The best sofa bed or futon is one that is comfortable enough for a couple of nights, whilst looking half decent the rest of the time.
Many online guides include detailed descriptions of the 94 different types of sofa bed. They offer confusing diagrams of mechanisms. I find these as interesting as a book about concrete.
However, there are two main types of sofa bed:
- those with a separate hidden mattress (e.g. folding sofa beds)
- those where you sleep on the sofa cushions (e.g. futons, corner sofa beds, click clack/clic clac sofa beds, lift and pull sofa beds, A-frame sofa beds)
Personally, I prefer the look of a sofa bed with a hidden mattress. These can easily masquerade as a normal sofa the rest of the time.
The downside is that the mattresses are thin because there’s only so much storage space under the cushions.
We’ve picked out five of the best sofa beds on sale in the UK today. We looked at specification, value for money, customer reviews and awards. Prices and review scores are correct at the time of typing.
1. Birlea Aurora Sofa Bed £185 – 3 colour choices
Roll up bargain hunters!
£185 doesn’t go a long way when you’re looking for a cheap sofa bed. However, the Birlea Aurora Sofa Bed gets good reviews for the price.
Once it’s been turned into a settee bed, you’ll end up with something that is about 10cm wider and 10cm shorter than a standard single mattress. So, it’s not really wide enough for two, unless you’re both very petite.
It is what is known as a ‘click clack’ style of sofa bed (or sometimes ‘clic clac’). That means the back of the sofa flattens out to make the bed. Nothing too fancy but it’ll do the job for Aunt Maude (assuming you don’t want her to stay for too long).
What are the reviews like?
The Birlea brand scores 4/5 on TrustPilot or 4.4/5 on Google Reviews. The Birlea Aurora scores scoring 3.8/5 on Amazon or 4.4/5 on Happy Beds.
If you buy the Aurora sofa bed from Happy Beds then you get a five year guarantee. I would say that’s pretty appealing as a lot of cheap furniture just comes with one year.
Pros: it’s terrific value considering the good reviews. You get a longer warranty than many rivals
Cons: there’s only three colours to choose from. There’s also a high chance of your feet falling off the edge if you are taller than 5 foot 8 inches and there are no arm rests.
The Sleep Guy’s value rating: ***** (out of five)
2. Dreams Gallway 3 Seater Clic-Clac Sofa Bed – £899 – 4 colour choices
This Dreams Gallway Sofa bed does a convincing impression of a sofa in your lounge, and it comes in green, grey, orange or navy blue. It’s another clic-clac sofa, which means that the seating area and back rest area fold flat and you sleep on the sofa cushions.
That means you get a thicker bit of foam to lie on than you’d get with a fully concealed mattress.
The ‘mattress’ uses pocket springs, which should give it a good level of support. Pocket springs are posher than cheap ‘open coil’ springs.
How big is the sofa bed?
When it’s laid out flat you get a mattress that is 190cm long by 112cm wide. That means that it’s the same length as a normal single or double mattress. You should be able to stretch out unless your name is Richard Osman.
It’s worth noting that the armrests stay in place at both ends, so your pillow won’t fall off the end during the night. It also means that you can’t hang your toes over the end if you’re slightly too tall for it.
The width of the sleeping area is halfway between a single and a double mattress. It is advertised as being suitable for two people to sleep on but I would say that it would be quite cosy for a couple for more than a night or two.
Reviews on the Dreams website are currently very positive (4.5/5 after 270+ reviews).
You can buy matching armchairs and footstools from Dreams as well.
Pros: genuinely looks like a sofa and has pocket springs for added comfort. It gets very positive reviews and it’s long enough for an average height male
Cons: there’s only a modest choice of colours and too narrow for most couples being despite advertised as suitable for two. You only get a one-year warranty
The Sleep Guy’s value rating: ****
Is a similar alternative the best sofa bed for you?
Dreams also sell a two-seater sofa bed called Haze, which works in a similar way. It’s available in four colours and is a similar price.
3. Bensons for Beds Ashby Sofa Bed – £1499
This Bensons for Beds sofa is a good one if you prefer sleeping on a separate mattress rather than cushions pretending to be a mattress.
You can choose whether the mattress inside is pocket sprung or foam. The foam option is cheaper and is a little firmer than the pocket sprung mattress.
For the uninitiated, a pocket spring mattress is far superior to an open coil mattress which is what Grandma has in her spare bedroom which hasn’t been decorated since 1953.
Once it’s opened up, the size of the mattress is almost exactly the same as a double mattress. The length is 188cm (i.e. 2cm short of a double mattress length). The exact width isn’t given but I believe it is 135cm.
You can also choose from three colours.
So, what’s the downside? You’ll have noticed the price is about twice as much as a click-clack sofa bed from similar brands (I put Benson for Beds on a par with Dreams for quality).
Incorporated mattresses are also quite thin, as they typically fold into three before neatly hiding underneath the cushions. Exact dimensions aren’t given, but a depth of 10-15cm is typical for this sort of sofa bed. Full size mattresses tend to be about twice that depth.
You can add a layer of comfort quite easily by laying a duvet over the mattress and then covering it with a double fitted sheet. This is a pretty similar design to a lot of mattress toppers and will add a few centimetres of depth.
Pros: Separate mattress so you aren’t just sleeping on the sofa cushions, choice of mattress types
Cons: Relatively thin mattress, more expensive than most sofa beds because of the more complex design and extra materials
The Sleep Guy’s Value Rating: ***
4. Chesterfield Style Three Seater Sofa Bed – £619 – 6 colour choices
This Chesterfield style sofa bed makes our list because of its strong customer reviews (4.4/5 on Amazon) and decent specification for the price. It comes in a number of colours and has two seater and a wider three-seater option.
The mattress on the three seater version is pretty much a double mattress size. That makes it larger than some sofa beds which are cosy for two people.
Like most folding sofa beds, the mattress is relatively thin to allow it to fit into the base of the sofa. Most reviewers say it is fine for occasional use. You might consider a double mattress sized topper to make it more comfortable.
The sofa itself has a hardwood frame, which is a good sign. Cheap sofas use softer wood which loses its shape more easily.
Do customers think this is the best sofa bed they’ve owned?
Our analysis of the 100+ Amazon reviews found that there are 14 uses of key phrases praising its build quality (‘well made’ or ‘good quality’). Six people described it as ‘value for money’. On the other hand, five reviewers highlighted that it was a ‘little hard’ to sit on.
Pros: good range of colours, good value, long enough mattress for most people (185cm), hardwood frame
Cons: thin mattress, short warranty, less well known brand, too firm for some people
The Sleep Guy’s value rating: ****
5. Innovation Recast Sofa Bed With Pocket Sprung Mattress – £1199 – 3 colour choices
This Innovation Recast sofa bed is more expensive than most simple sofa beds. However, it gets glowing reviews and has a good specification.
It has a ‘pull out base and drop down back’. That basically means that half of the bed bit is hidden round the back. The sofa cushions are then used as pillows.
I reckon this one looks more like a sofa than many sofa beds, so you could get away with having it in your trendy lounge.
The real winner for me is that it has pocket springs, which are what decent mattresses have. Foam can be comfortable but most of us are used to the feel of pocket sprung mattresses.
Once it folds flat, it is 200cm x 140cm. That’s slightly larger than a standard double mattress.
It comes in blue and grey and was getting reviews of 4.7/5 when I checked. Most reviewers consider it a firm mattress.
Pros: trendy design, long warranty, positive reviews, long sleeping area is suitable for taller people, pocket springs
Cons: expensive, small range of colours, no arm rests
The Sleep Guy’s value rating:***
…and it uses pocket springs which is a sign of quality
Here are a few more images of the Innovation Recast sofa bed from a recent visit we took to a John Lewis branch:
A note about our value rating. We give each product a score ranging from one star (poor value and unlikely to be featured) up to five stars (exceptionally good value). Three stars represents good value whilst four stars is very good value. We look at factors such as specification and warranty length before giving our ratings.