The quick answer#
Silentnight is the mattress brand most British households recognise, with a range running from around £269 to £789 for the smallest size. Smaller UK manufacturers selling direct undercut that substantially: the mattresses below start at £109 for a double.
For the best combination of price and quality, the Saffron Comfort Deep at £174 is our pick. If you want a firm, orthopaedic-style mattress, the Comfort Ortho Firm at £157 scores 8.6 for support.
Why people look for a Silentnight alternative#
Usually price against specification. Silentnight sells both through high street and catalogue retailers and direct from its own site, with free delivery over £49 and free mattress recycling on much of the range, so this is not a case of a brand hiding behind middlemen. It is simply that a household name carries a household-name price, and smaller UK manufacturers selling direct undercut it.
The counter-argument is real and worth stating: Silentnight mattresses are stocked in shops, so you can lie on one before you buy, and there is a large, established company behind the guarantee. Neither is true of a £109 mattress bought online. If either matters to you, that is a legitimate reason to pay the premium.
What Silentnight charges#
Silentnight prices by single, with a size uplift on top. We have verified double prices for three models; the rest are single prices, so a double will cost more. Taken from silentnight.co.uk on 21 September 2026:
| Silentnight model | Firmness | Single | Double |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sleep Now Dual Climate | Reversible cool/cosy | £269 | Not checked |
| Comfort Breathe® 800 Pocket | Medium | £279 | Not checked |
| Comfort Breathe® 1000 Pocket | Medium/firm | £309 | Not checked |
| Comfort Breathe® 1200 Pocket | Medium/firm | £379 | £499 |
| Just Breathe Eco Comfort Hybrid | Medium/firm | £385 | Not checked |
| UltraGel Miracoil Pillowtop | Medium/firm | £459 | £599 |
| Comfort Breathe® 1400 Pocket Ortho | Firm | £499 | £649 |
| Comfort Breathe Airmesh™ 2000 Pillowtop | Firm | £649 | Not checked |
| UltraGel Cool-to-touch 3000 | Pillowtop | £789 | Not checked |
The size uplift is steep: a double adds £120 to £150, and a super king adds £350 to £450. That is where the gap opens. The firm, orthopaedic Comfort Breathe 1400 is £649 for a double, against £157 for our Comfort Ortho Firm and £512 for the Luxe OrthoSupport9, which scores 8.9 for support.
Our picks at a glance#
| Mattress | Best for | Type | Firmness | Price (double) | Our score |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| The Saffron Comfort Deep | Best all-rounder | Memory foam | Medium | £174 | 8.5 |
| Westwood Memory Foam | Cheapest we recommend | Memory foam | Medium | £109 | 8.4 |
| Comfort Ortho Firm | Firm and orthopaedic | Memory foam | Firm | £157 | 8.4 |
| Core Bubble Memory | Spare rooms | Memory foam | Medium | £148 | 8.4 |
| Pocket Reflex 1000 | Traditional springs | Pocket spring | Medium | £399 | 8.3 |
| Majestic 9000 Extra Firm | Maximum support | Foam | Firm | £399 | 8.5 |
The alternatives in detail#
Best all-rounder: The Saffron Comfort Deep, £174#
The Saffron Comfort Deep is a 23cm medium memory foam mattress scoring 8.5 for comfort and 8.3 for support. At £174 for a double it is the sweet spot of the budget end of our catalogue: deep enough for nightly use by average builds, cheap enough to be an easy decision.
Cheapest we recommend: Westwood Memory Foam, £109#
The Westwood Memory Foam is the cheapest mattress we will put our name to, scoring 9.3 for value. An 18cm two-layer foam build at a genuine medium, ideal for a guest room, a first flat or a child's bed. More options in our budget mattress guide.
Firm and orthopaedic: Comfort Ortho Firm, £157#
If you buy firm mattresses for your back, the Comfort Ortho Firm is the value pick at £157, scoring 8.6 for support on a 20cm firm foam build. Firmer surfaces in the medium-firm range are the ones the clinical literature associates with better alignment and less back pain,1 though genuinely extra-firm is not automatically better. See our back pain picks.
Spare rooms: Core Bubble Memory, £148#
The Core Bubble Memory is a 15cm medium foam mattress at £148 with 9.0 for value. Shallow for nightly use by an adult, but hard to beat for occasional guests.
Traditional springs: Pocket Reflex 1000, £399#
If you want springs rather than foam, the Pocket Reflex 1000 from Luxe Mattresses is a 28cm medium pocket-spring mattress at £399, with a 100-night trial, 10-year warranty and free delivery, the closest structure here to a conventional high street purchase.
Maximum support: Majestic 9000 Extra Firm, £399#
The Majestic 9000 Extra Firm scores 9.1 for support, among the highest we have awarded. Comfort is 7.4, which is the honest trade: this is a flat, firm surface for front sleepers and heavier back sleepers, not a cradle.
What you give up#
We would rather you hear this from us than find out after paying. The Foam People do not advertise a home trial, and their warranty runs to 5 years rather than the 10 the bed-in-a-box brands offer. If the freedom to send a mattress back after two months matters more to you than the price, that is a legitimate reason to pay more elsewhere, and our guide to trial periods explains what the trial small print usually means in practice.
Luxe Mattresses sit in between: a 100-night trial, a 10-year warranty and free delivery, at prices still well under the premium bed-in-a-box brands. If a trial is non-negotiable, start there instead.
Frequently asked questions#
Why are these cheaper than Silentnight?#
Scale and marketing rather than materials. Silentnight is a household name stocked in shops nationwide, and that recognition and distribution are built into the price. The Foam People build to order in the UK and sell direct, and Luxe sell hand-built mattresses direct at large discounts off RRP. Silentnight does sell direct from its own site too, so the saving is about brand and volume, not middlemen.
Can I try these before buying?#
Not in a shop. Luxe include a 100-night home trial, which is the direct-sold equivalent, while The Foam People do not advertise a trial. If lying on a mattress before paying is essential to you, a high street brand retains that advantage.
Which is best for a child's room or a guest bed?#
The Westwood Memory Foam at £109 or the Core Bubble Memory at £148. Both are medium, both are light enough to handle, and neither is an expensive mistake if tastes change.
Are firmer mattresses better for your back?#
Up to a point. The evidence favours medium-firm over both soft and extra-firm surfaces for spinal alignment and pain.1 Our firmness guide explains how to place yourself on that scale.
References#
- Caggiari G, Talesa GR, Toro G, Jannelli E, Monteleone G, Puddu L. What type of mattress should be chosen to avoid back pain and improve sleep quality? Review of the literature. Journal of Orthopaedics and Traumatology. 2021;22:51. doi:10.1186/s10195-021-00616-5
- Hu Z, Wang Y, Li L, et al. Effects of Mattress Firmness on Sleep Quality and Sleep Architecture. Nature and Science of Sleep. 2025;17:865–878. doi:10.2147/NSS.S503222
How we picked these alternatives#
Every mattress above is one we have scored ourselves out of 10 for support, comfort and value, using the same framework for each (see how we score). We ranked candidates on the specific quality people are trying to replace, not on overall score alone, then sense-checked the shortlist on price, warranty and what happens if you don't get on with it.
Not sure which suits you? Our mattress quiz takes four questions and ranks the whole catalogue against your position, build and budget.
Prices and specifications are as published by the brands on 21 September 2026 and change often, check the current price before buying. We may earn a commission if you buy through our links, at no extra cost to you, and it never affects a score. See our affiliate disclosure.
