11 of the best affordable mattresses with a five-star feel in 2023

Memory foam is a layer of foam that moulds with your body shape, helping to distribute your body weight, while responding to your body temperature. “The benefits of memory foam are that it is very durable so easy to care for as it won’t need turning as often, and it also offers great pressure relief,” says Hannah.

Nectar Memory Foam Mattress

£949 £379.60 at Nectar

Most spring-based beds today are supported by pocket springs - small wire springs, surrounded by fabric, which help to support and create the bounce in a mattress. And you’ve guessed it - a Hybrid mattress is when these two forms of support are mashed together to allow for the benefits of both.

Sleepeezee Classic Ortho 800 Pocket Mattress

£219.95 at Mattress Online

OTTY Aura Hybrid Mattress

£499.99 £299.99 at OTTY

Aside from providing buyers with a better mattress deal, value-wise, than their premium counterparts, an inexpensive mattress can often do away with some of the more superfluous mattress features. For instance, while a gel-infused mattress may boast some serious sleep appeal, you might find that similar and more affordable materials and technologies can offer the same spinal support and breathability. Take the Simbatex foam alternative within Simba's bed-in-a-box foam rolled mattress; it “provides 30x more airflow than standard memory foam,” according to the brand, not to mention supporting the shoulders specifically with its zoned foam layer, much like a gel-infused mattress.

The Simbatex® Essential Foam Mattress

£399 at Simba

£239.40 at Mattress Online

We believe that this, alongside other high-end mattress technologies, like wool-fill and ‘no-flip’ models, do not define the perfect double, king or single mattress. Of course, there are benefits to be had of an extra 3-7 layers of foam, pocketed coils and/or tufting but, in 2023, the cheap mattress market has a lot to be said for it.

By using buyer feedback from customers who've tried and tested the products, data on what you've been searching for via. Google, as well as checking thoroughly to see which products feature durable/less durable materials. From this, we then pulled together what we feel is a round up of the very best inexpensive mattresses for nightly use. We've rifled through the good and bad comments (and there were some awful ones), so you don't have to, not to mention we - as a team of fashion, interiors and beauty experts - happen to know a thing or two about which brands in the sleep industry have earned their respective places as the ‘best’. Plus, with a team of 30+ here at team GLAMOUR, of course some of us have trialled a cheaper mattress in our time, be it as a student or first-time home owner. Naturally, we have some of our own dos and don't knowhow. Our aim is to find you mattresses which will last and, should anything about one of them signal that that's not the case, you'll be the first to know - happy sleeping!

1/5 - Not one you're likely to see here, as we aim to provide you with products that you want to buy, not 1/5s. That said, a 1/5 star rating would mean the mattress fails on all fronts.
2/5 - Again, not likely to be included in our round ups, a 2/5 would mean the product is disappointing in most areas, perhaps excelling in one field e.g. an especially affordable price point, like IKEA.
3/5 - A 3/5 would mean the product is passable, better if you're on a more modest budget, but leaves room for improvement. For instance, this could be a mattress that is might be acceptable for occasional guests, but doesn't offer any finer features such as innerspring coils or reflex foam.
4/5 - A 4/5 would mean the mattress is near perfect, with faults only small and easy to overlook. For instance, it that ticks all the boxes, but isn't available in a small double or small single.
5/5 - A 5/5 rating means the product, website and mattress company are all perfect. We will never give a product a five-star rating if it has a single fault that we know of, so look out for these, they're rare!

After more sleep content? Shop weighted blankets and mattress toppers, the best duvets, best pillows, anti-allergy pillows and cooling pillows. We've also got silk bedding, mattress protectors, summer duvets, mattresses for back pain, silk pillowcases and linen bedding to keep you cool all year-round, plus body pillows, and pregnancy pillows to invest in if you're expecting, sleep masks to keep the morning light at bay and pillow spray to help you nod off. For more from GLAMOUR UK Commerce Writer Lucy Smith, follow her on Instagram @luceeeeesmith.