Best innerspring mattress in 2024

CNET Sleep editors have tested more beds than the average sleeper — about 300 different beds, in fact — and have dedicated hundreds of hours to the craft. We take pride in our mattress testing methodology.

Firmness and feeling

When we start testing a mattress, we first determine the firmness and feel of the mattress. Firmness is simply how firm or soft a mattress is. We have multiple team members test and evaluate each bed to get a comprehensive picture of how the bed performs in these categories.

Mattress feel describes how the mattress reacts. Is it as slow to respond as traditional memory foam? Does it bounce back like latex foam? This will translate to how you will feel while rolling in bed at night.

We also objectively test hardness using our own CNET device, the Smash 9000 mattress. This machine applies pressure in the middle of the bed, and our corresponding software measures the firmness on a scale of 1 to 10, with 1 being the softest and 10 being the firmest. While we also personally test each bed for bed firmness and feel, we can back up our opinions with data from Mattress Smasher.

durability

The durability of a mattress, or how long a mattress will last, depends on the material it is made of. Individually wrapped mattresses are, as a rule, more durable than all foam options. They also tend to be more expensive.

Rank performance

The main performance criteria we evaluate for mattresses include motion isolation, edge support, and temperature.

We test how well mattresses isolate motion by placing a cup of water on the edge of the bed and rolling over to see how well it moves. Movement isolation is important if you have a partner who rolls over and wakes you up.

Edge support is how strong the perimeter of the bed is. The test for this is simple: We sit and lean on the edge to see if it collapses under the pressure.

When evaluating temperature, we examine the materials and construction of the mattress. Materials such as latex and gel memory foam can prevent the mattress from retaining body heat.

Read more about How we test mattresses.