Best Medium-Firm Mattresses (2026)

Helix offers a variety of mattresses with features and feels tailored to specific sleeper types. The Midnight is the brand’s flagship medium-firm mattress designed for side sleepers, but our testers have found its versatile profile works amazingly well for just about everyone, hence why it earned our top spot on this list.

As a hybrid, the Helix Midnight mattress offers a balance of bounce and cushioning that makes it a great jack-of-all-trades. We awarded it 4s and above in nearly every category, but were especially pleased by the bed’s motion isolation (earning a perfect 5/5 score), edge support (4.4/5), and pressure relief (4.3/5)

The Helix Midnight mattress came in at a tester-described “true medium-firm feel,” or a 6.5/10 on our scale. Its versatility shone through as physical therapist Dr. Hannah Habeeb cycled through each sleeping position. “It offers a ton of cushioning and sinkage at the hips and shoulders for side sleeping. The springs also help provide lift to the hips when sleeping on the stomach, too,” she explained.

During pressure relief tests, our testers agreed with Dr. Habeeb’s sentiments. Heavyweight tester Matt Schickling commented, “This feels really nice on the side—I don’t feel any pressure, even though I’ve been lying here for about five minutes.” Lightweight tester Riley Otis also loved the mattress on her back. She explained, “The spinal alignment is really good, and there’s no gapping in my lower back. I’d recommend this for back sleepers, too.”

The plush pillow top that contours to your body also gives it a leg up when it comes to motion absorption, something our in-house tester discovered during the couples test. He hopped into bed alongside another tester to get a sense of what sharing the bed would feel like. “I felt it the most when my partner was lying down and turning from side to side, but barely felt it when they were first sitting down,” he explained, ultimately rating motion isolation at 4/5. “A light sleeper might wake up from the other person rolling over, but most people shouldn’t notice their partner moving around in bed.”

The Helix Midnight’s edge support should also allow sleepers to spread out to their hearts’ content. Sitting at the perimeter, our tester found a little sinkage, but nothing that made him feel unstable. When he moved to lie down, he found the support here “impressive.” He said, “I wouldn’t be able to tell I was lying on the edge of the bed, and I didn’t feel like I was going to roll off in the middle of the night.” However, he did notice a discrepancy between the long and short edges of the bed—the short edges don’t have the same reinforcement, so steer clear of them for sitting.

The standard Helix Midnight mattress includes a breathable knit cover, which, while cozy, doesn’t offer the most cooling experience for hot sleepers. “It didn’t feel particularly cooling, but it wasn’t uncomfortable,” our tester said after lying on the surface for a few minutes. “I could probably feel where a body was if I touched it right away, but I wouldn’t say it was a hot mattress. A warmer sleeper may want to consider something with a bit more cooling.”

You can upgrade to an actively cooling GlacioTex cover for a fee, or consider a more cooling mattress, like the Nectar. Read more about this mattress in our full Helix Midnight review.

There are hundreds of memory foam mattresses out there, prized for their cushioning, motion absorption, and low price. The Nectar Classic mattress is no exception, although this bed steps it up from traditional foam beds with a few extra features. Its medium-firm feel lends it an extra element of support and responsiveness, and its cooling cover helps combat the foam’s pesky heat-trapping properties (we even gave it a 5/5 for overall temperature regulation – a rare accomplishment for memory foam mattresses). 

I tested the Nectar mattress and found it to have a medium-firm feel, though it skewed slightly firmer than expected. Ultimately, I gave it a 7/10 on the firmness scale. Most of our testers enjoyed this bed’s supportive feel on their back, a sentiment echoed by Dr. Habeeb: “The bed is conforming to my lower back and prevents too much dipping at the hips. I also think this bed would help sleepers with back pain find support and contouring to place the spine in a neutral position.”

Heavyweight tester Matt Schickling even commented that he was feeling extra pressure relief in his lower back, which had been giving him issues. “This is really supportive, and I don’t feel any pressure buildup in my shoulders, upper back, or lower back,” he said.

While back sleepers will reign supreme on the Nectar, some sleepers may find comfort resting on their side, like average-weight tester Sosha Lewis did. “The bed is contouring my body and hips, but also elevating them because of the firmness. There’s only a little sinkage, which gives it a really nice balance.”

Foam beds like the Nectar are often notorious for overheating, as their dense layers don’t allow for much airflow. However, this mattress is outfitted with a cooling cover to combat that. I wasn’t expecting much when I had a seven-minute nap on the mattress, but I ended up pleasantly surprised by the results. The surface temperature rose by only 4 degrees by the time I got up, impressive results even for a bed with coils. While I didn’t find the mattress cool to the touch, I think it’s a perfect match for hot sleepers who love a memory foam mattress.

Couples should also love the Nectar’s ability to absorb motion, thanks to the nice cushiness at the top. While you won’t sink super far into this bed, it’s definitely enough to keep your partner’s movements relegated to one side. I tried this bed out with another tester, and when I was lying down beside him, I only felt jostled when he got in and out of bed. As a light sleeper myself, I feel comfortable recommending this bed to couples looking for disturbance-free sleep.

Unfortunately, the Nectar mattress succumbs to one of the most common pitfalls of memory foam mattresses: a lack of edge support. While I wouldn’t call this the worst edge support I’ve seen from a bed, you can definitely feel it collapse when you sit at the perimeter. Older adults and those with mobility concerns may want to take a look at the Saatva Classic, which has some of the best edge support we’ve seen in a mattress. 

Read more in our full Nectar Classic Memory Foam mattress review.

Want to sleep in the lap of luxury? A pillow-top mattress provides a plush, cushy surface for you to sink into—and a mattress that executes this especially well is the DreamCloud Premier hybrid. This medium-firm mattress has a dense, fluffy pillow top that contours to your body in any sleeping position, while the coils below provide excellent lift and bounce. The bed earned impressive ratings for both pressure relief (4.4/5) and responsiveness (5/5).

The DreamCloud Premier is yet another mattress with a true medium-firm feel, rated at 6.5/10 on our firmness scale. The overall feel is one of plush sinkage and contouring, thanks to its pillow top. Dr. Habeeb praised the bed for its ability to relieve pressure: “I think the plushness will help people with chronic pain and sensitive joints find relief in this.”

Our testers enjoyed this pressure relief on both their back and side, with average-weight tester Sosha Lewis explaining, “The top is super soft, but the coils do a great job supporting me. On my side, the contouring is great on my shoulder, and I really love how it feels on my ribcage.” Switching to her back, she added, “It feels like it’s filling in my lumbar area quite nicely.”

Lightweight tester Riley Otis also liked side sleeping on the DreamCloud Premier. “Typically, I have pressure in my shoulders, but with this mattress I have relief there,” she said. “It’s extremely comfortable, so I feel like this is a great mattress for side sleepers.”

Even though it’s soft up top, the DreamCloud Premier is still a hybrid mattress, and our in-house tester could surprisingly still feel the bounce of the coils through the dense comfort layers. “This bed makes it very easy to switch positions,” she explained. “It’s not as bouncy as some firmer hybrid mattresses I’ve tried, but it did assist me slightly with its responsiveness.” Even with the sinkage our testers experienced when lying down on the mattress, it was never enough for her to feel “stuck” on the surface.

Moreover, these coils helped the edges remain steady and supportive. “The plush top is where most of the sinkage is happening,” our in-house tester explained as she sat down on the perimeter. “The mattress does a splendid job of holding me in place. I don’t feel like I am going to slide off, and neither do I bottom out when sitting down,” she said. Lying down was also a breeze. She finished her assessment by saying, “This bed would be a great mattress for a senior sleeper looking for that extra edge support with a plush top.”

However, we didn’t see as promising results in our cooling tests. After lying on the surface for about seven minutes, our tester recorded a surface temperature increase of more than 10 degrees—nearly twice what we see on average. Our tester didn’t find the mattress too hot, but expressed caution for sleepers prone to overheating. These folks might want to opt for the Brooklyn Bedding Signature Hybrid instead, which performed better in this category.

Read more in our dedicated DreamCloud Premier review.

Queen-size mattresses are some of the most popular choices out there—they can fit both couples and single sleepers with ample space, and they’re less expensive than a king-size mattress. If you want a medium-firm queen-size mattress that will provide excellent support and comfort, look no further than the WinkBed mattress. This hybrid mattress features a dense pillow top and coils below that’ll keep you aloft on the surface. It also earned high marks for edge support (4.4/5) and cooling (4/5).

The Luxury Firm WinkBed mattress was rated at 6.5/10 on our firmness scale, a true medium-firm feel. However, some sleepers might find it to feel slightly firmer than expected, thanks to the bed’s “on-top” feel. “There’s not too much sinkage anywhere along the body with this mattress,” Dr. Habeeb said. “The spine remains neutral, so people with back pain or flares from lifting should find relief on this mattress.”

“Overall, it’s a pretty strong bed, especially for a brand’s base model—it’s a sturdy, nice bed,” said heavyweight tester Matt Schickling during our pressure relief tests. “I do feel well-aligned on my side, and the pressure isn’t bad.”

Average-weight tester Sosha Lewis preferred the WinkBed’s feel while resting on her back, declaring that she’d become a back sleeper if she owned it. “It’s somehow firm with a light touch, which feels really good for sleeping on your back,” she explained. “It contours well around my lower back, which is a problem area for me.”

The WinkBed’s slightly firmer feel extends to the edges of the mattress, lending them extra reinforcement. My colleague Melanie Kassel was especially impressed by how secure she felt while lying at the perimeter. “It had really stellar edge support in all three sleeping positions. If my eyes had been closed, I would not have been able to tell you I was near the edge,” she said. “Even when side sleeping (usually my most precarious position on the edge), I was fully elevated, and it felt like lying on any other part of the bed.”

Melanie also witnessed promising results in her cooling evaluation of the WinkBed. She used a thermal gun to measure the surface temperature before and after taking a 7-minute nap on the mattress. While recording the second reading, she saw the temperature decrease on-screen as she aimed at the mattress. Ultimately, the surface temperature rose by just 6.7 degrees, only slightly above the average. “It continued to feel nice and cool during my testing, which impressed me because the base feels so dense and solid under the nice plush pillow top,” Melanie added, heartily recommending the mattress to hot sleepers.

But Melanie encountered surprising pushback during the responsiveness test. “I thought the WinkBed would be bouncier, given its status as a high-quality hybrid,” she said. She blamed the pillow top’s density, which may have muffled the effects of the springs below. “It doesn’t trap me or leave me sunken into the surface, but it’s a lot less responsive than I expected.”

If you want a pillow-top bed with a lot of bounce, check out the DreamCloud Premier. Otherwise, read more in our full WinkBed mattress review.

Trying to sleep with back pain is difficult, but did you know that your mattress can play an active role in helping or hurting this condition? For a mattress that actively supports your spine, check out the Saatva Classic.

This luxury mattress has several features geared toward spinal alignment and pressure relief: zoned support, an aligning spinal wire, and a plush pillow top. Moreover, this is the bed I sleep on every night, so I can attest to its durability. We’re especially impressed with the Saatva’s pressure relief (scoring 4.5/5 overall) for back and side sleepers, plus the bed’s top-notch edge support and mega bounce, both of which earned a perfect 5/5 rating.

The Saatva Classic comes in multiple firmness levels, including their mid-range Luxury Firm model. While I found this model had a slightly firmer, albeit medium-firm feel, Dr. Habeeb was able to achieve quite a bit of comfortable sinkage. “I’m still finding enough support to keep my spine mostly aligned, which should help sleepers with back pain,” she said. Overall, she found the mattress would work for a number of orthopedic concerns: “It’s very comfortable, plush, and cushioning.”

As a combination sleeper, I’m able to find comfort in just about any sleeping position on the Saatva Classic, a sentiment echoed by my fellow testers. Resting on his side, heavyweight tester Matt Schickling commented, “I actually physically felt the pressure relief on my lower back, which is rare, and I feel quite aligned in my hips and shoulders.” He also lauded the alignment in the back-sleeping position, likening it to a “stretch when you haven’t stretched in a while.”

My favorite sleeping position on the Saatva Classic is on my stomach. The overall feel for me is that I’m more “on top” of the mattress, which I prefer. But the pillow top allows for just enough give around the chest and belly so you don’t feel like you’re bearing down into the surface. 

Regardless of your favorite sleeping position, switching between them should be a breeze, thanks to the Saatva’s two coil units. It means double the bounce, so get ready to launch yourself across the bed without any effort. I love this sensation as I hate feeling “stuck” in thicker, slow-moving comfort layers. 

Combination sleepers who like to spread out should also appreciate the Saatva’s rock-solid edges. I often end up sleeping with one leg over the side of my bed, and I never feel like I’m slipping or sliding off. Plus, as someone with a tiny bedroom, the edge of the mattress comes in handy when I need a seat to tie my shoes or do other mundane tasks.

While I could sing Saatva’s praises indefinitely, all good things must come to an end. The one bone I have to pick with this mattress is its motion isolation. That super-bouncy surface I mentioned earlier isn’t the best when it comes to absorbing motion. In fact, it might amplify it. This means that fellow light sleepers likely won’t find undisturbed rest. I recommend they check out the Helix Midnight or Nolah Evolution, both of which scored high for couples.

For more about this bed, read our full Saatva Classic mattress review.

A medium-firm mattress for side sleepers should have contouring, plush layers up top to cradle the hips and shoulders. A bed that does just that is the Nolah Evolution. This hybrid mattress has a luxurious foam top that you’ll sink comfortably into while coils below keep the spine supported. It earned a 4.5/5 for pressure relief overall, scoring high not just for side sleepers, but back sleepers, too.

The Nolah Evolution comes in multiple firmness options, but the Luxury Firm model is your best bet for a true medium-firm bed. It came in at 6.5/10 on our scale. Dr. Habeeb noticed the bed’s pressure-relieving ability for side sleepers almost immediately: “There’s a lot of sinkage on this bed as it contours to my body. This is really helpful for cushioning pressure points at the hips and shoulders,” she said.

It was also a hit with both our heavyweight and lightweight testers in this position. “I feel super cradled by this mattress,” said heavyweight tester Matt Schickling. “It’s so soft but supportive at the same time.” Our lightweight tester thought, “the pillow top did a good job cushioning the shoulder,” and heartily recommended it to sleepers in their weight category who want a memory foam feel from a hybrid bed. 

While it’s a great bed for side sleepers, the Nolah Evolution is also one of the best mattresses for couples, thanks to its stunning performance in our motion transfer tests. My colleague Cait Giddings could barely feel her fellow tester’s movements when they tried out the mattress together: “I could feel almost what felt like an echo of her getting onto the mattress and moving around, but at no point did her movements significantly affect my side of the bed or my comfort level,” she said. “My side of the mattress remained static, regardless of what was happening on the other side.” This led to the mattress earning a 5/5 motion isolation score. 

Couples should also enjoy the opportunity to spread out on this mattress. Cait was impressed by the bed’s unflagging edge support, even with its cushy surface. “Whether I lay on my side, back, or stomach, the mattress remained solid and steady, with no sinking or sagging to suggest its structured support would flag along the edges,” she said. She also found sitting relatively stable, noting only a little sinkage beneath her weight. “I don’t think seniors would find any complaints here,” she added.

If you switch between side sleeping and another position, you may find it slightly difficult to do so on the Nolah Evolution. The same comforting contour that makes it so great for side sleeping could leave you feeling “stuck” in the bed’s surface. As Cait put it, “I expected to feel more bounce from beneath the pillow top, but the overall feeling of the bed was more of a slow-moving foam, not springy coils.”

For a bouncier bed, check out the Birch Natural, which contains buoyant latex. You can read more about this bed in our full Nolah Evolution mattress review.

A new mattress can cost upwards of $1,000 if you’re looking at bigger sizes and higher-end models. But shoppers seeking quality at a low price will find both in the Bear Original. This all-foam, medium-firm mattress provides a supportive sleep surface with gentle contour. It also has solid edge support and excellent motion isolation, both categories scoring over 4/5 in our tests. The best part, though, is that a queen-size Bear Original will only run you about $650, thanks to frequent sales and discounts.

The Bear Original mattress has a firmness of 7/10, skewing slightly firmer of the medium-firm side of things. This was immediately noticed by Dr. Habeeb, who praised the bed’s ability to support and align the body, specifically for back sleepers. “This bed is good for providing stability at the lower back to keep the spine in a neutral position,” she said. “I think people with back pain can appreciate the firmer support that doesn’t allow for much sinkage.”

This sentiment was echoed by heavyweight tester Matt Schickling. While lying on the Bear Original, he initially felt a bit of pressure buildup in his back, but this dissipated the longer he lay on the bed’s surface. “Now that pressure is evenly distributed between my upper and lower back, I do feel pretty well and evenly supported,” he explained. Our testers, particularly those in the lightweight category, found the Bear Original just a smidge too firm for side sleeping, which accounts for its lower overall pressure relief score.

Even though you don’t sink too deeply into the surface of the Bear Original, it still retains the motion-absorbing properties of traditional memory foam. My colleague Melanie Kassel noticed this when she tried out the mattress alongside a fellow tester. “When my fellow tester got into bed and switched positions, I only felt a faint ‘pulling’ on the cover, nothing on the foams below me that might wake me up,” she explained. “Multiple times, the other tester got up from the bed, and I couldn’t tell that she had gone!” The Bear mattress ultimately earned a 4.3/5 for motion isolation overall.

While your partner shouldn’t feel you moving around on the Bear Original’s surface, it should also be relatively simple, thanks to the bed’s responsive surface. “Because the foam is firmer, I was always right at the surface rather than sucked into the layers,” Melanie explained. She did add that the bed won’t have the bouncy feel of a hybrid mattress, but it should be a good pick for combination sleepers who are looking for an affordable foam option. 

The Bear Original mattress also includes cooling features designed to counter the foam’s tendency to retain heat, such as gel-infused foams and a cooling Celliant cover (though for an extra fee). While it performed admirably in our temperature test, Melanie wondered how the mattress would fare for hot sleepers. “Lying on the bed, it did noticeably heat up under my high-pressure areas, so I wonder if it will retain heat when made with sheets and blankets,” she said.

Though a possible option for hot sleepers who like a foam bed, those especially prone to overheating may want to opt for the Celliant cover—or perhaps consider a cooler hybrid, like the Brooklyn Bedding Signature Hybrid. You can read more about this bed in our full Bear mattress review.

Hybrid mattresses are the kings of balance: Their soft comfort layers and support coils are the perfect medium for a medium-firm mattress—pun fully intended. The Brooklyn Bedding Signature Hybrid is a simply constructed but beyond effective medium-firm mattress, sporting a well-rounded performance portfolio with 4s and above in all of our testing categories. It’s also a splendid option for value shoppers, with a queen-size Signature Hybrid costing under $1,000.

The Brooklyn Bedding Signature Hybrid is available in soft, medium, and firm models. The medium version lives up to its name, coming in at 7/10 on our firmness scale, a slightly firmer medium-firm. Regardless of your preferred sleeping position, there’s a high chance you’ll find this mattress comfortable, as our testers felt supported in each position.

Dr. Habeeb particularly liked the mattress on her stomach. “I don’t feel my hips sinking, so there’s no strain on my lower back, and it’s comfortable on my chest,” she explained. “It allows for just enough sinkage without being uncomfortable.”

Side and back sleeping were both popular in our pressure relief evaluation. Heavyweight tester Matt Schickling preferred the mattress in the latter position. “I feel well-supported, so I’d say this mattress is overall pretty comfortable,” he explained. Our average weight tester agreed, but also enjoyed the mattress in the side-sleeping position: “I like this on my side. It feels like the bed is contouring to my body in a nice way, and my spine is aligned.”

I tested the Signature Hybrid and was surprised that it earned its highest score for temperature regulation. The mattress doesn’t feature any dedicated cooling technology; instead, it relies on the supportive coils, which might allow more air to flow within the mattress. However, when I lay down on the mattress for our surface temperature test, I was pleased to find everything felt temperature-neutral—not too hot or too cold. While I wouldn’t expect any active cooling from this bed, I don’t think sleepers have to worry about it overheating.

The Signature Hybrid’s edges aren’t anything to scoff at either. Sitting down at the perimeter, I only noted a little bit of sinkage beneath my weight. I wasn’t slipping or sliding, so I think it would work just fine for tying your shoes, for example. Lying down at the edge, I didn’t notice any sinkage, regardless of which position I took. I think this bed will work exceptionally well for sleepers with mobility concerns or those who just want to spread out on their mattress.

Most hybrids have a bouncier feel, thanks to their coil unit, but that wasn’t the case for the Signature Hybrid. I’m a pretty rambunctious combination sleeper, so I like the ability to easily spring across the bed’s surface. With the Signature Hybrid, there’s more of a doughy feel on top. It doesn’t make it impossible to move, but I encountered a bit of resistance when trying to roll over from my stomach.

If you want to bounce around your bed with ease, check out the Saatva Classic, my personal favorite. Otherwise, you can read more about this bed in our full Brooklyn Bedding Signature Hybrid mattress review.

Shopping sustainably for a medium-firm mattress? You’ll love the Birch Natural. This organic mattress is made with all-natural materials like organic cotton, wool, and latex. The latex inside gives this bed its uniquely buoyant feel, which earned it a 5/5 responsiveness score, making it a fine choice for combination sleepers and sexually active couples. Plus, even with latex’s squishy feel, our testers felt pleasantly lifted and supported on this bed’s surface.

The Birch Natural mattress has a typical medium-firm feel at 6.5/10 on our firmness scale, though its inclusion of latex gives it a “supportive but wobbly” feel, according to our testers. Like memory foam, latex can conform to your body, but our testers felt they were resting on top of the mattress rather than sinking into it.

Dr. Habeeb noted the mattress seemed fit for stomach sleepers. “My lower back feels really good in this position because my hips aren’t sinking in too much,” she said. She also expressed concern about the mattress being too firm for lightweight sleepers, but our lightweight tester loved this bed on her back and side. “It’s not too firm for me, so it allows my body to settle nicely into the surface and achieve great alignment overall,” she explained.

Heavyweight tester Matt Schickling thought the mattress was best suited to side sleepers in his weight range. “It feels pretty good on my hips and shoulders, and I do feel supported,” he explained. “I feel more like I’m sitting on top of this bed, but the latex has an interesting but ultimately comfortable feel.”

Aside from its eco-friendliness, the main draw for latex in mattresses is the bounce it provides. My colleague Nicole Davis, who also tested this mattress, noticed it straightaway in her responsiveness test. “It was pretty easy to switch around between all three sleeping positions,” she said. “Rolling from my stomach to my back was especially easy.” This bounce should benefit not just combination sleepers, but any sexually active folks seeking ease of movement during the main event.

Even with latex’s wobbly feel, Nicole was impressed with the Birch’s edge support. She did notice a bit of sinkage when seated, but nothing that impeded her ability to get up and out of the mattress. “Lying down was just fine, though,” she added. “I felt supported and didn’t feel like I was ever going to fall out.” She did find there was a difference in support from the lengthwise edges to the foot of the bed: “Here, the edge compressed a lot, so it was more challenging.” It’s something to keep in mind if you often find yourself relying on the foot of your bed to get in and out of it.

Some studies tout latex as more breathable and cooling than traditional memory foam, and we were excited to put that to the test with the Birch Natural. Of course, this bed also includes wool, a natural insulator, in its construction. Nicole found that this gave the bed a “cozy” feel. While she preferred it, it may not be the best for hot sleepers. “It did warm up a bit but felt nice, so I’d recommend this for people who are average when it comes to sleeping temperature.”

If you’re a hot sleeper looking for a cooler bed, check out the Nectar Classic or the Brooklyn Bedding Signature Hybrid. For more information about this bed, though, check out our full Birch Natural review.