Health’s Mattress Firmness Scale

At Health, we rank the firmness of a given mattress on a scale of 1 to 5 to give you an idea of how it feels in real life. Mattress firmness is subjective—what feels extremely firm to one sleeper might be a little soft to another—so we’ve done our best to standardize firmness by considering mattress materials (like mattress type, foam density, and coil strength) while also noting any considerations that might make a mattress feel firmer or softer to you versus another sleeper.

Why We Measure Out of Five

When shopping for mattresses, you might have come across brands that offer firmness suggestions for their own mattresses on their websites, often out of 10. But in practice, there’s not much difference between all 10 levels of firmness. For example, you’ll often find that a 4 mattress feels pretty similar to a 5 and a 5 to a 6—and mattress brands tend to agree, often giving a firmness range instead of one specific number.

Our firmness scale—and recommendations—also keep mattresses to the middle of the traditional manufacturer range; mattresses that would be at a 1 or a 10 out of 10 are hard to find and typically not supportive enough or too firm, respectively, for sleepers to get restful sleep. You won’t typically find mattresses rated at the lowest or highest ends of manufacturers’ scales; they’ll typically fall somewhere between 3 out of 10 and 9 out of 10 at the extreme.

We’ve decided to categorize our tested mattresses on a scale of 5 so you know what to expect—particularly important if you’re shopping online and can’t try it in person.

Firmness at a Glance

Firmness Level	Description	Who It’s Best For
1	Soft: These mattresses offer the lowest level of support and the highest level of “sinking in”	Potentially back and side sleepers; these may work for people in smaller bodies, but ultimately they won’t provide much support
2	Soft Plus: A soft sink with some added support for alignment, typically from coils	Sleepers looking for a lot of pressure relief around the shoulders and hips; people in smaller bodies
3	Medium: You’ll still have some level of sink, but your spine should be in alignment and well-supported	Side sleepers; will also work for most sleepers, aside from those who sleep exclusively on their stomachs
4	Firm: These offer sturdy support with very little sink	People with back pain who need a little extra alignment; stomach sleepers
5	Extra Firm: The highest level of support. You’ll find little to no conforming.	People with larger bodies or anyone who likes a firm sleeping surface

Soft (1)

When you think of “sinking in,” you’re thinking of a soft mattress at the low end of the scale. Soft mattresses conform closely to your body as you sink in. When you press your hand into the mattress’ surface, it’ll likely go fairly deep, potentially a few inches into the top couple of layers. These will feature plush, pillowy layers, and it might be a struggle to get out of this mattress after lying down. Soft would most likely be a 2 or 3 on a manufacturer’s 10 scale.

Soft mattresses are typically made entirely of memory foam, but it’s worth noting that foam mattresses can come in any firmness level and also tend to make up the bulk of the extra firm category.

• Material: Typically soft foam
• Position: May work for back or side sleepers but won’t provide enough support for stomach sleepers, who need added firmness for spinal alignment
• Sleep concerns: Won’t help to keep your spine aligned or alleviate pain—in fact, these might cause back pain over time 

Soft Plus (2)

A soft plus mattress won’t allow you to sink completely into its layers. While most soft mattresses are made of foam, you’ll see hybrid mattresses with wide coils in the soft plus category. Wide coils offer general support—as opposed to the more rigid firmness of tighter coils—which keeps this category sturdier than the marshmallow-y softness of a 1 on our scale. You can think of soft plus mattresses as being on the lower end of medium, with plenty of cradling and contouring, most likely a 3 or 4 out of 10 on a manufacturer's scale.

Many popular mattress brands favor medium firm mattresses and higher, but a few brands—including Saatva and Purple—make mattresses with multiple firmness options, including at the soft plus level. The Purple Restore is available in both firm (4/5) and soft (2/5) according to manufacturer ratings, but its coils keep it from being a “true” soft (1/5). The Saatva Zenhaven offers a similar concept, with two firmness levels in one flippable mattress: Luxury Plush and Gentle Firm. 

• Material: These are typically hybrids with a blend of memory foam and wide coils
• Position: Perform best for back sleepers, but may work for side sleepers who like a lot of cushion or smaller and lighter people who sleep in either position
• Sleep concerns: Can offer added pressure relief for painful pressure points like shoulders and hips

Medium (3)

A medium mattress is right in the middle; you’re neither sinking right in nor lying on a flat, hard surface. With a medium mattress, bony areas—like shoulders, hips, and knees—will sink into the mattress, while the rest of your body stays relatively even and aligned. You should be able to feel support at this level without any soreness or pain from pressure points. A medium mattress is the broadest range, when you look at a manufacturer rating on a scale of 10 these are most likely anywhere from a 5 to a 7.

Mattresses with a medium firmness on our scale also tend to work well for side sleepers. The Casper Nova Hybrid—which worked well for our combination sleeper—and the LullLuxe Hybrid were both right in the middle of the scale during our testing; they kept our spines aligned, but we felt a comfortable “sinking in” feeling around hips and shoulders.

• Material: May be any material, but most hybrid mattresses hover at this level of firmness 
• Position: Works well for back and side sleepers, but may not offer enough support for stomach sleepers; also performs well with couples who have different firmness preferences or sleep styles
• Sleep concerns: Cushioned top layers that can provide pressure relief while also keeping the spine aligned

Firm (4)

Firm mattresses offer plenty of support, but you may still feel a little bit of give around the bonier areas of your body if your mattress has a slightly cushioned top layer. You won’t feel much body conforming here at all, and if you press your hand into the surface of the mattress, it won’t go down much. This is about a 7 or 8 out of 10.

The Tuft & Needle Mint mattress, made with dense pressure relief foam, is a classic all-foam firm mattress. The Purple Restore, on the other hand, is a hybrid that gets its firmness from sturdy coils under layers of foam.

• Material: May be foam or hybrid; you’ll find denser foam and more sturdy coils
• Position: Stomach and back sleepers; side sleepers may find discomfort around the shoulders and hips
• Sleep concerns: Firm mattresses can alleviate back pain by keeping the spine aligned for back and stomach sleepers; larger people may find firmer mattresses more comfortable and supportive than smaller people will

Extra Firm (5)

Extra firm mattresses are at the highest end of the firmness range. You’ll find that these mattresses won’t do much to conform to your body, if at all. When you press your hand into the top of the mattress, you’d be met with significant resistance and your hand wouldn’t sink even when you really applied your bodyweight to the task. Firm mattresses on our scale would be about a 9 out of 10 on a manufacturer’s scale.

Saatva’s Classic mattress is a great example of a five on our scale; you’ll notice almost no compression while lying down on this hybrid option because of its sturdy coils. The Saatva Solaire—with 50 adjustable firmness levels—can provide a similar feel, with little to no sink or compression from its edges to the middle of the bed at the highest settings.

• Material: Often high-density foam; if it’s a hybrid, you’ll see coils made of very strong steel that won’t compress much
• Position: Stomach and back sleepers who want extra support; side sleepers may feel discomfort around the shoulders and hips
• Sleep concerns: May find relief from back and neck pain as the spine is aligned; many mattresses designed for larger people will also fall into the extra firm range (which will also make them feel less firm to larger sleepers—see Body Size below)

How Mattress Firmness Is Determined

To make a mattress more or less firm, manufacturers think about the mattress type and materials. Many mattress companies base their firmness scales on the kind of foam or coils they use for those particular mattresses. For example, if a mattress has a rating at the high end of the scale, you’ll find high-density foam or extra sturdy coils.

Coil numbers and patterns also make a difference. Wider coils move with you and feel a little softer than smaller coils, which will feel more firm and supportive.

What to Consider While Looking at Firmness Levels

Body Size

Your size and weight will affect how a mattress will react to your body—and vice versa. A smaller or lighter person will find a mattress at the lower end of the scale slightly firmer than a larger person, so a small person might require less support. 

Many brands make mattresses with larger sleepers that use firmer steel coils or denser foam for their support.

Position

While firmness is a personal preference, a few guidelines will help your mattress work for your sleep position.

• Stomach sleepers should look for a firmer mattress to keep their backs aligned and supported—and pain-free—as they sleep on their stomachs.
• Side sleepers will likely find the middle of the mattress range most comfortable, with a supportive surface for spinal alignment and a soft top layer to relieve pain in bonier body areas that accumulate pressure while side sleeping.
• Back sleepers are the most versatile. While all sleepers will want to avoid something too soft—which is why we don’t recommend mattresses that would be at the lowest end of traditional scales—back sleepers will be more supported on a soft mattress than stomach or side sleepers will; back sleepers can also sleep on firm mattresses.

Sleep Concerns

If you tend to wake up with a sore neck or back, a firmer mattress may help to alleviate this pain. If you tend to wake with shoulder or hip pain, you might want to look for something in the medium to soft support range or a mattress with a pillow top that offers pressure relief.

Delivery Method

Even your mattress’ delivery method can affect firmness level. Mattresses that arrive in a box—which is most mattresses—will be slightly softer. To be boxed up, mattresses are flattened out and rolled up to arrive at your door. While most will spring back into their original shape, they will be slightly softer than on the factory floor. 

What Exactly is Pressure Relief?

While shopping for mattresses, you’ve likely encountered the phrase “pressure relief.” If you’ve seen a mattress described as relieving pressure, you can count on it to provide more comfort to pressure points throughout the body—in other words, the areas of your body that tend to press into the mattress while you’re sleeping. Mattresses that offer pressure relief work by keeping your weight evenly distributed, which helps you to feel more comfortable.

What About Zoned Support?

Just as it sounds, zoned support offers special support to areas people tend to have the most trouble with while sleeping: Under the shoulders, lower back, and legs. Three zones are most common, but you may see as many as nine zones in some mattresses or even just one zone of lumbar support.

Zoned support can be softer to offer more pressure relief or firmer to keep your body aligned. Pay attention to the foam or coil type—as described above, you can tell a lot about how a mattress will feel based on the materials a manufacturer uses.