7 Best Foam Mattresses of 2026, Tested by Our Experts

Our overall Top Pick provides support for a broad range of sleepers while also acing our other rigorous tests. It’s a favorite in our member surveys, too.

While shoppers might associate foam with softer feel, a good-quality foam model can indeed offer nice cushioning along with a satisfyingly stiffer surface.

Just because a foam mattress is ultrasoft doesn’t mean it necessarily lacks support. This reasonably priced plush model earns high support marks in every test.

With only one side of the body bearing all the weight, side sleepers are particularly well served by a mattress that’s cushy enough to relieve pressure on the shoulders and hips but supportive enough to keep the spine aligned.

When you sleep on your back, your weight is evenly distributed. The right foam pick will efficiently support and cushion that weight while keeping your spine aligned.

In the latest CR survey, members paid an average of $1,028 for their foam mattresses. This high-performing pick is roughly half of that, and it delivers great support for every type of sleeper.

Sharing a mattress can be tough if a couple’s size and sleep preferences vastly differ. But customizable features can make it easy to please both partners and help them avoid a sleep divorce.

There are more than 280 mattresses in our ratings, each with an Overall Score that’s determined, in large part, by the model’s performance on a range of tests: sleeper support, firmness level, stabilization level, and durability. 

To test stability (aka motion isolation), we drop a 38.5-pound weight onto the mattress and measure the vibrations at the point of impact and across the mattress. This tells us how easily sleepers should be able to shift their weight without disturbing a partner. We also test how well the mattress keeps its shape over time by using a machine that moves a 300-plus-pound wood roller across the surface of the model 30,000 times. 

The ratings for mattress comfort and owner satisfaction included in the Overall Score are based on data from survey results on over 60,000 mattresses. To learn more about how we test and rate mattresses, and how to choose the right one for you, check our mattress buying guide.

We also recently started examining the impact a mattress has on the environment and on your health, taking into account a range of factors, including materials and construction, durability, owner satisfaction, and shipping footprint. Our Green Choice recommendations are designated with a green leaf icon in our comprehensive mattress ratings.

It can be difficult to find the best mattress for a particular person because comfort and feel are so subjective. For the best outcome, we recommend that you lie on a mattress before committing. That said, CR’s engineers and survey teams assess every mattress that comes into CR’s labs for several objective criteria that can define a high-quality mattress.

Support: A great mattress should help keep your spine aligned throughout the night. For this roundup, we chose mattresses that performed well all-around for both side sleepers and back sleepers. But keep in mind that a mattress with a low score for, say, back-sleeper support may be a good choice for side sleepers. That’s why it’s important to explore our comprehensive mattress ratings and filter them specifically for your needs.

Durability: Mattresses shouldn’t sag, soften, or provide less support after just a few years, so we highlight those that score well in our durability test, which simulates eight to 10 years of use.

Stability: We look for mattresses with high stability scores, meaning they isolate motion well, so your partner’s movement on one side of the mattress won’t jostle you awake on the opposite side.

Positive feedback on CR’s member surveys: Our member survey ratings cover thousands of mattresses purchased in the past decade, allowing us to collect the data needed to determine comfort and owner satisfaction scores according to brand.