Labor Day isn't for a few more weeks, but mattress brands are starting sales early (naturally). Our advice for buying a mattress is to never pay full price, and always look at deals with caution. Sale prices are usually the real MSRP in disguise. We keep track of prices throughout the year and have highlighted the deals that are actually good. All prices are for queen sizes.

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Best Mattress Deals

Read our Best Mattresses and Best Organic Mattresses guide for more.

Leesa Sapira Hybrid Mattress
Photograph: Leesa

This is our runner-up mattress pick. It's priced higher on Leesa's website, but it's typically $1,699 on Amazon year-round; we saw it drop to $1,349 on Cyber Monday but this is one of the best prices we've tracked. In our testing, we found that it was cool, cozy, and soft, yet firm enough to relieve some pressure while we fell asleep.

The Allswell Hybrid is the best cheap mattress we tried. It's typically $349 from Walmart (Walmart owns Allswell) but it dropped to this price at the end of May. We're not sure yet whether this is the new standard price, but if you need a bed and want to spend as little as possible, it's a good choice. It feels much more expensive than it is, beating out other super cheap beds we tried. It's medium-firm and the top layer of gel-infused memory foam keeps you cool. If you can spend a little bit more, the Allswell Luxe for $399 is even comfier (though not on sale).

Birch Luxe Natural Hybrid Mattress
Photograph: Cole Slutzky/Birch

This mattress is a new pick in our guide. If you want an organic mattress, it's a good upgrade and a higher-end version of the standard model we recommend in our organic mattress guide. It's comfy, and the medium-firm feel is great for most sleeping styles. It's topped with a layer of blended cashmere for regulating temperature. The Birch Luxe is GOTS-certified organic and uses natural latex with no polyurethane-based foams.

If you've ever looked up mattresses, you probably have seen Purple. This is the cheapest price we've tracked so far. This one isn't a hybrid, but it has a comfortable, Jell-O-like cool feeling thanks to the brand's signature silicone grid. Purple does have hybrids, but we haven't tested them.

These Deals are OK

The below mattresses are discounted, but they're either not as good as they claim or we've tracked them going even lower.

Helix Midnight Luxe Hybrid Mattress
Photograph: Helix

Enter code LDS20 at checkout to get this discount and two free pillows. The Helix Midnight Luxe is our top pick overall, but this isn't an uncommon price and we often see it dip under $1,800. With this pricey bed, you'll get six layers of foam and individually wrapped inner springs, making it more than 13 inches high. It's medium-firm and comfortable for almost all sleeping positions. There are other firmness levels within the Luxe collection that we didn't try.

Enter code LDS20 at checkout to get this discount along with two free pillows. Like the Helix above, the Elite was cheaper during Prime Day. WIRED reviews editor Martin Cizmar has been sleeping on the soft Sunset model, but there are several firmness options to choose from depending on your needs. They're 16 inches thick and come in two big, heavy boxes—the two pieces zip together to form one bed.

Serta Perfect Sleeper Cobalt Calm Plush Pillow Top Innerspring Mattress
Photograph: Serta

This innerspring mattress is new to our guide, and something to consider if you're sick of all-foam mattresses that come in a box. We tried the version with Ultimate support and a Plush Pillow Top, which is more expensive than the base offerings that you see when you first enter the product page. We found that combination to have an excellent balance of softness and support. This won't come in a box, so you'll need to schedule delivery by truck, but thankfully, this modern innerspring doesn't also require a box spring. 

Though technically the Awara is priced at $1,399, it's almost always $1,099 so this price is $100 off and matches what we saw during Prime Day. This is our affordable organic mattress choice and it's made from from latex foam and organic wool. It's supportive and bouncy, with little motion transfer, but we could feel the springs a bit more than the other mattresses we tried.

Enter code GOGREEN at checkout to get this discount. We've seen this mattress get even cheaper, but it's still a discount on a good organic mattress for kids. It's a hybrid made using certified organic cotton, wool, and latex.

These Are Not Actually Sales

You can't trust mattress brands and their sales tactics. If something is always on sale then it's not really a sale, is it? That's why we track prices to see what's even more discounted than usual. These beds are all good options and top recommendations in our guides, but they aren't actually discounted any more than we usually see.

Avocado Green Organic Hybrid Mattress for $1,799 (With Code Labor Day): Avocado has a forever 10 percent off sale, but this is our top organic mattress pick and the only one WIRED senior writer Scott Gilbertson was able to agree with his wife on. Despite him liking firmer beds and her preferring softer ones, this was both without being too much of either.Brooklyn Bedding Signature Hybrid Mattress for $999: This bed is always $999 both here and on Amazon. We've seen it dip even lower on Amazon, so if you can wait you may get a deal. This bed is very firm if that's what you're looking for. The WinkBed Hybrid Mattress for $1,499: We haven't yet tracked the WinkBed actually reach its $1,799 list price. It's a good bed if you aren't sure what you need, with fantastic edge support. It's relatively firm, but there's an added plush pillow top.Nectar Memory Foam Mattress for $699: Though the price jumped up to $799 for a moment on Amazon, this mattress is almost always $699. Nectar is a classic, comfortable memory foam mattress that's great for side sleeping.Saatva Zenhaven Natural Latex Mattress for $2,795: The Zenhaven is a new pick for us, but our price tracker shows it actually being $100 less for at least the past 120 days. This mattress has one side that's plush, and the other that's firm. We noticed a difference, but not as much as having separate dedicated soft and firm beds.