How the Match Score works · Model v0.2
A score you can take apart.
Every Match Score is arithmetic you can follow: six sub-scores, weighted by your own answers, minus a penalty when the feel is far from what you asked for. No black box, no paid placement, and no claim of lab testing: we don't run one.
- Mattresses scored
- 37
- Brands
- 17
- Dimensions
- 6
- Fit flags
- 7
- Paid placements
- 0
- 20%Pressure relief
- 25%Support & alignment
- 15%Cooling
- 15%Motion isolation
- 15%Edge support
- 10%Durability
What the score means
A fit score, not a quality score.
A Match Score from 0 to 100 says how well one mattress fits one sleep profile, based on the data we hold for it. It is not a verdict on the brand, a review, or a ranking of the best mattresses in the world.
The same mattress earns a different score for a different sleeper, and that is the point. The same answers always give the same score: there is no randomness, no clock, and no hand-tuning per product.
- Match score 84 out of 100 for a Side sleeper, 160 lb, sleeps hot, light-sleeping partner
- Match score 56 out of 100 for a Back sleeper, 200 lb, likes medium-firm, sleeps alone
- Match score 35 out of 100 for a Stomach sleeper, 250 lb, likes firm, lower-back discomfort
- Nobody can pay for a score. Brands can't buy a higher number, a better rank or a removed flag.
- Gaps are shown, not hidden. An estimated dimension is labeled as one, everywhere it appears.
- Every number traces to a rule. The rules live in a versioned file, and every result carries a trace of the ones that fired.
Answers that matter
Eight answers. Each one has a job.
Four answers are required. The rest refine the result, and anything you skip simply applies no adjustment.
Sleep position
RequiredSide, back, stomach or combination
Sets your comfort firmness band. Side sleepers can trigger the pressure-point flag.
- Side sleepers put their full weight on shoulders and hips.Pressure relief ×1.3
- Back sleepers need the lumbar curve held level.Support & alignment ×1.15
- Stomach sleepers are most exposed to the hips sinking.Support & alignment ×1.25, Pressure relief ×0.8
Body weight
RequiredIn pounds; grouped as under 130, 130–180, 180–230 and 230+
Moves your comfort band firmer as weight rises. At 230 lb and up, durability counts for more and the sag flag can fire.
- Sleeper weighs 230 lb or more.Durability ×1.5, Support & alignment ×1.1
Firmness you like
RequiredSoft (2), Medium-soft (4), Medium (5.5), Medium-firm (7), Firm (8.5), Extra-firm (10)
Each firmness point beyond 0.5 away from your preference costs 2.5 points, up to 12.
Sleep temperature
RequiredCold, neutral or hot
Hot sleepers can see the warm-sleeping flag.
- Sleeper reports sleeping hot.Cooling ×2
- Sleeper reports sleeping cold.Cooling ×0.5
Sharing the bed
OptionalAlone, with a sound sleeper, or with a light sleeper
A light-sleeping partner turns on the motion-transfer flag.
- Sleeps alone.Motion isolation ×0.4
- Shares the bed and is easily woken by a partner's movement.Motion isolation ×2
Edge support
OptionalMatters a little, somewhat or a lot
Raises or lowers the bar for the soft-edge flag, or switches it off.
- Sleeper says edge support matters little.Edge support ×0.5
- Sleeper says edge support matters a lot.Edge support ×2
Where you feel discomfort
OptionalShoulders, hips, lower back, whole body or nowhere specific
Shoulder or hip discomfort can trigger the pressure-point flag. It never diagnoses anything.
- Shoulder discomfort reported.Pressure relief ×1.4
- Hip discomfort reported.Pressure relief ×1.25, Support & alignment ×1.15
- Lower-back discomfort reported.Support & alignment ×1.4
- General aches reported.Pressure relief ×1.2, Support & alignment ×1.2
Mattress type and budget
OptionalFoam, hybrid, innerspring, latex; a price range
Filters only: they decide which mattresses are scored, never the score itself. With a budget set, a mattress without a published price is left out rather than guessed.
The six dimensions
Six things a mattress has to get right for you.
Each is scored from 0 to 10. The weight is its default share of the final score; the coverage line says how many of the 37 mattresses have data on file for it (we don't lab-test anything ourselves).
Pressure relief
How well it cushions shoulders and hips.
20%default weightStarts from a construction base (all-foam +7.5, latex +7, hybrid +7, innerspring +5) and moves with where the firmness sits in your band: up to +2.5 near the soft edge, −1.5 for each point firmer than the band.
Backed by data for 36 of 37; estimated for 1
Support & alignment
How well it keeps your spine level for your position and weight.
25%default weightCalculated from the mattress's firmness on file (a number, or the brand's label converted to one) against your comfort band, then adjusted for construction (all-foam -0.5, latex +0.5, hybrid +0.5, innerspring 0). Being too soft costs an extra 0.5 per point.
Backed by data for 36 of 37; estimated for 1
Cooling
How well it avoids trapping body heat.
15%default weightThe independent cooling rating out of 10, used as published.
Backed by data for 18 of 37; estimated for 19
Motion isolation
How little a partner's movement carries across the bed.
15%default weightThe independent motion-isolation rating out of 10, used as published.
Backed by data for 26 of 37; estimated for 11
Edge support
How firm the perimeter feels when sitting or sleeping near the edge.
15%default weightThe independent edge-support rating out of 10, used as published.
Backed by data for 26 of 37; estimated for 11
Durability
How well it is expected to keep its shape over the years.
10%default weightThe independent durability rating out of 10, used as published. All-foam mattresses lose 1 point for sleepers 230 lb and up.
Backed by data for 23 of 37; estimated for 14
Weight explorer
Your answers reweight the score.
Change the answers and watch the six shares move. Every combination was computed by the scoring engine's own weighting function, not re-implemented for this page.
Share of your Match Score
- Pressure relief20%same as default
- Support & alignment25%same as default
- Cooling15%same as default
- Motion isolation15%same as default
- Edge support15%same as default
- Durability10%same as default
No answer above changes the weights, so these are the defaults.
Weights for this profile: Pressure relief 20%, Support & alignment 25%, Cooling 15%, Motion isolation 15%, Edge support 15%, Durability 10%.
How it works: each matching rule multiplies the default weight of the dimensions it names, then all six are divided by their total so they always add up to 100%. Percentages are rounded. Firmness preference doesn't change weights; it applies a separate penalty (chapter 06).
How sub-scores work
Sourced where we can. Estimated where we must, and labeled.
Sourced
Data on file, with its source named
Cooling, motion isolation, edge support and durability use the independent review rating stored for that mattress, out of 10, as published. Support and pressure relief are calculated from the mattress's firmness on file: an independent firmness rating, the brand's stated number, or the brand's firmness label (such as “Medium”) converted to our 1 to 10 scale. Nothing here is a measurement we took: we don't lab-test mattresses, so we call these values sourced, and each one says where it came from.
Results pages show sourced bars as solid lines.
Estimated
No rating, so a capped assumption
When no rating exists, the engine falls back to a typical value for the construction type, and caps it at 6.5. That keeps it just below the typical real third-party rating in the catalog (most fall between 6.5 and 8), so an assumption based on construction type never outranks a mattress that was actually rated as average or better.
Results pages show estimated bars dashed, with the word “Estimated”.
Construction baselines used for estimates
Out of 10, after the 6.5 cap. The uncapped value is shown where the cap applies.
| Type | Pressure relief | Support & alignment | Cooling | Motion isolation | Edge support | Durability |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Hybrid | 6.5 (from 7) | 6.5 (from 8) | 6.5 (from 7) | 6.5 (from 7) | 6.5 (from 7) | 6.5 (from 7) |
| All-foam | 6.5 (from 9) | 6 | 4 | 6.5 (from 9) | 5 | 6 |
| Latex | 6.5 (from 8) | 6.5 (from 8) | 6 | 6 | 6 | 6.5 (from 9) |
| Innerspring | 4 | 6.5 (from 7) | 6.5 (from 8) | 4 | 6.5 (from 8) | 6 |
Firmness fit, drawn by the engine
Your position and weight set a comfort band. Fit is best at the band's center, eases to 75% at its edges, then drops 30 percentage points for every firmness point outside it.
Pick a position to see the band move. Softer than the band, pressure relief stays high but support drops away quickly; firmer than the band, both fall.
Show the numbers
| Firmness | Support | Pressure relief | In comfort band |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1/10 | 3.6 | 9 | No |
| 2/10 | 6.2 | 9 | No |
| 3/10 | 8.8 | 9.5 | Yes |
| 4/10 | 9.9 | 9.2 | Yes |
| 5/10 | 9.9 | 8.8 | Yes |
| 6/10 | 8.8 | 8.5 | Yes |
| 7/10 | 6.7 | 5.5 | No |
| 8/10 | 4.6 | 4 | No |
| 9/10 | 3.5 | 2.5 | No |
| 10/10 | 3.5 | 1 | No |
The final calculation
One line of arithmetic.
Worked example: the real top match
A 160 lb side sleeper who likes a medium-soft feel, sleeps hot, shares the bed with a light sleeper and has shoulder discomfort. The engine's number-one match for that profile today is the Casper Cloud One.
| Dimension | Sub-score | Basis | Weight | Points |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Pressure relief | 9.7 | Sourced | 24.9% | 24.1 |
| Support & alignment | 8.9 | Sourced | 17.1% | 15.2 |
| Cooling | 7.5 | Sourced | 20.5% | 15.4 |
| Motion isolation | 9 | Sourced | 20.5% | 18.4 |
| Edge support | 6.5 | Sourced | 10.3% | 6.7 |
| Durability | 6 | Estimated | 6.8% | 4.1 |
| Weighted total | 83.9 | |||
| Preference penalty | 0 | |||
| Match Score | 84 | |||
Score tiers
What the number is called.
- 90–100Excellent matchFits your profile on nearly every dimension we score.
- 80–89Strong matchFits your profile well, with at most minor trade-offs.
- 70–79Good matchA solid fit with some trade-offs worth reading.
- 60–69Fair matchWorks on some dimensions but misses on others.
- 0–59Weak matchPoor fit for your profile on the dimensions we score.
Sub-score words
The same idea for each 0–10 dimension.
- Excellent
- 9 and up
- Strong
- 8 and up
- Good
- 7 and up
- Moderate
- 5.5 and up
- Weak
- below 5.5
Fit flags
What could be a problem, said plainly.
A flag doesn't lower the score. It sits beside it, so a strong match with one real trade-off still tells you about the trade-off. Each comes with something you can do about it.
Softer or firmer than recommended for you
CautionWarning- Fires when
- The firmness falls outside the range that usually keeps someone of your sleep position and body weight aligned.
- How serious
- Warning when it is 1.5 or more firmness points outside your band; caution when it is closer.
- What to do
- Consider a firmer or softer version of the same line, or a topper to move the feel into your comfort range.
Different feel from what you asked for
Caution- Fires when
- The firmness is 2 or more points away from the feel you said you like.
- How serious
- Always a caution: a preference is real, but a trial night decides it.
- What to do
- Use the in-home trial period to judge the feel, or look at a different firmness option in the same line.
May sleep warm
CautionWarning- Fires when
- You said you sleep hot and its cooling sub-score is 6.5 or lower.
- How serious
- Warning when the cooling score comes from an independent rating; caution when it is an estimate.
- What to do
- Look for a coil layer, open-cell or gel foams, or add a breathable cover or topper.
Softer edges
CautionWarning- Fires when
- Its edge sub-score is below 6 (below 7 if you said edge support matters a lot). Not checked if you said it matters little.
- How serious
- Warning only when an independent edge rating is on file and you said edges matter a lot; caution otherwise.
- What to do
- Fine if you sleep centred; otherwise prefer a model with a reinforced coil perimeter.
A partner's movement may carry
CautionWarning- Fires when
- You share the bed and wake easily, and its motion-isolation sub-score is below 7.
- How serious
- Warning when an independent motion rating is on file; caution when it is an estimate.
- What to do
- All-foam or foam-heavy hybrids generally isolate movement better; a larger bed size also helps.
Possible pressure points
CautionWarning- Fires when
- You sleep on your side or reported shoulder or hip discomfort, and its pressure-relief sub-score is below 6.5.
- How serious
- Warning when pressure relief is below 5; caution between 5 and the threshold.
- What to do
- A softer comfort layer or a 2-3 inch topper can relieve shoulder and hip pressure.
Faster wear at higher body weights
Warning- Fires when
- You weigh 230 lb or more and its independent durability rating is below 7, or its stated top-foam density is under 1.8 lb/ft³. It never fires on an estimate.
- How serious
- Always a warning, because it only fires on real data.
- What to do
- Check the warranty's sag-depth threshold and use the full trial period to catch early softening.
Notes that appear alongside flags
Sold in more than one firmness
NoteThe listed firmness spans two or more points. The score uses the middle of the range, so the option you pick changes the fit.
Limited data
NoteThree or more of the six dimensions had to be estimated from construction type. The score is shown, with that caveat beside it.
Data & sources
Every record says how sure we are.
Counts below are computed from the catalog each time this page is built, using the same checks the product pages use.
Of 37 mattresses. A mattress is only marked Verified when every required spec (brand, model, type, height, trial, warranty, firmness and price) is on file, it has both a source link and a check date, and every one of those specs is recorded as confirmed against that source. A complete record short of that reads Source checked.
What's on file
- Firmness36/37
- Trial length35/37
- Height31/37
- Queen price24/37
- Warranty36/37
- Motion isolation rating26/37
- Edge support rating26/37
- Durability rating23/37
- Cooling rating18/37
- Foam density0/37
Sources
- Specs, prices, trial and warranty
- The manufacturer's product page for 36 of 37, and a retailer's listing for 1 house-brand mattress. The source is linked on every mattress page. 4 firmness numbers come from a published independent review instead of the brand, and are labeled on the mattress page.
- Ratings out of 10
- Published third-party reviews: Sleep Foundation (cited for 33), RTINGS (cited for 6). We record their numbers; we don't run our own tests.
- RTINGS cross-checks
- 6 mattresses cross-checked against RTINGS's published measurements, most recently September 26, 2026. The measuring is theirs, not ours. Kept as separate evidence, never folded into the Match Score as a score of its own.
- RTINGS sync
- Review data comes from RTINGS through the Apify actor crawlerbros/rtings-scraper. Each record is validated, matched to a catalog mattress only by an exact review link or an exact brand-and-model match, and held back for review if a run looks wrong (too few records, broken links, vanished scores). Mattress pages show RTINGS' own review date apart from the date we retrieved it, and never show RTINGS' photos. A daily check refreshes it every 14 days. No synced RTINGS record is published on a mattress page yet.
- Last checked
- Every record was checked against its source on September 25, 2026. Each mattress page shows its own date.
Money & placement
The score and the money never meet.
Today the site earns nothing: no commissions, no ads, no sponsors. If that changes, the rules below already decide how.
- Affiliate links live
- 0
- Sponsored placements
- 0
- Points a payment can buy
- 0
Affiliate disclosure
Every “buy” button is chosen from real data only, in this order. Counts are from the 37 mattresses in the catalog today.
- 0Check Price at the retailerAffiliate link, labeled beside the button. We may earn a commission.
- 1View at the retailerA retailer page on file, with no affiliate code.
- 36Visit the brandThe manufacturer's own product page. Earns us nothing.
- 0Retailer link not available yetNothing real on file, so no button is shown.
Sponsored placement rules
There are none today. If one is ever sold, these rules apply:
- It is scored by the same rules as every other mattress. Sponsorship is not an input to the model, and an automated test checks that an all-sponsored catalog scores and ranks identically.
- It keeps the rank its score earns in every ranking and is never lifted above a better fit. It is never shown as your top match or as a home-page pick, even when it scores highest.
- It is labeled “Sponsored” everywhere it is listed: its product page, the catalog, category and brand pages, quiz results, guide rankings, related mattresses, comparisons and search results.
- Affiliate links never change the price you pay.
Limitations
What this score can't tell you.
We have not tested any mattress.
Ratings come from published third-party reviews. Their methods are theirs, they differ from one another, and we copy their numbers rather than re-measure them.
Firmness is a stated number.
It comes from a manufacturer or reviewer and is converted to a 1–10 scale. Two people can feel the same mattress differently, which is why the preference penalty and trial periods matter.
Plenty of gaps remain.
Cooling is estimated for 19 of 37 mattresses. Foam density is on file for 0, so the density-based durability rule cannot fire today.
The catalog is small.
37 mattresses from 17 brands. A top score means the best fit among these, not the best mattress you could buy.
The rules are assumptions.
Every weight and threshold is a documented modeling choice. None has been clinically validated or calibrated against sleep outcomes or return rates.
Not medical advice.
Discomfort answers only shift weights. They don’t diagnose or treat anything, and neck pain is not modeled. If pain persists, see a clinician.
Prices move.
A price is correct as of the check date shown with it. Always confirm on the brand’s site.
Version history
Why the model changed.
Every version keeps its own rules file. Old versions stay available unchanged, so any past score can be reproduced.
v0.1Every top match scored 78.
v0.2Top matches scored 69–91 (22 different scores).
- v0.2October 2026 · Current default
Why: v0.1 couldn't tell mattresses apart. In the test above, every profile's top match scored exactly 78. It reduced real ratings to yes/no switches, leaned on a foam-density field no record has, and barely penalized a feel the sleeper said they didn't want.
- Uses the graded third-party ratings (out of 10) instead of yes/no switches.
- Marks any dimension without a rating as estimated, and caps estimates at 6.5.
- Grades firmness fit by distance from your comfort band instead of a flat penalty.
- Adds a graded preference penalty (up to 12 points) for a feel far from what you asked for.
- Re-weights the six dimensions from your answers, including discomfort and edge support, which v0.1 collected but ignored.
- Adds two flags: “A partner's movement may carry” and “Possible pressure points”.
- v0.1September 2026 · Retired as default, still reproducible
The first rules-based model: construction-type baselines nudged by firmness and a few yes/no features (cooling cover, reinforced edge), fixed weights for everyone, and five flags. Its rules file is kept byte-for-byte, and the match API still accepts
scoreVersion: "0.1".