Amazon now sells its own super-affordable, bed-in-a-box mattress — I tried it to see if it's worth buying

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If you're looking for a bed on a budget, the AmazonBasics Memory Foam Mattress provides plush comfort and an impressive level of quality at an unbeatable price. It starts at $130 for the 8-inch Twin size.
The construction of the mattress allows for breathability, and neither I nor my partner had any issues with sleeping too hot.
The mattress is backed by a one-year limited warranty, and is available in Twin, Full, Queen, King, and California King sizes.

With the wide range of products Amazon offers, it's not much of a surprise that the company decided to produce its own private line of products under the label AmazonBasics.

In keeping up with the competition of the online mattress market, Amazon added an AmazonBasics mattress to their product lineup, which also includes bed frames and sheets. This memory foam mattress is a remarkably affordable offering in the sea of online mattresses currently available. The 10-inch king-size mattress comes in at just under $300. The price alone makes this a mattress worth considering.

While the price is nearly unbeatable, I put the AmazonBasics Mattress to the test to see if the quality and the comfort make it a worthwhile purchase. I slept on the queen-sized 10-inch mattress, but depths of 8 inches and 12 inches are also available, and sizes range from twin to California king.

As with so many of the products featured on Amazon, you won't be without options.

First impressions

I came home to find the AmazonBasics propped on my back porch. While the cardboard exterior was a little worse for wear, the rest of the mattress was perfectly encased and vacuum sealed in a compact roll, resulting in a narrow box that easily fit through the door and up the stairs. There is no white glove delivery service available here, but at this price point I wouldn't expect that type of service. I would highly recommend two people to carry the box just to be safe, but my boyfriend did manage to get this up the stairs on his own — so if you're feeling particularly strong and can't snag a friend, or have a stubborn significant other who insists they don't need help — one can get the job done.

As with most out-of-the-box mattresses, set up was easy. The mattress unrolled from the outer plastic wrapping onto our frame, and I used a pair of scissors to carefully cut through the vacuum-sealed wrapping. It immediately started to expand. Up to 72 hours are recommended for the mattress to come to its full size. I would say it took about a full 24 hours for the mattress to fully take its shape.

There was some odor from the off gassing, and while unpleasant at first, the smell dissipated within 48 hours and hasn't lingered since.

Construction

The AmazonBasics Mattress is made of CertiPUR-US memory foam, and comprises three different layers for support and comfort. The top layer is the softest, providing a nice cushion that conforms to the body. While this mattress isn't without support, those looking for the feeling of resting on top of the mattress won't find that here — this is a softer mattress with more give than some of the firmer options out there. While this mattress does conform to the body more, it's still breathable thanks to the holes in the second layer of foam, and the wave-like shape of the third layer.

All these layers fit together to form a mattress that provides a decent amount of support coupled with plush comfort. The mattress cover that surrounds these layers is removable, but spot cleaning is recommended. I personally haven't tried washing the cover myself, and the tag advises against it. However, I didn't find this to be an issue with the use of a fitted sheet.

Comfort

Overall, I found this mattress to be both comfortable and durable.

From a support standpoint, I personally would have preferred a firmer feel, but this makes sense for me as I tend to sleep mostly on my stomach. If you're looking for a firmer mattress, but don't want to sacrifice affordability, I would recommend giving the Allswell Hybrid Mattress a try. On the other hand, my boyfriend is a back sleeper and experienced no discomfort or back issues during testing. This would also be an ideal mattress for side sleepers, as the plush memory foam cushions the common pressure points of the shoulders and hips, and helps keep everything in alignment.

As mentioned above, the construction of the mattress allows for breathability, and neither one of us had any issues with sleeping too hot.

As a light sleeper, I also appreciated how this mattress performs with motion transference. When my partner rolled over at night, it had a minimal effect on my side of the bed. However, I did notice that because my boyfriend and I are on different spectrums weight wise, I did tend to slide more toward the middle of the mattress during the night. More edge support would likely have helped with this. Overall though, this wasn't a deal breaker, especially considering the deal you get at such an affordable price point.

Final thoughts

Whether you don't have the means to drop a large sum of money on a mattress, or you're looking for affordable options for spaces like a guest room, I would definitely recommend the AmazonBasics Mattress.

Comfort and quality aren't sacrificed here.

Sleep Sherpa says, "The biggest benefit of this mattress is the price. If you know you like the feel of memory foam, and want a mattress a little on the softer side, this would be a great choice." Amazon reviewers like Neil also praise the affordability. He says, "[I] haven't slept this well in a while, and given the cost it's well worth it."

The AmazonBasics Mattress is backed by a one-year limited warranty, and is available in Twin, Full, Queen, King, and California King sizes.