What Type of Mattress Is Right for You? (2026)

If you're looking to buy a mattress, I don't need to tell you the research process is complex. To assist with that, we have a whole guide that lays out (pun partially intended) where to begin. But for now, I’m going to walk through the various types of mattress materials. My hope is that by the time you finish reading this, you’ll have a better idea of what kind of mattress you’re looking for, which will make your final decision that much easier.

Updated April 2026: We've added a new section explaining the merits of getting a traditional mattress versus one that comes in a box. We've also ensured prices are up to date throughout.

Our Favorite Mattresses We've Tested

I'm a certified Sleep Science coach and mattress tester with over five years of experience. I can dissect a mattress design faster than you can pour your morning cup of coffee, I've perfected my unboxing form (because mattresses are heavy and spring-loaded), and I can recite the manufacturing process of major mattress materials at any given moment. It's a fun party trick, but it makes me what I like to think of as the final boss of mattress testing. My Reviews teammates also know their stuff (we sleep on mattresses we test for a week or more, then report back on our findings), which helped us compile this list of the best mattresses of 2026.

Despite the popularity of mattresses in a box, they're so much more than a rectangular piece of foam you sleep on. There are five main types of mattresses: innerspring, hybrid, memory foam, latex, and smart beds (otherwise known as adjustable mattresses). To help me explain these materials even more, I asked John Merwin, CEO of 3Z Brands (parent company of Helix, Birch, Bear, Nolah, and Leesa) and founder of Brooklyn Bedding, to weigh in as well.

Hybrid

Traditional coil mattresses have evolved into hybrids, which is what you will likely encounter on today’s mattress market (aside from latex and foam options). Hybrid mattresses are highly customizable, allowing you to pick and choose what you want in your bed, whether that’s a combination of foam and coils, latex and coils, or even a mix of the three. Many mattress reviews will use the phrase “best of both worlds” to describe hybrids, as this mattress lets you sample the design aspects of the materials involved. You can get the pressure relief you need from memory foam or latex on top, but ample support from the coil core (not to mention the aforementioned responsiveness from coil inclusion).

Speaking of coils and harking back to traditional mattress design, the type of coil used in hybrid mattresses matters too, as it improves upon the design of the Bonnell coil. The keywords to look for are “pocketed coils” or “individually wrapped coils,” which make up the main support mechanism of a mattress. Instead of being interconnected, each coil stays in its own lane (pocket, really) and will compress uninhibited by the other coils around it. In other words, where there is more weight, the bed will feel firmer.

This is especially applicable for areas where body weight is centralized when you’re lying down, particularly around the hips and shoulders. Pocketed coils are also meant to outperform traditional ones in the motion isolation arena, meaning that when you move around, the individual coil takes the heat motion-wise and stops the bed from reenacting a small earthquake. With the interconnectivity of traditional coils, it doesn’t take much for the feeling of movement to travel along the entire surface of the bed.

Fun fact: You do not need a box spring with a hybrid mattress. This is a recurring question I see, and pocketed coils in hybrids eliminate the need for one. Box springs were designed to give more support and elevate performance to traditional coil beds, which would align certain sections of coils to yield more support. Nowadays, you may actually void your warranty if you use a box spring with a hybrid mattress—be sure to check that fine print.

Our favorite hybrid we've tested is the Helix Midnight Luxe, which happens to be our top overall pick in our best mattresses guide. It also utilizes pressure-relieving foams and pocketed coils to provide targeted lumbar support.

Another awesome hybrid mattress, the Nolah Evolution, seamlessly puts together some superb memory foam and pocketed coils, both of which counteract tension buildup for pressure points. I love it as an option for side sleepers for this reason, but it also works for back and stomach sleepers. The coils also make it easy to move around on, which is helpful for co-sleepers.

Innerspring

This is as much a history lesson as a type of mattress you want to shop for. “Traditional” innerspring mattresses are the firm-feeling beds you probably have early memories of, given that the makeup is just innerspring coils wrapped in a cover. It’s just as squeaky as you probably remember, too, as the coil type used involves connecting every coil so they work as one unit.

These are Bonnell coils, and they connect both laterally and vertically. When you lie down, and your weight is pressed into the mattress, all those coils act as “one for all and all for one” and simultaneously compress. It’s not going to work wonders for pressure relief like modern hybrids will, but it is highly responsive, which means it’ll pop back into its original shape as you move around. So if you’re a sleeper who moves around between sleeping positions, coils are a good feature to have, so you’re getting near-instantaneous support.

Why aren't traditional coils in the works with mattresses nowadays? According to Merwin, upgraded pocketed coils far outperform traditional ones. “Unlike traditional coils that are wired together and move as a unit, pocketed coils are encased individually, which allows each coil to respond independently to movement and pressure," he said. "This design minimizes motion transfer, so when one person moves or gets out of bed, their partner feels far less disruption. It also provides more targeted support, contouring to the body in a way that improves spinal alignment and overall comfort.” While you can still find innerspring mattresses with traditional coils out there, they're typically getting phased out in favor of hybrids. I've only tested a handful of these over the years.

The Saatva Classic is one of the rare modern beds that rely on traditional coils in the secondary coil layer on the very bottom of the bed. This is to help with overall durability and support, which WIRED tester Nena Farrell has mentioned could be beneficial for those with back pain.

Memory Foam

We actually have NASA to thank for this one. If you Google search images of those early space missions, it’s no wonder that something was needed to keep astronauts from being jostled around inside rockets; hence, memory foam was born. It’s evolved quite a bit from those initial iterations, especially when Tempur-Pedic came onto the scene in the ’80s with a vision for it to become the basis of sleep products. Today, memory foam stands in a league of its own when it comes to the unique, compressive feel.

Memory foam is an umbrella term for all the iterations mattress brands have come up with today, but let's refer to the mattress manufacturing expert for this one.

"Memory foam is produced by combining liquid polyurethane with various chemicals, like polyols and isocyanates, to enhance its viscosity and density," says Merwin. Without whipping out the periodic table of elements and giving you a science lesson in the chemical components of this material, here’s the need-to-know: These compounds form a malleable foam that holds teeny-tiny bubbles within it. How it works is, as you lie on it, your body imparts heat onto the surface, flowing into these air pockets, which in turn allows it to become softer to contour around your body.

“The key ingredient is a polymer that creates an open-cell structure, which allows the material to respond to heat and pressure."