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10 of the best mattress retailers online
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There are bucketloads of bed and mattress retailers online now, ranging from top quality retailers which sell a couple of brands, through to the online megastores which have a huge range and low prices.
Here's our selection of 10 of the best mattress retailers in the UK: |
Mattress shopping is exhausting, unless you narrow down your options
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1. Amazon - hard to beat for cheap and mid-priced mattresses
There's not a lot you can't buy on Amazon now, which shifted a few years ago from just offering its own products to allowing third party sellers (the 'marketplace')
The result is that there are literally thousands of mattresses and beds on Amazon. When I searched, there were 1000 pocket spring mattresses, 4000 memory foam mattresses and nearly 1000 latex mattresses.
Lots of the mattresses are at the cheaper end of the market (under £500 for a king size), which I personally would avoid if you can, but there are also good prices on plenty of mid-range mattress brands you have heard of (Silentnight, Rest Assured, Sealy). Certainly a good choice if you are after cheap beds.
Our mattresses beginners' guide includes the top 10 reviewed mattresses on Amazon. A couple stand out for value in the budget range:
If you're after a mid-price mattress, the highest rated options on Amazon are:
If you are looking for luxury quality, the highest scoring mattresses on Amazon are:
(We just included those with at least 10 reviews, sold directly by Amazon. We searched in late 2018. We included one memory foam and one pocket sprung mattress in each category. Prices are for king size mattresses without a base.)
The result is that there are literally thousands of mattresses and beds on Amazon. When I searched, there were 1000 pocket spring mattresses, 4000 memory foam mattresses and nearly 1000 latex mattresses.
Lots of the mattresses are at the cheaper end of the market (under £500 for a king size), which I personally would avoid if you can, but there are also good prices on plenty of mid-range mattress brands you have heard of (Silentnight, Rest Assured, Sealy). Certainly a good choice if you are after cheap beds.
Our mattresses beginners' guide includes the top 10 reviewed mattresses on Amazon. A couple stand out for value in the budget range:
- Happy Beds Ocean Gel (£190 memory foam mattress) - 4.7 stars
- Silentnight Stratus 1400 (£350 pocket spring mattress) - 4.5 stars
If you're after a mid-price mattress, the highest rated options on Amazon are:
- Silentnight 1440 Pocket Gel (£600 pocket spring mattress) - 4.3 stars
- Casper (£600 memory foam mattress) - 4.4 stars
If you are looking for luxury quality, the highest scoring mattresses on Amazon are:
- Silentnight Stratus Premier 2600 Pocket Mattress (£735 pocket sprung mattress) - 4.3 stars
- Simba Hybrid Mattress (£700 memory foam mattress) - 4.5 stars
(We just included those with at least 10 reviews, sold directly by Amazon. We searched in late 2018. We included one memory foam and one pocket sprung mattress in each category. Prices are for king size mattresses without a base.)
2. Mattress Online - award winning online retailer
Mattress Online is a big mattress retailer which has been selling online for more than a decade. Unsurprisingly, considering their name, they don't have lots of stores but they do have a showroom in Rotherham if you are in the area and would rather try out a bed.
There's a choice of about 250 beds and about a dozen brands with prices ranging from the very cheap (£250 for a king size Sealy mattress) up to £1600 for their best king size mattresses (Mammoth, Slumberland and Dunlopillo).
They also stock the Sealy Nostromo 1400 (also known as the Sealy Teramo 1400) which is an award winner.
Prices are generally very good. Comparison between retailers is difficult (because big retailers often have 'exclusive' mattresses) but Mattress Online fares well when it is possible to compare like for like. For example, the Dunlopillo Millennium was £1600 at Mattress Online when we searched, compared to £1730 at Bensons for Beds.
We've also included them because they won an award for best online retailer at the National Bed Federation Awards in 2016, 2015 and came second in 2014.
There's a choice of about 250 beds and about a dozen brands with prices ranging from the very cheap (£250 for a king size Sealy mattress) up to £1600 for their best king size mattresses (Mammoth, Slumberland and Dunlopillo).
They also stock the Sealy Nostromo 1400 (also known as the Sealy Teramo 1400) which is an award winner.
Prices are generally very good. Comparison between retailers is difficult (because big retailers often have 'exclusive' mattresses) but Mattress Online fares well when it is possible to compare like for like. For example, the Dunlopillo Millennium was £1600 at Mattress Online when we searched, compared to £1730 at Bensons for Beds.
We've also included them because they won an award for best online retailer at the National Bed Federation Awards in 2016, 2015 and came second in 2014.
3. John Lewis - clear descriptions and customer service awards
John Lewis frequently wins customer service awards, and they stock a decent range of mattresses - some with their own name on and some by the more expensive mattress manufacturers, such as Hypnos (the Royal Family's bedmakers...), Tempur (inventors of memory foam) and Vispring (inventors of the pocket spring).
John Lewis mostly sells pocket spring beds, with a few memory foam mattresses and (surprisingly in my opinion) a few open coil mattresses (the cheap end of the sprung bed market). If money is no object, you might consider their most expensive mattress which costs £18,000 and includes 32,000 pocket springs. Lend me a tenner if you can afford that.
If you are living in the real world, but still want a really high quality mattress then you'll find Vispring beds ranging from about £1000 - £4000 and other brands including Silentnight (cheaper mattresses generally), Sealy (mid-priced) and Hypnos (luxury mattresses)
Most of their best beds come with a 7 year warranty.
John Lewis mostly sells pocket spring beds, with a few memory foam mattresses and (surprisingly in my opinion) a few open coil mattresses (the cheap end of the sprung bed market). If money is no object, you might consider their most expensive mattress which costs £18,000 and includes 32,000 pocket springs. Lend me a tenner if you can afford that.
If you are living in the real world, but still want a really high quality mattress then you'll find Vispring beds ranging from about £1000 - £4000 and other brands including Silentnight (cheaper mattresses generally), Sealy (mid-priced) and Hypnos (luxury mattresses)
Most of their best beds come with a 7 year warranty.
4. Dreams - good for trying beds before you buy
Dreams is a big name in the UK bed and mattress market with 170 stores at the time of writing. Of course, that has the definite advantage of being able to try out beds and mattresses instore.
Whilst you'll find buying beds online is often less expensive, the sellers have to deal with the issue that there is no industry standard for firmness of beds. One companies idea of soft, medium or firm will be different to another's (it's similar in my mind to different clothes shops selling slightly different size 12s).
The range at Dreams is big, but not baffling with about 10 mattress brands on offer including The Dreams Workshop and Silentnight (the budget end of the range) Sealy (mid range quality mattresses) and Hypnos and Tempur (higher quality mattresses).
My advice with Dreams is to not get too caught up in looking at the 'original' price of a mattress which is often very high. If you are comparing two similarly priced mattresses in your budget, you are much better to look at the various factors which determine the quality of a mattress, such as:
It's worth noting that you don't have to tick all those boxes above, and there is some debate on some of these points - but I've spent far too long reading guides about buying mattresses and those appear to be the overall points of consensus.
Whilst you'll find buying beds online is often less expensive, the sellers have to deal with the issue that there is no industry standard for firmness of beds. One companies idea of soft, medium or firm will be different to another's (it's similar in my mind to different clothes shops selling slightly different size 12s).
The range at Dreams is big, but not baffling with about 10 mattress brands on offer including The Dreams Workshop and Silentnight (the budget end of the range) Sealy (mid range quality mattresses) and Hypnos and Tempur (higher quality mattresses).
My advice with Dreams is to not get too caught up in looking at the 'original' price of a mattress which is often very high. If you are comparing two similarly priced mattresses in your budget, you are much better to look at the various factors which determine the quality of a mattress, such as:
- the type of springs (pocket springs are better than open coil, continuous springs or 'traditional') unless you are looking for a latex or memory foam mattress (there's more on which to choose in our best mattresses beginners' guide)
- the number of springs (anything between 1000 and 2000 is fine, heavier people benefit from 2000)
- the material that the outside is made from (something natural like cotton or cashmere is better than a synthetic material like polyester)
- whether it is hand tufted (that means it looks like it has buttons on top holding it together, rather than being completely flat which is called quilting)
It's worth noting that you don't have to tick all those boxes above, and there is some debate on some of these points - but I've spent far too long reading guides about buying mattresses and those appear to be the overall points of consensus.
5. Bensons for Beds - the UK's biggest bed retailer
Bensons for Beds is amongst the biggest bed and mattress retailers in the UK. They've got 270 stores, which is obviously good if you want to try out a bed beforehand. In many ways, they are similar to Dreams in that they offer about 10 brands and have a range which is not so vast as to be incomprehensible.
If you're after the best quality memory foam or latex mattresses on the market, there are plenty of options with brands like Tempur and Dunlipollo on offer.
However, if you're after a pocket sprung mattress, then Benson for Beds aims more at the mid market, with their top priced king size mattress coming in at around £1500. Obviously that's not a cheap mattress, but they don't sell top pocket spring brands like Hypnos or Somnus which sell mattresses in excess of £2000.
The cheapest pocket sprung best with at least 1000 springs was £320 when I looked (king size) whilst the cheapest memory foam in king size was £300.
Delivery is around £40, so factor that in to your mattress buying budget.
In terms of industry awards, Bensons for Beds came second in 2014 and 2015 and won in 2013 in the category for bigger retailers at the National Bed Federation Awards.
If you're after the best quality memory foam or latex mattresses on the market, there are plenty of options with brands like Tempur and Dunlipollo on offer.
However, if you're after a pocket sprung mattress, then Benson for Beds aims more at the mid market, with their top priced king size mattress coming in at around £1500. Obviously that's not a cheap mattress, but they don't sell top pocket spring brands like Hypnos or Somnus which sell mattresses in excess of £2000.
The cheapest pocket sprung best with at least 1000 springs was £320 when I looked (king size) whilst the cheapest memory foam in king size was £300.
Delivery is around £40, so factor that in to your mattress buying budget.
In terms of industry awards, Bensons for Beds came second in 2014 and 2015 and won in 2013 in the category for bigger retailers at the National Bed Federation Awards.
6. MattressMan - big range of brands
MattressMan had 17 stores when I checked and sells more than 20 mattress brands, ranging from the cheap (e.g. Breasley) through to some of the best mattresses money can buy (e.g. Hypnos), with several mid-range brands in between (Silentnight, Rest Assured, Airsprung). Prices for Hypnos mattresses range from £800 - £2000.
It's difficult to compare mattresses from different retailers as they often use different names for seemingly similar beds, but a King Size Hypnos with 1200 pocket springs is £799 delivered at Mattress Man compared to £699 for the cheapest King Size Hypnos bed at Dreams (which also has 1200 pocket springs).
The cheapest king size pocket spring mattress with at least 1000 springs at Mattress Man was £255 when I searched. The cheapest memory foam mattress was £155, which was a Breasley one.
Delivery is free. Their stores are mostly in the East of England with a few more towards the East Midlands and London.
It's difficult to compare mattresses from different retailers as they often use different names for seemingly similar beds, but a King Size Hypnos with 1200 pocket springs is £799 delivered at Mattress Man compared to £699 for the cheapest King Size Hypnos bed at Dreams (which also has 1200 pocket springs).
The cheapest king size pocket spring mattress with at least 1000 springs at Mattress Man was £255 when I searched. The cheapest memory foam mattress was £155, which was a Breasley one.
Delivery is free. Their stores are mostly in the East of England with a few more towards the East Midlands and London.
7. Furniture Village - good for luxury mattresses
Furniture Village is a respected name in the bed and mattress market and it tends to target itself at the higher end of the market, with top end mattresses costing £5000 for a double or king size but several available around the £1000-£2000 mark.
There's a good choice of the best quality mattresses on the market with brands such as Hypnos, Vispring (the inventor of the pocket spring bed) and Tempur (the inventor of Memory Foam). They do have sales and discounts but it's a bit lower key than the sales at other big retailers such as Dreams and Bensons for Beds. You'll often find there's 20-30% off a £2000 mattress.
If you're after a mid-priced mattress there's a smaller choice at Furniture Village with brands such as Sealy and Slumberland on offer.
I've included them in the top 10 best retailers because they won awards in 2014 and 2015 from the National Bed Federation in a category for big retailers.
There's a good choice of the best quality mattresses on the market with brands such as Hypnos, Vispring (the inventor of the pocket spring bed) and Tempur (the inventor of Memory Foam). They do have sales and discounts but it's a bit lower key than the sales at other big retailers such as Dreams and Bensons for Beds. You'll often find there's 20-30% off a £2000 mattress.
If you're after a mid-priced mattress there's a smaller choice at Furniture Village with brands such as Sealy and Slumberland on offer.
I've included them in the top 10 best retailers because they won awards in 2014 and 2015 from the National Bed Federation in a category for big retailers.
8. eBay
You can obviously buy cheap second hand mattresses on eBay, but if that's about as appealing as a used plaster then I would stick to the vast range of new mattresses.
At first, it's a bit daunting with 300,000 mattresses on offer but eBay has very good filters so you can narrow down your options very quickly.
For example, I narrowed down to brand new double beds made by Sealy which are available to 'buy now' (rather than an auction) and came up with 66 results. I found several sellers offering the award winning Sealy Nostromo 1400 (featured in our top 10 guide).
Sellers have reviews which are worth checking first. You can also get Nectar points by shopping through eBay. Alternatively, you can search by price or by location on eBay.
At first, it's a bit daunting with 300,000 mattresses on offer but eBay has very good filters so you can narrow down your options very quickly.
For example, I narrowed down to brand new double beds made by Sealy which are available to 'buy now' (rather than an auction) and came up with 66 results. I found several sellers offering the award winning Sealy Nostromo 1400 (featured in our top 10 guide).
Sellers have reviews which are worth checking first. You can also get Nectar points by shopping through eBay. Alternatively, you can search by price or by location on eBay.
9. Bedstar - large range of mattress brands
Bedstar has a choice of about 30 mattress brands, mostly towards the cheaper and mid-priced end of the market. The choice can feel a little overwhelming, so perhaps one to look at once you've narrowed down your choice amongst the mattresses online thanks to our beginners' guide.
The cheapest pocket spring mattress with at least 1000 springs was £245 in a king size when I checked, with the top priced mattress costing around £1700 (a Relyon mattress). If you're after a memory foam mattress, prices start at £160 for the cheapest king size (made by Visco).
The cheapest pocket spring mattress with at least 1000 springs was £245 in a king size when I checked, with the top priced mattress costing around £1700 (a Relyon mattress). If you're after a memory foam mattress, prices start at £160 for the cheapest king size (made by Visco).
10. Archers Sleepcentre - nice clear website
I like Archers Sleepcentre, partly because the website is easy to make sense of, with lots of tick box options to narrow down your search.
There's a choice of about 90 pocket sprung mattresses, with prices ranging from £200 to £1500 for a king size. Archers Sleepcentre mostly seems to offer mid-priced mattresses, rather than the very best and most expensive mattresses. If you're working to a budget of around £500 for a king size or double, you'll be able to get a decent quality mattress (for example, I found a Highgrove mattress with 1500 pocket springs for £465. It had a damask cover which is decent and it was hand tufted, which means it looks like it has buttons on the top holding it together).
If you're after a memory foam mattress, there's a choice of about 60 mattresses starting from £165 for a king size up to £900.
In 2013, Archers SleepCentre won an award for online mattress retailer of the year at a big awards, which is judged by editors from the industry's trade journals. I was disappointed to discover that the trade publications have dull names like 'Furniture News' rather than puntastic names...
There's a choice of about 90 pocket sprung mattresses, with prices ranging from £200 to £1500 for a king size. Archers Sleepcentre mostly seems to offer mid-priced mattresses, rather than the very best and most expensive mattresses. If you're working to a budget of around £500 for a king size or double, you'll be able to get a decent quality mattress (for example, I found a Highgrove mattress with 1500 pocket springs for £465. It had a damask cover which is decent and it was hand tufted, which means it looks like it has buttons on the top holding it together).
If you're after a memory foam mattress, there's a choice of about 60 mattresses starting from £165 for a king size up to £900.
In 2013, Archers SleepCentre won an award for online mattress retailer of the year at a big awards, which is judged by editors from the industry's trade journals. I was disappointed to discover that the trade publications have dull names like 'Furniture News' rather than puntastic names...
Here are some more big names in the UK's online mattress market which didn't make our top 10, but are still worth a look:
11. Land of Beds
I've included Land of Beds because they stock some of the luxury end names in the mattress market, such as Somnus, Tempur and Hypnos. If you're after a name like this, you can easily pay £2000 for the mattress alone.
They also sell many of the cheaper brands in the UK mattress market. The cheapest pocket spring mattress in king size with at least 1000 springs came in at £239 when we checked (a Breasley one). The cheapest memory foam mattress on Land of Beds was £179.
Delivery is free on most mattresses and beds, and they've also got a showroom in Cheshire.
They also sell many of the cheaper brands in the UK mattress market. The cheapest pocket spring mattress in king size with at least 1000 springs came in at £239 when we checked (a Breasley one). The cheapest memory foam mattress on Land of Beds was £179.
Delivery is free on most mattresses and beds, and they've also got a showroom in Cheshire.
12. Very
Very is a pretty huge department store now, and they have a decent selection of beds and mattresses. We found about 130 mattresses with cheap options starting from about £100 and a handful of top quality mattresses costing more than £1000. You'll find memory foam, pocket sprung and open coil mattresses in equal quantities at Very.co.uk
Big brands including Silentnight and Airsprung feature heavily. Very is also one of the few places we managed to find the Dormeo Memory Plus rolled mattress, which is an award winner.
Big brands including Silentnight and Airsprung feature heavily. Very is also one of the few places we managed to find the Dormeo Memory Plus rolled mattress, which is an award winner.
13. Asda
Asda has a modest selection of mattresses, with a focus on the budget and mid-priced market. When I checked they were offering three brands in their double beds range - George (Asda's own brand), Silentnight and Airsprung.
Prices ranged from about £90 for Asda's cheapest double mattress, up to about £400 for the their more expensive Silentnight mattresses.
Quality is variable, but they do have some pocket sprung mattresses which were heavily (and genuinely) reduced when I checked. It's hard to assess quality of the own-brand George mattresses, although they do get good reviews - albeit on Asda's own website.
Prices ranged from about £90 for Asda's cheapest double mattress, up to about £400 for the their more expensive Silentnight mattresses.
Quality is variable, but they do have some pocket sprung mattresses which were heavily (and genuinely) reduced when I checked. It's hard to assess quality of the own-brand George mattresses, although they do get good reviews - albeit on Asda's own website.
14. Mattress Next Day
Picture the scene...
Aunt Ethel and Uncle Bernie are coming to stay at the weekend. You've realised that your spare bed is older than a Barry Cryer joke and rush down to your local bed superstore to get something sorted.
After lying on 19 different beds you finally reach a consensus and then the salesperson gleefully declares that they will be able to deliver in six weeks' time.
Mattress Next Day has a decent range of mattresses in stock and ready to be hauled onto the delivery van. They offer about 10 mattress brands, including most of the brands made by Silentnight (Sealy, Silentnight, Rest Assured) as well as some other mid priced alternatives and latex specialist Dunlopillo.
Aunt Ethel and Uncle Bernie are coming to stay at the weekend. You've realised that your spare bed is older than a Barry Cryer joke and rush down to your local bed superstore to get something sorted.
After lying on 19 different beds you finally reach a consensus and then the salesperson gleefully declares that they will be able to deliver in six weeks' time.
Mattress Next Day has a decent range of mattresses in stock and ready to be hauled onto the delivery van. They offer about 10 mattress brands, including most of the brands made by Silentnight (Sealy, Silentnight, Rest Assured) as well as some other mid priced alternatives and latex specialist Dunlopillo.
15. Bed Factory Direct
Most of the mattresses at Bed Factory Direct are at the budget end of the market, but they do have some from mid range brands like Dormeo, Staples and Relyon. They've got a few stores around Merseyside if you'd rather try out your mattress in person.
They sell a lot of their own brand mattresses (Bed Factory Direct Workshop) which work out as a good value if you don't mind buying from a lesser known brand. When I searched they were offering a tufted double mattress with 1000 pocket springs for £279 or a similar mattress with 2000 springs for £349
They sell a lot of their own brand mattresses (Bed Factory Direct Workshop) which work out as a good value if you don't mind buying from a lesser known brand. When I searched they were offering a tufted double mattress with 1000 pocket springs for £279 or a similar mattress with 2000 springs for £349
17. Carpetright
I've never quite understood why carpet shops often also sell mattresses. Do they have an abundance of space in their warehouses? Or do they think you are likely to decide to replace your bed seeing as you'll be moving it to put the new carpet down?
Anyway, Carpetright has a selection of about 10 mattress brands. They are one of the few big name stockists of Kaymed which has won awards from the National Bed Federation.
They also sell several of the brands made by the Silentnight group, including Sealy, Rest Assured and (unsurprisingly) Silentnight.
Prices are competitive, but hold on for a sale if you can as they often have reductions of 25% or sometimes 50% at Carpetright.
Anyway, Carpetright has a selection of about 10 mattress brands. They are one of the few big name stockists of Kaymed which has won awards from the National Bed Federation.
They also sell several of the brands made by the Silentnight group, including Sealy, Rest Assured and (unsurprisingly) Silentnight.
Prices are competitive, but hold on for a sale if you can as they often have reductions of 25% or sometimes 50% at Carpetright.
17. Debenhams
Debenhams has a modest selection of mattresses - about 30 when I checked, which I personally find preferable to having 8000 very similar looking white rectangles to trawl through.
Prices range from a couple of hundred pounds up to around £1000, with some familiar brands including Sleepeezee, Airsprung and Silentnight.
As you are probably aware, Debenhams offer 'Blue Cross' sales with extra savings off this and that, so I would say it's worth holding on for a deal, unless you have Great Aunt Maude arriving tomorrow and nothing for her to sleep on.
Prices range from a couple of hundred pounds up to around £1000, with some familiar brands including Sleepeezee, Airsprung and Silentnight.
As you are probably aware, Debenhams offer 'Blue Cross' sales with extra savings off this and that, so I would say it's worth holding on for a deal, unless you have Great Aunt Maude arriving tomorrow and nothing for her to sleep on.
18. Hyde and Sleep - small range, strong reviews
Hyde and Sleep only sell three different mattresses at the time of writing, but they won an award for ‘Product of the Year 2017’ and get strong customer reviews so they’re worth a look.
They sell three memory foam mattresses with mini springs, which will cost you about £700 for a king size model.
They are one of several mattress retailers which has appeared in recent years offering a small number of mattresses alongside a 100 night trial, presumably to encourage people to buy online rather than wandering round mattress showrooms and saying “hmm, this one feels about right”. The slight difference with their trial is that you can only swap it for another mattress, whereas companies such as Simba, Leesa and Casper offer a free returns policy.
They sell three memory foam mattresses with mini springs, which will cost you about £700 for a king size model.
They are one of several mattress retailers which has appeared in recent years offering a small number of mattresses alongside a 100 night trial, presumably to encourage people to buy online rather than wandering round mattress showrooms and saying “hmm, this one feels about right”. The slight difference with their trial is that you can only swap it for another mattress, whereas companies such as Simba, Leesa and Casper offer a free returns policy.
19. Dunelm
Dunelm has a fairly large range which will appeal more to those who already know which mattress they want and are at the stage of shopping around for the best price.
They do though have some welcome filtering features which can help narrow down your options if you have spent the last three hours scratching your head and just want someone to tell you what to buy.
There are more than 20 brands on offer including Relyon and Sealy, although they are mostly at the cheap to middle end of the mattress market and there are many names I'm not familiar with. The vast majority are in the £200 - £500 price bracket, which will suit most people's budgets.
They do though have some welcome filtering features which can help narrow down your options if you have spent the last three hours scratching your head and just want someone to tell you what to buy.
There are more than 20 brands on offer including Relyon and Sealy, although they are mostly at the cheap to middle end of the mattress market and there are many names I'm not familiar with. The vast majority are in the £200 - £500 price bracket, which will suit most people's budgets.
