Best Mattress Pads And Toppers That’ll Help You Sleep So Much Better
Shopping for the best mattress is a waking nightmare, and picking the wrong one can cause bad dreams or kill your back. It doesn’t help that the online market is flooded with options, or that there are more dedicated mattress review sites than stars in the sky. It’s a mess.
Mattress shopping today is much more complicated. Not only are there more designs and styles, but you can shop at online stores that will deliver a new bed right to your door, sight unseen. How do you choose from such a wide variety of models and companies, and which mattresses are the best available right now?
How Should I Choose A Mattress Topper?
There is a wide variety of mattress toppers on the market and although in the end, it boils down to your personal comfort preferences, there are several factors to keep in mind to narrow the choice. Balancing every consideration isn’t necessary, but understanding what to look for can help you shop smarter.
Here are the main points that you will need to keep in perspective:
- Price – No matter how highly rated a mattress is, buyers on a budget will be limited in their range of choices. It’s best to determine your price range before shopping, limiting your selections to affordable models.
- Warranty – Most people keep their mattresses for a long time, so purchase a mattress with at least a ten-year warranty to cover defects.
- Return Policy – It’s difficult to know how a mattress will perform after a quick check-in in the showroom. If you get your mattress home and find that it doesn’t meet your needs, you will want the assurance that you can return or exchange it easily.
- Store Models – Many people don’t realize that different retailers have their versions of top-selling models. If you find a mattress that you love at one store, don’t assume that the specs are identical at a competitor’s location.
Today’s Best Creative Solution makes a variety of mattress types, and there is a broad range of quality among each product category.
We hope you love the products we recommend! All of them were independently selected by our editors. Just so you know, Best Creative Solution may collect a share of sales or other compensation from the links on this page if you decide to shop from them.
Do Mattress Toppers Work?
Overall, mattress toppers have been effective in enhancing the comfort level of new and old mattresses alike, providing a better sleep experience for most people. Memory foam toppers are generally more preferred since they are both easily available and provide a significant level of comfort
1. The Best Mattress Pads overfilled micro plush topper that’ll be hypoallergenic *and* double as a mattress pad, so your comfy bases are covered.
Fits mattresses up to 18″ deep and is filled with loft-retaining, polyester filling.
Promising review: “I thought about ordering a size up to make sure the topper reached the edges of the bed, but I was pleasantly surprised to discover the topper fit perfectly. You can tell it is very well-made and adds just the right touch to the memory foam bed I blindly purchased, which was too hard. My back no longer hurts and I feel rested when I wake up now. This micro plush topper turned my overly hard rock of a mattress into a dream bed in comparison to what it was. Truth be told, I may order a second to layer it to make it even fluffier because the pockets of the sheet itself are so deep. I’ll be able to layer it without worrying one side will pop off or something. Very pleased. My puppy loves it too!” — SG
2. The Best Mattress 3-inch dense memory foam pad for a conforming hug meant to relieve pressure points.
Promising review: “I bought this for my wife. She’s pregnant and her hips had been aching sleeping on our mattress. Guess what? She says the pain is gone since we’ve been sleeping on this topper. The topper arrived quickly. I unpacked it and laid it on our floor so it could expand and air out. It didn’t take long at all for it to expand. We put it on our bed the same evening it arrived at our house. I didn’t find the smell to be too strong or offensive. I noticed it for 2–3 days, but that’s about it. I’ve been sleeping better since getting the topper. It’s prevented my shoulders from falling asleep when I sleep on my sides. I weigh about 200 lbs, my wife weighs about 150 lbs. (five months pregnant). I’m glad I didn’t buy the 2-inch topper because I don’t think that would have been thick enough.” —Ryan M. Healy
3. Best Mattress Pads gel-infused memory foam number to help you find the perfect position for sleeping — even if you’re nine months pregnant.
Made of a ventilated design infused with gel and comes with a 3-year warranty.
Promising review: “So we’ve now had this for roughly a few months and it’s the best sleep I’ve gotten in a long time. I’m currently in my ninth month of pregnancy so finding a comfortable sleeping position without a pillow is nearly impossible, but I’m able to sleep a bit better with this on our bed. The only downside is it tears fairly easily, so if you have dogs like us (or even cats) I would be extra careful with having them on the bed due to nails. I highly recommend purchasing!” —Michaela
4. The Best ~cooling~ bamboo topper with a fitted skirt to keep everything in place and counteract any tendencies to sleep hot.
Made of hypoallergenic down alternative RevoLoft Cluster Fiber and fits mattresses up to 18″ deep.
Promising review: “We went from a traditional mattress to a Tempurpedic memory foam mattress (with a cooling gel layer) and we NEVER would have bought it if we realized it retains your body heat and holds it against you. It was too hot even in the winter and I’m always cold. I trusted the reviews of this bamboo mattress topper and am SO happy I did. It made such a huge difference… I’ve been using it for over a month now and I haven’t sweated once!!! We bought a split king so our mattress covers are twin XL.” — Michelle
5. The Best Mattress Pads ventilated memory foam layers in three thicknesses for finding the perfect fit for your bed.
Made with open-cell technology to prevent lasting body impressions and comes with a 3-year warranty.
Promising review: “Our mattress was good, at least for me. My husband however has not been able to sleep in our bed without waking up in pain. He travels a lot and when he stays at a hotel, his back is fine. We were looking into replacing the entire mattress but decided to try this first. So glad we did. He has been able to sleep on this and wake up pain-free. It didn’t take long for it to fill out, and there is an odor like new carpet or vinyl, but it’s faint. I’m sensitive to smells, but with our mattress cover and sheets covering it, I don’t notice it. Update: We’ve owned this mattress topper for almost a year now and since we’ve owned it my husband has not complained of back pain. It has not compressed or changed shape. The odor is completely gone and did not take long to disappear. We are incredibly happy with the purchase.” —B. Richardson
6. Mattress Pads cushy topper duo because you can and should have it all when it comes to your bedding sitch.
Includes 2 inches of quilted fiber fill with 2 inches of memory foam, and comes with a 10-year limited warranty.
Promising review: “After undergoing my eighth back surgery in the last nine years, just recently, I purchased this to place on top of my Sleep Number bed. I am thin and HAVE to sleep on my right side in a fetal position every night of my life since being a passenger in an auto accident in 1999. I developed ‘pressure point sores’ (a.k.a. bed sores) on my hip, I am only 47 years old and do NOT lay in bed other than to sleep! THIS PRODUCT HAS CHANGED MY LIFE!!!! I wake up NOT HURTING, and with great care, my pressure point sores are 100% healed! It is no longer uncomfortable to lay down on my side, this 4″ of gentle softness now allows me to SLEEP WELL!!! I cannot recommend this to those with arthritis and back pain HIGHLY ENOUGH! I spent HOURS AND HOURS reading every review, comparing, and researching. I wish I had found this MANY YEARS AGO!!!!” —MimiX5boys
7. Best Overall Mattress 2-inch memory foam topper to make a too-firm mattress so much easier to sleep on through the night.
Comes with a 5-year warranty.
Promising review: “This was a LIFESAVER. My husband and I bought a mattress on clearance. It was extra firm and on clearance for a reason (we learned after one night of sleeping on it). It was like a brick. We both had back problems and knew we wanted firm, but this made my limbs go numb if I slept on my side. It is still firm but seriously turned my bed into something perfect. I will never hesitate to buy a cheap clearance mattress again because I know there is a quick fix and this is it.” —Claire S.
8. Best Mattress gel-memory foam swirl topper available in three thicknesses as a breathable option that’ll cradle your sore spots.
Made of open-cell memory foam with gel infusions.
Promising review: “We put this on top of our (very uncomfortable) camper mattress (short queen-size). It was easy to trim to length with a utility knife. The mattress fluffed up to full size in less than 24 hours but had a unique smell to it during this time. We simply opened a few windows to the camper the first full day with it, and the smell went away. The RV mattress is now so comfortable. The topper did not make me hot at all. I slept great each night and didn’t wake up sore at any point in time! Normally after a few nights on the RV mattress, I dread sleeping. Not so anymore! It was worth it!” —Shaun S.
9. A foam topper with a removable cover you can wash, in case you’re one of those people who wash your bedding as often as you should. (And good for you!)
Made of 2-inch gel memory foam and a machine-washable bamboo cover.
Promising review: “One of the best purchases I’ve made in my life. It’s so comfy I often giggle when I get into bed. I’ve had memory foam pads before, this is SO much better. The thick smooth cover helps immensely, my sheets can move with me instead of getting stuck on the pad. The cover has stay-put dots on the underside so it won’t roam around the bed. The bed hasn’t felt hot, even when it was over 80 degrees in the house, I think that’s where the gel part comes in. I like the 2-inch best. Much thicker and I kinda get stuck in the bed and my feet and hands are too high compared to the rest of me. 1-inch pads don’t do much comforting for me. This is the Goldilocks of mattress pads. Just right.” —debs
10. A 2-inch down alternative mattress pad to give you the feel of a featherbed for significantly less dough.
Made of a premium microfiber shell with down alternative polyfill.
Promising review: “This is the BEST mattress pad I have ever bought. PERIOD. I have paid up to $180 for mattress toppers that aren’t this good. One reviewer commented about the fact that it didn’t have the stretchy fabric that holds the mattress pad onto the mattress. You don’t need it with this, and you don’t want it with this. When you change sheets, just shake this and fluff it, turn it over if you want, and you’re good to go. The other type of pads that have elastic polyester sides only compress the pads, trust me, I have half a dozen. This does not sleep hot at all. The loft is close to 3 inches. And there is no feather fill sticking to you either like from a feather bed topper. I’ve been waking up for quite a long time with my hips killing me, turning side to side all night long. Not anymore. If you want a good mattress topper, you really should try this one. It is very comfortable. Sleeping is a pleasure again.” —MRH