Mattress Firmness Guide

How Firm Should Your Mattress Be?

Firmness is the single biggest reason a mattress feels right or wrong — and it has almost nothing to do with quality. A firm mattress is not a better mattress. It is simply a different one.

Every Betalife mattress is graded into one of five feel levels, and carries a softness number within that level. One level per mattress, one scale across the site — so once you know yours, you can shop straight to it.

Betalife firmness scale: Plush to Firm SOFTESTFIRMESTPlushMedium PlushMediumMedium FirmFirmEvery Betalife mattress sits at exactly one level. Tap a level to shop it.

What Each Level Feels Like

Each diagram shows how far your hip presses into the same mattress at each level. The levels are mutually exclusive — a mattress is never both Plush and Medium Plush.

Plush: the hip sinks deepest into the mattress PlushSoftest — you sink inflat surfaceHIPsinks deepest

The softest level. Deepest cushioning at the shoulders and hips — you sink in noticeably and the surface moulds to your outline.

Suits

Side sleepers, and lighter body weights.

Look elsewhere if

You sleep on your stomach, or you dislike feeling held in one position.

Shop Plush →
Medium Plush: the hip sinks a lot but less than Plush Medium PlushSoft on top, supported belowflat surfaceHIPsinks a lot

Soft on the surface with more support underneath. The layers below stop you sinking as far as Plush.

Suits

Side sleepers who found Plush too sinking, and side-to-back combination sleepers.

Look elsewhere if

You wake with lower back ache — that can mean not enough support under the hips.

Shop Medium Plush →
Medium: the hip sinks a moderate amount MediumBalanced — our widest rangeflat surfaceHIPsinks some

Enough give to relieve pressure, enough support to keep the spine in line. The safest choice when you are unsure, and when two people share the bed.

Suits

Most sleepers, and combination sleepers who change position overnight.

Look elsewhere if

You have a strong existing preference — Medium is a middle ground, not a specialist.

Shop Medium →
Medium Firm: the hip sinks only a little Medium FirmHeld flatterflat surfaceHIPsinks a little

The spine is held flatter. There is still a comfort layer on top, so it is not a hard surface — you simply do not sink into it.

Suits

Back sleepers, and anyone who wants the hips held level with the shoulders.

Look elsewhere if

You sleep on your side and feel pressure building at the shoulder or hip.

Shop Medium Firm →
Firm: the hip barely sinks at all FirmFirmest — you rest on topflat surfaceHIPbarely sinks

Minimal sink. You rest on the surface rather than in it.

Suits

Stomach sleepers, and heavier body weights needing more support underneath.

Look elsewhere if

You sleep on your side, or you are light enough that a firm surface never yields.

Shop Firm →
Between two levels? Go firmer.

Comfort layers compress slightly over the first few months, so a mattress rarely gets firmer with age.

A topper can soften a mattress later. Nothing can make a soft mattress firmer.

How to read our softness number

Every Betalife mattress carries a softness number beside its level. Higher means softer — a 7 gives more than a 6, every time.

The bands mean the same thing on every product page here, so the number does one job and does it well: it ranks our mattresses against each other. Use it to separate two Medium Firms when the words alone will not.

It does not travel between brands. No industry standard sits behind firmness numbers, so another retailer’s 7 may feel nothing like ours. Compare numbers on this site; compare levels everywhere else.

The Softness Number, Level By Level

Softest at the top. The number falls as the mattress firms up — a 10 gives the most, a 1 the least. Numbers can carry a half step: a 4.5 sits inside Medium Firm, a 5.5 inside Medium.

Number Level Who it suits
8–10 Plush Side sleepers and lighter body weights who want to sink in
6–7.9 Medium Plush Side sleepers who found Plush too sinking, and side-to-back combination sleepers
5–5.9 Medium Most sleepers, and two people who need one bed to suit both
4–4.9 Medium Firm Back sleepers who want the hips held level with the shoulders
1–3.9 Firm Stomach sleepers, and heavier body weights needing more support underneath
Firmness is felt, not measured

Your build, your weight and the way you sleep all change how the same surface reads. Two people can lie on one mattress and call it two different things — and both be right.

So use the number the way it was built to be used: to rank our mattresses against each other, not as a promise of how yours will feel on the night.

Choose By Sleep Position

Your usual position decides where your body needs to sink and where it needs to be held. The goal is always the same: a straight spine.

Side sleeper on a softer mattress: the shoulder and hip sink further than the waist, so the spine stays straight Side sleeperStart with Plush or Medium PlushSHLDRWAISTHIPspine straight ✓
Back sleeper on a medium mattress: the lower back is filled in and the hips stay level, so the spine stays straight Back sleeperStart with Medium or Medium FirmSHLDRBACKHIPspine straight ✓
Stomach sleeper on a firmer mattress: the hips do not sink, so the lower back does not arch Stomach sleeperStart with Medium Firm or FirmCHESTHIPLEGspine straight ✓
Too soft for a stomach sleeper: the hips drop below the shoulders and legs, so the lower back arches Too soft for a stomach sleeperHips drop, lower back archesCHESTHIPLEGspine bends ✗

Choose By Sleep Position And Weight

Sleep position Start with Why
Side Plush or Medium Plush Shoulders and hips must sink so the spine stays straight
Back Medium or Medium Firm The lower back needs filling in without the hips dropping
Stomach Medium Firm or Firm The hips must not sink, or the lower back arches
Combination Medium Easiest to move on, and forgiving across positions
Two people, different positions Medium The middle ground both can live with
Then adjust for weight

Weight changes how far you press into the same mattress, so it shifts the level you need.

Under 60 kg
Plush or Medium Plush

60–105 kg
Medium or Medium Firm

Over 105 kg
Medium Firm or Firm

Firmness Questions

Is a firmer mattress better for back pain?
Not automatically. The goal is a level spine, not a hard surface. Back sleepers with lower back pain often do better on Medium Firm, while side sleepers with the same complaint often need Medium Plush so the shoulder and hip can drop. Too firm for your position can cause the pain rather than relieve it.
My partner and I want different firmness. What now?
Medium is the usual compromise, and it is the level with the widest choice on this site. If your preferences are far apart — one wants Plush, the other Firm — the practical fix is to buy for the firmer sleeper and add a topper on the softer sleeper’s side.
Can a topper change the firmness I bought?
A topper can make a mattress feel softer and can add pressure relief at the shoulders and hips. It cannot add support — if the mattress underneath is too soft for you, a topper will not fix it. See our mattress toppers.
Does the mattress type change the feel?
Type and feel are separate choices. Memory foam, pocket spring and latex mattresses are each available across several levels, and two mattresses at the same level feel similarly firm even if one is foam and one is spring. What changes with type is how the mattress responds — bounce, motion transfer, and how it handles heat. Our mattress buying guide covers the types in detail.
How long before a new mattress feels normal?
Allow 30 to 90 days. Your body adjusts to a new support surface while the comfort layers settle. A mattress that feels slightly firm in the first fortnight often settles into the right feel — judge it after a month, not after a night.

Know Your Level?

Shop the full range, or narrow straight to your level.

Shop All Mattresses →

Still Deciding?

Our mattress buying guide covers types, sizes, care and what to look for.

Read the Mattress Buying Guide →