Memory foam mattress toppers are the most popular method for taking a worn-out old mattress and getting a few more years of good sleep from it. The best memory foam mattress toppers let you treat the top of your mattress like the sturdy core of a new bed, adding a comfort layer of cradling foam to complete the sleep surface. However, many memory foam toppers simply pack right down and add little to no extra comfort.

In this guide, we’ll walk you through the process of choosing a high-quality memory foam mattress topper that will actually improve your sleep. We’ve asked our sleep expert-in-residence, Michelle Jenkins, to go on a search for the best products on the market. You’ll find her thoughts on all her recommendations below, along with practical buying advice to help you choose your new topper.

Read on to see which comfort layers made our rankings!

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Michelle’s Take

“This LUCID memory foam mattress topper is my top recommendation to shoppers on a tight budget. It’s remarkably good for its price range! The LUCID has 5 distinct zones, so it caters specifically to your pressure points as well as the rest of your body. I especially like all the air channels, which make it sleep a lot cooler than other inexpensive toppers. Unlike the rest of the budget options, it’s made entirely in the USA from CertiPur-certified foam. It also has a very impressive 3-year warranty, while most others around $50 aren’t covered at all. The lavender scent may not be for everyone, though. It covers the new foam/off-gassing odors nicely, but it’s certainly distinctive.” “This LUCID memory foam mattress topper is my top recommendation to shoppers on a tight budget. It’s remarkably good for its price range! The LUCID has 5 distinct zones, so it caters specifically to your pressure points as well as the rest of your body. I especially like all the air channels, which make it sleep a lot cooler than other inexpensive toppers. Unlike the rest of the budget options, it’s made entirely in the USA from CertiPur-certified foam. It also has a very impressive 3-year warranty, while most others around $50 aren’t covered at all. The lavender scent may not be for everyone, though. It covers the new foam/off-gassing odors nicely, but it’s certainly distinctive.”

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Michelle’s Take

“This Dreamfoam topper is a good midrange choice for those who want something a bit more substantial than the LUCID, without splurging on the thicker LinenSpa. It’s the same 2” thickness as the LUCID, but the lack of cutouts make it feel both more consistent and more enveloping. I think it does just as good a job cushioning pressure points and supporting the middle spine, without having any special design features. It’s simply a high-quality foam that adapts to your contours! This one also sleeps very cool, thanks to the gel swirled into the material. Since 2” should be enough for most people as a comfort layer, this is my recommendation to the average buyer. Unless you’re a side sleeper or on the heavier side, there’s no reason to go for the LinenSpa. Like the LUCID, it’s covered for 3 years by a comfort guarantee. So, if it develops any soft spots, you can get a replacement very easily.” “This Dreamfoam topper is a good midrange choice for those who want something a bit more substantial than the LUCID, without splurging on the thicker LinenSpa. It’s the same 2” thickness as the LUCID, but the lack of cutouts make it feel both more consistent and more enveloping. I think it does just as good a job cushioning pressure points and supporting the middle spine, without having any special design features. It’s simply a high-quality foam that adapts to your contours! This one also sleeps very cool, thanks to the gel swirled into the material. Since 2” should be enough for most people as a comfort layer, this is my recommendation to the average buyer. Unless you’re a side sleeper or on the heavier side, there’s no reason to go for the LinenSpa. Like the LUCID, it’s covered for 3 years by a comfort guarantee. So, if it develops any soft spots, you can get a replacement very easily.”

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Michelle’s Take

“This Linenspa model is essentially a thicker version of the Dreamfoam above. It’s made from a very similar gel-swirl foam material that sleeps cool and has extremely good adaptiveness. Between the gel material and the open-cell foam construction, it sleeps quite cool. That’s super important with something this thick, since it’ll cradle you deeply. I don’t think everyone needs to spend so much on something so thick, though. In fact, something this deep can be a bit excessive for back sleepers of lighter weights to average girth. You can end up sinking in too deeply at the pressure points and losing spinal alignment. However, this is a good choice for back sleepers on the heavier side, as well as side sleepers who need that extra inch of relief around their shoulders and hips!” “This Linenspa model is essentially a thicker version of the Dreamfoam above. It’s made from a very similar gel-swirl foam material that sleeps cool and has extremely good adaptiveness. Between the gel material and the open-cell foam construction, it sleeps quite cool. That’s super important with something this thick, since it’ll cradle you deeply. I don’t think everyone needs to spend so much on something so thick, though. In fact, something this deep can be a bit excessive for back sleepers of lighter weights to average girth. You can end up sinking in too deeply at the pressure points and losing spinal alignment. However, this is a good choice for back sleepers on the heavier side, as well as side sleepers who need that extra inch of relief around their shoulders and hips!”

All our picks are comfortable and cozy, but overall we’d say our recommendation as the best memory foam mattress topper is the Dreamfoam Bedding 2” Gel Swirl Memory Foam Mattress Topper thanks to its excellent cushioning and supportiveness.

Buying Guide

Here are some helpful pointers to bear in mind as you compare your options and shop for a new memory foam mattress topper:

Always Choose USA-Made, CertiPur-Certified Products

There are an awful lot of memory foam products on the market these days. The variety is good news for you, since it drives down costs and presents you with a whole range of shapes, sizes, and blends of materials. However, it also makes it hard to sort out the high-quality stuff from the junk. Crappy, cheap memory foam is barely distinguishable from plain old polyurethane. It doesn’t cradle you so much as collapse under you. It’s not worth your money. It can also be quite toxic, since cheap, imported foams aren’t well-regulated. They can have all sorts of harmful chemical ingredients inside. Those ingredients can be toxic to touch, and they create off-gassing that can cause all sorts of health problems. Steer clear of cheap imports and choose something produced in the USA, where there are at least some basic safety standards around polyurethane foam products.

Look For Cooling Features

One of the biggest downsides of memory foam is that it traps heat. While the cradling effect feels great from a comfort standpoint, it creates pockets which can get sweaty in a real hurry. That’s why more recent memory foam products are made with gel and charcoal additives, along with open-cell construction. All these features help to dissipate heat and prevent uncomfortable buildups. We don’t recommend buying any memory foam mattress topper that doesn’t include some sort of cooling feature.

Know What To Expect

A memory foam mattress topper serves a specific purpose. It creates an additional comfort layer that cradles your body and relieves pressure. It won’t help you much if what you need is support rather than cushion. So, be sure that you’ll actually be improving your sleep experience by buying one of these! If your discomfort a night is caused by a sagging mattress that throws your spine out of whack, a memory foam topper isn’t going to help much. A latex topper may improve things somewhat. Still, no mattress topper can compensate for an uneven, curved sleep surface. Mattress toppers add more cushion and relieve pressure, but they’ll curve right along the shape of your mattress top. Make sure your mattress is simply too firm rather than too warped! If curvature is the problem, it’s best to get yourself a new one.

What’s Next

To learn more about any of the memory foam mattress toppers seen here, simply click on the links in our reviews. That’s the easiest way to see sizing options and check current prices.

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