Bear vs Tuft & Needle Mattress Comparison

Bear and Tuft & Needle are both bed-in–a-box mattress companies with popular memory foam mattresses. Bear designs their beds with athletes and those with active lifestyles in mind. Tuft & Needle prioritizes affordability without compromising customer satisfaction. In fact, 95% of their customers keep their Tuft & Needle mattress. 

In this review, we’ll explore even more differences between these all-foam mattresses in this side-by-side comparison.

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Bear vs Tuft & Needle Rundown

Key Similarities:

• Both the Bear and Tuft & Needle mattresses are made up of all-foam layers, including memory foam comfort layers. Because of their similar construction, they share a medium-firm feel or 6.5/10 on the firmness scale. 
• Each of these mattresses incorporates graphite into their comfort layers. Graphite is high in thermal conductivity, making it excellent at temperature regulation. In other words, you’ll stay cool in both of these beds.
• The Bear and Tuft & Needle mattresses received the same high score for spinal alignment in our lab evaluation. They both keep your back straight from neck to tailbone.

Key Differences:

• These beds incorporate unique technologies. The Bear mattress utilizes Celliant yarn in its fabric, which boosts circulation by relaxing your blood vessels. The Tuft & Needle features a special Adaptive Foam that is infused with ceramic beads that create a cool-to-the-touch feel.
• The Tuft & Needle mattress outperformed the Bear in our pressure relief assessment. It does a better job of cushioning curves in your body, especially for side sleepers.
• Traditional memory foam mattresses tend to run hot. In our cooling evaluation, the Bear mattress performed significantly better than the Tuft & Needle with a near-perfect score.
• While neither of these models is particularly expensive, the Tuft & Needle mattress is less expensive. It’s actually one of the most budget-friendly that we’ve reviewed on Mattress Advisor.
• Tuft & Needle offers a 10-year limited warranty and 100-night sleep trial, Bear provides customers with a lifetime limited warranty and 120-night sleep trial.

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Compare Mattress Dimensions

The Bear and Tuft & Needle mattresses have the exact same dimensions for all of their sizes. See for yourself in this dimension comparison chart.

	Bear	Tuft & Needle
Thickness	10”	10”
Twin	39″ x 75″	39” x 75”
Twin XL	39″ x 80″	39” x 80”
Full	54″ x 75″	54” x 75”
Queen	60″ x 80″	60” x 80”
King	76″ x 80″	76” x 80”
Cal King	72″ x 84″	72” x 84”
Split King	76″ x 80″	N/A

Learn more about mattress sizes.

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Side-by-Side Prices

Take a look at the price differences between the different models and sizes. 

	Bear	Tuft & Needle
Twin	$748	$745
Twin XL	$811	$795
Full	$873	$895
Queen	$998	$995
King	$1,248	$1,395
Cal King	$1,248	$1,395
Split King	$1,622	N/A

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Compare What’s Inside

Read on to learn more about the Bear and Tuft & Needle mattresses’ layers.

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Compare Testing Scores

Check out how the Bear and Tuft & Needle mattresses compare across 14 key mattress features. 

	Bear	Tuft & Needle
Shipping	10	10
Trial Period	9	9
Return Policy	10	10
Warranty	9	9
Set-Up Test	7	7
Motion Transfer Test	7.75	7.5
Edge Support Test	8.5	8.5
Pressure Relief Test	7	8.5
Spinal Alignment Test	8.5	8.5
Responsiveness Test	9	8
Cooling Evaluation	9	7
Durability Evaluation	8	8
Customer Service Score	9	10
Social Impact Score	6	8
TOTAL SCORE	8.6/10	8.7/10

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Summary: Which Is the Best Mattress?

If you are still unsure whether the Bear or Tuft & Needle mattress is right for you, consider your sleeping position, budget, sleep environment, and preferred buying experience.

• Sleeping Position: The Tuft & Needle mattress provides better pressure relief for side sleepers.
• Budget: Tuft & Needle’s bed is more budget-friendly.
• Sleep Environment: The Bear mattress will keep you cooler, and both mattresses do an average job at motion isolation.
• Buying Experience: Bear and Tuft & Needle share free shipping and returns but have slightly different durations for warranties and sleep trials.

Sleeping Position

Your sleeping position plays a big role in what kind of mattress provides you the most comfort. The Bear and Tuft & Needle mattresses are both medium-firm, or 6.5/10 on the firmness scale. This is considered a universal firmness level because it’s soft enough for side sleepers and supportive enough for back and stomach sleepers.

Side sleepers should keep in mind that the Tuft & Needle mattress provided better pressure relief in our lab evaluation. That means it did a better job of cushioning our tester’s shoulders and hips. Stomach and back sleepers will appreciate that both mattresses scored high for spinal alignment since posture plays a big role in preventing back pain for these positions.

Combination sleepers switch from one position to another during the night. These kinds of sleepers need a mattress that can keep up. Both the Bear and Tuft & Needle beds scored well for responsiveness, meaning they quickly adjusted to changes in position. The Bear scored marginally higher than the Tuft & Needle in this category, so it’s the slightly better pick for combo sleepers.

Budget

Neither of these mattress models have super high price points, but the Tuft & Needle beds are really budget-friendly. You’ll save $150-$200 when you buy a Tuft & Needle mattress instead of the Bear. Plus, both companies offer financing, so you can make monthly payments regardless of which mattress you choose.

Sleep Environment

A question most consumers ask when buying a memory foam mattress is whether or not it traps heat. The Bear mattress does an exceptionally good job of keeping you cool. It scored 9/10 on our cooling evaluation, due to the temperature-regulating Celliant fiber and graphite included in the top layers. The Tuft & Needle mattress earned an average score for cooling, so hot sleepers will rest more comfortably on the Bear.

Another common question from mattress shoppers is how much motion transfer they’ll experience from their partner’s side of the bed. Both mattresses earned average scores for motion transfer, and the Bear outperformed the T&N by a small fraction. They’ll do a decent job isolation motion from one side of the bed to another, but that’s not their strongest characteristic. 

Buying Experience

Finally, consider what kind of buying experience you’d like with your mattress purchase. Tuft & Needle also covers these mattresses with a 10-year limited warranty. It’s worth noting that Tuft & Needle offers to repair or replace your mattress when it has a 0.75” body impression, while Bear only covers impressions greater than 1”. However those hoping to keep their mattress for a little longer may want to invest in a Bear mattress, which is good for a lifetime. Both mattresses give a full refund, minus the original shipping costs to Alaska and Hawaii.

When you return your mattress under trial or warranty, Bear and Tuft & Needle will arrange for the used mattress to be picked up and donated to a local charity or recycling center. You only get one return per household per year and make sure you hold onto your original receipt of purchase from either company.

Tuft & Needle customers should be aware that Tuft & Needle mattresses are also sold through Amazon and Lowe’s. The trial period, warranty coverage, and return policy summarized in this review are for mattresses bought directly from Tuft & Needle’s website. Mattresses from Amazon or Lowe’s may have different sleep trials, warranties, and return or shipping policies.

With either the Bear and Tuft & Needle mattresses, you’ll experience high-quality materials and a restful night’s sleep – all for a bargain price.

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