The 8 Best Innerspring Mattresses for Supremely Supported Sleep

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While we are grateful for the textile innovations that make modern mattresses lighter, more comfortable, and cooler, sometimes the design itself does not need fixing. For back, stomach, and hot sleepers, it can be a tough world of memory foam and hybrid mattresses. For the best support, these kinds of sleepers need firm mattresses. And there's still nothing that beats an innerspring.

A traditional innerspring mattress is marked by its array of encased coils, which, nowadays, are almost always individually wrapped. This means each one offers its own support (and different brands will place them differently to do so) and is wrapped up so you never actually feel the spring. It's the best of an old-school firm mattress but without any of the lumps and bumps.

Where memory foam mattresses are known for retaining heat, innerspring mattresses naturally have more airflow. Hybrid mattresses combine both the innerspring coils and thick layers of support. Some of these veer into hybrid construction; the difference is really in the emphasis. Does it aim to be a softer hybrid or a firmer innerspring? It's hard to find a true spring mattress, which is probably because nobody wants to feel the wrath of an unprotected coil. It all comes down to your personal preference. In your search for the best innerspring mattresses, this is a good place to start.

Classic

For nearly anyone looking for the classic innerspring support—the kind that lets you toss and turn without getting stuck—Saatva is it. It's certainly one of the firmer choices here, and tends to work wonders for anyone whose soft mattress wreaks havoc on their hip and back pain. It does not come in the trendy mattress-in-a-box delivery, which means a more involved setup, but it also means the mattress integrity stays intact. Choose from one of three firm options, but beware—the softest "plush soft" version is still too firm for some.

Legend Chill Hybrid Mattress

Technically this is a hybrid mattress, but the support layers are really just softeners to the indestructible dual support system. It's designed with 3,788 springs, which is significantly more than some other builds. There are, in fact, two layers of coils: one substantial zoned support and one thinner layer made with micro coils. This means optimal, distributed support—and plenty of airflow to keep you cool.

Harmony Mattress

Beautyrest makes a reasonably priced, reasonably supportive innerspring mattress. It doesn't have quite as many fancy details as some of the other, pricier options, but it still does a good job of offering full-body support on its 875 pocket coils. Choose from six top options, ranging from super firm to plush and pillowy.

Bed

If you're having back, hip, or joint pain, a mattress is probably not going to make it go away, but it can certainly help that pain not get worse. Winkbed is the ideal soft support for pain. Its coils are zoned to support those areas that need it, and it's covered in a gel-infused foam, topped with a silky tencel cover. That means you'll get all the support from those coils, but a soft squish that won't hurt your joints.

Estate Firm Tight Top Innerspring Luxury Mattress

If you're a hot sleeper, it's hard to find a more cooling option than an innerspring. They don't suck in heat but allow for ventilation at all times. This Stearns & Foster one, even more so: Those two holes you see on the side (there's two more on the other) are air vents. In combination with its 1,504 coil count, you won't find a more cooling option.

Perfect Sleeper Sleep Excellence

Stomach sleep tends to put pressure on areas of your back when they sink into weird positions, rather than stay in proper alignment. Serta's Perfect Sleeper does its damnedest to keep the spine in natural position: supported but not so much that any part of you is sinking into the bed. It has 825 supportive coils with an array of top layer choices.

Mattress

For a middle of the road kind of innerspring—particularly good for settling a soft vs. firm tiff between sleep partners—EcoSleep is a great option. It veers toward a neutral medium-firm support, which tends to suit both side and back sleepers, and anyone who alternates positions throughout the night. Its breathable and designed with organic cotton, organic wool, and latex.

Sedona Elite

If you hate the sinking-in or very-hot feeling of a memory foam but don't want something that's crazy firm either, Brooklyn Bedding's Sedona Elite mattress is a hard medium. It has two supportive coil layers but they sit under a nice layer of foam, so you won't ever feel them. Plus, the foam is copper-infused, making it antimicrobial.

FAQs

What is an innerspring mattress?

An innerspring mattress is marked by its individually wrapped coils. Brands do different things with these—some have higher counts, two layers, or zoned support—but the idea is that they that provide more evenly distributed support through the length of the body. It gives the mattress more structure and the sleep a firmer feel.

Who is an innerspring mattress best for?

Innerspring mattresses are elite when it comes to firm-feeling choices. For back and stomach sleepers, and especially anyone with back, hip, or neck pain, that firm structure won't exacerbate aches. Innerspring mattresses are also a smart choice for hot sleepers because the coils allow for more airflow than a foam.

What to Look For In An Innerspring Mattress

Coil construction

The rule of an innerspring mattress is that it has encased coils, but that's where the prescription stops. Brands are constantly coming up with new ways to structure the coils for optimal sleep. Some mattresses have two coil layers, some have denser coils around the head and hips.

Support layers

Most innerspring mattresses have some layers between the coils and the top so that you're never going to feel the actual coils. So while they give consistent support, some brands have different levels of cushion to the pillow top.

Firmness

Between the coil and support layers, each mattress will feel its own level of firmness. Unfortunately, there's no real standardization process about what "firm" means across the board, so it's hard to truly compare across brands without feeling them in person.

Why Trust Esquire

As huge fans of sleep and nice things, we have spent a lot of time (a lot) testing mattresses. There are tons of different sleepers here, from people who want somethings soft and cloud-like, to others who would prefer sleeping on a plank. It's far more testing than one person could possibly get for a few minutes in a big-box store.

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