The Swedish temple of flat-pack is the obvious go-to for certain things in life: cube storage shelves, reasonably priced rugs and, of course, meatballs. But would it be your first thought for mattress shopping?
Perhaps because it's known for its cheap prices, many of us wouldn't consider shopping at Ikea if we're looking for a quality mattress.
Ikea mattresses tend to be among the more affordable options in our mattress test, with five queen-sized models that all cost under $1400.
But since our testing regularly reveals that cheaper products often match or outperform more expensive ones, it raises the question: should Ikea be at the top of your list for mattress shopping?
We'll talk you through all things Ikea mattresses, plus, for CHOICE members, we'll reveal which ones are our top picks.
On this page:
- Is it worth it? The CHOICE verdict
- What to know before buying a mattress from Ikea
- How we choose which Ikea mattresses to test
- The Ikea mattress to avoid
- How to interpret our test results
- The best scoring Ikea mattresses from our tests
Is it worth it? The CHOICE verdict
Ikea mattresses are definitely worth considering – some more than others. Just make sure you're buying the best that the Swedish retailer has to offer.
"Ikea typically makes middle-of-the-road mattresses – most aren't the best on the market, but some do rank among our top performers. The rest aren't bad for the price so, depending on what you're looking for, an Ikea mattress can be a solid choice," says CHOICE mattress expert Peter Zaluzny.
"But for some of the more expensive Ikea mattresses, you can probably find a better product for the same price from a different brand."
What to know before buying a mattress from Ikea
Here are some of the things you'll need to keep in mind if you're thinking of buying a mattress from Ikea.
Trial period and guarantee
If you're lucky enough to be getting in eight hours' sleep every night, then you'll spend around a third of your life in bed – so finding your perfect mattress match will make a huge difference to your wellbeing.
But lying on a mattress for two minutes while a sales assistant hovers nearby won't exactly give you the best idea of how you'll feel about it night after night.
Ikea's trial period of a year is over three times longer than Sleeping Duck's or Koala's
CHOICE mattress expert Peter Zaluzny
In recognition of this, many mattress retailers now offer trial periods so you can make sure you're in love with your new mattress before you commit to it for the next 10 years or so of your life. And Ikea's trial period is incredibly generous: 365 days. They also offer a solid warranty period.
"Ikea's trial period of a year is over three times longer than Koala's or Sleeping Duck's. Plus, their guarantee for many mattresses lasts for 10 to 25 years," says Peter.
But if you do decide to exchange your mattress, there are a few things you need to know.
- Ikea doesn't have free delivery, and they don't pick up if you want to exchange it.
- You can't get a refund during the trial period. You can only exchange your mattress for another Ikea model.
- You're only eligible for one exchange under the trial period (so choose wisely).
Instore shopping
In an era of online bed-in-a-box shopping, there's still something appealing about trying out a mattress before you buy one.
"The benefit of buying from a bricks-and-mortar store like Ikea is that it's easy to try each mattress instore before entering the free trial period. Plus, they have quite a few models to choose from," says Peter.
Of course, the drawback is that there are limited Ikea stores across the country and, if you do have one near you, it's like going into a maze-like layout from which you may never return.
Not to mention the tendency to go wild buying all the things because they're so cheap. So, perhaps you should factor the time and extra money into your mattress shopping budget!
Getting it home
If you already know what you want and you're trying to avoid the Ikea maze and associated shopping spree, you can order through the Ikea website, either for delivery (for a fee) or for click and collect from the store, which is free.
While these options are all helpful if you live in an urban area, your Ikea mattress could end up costing you considerably more if you live outside a major city. For a rural area, for instance, you might have to pay up to $1099 for delivery! That's a huge cost increase to factor in.
Your Ikea mattress could end up costing you considerably more if you live outside a major city
Note, we used a Broken Hill address for this example. We also checked delivery to Townsville, which was quoted at $599.For delivery from Sydney's Tempe store to a Sydney metro address, we were quoted $19 for delivery of a queen mattress to the door but $29 if we wanted the delivery person to bring the mattress into our home into a room of our choice.
Getting rid of your old mattress
Ikea also offers a mattress removal and recycling service, which cost $55 per mattress when we checked the Ikea website. This is comparable with another mattress recycling service, Soft Landing, which collects your mattress for a fee of around $50–90 per mattress and then recycles the materials. (And in fact, Ikea recommends Soft Landing for mattress removals when you shop online.)
Again, these services may not necessarily be available in your area, or they may be prohibitively expensive.
How we choose which Ikea mattresses to test
With the vast array of mattresses available on the market, we have to be selective about what we test so that we can provide the most useful information to the largest number of people.
So, based on feedback from members, we test firm mattresses where available, and we buy double- or queen-sized mattresses as that's what most people shop for.
In terms of Ikea products, these are the models that are currently available that we've tested:
- Ånneland
- Ǻbygda
- Åkrehamn
- Vatneström
- Valevåg.
The Ikea mattress to avoid
In previous years, Ikea's Hokkåsen mattress was routinely on our list of mattresses to avoid, scoring just 61%. However, Ikea has since discontinued this particular mattress.
Now the title of the lowest scoring Ikea mattress has been passed on to a new model: the Ǻbygda. With a score of 66%, it's definitely ahead of the Hokkåsen, but at $699 it's still not a great buy.
How to interpret our test results
Because we're a diligent bunch here at CHOICE, you'll note that there are many, many scores in our mattress reviews – even more than in our other reviews, which are already very detailed.
That's because buying a mattress can be complicated. And since we spend a third of our lives in bed, it's especially important to make the right choice.
Here's what we test for and how much each component contributes to the overall score:
- comfort score when mattress is brand new (30%)
- comfort retention score after eight years* (30%)
- stabilisation (15%)
- sagging (10%)
- sweat repellent (10%)
- usage wear/damage (5%).
*The comfort retention score is a measure of how much the mattress's comfort has changed after eight years' use. We assess this by rolling a cask-shaped roller over each mattress for 30,000 cycles to simulate approximately eight years of use. The higher the score, the closer the mattress will feel to how it did when it was brand new.
What does it all mean?
So you don't become overwhelmed by all the numbers, here's what to make of them.
Because all bodies are different, the perfect, cloud-like mattress for one person can feel like a bed of nails for another. While we stand by our comfort scores for unused mattresses, you should find something that's comfortable for you.
What matters most here is how the mattress fares after eight years' use
What matters most here is how the mattress fares after eight years' use – if it's comfortable for you from day one, then a mattress that scores highly on this test will still be comfortable for you eight years later.
"You also want to look out for a stable mattress, especially if you share a bed with someone," says Peter.
"This is basically a bounce test that looks at how movement affects the other sleeper. If you roll over in the night and that makes the other person bounce, then the bed isn't stable. The higher the score in this test, the more stable the mattress. We consider four to five bounces to be an acceptable amount."
Want to know more? Here's extra info about how we test mattresses.
The best scoring Ikea mattresses from our tests
Here are the Ikea mattresses we've tested, ranked from best to worst.
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Stock images: Getty, unless otherwise stated.
