Best Mattresses Under $500

Buying a mattress is a big purchase, but it’s an essential one. No one wants to break their back by sleeping on the floor, but you also may not want to break the bank on an expensive mattress.

In this guide, we’ll share reviews on our top-rated mattresses under $500 and teach you how to ensure a cheap mattress is still a good quality bed. 

Best Mattresses Under $500

It’s challenging to find an online queen mattress that doesn’t cost at least $1,000. That’s why we’ve done the hard work for you. Check out our top picks below.

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*Standard price is for a queen mattress and does not include discounts or Mattress Advisor exclusive deals.

If you have a little more money to invest in a quality mattress, check out our best budget mattress guide (all priced around $700) or our best mattresses under $1000 guide.

Zinus Green Tea

Zinus Green Tea Highlights

Standard Price: $156

The Zinus Green Tea mattress in a memory foam bed that’s infused with green tea extract for a relaxing night’s sleep. It’s one of the most affordable memory foam mattresses you can find on the market, and it still scored decently in our testing receiving a 7.8/10. 

You can choose your preferred thickness level (6”, 8”, 10”, or 12”) to get a more customized level of plush comfort. Plus, the Zinus Green Tea is built to offer contouring comfort on the top layer that cradles your body, and pressure relief and support from the base layers. It’s hard to find a mattress this affordable that doesn’t compromise on comfort and quality.

Read our full Zinus Green Tea mattress review.

Zinus Cooling Gel

Zinus Cooling Gel Highlights

Standard Price: $246

The Zinus Cooling Gel is another great budget option by Zinus that offers the same level of customization (4 thickness levels), comfort, and support! This model is specifically designed to help keep you extra cool while you sleep, so it’s great mattress for hot sleepers. Even the fabric is heat-resistant for temperature regulation!

Read our full Zinus Cooling Gel mattress review.

Tuft & Needle

Tuft & Needle Highlights

Standard Price: $895

The Tuft & Needle mattress is a medium-firm memory mattress constructed with a core support layer of foundation foam and an Adaptive memory foam comfort layer on top. In our testing, it scored particularly well on spinal alignment (8.5/10) and pressure relief (8.5/10), making it great for  sleepers with pain and side sleepers who need targeted pressure relief for a good night’s sleep.

Tuft & Needle is more than $500, but they make up for it with a 100-night sleep trial and 10-year warranty.

Read our full Tuft & Needle mattress review.

Amazon Rivet

Amazon Rivet Highlights

Standard Price: $475

If you’re looking for a cheaper mattress, you’ve probably thought to browse on Amazon and you may have come across the Rivet mattress. This budget mattress from Amazon is a latex and memory foam blended mattress that offers a cool and comfortable night’s sleep. 

The top layer of LURAcor alt latex foam is extremely responsive to your body’s movements throughout the night, and it’s supported by a middle layer of memory foam for pressure relief and a base layer of foam for support and durability. 

Read our full Amazon Rivet mattress review.

Linenspa Hybrid 8″

Linenspa Hybrid 8″ Highlights

Standard Price: $190

The Linenspa Hybrid 8” mattress a medium-firm hybrid mattress that you can find through Amazon and Walmart. It’s great for pressure relief and motion isolation – a great combo in a mattress for couples. This mattress also makes a good mattress choice for kids if you’re shopping for your child. If you want to compare it to similar mattresses, head over to our best hybrid mattress page.

Read our full Linenspa Hybrid mattress review.

How to Find a Quality Mattress Under $500

Most queen-size mattresses cost nearly $1,000 nowadays, so how can you actually find a mattress under $500 that’s more than just a mattress pad or an air mattress?

It’s not easy. That’s why we’ve done the hard work for you. We’ll let you in on our insider tips for finding a great mattress at an even better price.

Related: Best Mattress for the Money

1. Consider the materials you’re shopping for

First things first, you have to be realistic about what kind of mattress you’re going to get for $500 or less. 

With a tight budget, you won’t be getting the most luxurious mattress on the market with all the bells and whistles that makes all your friends jealous. But you don’t have to settle for something that breaks your back and falls apart in a few months, either. 

Most memory foam mattresses are reasonably priced around $300-$1,000 for a queen. So a $500 mattress is closer to the average price than you’d think when it comes to this type of mattress. 

Hybrids, innersprings, latex, and organic mattresses are all more expensive. That doesn’t mean you won’t find one of these types of mattresses within your budget, but it will be more difficult and your options will be more limited.

2. Shop at the right time

During certain periods of the year, mattress companies run big sales and promotional offers. You can find the best sales around: 

• Black Friday
• Cyber Monday 
• Presidents’ Day
• Memorial Day
• Labor Day 

Make sure to check our mattress deals page where we are constantly updating the best sales, coupons, and promotional offers on mattresses.

3. Think about downsizing

If possible, you should consider buying a smaller size mattress. Why? Because smaller mattresses are cheaper mattresses. 

If you sleep alone, you can easily get away with sleeping on a full-size mattress (and you may even be comfortable on a twin or twin XL). If you have a sleeping partner, you probably won’t want to go smaller than a queen (unless you really like to cuddle).

Summary

We hope we’ve helped you find a great mattress within your budget! If you’re realizing you can expand your budget a little bit, be sure to check out our other budget guides including: 

• The best cheap mattresses for your budget (all priced around $700)
• The best mattresses under $1,000