Leesa vs. Tempurpedic Mattress Comparison 2023 : Which Is Better?
In This Article
Leesa’s a new company. Tempur-Pedic’s an old one. Leesa’s a bed-in-a-box. Tempur-Pedic’s a traditionally delivered mattress. Leesa’s a direct-to-consumer brand. Tempur-Pedic’s got mattresses in mattress stores.
Let’s call the whole thing off.
Just kidding. We’re going to break everything down so you can figure out which mattress should be your final decision. Leesa versus Tempur-Pedic. Which one will prevail?
About the Brands
A few details before we start.
Leesa Recap Full Review
What To Like
- 100-day sleep trial
- has a hybrid option for you innerspring fans
- has made social initiatives a company priority
- has little motion transfer between partners (or pets)
- open cell foam provides ultimate breathability
What Not To Like
- heavy smell that needs a lot of airing out
- only two styles of mattresses are available
- heavy sleepers are out of luck
Tempur-Pedic Recap Full Review
What To Like
- one of the widest arrays of style choices
- backed by an established brand with a long business history
- mattresses are in showrooms across the US and Canada
- innerspring devotees, listen up. It has hybrid options.
- has different choices for firmness level
What Not To Like
- the price is steep for many budget shoppers
- requires extended airing out time
- doesn’t have a handle on temperature control
Leesa and Tempur-Pedic Comparison
These companies couldn’t be more different. They do have a few significant similarities in terms of logistics, however.
How are Leesa and Tempur-Pedic similar?
They do have a few small similarities in the big picture.
Layers
Both companies use a memory foam concept called contouring and support foam. Top layers of foam are contouring, meaning they have a lot more give and your body’s curves sink into the foam. The support layer(s) underneath prevent the body from sinking too far into the bed by pushing back against the body to support and align the spine.
The actual execution of this concept is different, however.
Motion Transfer
Both companies provide excellent protection against motion transfer. Even Tempur-Pedic flex models that include coils have minimal motion transfer.
Memory foam gets that part right. The structure of every mattress in the line (in Leesa’s case, two, and Tempur-Pedic’s case, a million) provides a high level of motion transfer minimizing. It’s enough to set down a glass of wine and drop a bowling ball on the other side without messing up your mattress. (Does anyone do this? You could; that’s all we’re saying.)
Edge Support
Edge support is the ability of the mattress to support your weight fully to the edge. If you sat on a traditional memory foam mattress and then slid right off, you know why this is important.
Both companies offer excellent edge support in all models of their mattresses.
Hybrid Mattresses
If you’re wedded to the innerspring feel, both companies offer hybrid options that feature memory foam with individually wrap micro coils. The coils act as the support layer, providing pushback and that bounce you’re craving. Contouring memory foam supports your pressure points.
Return Policies
There isn’t a lot in common with their return policies, but one thread is similar. Both companies acknowledge that it can take some time to adjust to the feel of a new mattress. Before you can initiate a return, both companies ask that you sleep on your new bed for at least 30 nights before making a decision. This period gives your body time to adjust and you to decide if your sleep has changed.
Warranty
Both offer ten-year warranties for defective mattresses and both reserve the right to replace mattresses at their discretion. There are some restrictions for shipping and replacements such as fees for replacements for covered wear and tear.
Financing
Both companies allow you to finance a mattress if the full price is currently out of your reach. You can complete the financing through each website and check out as you usually would.
Shipping
Shipping for purchases and returns is free for both companies.
Manufacturing and Customer Service
If it’s important to you to support companies located in the United States, take note. It appears that both company’s manufacture all or part of their mattresses in the USA. Leesa openly states on their website that their mattress is made in the US.
Customer service is a vital component of any company, especially one where you’re purchasing goods on the internet. It seems that both companies use customer service representatives located in the United States for a more streamlined process. Good to know if you decide to take advantage of their return.
Social Impact
Leesa has a unique stance on social initiatives. They firmly believe in giving back to the community in many different ways including directly through the company and allowing employees to take time off to volunteer.
For every mattress sold, Leesa donates one mattress to nonprofits that work with homeless populations. They also plant a tree for every mattress sold. The company itself participates in many volunteer activities and gives staff time off to give back to organizations they support individually.
Tempur-Pedic partners with Good360 to donate mattresses to organizations working with the homeless, veterans, refugees, and other groups. It’s unclear how many years they’ve done this.
How are Leesa and Tempur-Pedic different?
And now for something completely different. Two companies, that is.
Mattress Styles
There’s a lot of difference between your choices with Leesa and Tempur-Pedic
The Leesa Original
The Leesa original is a three-layer memory foam mattress. The top layer is Leesa’s proprietary Avena foam, intended to help reduce temperature and conduct heat away from the body. The middle layer is a pressure relieving memory foam that molds to your pressure points. The bottom layer is the dense support layer that keeps your spine in alignment. It’s rated at about a seven on a ten-point firmness scale.
The Sapira
The Sapira is similar to the original Leesa, but instead of dense support foam, it uses individually wrapped coils to provide support. The springs are sandwiched between two layers of support foam to reduce motion transfer. It’s rated at about a six and a half on a ten-point firmness scale.
Tempur-Pedic Contour
This category is Tempur-Pedic’s firm option. It has four layers of foam with the first being a cooling comfort layer, the second a comfort layer that determines how firm the mattress is, and two dense layers of support. It hits about a seven on the ten-point firmness scale.
Tempur-Pedic Cloud
The Cloud line uses the same layers of foam as the Contour, but the comfort layer is rated softer than the comfort layer in the Contour. It’s rated around a four and a half on the ten-point scale.
Tempur-Pedic Flex
The Flex is Tempur-Pedic’s hybrid version. It uses individually wrapped, densely packed precision coils that provide the support and bounce that innerspring lovers want. The coils are in the middle of one-inch foam layers that provide more contouring and prevent motion transfer from increasing because of the coils.
The Price
And here it is, the most glaring difference between these two companies. Before there was any competition for memory foam, Tempur-Pedic could charge enormous prices for their mattresses without anyone batting an eye.
Bed-in-a-box, direct to consumer companies used memory foam as their primary bed type, so there’s no need for Tempur-Pedic’s prices, but that’s a different section. Let’s take a look at how things break down.
Leesa’s mattresses in both lines come in at less than $1800 for a California King. The Leesa original is well below that at around $1200 while the Sapira is just under that $1800 mark. It’s certainly not the cheapest mattress we’ve seen in these reviews but affordable for most.
Tempur-Pedic lines, on the other hand, are nearly twice that much with a California King running more in the range of $3200. They do have a split option for most of their mattresses, which is even more expensive with a split California King topping off at just over $4000.
Sleep Trials
Leesa offers customers a 100-day sleep trial to figure out if the mattress is working while Tempur-Pedic offers 90 days. If you’re really on the fence about a mattress, that extra ten days can mean all the difference.
Showrooms
Tempur-Pedic does have the advantage of being in hundreds of showrooms and mattress stores across the country. You can go in and feel the mattress in person before deciding to buy, which can alleviate a lot of the issues you might have while ordering a bed online.
You can try out Leesa in some West Elm stores and some Pottery Barn stores. They also have something called a “Dream Gallery” in Virginia Beach and New York City (showroom plus art gallery). You can theoretically try out the mattress beforehand, but it’s much more difficult to find one than it is a Tempur-Pedic.
And the winner is…
Leesa Buy Online Now
We’re confident recommending Leesa as the best choice based on our analysis of key factors that an average, discerning mattress shopper would care most about.
Tempur-Pedic makes some beautiful, quality mattresses, but we can’t ignore the price. At twice the cost of Leesa with minimal differences in sleep quality to show for it, we can’t get on board with recommending a mattress with that high of a price difference.
Leesa is comfortable and offers a flex, innerspring option for people dedicated to the bounce of a traditional mattress at a fraction of the cost. The direct to consumer model just works better. Tempur-Pedic should listen up.
While the quality of the mattresses is close, the difference in price means you’re getting a lot more value for your money if you choose the Leesa.
- Quality – Leesa
- Price – Leesa
- Reputation – Tempur-Pedic
- Sleep Trial – Leesa
- Warranty – Tie
- Customer Support – Tie
- Product Selection – Tempur-Pedic
For Sleepers with Specific Needs
Let’s go over a few crucial details about this decision.
Side Sleepers: Choose Leesa
Here’s why. Leesa’s combination support with medium firmness means that your curves can sink into the mattress while the dense support layer provides alignment and proper positioning for the spine. The edge support means you can sleep without tipping off into a weird position to stay on the bed.
Stomach Sleepers: Choose Leesa
Here’s why. Again, the medium firm support helps keep the spine from overextending in the superman position while edge support keeps your legs and arms in the right place. You can hug the edge all you want while remaining flat.
Back Pain: Choose Leesa
Here’s why. Specifically, the original Leesa. It’s a touch firmer than the Sapira and completely reduces motion transfer, so you don’t toss and turn, wrenching your lower lumbar in the process.
Heavy People: Choose neither
Here’s why. Once again, heavy people are a bit out of luck. Neither mattress is best for you, and there are other mattresses out there that can give you the support you need (Winkbeds, for one.)
Couples: Choose Leesa
Specifically, the Sapira. Here’s why. The Sapira is the hybrid option. It gives you more bounce and pushback, which many couples find better for sex. However, it sandwiches the coils in layers of memory foam, so when everyone is asleep, it still prevents the other partner’s motions from interfering with how everyone is sleeping.
Conclusion
Both Leesa and Tempur-Pedic offer mattresses that are quality and provide both memory foam options and hybrid options. The main beef we still have with Tempur-Pedic is that the price doesn’t match the quality.
Leesa’s products are on par with the Tempur-Pedic line, and although there’s nothing wrong with spending money in the pursuit of health and well-being, we can’t justify spending twice as much for a mattress that’s so close in quality to a brand that’s half as much. We just can’t.
Unless you’re sure that nothing but the softest mattress is going to satisfy you (and honestly, we’d recommend the Sealy Cocoon), Leesa should meet every sleep need you have, foam or coil.
Would you spend more money for the guarantee of a big brand? Let us know in the comments below.
