Today we are going to look at the best memory foam mattresses in the UK!
We have spent over 30 hours researching (not including our existing knowledge in the space)
The result?
Five memory foam mattresses perfect for everyone’s needs. Unlike most guides that are hybrid mattresses or aren’t even available in the UK.
Let’s dive in!
Best Overall – Nectar
The pressure relief will leave you waking up fresh every morning. Plus, It’s the only mattress on the list to have a forever warranty and a full year trial! Nectar is a big brand in the US, but the UK version has the same high quality. However, it’s made in the UK!
The Nectar is our clear winner, and it’s one of our highest recommended mattresses (not just in the memory foam category). Why is it a UK Fave? We reckon the secret is that they stand behind their product with unreal guarantees and trials.
Let’s start with when you buy it. This is usually an excellent deal (see out Nectar mattress vouchers) where you save, and they usually offer a bundle deal. So, you can upgrade your pillow and sheets at the same time.
Furthermore, most big companies are usually in it for the money. Yet, Nectar makes sure they don’t cut corners and have certifications to ensure there are no nasty materials or chemicals in your bed. Also, they are a 100% carbon neutral company.
Not only that, but you get three layers of foam and a quilted cooling top cover to add the luxurious and plush feel further.
With the free trial, if for whatever reason you don’t like the mattress (within a year), you can return it. Unlike most companies, they donate the mattresses to the British Heart Foundation to give the mattress a new home, reducing landfill waste and raising over £265,000 to fund heart disease research.
For more information on the mattress, go to their website by clicking the link below or read our Nectar mattress review.
Why Did We Like It?
Forever warranty
The only memory foam mattress in the UK to offer this. Several competitors offer a warranty of 10 years, but nectar guarantees that if something goes wrong with their mattress, they will repair or replace it for the product’s life. Nectars are built to last.
Longest trial
Nectar offers an impressive 365-night trial! Most companies offer 100 (nearly 4x longer), and some even offer 200, but nobody comes close to competing with the year trial they offer.
Great for the planet
As previously mentioned, they are a 100% carbon neutral company. They have streamlined and reduced waste, plus counterbalanced this with an environmental offset to be a carbon neutral company.
Supports local jobs
Every Nectar sold in the UK is made in the UK. Unlike some brands, they don’t ship or produce their mattresses in China. That means a greener footprint and more local jobs that support local families.
Cool on hot nights
Not only does the top cooling cover feel plush, but it also draws heat away to circulate fresh air when you move. So you should feel cooler when it’s hot outside.
What Could’ve Been Better?
Handles
It’s awkward to move once set up because there aren’t any handles.
In Summary
The Nectar mattress is the United Kingdom’s best memory foam mattress. This premium looking and feeling mattress offers a supportive night’s sleep and delivers excellent value for money. It’s also perfect for sleepers looking to get their first memory mattress because you have plenty of time to test it out!
Most Awards – Emma
The perfect cure for mild insomnia and lower back pain. Based on the developed zonal support, all three layers work to relieve pressure. Emma original mattress is sold in over 20+ countries and is the most awarded mattress in the world! Plus, they make it in the UK.
Being a worldwide popular product, the attention to detail is fantastic! Even the cover is temperature regulating and easy to clean. Plus, the mattress has heavy-duty side handles so that you can move it around easier.
Even when writing up this mega memory foam review, the Emma original was viewed 13,118 times in the last 24 hours! Which is verified by Trustpilot. Off the top of my head I can’t remember the exact number, but they would have sold over half a million of these mattresses by now!
As if that wasn’t enough, you get a 200 night trial, a 10 year guarantee, and free contactless delivery. Emma works with DPD, UPS and Rhenus to ship your Emma products straight from our warehouse to your front door.
They have also created a returns portal to make things easier if you want to return any of your items.
With prices starting £449 (before any sales or vouchers), The Emma original is one of the most affordable memory foam mattresses in the top tier range in England. We reckon it’s worth the investment. But if you’re still on the fence, check out our Emma original review.
Why Did We Like It?
Worldwide masterpiece
The Emma original is sold in multiple counties, I believe over 20, which is insane!
Safe as possible
Lots of attention has been paid to getting Emma safe, including materials that meet global standards.
Handles
For easy rotating.
Award-winning
It has more than 30 awards under its belt, and many others think it’s great, too.
German Engineered Advanced Foam
The trademarked custom foam was first designed in Germany to guarantee maximum comfort. However, the Emma original is manufactured in the UK.
What Could’ve Been Better?
Hot
Although there is plenty of work done to bring down heat retention, we did find it hot to sleep on for the first few nights until we got used to it.
In Summary
The Emma Original is one of the most popular mattresses worldwide, not just in the UK. It has sold over 500,000 of these mattresses and won multiple awards, so you know it’s a quality product! On top of that, it’s an affordable memory foam mattress with regular sales that make it even more attractive!
Best For Side Sleepers – Eve
Being an original bed in a box company Eve knows how to solve aches and pains. It might not cure your back, but they have been around since 2015, developing the mattress to give the people in the UK a better night’s sleep. Plus, they are UK made and owned.
What do you get when purchasing? Continuing the trend of having the golden number of 3 layers of foam. The Eve original finds the perfect balance of support and comfort; the base is a more durable and zonal support base like Emma.
Convenience is vital for Eve. They will deliver to your room for free and even take away your old mattress and recycle it! Also, the top cover has a zip, and it is removable, so you can clean the mattress easier.
Does your partner move around a lot at night? Eve has excellent motion transfer, which helps isolate movement and stops it from travelling through the mattress. So, no more getting woken up in the middle of the night from tossing and turning.
Prices start at £429 for a single and £799 for a king. Eve also has the option of a super king mattress. Not too many brands offer this spacious size. Like the others, you get a respectable trial period of 100 nights and a ten-year warranty.
Why Did We Like It?
Delivery made easy
With Eve you get flexible delivery slots. This can vary depending on your location.
Hassle-free returns
They’ll even collect it from your room, for free.
Remove and recycle
When upgrading to a new mattress, removing the old one can be a pain, not with Eve. They also have a mattress removal service.
What Could’ve Been Better?
Runs hot
There have been a few more complaints with this mattress, mainly to do with the heat retention. This tends to be a problem with memory foam and is bad for people who sleep hot. Brands work very hard to offer premium solutions to stop this but Eve doesn’t fit into that category according to a few reviewers.
Off-gassing
There is an off-gassing, like a natural chemical smell that generally happens when you first open a mattress in a box. But, Eve doesn’t get comments on this quite frequently.
No handle
Even with the premium materials, the basics are overlooked – like a handle.
In Summary
It’s not all doom and gloom. Prices start at £429, and you can usually pick up a deal essentially on Black Friday! Make sure you read out Eve Original review and be on the lookout for a deal.
Best For Bad Backs – Ergoflex
Thanks to its five layers of memory foam that cradle and support you, the Ergoflex 5G is specially designed to help bad backs. It comes with the backing of The Back Doctor (Dr Mark Craig). Negatives? It only offers a 30-night free trial, which is much shorter than our other picks.
Before we cover the materials, I want to say memory foam does relieve pressure and can help your back. However, this is not always the case, and what might work for one person might not work for another. Right, let’s jump into the selling points.
Egoflex teamed up with Dr Mark Craig (The Back Doctor), and he recommends it as part of a treatment plan for back pain. We reckon it’s because it’s a High-Density orthopaedic pressure-reducing mattress with temperature-sensitive responsive performance that contours to your exact body shape.
However, it is marketed as a 5 layer system when it’s 3 layers of foam like the rest. Yet, they include the outer cover and undercover to make it to 5.
A major bonus is that Ergoflex was established in 2006, making it the oldest mattress in a box brand in the UK. I think they are the only brand to go past the 10 year warranty too.
Why Did We Like It?
Good for bad backs
Designed to support bad backs.
Premium materials
In the Ergoflex 5G, you’ll find the highest grade of memory foam density. This means your mattress should last for a long time.
Antibacterial removable cover
The removable cover is machine washable and naturally antibacterial (made with Tencel), making it perfect for allergy sufferers.
Mattress-in-a-box pioneers and originals
With a 10-year warranty, they’ve been around longer than any other brand, and they delivered their mattresses in boxes first in the UK (i believe).
What Could’ve Been Better?
No handles
Despite the premium materials and orthopaedic design, the basics are neglected… like a handle.
30-night trial
There is only a 30 night risk-free trial, which is the lowest out of every brand and doesn’t give a lot of time to get used to the mattress.
Egg Crate Layer
Underneath the top comfort, layer is the middle cooling layer, a cut in half memory foam layer in an egg crate fashion. This does allow more airflow to pass through the mattress. However, we don’t think this is a ploy to save money as the rest of the mattress is spot on! But it also saves on material costs because it’s half a layer.
In Summary
If your mattress gives you a sore neck and/or back, consider trying this premium memory foam mattress. Designed specifically to relieve bad backs, this medium-firm mattress should cradle and support you throughout the night. The airflow system and washable, breathable cover are designed to keep you cool while you sleep. Although, we are not so happy with the 30-day trial period.
Best Budget Memory Foam – Silentnight Rolled
With an average of 4 out of 5 stars and 9,263 ratings in total. This budget option doesn’t sound too terrible! The caveat is that it has 3 models on the Amazon listing, and it’s vague on the differences.
The rolled memory foam mattresses by Silentnight come in three models. Starting with the budget option and working our way in price. First is the comfort, then the 3 zone, lastly, the 7 zone.
The comfort is the cheapest out of the bunch, around £100 for the single and under £150 for a king. However, this option only has 1 layer of foam support (not memory foam) and a top soft knit later. The total thickness is 14 cm and wouldn’t be suitable for heavier people. (The average of the other mattress is around 26 cm).
Next, we have the 3 zone that gets its name for the three layers, but this again adds the top knitted cover as a layer and only has 2 layers of foam. The base is the standard foam in the comfort model but with grooves for your shoulders and hip to relieve some pressure. Above that is the memory foam, which doesn’t allude to much information about. I would say it’s only a thin layer from the image as the mattress is 18 cm thick.
Lastly, we have the 7 zone, which is the only option I would choose out of the bunch, according to the negative reviews that mainly focused on the other two. It’s still vague on what’s in the mattress, but it is 20 cm thick and has memory foam and zoned support. The cover has Purotex fibres which help to protect against dust mites actively.
After some digging, I found the image below showing the models and the firmness rating.
What we liked
Cost
There’s no denying, you will save some money when purchasing this range.
Made in the UK
It’s fantastic that all three mattresses are made in the UK.
Best on Amazon
Within the price range, we can happily say it’s the best memory foam mattress on Amazon.
What Could’ve Been Better?
Packaging
This is somewhat pro and a con. It’s nice no cardboard is used, creating less packaging. However, just the thin plastic wrap protecting the mattress while being transported and before storage.
Clarity
A bit more information on the different mattresses would’ve been great! There isn’t much info on the thickness of the memory foam on the 3 zone or 7, which more than likely isn’t a good sign.
No Handles
Going budget makes you miss out on some extra nice to have features – like handles.
Returns and warranties
Amazon is great! And always put the customer first. However, you will only get the standard return window and not the excellent trial periods like you do with the other mattress. Like the Nectar with a 365 day trial, ridiculous, haha. Even with the Amazon return, I would double-check if you can return the mattress. After all, it won’t roll back up again once unpacked.
I believe you get a 12-month warranty but double-check this.
In Summary
Honestly, I wouldn’t recommend getting these mattresses. You want to get the same kind of trial period and warranty as to the premium options. But if you don’t want to spend too much money or if it’s a temporary or guest bedroom solution. This could be perfect for you.