Mattresses Compared: Memory Foam, Pocket Sprung & Hybrid

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Last updated: 8 Aug 2026

Choose your mattress tension for your weight and sleeping position first, then match the construction to what wakes you: heat, your partner turning, or pressure at your shoulder or hip. A firmer mattress isn't automatically a better fit.

Read the mattress depth and comfort-layer details before the spring count, because you'll sleep against those layers and need sheets that fit. If you're unsure where to begin, the mattress quiz filters by position, build and budget.

Tension comes first, and labels stay inside each maker's range

Tension needs to suit your body before you compare materials. The ladder runs through soft, soft-medium, medium, medium-firm and firm, but Bed Advice UK confirms there's no industry-wide firmness standard. Even medium changes its meaning at the next maker.

Your build or position	Tension to try
Heavier build	Go firmer as your weight increases, because you press further into the mattress.
Sleeping on your side	Try a notch softer so your shoulder and hip can sink in.
Sleeping face down	Go firmer to keep your hips from sinking below your ribs.

For non-specific low back pain, start on the medium-firm landing: a review of 39 articles by Caggiari and colleagues gives that starting point the strongest support. The NHS advises seeing a GP if back pain hasn't improved after a few weeks of home treatment or stops your day-to-day activities.

Choose the construction for what wakes you

For less disturbance when your partner turns, pocket springs suit a shared bed: each spring moves independently inside its own fabric pocket, with air between springs carrying heat away. Open coil is the cheapest construction, but its springs are joined by wire, so the surface moves together.

Pressure at your shoulder or hip makes memory foam's moulding feel relevant, though it holds heat and releases slowly when you turn. If you wake hot, breathable, springier latex is a better direction than deep foam. A hybrid combines pocket springs with foam or latex above, a common compromise between cushioning and spring support.

Depth and comfort layers matter before spring count

Mattress depth affects whether your fitted sheet reaches underneath, so compare the centimetres with your sheet depth. Ask the retailer for the comfort layer's material and thickness if they're missing, as they often are: that's the layer against your body.

Spring count measures pockets, while wire thickness and spring height also affect tension. Typical counts run from 600 to 800 up to 2,500, sometimes reaching 3,000 or 4,000, according to Bed Advice UK, so don't buy on count alone.

Care instructions affect what you'll have to lift: check whether you can turn the mattress or only rotate it, alongside the guarantee's body-impression clause. Read when the trial starts and what returns cost, including whether you must use a protector.

A rolled mattress can pass through a narrow stairway that blocks a flat one, so check access before ordering. Use the BedBoy Score for an initial ordering of your options before comparing their constructions properly.

What to avoid

A deep all-foam mattress if you already wake damp, because foam holds heat against you.
Open coil for a shared bed if your partner's movements wake you.
Soft tension under a heavy front-sleeping body, because sinking hips arch the lower back.