Best Budget Mattress for Students Moving Into Halls or Their First Flat
Moving into halls or your first flat is exciting, and it comes with a long shopping list. Your bed deserves a place near the top of it, because a good night's sleep makes lectures, deadlines and early shifts a lot easier to handle. The best budget option depends on one question: does your room come with a mattress, or do you need to bring your own? We'll cover both situations, along with a few ways to make your money go further.
If Your Room Already Has A Mattress
Most halls, and plenty of furnished flats, provide a bed and mattress. You can't usually swap the mattress, and you can do a lot to make it feel like your own.
- Add a mattress topper. A topper sits on top of the existing mattress and changes how the bed feels straight away. It's the most cost-effective upgrade you can make in a furnished room, and it's yours to take with you when you move out. Our toppers are 6.5cm deep, which is enough to make a meaningful difference while still fitting under a standard fitted sheet. They have four elastic straps to hold them in place, an anti-slip base and a removable, machine-washable cover, and they roll up for moving day.
- There are three to choose from. The Cool Foam Mattress Topper has a layer of cool-feel Simbatex® foam and is the lowest-priced of the three. The Hybrid® Essential Mattress Topper adds up to 1,500 Aerocoil® microsprings under the foam for cradling support. The Hybrid® Mattress Topper has up to 1,900 microsprings for the most support and cushioning comfort.
- Bring your own pillow and duvet. These make a big difference to how well you sleep, and they fit in the boot of a car. A pillow you can adjust is a smart choice when you don't yet know what your new bed will feel like.
- Use a mattress protector. A waterproof protector keeps things fresh and hygienic on a mattress that other people have used before you, and it helps you hand the room back in good condition.
Before you order anything, check the bed size. Halls rooms often have a single or a small double, so measure the mattress or ask your accommodation office.
If You Need To Buy A Mattress
If you're renting an unfurnished place, or you'd like a mattress of your own and your landlord is happy with that, you'll need one of your own. Here's what to look for when you're on a student budget.
- Springs and foam together. A hybrid mattress combines the support of springs with the cushioning comfort of foam. It suits all sleep positions, which is helpful if you're not sure how you sleep.
- A medium-firm feel. Research shows that medium-firm mattresses offer the best combination of comfort and support for most people, and it's the feel we design all our mattresses around.
- Cooling. Student bedrooms are often small. A mattress that lets air move through it will keep you more comfortable.
- Easy delivery. A mattress that arrives rolled in a box is much easier to get up a narrow staircase or into a lift.
- A trial and a guarantee. These protect your money if the mattress isn't right.
Our most wallet-friendly mattress is the Hybrid® Essential. It has our signature Aerocoil® titanium alloy microsprings and graphite-infused Simbatex® foam, in a four-layer design that's 20cm deep. It has five support zones and a breathable, zip-off cover you can wash. Because it's slimmer than our other mattresses, it's also light and easy to handle. A single weighs 14kg and a double weighs 21kg, which you'll appreciate every time you move. It comes in Single, Small Double, Double and King.
If you'd like a little more depth, the original Hybrid® is the next step up, with five layers, a 25cm depth and nine support zones.
Ways To Bring The Price Down
This is where being a student works in your favour.
- Student discount. We offer up to 26% off everything for students and young people, as well as key workers and other groups. You verify your status online through our partner GoCertify, which takes about thirty seconds, and you get a code to use at checkout.
- Refurbished. Our Simba-certified Refurbished range offers the same sleep technology for less. Every refurbished mattress is inspected, fitted with new parts where needed, and deep cleaned and sanitised to hospital standards. It comes with a 30-night trial and a 1-year guarantee. The student discount applies to new products, so compare both routes and see which works out best for the mattress you'd like.
- Interest-free finance. You can spread the cost of orders over £150 across 3, 6 or 12 months at 0% APR. Finance is subject to affordability, age and status, and a minimum spend applies, so only choose a monthly amount you're comfortable with.
Think About The Next Few Years
Student life involves a lot of moving. You might be in halls this year, a shared house next year and a flat of your own after that. It's worth choosing sleep products that can come with you.
A topper, a pillow and a duvet will fit any bed you end up with. You can compare our three designs on the mattress topper page, where you'll see the layers, spring counts and sizes side by side. If you're buying a mattress, consider the size you're likely to need in your next place. A double is a safe choice for most rented rooms.
A new Simba mattress comes with a 10-year guarantee, so it's built to come with you well beyond university.
A Simple Shopping List
For a furnished room: a topper, a waterproof mattress protector, a pillow, a duvet and two sets of bedding.
For an unfurnished room: all of the above, with a mattress in place of the topper, and a bed frame or base with slats no more than 7.5cm apart.
FAQs
Yes. Our toppers come in Single, Small Double, Double, King and Super King. Each one is 6.5cm deep and held in place with four elastic straps and an anti-slip base.
Our Hybrid® mattresses arrive vacuum-packed in a box, with free delivery to most UK postcodes. Once unpacked, the mattress is ready to sleep on in six hours. A boxed mattress is much easier to carry up a shared staircase or fit into a lift.
Your 200-night trial runs from the delivery date. If you decide the mattress isn't for you within that time, get in touch and we'll arrange a free collection. You won't need to get it back in the box.
Our Mattress Recycling Service collects any brand and any size for £50, and you can add it at checkout so the old mattress goes when the new one arrives.
Yes. Our toppers come with a 200-night trial and a 10-year guarantee. They also come with free delivery, and the cover comes off for machine washing.
