Mattress Ratings >> Mattress Type Comparison > Mattress Durability
Mattress Durability → Based on Data From Over 15,000 Actual Owners
Page last updated: October 10, 2010
"Durability" in our research refers to how well a mattress avoids developing problems, such as mechanical breakdowns and or sagging / body impression development. In our research, durability often means the same thing as longevity, but not always.
The chart below shows how mattress types compare on this issue based on owner / user experiences. Keep in mind that this represents what is often, but not always, the case. A particular brand, model or individual mattress may go against these findings.
| Durability |
| Innerspring |
| Futon |
| Air |
| Water |
| Latex |
| Memory Foam |
| Worse | Better |
Memory Foam
Memory foam mattresses generally have the best durability of all mattress types. This does not, however, mean that they cannot have significant durability issues; they just tend to have fewer problems than the other types.
Latex
Latex mattresses are often claimed by manufacturers to have good durability. While this may be often true, a significant number of latex bed owners in our research say that their latex bed prematurely sagged / developed body impressions.
Water
Waterbeds can spring leaks and have heater breakdowns which can undermine their durability somewhat. However, these issues can generally be fixed.
Air
Airbeds are more mechanical in nature than other types of beds. As a result, more can conceivably go wrong with them, such as leaks and air pump breakdowns. However, these issues can generally be easily fixed with a new part(s).
Futons
Futons have about average durability. The more expensive brands / models tend to hold up better than the less expensive ones.
Innerspring
These beds generally have poor durability compared to the other types of mattresses because of their tendency to prematurely sag / develop body impressions.