Emma, Eve or Casper? The best boxed mattresses for 2021

Table last checked: September 2021

Bed-in-a-box mattress brands

Want to know more about the brands selling mattresses online? Read on for our round-up of the key information you'll need to know. 

Emma

Emma offers two bed-in-a-box mattresses, and two other offerings. The Emma Original, one of our most popular mattresses, is comprised of foam and memory foam, the Emma Premium contains a combination of foam, memory foam and pocket springs.  Emma has also just launched the Emma Smart Hybrid, the brand's first mattress that's available to buy in the shops. The Emma Hybrid is no longer sold by Emma directly, but you will find it for sale on other sites.  

• Costs Emma Original: Single £449, Double £699, King £799, Super King £899
• Delivery Free shipping and free returns in the UK
• Trial 200 nights. If you decide to return the mattress, Emma will collect it free of charge and offer a full refund
• Guarantee 10-year limited warranty on the mattress core
• Other products available Pillow, mattress protector, cot mattress

See our full Emma Original mattress review to see whether it really can offer full support.

Eve

With its bright yellow trim, the Eve mattress range is certainly bound to catch your eye. We've tested five Eve mattresses, including the Original Hybrid, the Premium Hybrid and the Eve Original. This mattress is made of a 3cm memory foam layer, 3cm cooling foam layer and 18cm supportive foam base.

Eve mattresses can be found on display in some branches of high street retailers, such as Next Home, so it's worth checking to see if there's a display model near you.

• Costs The Original mattress: Single £429, Double £699, King £799, Super King £899 (0% APR finance packages are available)
• Delivery Free standard three-day delivery, next-day express delivery available for £15
• Trial 100 nights. If you decide to return the mattress, Eve will collect it free of charge and offer a full refund
• Existing mattress removal Available for an additional £40 fee, after the delivery of your Eve mattress
• Guarantee 10-year limited warranty covering manufacturing faults
• Other products available Cot mattress, pillow, mattress topper, mattress protector, bed frame, bedding (two bundles available)

See how it performed in our tests by reading our full Eve Original mattress review.

Otty

Otty has four mattresses in its range: the Original hybrid, Pure hybrid, Aura Hybrid and the Pure Plus hybrid. Otty claims that its Otty double hybrid mattress has a patented memory foam/foam/pocket spring combination, which eliminates over-heating with a cool gel and airflow technology.

• Costs Otty Original Hybrid: Single £599, Double £799, UK King £899, Super King £999 (0% financing available)
• Delivery Free shipping depending where you live, £20-£30 for premium shipping including allocated day and Saturday delivery, and free returns
• Trial 100 nights. If you decide to return the mattress, Otty will offer a full refund
• Existing mattress removal Optional, depending on your area
• Guarantee 10-year limited warranty
• Other products available Pillows, mattress topper, duvets, bedding and bed frames.

Will this mattress give you a decent night's sleep? Read our full Otty Original Hybrid review to find out.

Silentnight

Silentnight has a bigger range of deliverable mattresses, including pocket sprung, latex and memory foam options. If you like trying out a mattress before buying, Silentnight is one of the few online mattress brands to be on display in a large number of retailers – including Bensons for Beds, Dreams, Furniture Village and John Lewis. 

• Costs Doubles range from £125-£729 depending on the model. Silentnight Studio (its hero boxed model): Single £399, Double £599, King £699 (financing available)
• Delivery Free shipping (three to five days) for all mattresses
• Trial 60 nights. If you decide to return the mattress, Silentnight will give the option of exchanging your mattress for another, but won't offer a full refund
• Existing mattress removal Optional, depending on your area
• Guarantee Five-year limited warranty
• Other products available Beds, bedding, pillows and duvets

See our full list of Silentnight mattress reviews and find out how our members rate them by reading our guide to Silentnight mattresses.

Simba

One of the stalwarts of the bed-in-a-box mattress market, Simba prides itself on its combination of memory foam, foam and pocket springs. Its mattresses are available to try in a number of retailers, including John Lewis, but also come with a 200-night trial direct from Simba.

• Costs Simba Hybrid: Single £609, Double £829, King £939, Super King £1039 (0% finance packages available)
• Delivery Takes three to five business days
• Trial 200 nights If you decide to return the mattress, Simba will offer a full refund
• Existing mattress removal Optional with premium delivery
• Guarantee: 10-year limited warranty covering manufacturer faults
• Other products available Bunk-bed mattress, pillow, duvet, topper, mattress protector, fitted sheet, weighted blanket and bed linen.

Read our full Simba Hybrid mattress review to see how it performed in our lab.

Casper

Casper was one of the biggest players in the bed-in-a-box market, but in June 2020 it stopped selling mattresses directly to UK consumers. You can now buy Casper mattresses from mattressonline.co.uk instead.

• Costs* Casper Hybrid: Single £296.55, European double £418.16562.50, King £432.57, Superking £506.47. *deal prices shown on mattressonline.co.uk on 11 September 2021. RRP not given.
• Delivery Free next day delivery, £20 two-man delivery upgrade available, Saturday delivery is £17.50 extra
• Trial Mattressonline.co.uk is offering a 60-night sleep trial. If you don't love the mattress, you can exchange for any other mattress
• Existing mattress removal Optional extra (£25)
• Guarantee 10-year limited warranty covering manufacturer faults
• Other products available Pillows

Read our full Casper Hybrid review to see if this is the best mattress for you.

Which? bed-in-a-box mattress reviews

If you’re looking for a great night’s sleep, look no further than our independent and objective mattress reviews. You can have complete confidence in our reviews and test scores, because every mattress review we publish is based on the most rigorous lab tests.

It’s essential that your mattress gives your spine the support it needs. That’s why we test each one to see how well it will support people of various sizes, sleeping on their back, side and front. So no matter what your favourite sleeping position, we've got your back.

After simulating up to 10 years of use by rolling a heavy barrel over the mattress thousands of times, we then repeat the body-support tests to see whether the mattress becomes less supportive over time. We also assess the mattress for any change in height or firmness, so we can tell you whether it will sag or soften after a few years of use.

That’s not all. Our testing also reveals how breathable a mattress is, how easy it is to turn over on, and how stable it is. Light sleepers should try to buy a mattress with five stars for stability. These are the best at absorbing bounces, so you’ll be less likely to be disturbed when your partner rolls over or gets up in the night.

If you’re not yet a member and want access to all these results and more, join Which? today.

Price checked: September 2021.

Full RRP price quoted at the time of writing, unless otherwise stated. Prices may change.