We retested our Top 5 mattresses — here’s how the most expensive bed in our rankings compares to the cheapest in 3 key areas

The Saatva Classic and Siena Signature Memory Foam are two of the best mattresses our team has ever tested, but they couldn’t be further away from each other in terms of price and design.

The Saatva is a luxury hybrid innerspring bed at a premium price point, while the Siena is a basic memory foam mattress that comes in at under $300 for a queen size in the best mattress sales.

We’ve recently retested both beds in accordance with our thorough mattress methodology, which means we have hard data to demonstrate the strengths and weaknesses of these high-scoring mattresses.

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Read on to discover how the premium Saatva Classic and the budget-friendly Siena Mattress stack up against each other.

Quick comparison

In a hurry? Here’s a super-quick guide to how the the Saatva Classic and Siena Signature compare with each other.

• Price: The Saatva Classic is a premium bed and a queen size costs $1,854 after current discounts. The Siena Signature comes in much cheaper at $294 for a queen, making it the best cheap mattress around.
• Temperature regulation: In our Saatva Classic mattress review we scored it 4.7 out of 5 for temperature regulation, an Excellent rating. We rate the Siena as Good, with a score of 3.3 out of 5.
• Pressure relief: The Saatva Classic earned a perfect score in our pressure relief tests, while the Siena clocked up 3.76 out of 5, with mention made of the fact that it’s too firm for side sleepers by our Siena Mattress review team.
• Motion isolation: We found the Saatva Classic to be the hybrid mattress to beat for motion isolation with a score of 4 out of 5. However the all-foam Siena Signature beat it with a score of 4.5 out of 5.

Temperature regulation

Temperature regulation refers to how effectively your mattress manages heat through the night. Does it dissipate it quickly, enabling you to sleep cool, or hold on to it, leading to night sweats and broken sleep?

To test this, we use a thermal imaging camera to measure maximum temperature increase or MTI (the highest temperature a mattress reaches during the testing period) and the cooling rate or CR (how fast the mattress sheds heat.)

The Saatva Classic is one of the best luxury mattresses but it doesn’t feature any of the targeted cooling technology you’ll find in many of the best cooling mattresses. Instead it has a breathable design featuring airflow-enhancing innersprings and pocket springs, plus a heat-wicking cotton cover.

In our tests the Classic recorded a MTI of just 6.3°F — a tiny increase that outperformed our top cooling mattress, the Bear Elite Hybrid — and a CR of 1.26°F/min, which means it took 11 minutes to return to its original temperature. Bottom line, we score the Saatva Classic a 4.5 out of 5 for temperature regulation, which is an excellent performance.

The Siena Signature has a similar lack of targeted cooling technology — there’s a breathable cover and that’s it. As it’s a cheap all-foam mattress we didn’t expect much in the way of temperature regulation with this one.

However, the Siena Signature surprised us. While its MTI of 8.1°F is nothing to write home about, its CR of 1.52°F/min is second only to the Bear Elite Hybrid in our tests. What this means is the Siena might get warm quickly, it also cools down fast, and we give it an overall temperature regulation score of 3.5; a particularly good result for an all-foam bed in this price bracket.

Pressure relief

Pressure relief is a measure of how well a mattress supports and cushions where your body presses into the bed. Pressure relief needs differ depending on how you sleep: a side sleeper’s main pressure points are the shoulders, hips and knees, while for back sleepers it’s the shoulders, lower back and hips. For stomach sleepers, it’s the hips, chest and even the neck.

We measure pressure relief by placing a 25kg weight on two standardized spots on the mattress — the shoulder and hip area — and measure how far it sinks after five minutes. We then remover the weight and time how long it takes the mattress to return to its original state.

The Saatva Classic features a deep Euro pillow top that provides plenty of cushioning alongside two layers of coils, combining to deliver a body-cradling feel. And in our tests, the weight sank by an average of 4.63 inches.

That’s the deepest sinkage we’ve seen in a mattress and it indicates excellent contouring. Impressively, the materials sprang back into shape almost instantly: a sign of an extremely responsive mattress. So you’ll sink in but the quick response means you don’t feel like you’re trapped in quicksand. Thanks to this, the Saatva Classic earned full marks for pressure relief.

The Siena Signature features a thick layer of support foam with only a thin layer of contouring foam on top, which means it’s short on cushioning and the results of our pressure relief tests illustrate this perfectly.

The Signature measured an average indentation depth of just 3.63 inches — the shallowest of all the mattresses in our top five. But unlike the Saatva, which regained its shape instantly, the Siena took 1.75 seconds to return to shape (although that’s still faster than the other three mattresses in our top tier.) Overall we score the Siena Signature 3 out of 5 for pressure relief: good, but far from the best and side sleepers might want something with more cushioning.

Motion isolation

Motion isolation is an important metric for anyone who shares a bed. It’s all about how much a mattress transfers motion across the surface, so the better the motion isolation, the less likely you are to feel your partner’s movements in the night.

We measure motion isolation by dropping a 5kg slam ball onto a standardized drop zone on the mattress and using an accelerometer to measure the initial impact absorption (IIA) of each drop. We also measure how long it takes the mattress to deaden residual motion from one side of the bed to the other (known as the decay rate).

Even the best hybrid mattresses tend not to perform as well as memory foam beds when it comes to motion isolation, thanks to all those bouncy springs. However the Saatva Classic gave a surprisingly good account of itself in our tests, thanks to its deep Euro top packed with dense foam. It measured an IIA of 7.8m/s², which is the second best result among our top five mattresses.

The Classic was also the second-fastest to deaden all motion transfer, earning it an overall motion isolation score of 4 out of 5.

So what was the best mattress for motion isolation? Step forward the Siena Signature. As you might expect from one of the best memory foam mattresses, it aced its motion isolation tests, recording an IIA of just 5.527m/s² — the lowest of any mattress we’ve ever tested — and a decay rate of 1.14 seconds, which is again the best result we’ve ever seen.

The Siena’s impressive motion isolation score — 4.6 out of 5 — is thanks to its all-foam build, which creates minimal bounce. While the Saatva is more responsive, however, we think it’s still among the best choices for couples.

Is either mattress right for you?

So, which mattress would be the better pick for you? Our testing shows the Saatva and Siena have more in common than you might expect from the price difference, although when it comes to overall build and quality, the Saatva does earn its top ranking and higher price point (it has a luxury finish similar to the best hotel mattresses.)

In terms of temperature regulation the Saatva Classic outperforms the Siena Signature thanks to its thoughtful design that maximizes airflow and allows it to stay temperature-neutral. However if you sleep hot you might be better off with a specifically cooling mattress like the Bear Elite Hybrid.

The Saatva Classic also beats the Siena Signature when it comes to pressure relief and it’s worth noting that we reviewed the Luxury Firm version of the Classic; if you want more pressure relief, the Plush version has an even softer feel. And if you want more support, the Firm version will deliver. If you’re a side sleeper, though, you might prefer the targeted pressure relief provided by the Helix Midnight Luxe.

For motion isolation, there was a clear winner: the Siena Signature. Its foams absorbed motion instantly, making it a mattress that you could happily snooze on while a hyperactive toddler bounced up and down right next to your head. But the Saatva didn’t lag that far behind, particularly if you want the benefits of a responsive bed without too much bounce.

That said, the ultra-firm feel means the Siena isn’t a mattress for everyone (the Nectar Premier Memory Foam is a softer alternative for side sleepers.) The Siena might outperform its budget-friendly price tag but the Saatva has the edge when it comes to wide appeal.