The Best Crib Mattresses, According To Extensive Testing
When I shopped for my firstborn’s crib mattress, I considered the price and whether it had certain certifications I was interested in at the time. Six years and three kids later, I’m learning there is a lot more to consider when choosing the best crib mattress. After speaking with health experts and extensively testing 14 top contenders (and researching many more), my pick for the best crib mattress is the Naturepedic Organic Breathable Ultra Baby Crib Mattress (2-Stage) Innerspring model, but there are several other mattresses I recommend if you’re looking for other options.
We tested 14 top crib mattresses to find the very best.
The following is a list of all the winning crib mattresses after over a year of testing.
The Simmons Kids SlumberTime Naturally is the best value crib mattress given its significantly lower price (just $96 on sale now), its use of thermoplastic polyurethane for waterproofing (a safer option over even the safest vinyls) and ability to be used for infants and toddlers. I also selected the Avocado Organic Crib Mattress as the best organic pick because of its 100% Global Organic Textile Standard (GOTS) certified latex, organic cotton and wool blend, minus all the chemical flame retardants and off-gassing. If you want or need a crib mattress that’s under 10 pounds, the Lullaby Earth Gentle Start Breathable Crib Mattress 2-Stage is not only lightweight, but also an excellent value and has robust certifications.
The Naturepedic Organic Breathable Ultra Baby Crib Mattress (2-Stage) Innerspring model blew me away. It uses the highest-quality materials and avoids synthetic waterproofing and fireproofing substances. It feels good, too, thanks to its organic cotton fabric.
When selecting which crib mattresses to test, I initially looked at Naturepedic’s Lightweight version. It uses a patented Wavesupport inner material instead of the polyurethane foam that’s standard in lightweight mattresses, but ultimately I opted for the Innerspring version, given that coils tend to be more durable over time. Both models perform similarly and, aside from their inner makeup, both use the same materials and carry organic certifications.
Waterproof For All Those Upcoming Messes
The company uses a food-grade polyethylene waterproof surface made from non-GMO sugarcane that wipes dry, similar to the vinyl options I tested—without the use of vinyl.
This crib mattress comes with a removable washable cover that’s easy to put on and take off. The company calls the cover breathable and says that it “provides excellent airflow should baby turn face down.” Experts I spoke to caution against these claims, saying there is no data to support a “breathable” mattress claim.
Lighter Than Expected, Yet Durable
It took just 11 seconds to add a crib sheet to this mattress (something I got very good at during the testing process). Even at 19 pounds, thanks in part to those 252 coils, I was able to easily lift and maneuver this unit. It is lighter than the Avocado crib mattress that I also selected as a winner here, but heavier than the lightweight or value picks below.
Mattresses that use innerspring coils tend to be heavier and more expensive, but they also require the use of fewer materials and chemicals. Plus, coils tend to be more durable over time, particularly if there are more of them—252 is a high count for a crib mattress, making this a high-quality innerspring mattress.
The Naturepedic line is popular among parents who are researching crib mattresses that are free from potential chemical hazards—the brand has been making organic mattresses for 20 years. Naturepedic crib mattresses have certifications from GOTS, Made Safe and Greenguard Gold, and they are also certified to be formaldehyde-free.
An Excellent Mini Crib Option, Too
I also tested the Naturepedic Breathable Organic Mini Crib Mattress, and recommend it for families that use a mini crib. Just like its full-size sibling, the Naturepedic Breathable Organic Mini Crib Mattress uses the safest materials for babies and has GOTS-certified materials. The mini version doesn’t come with an innerspring option, but the polyethylene foam meets the EWG strict standards for safe foam materials. The mattress cover is easy to put on the mattress and even easier to take off when it’s time to toss it in the washer. (The brand, like many others, boasts about the cover’s breathability, but experts warn against this claim and reiterate that babies must be put on their backs to sleep.)
At 8 pounds, calling the Naturepedic Breathable Organic Mini Crib Mattress easy to maneuver feels like cheating because it’s significantly smaller and lighter than full-size crib mattresses. But it is, and for that we’re grateful. Dressing the mattress is quick and easy; it takes just 16 seconds to put on the mattress cover, which served as our sheet test for this model.
Long-Term Testing Notes
My now 15-month-old has continued to sleep on this Naturepedic mattress in her crib (infant side up) for over eight months now. She has a daily nap, as well as her nighttime sleep on it. I have no complaints about this mattress at all, and it has held up beautifully. I appreciate that it’s flippable, so that she can continue to sleep on this bed into toddlerhood.
The mattress cover has also done its job, and it goes onto the bed easily in comparison to cheaper covers I’ve used in the past. We’ve experienced pee accidents from full diapers but no stains. It did rip a bit along one side, though, and has a few loose threads elsewhere, and I’ve followed the washing instructions, so that’s a little disappointing but the mattress itself doesn’t show any wear.
It can be hard to justify spending hundreds of dollars on a mattress that little ones use for just a couple years—babies are already expensive, after all. But a crib mattress is also where your baby spends the better part of their days early on, which makes it potentially worth the investment. That’s why I wanted to find a happy in-between mattress for my best value pick: A mattress that isn’t so cheap that you question its integrity, but not so expensive that it’s out of reach for too many of us. The Simmons Kids SlumberTime Naturally crib mattress works perfectly with this definition. (This is actually the mattress I purchased when my first child was born in 2017.)
When I first chose this mattress six years ago, what stood out was the price and the fact that it had a bunch of certifications. (I now better understand that most mattresses do.) But as I dove further into my research for this story, what stood out most to me about the Simmons Kids SlumberTime Naturally crib mattress when comparing it with similar options, is the fact that it does not use any vinyl. Instead, the waterproof backing is thermoplastic polyurethane (TPU), a less-harmful plastic, per the Environmental Working Group (EWG). Despite this, the price point is still accessible.
The top of the mattress has a woven cotton cover, which has a nicer feel than plastic coverings and doesn’t make that plasticky noise.
Water Wipes Away
Even though the cover is cotton, water easily wipes away, and the mattress does not remain damp, like other waterproof mattresses. (Waterproofing protects the inner portion of the mattress, but in some cases the cover needs to dry.)
The mattress is light, at just over 12 pounds, but it can still be cumbersome and awkward to lift and put into a crib, which is typical of crib mattresses. It took me 22 seconds to put on the Copper Pearl fitted sheet (the Forbes Vetted tested best pick for crib sheets). The right crib sheet can make this whole middle-of-the-night change easier.
Dual-Sided But Not As Long-Lasting As Some
The SlumberTime crib mattress is dual-sided, which means you can use it through toddlerhood by flipping it over when your child is older. However, I’ll mention that my son used this mattress for three years on the infant side because “if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it,” and he sleeps great. That said, now that I’m using it for my third baby, I do see wear on the infant side in the form of an indentation so we’re swapping it out for a less-worn mattress. Related: Our toddler slept on her SlumberTime infant side for three years, and when we moved her into a toddler bed, we did flip it to the toddler side. (We owned two of these mattresses before testing.)
Because of this wear, I would caution against using this crib mattress for multiple children or passing it along as a hand-me-down unless you confirm that your mattress has held its shape. I confirmed with the company that there is no max allowable weight for either side, which shows that this mattress may expire sooner than you’d like.
One last thing to note is that although the label says this mattress (and others on the market) is soy foam (or plant-based), Tasha Stoiber, a senior scientist with the EWG, says that this doesn’t make a mattress better, per se. “Most of the time there’s a small amount of plant oil used to make the foam, but it’s mostly just plain old polyurethane foam—at most, 30% bio-based,” she says.
A spokesperson for Simmons Kids declined to provide details on this mattress’ foam makeup, stating by email: “We are not able to provide percentages of our materials for proprietary reasons.”
With a name like Avocado, it can be easy to get caught up in mattress marketing: clean, beautiful imagery with feel-good messaging about the handmade product that uses only the best materials. But the Avocado company (which also sells beautiful, environmentally friendly, good-for-you furniture) has the substance to back up its claims. I definitely oohed and ahhed when I took the Avocado Organic Crib Mattress out of its box. It’s soft to the touch and uses thick, organic cotton for its outer layer.
Possibly The Most Natural Crib Mattress Available
The Avocado Organic Crib Mattress is perhaps one of the most natural and chemical-free crib mattresses out there, earning gold-standard certifications for organic textiles, including GOTS and Made Safe. This latex mattress is also Greenguard Gold certified and formaldehyde-free certified. The Avocado company is a B corp, which is good news for environmentally minded families. It’s a carbon neutral company and the latex and wool are sustainably harvested on its own farms.
Unlike every other mattress I tested, the Avocado crib mattress is soft to the touch, which may not make much of a difference when it’s covered with a sheet, but I liked how it felt and thinking about my baby sleeping there.
The Avocado Organic Crib Mattress is perhaps one of the most natural and chemical-free crib … [+]
It’s Heavier Than Most
This latex crib mattress was much heavier than others I tested, weighing in at a whopping 28 pounds. This might become an issue when you’re trying to change the sheets and need to lift it out of your crib. The company does offer a 30-night trial, which you could use to determine if the 28-pound weight is doable for the grown-ups at home. However, it took me only 18 seconds to add a crib sheet to this mattress. Of course, it would take longer if the mattress were in the crib, due to its weight. The brand sells two other crib mattresses that make use of pocketed coils, including the an Eco model, which is lighter at 22.5 pounds but not flippable, and a Luxury model that weighs even more (36 pounds) given the deeper layered hybrid construction, but is flippable and comes with a longer sleep trial.
Although the mattress is heavy, it also feels incredibly durable. The piping, for example, is sturdy and holds firm to the mattress when I tug it. The fabric that lays over the inner core is thick.
The Avocado crib mattress, which is manufactured in California, uses wool as a natural, chemical-free flame retardant, and although the mattress itself is not waterproof, Avocado sells an organic cotton moisture-resistant mattress pad in lieu of plastic to protect against wetness. It keeps the mattress dry, but like comparable covers made of cotton, it remains damp after wiping moisture away.
Long-Term Testing Notes
After initial testing, I placed the Avocado crib mattress in my toddler’s bed (toddler-side up). I chose the Avocado mattress for the toddler’s bed, because of its weight. I find it much easier to maneuver and change the sheets when it’s on a bed frame versus the crib. She slept on this each night over the past eight months or so, and I don’t see any wear.
The mattress cover has done an excellent job of protecting the bed from accidents and leaked diapers, which is important given that this mattress is not waterproof. It’s also easy to wash and to place onto the bed.
The Avocado mattress feels nice. It’s soft, as I mentioned previously, and I really like the commitment to safer materials. In fact, I just bought two twin size Avocado mattr