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Dreaming Of Sleeping On A Cloud? These Are The Best Soft Mattresses That Still Offer Support
Nothing feels more luxurious than settling into a plush mattress for a good night's sleep. However, personal preference plays a big role when it comes to mattress shopping, which means the best soft mattresses will give you the specific style of softness you want, while also taking support and sleeping temperature into account.
When it comes to shopping for a soft mattress, consider these three options:
- Memory foam: Memory foam contours to your body, offering spinal support and alignment while minimizing impact on your joints. However, you sometimes sink too deeply in the mattress, which counteracts all that support. Memory foam can also have a peculiar odor when it's new, and it does tend to get warm, so it's not ideal for hot sleepers. However, to counteract this, I've included mattresses with layers of more supportive foam, along with some options infused with cooling and odor-fighting materials.
- Innerspring: A more traditional soft innerspring mattresses are a bit more durable and will give you the support of coils, along with that plush, cloud-like feel on the top layer. They sleep cooler, but they won't contour to your body like a memory foam one will, so you'll feel more like you're sleeping on top of the mattress, instead of being cradled, and you also won't get the same level of joint relief that memory foam offers.
- Hybrid: Offering the best of both worlds, a hybrid mattress combines innersprings with memory foam, so you'll get great support and durability, along with the contouring benefits of memory foam, but with less potential for overheating or sinking too deeply into the mattress.
If you love a plush mattress to look forward to at the end of the day, these are the best soft mattresses available on Amazon to help you sleep in cradled, supportive comfort.
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1The Best Overall — A Hybrid Mattress
With more than 22,000 reviews giving it a 4.4-star rating, this soft hybrid mattress from Linenspa is a crowd-approved pick. The extra-plush mattress features supportive 8-inch coils that are individually encased to reduce motion transfer, a layer of durable comfort foam, and a 2-inch layer of memory foam infused with cooling gel to keep you from getting hot. This mattress molds to your body to relieve pressure points and provide soft support, but the innersprings will keep you from sinking in too deeply. This top choice also features an outer foam encasement around the edge of the mattress to provide support while you’re getting out of bed.
The mattress is available in three thicknesses: 8-inch, 10-inch, and 12-inch.
According to reviewers: “Really an excellent mattress at a terrific price! It feels very soft and plush when you first lay on it, but then you realize that there is a nice firmness supporting you below the top layer. I like this as much as our much more expensive memory foam mattress that we bought in a sleep store.”
- Available sizes: twin, twin XL, full, queen, king, California king
2An Extra-Plush Memory Foam Mattress
If you want a mattress without coils, this soft memory foam mattress is just the ticket. The plush memory foam contours to your body and goes easy on your joints. And to keep you from sinking in too deeply, the mattress features several inches of higher-density foam under the more plush layers. Interestingly, this mattress is also infused with green tea, charcoal, and natural plant oil to help eliminate odors and absorb moisture, making it a good pick for more humid conditions. But remember: Memory foam can get a bit hot at night.
This also an eco-friendly pick: It's CertiPUR-US certified, which means it's free from potentially harmful materials, and the comfy quilted cover is OEKO-TEX Standard 100 certified, which means it's free from chemicals that could potentially be harmful to human health.
It’s available in 8-inch, 10-inch, and 12-inch thicknesses.
According to reviewers: “It is affordable luxury. It's literally like a mini luxury vacation every time I go to bed. No back pain, less waking up at night too.”
- Available sizes: twin, full, queen, king
3The Best Plush Innerspring Mattress
This ultra plush mattress with a classic quilted pillow top is an innerspring design that's great for anyone who prefers to feel like they're sleeping on top of the mattress, as opposed to sinking in a little. And although it's not technically a hybrid, it is an update on the traditional innerspring, featuring individually wrapped coils to reduce motion transfer, as well as thin layer of foam that creates a barrier between the pillow top and the coils. Plus, the reinforced foam border makes it easier to sit on the edge of the mattress and get out of bed. This innerspring mattress will sleep cooler than memory foam, but is only available in a 10-inch thickness.
According to reviewers: “I cannot believe how lucky I am to have found such a plush mattress! I was shopping for a queen mattress on a tight budget and came across this one. [...] The pillow top is so comfortable and plush. The mattress itself is firm and with the pillow top it makes for some of the best sleeps I've had."
- Available sizes: twin, twin XL, full, queen, king, California king
4The Best Budget Hybrid Mattress
For a more affordable but still quality hybrid, this soft mattress in a box might be the perfect fit. The mattress has a layer of high-density base foam for stability, topped by supportive wrapped coils that reduce motion transfer, followed by a layer of cooling gel memory foam and plush foam to provide support and comfort. However, it's only available in a 12-inch thickness, and it doesn't feature edge support, which can make it more difficult to sit on the side of the bed or to get out of bed. This option also comes in firm or pillow-top styles.
According to reviewers: “I enjoy a semi-soft bed, and my hips and shoulders appreciate it too since I’m a side-sleeper … I was having some pretty severe shoulder pain before using the mattress, and after a few weeks, it’s almost completely gone! The bed is softer than I expected, but to me it’s like sleeping on a cloud.”
- Available sizes: twin, full, queen, king
5A Medium-Plush Hybrid Mattress That’s Infused With Odor-Eliminating Bamboo
Offering a tad more firmness than our top hybrid pick, this medium-plush hybrid mattress is made with supportive higher-density foam, topped by cooling aloe vera foam, and a top layer of bamboo charcoal-infused memory foam to help reduce odor and absorb moisture. The mattress also provides support with a layer of individually wrapped coils, as well as a 6-inch edge support that makes it easier to get in and out of bed. It's CertiPUR-US certified, which means it’s free from many potentially harmful substances.
Choose from 10- and 12-inch thicknesses.
According to reviewers: “When they say plush, they don't mean you're sleeping on a fluffy cloud of nothing. This is a very soft to the touch mattress that if you kneel on it, you will feel your knee going into it. Now when you're laying on it, your body goes in and the memory foam basically cradles you.”
- Available sizes: twin, twin XL, full, queen, king, California king
6Also Great: A Soft Mattress Topper
My pick for best soft mattress topper will add a layer of plush comfort to any mattress for a fraction of the price. The 3-inch topper has a soft 250-thread count, 100% cotton percale cover that’s machine washable, and is filled with hypoallergenic down alternative filling. The mattress topper also features baffle-box stitching to keep the filling in place, and it has elastic straps in each corner for a secure fit on your mattress even if you toss and turn.
According to reviewers: “It gave us the soft plushness we were missing on our new firm mattress and did not bunch up or flatten down in any areas like other products I reviewed.”
- Available sizes: twin, twin XL, full, full XL, queen, king, California king
