We've compared the cost of a double mattress at 10 of the cheapest online bed stores in the UK, to see what you can get on a tight budget.
As a very general rule, you get what you pay for with a mattress and a lot of the beds under £100 are, quite frankly, just about good enough for the family dog, or perhaps a mother in law who might overstay her welcome on a comfortable bed.
If you can afford a cheap end pocket spring mattress, I'd certainly consider that a good investment over an open coil or basic foam mattress.
Anyway, we looked at three things at each bed retailer:
As a very general rule, you get what you pay for with a mattress and a lot of the beds under £100 are, quite frankly, just about good enough for the family dog, or perhaps a mother in law who might overstay her welcome on a comfortable bed.
If you can afford a cheap end pocket spring mattress, I'd certainly consider that a good investment over an open coil or basic foam mattress.
Anyway, we looked at three things at each bed retailer:
- the cheapest double mattress we could find, regardless of the quality (might be good enough for a guest mattress, but I wouldn't want to sleep on most of these full time)
- the cheapest pocket spring mattress with at least 1000 springs as we think that's the sign of a good quality bed
- the cheapest double bed divan and mattress, regardless of the quality
1. Amazon
Over the last few years Amazon has shifted from an online shop which sold its own stuff (including a few beds and mattresses) to a shopping centre with loads of retailers competing to sell to you. The result is that the range is huge and prices are low, although you may end up buying from a third party.
Pretty much every brand of mattresses and beds are on Amazon, with a few top end exceptions. Search for Silentnight and you'll get 100 results just in the mattress section, and it is similar with searches for other big mid-priced brands like Rest Assured and Sealy
My advice with Amazon is to check the seller's rating, although you are covered well by Amazon if something goes wrong.
A couple of options stood out for me when I was looking for cheap mattresses on Amazon:
For our price comparison we just looked at beds and mattresses sold directly by Amazon. In late 2016 we found:
Pretty much every brand of mattresses and beds are on Amazon, with a few top end exceptions. Search for Silentnight and you'll get 100 results just in the mattress section, and it is similar with searches for other big mid-priced brands like Rest Assured and Sealy
My advice with Amazon is to check the seller's rating, although you are covered well by Amazon if something goes wrong.
A couple of options stood out for me when I was looking for cheap mattresses on Amazon:
- The Happy Beds Signature 2000 receives rave reviews and at £250 for a double mattress is about half the price of beds with a similar specification.
- If you'd prefer a memory foam mattress then for £250 you can get the Nytex LIFE Memory Foam Mattress which also gets 5 star reviews.
For our price comparison we just looked at beds and mattresses sold directly by Amazon. In late 2016 we found:
2. Hyde & Sleep
Hyde&Sleep only sell three mattresses but they've won big awards, including one called 'Product of the Year 2017' and another from independent product testers.
They sell what are known as a 'bed-in-a-box' which means that they post a squashed up mattress to you, which expands at home. They offer a 100 night 'comfort exchange' so you can swap it if you don't like it. Presumably most people don't send them back, otherwise it would be a rather ineffective business...
Hyde&Sleep is owned by Dreams.
The cheapest mattresses we could find for our comparison were:
They sell what are known as a 'bed-in-a-box' which means that they post a squashed up mattress to you, which expands at home. They offer a 100 night 'comfort exchange' so you can swap it if you don't like it. Presumably most people don't send them back, otherwise it would be a rather ineffective business...
Hyde&Sleep is owned by Dreams.
The cheapest mattresses we could find for our comparison were:
- £425 for Hyde and Sleep's cheapest memory foam double mattress (20cm thick) - this one doesn't offer the 100 night exchange option
3. eBay
eBay is another online retailer which has gradually changed over the last decade. At one stage eBay was full of private sellers selling items at auction. Now, most items seem to be Buy It Now and are sold by businesses using eBay as a shop front. The private sellers are still there, it's just a much busier website than it once was.
I've always found prices on eBay to be very competitive, because you can easily narrow down your search and find the cheapest available. Make sure you check the seller's feedback and consider using Paypal or some other payment option which gives you some guarantee.
At first the choice is baffling with 800,000 beds and mattresses when I checked but you can narrow down easily with the filtering options which are better and quicker than most websites offer.
For the price comparison, we just looked at new items on eBay, although I'm sure you could pick up a 30 year old mattress which was 70% dust for 99p if you were so inclined. Anyway, we found:
I've always found prices on eBay to be very competitive, because you can easily narrow down your search and find the cheapest available. Make sure you check the seller's feedback and consider using Paypal or some other payment option which gives you some guarantee.
At first the choice is baffling with 800,000 beds and mattresses when I checked but you can narrow down easily with the filtering options which are better and quicker than most websites offer.
For the price comparison, we just looked at new items on eBay, although I'm sure you could pick up a 30 year old mattress which was 70% dust for 99p if you were so inclined. Anyway, we found:
- £50 for eBay's cheapest double mattress (an economy foam mattress, so about as basic as you can get)
- £120 for eBay's cheapest pocket sprung mattress with at least 1000 springs (a Happy Beds mattress which is a combination of springs and foam)
- £135 for eBay's cheapest divan bed and mattress set ('open sprung' mattress with memory foam)
4. John Lewis
You wouldn't associate John Lewis with cheap products generally, but there is a good range in prices in their mattress range (there's an £18,000 bed, although I suspect they don't sell many...).
Of course, John Lewis also has an outstanding customer service reputation, and you can tell guests that 'the bed came from John Lewis' without actually mentioning that it cost less than a weekly shop.
The cheapest mattresses and divan beds we could find in our price comparison were:
So, prices that are actually cheaper than Dreams for a mattress or basic. Obviously, we aren't comparing like for like, but it does show that you shouldn't ignore a retailer which you might assume would be only aiming at the luxury end of the mattress and bed market.
Of course, John Lewis also has an outstanding customer service reputation, and you can tell guests that 'the bed came from John Lewis' without actually mentioning that it cost less than a weekly shop.
The cheapest mattresses and divan beds we could find in our price comparison were:
- £70 for John Lewis' cheapest double mattress (open coil mattress, 'The Basics Collection')
- £230 for John Lewis' cheapest double mattress with at least 1000 pocket springs ('Essentials Collection')
- £250 for John Lewis' cheapest double bed divan and mattress set (The Basics Collection with an open coil mattress)
So, prices that are actually cheaper than Dreams for a mattress or basic. Obviously, we aren't comparing like for like, but it does show that you shouldn't ignore a retailer which you might assume would be only aiming at the luxury end of the mattress and bed market.
5. Mattress Online
Mattress Online wins lots of awards and is one of the biggest and well established online bed sellers. They claim they offer 'up to 70%' off but I would take that with a pinch of salt, and just look at what you are getting for your money rather than worrying about the original price.
They stock a lot of the big brands - Sealy, Silentnight, Rest Assured, Sleepeezee, Relyon, Gainsborough, Myers, Slumberland, Airsprung, Breasley and Sweet Dreams.
Pricing is competitive when I've compared like for like with high street retailers, as you might expect. At the budget end of the market, you will find Mattress Online prices are:
They stock a lot of the big brands - Sealy, Silentnight, Rest Assured, Sleepeezee, Relyon, Gainsborough, Myers, Slumberland, Airsprung, Breasley and Sweet Dreams.
Pricing is competitive when I've compared like for like with high street retailers, as you might expect. At the budget end of the market, you will find Mattress Online prices are:
- £100 for Mattress Online's cheapest double bed (an open coil, 14cm deep mattress, unbranded 'value' mattress)
- £190 for Mattress Online's cheapest double pocket sprung mattress with at least 1000 springs (a Bodyshape mattress which combines springs with foam)
- £215 for Mattress Online's cheapest double divan bed with mattress (La Romantica Serenade Ortho Divan)
6. Bedstar
We bought our last bed from Bedstar and we were pleased with the service and price (we went for a Rest Assured divan in the end with a squidgy latex layer, although I think in hindsight I should have gone for a bed that could be turned and then bought a topper).
Anyway, Bedstar is quite similar to Mattressman and Mattress Online in that they both have a big range and stock a lot of the bed mattress brands. Bedstar also frequently do discount codes and deals which are advertised on their website.
In our price comparison, we found the following prices at Bedstar:
Anyway, Bedstar is quite similar to Mattressman and Mattress Online in that they both have a big range and stock a lot of the bed mattress brands. Bedstar also frequently do discount codes and deals which are advertised on their website.
In our price comparison, we found the following prices at Bedstar:
7. Argos
Argos is certainly worth a look nowadays for cheap mattresses and beds. -Their product range has grown and grown in recent years and they now have a good range of mattresses, from the cheap and cheerful through the higher end of the market.
You will occasionally find good reductions on beds are Argos, and they also do discount codes on a semi-regular basis. When I searched a little while ago (mid 2016) they were doing 20% off all furniture, which made quite a difference to their bed prices.
For our price comparison, the cheapest beds at Argos were:
You will occasionally find good reductions on beds are Argos, and they also do discount codes on a semi-regular basis. When I searched a little while ago (mid 2016) they were doing 20% off all furniture, which made quite a difference to their bed prices.
For our price comparison, the cheapest beds at Argos were:
- £90 for Argos' cheapest double mattress (open coil mattress, made by 'Forty Winks')
- £250 for Argos' cheapest pocket spring mattress with at least 1000 springs (an Airsprung Taunton with 1200 springs)
- £170 for Argos' cheapest double divan bed with a mattress (Forty Winks divan with an open coil mattress)
8. Dreams
Dreams is one of the UK's biggest bed sellers, and they offer the significant advantage of customers being able to try out their beds instore. It can take a little while to go through the Dreams filtering process, but it is clearly labelled and laid out.
But are they a cheap bed seller? Well, one observation about Dreams is that they are frequently have massive reductions and big red stickers. If you're a newcomer to the mattress and bed buying world it's tempting to look at the 'original' price but my advice would be to look at the price of the bed, and what it is actually made of (read our beginners' guide as well if you've got five minutes).
Anyway, prices at Dreams when we looked were
But are they a cheap bed seller? Well, one observation about Dreams is that they are frequently have massive reductions and big red stickers. If you're a newcomer to the mattress and bed buying world it's tempting to look at the 'original' price but my advice would be to look at the price of the bed, and what it is actually made of (read our beginners' guide as well if you've got five minutes).
Anyway, prices at Dreams when we looked were
- £129 for Dreams' double mattress, which was made by Taylor and was an open spring mattress
- £299 for Dreams' cheapest pocket sprung double mattress with at least 1000 springs (Beaumont brand mattress)
- £329 for Dreams' cheapest double divan bed and mattress (Regatta brand mattress with 600 pocket springs)
9. Bensons for Beds
Bensons for Beds has more stores than any other bed seller in the UK, which offers the major advantage of being able to try out your mattress beforehand. That may be less of an issue if you are just looking for a cheap guest bed, but more significant if you are spending £1000 on a high quality pocket sprung mattress which you hope will last you for 10 years or more.
In our price comparison, we found prices for their cheapest mattresses and beds were:
In our price comparison, we found prices for their cheapest mattresses and beds were:
- £120 for Bensons for Beds cheapest double mattress (an open coil Fiji mattress with 320 coil springs)
- £300 for Bensons for Beds cheapest pocket sprung mattress with at least 1000 springs (pocket deluxe amethyst mattress)
- £300 for Bensons for Beds cheapest divan bed and mattress set (Capri divan bed set with open coil springs mattress)
10. Mattress Man
Mattress Man is big with a capital B, with around 8000 mattresses to choose from (a rather baffling number unless you know what you are looking for).
But does a huge stock range equate to low prices? Well, they do stock some of the more expensive names in the mattress market, such as Hypnos (£2000 for a king size), but they also have a decent range at the cheap end.
We searched in October 2016 and found the cheapest Mattress Man prices were:
But does a huge stock range equate to low prices? Well, they do stock some of the more expensive names in the mattress market, such as Hypnos (£2000 for a king size), but they also have a decent range at the cheap end.
We searched in October 2016 and found the cheapest Mattress Man prices were:
- £79 for Mattress Man's cheapest double mattress (open coil mattress, called a Snuggle Eco)
- £215 for Mattress Man's cheapest double pocket sprung mattress with at least 1000 springs (made by the British Bed Company)
- £259 for Mattress Man's cheapest double divan bed with mattress (with a Snuggle Eco open coil mattress)
Results - the UK's cheapest double mattress
Our comparison of the cheapest double mattress we could find online had prices ranging from £50 on eBay through to £129 on Dreams. The top 10 order for the cheapest mattress of any type was:
So, the cheapest mattress overall was one at eBay, but to be honest though, the comparison is fairly meaningless as we are comparing completely foam and sprung beds. A slightly closer comparison will be between the various open coil spring beds (although there is still going to be some variation between mattresses).
The cheapest open coil mattress was at Amazon, at around half the price of the most expensive sprung bed. John Lewis also came out very well, which might surprise some. The two high street retailers were the most expensive - but of course Dreams and Benson for Beds offer the definite advantage of trying before you buy.
I'd personally be reluctant to buy a very cheap mattress, but if you are just looking for a guest bed or if money's tight then it does show that you can get something at least for a very cheap price.
- £50 at eBay (foam)
- £59 at Amazon (open coil springs)
- £70 at John Lewis (open coil springs)
- £79 at Mattress Man (open coil springs)
- £90 at Argos (open coil springs)
- £99 at Bedstar (open coil springs)
- £100 at Mattress Online (open coil springs)
- £109 at Archers Sleepcentre (foam)
- £120 at Bensons for Beds (open coil springs)
- £129 at Dreams (open coil springs)
So, the cheapest mattress overall was one at eBay, but to be honest though, the comparison is fairly meaningless as we are comparing completely foam and sprung beds. A slightly closer comparison will be between the various open coil spring beds (although there is still going to be some variation between mattresses).
The cheapest open coil mattress was at Amazon, at around half the price of the most expensive sprung bed. John Lewis also came out very well, which might surprise some. The two high street retailers were the most expensive - but of course Dreams and Benson for Beds offer the definite advantage of trying before you buy.
I'd personally be reluctant to buy a very cheap mattress, but if you are just looking for a guest bed or if money's tight then it does show that you can get something at least for a very cheap price.
Results - the UK's cheapest pocket sprung double mattress
If you want a sprung mattress and can afford an upgrade, then I would definitely consider a pocket spring bed with at least 1000 springs. Once again, there was a big variation in prices between the different beds we found, with prices ranging from £120 to £300 when we searched in late 2016.
The top 10 order for the cheapest pocket sprung mattress of at least 1000 springs was:
Once again, we see eBay and Amazon coming out as very cheap retailers for mattresses, with prices around half of those from the high street bed stores such as Dreams and Bensons for Beds (although admittedly the mattresses are not exactly the same and spring count isn't all that matters).
The big online retailers such as Bedstar, Mattress Man and Mattress Online performed well too with pocket sprung mattress prices around the £200 mark.
It goes to show that if you shop around you can get a pocket sprung mattress at Amazon for the sort of price you'd expect to only be able to afford a foam mattress or open coil mattress.
The top 10 order for the cheapest pocket sprung mattress of at least 1000 springs was:
- £120 at eBay
- £149 at Amazon
- £179 at Bedstar
- £180 at Archers Sleepcentre
- £190 at Mattress Online
- £215 at Mattress Man
- £230 at John Lewis
- £250 at Argos
- £299 at Dreams
- £300 at Bensons for Beds
Once again, we see eBay and Amazon coming out as very cheap retailers for mattresses, with prices around half of those from the high street bed stores such as Dreams and Bensons for Beds (although admittedly the mattresses are not exactly the same and spring count isn't all that matters).
The big online retailers such as Bedstar, Mattress Man and Mattress Online performed well too with pocket sprung mattress prices around the £200 mark.
It goes to show that if you shop around you can get a pocket sprung mattress at Amazon for the sort of price you'd expect to only be able to afford a foam mattress or open coil mattress.
Results - the UK's cheapest divan bed and mattress set
We just compared the cheapest divan and mattress at each store, so it's worth noting that there will be differences in the quality of the mattresses on offer. However, if you are just looking for a cheap bed for the spare room then you can pick up a divan and mattress set for under £150. Prices ranged from £135 to £329 when we searched (in October 2016).
Here are the results of our top 10 comparison for a cheap divan set with mattress:
In our divan bed and mattress comparison, eBay and Amazon once again came out as the cheapest option, with the online only mattress retailers somewhere in the middle and the big name mattress retailers as the most expensive.
One important caveat is that the Dreams mattress is a pocket sprung mattress, which is far superior to the open coil mattresses even if it is only 600 springs (pretty much the lowest number you can have in a pocket sprung mattress).
Here are the results of our top 10 comparison for a cheap divan set with mattress:
- £135 at eBay (open coil spring with foam)
- £154 at Amazon (open coil sprung mattress)
- £170 at Argos (open coil)
- £189 at Bedstar (open coil)
- £193 at Archers Sleepcentre (open coil)
- £215 at Mattress Online (open coil)
- £250 at John Lewis (open coil)
- £259 at Mattress Man (open coil)
- £300 at Bensons for Beds (open coil)
- £329 at Dreams (pocket sprung mattress with 600 springs)
In our divan bed and mattress comparison, eBay and Amazon once again came out as the cheapest option, with the online only mattress retailers somewhere in the middle and the big name mattress retailers as the most expensive.
One important caveat is that the Dreams mattress is a pocket sprung mattress, which is far superior to the open coil mattresses even if it is only 600 springs (pretty much the lowest number you can have in a pocket sprung mattress).
Here are some more mattress retailers which didn't make our top 10, but which you might like to explore in your search for a new bed:
11. Very
Very is one of the few retailers we found selling the Dormeo Memory Plus, which has been given an award by expert reviewers. It's now one of the UK's biggest online stores, so it's worth a look in your mattress search. Prices range from around £100 up to £2000 and there's a comprehensible choice of about 130 mattresses in all (so not the 8000 mattresses which some offer...).
In our price comparison we found:
In our price comparison we found:
- £89 for Very's cheapest double mattress (an Airpsrung 'Duraspring' mattress, which was 18cm deep)
- £299 for Very's cheapest double pocket sprung mattress with at least 1000 springs (an Airsprung Naturals Lucy 1000)
- £179 for Very's cheapest divan and mattress double bed set (Sweet Dreams Jenson divan bed with open coil mattress)
12. Asda
Superstore Asda doesn't go big on beds, but they had a choice of 30 double mattresses when I checked. Only three brands were featured, which may come as a relief if you've been sifting through websites with 30 different brands and thousands of choices. Asda has some budget priced George (own brand) mattresses, as well as some Airsprung mattresses and the cheaper end of the Silentnight range.
The own brand George mattresses typically have a low spring count (800) but most reviews are positive, so might be worth considering if you are after a guest bed or don't have much budget to play with.
Our mattress price comparison found the following:
The own brand George mattresses typically have a low spring count (800) but most reviews are positive, so might be worth considering if you are after a guest bed or don't have much budget to play with.
Our mattress price comparison found the following:
- £89 for Asda's cheapest double mattress ('Airpsrung Quilted Mattress' - an open coil mattress which is described as 'supercoil')
- £219 for Asda's cheapest pocket sprung mattress with at least 1000 springs (Airsprung Pocket Contour System Mattress)
- £249 for Asda's cheapest divan bed and mattress set (Airsprung Sprung Contour System which is an open coil mattress presumably)
13. Tesco
Tesco had about 150 mattresses for sale when I looked, or somewhere nearer to 1000 if you include third party sellers who use the Tesco website. If we just include mattresses sold directly, then it's a very similar range to that offered by Asda with plenty of Airsprung mattresss (a budget brand) and Silentnight mattresses (a mid market brand), and a handful of Relyon and Sealy mattresses.
I found the navigation a bit confusing, and I couldn't even find the option to filter by mattress size (single, double, king size etc) although that is just about manageable when you are sifting through the relatively small range - even if it is a bit annoying. I also couldn't filter by pocket springs, memory foam etc, so you are basically left reading through the descriptions.
Here's how Tesco fared in our mattress price comparison:
I found the navigation a bit confusing, and I couldn't even find the option to filter by mattress size (single, double, king size etc) although that is just about manageable when you are sifting through the relatively small range - even if it is a bit annoying. I also couldn't filter by pocket springs, memory foam etc, so you are basically left reading through the descriptions.
Here's how Tesco fared in our mattress price comparison:
- £159 for Tesco's cheapest double mattress (Silentnight Taplow Miracoil Comfort - an open coil spring mattress)
- £274 for Tesco's cheapest double mattress with at least 1000 pocket springs (Silentnight Foxton mattress)
- £287 for Tesco's cheapest double divan and mattress (Silentnight Taplow with 'Miracoil' springs, which is a version of continuous springs)
14. Mattresses World
Mattresses World is one of those online warehouse type retailers with 600 mattresses to choose from, even once you've filtered down to one size.
Delivery is free over £50, which is pretty much everything on the website. The filtering and navigation is simple and more detailed than some of the less specialist retailers. They also have a big range at the lower end of the mattress market.
They stock most of the names in the Silentnight group of brands, which included Rest Assured, Sealy and Silentnight (obviously).
They also fared pretty well in our price comparison:
Delivery is free over £50, which is pretty much everything on the website. The filtering and navigation is simple and more detailed than some of the less specialist retailers. They also have a big range at the lower end of the mattress market.
They stock most of the names in the Silentnight group of brands, which included Rest Assured, Sealy and Silentnight (obviously).
They also fared pretty well in our price comparison:
- £80 for Mattress World's cheapest double mattress (an open coil mattress, 15cm deep, called the 'Superior Comfort Salas Mattress' - although I'd politely suggest the name might be overselling it a bit).
- £129 for Mattress World's cheapest pocket sprung mattress with at least 1000 springs (MemoryPedic Reflex Pocket 1000 Mattress which is a mix of memory foam and pocket springs)
- Mattress World don't selling divan beds, so we couldn't include them in the third part of the price comparison.
15. Bed Factory Direct
Merseyside-based Bed Factory Direct mostly sells cheaper end mattresses and beds, with the majority of their stock in the £100 - £300 price range. Most are their own brand (Bed Factory Direct Workshop), although they do have some Sealy, Breasley and Silentnight mattresses. Delivery is free over £100.
In our price comparison, we found the lowest prices were:
In our price comparison, we found the lowest prices were:
16. Carpetright
Carpetright actually has a fairly large range of mattresses, and they have the added advantage of being able to try before you buy which online only retailers can't offer (or those ones which only have have two stores which are 200 miles from your house).
Most of their mattresses are aimed at the mid-range market, with some more expensive brands such as Kaymed. Delivery is generally another £39, although you can pick up and take away yourself if your car is big enough...
In our price comparison, the cheapest prices we could find were:
Most of their mattresses are aimed at the mid-range market, with some more expensive brands such as Kaymed. Delivery is generally another £39, although you can pick up and take away yourself if your car is big enough...
In our price comparison, the cheapest prices we could find were:
17. Debenhams
Most of the mattresses at Debenhams are what I would consider mid-priced, rather than the luxury £1000+ type or the cheap and not-very-cheerful mattress you'll get for £100.
Brands on offer include Silentnight and Sleepeezee.
When we carried out a price test in 2017, the cheapest price we could find was
Brands on offer include Silentnight and Sleepeezee.
When we carried out a price test in 2017, the cheapest price we could find was
18. Archers Sleepcentre
Archers Sleepcentre is a Scottish based retailer, but it offers free next day delivery to the rest of the UK on most of its beds and mattresses. They sell some of the bigger name bed brands plus a few smaller companies (we found Sealy, Silentnight,Breasley, Deluxe Beds, Dura Beds, Highgrove, Kaymed, Sareer and Shire Beds).
- £109 for Archers Sleepcentre's cheapest double mattress (a foam mattress, 14cm deep)
- £180 for Archers Sleepcentre's cheapest pocket sprung mattress with at least 1000 springs (Sareer Matrah reflex plus with 1000 springs)
- £193 for Archers Sleepcentre's cheapest divan bed with mattress (Highgrove Solar Comfort with an open coil, 19cm mattress)
