Best Cheap Mattress Toppers
Last Updated: April, 2024 | This Post May Contain Affiliate Links
It's true to say that the best mattress toppers are usually expensive - $300 and above. However, that doesn't mean that you can't get a quality mattress topper for less than that.
In our review today, we've gathered 5 mattress toppers that would serve you well without breaking the bank. According to our tests, the best cheap mattress topper is the Viscosoft Select High Density Mattress Topper which offers durability, great support and cushioning. Here's more on our top options that'll fit your budget.
Best Cheap/Low Cost Mattress Toppers
ViscoSoft Select High Density Mattress Topper
If you feel like your mattress isn't giving you the comfort and support you need, the Select High Density Mattress Topper offers additional firmness and increased support to an uncomfortable mattress. Also, it's an excellent choice for individuals dealing with chronic pain as it provides spinal alignment, improves circulation, and has superior pressure point relief.
GhostBed Memory Foam Mattress Topper
If you're looking for the quickest and most economical way of upgrading your mattress' comfort, this GhostBed Mattress Topper is an excellent pick. The knitted cover of this memory foam mattress topper offers a luxurious sleep experience, keeping you cool as you sleep.
Zinus Green Tea TorsoTec® Memory Foam Topper
Thanks to its memory foam layer, it offers exquisite comfort and support alongside enhanced pressure relief for a more restful sleep. Additionally, the memory foam layers ensure you stay cool during hot nights.
Zinus Ultra Cool Gel Memory Foam Mattress Topper
Like most memory foam mattress toppers, the Zinus Ultra Cool Topper is made to suit a hot sleeper. However, the foam layer's benefits extend to pressure and pain relief, ensuring you achieve restful sleep.
Zinus Cloud Memory Foam Mattress Topper
Aside from cooling, the Cloud Foam in this mattress topper offers incredible cradling comfort, ideal for sleepers with painful pressure points. More importantly, it's among the few choices suitable for stomach sleepers seeking proper spinal alignment.
Pros
Cons
Overall Thoughts
The ViscoSoft Select High Density topper finds the perfect balance between even support and close body contouring. It boasts a medium feel that closely cradles the body, but still feels fairly supportive. If you want to improve your mattress' pressure relief without breaking the bank, this is a solid choice.
As one of the best memory foam mattress toppers on the market, the ViscoSoft Select High Density Mattress Topper conforms closely to the body to equally distribute your body weight, alleviate pressure points throughout your body, and support the spine.
Due to its medium feel, this memory foam topper is best suited to sleepers weighing up to 230 pounds and those who prefer to sink deeply into their sleep surface. Unlike other memory foam models, the ViscoSoft Select High Density Topper sleeps fairly cool thanks to its breathable cover and gel-infused memory foam.
The ViscoSoft Select High Density Mattress Topper is a bargain for shoppers. It comes with a 90-night sleep trial and a 5-year warranty. Plus, shipping is free to the contiguous United States.
Pros
Cons
Overall Thoughts
GhostBed is a fantastic gel memory foam mattress topper designed to provide cooling relief, solid support and excellent sleep comfort for a wide range of sleepers.
This GhostBed Topper is 3 inches thick with layers consisting of high-density memory foam, latex gel and contouring memory foam. So if you often sleep hot, the gel infusion, combined with the breathable cover, will help dissipate your body heat, offering exceptional cooling relief. Moreover, the topper's organic cotton cover wicks away moisture to shield you from night sweats.
If your current mattress has seen better days and you need to boost its comfort and support, this topper is among the best mattress toppers to go for. It's also an excellent option for boosting the longevity of a new mattress. Comfort-wise, this topper's contouring memory foam provides sleepers with cushiony cradling comfort for pain and pressure relief.
With its latex gel, GhostBed also feels like a latex mattress topper with excellent responsiveness, ideal for combination sleepers. So switching sleeping positions is easier without feeling stuck or restricted. Notably, the gel infused foam in its design is a bit bouncy, adding to the topper's overall responsiveness.
Though it accommodates all sleeping positions, it's not ideal for strict side sleepers. Generally, this is a medium firm mattress topper suitable for back sleepers seeking more lumbar support and stomach sleepers looking for proper spinal alignment. Note that for you to use this topper as a stomach sleeper, you must be 130 pounds or less.
The good news is that the GhostBed mattress topper is currently on sale and available to those with a strict budget, which is a bargain worth getting. Standard sizes available include; Twin, Twin XL, California King, Split King and others.
Pros
Cons
Overall Thoughts
This topper is 4 inches in thickness and it Zinus TorsoTec Topper and it guarantees you joint support and refreshing comfort and enhanced targeted pain and pressure relief.
Within its layers, the topper has a 1.5 inches thick layer consisting of memory foam and other organic additives such as plant oil and charcoal. Like with the Viscosoft Mattress Topper, the activated charcoal in this topper creates a healthy sleep environment. For instance, it eliminates odors and reduces moisture and humidity. These materials, including the rayon knitted cover, which also help with temperature regulation.
The lumbar support it provides your shoulders and hips ensures sufficient pressure relief on the pressure points, allowing you to wake up rejuvenated. Additionally, this great lumbar support ensures proper muscle and spinal alignment—which is essential for preventing back pain. More importantly, it helps improves circulation, easing muscle tension and stiffness for a good night's sleep.
Unlike most mattress toppers on the market, the Zinus TorsoTec is among the best cheap mattress toppers that'll improve your sleep and last longer. It also has antiskid straps at the corners to keep the topper in place so it doesn't shift while you're sleeping.
Pros
Cons
Overall Thoughts
Zinus Ultra Cool is a gel infused memory foam mattress topper designed to target hot sleepers, individuals suffering from aches and joint pain, and sleepers seeking to improve their sleep experience on an uncomfortable mattress.
Zinus' Ultra Cool Gel Foam Layer provides excellent body contouring while offering tremendous pressure relief on painful pressure points. The pressure relief goes from head to toe, so you don't wake up with aches or exhaustion. Moreover, this makes it an excellent option for sleepers seeking cushion and support balance.
The Zinus Ultra Cool Memory Foam Mattress Topper is punctuated with tiny cooling gel beads. These gel beads excellently dissipate body heat to ensure a cool, comfortable sleep. As one of the best cooling memory foam toppers, Zinus' breathable cover also offers enhanced cooling, which shields you from night sweats.
This Zinus Topper has an antiskid bottom that keeps it firmly in place. Moreover, it's easy to store in case you use it occasionally for your guests—thanks to its storage straps.
Considered the best cheap mattress topper by some buyers, this Zinus topper comes with incredible features most toppers lack at its price point. Also, it's available in various sizes, including King, Full, and Queen sizes, to help you find your preferred size.
Pros
Cons
Overall Thoughts
With its great super soft, supportive foam, this cloud memory foam topper provides exquisite pressure relief and cradling support.
Like many mattress toppers, the Zinus Cloud has a removable quilted fiber cover. The cover's quilting helps add an extra layer of softness for a more comfortable sleep. Also, the topper's breathable cover makes it ideal for individuals who often sleep hot. Plus, it is also removable and machine washable for easy cleaning.
Like a typical Tuft Needle Mattress Topper, Zinus Cloud Memory Foam is made of high-quality CertiPUR-US Certified foams. The foams help improve its durability and performance. Additionally, the foams have undergone independent lab tests to ensure the topper is exceptionally safe and free of harmful VOCs.
The memory foam at its base offers sleepers head-to-toe pressure relief for enhanced sleep comfort. In addition, the Zinus Green Tea Memory Foam delivers enhanced circulation and cradling support to reduce joint stress.
Zinus Cloud is a thinner topper with a 2-inch thickness making it primarily suitable for back and stomach sleepers. The benefits stomach sleepers stand to gain from this 2-inch mattress pad include reducing excessive sinkage and offering more support. Aside from providing back sleepers with extra support, it also helps relieve back pain.
As a medium firm mattress pad, Zinus Cloud is better suited for back and stomach sleepers weighing between 130 and 230 pounds for proper spinal alignment. So, if you're looking to transform the sleep comfort of your existing mattress, you can bet that the Zinus Cloud Mattress Pad won't let you down. Also, they have various sizes to choose from—twin XL to King size.
What To Look For In a Cheaper Mattress Topper
Mattress toppers aren't always good quality if they're under a certain price point. If you're looking to save money, but still want a decent quality mattress topper, here's some of the features you should look for. Click here to learn more about how much you should spend on a mattress topper.
Cooling Technology
Unless you prefer a hot sleeping surface, it's always better to ensure the topper you buy has some sort of cooling property. Some mattress toppers are designed like an egg crate to enhance breathability, others have gel infusion to dissipate heat, keeping the body cool.
A cooling topper is very essential mostly for those that sleep with a partner. If a mattress topper lacks this feature, then it might make you sweat and uncomfortable all night, mostly during the summer.
Warranty
A warranty is important for two things. One is that it shows how long a mattress should last according to the manufacturer's gauge. If the given warranty is for 5 years, then the manufacturer expects the topper to last about 5 years give or take.
The second importance is that the warranty gives you a chance to solve a mattress issue within the manufacturer's terms.
If a topper comes without a warranty, be weary and avoid purchasing it.
Sleep Night Trials and Returns
Unlike warranties, night trials are offered by the product company to give the buyer a chance to test the mattress topper. If the product has 100 night trials then after 100 nights you may return the topper if it doesn't work for you. Unfortunately, for mattress toppers, not all companies offer night trials. Therefore, if the mattress you want doesn't offer this, don't be alarmed.
After night trials, some companies allow returns. However, several companies don't allow returns, but instead refund your money or give you a different topper for your liking.
In this case, ensure the mattress you go for at least offers one of these options so that you don't spend on a topper that doesn't fit your sleep needs.
Safe Materials
Many cheap toppers are cheap because they are made of materials and chemicals that can be harmful to sleepers. A good topper is free of VOCs, ozone depleters and other harmful substances. Some good material options include memory foam and latex. You can get either an organic latex mattress topper or a synthetic one - both are fine, just ensure there are no additional chemicals that can make the topper harmful for human use.
Firmness Level
The effectiveness of a mattress topper, whether cheap or expensive, comes down to the firmness level you choose. Your new topper should complement your existing mattress. This means that if your mattress has become too soft for your liking, what you'll need is a firm topper. If your current sleep surface is too firm, then get a plush mattress topper to make the bed softer.
Ask about the firmness level from the seller to be sure that it's the level you need. A 6.5 is a medium firm. Upwards from that, the topper becomes firmer and below that, the topper becomes softer.
Pressure Relief
Pressure relief and your sleeping position go hand in hand. Different toppers offer relief in different pressure points. If you're a back sleeper or stomach sleeper, you need your shoulder region and your waist region relieved. If you're a side sleeper then the side you sleep on should experience full pressure relief.
Find out how well the topper relieves pressure before purchasing it. If it's good for only one type of sleeping position or all.
Topper Cover
Not all toppers come with a cover. Even some very expensive mattress toppers don't. Some only have adjustable straps - which are good too, but they do not offer the same benefit as a mattress topper cover. A cover is quite essential because it keeps the mattress topper clean and maintains its durability. A cheap topper with a cover is worth buying. Mostly a removable and washable cover because you'll be able to clean it and keep it fresh whenever the bed stains.
A good topper cover should be able to stretch to your mattress and hold it firm so that as you toss and turn at night, the topper doesn't slide off.
Related Content: Should I buy a mattress topper
Hypoallergenic Topper
The most important feature is hypoallergenicness. This means that the topper you buy doesn't entertain dust, dust mites and other allergens. Being hypoallergenic is especially vital for sleepers who suffer from allergies and those that are asthmatic.
In Conclusion
There are many affordable mattress toppers with good features. However, if you'd still like a slice of the expensive toppers, target their offers during public holidays and celebrations such as a brand's anniversary. You may also get free topper offers with some brands if you purchase their mattresses. Just make sure to read through reviews before purchasing, to avoid getting the poor versions of affordable toppers. Luckily, our collection above are tested and proven to give sleepers a good night's sleep.