Best Mattress for Platform Bed
Last Updated: December, 2024 | This Post May Contain Affiliate Links
Your mattress’ foundation makes a big difference in the quality and longevity of your bed, not to mention how comfortable it will be. There are numerous foundation options today, ranging from adjustable beds to simple box springs. While most homeowners prefer using simple box springs and bed frames, these alternatives can often affect the quality of your mattress and impact your warranty.
That’s where platform beds come in. These bed frames took the industry with a storm for many reasons. For starters, they can virtually fit any space, big or small, and (seamlessly) any décor. They’re also practical: Featuring a slatted or solid base, they remove the need for bulky and expensive box springs, allowing you to put the mattress directly on the surface of your bed’s sturdy base.
They have a low profile, too, resulting in streamlined silhouettes that won’t clutter up your room (making them perfect for renters and those with small spaces). Plus, platform beds are easier to assemble than their modern private counterparts. However, some platforms are too close to the ground, thus making getting into and out of your bed more difficult.
So, what’s the best mattress for platform beds?
According to our various tests, the best mattress for a platform bed is the GhostBed Luxe. This mixed-foam mattress boasts an attractive warranty and features a cover padded with memory foam and infused with cooling fibers to help you sleep cool and comfortable all night long.
This article will first take you through the 7 best mattresses for platform beds to help you make a wise purchase decision. We’ll also discuss some of the features to look for when shopping for your new mattress.
7 Best Mattresses for Platform Beds
GhostBed Luxe
Suitable for a variety of sleepers, this medium-firm mattress uses a combination of gel memory foam and latex for a one-two punch of support and pressure relief.
Amerisleep AS5
As the softest bed in the Amerisleep line, these 14” luxury memory foam mattresses offer excellent softness for side and back sleepers while still allowing for responsiveness, breathability, and cooling.
Puffy Lux Mattress
Designed with a contour-adapt coil base and premium body-conforming memory foam, this hybrid mattress softens to adapt to your body as you move. You can use it on any frame type, including platform bed frames.
Zinus 12 Inch Memory Foam Mattress
Green tea and charcoal infusion neutralize odors to keep your mattress fresh for years to come. A contouring transition layer and a cooling top layer cradle the curves of the hips and shoulders of back and stomach sleepers.
Plush Beds Cool Bliss
This gel-infused memory foam mattress uses patented PlushFoam that dissipates moisture and heat 3X faster than traditional foam beds. It’s perfect for all bed frame types.
Purple Hybrid
This unique hybrid mattress pairs support with pressure relief, creating a sleep surface ideal for sleepers with pains and aches.
Casper Original Mattress
Thanks to its medium feel and zoned support, the Casper Original works well for all sleeping positions and fit perfectly on platform beds. You can’t beat its budget-friendly price either.
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For a sophisticated alternative without the sticker shock, The GhostBed Luxe delivers. It’s a mixed-foam mattress that works perfectly well with a platform bed. In fact, the company allows you to opt for the comfort bundle, which features a frame and other sleep accessories at a discount. Besides offering style and substance at a reasonable price, GhostBed’s 101-night risk-free trial, free shipping, and a 25-year warranty let you sleep easy.
GhostBed Luxe Mattress Breakdown
The GhostBed Luxe comes with a medium-density foam comfort layer that measures about 2 inches thick. It conforms closely to your body, evenly distributing your weight to support your spine and alleviate pressure. And unlike the high-density memory foam found in competing models, these comfort layers are somewhat breathable and won’t trap body heat, helping you sleep cool throughout the night. Besides, the memory foam is infused with cooling gel, which significantly helps the sleep surface resist excessive heat absorption.
The GhostBed Luxe also features a transitional layer of Ghost Bounce polyfoam that measures 2 inches thick. This material boasts latex-like responsiveness to offer more pushback and support, protecting you from sinking too deeply into the surface. However, some sleepers will feel more supported and cushioned than others.
Underneath the transitional layer lies GhostBed’s 7.5-inch support core that consists of high-density polyfoam. This stabilizing material works with the Ghost Bounce transitional layer to keep your body aligned on an even plane.
Aside from its three primary layers, this memory foam mattress has additional components to help you sleep more comfortably. For one, the mattress’ cover is made of “Ghost Ice” fabric, a proprietary material that’s cool to the touch. It’s also padded with an inch of memory foam to reinforce the mattress’ comfy medium feel.
The GhostBed Luxe mattress comes with a 101-night sleep trial that includes a 30-night mandatory break-in period. It’s backed by a partially prorated 25-year mattress warranty.
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For sleepers looking for a softer mattress for platform beds, the Amerisleep AS5 is a solid choice. The Amerisleep line of beds features five different models, each specially suited to a different type of sleeper. The AS5 Hybrid is the brand’s softest and most luxurious model that offers a plush sleep surface without sacrificing support. Its cushioning surface cradles your body without making you feel like you’re stuck inside the bed.
Amerisleep AS5 Mattress Breakdown
With a thickness of 14 inches, the AS5 Hybrid is a high-profile mattress made of four layers. Like other Amerisleep mattresses, the AS5 features a thin and breathable cover that promotes airflow throughout your bed. This cover is designed with a soft blend of polyester, spandex, and Celliant. It’s a stretchy material that quickly snaps back into place, so sleepers won’t have to worry about the top cover bunching up when they shift positions on the mattress.
The top memory foam comfort layer on the AS5 comprises 3 inches of Amerisleep’s Bio-Pur foam, which has an open-celled structure, making it more breathable than conventional foam. This material also boasts a slow response to pressure, providing the classic memory foam feel of contouring to your body.
Below the Bio-Pur comfort layer is a unique compression layer that’s only found in the AS5 model: 2 inches of Active Flex layer, which consists of a soft and bouncy material. This layer helps make your sleep surface more supportive and responsive.
Underneath the Active Flex layer is a 2-inch polyfoam transition layer that’s convoluted to increase space in the mattress for maximum airflow and cooling. This layer responds quickly to pressure and is a bit firmer than the soft layers above to act as a transitional layer. This layer is also zoned to offer pressure relief in common problem body sections such as the lower back and shoulders.
Lastly, the bed’s foundation is made of a 7-inch layer of Bio-Core foam that works to fully support the layers above it and give body contouring support to the sleepers on top. Aside from providing support, the base gives the mattress its shape and offers some durability.
Amerisleep provides free shipping, a 100-night sleep trial, and a 20-year warranty for the AS5 model.
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The 12-inch Puffy Lux Hybrid mattress comes with six optimized layers to offer adaptive support and contouring. It’s a four-layer foam mattress that uses patented technology to give sleepers a comfortable, cool night’s sleep. This hybrid mattress has a medium feel that will appeal to various kinds of sleepers who value pressure point relief.
Puffy Lux Mattress Breakdown
The Puffy Lux Hybrid mattresses have a medium firmness that falls at a 5 on the 10-point scale. They’re 12 inches thick, which is slightly taller than the standard mattress but within the range for average fitted sheets.
This hybrid mattress features a machine-washable top cover designed with stain-resistant polyester. A grip base cover will help keep your mattress on your bed frame.
Beneath the cover lies the comfort system, which has three layers—a 1.5-inch gel-infused Cooling Cloud memory foam layer contours to your body for pressure points relief. The gel is made to absorb excess body heat, keeping your mattress cool throughout the night.
Next is a proprietary Dual Cloud foam layer which offers further body contouring and pressure relief. Lastly, we have a 2-inch Climate Comfort polyfoam layer made to be breathable and help your bed maintain a neutral temperature.
The base layer of the Puffy Lux Hybrid mattress is made of 7 inches of individually wrapped coils covered in a high-density polyfoam encasement. These pocketed coils help add bounce, support, and airflow. They also stabilize your bed with advanced edge support.
Since it’s made of close-conforming memory foam, temperature regulation isn’t Puffy Lux Hybrid’s strength. This means hot sleepers may still find the surface somewhat warm. However, the coil base layer allows more air circulation, and the gel infusions in the foam layers are engineered to reduce heat retention.
Puffy backs their Lux Hybrid mattresses with a 101-night sleep trial and a lifetime warranty. Remember that the warranty is null if you use your mattress with an unsuitable base or bed frame.
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The Zinus brand is well-known for making great-value mattresses for sleepers on a tight budget, and their Zinus Green Tea Memory Foam mattresses are no exception. It features CertiPUR-US certified foams to remove chemical flame retardants, phthalates, and formaldehyde. If you want the best memory foam mattress for a platform bed that won’t break the bank, this Zinus entry-level model is worth trying!
Zinus Cooling Gel Memory Foam Mattress Breakdown
The Zinus 12 Inch Memory Foam Mattress is an all-foam model that utilizes memory foam and incorporates cooling specs. It comes in four thicknesses: 14”, 12”, 10”, and 8”. Today, we’ll take a close look at the 12” model.
First up is the Zinus cover, made of thin, soft, and jacquard knits. This material is stretchy and naturally breathable for maximum airflow and comfort.
The Zinus mattress features three layers in the comfort system. The uppermost layer is 3 inches of BioFoam. It uses plant oil in place of the traditional petroleum found in most mattresses to keep your bed fresh. The BioFoam is infused with natural ingredients, such as charcoal and green tea extracts, to eliminate odors and keep your mattress sweat-free throughout its lifespan.
The middle 3-inch layer is made of pressure-relieving gel memory foam to help your body conform without too much pressure on any one portion. Underneath this gel memory foam layer, you’ll find a 2” transitional layer. It helps ensure that you don’t push through to the firm support layer underneath.
Memory foam often does an excellent task of handling motion transfer, and the Zinus mattress didn’t disappoint in this area. The memory foam layers absorb movement reduce disturbances across the sleep surface, so this bed should be an excellent alternative for couples.
The last 6 inches of this memory foam mattress make up the base support foam. Besides giving your mattress its structure, this high-density layer gives you support and promotes airflow for a cool night's sleep experience.
The Zinus 12 Inch Memory Foam mattress boasts a 100-night sleep trial and a 10-year limited warranty. The company also offers full refunds on beds returned within the trial period.
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Innovative, luxurious, and revolutionary, the Plush Beds Cool Bliss mattress is a must-try for hot sleepers looking for the right mattress for their platform beds. And like some RV mattresses this supportive mattress incorporates cooling technology that pulls body heat away while you sleep, keeping you cool all night long. The mattress is available in two firmness levels: Medium and Med-Firm. Choose medium if:
- You prefer a closer-conforming bed
- You share your mattress with a sensitive sleeper
- You’re a side sleeper weighing less than 130lbs
Choose med-firm if:
- You tend to sleep hot
- You’re a stomach sleeper who weighs more than 230lbs
- You prefer a more responsive mattress
Plush Beds Cool Bliss Mattress Breakdown
The Plush Beds Cool Bliss mattress measures 12 inches tall. It’s made of 4 layers of memory foam and latex, including its patented gel foam for temperature control and ARPICO latex for bounce and resilience. These layers are wrapped in a stretchy organic cotton cover with a Joma wool fire barrier to provide a breathable and moisture-wicking surface. This cooling mattress comprises the following layers:
3-inch top layer made from patented Cool Bliss Gel foam to offer cooling and comfort as well as provide pressure relief and compression support during the night. The second layer is a 2-inch transition layer made of 2 inches of 100% APRICO latex designed to offer some bounce and responsiveness between your support and comfort layers.
Keep in mind that Dunlop latex won’t conform to your body as closely as memory foam. This means that the surface won’t be able to minimize motion transfer as effectively as any all-foam mattress. That said, Plush Beds Cool Bliss minimizes motion transfer like other hybrid models, and it should be a good fit for most couples. However, very sensitive sleepers may want to go for an all-foam split king mattress.
Underneath the transition layer lies a 2-inch high-density support layer that provides your mattress with air circulation, ensuring it maintains an even, cool temperature during the night. The final layer is a 5-inch foundation core made of 5 pounds dense, supportive latex foam. It gives your body its sturdy and supportive feel besides offering bounce-back from movement through the bed’s top layers.
PlushBeds provides a 100-night sleep trial and a 30-night break-in period for their Cool Bliss mattress. It also comes with a 25-year limited warranty that protects you against defects in workmanship and materials.
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The Purple Mattress company needs no introduction thanks to its proprietary Purple Grid comfort layer that made it rank among the best brands in the industry. It boasts three primary mattress models: The Purple Mattress (its flagship all-foam model), the Purple Hybrid, and the Purple Hybrid Premier. Their Hybrid model is considered one of the company’s luxury models due to its extra-thick comfort layer. Overall, the Purple Hybrid mattress is a suitable choice for many bed frames, including platform beds.
Purple Hybrid Mattress Breakdown
The Purple Hybrid and the Purple Hybrid Premier use a hybrid design with similar covers, several foam layers, and a pocketed coil support core. The only difference between these two models lies in their comfort layers.
The top cover is designed with viscose, polyester, and lycra, which is stretchy to enable it to move and bend with your bed’s comfort layers. It’s also breathable to allow air circulation throughout the mattress.
The comfort layer features a hyper-elastic polymer Purple Grid, a unique material that contours your body shape without trapping heat. Next is a 1-inch layer of polyfoam that acts as a barrier to protect you from directly getting into contact with the pocketed coils.
You’ll then find a 7.5-inch layer made of pocketed coils that gives your mattress extra edge support and bounce while allowing airflow. In general, you’re likely to feel more “on top” of the mattress as the pocketed coils and the polymer grid produce a ton of buoyancy. Lastly, a thin base layer of transitional foam supports the coil layer.
Temperature neutrality is one of this bed’s greatest strengths. Generally, mattresses with foam comfort layers usually trap heat against sleepers’ bodies, but Purple Hybrid’s unique design helps keep the sleep surface cool and comfortable during the night. Plus, the breathable cover enhances airflow into the mattress. This allows heat to dissipate from your body through the open-air channel, helping your bed sleep exceptionally cool.
The Purple Hybrid has a 100-night sleep trial and a 10-year limited warranty. This warranty covers cracking/splitting and 1-inch indentations, provided these problems arise from regular use. Other terms and conditions apply.
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The Casper Original is Casper brand’s flagship all-foam model. It’s made of three foam layers that offer exceptional motion isolation and pressure relief. It has a medium feel rating of about 5 on the firmness scale. It features a balanced combination of cooling and support for a good night’s sleep. At 11 inches thick, this mattress is slightly thicker than average mattresses.
Casper Original Mattress Breakdown
As far as construction and design go, the Casper Original mattress is pretty basic. It features three memory foam layers, which are CertiPUR-US certified. This means they lack ozone-depleting chemicals and have low emissions of VOCs (volatile organic compounds).
The mattress is wrapped up in a polyester blend cover made of various materials, including rayon, recycled bottles, lycra, and cotton. These materials help the surface feel soft and stretchy.
Next up is the two-part comfort system that starts with a 1.5-inch perforated polyfoam layer that’s both soft and responsive. Plus, it’s open-celled and breathable, keeping your bed from trapping too much heat.
Below is a zoned memory foam layer that offers targeted support to different body sections, with more firmness around the waist and hips. It is separated into three distinct areas to cradle your mid-section for proper spinal alignment and alleviate pressure on your shoulders.
The Casper Original mattress core is a durable, high-density polyurethane memory foam that stabilizes the sleep surface and supports your body weight to prevent sinking or sagging. This base layer features 7 inches of pocketed coils wrapped in polyfoam. The coils give your mattress extra breathability, edge support, and bounce without transferring excessive motion.
Casper offers a 100-night sleep trial and a 10-year limited warranty on their flagship all-foam model. Want to sleep better as you monitor various factors about your sleep health? The best smart bed models will give you exactly that and much more.
Buyer’s Guide on How to Choose a Mattress for a Platform Bed
When choosing the best mattress for your platform bed, there are many vital factors to consider. They include:
Price
Mattress prices vary widely due to differences in construction, material, and sizing. Where you purchase your mattress will also determine how much you pay for it. For instance, a queen-size Amazon mattress might cost more on another online platform such as ebay or Mattress Firm. Although you can find top-quality, budget-friendly beds, some high-end models feature long-lasting materials that could extend the useful lifespan of your sleep surface. So, how do you know the right price-point to settle for? Here, a good rule of thumb is to think about your overall bedroom budget. This includes the new mattress and other vital accessories that you may need, such as new bedding and pillow.
Sleeping Position
What sleep position are you often in when you tuck into sleep, and in what posture do you normally find yourself in the morning when you wake up? Your answers to these questions can give you key insights to help you choose the best mattress for your platform bed. The areas in your body that need more cushioning and support to maintain proper spinal alignment vary depending on your sleep position. For that reason, settling for a mattress that suits your sleeping posture can boost comfort and help prevent pains and aches. Also, our collection of the Best Tempurpedic alternatives is worth considering if you're seeking a priceless sleep experience.
Mattress Types
While most mattresses work well on platform beds, some benefit the most from the use of these bed frames. For instance, latex, hybrid, and all-foam mattresses really benefit from the support of platform beds. Innerspring mattresses, on the other hand, mostly work well with a box spring.
Closing Thoughts
Many sleepers are now tossing out their box springs in favor of platform beds for simplicity, affordable price, and efficiency. With so many options to choose from, buying a new mattress can seem challenging at times. Ultimately, the best mattress for a platform bed will be the one that meets your physical needs. It should also be suitable for your budget.
Hopefully, this guide will help you find the perfect mattress for your needs. Ever used a platform bed before? Did your mattress work well on it? We’d love to hear your thoughts in the comments section below!
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