Spring Mattresses

Best Spring Mattresses UK (2024)

Last updated: 06.12.2023 Reading time: 8 Min.

If you have fond memories of jumping up and down on a squeaky bed as a kid, you'll likely be familiar with spring mattresses.

But are these mattresses any good, movie moments aside? 🎬

In this guide, we'll take you through the best spring mattresses in the UK - and how to choose one that'll be comfortable to sleep on.

So, let's get to it. 👇

Innerspring Mattresses
Best Orthopaedic Support

Sealy Blackwood Elevate Posturepedic Mattress

The Sealy Blackwood Elevate Posturepedic Mattress offers enhanced body support and pressure relief.

With a hypoallergenic ProShield treated moisture-wicking SmarTex cover, this mattress also protects against allergens and hot nights.

The Blackwood Elevate Posturepedic mattress features innovative technology designed to help promote a healthy, neutral spinal alignment as you sleep.

It blends an AlignSupport coil core with a ComfortCore for stellar support and pressure relief.

AlignSupport coils can adjust to your weight for just the right amount of support and promote spinal alignment during sleep. 🦴

These Sealy coils are twice-tempered, making them more durable than traditional coils.

Meanwhile, the ComfortCore, which is crafted from firm and extra-firm foam layers, helps cradle areas like the lower back and hips.

Sealy posturepedic mattress blackwood
The Sealy Blackwood Elevate Posturepedic mattress is well suited to various sleeping positions.

The 28 cm (11 inches) single-sided Sealy Elevate Posturepedic mattress is firm and built to last.

It boasts reinforced edges and a solid BasePlank foundation. 🛏️

To top it off, there's the soft, moisture-wicking SmarTex™ knitted cover.

Treated with a Hypoallergenic ProShield® treatment, this cover protects you against allergens and improves temperature regulation.

Mattress Online also includes a 60-night trial and a 7-year guarantee for the Sealy Blackwood Elevate Posturepedic Mattress, which is 2 years longer than the average Sealy guarantee. 📅

BUY SEALY BLACKWOOD POSTUREPEDIC£ 662.37

  Sealy Blackwood Elevate Posturepedic Mattress
Composition: AlignSupport coil core, foam ComfortCore, SmarTex cover
Firmness level: Firm
Height: 28 cm (11 inches)
Trial period: 60 nights
Guarantee: 7 years
What makes this mattress special? The AlignSupport Coil Core offers firm support to promote a neutral spinal alignment, while the ComfortCore foam layers offer enhanced pressure relief.
Budget-Friendly

Happy Beds Super Ortho Spring Reflex Foam Orthopaedic Mattress

The Happy Beds Super Ortho Spring Reflex Foam Orthopaedic Mattress is an open coil mattress exclusively designed for Happy Beds.

This open coil reflex mattress is a great choice for those looking for a firmer, more supportive feel.

The Happy Beds Super Ortho Spring Reflex Foam Orthopaedic Mattress combines firm reflex foam with an open coil spring system for a firmer, more supportive feel. 🧱

This firm budget mattress has a thick layer of reflex foam that makes it especially suitable for people looking for good amounts of support. 

Happy Beds Super Ortho Spring Reflex Foam Orthopaedic Mattress

The open coil spring network provides additional support, though it does tend to result in some motion transfer. 

Comfort-wise, this mattress features several layers of luxurious satin pads and durable polyester.

The cover is hand-tufted in the UK. 🇬🇧

The Happy Beds Super Ortho Spring Reflex Foam Orthopaedic Mattress has to be rotated once a week for the first 6 weeks, and then every 6 weeks after that.

This prevents premature sagging and dipping and ensures that the mattress wears evenly. 🔧

+ EXTRA 10% OFF HAPPY BEDS
EXTRA10Click to copy code

26% OFF SUPER ORTHO MATTRESS£ 159.99

  Happy Beds Super Ortho Spring Reflex Foam Orthopaedic Mattress
Composition: Open coil network with reflex foam
Firmness level: Firm
Height: 25 cm (9.8 inches)
Trial: /
Guarantee: 5 years
What makes this mattress special: Very firm and supportive feel
+ EXTRA 10% OFF HAPPY BEDS
EXTRA10Click to copy code

26% OFF SUPER ORTHO MATTRESS£ 159.99

Pillow Top Comfort

Silentnight Miracoil Pillow Top Mattress

The Silentnight Miracoil Pillow Top Mattress has a plush pillow top for added comfort.
  • Miracoil spring system & memory foam
  • Medium-firm feel
  • 27 cm (10.6 inches)

Tell me more about the Silentnight Miracoil Pillow Top Mattress

The Silentnight Miracoil Pillow Top Mattress has a zoned innerspring system and cocooning memory foam top layer. 

This mattress's unique zoned system ensures that sleepers get a good balance of support and optimal pressure relief.

The spring system is designed for more stability and less partner disturbance than other open coil mattresses, which can often be quite bouncy and have a lot of motion transfer.

The memory foam layer and hand-tufted pillow top layer offer a slightly softer, more body-contouring feel.

However, the memory foam layer may make this slightly warmer than traditional spring mattresses.

The Silentnight Miracoil Pillow Top Mattress is available in a range of mattress sizes and comes with free delivery within 14 days.

Reasons to buy

60-night trial period 

5-year guarantee

Offers better support & comfort than traditional spring mattresses

Reasons to avoid

Trial is exchange-only 

It may be warmer than other spring mattresses 

Best For Back Sleepers

Sealy Mellbreak Ortho Plus Mattress

The Sealy Mellbreak Ortho Plus Mattress has a firm feel and a unique open coil core, ideal for back sleepers.

This double-sided mattress also features edge-to-edge support and tufting, making it a highly durable and long-lasting choice.

Manufactured in the UK, the Sealy Mellbreak Ortho Plus is a firm-feeling mattress.

The PostureTech Core Support spring system is unique in that its coils are engineered to respond to pressure, becoming firmer in places the body requires enhanced support. 👍

It is also fitted with what Sealy calls 'PowerPack' comfort, an area of more densely packed springs in the centre of the mattress designed to enhance lumbar support.

The spring core and firm feel make the Sealy Mellbreak Ortho Plus Mattress well-suited to back sleepers

Sealy Mellbreak ortho plus mattress
While the Sealy Mellbreak Ortho Plus Mattress offers the right support for back sleepers, it is too firm for most side sleepers.

The tufted surface, double-sided design, and EdgeGuard technology, which promotes edge-to-edge support, work together to create a firmer feeling and more durable product.

If you are concerned about the environment, you'll be pleased to know that the mattress is 100% recyclable.

While the majority of Sealy Mellbreak Ortho Plus reviews praise its accurate description and value for money, a few customers have reported premature sagging. ⚖️

Thankfully, such issues are rare and are covered under the mattress guarantee.

The Sealy Mellbreak mattress has a 60-night trial and a 5-year guarantee, both ensuring peace of mind, critical for buying online.

BUY SEALY MELLBREAK ORTHO PLUS£ 309.95

  Sealy Mellbreak Ortho Plus Mattress
Composition: PostureTech Core Support open coil springs, PowerPack centre, tufted top
Firmness level: Firm
Height: 28 cm (11 inches)
Trial period: 60 nights
Guarantee: 5 years
What makes this mattress special? The densely packed and uniquely designed spring system offers a firm and highly supportive feel, ideal for back sleepers.

How we test products

Our mission is to take the guesswork out of finding the perfect sleep products.

We've dedicated hundreds of hours to testing mattresses and sleep accessories, and rely on a team of testers of differing weights, temperature preferences, and sleeping positions to evaluate each product. 

Tested products are granted the Sleep Hero tested stamp of approval, a mark of our review's reliability.

To learn more about our testing process, check out our methodology page.

If we haven't personally tested a product, please be assured that we invest significant time and energy into scouring the UK market and researching the best recommendations, and we work with a team of sleep experts who review our articles, ensuring that the insights we provide are not only relatable but also reliable.

What is a spring mattress?

As you may have guessed, innerspring mattresses have a core composed of springs or coils, and are often simply referred to as spring mattresses or coil mattresses. 🌀

Despite the name, spring mattresses are never composed just of springs.

The coils are usually combined with some or other foam to enhance comfort.

Sometimes, as in the case of cheaper spring mattresses, this may just be a thin layer of foam at the top and bottom of the mattress.

More luxurious spring mattresses, though, include deeper layers of more high-quality foams for superior comfort. 🌟

There are many different types of innerspring mattresses available, which we'll look at in the next section.

Different types of spring mattresses

While the foam comfort layers do play a part in determining the quality of the mattress, the primary determining factor is the type of spring or coil used.

There are numerous different types of innerspring mattresses available:

different types of spring mattresses

Here is a short overview of the most common ones.

Open coil mattresses

Open coil spring mattresses have been in existence since 1871, and they still remain one of the most common types of mattresses used worldwide.

These are often simply referred to as traditional spring mattresses - the ones you'll undoubtedly remember from your childhood.

Open coil spring mattresses
Open coil mattresses have an interconnected spring system.

Open coil mattresses consist of an interconnected spring system, connected vertically (like Silentnight's Miracoil mattresses) or horizontally (as in traditional continuous coil mattresses).

The most traditional open coil structure is the Bonnell spring.

Individual Bonnell spring
Bonnell springs have an hourglass shape.

Bonnell spring systems consist of a stable open spring core with hundreds of individual steel springs connected to each other.

These springs have an hourglass shape and are wider at the bottom and the top than in the middle.

Usually, Bonnell spring mattresses contain a layer of foam on top of the spring core so you don't feel the springs - though we probably all have memories of sleeping on worn spring mattresses and being poked in the back all night long!

Bonnell spring mattresses have a few unique features:

  • These coil mattresses are very durable and supportive.
  • They generally have quite a bit of bounce and transfer motion.
  • They are often quite firm.
  • They are also often the cheapest mattress option available.

Traditional spring mattresses are a great choice if you're on a budget, and excellent choices for children and teens.

They also make fantastic replacement trampolines for kids who like to jump on their beds. 😉

motion transfer
Open coil mattresses tend to have very high motion transfer.

You'll find some good quality open coil mattresses, but cheaper versions often don't give your body the comfort and pressure relief it needs, leading to aches, pains, and discomfort.

Coil mattresses with a high degree of motion transfer are also unsuitable for couples or restless sleepers since you'll be plagued by excessive bounce all night.

A mattress like Silentnight's Miracoil Pillow Top, with a coil system crafted for less partner disturbance, may be a more suitable option.

BUY SILENTNIGHT MIRACOIL PILLOW TOP£ 429

Pocket sprung mattresses

In contrast to open coil mattresses, pocketed coil mattresses feature springs wrapped in individual fabric pockets.

These individual pocket springs (or Marshall coils) are not connected and can move independently.

This allows for greater point elasticity (relieving pressure points) and minimises motion transfer (allowing for a more restful sleep, particularly if you share your bed with a partner). 🥰

pocket spring mattresses
Pocket spring mattresses feature springs in individual pockets.

Since pocket-sprung mattresses are in a league of their own, we won't look at them in detail in this article on more traditional spring mattresses.

Instead, please refer to our guide on pocket-sprung mattresses for more information and our top recommendations.

Is a spring mattress the right mattress for you?

While we would certainly steer away from inferior models, you may want to choose a high-quality spring mattress for many reasons.

Let's look at some of the benefits of traditional spring mattresses in more detail.

Breathable

Spring mattresses are known for their enhanced breathability. ❄️

The space between the springs creates natural ventilation channels, which allows for greater airflow within the mattress.

This allows the mattress to remain cool and more comfortable.

spring mattress breathability
Spring mattresses offer enhanced breathability.

Spring mattresses are thus a good choice for hot sleepers and heavy sweaters.

Most modern-day memory foam and hybrid mattresses offer a more temperature-neutral sleep, but very hot sleepers are generally more comfortable on a quality spring mattress. 🔥

If you're not sold on open coil mattresses but require something cooling, look at our article on the best cooling mattresses in the UK.

Supportive

The best innerspring mattresses are often firmer than foam mattresses and offer better overall support and stability.

While firmness is often a matter of preference, mattress support is crucial.

All sleepers need good support, but it's more difficult to find supportive mattresses for people of larger size, particularly if they weigh over 130 kg (286 lbs).

Firmer spring mattresses, like the Sealy Mellbreak Ortho Plus Mattress, are an excellent choice here.

BUY SEALY MELLBREAK ORTHO PLUS£ 309.95

Budget-friendly

Traditional spring mattresses are among the cheapest on the market, and many are of decent quality.

This makes coil spring mattresses a no-brainer if you're looking for a budget-friendly mattress.

Great for children and teens

One of the downsides of open spring mattresses is that they usually have higher motion transfer, making them less ideal for couples.

You will likely get a more bouncy feel because movement can travel relatively well through springs, especially if interconnected.

While not great for couples, this is fine for people who don't share their bed with a partner.

Add in the budget-friendly nature of open coil mattresses, and traditional spring mattresses become the ideal choice for children and teens.

How much does a spring mattress cost?

Innerspring mattresses are generally quite affordable. 💷

Of course, the exact price does depend on the type of spring used, the mattress size, and the overall quality of the materials.

High-quality pocket-sprung mattresses will be more expensive than cheap open-coil mattresses.

You can get budget mattresses for under £200, mid-value mattresses for anything under £1000, and very high-quality luxury mattresses for well over a couple of thousand pounds.

price performance ratio
Spending a little more is generally worth the price.

But it is worth remembering that you generally get what you pay for.

While you don't have to splurge on the most expensive mattress available, cheaper open coil mattresses can be terrible quality, so we'd highly recommend taking a closer look at quality before you purchase.

We'll guide you through all of that below.

What should you consider before buying a spring mattress?

Since so many inferior coil mattress models are available, it's important to pay attention to the type of mattress you're buying.

Here are a few key criteria to help you make the right choice. 👇

Is it an open coil or a pocket-sprung mattress?

Most brands and retailers will advertise pocket springs quite clearly, but it is worth checking if the mattress you're about to purchase has an interconnected spring system or an independent pocketed coil system.

Pocket spring mattresses are generally more expensive and of higher value, but you can also find really great traditional open coil spring mattresses, like the ones we recommend in this article.

open coil spring mattress

pocket springs

If you're choosing a pocket sprung mattress, you also need to consider how many springs the mattress has - stick to 1000 to 2000 springs for the smallest size, as this will denote higher quality.

What is the spring tension?

Spring tension refers to how thick the spring wire is and how tightly the wire is coiled.

  • Thicker springs are usually firmer, while thinner springs offer more gentle support.
  • The more tightly the wire is coiled, the firmer the spring will be.

If you're looking at a pocket-sprung option, you'll also need to consider the height of the mattress springs.

Full-size pocket springs (around 16 cm / 6.2 inches) are usually reserved for the core of a mattress, while micro springs are often used as additional support layers.

Does the mattress have additional zoning?

A zoned spring mattress will offer better body adaptability and pressure relief, making this ideal for people struggling with back and neck pain.

Zoned mattresses will be firmer in some areas than others, and you can get anything from 3 to 9 or more zones.

A mattress with five to seven comfort zones is ideal.

Pay attention to your sleeping position and mattress firmness

Innerspring mattresses are firmer and offer more stability and support than foam mattresses.

different comfort levels

But, even here, you'll find varying degrees of firmness.

Some spring mattresses are extra firm, and others are a little on the softer side. 🧸

A firm spring mattress may seem optimal but may not be your best choice.

  • Extra firm spring mattresses are great for heavier-weight people or those of larger builds.
  • Smaller or lighter people will probably do better on slightly softer spring mattresses.

Even though mattress firmness is often a matter of personal preference, you do need to make sure you choose a degree of firmness that works for your body.

If you want the stability and support of a spring mattress but prefer the softness and comfort of a foam mattress, you could try a pillow top mattress, cushioning mattress topper, or a thick quilted cover.

These all add a layer of cushioning to a supportive spring base.

We recommend a few of our favourite softer mattress toppers below.

Our recommended soft mattress toppers:

Should you buy a coil spring mattress?

While there are many inferior models and paying attention to quality is vital, you can definitely find fantastic spring mattresses.

These are an excellent choice for hot sleepers and anyone looking for more stability and support.

They're also fantastic budget-friendly mattresses, ideal for children and teens.

The best innerspring mattresses UK:

Frequently asked questions

  • How long do spring mattresses last?


    A high-quality spring mattress should last you about 8 - 10 years, but cheaper models tend to wear out after 5.

    Several factors can affect the longevity of a spring bed.

    • The more body weight the mattress has to carry, the faster the springs will wear out.
    • Thicker low-gauge coils tend to last longer than thinner high-gauge coils.
    • Pocket springs last longer than continuous coils.
    • The thickness, quality, and durability of the comfort layers influence how long the mattress will last.

    It's always a good idea to opt for the highest quality you can afford.

  • How do you take care of a spring mattress?


    Knowing how to take good care of your mattress can help you keep it even longer.

    If your spring mattress is at the end of its life, though, it'll be time to get a new mattress.

    Our guide on disposing of a mattress will help you dispose of and recycle your spring mattress responsibly. 

  • In what sizes are innerspring mattresses UK available?


    You'll find a good range of spring mattress sizes in the UK. 🇬🇧

    Standard sizes include

    • Spring small single mattress size: 75 x 190 cm (2’6" x 6’3”)
    • Spring single mattress size: 90 x 190 cm (3’ x 6’3”)
    • Spring small double mattress size: 120 x 190 cm (3'9" x 6'3")
    • Spring double mattress size: 135 x 190 cm (4’6” x 6’3”)
    • Spring king-size mattress: 50 x 200 cm (5’ x 6’6”)
    • Spring super-king size mattress: 180 x 200 cm (6’ x 6’6”)
    • Spring mattress emperor size: 200 x 200 cm (6’6” x 6’6”)

    The right mattress size for you will depend on your personal requirements, budget, and the size of your bedroom.

    It's worth remembering, though, that traditional spring mattresses have quite a bit of bounce and carry motion well. 

    If you and your partner want a traditional spring mattress, we recommend buying two separate mattresses and placing them together on one larger bed frame.

    You can get rid of the gap between the two mattresses by using a bed bridge or mattress topper

  • What's the difference between a spring mattress and a memory foam mattress?


    Spring mattresses and memory foam mattresses are very different.

    Spring mattresses feature coils, while memory foam mattresses rely solely on foam.

    Here is a quick overview of the differences.

      Features
    Spring mattresses:

    Feature a core of coils/springs.

    Firm level of support with good stability.

    Moderate level of motion transfer.

    Very breathable and offer cooler sleep.

    Very durable.

    Memory foam mattresses:

    Feature a core of memory foam.

    Softer level of support with good stability.

    Low level of motion transfer.

    Tend to retain more heat.

    Very durable.

  • What are alternatives to spring mattresses?


    If you feel that a spring mattress just isn't right for you, you can try one of these alternatives instead.

    • Memory foam mattresses: These mattresses are excellent orthopaedic mattresses due to their body-contouring abilities, though they do retain a fair bit of heat.
    • Cold foam mattresses: These are softer and comfier than spring mattresses and offer good point elasticity, but they're not as body-contouring as memory foam mattresses.
    • Latex mattresses: These are eco-friendly, comfortable, supportive, and cool to sleep on, plus a little softer than innerspring mattresses, but they come with a hefty price tag. 
    • Gel foam mattresses: Also contouring and comfortable, but what sets these mattresses apart are their remarkable cooling properties. 

    You can also find more exclusive mattresses with natural or organic materials - like hemp, cotton, or wool - or hybrid mattresses that combine springs with foams. 

  • References

Nicky

Nicky Peters

Editor & Certified Sleep Therapist

Nicky is an experienced writer and editor with BA, BA(Hons), and MA qualifications. As a certified sleep coach, her interests lie in understanding how sleep problems arise from hormonal and environmental issues, particularly as part of stress and anxiety management.

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