Best cheap mattress deals for March 2021: discounts, price drops and free pillows

On the hunt to find the best cheap mattress deals this month? With March kicking off and April just around the corner, there are tons of mattresses on sale thanks to frequent discount codes and the upcoming St. Patrick's Day.

Thanks to the constant mix of holiday savings events, scheduled sales and promo codes, finding a new mattress on sale is easier than ever. Most major mattress brands offer some form of discount, savings, or promo code on a regular basis that can take upwards of 30% off select models. If you can catch a holiday savings event though, you can usually save quite a bit more.

If you're hoping to stick to a tight budget, we've got you covered. Read on to find the cheapest deals on mattresses available this month. Want to grab the best of the best? Scroll on to see must-see offers on top models and mattresses including deals on mattresses from the premium brand Eight Sleep. 

We update our guide to the best mattress deals monthly, bringing the best offers available across the net front and center. You'll find deals available this month on some of the best mattresses including offers on the best bed-in-a-box mattresses from Amerisleep, Casper, Emma, Purple and more. 

Best Cheap Mattress Deals This Month

Cheap mattress deals: Quick links

Want to browse yourself? Here are all the mattress sales going on right now...

• Allswell: Shop the best prices
• Amazon: Browse today's best offers
• Avocado: Shop the best prices now
• Awara: $499 of accessories with every mattress
• Bear: 20% off sitewide + 2 free pillows
• Beautyrest: Browse the best prices
• Brentwood home: Up to $175 off select mattresses 
• Cocoon by Sealy: Save 35% + free sheets and pillows
• Emma: 30% off with the code HOLIDAYS, and 35% off bundles
• Floyd: Browse the site
• Ghostbed: 25% off + 2 free pillows
• Helix: Up to $200 off your mattress 
• Kohl's: Shop the current discounts 
• Layla: Up to $200 off mattresses + $300 of free gifts
• Macys: Shop the current discounts
• Nolah: Up to $800 off + 2 free pillows 
• Plushbeds: Up to $1,250 off mattresses plus luxury sheet set
• Tempur: Big deals on sleep accessories and mattress sets 
• Tuft&Needle: Save up to $150 on a new mattress
• Vaya: $300 off any mattress
• Walmart: Shop the best prices now
• Zoma: $150 off any mattress with code WIN150
• JC Penney: Shop the best prices now

The best cheap mattresses you can buy

Want more than foam in your mattress? If you demand the old-school comfort of springs combined with the convenience of foam, a hybrid mattress is the answer, and the latest version of Allswell's entry-level hybrid does the job at an agreeable price. It's 10 inches thick and composed of a mixture of individually wrapped coils and memory foam, complete with a cooling addition of charcoal and copper gel that's designed to absorb and transfer heat away from the body. It's all finished off with a thick, quilted top layer for extra comfort. Allswell describes the mattress's firmness level as medium-firm, and reviewers have been quick to praise it for its luxurious feel and high levels of comfort.

While this is definitely a budget mattress, Allswell has gone out of its way to give this one a premium feel. It features edge support along the sides so you can sleep soundly in the knowledge that you won't roll off in the night. Be aware, however, that the ends don't feature that support. As is the case with most mattresses these days, the Allswell Hybrid is available to try out for 100 nights so that you can really get to know if it's suitable for you over the long term, and it comes with a 10 year warranty.

See how it compares to our second pick below, in our Tuft & Needle vs Allswell mattress showdown. 

If you're looking for that elusive combination of a good quality mattress and a reasonable price, the Tuft & Needle Original could well fit the bill. While it lacks the high-end features of more expensive mattresses, the 10-inch Original should give you a good night's sleep without breaking the bank.

It's made using two layers of Tuft & Needle's own Adaptive foam, which is designed to provide the perfect balance of pressure relief and support. Reviewers have noted that it absorbs motion well and bounces back into shape when you move, so that whatever position you like to sleep in, you'll be good and comfortable. It also features added graphite and cooling gel to wick away heat and moisture so that you shouldn't get too hot while you sleep.

While it's far from a bargain basement option, the reasonably-priced Tuft & Needle Original comes up short compared to more expensive mattresses. Despite its cooling technology it can still trap some heat, and you may find that edge support weakens over time. Considering the price, though, it's worth giving it a chance. It's a good all-round mattress that's picked up plenty of good reviews and provides the industry-standard warranty and trial period, and it'll almost certainly suit you just fine. However if you weigh more than 250lbs you'll probably want to search for something that provides a little more support.

Here's an eye-catching addition to the standard foam mattress recipe. We've seen plenty of mattresses that feature the likes of charcoal and copper gel to absorb heat and moisture, but the not-so-secret ingredient in this Zinus mattress is likely to cause a few raised eyebrows.

As well as charcoal microparticles, the memory foam in this 12" mattress is also infused with green tea that, says Zinus, is antioxidant-rich to keep it fresh. And there's a lot of foam in this wonderfully thick mattress: three inches of conforming memory foam, two inches of softer comfort foam with open air pockets that encourage airflow so you don't get too hot, and a seven-inch base layer of high density support foam. 

The Zinus Green Tea mattress features CertiPUR-US certified foams that are designed to support your joints and align your spine while providing extra comfort for your shoulders, hips and knees, and Zinus describes it as being ideal for side sleepers and petite to average weight sleepers. The twin mattress supports a maximum weight of 250 pounds, while other sizes can support up to 500 pounds; if you're of a heavier build then you should look elsewhere.

Like many boxed mattresses, this one comes compressed and will need to be left to expand for about 72 hours once it's unpacked; don't throw your old mattress away just yet. And you get the standard 100 day trial as well as a 10-year warranty.

You're unlikely to want to buy the Linenspa 6-inch Innerspring mattress to sleep on every night. But if you want a decent enough mattress for a kids' room, guest room or even your RV, and don't want to spend a lot of money on something that might not see a lot of use, this could be a smart choice.

At just six inches thick it looks pretty insubstantial next to our other choices. And the fact that it's filled with heavy gauge steel coils rather than foam might be off-putting. But with a twin mattress coming in at just $79.99, and a California king size model costing you just under $150, there's a lot to like about it. Those steel coils deliver lasting support, and an inch-thick inner foam layer as well as a quilted fabric cover means that you don't have to compromise on comfort.

Rated firm by Linenspa, this innerspring mattress might be just a little too hard for many people, however Linenspa suggests that it's a comfortable and supportive option for toddlers, kids and teens as their bodies grow and develop. Some reviewers have mentioned that it's not great for adults as you can feel the springs under the padding, and unlike most other mattresses here there's no extended trial period on offer to get a feel for its comfort levels. As a bargain mattress for a spare room, though, it's still hard to beat.

For a cheap hybrid mattress, this AmazonBasics option is definitely worth checking out. It combines an edge-to-edge innerspring coil foundation with what it calls a memory foam feel; that is, it's not the memory foam that you'll find in the slightly-more-expensive Allswell hybrid, but can you tell the difference?

Amazon says that the CertiPUR-US certified top layer provides gently conforms to your body's shape while you sleep, providing exceptional support, while the individually-wrapped coils deliver airflow and stability. Amazon rates the mattress's firmness as medium, which may translate as a little too soft for your liking. Reviews, though, are on the whole very positive, with reviewers generally finding it comfortable and supportive with an attractive price point.

Bear in mind, however, that there's no opportunity to try out the AmazonBasics Premium Hybrid mattress for an extended period to see how you get on with it. All you get is a 30-day return option, which isn't really long enough to get to know your mattress. And while most other mattresses offer a 10-year warranty, with Amazon all you get is one year. Given the price, though, it could still be worth going for this option.

Black Friday mattress deals: When's the best time to buy?

The winter sales are probably the best time to buy a mattress. The annual Black Friday mattress sales typically take prices down to the lowest they're going to be (although there's a bit of a trend developing for brands matching their Black Friday offers in the summer, too). 

2020's event took place on 27 Nov, with Cyber Monday following on 30 Nov, and despite it being a very tough year for retail, thanks in part to the effects of the pandemic, there were still some excellent cheap mattress deals to take advantage of. To give you an idea of what to expect in next year's sale, we can look at the trends from previous years.

When do the Black Friday mattress sales go live?

In 2020, sales started early and lasted longer than usual. The US deals kicked off super early, with a number of brands launching what would turn out to be their Black Friday discount in early November (although the names changed sometimes, the discounts remained the same). That was true of Nectar, Saatva, Amerisleep and Dreamcloud. Others teased us with price drops in early November, but upped their discounts closer to the big day. Most brands ran their deals until the week after Cyber Monday. In short, the 2020 Black Friday mattress sales were very much not confined to Black Friday itself – you had plenty of time to pick up the same discounts throughout November and early December. 

Where are the best Black Friday mattress deals? 

Every year, pretty much all the big brands and retailers get involved to offer some kind of price drop, freebie, or discount code. Who gave the biggest discounts? Eight Sleep, Purple and Saatva went for flat price drops across the full range: $500 off, $300 off and $200 off respectively. Emma knocked a super-generous 40% off site-wide, Amerisleep knocked 30% off its full range, and Casper gave us a less-exciting 15% off mattresses. There were also a fair few brands throwing in free accessories and pillows with each mattress purchase. There were also plenty of sales and price drops at third party retailers and general stores, on less big-name brands.