Best soft mattresses

The Emma Original Elite is our first choice for a soft mattress because Emma rates it 7.5 on its own firmness scale, where 1 is firm and 10 is soft, and builds that feel on a 7-zone pocket spring core, so shoulders sink in while the lower back stays supported. A double costs £1,159 with a 200-night trial, and Emma itself steers heavier and front sleepers to the firmer Original.

Side-sleeping couples who want a plush top on springs should start with the Simba Hybrid Luxe, sold as a plush feel with up to 5,700 springs in nine layers under a bamboo-infused British wool layer, 31cm deep. A double costs £1,799 with a 200-night trial. Simba reserves "our plushest feel" for the dearer Hybrid Ultra at £2,399 and says it designs every mattress to feel medium-firm, so expect a cushioned surface on firm support rather than a deep sink.

Order the TEMPUR PRO SmartCool in its Soft feel, which TEMPUR describes as "a cosy soft mattress feel with body conforming support", and you get a 21cm all-foam mattress topped with 3cm of TEMPUR Advanced Material at the same price as its three firmer feels. The double lists at £2,299, about twice the Emma Original Elite, and the PRO Plus (25cm) and PRO Luxe (30cm) put more depth under the same Soft feel for more money.

Bensons for Beds, the only UK seller, rates the Eve Hybrid Duo Plus Soft, and at £729.99 for a double it is the cheapest fully soft-rated sprung mattress in this ranking. The 28cm, UK-made mattress puts CertiPUR-certified memory foam and an airflow foam over 2,900 mini and full-height pocket springs. Its terms are the weak point, an 8-year guarantee and a 40-night comfort exchange that carries charges and needs a mattress protector.

The Silentnight Mirapocket 2000 Deluxe Box Top is the traditional British option, a 39cm pocket-sprung mattress that Silentnight grades medium soft and describes as "a little softer than a medium for sleepers who need a little extra give". Its 2,000 zoned springs sit under the only hand-tufted box top in this ranking, and a double costs £990.

The Emma Performance 30 has the highest overall score of any mattress here, yet it ranks sixth because Emma publishes no soft grade for it. Emma treats height as the comfort dial, saying "taller means a plusher, more enveloping feel and support", and the 30cm model is its deepest, aimed at side sleepers with broader shoulders. At £1,709 for a double it costs well over the Original Elite, so it earns its place when you want depth of cushioning more than a softer surface.

If you want natural fillings, the Woolroom Standen is sold in a Soft tension (one of three) with 1,400 calico pocket springs in a king under Wool ID traceable British wool, cashmere and silk. A double lists at £2,219, and the 100-night trial only applies when you buy a Woolroom washable protector with it.

For a handmade soft mattress with no foam at all, the Vispring Devonshire is filled entirely with British fleece wool for what Vispring calls an "indulgently soft, cocooning feel", over 1,326 hand-nested springs in a king. It is sold through stockists, a double costs £2,749 at Land of Beds, and a heavier sleeper can order the same mattress in Medium, Firm or Extra Firm tension.

On a tight budget, the Dunelm Rolled Memory Foam 800 Pocket Sprung Hybrid is a 19cm rolled mattress that Dunelm grades Medium Soft and lists for side sleepers, with 800 pocket springs under memory foam and a quilted top. A double lists at £209, and Dunelm had 20% off at the time of writing (September 2026). The thin build gives a heavier sleeper far less to sink into than the 27cm to 39cm mattresses ranked above it.

Side sleepers who find most foam mattresses too firm should look at the Mammoth Performance Supersoft, a 27cm mattress that puts a 65mm Skyfoam layer over 60mm of Mammoth's Medical Grade foam. The Sleep Shop lists it as medium/soft support at £1,349 for a double.