Whether you’re looking for memory foam, wool, cooling or firm, we reveal the toppers we rate – and whether they can really rescue a bad mattress
• The best mattresses: sleep better with our seven rigorously tested picks
A mattress topper is like a slice of cheese in a burger: not strictly necessary, but potentially transformative, especially if your bed has all the cosiness of stale bread. Strap a comfy topper on to a hard mattress and it could transform the quality of your sleep at significantly less cost than a new mattress.
That’s the promise, anyway. In my neverending quest for a decent night’s kip, I slept on eight bestselling toppers – not all at once, Princess and the Pea style, but for a few nights, each on top of a firm mattress. I was surprised to find so many topper types available, from thick slabs of memory foam to airy cloudbanks of hollowfibre, with one even containing springs.
Best mattress topper overall:
Simba Hybrid Topper
Best budget mattress topper
Silentnight Airmax 1000
