Best Mattress for Murphy Bed – 2020 Reviews and Comparisons

One question that we get a lot is “what really makes a specific mattress the best for a Murphy bed?” Well, while it’s possible to use any standard mattress, you need to be keen on 3 things:  weight, height, and firmness level. Let’s explain.

Most Murphy beds require a mattress that is at least 55 pounds in weight to remain in the sleeping position. The maximum weight limit varies between different Murphy bed brands but it ranges from 1200 lbs to 4000 lbs. 

Also, you need to pick a mattress that will fit nicely in the depth of your Murphy bed. Most beds today will accommodate 9″-12″ tall mattresses. Don’t assume, though; measure the depth of your bed’s frame and get a mattress that fits just right. 

Lastly, Murphy beds don’t have a dedicated box spring. So, your target mattress needs to be firm enough to offer enough support by itself. Most medium-firm mattresses will make a good bet here.  

Our ultimate guide on how to choose the best mattress for a Murphy bed at the end of this article has a few more vital considerations. Meanwhile, here are our picks of the best Murphy bed mattresses to buy in 2020.

Quick Links: 5 Top Rated Mattresses for Murphy Bed Reviews

• Best Mattress for Pressure Relief – Nectar
• Best Flippable Memory Foam Mattress – Layla
• Best Soft and Plush Mattress – Puffy
• Best Hybrid Mattress – Helix (Midnight)
• Best Mattress for Overweight People – Saatva

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Best Mattress for Pressure Relief – Nectar

You are going to like the Nectar mattress if:

• You weigh 130-230 lbs– with its medium-firm feel that is slightly on the firm side, the Nectar has a superb combination of support and comfort for most average-weight consumers.
• You want a mattress with excellent pressure point relief– the Nectar boasts 5.75 inches of memory foam. The comfort layer has incredible contouring that helps in relieving pressure points and painful joints.
• You share the bed with someone else– this mattress is an incredible performer in isolating motion. This means a lot if you are a light sleeper sharing your bed with someone else or a pet.
• Couples– the ability to accommodate individuals across a wide weight range makes this one of the best Murphy bed mattresses for couples.

The Nectar mattress is our top choice in these Murphy bed mattresses reviews and comparisons. This is a universally comfortable 4-layer mattress with a medium-firm feel that falls at 6 on the firmness scale. 

First things first, we are great fans of the cotton and Tencel Lyocell blend that makes this mattress’s cover. These two materials have a natural origin and are environmentally sustainable, very soft, and breathable.

The Nectar mattress has two layers for its comfort system. The first is a one-inch 4 PCF gel memory foam quilted in the cover. Next is another 3-inch 3.5 PCF block of gel memory foam and yet another 1.75” high-density memory foam layer that makes the transition system. The last layer is a 2.2 PCF 5.25” poly foam that stabilizes the sleeping surface besides offering you support.

These top layers have a high-density feel and will contour around your lumpy bits for a pressure-relieving cradle. The gel-infused comfort layers and breathable cover, on the other hand, suggest that your bed won’t have issues of heat retention.

This mattress has a height of 11” and should, therefore, fit nicely in most Murphy beds. As a medium-firm mattress, we also believe it has enough support for lightweight and average-weight individuals. 

Weight-wise, we’d suggest considering any size from Full to California King as these are above the recommended minimum weight limit of 55 pounds. If you’re looking for a Twin XL, you’ll need to consider other options here since Nectar’s twin xl weighs 48 lbs.

Read Our Full Nectar Mattress Review 

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Best Flippable Memory Foam Mattress – Layla

You might like the Layla mattress if:

• You weigh 230 lbs and below– considering its 10-inch height and the low-density layers that the Layla uses, we feel it’ll offer the best support for individuals in this weight range.
• You are excited to try out memory foam but don’t know what firmness level to go with– this mattress is soft on one side and firm on the other. So, finding a firmness level that will work for you is almost guaranteed.
• You are buying it for teens– the dual firmness level of the Layla makes it a superb pick for teens transitioning into adulthood. 
• You prefer sinking into the mattress– with its soft side up, the Layla has a slow sinkage that lets you sleep IN the mattress and experience the classic memory foam feel.

Our runners-up in these reviews of the best mattresses for Murphy bed seems to be the future of memory foam. This is a 10-inch mattress with a flippable construction design. It allows you to enjoy a medium-soft firmness level on one side and a medium-firm feel on the other. Precisely, the soft side feels like a 4 while the firm side falls at around 7 on the firmness scale. 

The Layla mattress has 4 layers. When set to have the soft side up, it features a 3-inch copper-infused 10 ILD memory foam followed by a 2-inch poly foam. Next is a 4.5-inch poly foam base layer and a 1-inch copper-infused memory foam in that order.

Besides the comfort level that this mattress offers, its other differentiator is the cooling technologies that it employs. Its cover, for instance, has ThermoGel-infusion- a food-grade agent known to prevent heat build-up. Again, the comfort layers on both sides have copper-infusion. There is proof that this technology aids in boosting blood circulation and dissipating heat.

Switching gear to what makes it the best mattress for a Murphy bed, first we like that even its smallest mattress is around the recommended minimum weight limit for a wall-bed mattress. Secondly, its 10-inch height profile is going to fit well in most pull-down beds. 

Note, however, that we’d only recommend it to individuals weighing 230 lbs and below. It may lack enough support if you’re heavier than this.

Read Our Full Layla Mattress Review

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Best Soft and Plush Mattress – Puffy

You might like the Puffy mattress if you:

• Weigh below 130 lbs– lightweight individuals will enjoy a good amount of support and comfort from this mattress without it being overwhelmingly firm
• Prefer a mattress that lets you sleep in– the medium-firm feel of the Puffy allows it to hug and envelop you in a comfortable cocoon. 
• Are easily disturbed by your partner’s movements– as an all-foam mattress, the Puffy is an undisputed performer in localizing motion.
• Want the feeling of sleeping on the cloud- although this mattress has a medium-firm, it’s slightly on the soft side and will, therefore, create a feeling of floating on the mattress.

The Puffy mattress has 3 layers that make its 10-inch thickness. At the top, it has a 2-inch layer made of gel-infused proprietary foam. This layer behaves like memory foam in conforming to your body shape and pressure. However, it’s unique in that it does not have the stuck in bed feeling of classic memory foam.

Beneath the comfort system, you’ll find another 2-inch block of slightly denser proprietary foam. The last is a 6-inch 1.5 PCF poly foam that offers all the support that you may need.

Similar to our other picks in these Murphy bed mattresses reviews, the Puffy is good at relieving pressure, isolating motion, and minimizing noise. Amazingly, SleepSharp mattress experts also score it highly in terms of temperature management and edge support, and in supporting sexual intercourse.

As its 10-inch height depicts, there is no doubt that the Puffy is going to fit most Murphy beds. However, keep in mind that this brand’s Twin and Twin xl mattresses weigh 43 lbs and 45 lbs. Unless your bed’s lift system is able to withstand such low weights, we’d only recommend this mattress to people with Full, Queen, King, and Calif King Murphy beds.

Read Our Full Puffy Mattress Review

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Best Hybrid Mattress – Helix (Midnight)

You might like the Helix mattress if you:

• Like memory foam, but you prefer a bed with a bit of bounce– as an innerspring-based hybrid bed, the Helix adds tons of bounce to its foam comfort system.
• Don’t like the stuck-in-bed feeling of traditional memory foam– this mattress is remarkably resilient. It should be effortless to move on, turn, and switch positions.
• Are a hot sleeper– this bed is temperature neutral credit to its innerspring base, breathable cover, and gel-infused comfort layer.
• Want the best mattress for couples– this mattress’s bounce, excellent edge support, and breathability make it a favorable option for an active couple.

For those who can’t decide between memory foam and the classic innerspring feel, how about marrying the two concepts? The Helix Midnight makes it in our reviews of the best mattress for a Murphy bed thanks to its ability to offer the soothing comfort of memory foam and a bouncy base. 

Despite its hybrid design, this 12-inch mattress will fit well in most Murphy beds. Of course, you need to measure the depth of your bed’s frame beforehand to ensure that they match. Importantly, whether you are going for the twin size of California King, you won’t need to worry about your bed closing unexpectedly as these are heavy mattresses. 

Its 8-inch innerspring base configuration is an assurance that there’s more than enough support for you here. Whether you spend most of your time on your stomach, back, or side, this coil-based system is going to offer incredible localized continuous support just where you need it. On the other hand, the 2.2” gel-infused memory foam comfort layer plus latex-like transition layer will offer a cradle that supports all sleeping positions.

The Helix Midnight combines the strengths of the iconic innerspring bed with those of the now trending memory foam. It has unbeatable edge support, bounce, and temperature regulation. It also performs above average in terms of motion isolation and noise reduction.

Read Our Full Helix Midnight Mattress Review

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Best Mattress for Overweight People: Saatva

You might like the Saatva mattress if you:

• Want to bring hotel bed comfort experience at home– the Saatva combines memory foam, pillow top, and individually encased coils for the ultimate balance in comfort and support.
• Prefer a bed with strong edges– as a hybrid mattress, it has reinforced edges that allow you to use the entire bed. This is good news, especially for couples.
• Want a mattress that will last for long– judging from the quality of its construction materials, we expect this mattress to last 8-10 years (Saatva says 15). This is an incredible value considering what you’re spending on this mattress.

Saatva is a big name and a reliable brand when choosing the best mattress for Murphy bed in 2020. The mattress that we have for you from this American manufacturer comes in 3 firmness options. There is a Plush Soft mattress that boasts the highest sinkage and contouring among the three. We’d recommend this mattress to lightweight and average weight individuals who prefer sleeping on a plush bed.

The second one is a Plush Firm mattress that is slightly on the firmer side. This is for average-weight combo sleepers weighing between 130 lbs and 230 lbs. 

The last mattress is firm and tends to offer more support than contour. We’d recommend it to individuals with a large body build and those who sleep mostly on their stomachs.

Another interesting aspect of this mattress is that it’s available in 2 heights. The 11.5-inch option is going to make the best mattress to buy for a Murphy bed. However, you could also go with the 14.5-inch mattress, that is, if your pull-down bed has enough depth to accommodate it. 

The single most issue that affects most traditional innerspring mattresses when used on a Murphy bed is the coil system sagging towards the front. This is as a result of continuous gravity pull when the bed is in storage mode. However, that shouldn’t be an issue for a hybrid mattress with individually encased coils and a reinforced edge system such as the Saatva.

Again, although the Saatva mattress is relatively heavier than most all-foam alternatives in our reviews, most modern Murphy beds should be able to lift it up and down with ease.

Read Our Full Saatva Mattress Review

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Murphy Bed Mattress Buyer’s Guide

If you’re hearing it for the first time, let’s start this section by making a few things clear. What is a Murphy bed? Why is it called so?

A Murphy is a type of bed with hinges on one end. This design allows you to store it vertically against a wall when not in use, and fold it out when it’s sleep time. This bed is named after the person who first patented it- William Lawrence Murphy. It also goes by several other names, including a wall bed, fold-down bed, and pull-down bed.

Although the Murphy bed has improved a lot over the years, it still serves the purpose of freeing up floor space in studio apartments, office-turned-guestrooms, dorm rooms, mobile homes, and cruise cabins.

Key Features to Consider When Choosing the Best Mattress for Murphy Bed

Ensure it offers enough support

The design of a Murphy bed does not allow it to include or fit a typical box spring. So, ensure that you’re getting a mattress with enough support for your needs.

Support is relative in mattresses and will depend on your weight and sleeping position. As a rule of thumb, firmer mattresses offer more support than softer ones. However, an overly firm mattress can cause pressure points leading to restless nights. That’s why we mostly go for medium-firm mattresses when recommending the best mattress for a Murphy bed. In our experience, medium-firm mattresses offer an incredible balance of comfort and support without being overwhelming.

Mattress thickness vs your bed’s depth

As you think of comfort and support, you also need to ensure that your mattress will fit on the bed’s depth. A mattress that is taller than the depth of your Murphy bed may prevent the bed from folding up as it should. On the other hand, you don’t want to go with a thin mattress as it may lack the much-needed comfort. The best Murphy bed mattresses fall in the range of 9” to 12”. 

Get a size that fits well

A Murphy bed is more or less like a standard bed platform. So, it’s critical that you match its size with the size of the mattress. The best thing is to take the interior measurements of the frame and then get a mattress that fits that range. An overly large mattress may not fit. On the other hand, a smaller mattress won’t look good on the sleeping surface, and it will also keep on shifting during storage in a vertical position.

Consider the weight limit

Another significant consideration when buying the best mattress for Murphy bed is the weight of the mattress. Since pull-down beds use mesh wirings or a strut in place of a box spring, they have a weight limit that you’ll only be wise to adhere to.

Importantly, you want to ensure that the mattress isn’t too heavy to wreak the support. However, it should have enough weight to counterbalance the piston- or spring-lift system. The best mattress for a wall bed should be at least 55 pounds in weight. A mattress that is lighter than this will cause the bed to fold up unless you add weight under the mattress.

Other important considerations

• Consider the technologies/techniques that the mattress employs to ensure temperature neutrality. 
• If you are a light sleeper sharing a bed with another person, consider how the mattress performs in areas such as motion isolation, noise, and edge performance.
• A mattress can make or ruin your sleep and health. So, check beforehand to ensure that it comes with a solid warranty backing in case there’s a need for repair in the future. Importantly, examine whether the warranty will still apply if you use the mattress on a Murphy bed.

Our Verdict

Your Murphy bed is only as good as the mattress that you buy for it. As you can probably tell from the reviews and buying guide above, there is nothing like the best mattress for Murphy bed for everyone. It all boils down to a few factors.

Do you prefer an all-foam or innerspring-based mattress? What type of sleeper are you, side, back, stomach, or combo? What is your weight? Do you sleep hot at night? If you can answer all of these questions, you should be able to get the perfect mattress for your Murphy bed from the reviews above.

Frequently Asked Questions

Can I use my mattress on the Murphy bed?

Yes, you can, only if it meets specific requirements. First, it should offer enough support by itself. Secondly, it should also fit well within the depth of the wall bed. Again, it should be heavy enough to counteract the pull of your Murphy bed’s closing mechanism (pistons or springs).

Are latex mattresses good for Murphy beds?

Unfortunately, you cannot use latex mattresses on a fold-down bed. These mattresses tend to slump (bunch up) at the top quickly when stored on-end for long, and this could ruin them.

Will a Murphy bed destroy my mattress?

The short answer is No. Although a pull-down bed will be putting more strain on your mattress than your standard bed frame when moving it up and down, it won’t necessarily ruin it quickly. To prolong your mattress’s durability, SleepSharp recommends folding it out often, especially if you don’t plan to use the bed regularly. This will allow the foam or springs to relax from the pull of gravity.

Disclaimer: While SleepSharp endeavors to recommend the best products, we edited this post to offer general information only. As such, the content of this article can’t replace professional and expert advice and recommendation.