All the mattress companies with free trials—and why you should care
Rest easy: You can return a new mattress.
Credit:
Reviewed / Tim Renzi
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Buying a mattress online can be fairly nerve-wracking. How do you know if you’re picking the best mattress? What happens if you don’t like it? You’re certainly not the first shopper to have these questions, which is why so many companies offer free mattress trials.
Before you buy a new mattress, here’s everything you need to know about at-home sleep trials, including how to make the most of them.
What is a mattress sleep trial?
Sleep trials give you the opportunity to test new mattresses risk-free.
One of the major drawbacks of buying a mattress online is that you don’t actually get to try it out in person. (Even when you can try a mattress in-store, there’s a big difference between laying on it for a few minutes while a salesperson stares at you and sleeping on it for eight hours a night.) To give shoppers more confidence in their purchase, retailers offer at-home mattress trials.
What does that mean, exactly? Basically, you get anywhere from 30 days to a year to sleep on the new bed in your own home. Within that mattress trial period, if you decide the bed isn’t right for your needs, you can return it, no questions asked, for a full refund.
These free trials typically start on the day you receive your mattress. Most companies only allow you to do one sleep trial per year, so you can't test and return multiple mattresses in a row. (The fine print varies from brand to brand.)
What online brands offer mattress trials?
Some companies, like DreamCloud, give you 365 nights.
There are a lot of reasons a mattress might not suit you once you finally bring it home. Maybe it’s too soft or too firm, or perhaps it gets warm overnight. You might not notice these factors just by testing out a mattress in a store, and naturally, there’s no way to know how a bed will sleep if you buy it online.
With all these “what ifs” surrounding your purchase, a mattress trial helps give you peace of mind that you’re not stuck with something that doesn’t work for you.
| Mattress company | Trial period | What we’ve tested |
|---|---|---|
| Avocado | 365 nights | Avocado Green mattress |
| Awara | 365 nights | Awara Premier Natural Hybrid mattress |
| DreamCloud | 365 nights | DreamCloud Hybrid |
| Nectar | 365 nights | Original Mattress |
| Saatva | 365 nights | Saatva Classic |
| Bear | 120 nights | Bear Hybrid |
| Brooklyn Bedding | 120 nights | Signature Hybrid |
| Layla | 120 nights | Layla Memory Foam mattress |
| Nolah | 120 nights | Nolah Evolution Hybrid mattress |
| GhostBed | 101 nights | GhostBed Classic |
| Puffy | 101 nights | Puffy Lux Hybrid |
| Simmons | 101 nights | Simmons Hybrid Firm |
| Allswell | 100 nights | Allswell Supreme |
| Amerisleep | 100 nights | Amerisleep AS3 |
| Casper | 100 nights | Original mattress |
| Cocoon by Sealy | 100 nights | Cocoon by Sealy Chill mattress |
| Helix | 100 nights | Helix Midnight |
| Leesa | 100 nights | Leesa Hybrid |
| Purple | 100 nights | Purple mattress |
| Serta | 100 nights | Serta Perfect Sleeper Nestled Nights |
| Tuft & Needle | 100 nights | Tuft & Needle Original mattress |
| Tempur-Pedic | 90 nights | Tempur-Pedic Tempur-Cloud |
What should you do during a mattress trial?
Use your mattress as normal during your sleep trial.
Naturally, the whole purpose of a sleep trial is to, well, sleep on the mattress. However, there are a few steps you should take to make the most of your testing period.
First, be sure to follow the brand’s instructions for setting up the mattress, especially if it came in a box. If they say to give the mattress six hours to expand, wait at least that long before using the mattress. If they say to give the mattress a period to off-gas, do so. If you cut corners, you may end up with a less-than-ideal sleep experience.
Further, be prepared that the first few night’s sleep on your new mattress might not be amazing. It may feel uncomfortable at first, especially if the mattress is different than your previous mattress, and you may even wake up with new aches—this is normal! You’ll want to give your body at least a week or two to adjust to the new mattress before making a decision about whether to keep it.
How do you return a trial mattress?
Brands make it easy to return unwanted mattresses.
If you decide the mattress isn’t working for you, don’t feel bad—that’s exactly what sleep trials are for. To start the return process, contact customer service, and have your order information handy. Keep in mind that most companies stipulate returned mattresses must be in good condition, meaning no rips, stains, or other major damage. What’s more, some companies require that you test their products for a certain number of nights. For instance, to return a Purple mattress, you must have owned it for at least three weeks.
If you’re looking at the tiny box your mattress arrived in and thinking to yourself, “OK, but there’s no way I can get it back to that size,” don’t stress. Most mattress companies will coordinate pickup of the unwanted mattress for local donation or return directly to the company. Either way, you don’t have to worry about packing or shipping it. Some brands ask you to donate the unwanted mattress to a local charity, though you’ll need to provide proof of donation to get a refund.
What will happen to a returned mattress?
While different brands all have their own ways of handling returned trial mattresses, most companies end up donating to charity when possible. Some send mattresses to local shelters, while others donate the beds directly to families in need. These policies vary, however, so you’ll want to look up the sleep trial information from the company for more specific details.
A mattress is an important purchase—after all, sleep plays a big part in our overall health and well-being—so take advantage of any mattress trial that's offered. These risk-free trials ensure you can return the bed hassle-free if it doesn't work for you, giving you the ability to get your money back and keep hunting for the perfect mattress.