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The innerspring mattress has been around since the 1930s. Despite newer mattress types like memory foam and latex beds entering the scene, traditional innerspring beds still make up two-thirds of overall mattress sales today.

Innerspring mattresses have earned their staying power due to their affordability and their ability to support a variety of sleepers, including stomach sleepers, individuals with back pain, and overweight individuals. However, newer mattress types have addressed some of the main complaints surrounding innerspring beds, such as their tendency to sag, short lifespan, noisiness, and lack of motion isolation.

Learn more about the different types of innerspring beds available, the pros and cons, and what you need to know as a consumer to buy the best bed for your needs.

What are the best innerspring mattresses?

Innerspring mattresses are the most numerous and traditionally the most popular, and as a result, there are dozens of brands and hundreds of models and styles. For customers who know they like the feel of an innerspring mattress, it can be hard to know where to start in terms of finding a new bed. To streamline this process, we’ve narrowed the list down to our top 5 best innerspring mattresses. You’ll find an overview of these choices — in no specific order — in the table below.

Saatva

As a manufacturer of several high-quality types of mattresses, Saatva is a well-known name in the industry, and the flagship Saatva mattress stands out as a clear choice for our list of the best innerspring mattresses.

The Saatva is offered in two different heights (11.5” and 14.5”) and in three different firmness options (Plush Soft, Luxury Firm, and Firm). In the taller model, the innerspring support core is 7” thick; in the smaller model, it is 4” thick. Above this is another layer of coils, but these are pocketed micro-coils in a 4” thick layer. A foam layer surrounds these coils to provide additional edge support. Layered above the micro-coils is a combination of memory foam (in a lumbar pad), polyfoam, and foam quilted into a euro-top part of the mattress cover. The exact composition and thickness of these layers depends on the firmness choice.

By combining two layers of different types of coils, the Saatva provides both stability and responsiveness while maintaining a high level of bounce. The additional materials in the comfort layer can supplement this responsiveness and can boost comfort at the same time.

Saatva offers free delivery that includes setup of your new mattress and haul-away of your old one. Though it has advanced design for an innerspring, the Saatva is still available for less than $1,000, making it a great value and a no-brainer for our list of the top 5 best innerspring mattresses.

Saatva

Aviya

The Aviya mattress is an example of a simple and well-executed design of an innerspring mattress. Even though it has only been on the market for a few years, it has garnered strong reviews and provides a compelling option for people who are seeking a new innerspring mattress.

Unlike some innersprings that have a relatively thin layer of coils, the Aviya employs an 8” thick layer of pocketed coils. The use of pocketed coils gives the mattress more ability to offer proportional support to different parts of the body. The coils are surrounded by a foam edge support system that bolsters the full mattress surface and makes it easier to sleep or sit on the edge of the bed. Above the coils are two 1” layers of polyfoam with a density of 1.8 PCF and a quilted cover that includes 1” of foam. The mattress also includes 1” of polyfoam underneath the coils for added stability.

The pocketed coils offers responsiveness and bounce while the polyfoam and cover add some softness and comfort. The mattress is available in three different firmness options — Plush, Luxury Firm, and Firm — allowing customers to pick the comfort feel that best suits their preference. The combined package of all these elements make the Aviya a clear selection for our best bets when it comes to innerspring mattresses.

Aviya

Brentwood Home Oceano Mattress

The Oceano mattress from Brentwood Home is a combination of numerous elements that serve to create a contouring, resilient, and comfortable sleeping surface.

The Oceano features a comfort layer made with 2” of high-density (4 PCF) gel-infused memory foam. This gives the mattress responsiveness and hug that is enhanced by a layer of microcoils that is 2.5” thick and directly beneath the memory foam. The microcoils are individually-wrapped to offer more proportional support. Under the micro-coils is 2” of transition foam with a density of 1.8 PCF. The bottom layer is 8” of individually-wrapped innerspring coils that provide even more responsiveness and bounce.

Few innerspring mattresses are able to blend these materials as effectively as the Oceano. Memory foam can provide a great deal of pressure point relief, but the coil-on-coil design can ensure that there is not too much sink or any feeling of being stuck in the mattress. This firm base of support allows the mattress to be softer — a 4 on the typical firmness scale — without sacrificing support.

Brentwood Home has been in the mattress industry for over 30 years and has extensive experience in mattress materials and design. The mattress comes with a 120 night sleep trial and a 25-year warranty, providing even more assurance that you can rest easy in choosing this high-end innerspring mattress.

Brentwood

WinkBed

The WinkBed mattress puts a new spin on the traditional innerspring mattress by adding coil-on-coil design, specialty polyfoams, and pocketed coils to boost its ability to contour to the body without losing springiness or comfort.

The WinkBed mattress has two foam layers in its comfort layer. The top is 1.5” of a latex-like polyfoam with a density of 1.8 PCF. The second layer is 1.5” of a gel-infused polyfoam, also with a density of 1.8 PCF. These layers are meant to be something in between memory foam and latex in that they are responsive but with resilience and without too much sink. The third layer is 2.5” of foam-encased microcoils that add to the bounce as well as to the responsiveness of the mattress. The bottom layer is 7.5” of pocketed coils that have a foam encasement around the exterior to boost the edge support of the mattress.

WinkBeds offers this mattress in three comfort choices — Soft (4.5 on the typical firmness scale), Luxury Firm (6.5),and Firm (7.5). They also offer the WinkBed Plus, which is designed for people who weigh over 300 pounds. Its design uses a layer of latex instead of the micro-coils in order to offer additional support to people who are heavier. The comfort feel for the Plus mattress for people who weigh over 300 pounds is Medium Firm (6.5).

By utilizing a number of new and innovative materials, the WinkBed provides a refreshing twist on the innerspring mattress and without a price tag that will break the bank. As a result, it easily cleared the bar to make our list of the best innerspring mattresses.

WinkBeds

Keetsa Plus Mattress

Keetsa manufactures a line of mattresses that are built to be more eco-friendly and use materials that have fewer environmental impacts. This innerspring model, for example, features a BioFoam that utilizes 12% fewer petrochemicals in its production than traditional memory foams.

The design of the Keetsa Plus mattress is straightforward. The cover is made of unbleached cotton with fiber fill. The top layer is 1” of the BioFoam memory foam. It utilizes the lowest amount of petrochemicals possible while maintaining the durability and integrity of the foam. Beneath this is another 1” layer of memory foam. The support core is made up of 7.5” of pocketed innerspring coils.

The pocketed coils allow each coil to move more independently, giving the mattress a higher level of responsiveness. That responsiveness is enhanced by the two memory foam layers as memory foam can contour to the body and help promote spinal alignment. The mattress is only available in one firmness option, which is around an 8 on the typical firmness scale.

The price for the Keetsa Plus is $730 for a Queen, which makes it an affordable mattress even for people who are on a budget. Though it may not have as many bells and whistles as some other options, its accessible price point still makes it appealing for many customers. Keetsa has been in business since 2005 and has a strong reputation for taking care of their customers.

Keetsa

Innerspring mattress construction

Types of innerspring mattresses

The “innerspring” in innerspring mattress refers to the coil support core inside the bed. These coils give the bed its characteristic bounciness and provide support and pressure relief for the sleeper. An innerspring bed will use one of the four coil types listed below:

  • Bonnell coils are the oldest and most widely available option, as well as the cheapest. Bonnell coils have an hourglass shape and are reinforced with spiral-shaped wires (called helicals) and thick, low-gauge wire to handle high levels of compression.1
  • Offset coils are also reinforced with helicals and have a hourglass shape, but are designed to create a hinging effect when the mattress is compressed. Double offset coils offer more hinging and support due to being straight at the top and the bottom, while free arm offset coils are not joined to other coils. Offset coils are very durable and tend to be more expensive.2
  • Continuous wire coils are long wires in circular shapes that are reinforced by helicals on both sides to create a hinging effect similar to offset coils. These coils are very resilient but offer the lowest contour of all the coil options, so they provide minimal spinal support.3
  • Pocket coils, also known as Marshall coils or encased coils, are wrapped in cloth pockets to provide the best contour of all the coil types. They also minimize motion transfer, but due to being made of thin, non-tempered steel, they have a shorter lifespan despite being the most expensive type of coil.4

Above the coil support core, an innerspring bed will have comfort layers made of polyfoam, memory foam, or fabric.

Besides the type of coil used, you can further assess the quality of an innerspring mattress by looking at the gauge, pitch, and coil count.

  • Gauge refers to the thickness of the innerspring coils and wire in the support core. Gauge ranges from 18 on the thin end to 12 on the thick end. The thicker the gauge, the firmer the mattress.
  • Pitch describes the angle of the coils and wires in relation to the mattress surface.
  • Coil count ranges from 300 to 2,000. Up to 1,000, the coil count correlates with a better contour ability, longer lifespan, and higher cost, but past 1,000, it mostly just correlates with cost without much added benefit.

What does an innerspring mattress feel like to sleep on?

Innerspring mattresses provide less contour and pressure relief than latex and foam beds. They tend to be on the firmer side as well, and very firm options are often preferred by overweight individuals.

The coil support core gives innerspring beds their bounciness ideal for sex, although that same bounciness comes with noisiness and poor motion transfer which can rouse quiet sleepers during the night.

Innerspring mattresses are preferred by hot sleepers because they retain less body heat than memory foam and latex beds.

Pros and cons

Review the following list of pros and cons to determine whether an innerspring mattress will suit your personal sleep needs:

PROS :
Widely available in stores and online
Innerspring models are widely available in stores and online, which means you have your choice of models to choose from and how you’d like to order them. You can also test the feel out in store before purchasing.

Most affordable mattress option
The average innerspring bed is much more affordable than latex or memory foam beds, although pricier high-end models are available.

Cool sleeping surface
Innerspring mattresses sleep cooler than any other bed, due to their low foam content, making them a good option for hot sleepers.

Bounciness suitable for sex
The majority of people agree that innerspring mattresses are the best bed for sex, thanks to their naturally bouncy support core.

CONS :

Premature sagging and shorter lifespan
Innerspring mattresses are prone to sagging, especially around the edges where the coils can be easily indented. This gives them the shortest lifespan among all mattress types, on average.

Poor contour ability and pressure point relief
Innerspring beds do not contour to the body and thus do not offer sufficient pressure point relief for many sleepers, causing many individuals to feel an innerspring bed is too firm.

Poor motion isolation
While the coil support core offers support, it makes for a bed that doesn’t absorb motion well. As a result, innerspring beds are a poor fit for light sleepers, especially those who share the bed with a partner or pet.

Noisy sleep and sex surface
The innerspring bed’s bounciness provides a give that’s conducive to sex, but it may make the experience awkwardly noisy. Also, whenever their sleeping partner moves or gets out of bed, the other person is likely to hear it.

How much does an innerspring mattress cost?

Innerspring mattresses are usually the cheapest option on the market, with prices as low as $200. A quality queen innerspring mattress will cost about $600, which is $300 to $1,400 cheaper than other mattress types.

Mattress pricing will depend on the materials used in the comfort layer and the type of coil in the support core: bonnell and continuous wire coils are the cheapest, offset coils are somewhere in the middle, and pocket coils are the most expensive.

How long does an innerspring mattress last?

Generally, the average innerspring mattress lasts about 5.5 years, which is 2 to 3 years shorter than other mattress types.

As mentioned above, the coil gauge will impact the longevity of an innerspring bed. Low-gauge wire and tempered steel coils last longer than high-gauge wire and coils made of non-tempered steel. Pocketed coil support cores provide the best contour, but don’t last as long as bonnell and offset coils.

Purchasers of innerspring beds should take special care to note the terms of the warranty, especially in regards to sagging. Many manufacturers will replace the mattress for free if the sagging reaches a certain depth. Despite their short lifespans, warranties for innerspring mattresses may last up to 20 years, although at a certain point owners will have to start paying for certain transportation or replacement fees.

What type of sleeper is best suited to an innerspring mattress?

While innerspring mattresses are not known for excellent pressure relief, they are preferred by some sleepers. Medium-firm innerspring beds can alleviate moderate back pain, and they also provide adequate spinal support for stomach sleepers and individuals who weigh over 230 pounds.

Their bounciness makes them great for sex, but the accompanying poor motion transfer and noisiness makes them a bad option for couples where one or both individuals is a light sleeper.

Innerspring mattress FAQ checklist

As you begin shopping for an innerspring mattress, keep the following checklist of questions handy to make sure you find a quality mattress that supports your sleep needs:

  • What type of coils are used in the support core?
  • What is the gauge and coil count?
  • What materials are used in the comfort layer?
  • How noisy is this bed to sleep or have sex on?
  • Will this mattress provide me with adequate support, given my body weight and preferred sleeping position?
  • How long should I expect this mattress to last?
  • Is there a trial period and what is the return policy?
  • Is sagging covered under the warranty and for how long?

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