of back support. As far as comfort goes, it has a medium firmness level and a fluffy, soft foam feel that is more responsive than traditional memory foam.
Brooklyn Bedding Signature mattress
Value shoppers should keep Brooklyn Bedding Signature on their list of ideal options. It's a premium hybrid mattress that costs the same price as popular foam mattresses like Casper or Purple. It's also available in three different firmness levels so that any sleeping position can find a comfortable option.
Innerspring mattress FAQs
What's the difference between innerspring and spring mattresses?
Innerspring mattresses contain pocketed coils -- meaning that the main support layer of the bed is made up of individually wrapped coils. This often makes the mattress more comfortable because you can't feel the hard coils when lying on top of the bed. Spring mattresses don't have this added layer of comfort, but spring beds tend to be more durable and firm.
Do people still buy innerspring mattresses?
Yes and no. People don't buy the traditional innerspring mattresses your parent(s) or grandparent(s) had as a kid. Modern mattresses utilize coils or inner springs to provide ample support and durability. There are usually layers of foam materials, cotton or wool for added comfort.
How many springs in a mattress is good?
The best innerspring mattresses have 1,000 springs or more. Smaller mattresses like twin or twin XL beds may have slightly less because they aren't as large and require fewer springs in their constructions.
Is an innerspring or coil mattress better?
"Innersprings" and "coils" are terms that can almost be used interchangeably, and they often offer the same benefits of support and durability. Pocketed coils are all individually cased in fabric, and move independently from one another. This makes it better at isolating motion than traditional innerspring systems which all move as one cohesive unit. Most innerspring beds these days are made with "pocketed coils" rather than regular inner springs.