Buying a mattress for a baby’s cot is a bit overwhelming. Normally with a mattress you just worry about comfort and back support. With a baby you suddenly start wondering if everything needs to be ‘organic’ and ‘natural’.
Broadly speaking you can split cot bed mattresses into three categories
- Cheap cot bed mattresses made from foam. £20+
- Mid-priced cot bed mattresses made from a combination of springs and foam. £50+
- Expensive cot bed mattresses made from ‘natural’ and ‘chemical free’ materials such as wool, natural latex, coconut husk (coir) and organic cotton. £100+.
Most advice I’ve read says that a baby’s mattress should be firm, whereas older babies and toddlers should have a softer mattress. I’m not an expert on this area, but that’s what others seem to say.
We’ve picked out 10 of the best cot bed mattresses for babies in 2024, based on expert awards, customer reviews and value for money.
Prices are for the 140x70cm version, although smaller sizes are usually cheaper.
1. Little Green Sheep Natural Twist – £219
Natural Twist may sound like something Mark Kermode would refer to in a movie review podcast, but it’s actually a clever and well-regarded mattress made by Little Green Sheep.
So how can a mattress be clever, I hear you ask in a sarcastic tone?
Well, it’s firm on one side and soft on the other side, so you use one side until the little darling is a year old and then flip (needless to say, most parents flip long before their children reach the age of one – haha, geddit!).
That means you can get five years’ use out of it, whereas most cot bed mattresses are only really for the first year or two when babies need a firm mattress. So, whilst it’s not the cheapest, it might actually work out better value than buying two mattresses.
When I checked it scored 4.7/5 on Amazon. It also won Gold at the Mother and Baby Awards in 2021 for the best sleep product. It also made it onto a GQ magazine guide to ‘Right on baby products’ (whatever that means).
It’s made from ‘breathable cotton, supportive coconut coir, comfy natural latex and hypo-allergenic wool’.
Available in 140x70cm, 120x60cm and a few other unusual sizes. We chose this mattress for our children.
Pros: natural materials, double sided to extend its life, outstanding reviews, good range of sizes
Cons: expensive compared to rival mattresses, not waterproof so it requires a mattress protector
Our Value Rating: **** (see notes at bottom of page)
2. Silentnight Safe Nights Mattress – £109 – £179
Silentnight is probably the best-known brand in the UK mattress market, which you may take some comfort from.
They offer two ranges of mattresses for children called ‘Safe Nights’ (cot bed mattresses for babies) and Healthy Growth (single beds for toddlers and older children). The choice is a little confusing, but I’ll attempt to give a roundup of what the difference is between them and you can decide which upgrades are worth the money.
Silentnight make three mattresses in the Safe Nights range with the cutesy names of Twinkle, Snuggle and Lullaby. Or, to give them their formal titles:
- Silentnight Safe Nights Snuggle Breathable Mattress (the cheapest one, available in 60x120cm and 70x140cm)
- Silentnight Safe Nights Lullaby Cot Mattress (the mid-priced one, available in 60x120cm and 70x140cm)
- Silentnight Safe Nights Twinkle Breathable Mattress (the most expensive of the three, only available in 70x140cm)
Personally, I think Twinkle, Snuggle and Lullaby sound like three characters from an irritating TV programme about bears that you might find on Milkshake, but let’s not hold that against them.
There is also one mattress in the ‘Healthy Growth’ range which comes in a cot bed size. It’s called the Healthy Growth Cosy Toddler Mattress. This one is for toddlers, so it’s the one to go for if you decide to keep your toddler in a cot for longer rather than switching to a standard single bed.
The question for the new-parent-who-has-27-other-things-to-buy is how you are supposed to figure out the differences?
What do you get for upgrading in the Silentnight Safe Nights range? What’s the difference between Safe Nights Lullaby, Twinkle and Snuggle?
The main differences are:
- The mid-priced Lullaby model has a ‘soft touch’ cover, whilst the cheaper Snuggle model has a standard cover.
- The mid-priced Lullaby model comes with a ‘protective inner sleep surface’ meaning that ‘the mattress can still be slept on whilst the outer cover is being washed’.
- The most expensive of the three – Silentnight Safe Nights Twinkle Breathable Mattress – uses a mix of springs and foam. More specifically, it uses pocket springs which are the posher of the two types of spring used in a mattress. The two cheaper ones are just made from polyester (a synthetic material).
- As mentioned earlier, the most expensive of the three is only available in one size whilst the other two models come in two sizes.
Whichever one you buy, they all have machine washable covers.
Out of those three, my pick is the Silentnight Safe Nights Lullaby Cot Mattress, which is the mid-priced model. The extra sleeping surface is a useful feature. Good quality springs make a big difference on an adult mattress but I would suggest that the difference would be much subtler on a cot mattress.
All of them use synthetic materials, so you aren’t really getting a significantly more ‘natural’ mattress by upgrading.
The Silentnight brand
Overall, the Silentnight brand scores a very respectable 4.2/5 on TrustPilot, whilst their Safe Nights mattresses score 4.5/5 from customers.
Pros: long established mattress brand, good range of prices and sizes, five year warranty, washable cover
Cons: mostly made from polyester which is synthetic rather than natural materials
Our Value Rating: ****
3. Mother Nurture Classic Spring Mattress – £54
I’d describe this Mother Nurture classic spring mattress as a mid-range mattress which will do the job for people who aren’t looking for super-dooper organic, natural materials.
For your money it offers:
- springs for added comfort (although not pocket springs, which are the posher option)
- a waterproof liner
- hundreds of very good customer reviews, averaging 4.6/5
- a removable cover which can be washed at a high temperature
I’ve included it because it’s very similar to lots of mattresses on the market which cost about £50-100, but it’s a fair bit cheaper. It’s available in sizes including 140cm x 70cm and 120cm x 60cm.
Pros: cheap, waterproof, positive customer reviews
Cons: synthetic foam rather than natural materials
Our Value Rating: *****
4. Relyon Luxury Pocket Sprung Cot Bed Mattress – £174
This is another good option for a cot mattress from a long established mattress brand, which I consider to be mid-market.
The Relyon Luxury Pocket Sprung Mattress was praised at the Mother and Baby Awards 2019. It won a silver prize in the ‘sleep’ category and a gold prize in the ‘safety’ category. In 2020, it won bronze in the ‘best sleep product’ category.
A useful feature is that you can wash the sleeping surface at 60 degrees and it uses pocket springs, which are the posh type for those who are taking notes. It’s made in the UK and has the added reassurance that you’ve probably heard of the company that made it. It’s got something called an ‘Actipro treatment’ which is an anti allergy thing, but sounds like something you’d apply to an astroturf at the local leisure centre. You get a two year guarantee.
With Mattress Online, you get a trial period with this mattress so you can swap it if it doesn’t fit the bill.
It’s available in 140x70cm and 120x60cm.
Although this mattress is labelled as Relyon, it used to be a Slumberland mattress (they are part of the same company). Relyon is one of the few mattress brands which has a Manufacturing Guild Mark, which an accreditation associated with high quality manufacturing.
Pros: pocket sprung construction, award winning and trusted mattress brand, choice of sizes, high washing temperature, made in the UK
Cons: Two year warranty is shorter than the Silentnight Safe Nights range
Our Value Rating: ****
5. Mother Nurture Essential Eco Fibre Cot Bed Mattress – £37
There’s not a great deal to say about the Mother Nurture Essential Eco Fibre Cot Bed Mattress. It’s a rectangle made entirely of a ‘recyclable polyester fibre core’ which is a manmade alternative to foam.
There are no springs, no organically sourced coconut fibres or wool from Himalayan goats. It won’t guarantee your child a place at Cambridge or impress your NCT friends. It really is just a simple mattress with a cover on top.
So why have we included it in our guide to 10 of the best cot bed mattresses?
- Well, for a start not everyone can afford to splash out £200 on some wonderful natural mattress when they are also paying for a pushchair, highchair and one of those annoying sheep which sits in the cot and makes soothing noises.
- Secondly, it gets very good reviews with an average of 4.5/5 on Amazon.
- Thirdly, even if this isn’t your main mattress it might be useful as a second mattress at the in-laws house (rather than trying to take a mattress in the car every time, which isn’t much fun).
It claims to be suitable from birth to four years. Generally, babies need firmer mattresses whilst toddlers can have softer mattresses.
This one is available in 140cm x 70cm and 120cm x 60cm. The smaller size was less than £30 when we checked, which is really good value.
Pros: very cheap, choice of sizes
Cons: synthetic materials, basic design without any springs for support
Our Value Rating: ****
6. Clevamama ClevaFoam Support Mattress Cot – £125
I must admit I’d not heard of Flat Head Syndrome before I found this mattress but according to the blurb, some mattresses increase the risk of Plagiocephaly. By the way, if you’re a new parent, you’ll soon get used to worrying about things you’d never heard of.
It is, essentially, a foam mattress but it claims to have been specially developed with academics from Trinity College in Dublin to ‘protect the round shape of your baby’s soft head’. I’ve included it because it gets glowing customer reviews (4.9/5 from more than 200 customers when I checked).
The Clevamama ClevaFoam Support mattress is available in 140cm x 70cm and 120cm x 60cm
Pros: outstanding customer reviews, removable cover, academic backing
Cons: synthetic materials rather than natural fibres
Our Value Rating: ***
7. John Lewis & Partners Pocket Cotbed Mattress – £140
The John Lewis & Partners Spring Cotbed Mattress uses manmade polyester fibre as well as pocket springs for support. The springs are the posh ‘pocket springs’ that you get in most adult mattresses. They also do a cheaper ‘Classic’ version which uses ‘open coil’ springs but I would go for pocket springs if the budget will stretch.
We couldn’t find reviews to offer much insight but you are getting the John Lewis & Partners name and reputation for quality alongside a good specification.
The mattress has a removable and washable outer cover and comes with a 2 year guarantee. It is available in three sizes including 140 x 70cm, 120 x 60cm and the less common size of 132cm x 70cm.
John Lewis & Partners sell a couple of other cheaper cotbed mattresses which also get good reviews including the John Lewis & Partners Fibre Cot Mattress. It is £50-£65 and comes in 120x60cm or 140x70cm.
Pros: trusted retailer, washable cover, two year warranty, pocket sprung
Cons: not many reviews to go on, some synthetic materials, more expensive than most cotbed mattresses
Our Value Rating: ***
8. Naturalmat Quilted Coco Mat Cot Mattress – £195
The Naturalmat Quilted Coco Mat Cot Mattress is made in Devon and has won a couple of awards from Mother and Baby (Silver, 2020) and Made For Mums (Bronze, 2017 and Silver, 2018). They also won a Queen’s Award for Sustainable Development in 2020.
There’s a quilted version and a non-quilted version, but it’s the quilted one which has won the prizes (‘quilted’ refers to the outer material with the criss-cross pattern on top).
It is mostly made from a coconut by-product (coir) and it doesn’t contain any springs. The cover is removable.
There aren’t a lot of reviews compared to some, but those that I’ve found are positive scoring an average of 4.3/5 from 15+ reviews.
You can get it in 60cm x 120cm, 70cm x 140cm and some other unusual sizes which is useful if you’ve bought a beautiful cot and then realised it isn’t a standard size.
NaturalMat also won a silver award in the Loved by Parents award in 2013 for their ‘Latex Mat’. The same mattress was shortlisted in 2023 at the Mother and Baby Awards.
If you’re feeling flushed, the posh option is Naturalmat’s Quilted Spring Mattress which won silver at the Mother & Baby awards in the ‘safety’ category. It comes in three sizes and it costs £325 in the standard cot size.
Pros: natural and organic materials, multi-award winning, available in multiple sizes
Cons: expensive, not waterproof so requires a mattress protector
Our Value Rating: ****
9. BabyStyle Dream Sprung Cot Bed Mattress – £69
BabyStyle isn’t as famous a name in the mattress market as Silentnight or Relyon but it’s one of the cheapest sprung cot mattresses we’ve found. I’ve not found many reviews of this one, but it got the thumbs up from expert testers back in 2017.
It uses the cheap option of open coil springs rather than posher pocket springs (if you want to get technical).
The BabyStyle Dream also comes with the all important removable mattress cover.
It only seems to be available in the large cot bed size, which is 140cm x 70cm.
Pros: reasonably priced, award winning, removable cover
Cons: limited range of sizes, basic construction method
Our Value Rating: ****
10. Obaby Sprung Cot Bed Mattress – £69
Here’s another low priced mattress which gets solid customer reviews and is made from a combination of springs and foam.
It uses open coil springs so it is similar in design to the Mother Nurture classic spring mattress (£39) and the John Lewis & Partners Pocket Spring Cotbed Mattress (£90). There is an upgraded version of the Obaby mattress which uses pocket springs).
I imagine you have drifted off to sleep at this dull discussion of springs. The point is that when you are talking about adult mattresses, pocket springs are better than linked springs.
It’s available in 140cm x 70cm or 120cm x 60cm.
Pros: sensibly priced, choice of sizes
Cons: basic springs rather than more support pocket springs
Our Value Rating: ****
What do experts say about the safest cot mattresses for babies?
I’m not a scientist, a doctor or an academic. However, I do enjoy using my journalistic experience to sift through dense research to pull out the key points.
One of the most useful guides I’ve found online is by HealthyChildren.org, which is an American organisation. There is lots of advice on that site about sleeping, but there are also some some key points that relate to sleep products:
- Mattresses should provide a ‘firm, flat sleep surface’. It shouldn’t have incline of ‘more than 10 degrees’. Time to get the protractor out!
- ‘Use a fitted sheet only’ and make sure that there is ‘nothing else’ in the cot with your baby. This includes ‘pillows and pillow-like toys, quilts, comforters, mattress toppers, non-fitted sheets, blankets, toys, bumper pads or related products that attach to crib slats or sides’. So, basically don’t have anything else in there!
- Avoid using ‘products for sleep that aren’t specifically marketed for infant sleep’.
- If your baby is cold, you should use ‘layers of clothing or use a wearable blanket.’ Don’t use things like weighted blankets or weighted swaddle blankets.
Our Value Rating: we’ve given each mattress a score after looking at what specification it offers for the money compared to its rivals. We include key factors such as warranty length, materials used for construction and brand reputation. The highest rating is a five stars, which is a product which we think offers ‘exceptionally good value’ whilst ‘very good value’ products are given four stars and ‘good value’ products get three stars. We don’t tend to include products which we think are two star or one star products as they are ‘reasonably good value’ and ‘poor value’.
Looking for a mattress for older children? Check out our guide to kids’ mattresses