updated May 2023

Saatva vs Stearns & Foster Comparison

Saatva vs Stearns & Foster Comparison

If you’re in the market for a luxury hybrid mattress, Saatva and Stearns & Foster are two big-name mattress companies to consider.

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Saatva launched in 2010 to sell high-quality, eco-friendly beds online. Stearns & Foster, a mainstay in the mattress world, started in 1846 as a textile company and merged with Sealy in 1993. While Stearns & Foster now sells beds online, the brand’s mattresses are also widely available in brick-and-mortar mattress stores. Because Saatva works via a direct-to-consumer model, it provides luxury products at competitive prices.

Read on to learn more about three of the most popular mattresses from each company. We’ll compare these luxury hybrid mattresses side-by-side so you can find the right mattress for you.


Saatva vs Stearns & Foster Quick Look

Saatva Stearns & Foster
Best For
  • Online shoppers
  • Eco-conscious consumers
  • All body sizes
  • Those who like to try before they buy
  • Luxury shoppers
  • People who prefer to sink into their bed
Price Range $995–$3,990 $2,299–$10,398

Key Similarities

  • Free White-Glove Delivery: Both Saatva and Stearns & Foster live up to their luxury brand identities with free white-glove delivery, including mattress setup and old mattress removal.
  • High-Quality, Luxury Mattresses: Both companies produce a wide range of luxury beds using high-quality materials.
  • Hybrid Construction: The three Saatva mattresses we compare here and every Stearns & Foster mattress available online are hybrid mattresses. This means they use coils and various comfort materials.
  • Multiple Firmness Levels Available: Both companies offer multiple firmness options for each mattress model. Stearns & Foster also offers many of its beds with or without a pillow top.

Key Differences

  • Available Online vs In-Person: Saatva only sells its beds online; whereas, Stearns & Foster beds are available online and at various brick-and-mortar retailers. By only selling online, Saatva avoids some middle-man costs and thus can offer lower prices than Stearns & Foster.
  • Sleep Trial and Warranty: Saatva knocks it out of the park with its 360-night sleep trial and lifetime warranty. Stearns & Foster, on the other hand, offers a more industry-standard 90-day sleep trial and 10-year limited warranty.
  • Pricing: While both companies produce luxury mattresses, Stearns & Foster prices its mattresses much higher than Saatva does. There’s also more variability in the prices of Stearns & Foster beds, with a pillow top sometimes adding nearly a thousand dollars to the price.

Saatva Classic Mattress vs Stearns & Foster Estate Mattress

Saatva Classic Mattress Highlights

  • Superior Spine Alignment: Earning a 9.5/10 in our Mattress Advisor lab spine alignment evaluation, the Saatva Classic helps you maintain great posture while you sleep. This is important for anyone with back pain and for older adults.
  • Cooling: Two layers of innerspring coils and a breathable mattress cover allow ample airflow, making the Saatva Classic great for hot sleepers.
  • Very Durable: The Saatva Classic’s durability is exceptional, as evidenced by its perfect score in our durability test.

Stearns & Foster Estate Mattress Highlights

  • Incredibly Breathable: Stearns & Foster designed the Estate for ultimate breathability, with ventilated coils and air vents that help move warm air out of the bed and away from your body.
  • Hugging Sensation: You will experience the luxurious feeling of sinking into the bed with the Stearns & Foster Estate’s memory foam layers. For a more cloud-like sensation, opt for the pillow top add-on.

Compare Construction: Saatva Classic vs Stearns & Foster Estate

The Saatva Classic is available in plush soft, luxury firm, and firm. Its five layers provide exceptional lumbar support and keep you sleeping cool.

The first layer is a 3” Euro pillow top with soft foam stitched in to relieve pressure on your joints. Next, a lumbar-support layer made from high-density memory foam bolstered by a support wire delivers outstanding spine alignment. Finally, zoned pocketed coils and recycled steel coils provide sturdy support, durability, and a bouncy feel.

The Stearns & Foster Estate mattress similarly employs layers of foam and coils to deliver a luxurious sleep experience. It also comes in multiple firmness levels, with a soft, firm, soft pillow top, and firm pillow top option.

Comfort layers of pressure-relieving memory foam cradle your body with a traditional memory foam hugging feel. Beneath that, the first support layer contains zoned coils, with higher-density springs along the perimeter. At the base of the mattress, a layer of ventilated coils paired with air vents helps to move warm air out of the mattress.

With a similar two-layer spring design as the Saatva Classic, the Estate is also supportive, durable, and bouncy with excellent spinal support. Expect a more classic pillow-top feel with the Saatva and a more marshmallowy memory foam sensation on the Estate.

Compare Prices: Saatva Classic vs Stearns & Foster Estate

The Saatva Classic is much more affordable than the Stearns & Foster Estate, particularly if you add a pillow top to your Estate mattress.

Saatva Classic Stearns & Foster Estate
(without or with pillow top)
Twin $995 NA
Twin XL $1,355 $2,299 or $2,499
Full $1,895 $2,349 or $2,549
Queen $1,995 $2,399 or $2,599
King $2,445 $2,999 or $3,199
Split King $2,710 $4,598 or $4,998
California King $2,445 $2,999 or $3,199
Split California King $2,710 $4,598 or $4,998

Saatva Latex vs Stearns & Foster Lux

Saatva Latex Hybrid Mattress Highlights

  • Environmentally Friendly: Eco-conscious shoppers will appreciate the organic and natural materials in the Saatva Latex Hybrid.
  • Good for People With Arthritis: If you have arthritis, you need a bed with great pressure relief, spine alignment, responsiveness, and edge support. The Saatva Latex Hybrid checks all of these boxes.
  • Universal Comfort Level: The Saatva Latex Hybrid has a medium-firm comfort level, which most sleepers prefer.
  • Great for Couples: With high scores in our edge support and motion transfer tests, this mattress works well for people who share the bed.

Stearns & Foster Lux Estate Mattress Highlights

  • Enhanced Responsiveness: Because the Lux Estate uses latex in addition to memory foam, it feels more buoyant than the Estate. This responsiveness means it adjusts more quickly as you change position and is better for adult activities like sex.
  • Great Cooling Mattress: Naturally cooling latex, a moisture-wicking mattress cover, breathable innerspring layers, and air vents make the Lux Estate fantastic for hot sleepers.
  • Multiple Comfort Levels: You can choose between a medium comfort level without the pillow top, or a soft, medium, or firm pillow top.

Compare Construction

The Saatva Latex Hybrid is an all-natural, organic mattress with a medium-firm comfort level.

This bed has a soft, hypoallergenic organic cotton cover, layered over organic New Zealand wool. The comfort layer of natural Talalay latex delivers a balance of pressure relief and buoyancy. This layer and the layer of coils beneath it are zoned to provide more support where you need it most. They also allow for more pressure relief around the shoulders and knees.

The Stearns & Foster Lux Estate mattress is a memory foam, latex, and coil hybrid mattress that comes in multiple firmness options with a pillow top, or a medium firmness without a pillow top.

The Lux Estate’s comfort layers include both sustainably sourced latex and contouring memory foam. This combination gives a responsive feel with excellent pressure relief. The support layers include zoned coils and sturdier base coils, creating an exceptionally breathable and bouncy mattress.

Both the Saatva Latex Hybrid and the Lux Estate sleep cool and offer impressive lumbar support. Expect slightly superior pressure relief with the Lux Estate due to its memory foam, and more of a floating-on-the-mattress sensation with the Latex Hybrid.

Compare Prices: Saatva Latex Hybrid vs Stearns & Foster Lux Estate

The price difference between the Saatva Latex Hybrid and Stearns & Foster Lux Estate mattresses is significant, particularly when factoring in a pillow top. It’s also worth noting that Stearns & Foster’s options for split king and split California king are priced far above their un-split counterparts.

Saatva Latex Hybrid Stearns & Foster Lux Estate
Twin $1,295 NA
Twin XL $1,495 $2,899-$3,499
Full $1,995 NA
Queen $2,195 $2,999-$3,599
King $2,595 $3,599-$4,199
Split King $2,990 $5,798-$6,998
California King $2,595 $3,599-$4,199
Split California King NA $5,798-$6,998

Saatva HD vs Stearns & Foster Reserve

Saatva HD Mattress Highlights

  • Designed for Heavier Sleepers: Saatva designed its HD mattress with plus-size sleepers in mind. For people weighing more than 230 pounds, this mattress delivers a great combination of support and comfort.
  • Zoned Support: As with the Saatva Classic, lumbar support is given significant consideration in this bed’s construction. For anyone suffering from back pain, Saatva’s zoning can help you maintain a healthy posture while sleeping.
  • Eco-Friendly Materials: Like the Saatva Latex Hybrid, this bed uses all-natural Talalay latex and organic cotton. It also contains CertiPUR-US Certified memory foam, free from toxic compounds like heavy metals.
  • Helps You Sleep Cool: People with bigger bodies often struggle with sleeping too hot, so the Saatva HD mattress employs a breathable cover, naturally cooling latex, and a breathable dual coil system to keep you sleeping cool.

Stearns & Foster Reserve Mattress Review Highlights

  • The Pinnacle of Luxury: The Reserve is Stearns & Foster’s top-tier mattress. In addition to the Reserve’s extra layers of comfort and support materials, Stearns & Foster decks out this bed with upholstery-grade velvet and hand-tufted details.
  • Cooling Mattress: Ventilated coils, air vents, and a cool-to-the-touch mattress cover help you sleep incredibly cool. If you want to switch it up by season, you can upgrade to the Stearns & Foster Reserve Duet, which features a flippable top pillow with one side designed to keep you warm and the other to keep you cool.
  • Supports Plus-Size Bodies: While not explicitly intended as a bed for heavier sleepers, the use of densely packed heavy-duty coils in the center of the mattress allows the Stearns & Foster Reserve to support all body types.

Compare Construction

The Saatva HD mattress is a hybrid of latex, memory foam, and tempered steel coils specifically designed to offer support and comfort for heavier bodies. Zoned Talalay latex along the top layer delivers contouring pressure relief without the sagging of traditional foams, with extra support along the middle third of the mattress.

A combination of memory foam and support foam makes up the next layer, offering additional support and cradling for the joints. Steel coils that are 25% stronger than those used in most mattresses provide support in the final layer, while high-density foam rails enhance edge support.

The Stearns & Foster Reserve is the company’s highest-end mattress, building upon the already luxurious Lux Estate. It features the same stretch-knit Tencel cover, with extra hand-crafted flourishes and upholstery-grade velvet.

The comfort layers include memory foam and micro coils to enhance pressure relief and responsiveness. The base layer of heavy-duty zoned coils ensures adaptive support for all body sizes and sleep positions. High-density coils line the bed’s perimeter, enhancing durability and edge support. As with the other beds, ventilated coils and air vents move warm air out of the mattress.

Compare Prices: The Saatva HD vs Stearns & Foster Reserve

The Saatva HD comes in at a price point well below the Stearns & Foster Reserve. That said, these mattresses serve different purposes, with the Saatva HD built for heavier sleepers and the Reserve specifically crafted for luxury. So while the prices do differ significantly, it’s not an apples-to-apples comparison.

As with the Lux Estate, Stearns & Foster charges substantially more for split king and split California king sizes than for the un-split versions.

Saatva HD Stearns & Foster Reserve

(with or without pillow top)

Twin $1,795 NA
Twin XL $1,995 $4,499 or $5,199
Full $2,595 NA
Queen $3,195 $4,599 or $5,299
King $3,695 $5,199 or $5,899
Split King $3,990 $8,998 or $10,398
California King $3,695 $5,199 or $5,899
Split California King NA $8,998 or $10,398

Compare Sizes

The thickness of the mattresses Saatva and Stearns & Foster offer speaks to their luxury-level quality. Most beds are about 10” thick; those reviewed here offer thicker, more generous layers, delivering ample support and durability.

Saatva Stearns & Foster
Thickness 11.5”–15.5” 14.5”–17”
Twin 38” x 75” NA
Twin XL 38” x 80” 38” x 79”
Full 54” x 75” 53” x 74”
Queen 60” x 80” 60” x 79”
King 76” x 80” 76” x 79”
California King 72” x 84” 72” x 83”

Learn more about mattress sizes.

Trial Period

Saatva mattresses come with a 365-night trial—significantly longer than Stearns & Foster’s 90-night trial. It’s also worth noting that Stearns & Foster starts your trial period on the date of sale, rather than the date of delivery. Because it takes 2 to 3 weeks before arrival, this puts a dent in your trial period.

Both companies charge a fee for returns—$99 for Saatva and $175 for Stearns & Foster.

Warranty

Saatva offers a generous limited lifetime warranty on all of its mattresses. Stearns & Foster mattresses come with the industry-standard 10-year limited warranty.

Which Brand Is the Right Choice for You?

Saatva and Stearns & Foster are luxury mattress manufacturers with options to suit all body types and sleep positions. Both companies focus on comfort, cooling, and support, so you can’t go wrong with either brand in those areas.

Saatva’s online-only model brings costs down, contributing somewhat to the price difference between the companies. That said, Stearns & Foster has been around for over 150 years and is known for high-quality, luxurious mattresses, and its prices reflect that. While neither brand is necessarily for budget shoppers, Saatva is our recommendation for more price-conscious luxury shoppers.

Based on our personal testing of Saatva’s beds and customer reviews of Stearns & Foster’s collection, the mattresses differ slightly in overall feel. If you prefer feeling like you melt into your bed, Stearns & Foster might be best for you. On the other hand, if you enjoy some contouring while still feeling like you’re sleeping on the bed instead of in it, Saatva is the way to go.

Regarding sleep trial and warranty, Saatva is the more generous of the two companies. Both charge a return fee, but Saatva provides a full year to try out your new bed, as opposed to 90 days with Stearns & Foster. So if this is an area of concern for you, you can rest easier with Saatva’s 365-night trial.

 

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