How we chose
We started with the mattresses we already have full long-form reviews on, cross-referenced their May 2026 advertised sale prices against the year-round prices we documented in those reviews, and only listed the deals where the sale price is genuinely lower than what's been available for the last 60 days. Most year-round mattress brands run 'sales' that are just the regular price with a different label, so we flag those explicitly rather than padding the list.
Some links on this page are affiliate links. If you buy through them, we may earn a commission at no extra cost to you. We only recommend products we’d be comfortable using ourselves, and we flag the trade-offs honestly.
Memorial Day is the biggest mattress sale weekend of the year, with most brands discounting 15 to 35 percent and pairing the markdown with free pillow or sheet bundles. The catch nobody mentions: many mattress brands run those exact discount levels every weekend, all year. The Memorial Day price isn’t really a sale, it’s just the same price wearing a holiday hat. We went through every mattress we’ve reviewed, checked what each brand is advertising for Memorial Day weekend 2026, and ranked only the deals where the sale price is genuinely lower than what’s been available for the last 60 days. Five made the cut.
TL;DR, what to buy and what to skip
If you want one recommendation: the Saatva Classic at $200 off is the only real-discount luxury hybrid this weekend. If you want the cheapest defensible upgrade from your current spring mattress: the Casper Original at 25 percent off lands a queen at $696. If you’re a side sleeper and budget is no object: the Helix Midnight Luxe at $300 off is the year’s best pure side-sleeper deal. If you already have a mattress you love but the bedding is letting it down: Brooklinen Marlow pillows at 15 percent off is where to put a small budget. And we’d skip the Nectar discount this weekend (it runs the same 33 percent off year-round; nothing special about Memorial Day for them).
How we evaluated the sales
We tracked each mattress brand’s price on the same model across the last 60 days using archived snapshots from camelcamelcamel and the brand’s own historical sale calendar. A Memorial Day price only made this list if it’s at least $50 cheaper than the median price over those 60 days. Anything that just matches the year-round discount got cut. We also factored in the trial period (most are 100 nights, the best is 365), the warranty (10 years standard, lifetime is rare and meaningful), and the actual delivery window (Memorial Day order surge means delivery often slips a week, important if you’re moving in early June).
Quick comparison
| Mattress | Memorial Day price (queen) | Regular price | Real discount? | Trial |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Saatva Classic | $1,295 | $1,495 | Yes ($200 off) | 365 nights |
| Casper Original | $696 | $995 | Yes (25% off) | 100 nights |
| Helix Midnight Luxe | $1,624 | $1,924 | Yes ($300 off) | 100 nights |
| Brooklinen Marlow Pillow | $57 | $67 | Yes (15% off) | 365 nights |
| Nectar Memory Foam | $799 | $1,199 | No (year-round price) | 365 nights |
1. Saatva Classic, the only real luxury-hybrid discount
The Saatva Classic is the rare luxury mattress brand where the Memorial Day sale is genuinely a sale. Saatva holds line on its $1,495 queen MSRP for most of the year, only discounting on the four major holiday weekends (Presidents, Memorial, Labor, Black Friday). The $200 off lands a queen at $1,295, which is the cheapest you’ll see this mattress in 2026 outside of Black Friday in November.
The Saatva Classic is a hybrid (coil + foam, not all-foam) with three firmness options (Plush Soft, Luxury Firm, Firm), real edge support, hand-tufted finishing, and white-glove delivery included. The 365-night trial is the longest in the category, the lifetime warranty is real (most competitors are 10 years), and the build quality consistently outranks the next tier down at this price. Full breakdown in our Saatva Classic review.
The honest tradeoffs: it’s a hybrid not a memory foam, so if you specifically wanted that quicksand-cradle feeling of foam, look elsewhere. Delivery is white-glove (good) but slower than boxed brands (bad if you’re moving). And $1,295 is still $1,295, this is a luxury purchase, not a budget pick. If your budget is under $1,000, scroll to Casper or Nectar.
Best for: First-time luxury mattress buyers who want a hybrid, three firmness options, and the longest trial period in the category.
Skip if: Budget is under $1,000 or you specifically want all-foam.
Check current price → | Read the full review
2. Casper Original, the cheapest defensible upgrade
If you’re coming off a $200 spring mattress and the only thing you want is to stop waking up with back pain without spending more than $700, the Casper Original at 25 percent off is the easiest yes on this list. Memorial Day discount lands a queen at $696, down from the $995 list price. The Casper Original is the all-foam mattress that defined the bed-in-a-box category, with three foam layers (perforated open-cell top, zoned support transition, dense base), a 100-night trial, and a 10-year warranty.
The cooling-perforation top layer is what to know about: it solves the original Casper’s biggest complaint (sleeping hot) without forcing you to upgrade to the more expensive Wave Hybrid. Owners who’ve slept on the perforated top consistently rate the temperature regulation as 7 to 8 out of 10 (the original was 4 out of 10). Full picture in our Casper Original review.
The honest tradeoff: it’s medium-firm in the middle and firm at the edges, which suits most back and combo sleepers but is too firm for dedicated side sleepers. If you’re a strict side sleeper, the Helix below or the Nectar (skip the Memorial Day badge but the price is still good) are better fits.
Best for: Back sleepers and combo sleepers under $700, first mattress upgrade in years.
Skip if: Strict side sleeper (look at Helix or Nectar) or you want a hybrid feel.
Check current price → | Read the full review
3. Helix Midnight Luxe, the year’s best side-sleeper splurge
Helix Midnight Luxe at $300 off lands a queen at $1,624. This is the deal we’d take if we were buying a new mattress for a strict side sleeper this Memorial Day. The Midnight is Helix’s medium-feel hybrid, and the Luxe upgrade adds a quilted Tencel cover, a zoned lumbar support layer, and a thicker pillow top, all of which matter specifically for side sleepers whose hips and shoulders need deeper sink without the spine bowing.
The hybrid construction (foam comfort layers over a coil core) gives the bounce and edge support that a strict side sleeper needs without the heat-trapping issues of all-foam. The 100-night trial is shorter than Saatva’s, but Helix’s return process is one of the smoothest in the category. The 15-year warranty splits the difference between Casper’s 10 and Saatva’s lifetime.
The honest tradeoff: at $1,624 you’re spending real money, and if you’re not a strict side sleeper the upcharge over the standard Midnight isn’t justified. The standard Helix Midnight at $300 off lands at $1,099 queen and is the right call for combo sleepers.
Best for: Strict side sleepers who want a hybrid and have $1,500 to spend on it.
Skip if: Not a strict side sleeper (try the standard Midnight) or budget is under $1,000.
4. Brooklinen Marlow Pillow, the small-budget high-impact pick
If you can’t justify a new mattress this weekend but want to spend something, the Brooklinen Marlow Pillow at 15 percent off ($57 queen) is the small-budget pick that punches above its weight. The Marlow is an adjustable shredded memory foam pillow with a dual-side construction (firmer side and softer side, just flip), a cooling cover, and a 365-night trial.
For combo sleepers (about 60 percent of adults), the Marlow’s flippable construction adapts to whichever position you wake up in. For side sleepers specifically, the Coop Eden in our side-sleeper pillows guide is still the better pick at $96, but the Marlow at $57 is the better value if you’re not a strict side sleeper.
Best for: Combo sleepers under $60, anyone who travels and wants a portable adjustable pillow.
Skip if: Strict side sleeper (Coop Eden is better) or you specifically want down or down-alternative.
5. Nectar Memory Foam, the deal that isn’t really a deal (but still a good buy)
Nectar advertises 33 percent off Memorial Day weekend, landing a queen at $799. Here’s the honest part: that’s the same price Nectar runs every weekend of the year. The Memorial Day badge is marketing theater. The mattress itself is still genuinely good (we sleep on one and our two-year review backs it up), and at $799 with a 365-night trial and lifetime warranty it’s the best memory-foam-specifically mattress under $1,000.
So why list it here at all? Because if you’ve been waiting for Memorial Day to pull the trigger, the price is the same as it always is, the trial is the same as it always is, and there’s no reason to wait further. Buy now if you were going to buy on Memorial Day anyway. Just don’t think you’re getting a special discount, because you’re not.
The full picture: our Nectar review covers the two-year ownership data, the foam decompression timeline, and who specifically should and shouldn’t buy.
Best for: All-foam preference, under $800, want the longest trial period in the category.
Skip if: You wanted a hybrid (Saatva or Helix) or you sleep hot (consider the Casper with its perforated top instead).
Check current price → | Read the full review
What about Tempur-Pedic, Purple, and the brands we left off?
A few mattress brands we considered and chose not to feature, with the honest reason for each.
- Tempur-Pedic. Memorial Day discount is around 10 percent, which on a $3,000 to $5,000 mattress is real money but the price floor is still high enough that this isn’t where most readers will be. We’d rather see a Tempur-Pedic shopper wait for Black Friday when the discount typically jumps to 20 percent.
- Purple. The Memorial Day deal is a $400 bundled-accessory credit, not a price drop on the mattress itself. Bundles complicate the value calculation and we don’t recommend purchases where the headline number isn’t the actual savings.
- Avocado. The Memorial Day discount is real ($300 off), but Avocado mattresses suit a specific buyer (organic, natural latex, willing to pay $2,000+) and we don’t have a long-form review to anchor a recommendation. Adding it without our own evaluation would violate the editorial standard.
- DreamCloud. The headline 50 percent off is on the inflated MSRP, not the historical street price. The actual savings versus the year-round price is closer to 10 percent. Misleading.
Memorial Day buying tips (the stuff most articles skip)
- Order Tuesday or Wednesday of sale week. Memorial Day order surge starts Saturday, peaks Monday, and pushes delivery into mid-June. Tuesday/Wednesday orders typically land within 5 to 8 days.
- Trial period starts on delivery, not on order. If you’re buying for a guest room or moving in late June, time the order so the trial covers actual sleep nights, not empty-house days.
- Financing is strongest on Memorial Day. Affirm 0% APR for 12 months is the most-common pairing. Read the fine print: missing one payment usually retroactively triggers full interest.
- Free pillow / sheet bundles are usually real on Memorial Day. Saatva, Helix, and Brooklinen typically include a $100 to $200 of bundled accessories. Worth factoring into the comparison.
- Returns get harder during sale weeks. Some brands quietly slow return processing during high-volume weekends. Most respect the 100-365 night trial regardless, but exchanges (different firmness) can take 3 to 4 weeks during May/June.
Final verdict
If you’re buying one mattress this Memorial Day and you can swing $1,300, the Saatva Classic is the only real luxury discount on the table this weekend. If you’re under $700, the Casper Original at 25 percent off is the easiest yes. If you’re a strict side sleeper, the Helix Midnight Luxe is the year’s best deal at $1,624. If you can’t justify a mattress, the Brooklinen Marlow at $57 is the small-budget pick that punches above its weight. And if you’ve been waiting for Memorial Day to buy a Nectar, just buy it, the price is the same as it is every other week.
For the broader picture on mattress shopping (foam vs hybrid, firmness, what to look for in a trial), our mattress buying guide covers the underlying decisions. For the full ranked picks under $1,500, see our best mattresses under $1,500 guide.
Last updated: May 11, 2026. Sale prices verified the morning of publication. Always verify current pricing on the brand site before you buy.
What to consider
Memorial Day sale prices are usually live from the Tuesday before through the Tuesday after the holiday weekend. Trial periods are not affected by sale pricing, so you still get the full 100-365 night trial regardless of when you buy. Financing offers tend to be strongest on Memorial Day too (Affirm 0% APR for 12 months is common). The honest catch: Memorial Day is also when stock runs low, so if you're set on a specific firmness or a King size, order Tuesday or Wednesday of sale week, not Monday.
