This big-name mattress brand can't compete with Leesa

We test a lot of the best mattresses on the market, and that includes options from Casper, one of the best-known sleep brands out there. But how does it measure up against relative newcomer Leesa? We set out to determine which company makes the better mattress, and where each one excels—or flounders.

Price and discounts

The Leesa Hybrid is far from the most affordable mattress we’ve tested, with sticker prices starting at $1,099 for a twin and $1,799 for a queen. Fortunately, the company offers routine discounts that soften the blow. You can typically count on at least 15% off, or a minimum savings of $165. The discount takes $270 off the price of a queen, which rings up at $1,529. Despite its higher-than-average price, we think it’s a phenomenal mattress.

Casper’s Original mattress is less expensive, but it’s a far lower quality product in our opinion. Casper also frequently offers 15% discounts, meaning an Original queen is typically around $900. While Casper’s price takes the cake by several hundred in this regard, we don’t think it’s worth the money.

For those on a tighter budget, there are better mattresses out there than the Casper Original. Take the Tuft & Needle Original—a firm bed that in our tester's experience is supportive and lends a floating sensation. There's also the Nectar mattress, which our tester recommends as a softer option. It also easily bests the Casper Original and Leesa Hybrid in terms of price at $799 for a queen.

Our pick: Casper, if we’re speaking strictly in numbers.

Sleep surface sensation

The Leesa Hybrid is a dream to sleep on, and our tester loved how it provided a well-balanced sleep surface. The firm spring core clearly came through in terms of providing structure and support, while the upper foam layers lent some balance and a forgiving sensation. Our tester found it was great for her typical sleep positions—her stomach and side. And while she generally hates sleeping supine, she even woke up with her face to the ceiling a few times in the month she had the bed.

On the other hand, the Casper Original leaves a lot to be desired. In fact, our tester found that it wasn’t well suited to any sleep position. It wasn’t firm, but it wasn’t noticeably squishy either. When our tester sent it away after a month of sleeping on it, she realized she hadn’t slept well in weeks. We couldn’t pinpoint a single position for which we’d recommend this bed. In addition, the edge support was virtually nonexistent; the mattress’s periphery collapsed beneath our tester’s body weight any time she sat down.

Our pick: Leesa

Materials

The Leesa Hybrid’s name says it all: It’s a hybrid mattress, meaning it combines springs with foam to make the best of both materials. The base is made with more than 1,000 individually pocketed coils, which is to say that each one is wrapped in its own fabric compartment. The company says this makes the mattress super responsive, as the coils can individually respond to weight and pressure. The base is followed by two layers of foam, and the uppermost is “hole punched” to provide greater airflow and minimize heat retention. At 11 inches, it’s not excessively tall for a hybrid—and won’t necessarily require an upgrade to deep pocket bed sheets, like some other mattresses we’ve tested with larger profiles.

The Leesa Hybrid uses what’s called “open-cell” foam, meaning that during manufacture, the bubbles rupture to create a webbed network. This construction is less prone to heat retention than closed-cell foam—wherein the bubbles are closed off and retain their individual chambers—because it has more space for airflow.

The Casper Original matches the Leesa Hybrid’s height at 11 inches tall. Each of its foam layers are also made of open-cell foam. Its three layers include a slim piece of perforated foam that’s designed to improve breathability; a “zoned support” layer, which the company claims helps with alignment as it’s “softer under the shoulders” and “firmer around the hips, waist, and back;" and a “durable base,” which purports to provide support and prevent sinking or sagging. It's worth saying that despite the claims, our tester couldn't detect a difference in how the surface of the mattress felt.

Our pick: Leesa

Trial and return policies

Casper and Leesa both offer a 100-night trial, giving you a generous amount of time to get familiar with the product before needing to make up your mind.

There is one hoop both Leesa and Casper require: Customers must try the mattress for at least 30 nights. This is to give the body time to acclimate to the new sleep surface.

Leesa will coordinate pickup of the used mattress from your home at no additional cost. (This excludes customers in Alaska and Hawaii—in those states, customers will need to pay $100 to return the mattresses.) Returned mattresses are donated to local charities. The company doesn’t recycle them due to the pandemic and health concerns, according to a customer service rep.

Casper will arrange for a courier to pick up the bed, meaning there’s no packing required on your end. It claims it will try to recycle or donate returned mattresses to a charity, though based on the site there aren’t any guarantees.

Our pick: Tie

Customer service

As much as we love Leesa, its customer service fares as poorly as most other mattress companies. We rely on the Better Business Bureau to assess overall performance of mattress companies among consumers. However, at the time of publication, Leesa’s Better Business Bureau profile was undergoing an update—and reviews were not visible. We previously reported on Leesa’s customer service and found that at first glance its reputation on BBB left a lot to be desired. That said, the sample size at the time was very small—the company had just three reviews. Per our previous reporting, Leesa had also gotten 15 complaints over the past three years, which was low compared to many other mattress-in-a-box companies. Nectar, for example, has received more than 1,500 complaints in the past three years.

Leesa has an online chat feature that’s been useful in our tester’s experience—she’s had just one less-than-stellar interaction with a customer service agent. In that instance, she was trying to figure out whether Leesa had a strict policy on warranty and placing the mattress on the floor. The agent repeated, “I do not see how the floor could damage the mattress unless in contact with a damaging liquid.” After another prod, the agent clarified: “If the floor causes damage to the mattress then I’m sure that would void the warranty.” Generally, however, she thinks most people will find the agents responsive and helpful. She's chatted with them on numerous other occasions, and has had a positive experience every time other than this one.

Casper’s BBB rating is 2.2 stars, but it only has 43 customer reviews. Casper has faced far more grievances than Leesa: 182 complaints in the last three years, and 80 in the last 12 months. The reviews cover a spectrum of issues from slow or late deliveries to unshipped products.

When chatting with Casper's customer service, the one question we’ve never gotten a clear answer on is how the zoned support is designed and manufactured. We’d think it should be easy enough, especially with how much the company advertises it. But that’s a relatively minor complaint in the grand scheme of things.

Our pick: Leesa

Warranty and setup requirements

Leesa and Casper both offer the classic 10-year limited warranty policy for customers. If a mattress from either brand develops a defect in that period, such as a permanent indentation in the foam or a crack in the surface, you will be eligible for a replacement or repair.

Both companies’ warranties have a number of caveats. Leesa’s policy makes the typical blanket statement that, “damage from using an improper bed frame, foundation, platform bed, or adjustable base” is not covered. Unfortunately, this isn’t actually helpful for most people. The customer rep our tester chatted with wouldn’t provide further details on compatible frames or what exactly would void the warranty. When asked if the mattress could be used on the floor, the rep merely stated that it would be fine as long as the floor didn’t damage the mattress, and cited the example of a liquid spilling. Needless to say, it wasn’t entirely apparent how people could, or could not, use the mattress.

Casper recommends against using its mattresses on the floor as it can lead to condensation and the propagation of mold. Importantly, using it on the floor will negate the warranty, as will placing the bed on non-wooden slats, wood slats spaced more than 4 inches apart, or a box spring. A customer service representative suggested using the mattress with the company’s foundation (though almost any company will recommend this, likely in part because it will make them an extra buck). The rep noted this isn’t the only base you can use to maintain the warranty, just one the company would recommend.

Our Pick: Tie

And the winner is…

The Leesa mattress is a dream. It’s one of two or three mattresses our tester has tried that she would take back in a heartbeat—and would consider buying for herself if she wasn’t testing beds. It provides ample support without compromising on surface cushion or comfort. In her experience, it was great for all sleep positions and made for a supreme sleep experience. She cites it as among the best mattresses she’s tested, more than a year and 10 other mattresses later. (And despite all the challengers in our best mattresses list, it still hasn’t slipped in our overall ranks.) In short: We really don’t think anyone can go wrong with the Leesa Hybrid.

Leesa’s win was already definitive. But what really puts the last nail in the Casper coffin is the fact that its Original mattress is simply not a good bed. In our opinion, it lacks a supportive and comfortable sleep surface, and our tester couldn’t wait to see it go. Nonetheless, if you’re bent on the podcast-sponsoring brand, you should consider its Costco-exclusive mattress, the Casper Select, which our tester loved. We’ve yet to test the company's higher-end models, so perhaps Casper's Nova Hybrid or Wave Hybrid, which it bills as its most supportive model, is ideal for back and stomach sleepers. At the end of the day, we think it’s hard to do any better than the Leesa Hybrid, assuming your budget permits.

Get the Leesa Hybrid starting at $1,099

Get the Casper Original starting at $695