A trundle bed is a neat solution if you occasionally have guests but are a bit limited on space. You get a single bed on top and another single bed hidden underneath which can be pulled out and set up within a couple of minutes.
Some designs of trundle bed allow you to push the beds together to make a king size or super king size bed. Others have the two beds at different heights.
You’ll also find trundle beds referred to as truckle beds. They’re the same thing.
We’ve picked out five of the best trundle beds in the UK. Some trundle beds come with mattresses whilst others require you to buy them separately. If you’re planning on using a mattress you already own, check that the lower trundle has enough depth as some are quite limited.
Here’s our choice of the best trundle beds based on specification, value for money, customer reviews and awards. All prices correct at the time of writing in 2024.
1. Birlea Buxton Trundle Bed – £235 (without mattresses) or about £450 (with the two cheapest mattresses)
This Birlea trundle bed ticks a lot of boxes for me, and scores 4.6/5 from over 30 reviews. Overall, the Birlea brand scores 4.4/5 on Google reviews and 4/5 on TrustPilot.
It comes in white, grey or a natural wood colour and has a generous 5 year guarantee if you buy it from Happy Beds. It’s made from pine which is fairly standard for budget and mid-priced wooden trundle beds. The posher alternative is an oak bed frame but pine does the job.
The basic bed frame costs about £250. There’s an easy option to pick which two mattresses you want to go with it, rather than having to order them separately. There were 4 mattress types to choose from at the time of writing in 2024.
Don’t scrimp on the mattress too much
My advice would be to either pick the memory foam or pocket spring mattresses rather than the cheaper open coil one which is available. Pocket spring mattresses are what most of us sleep on and they are much more supportive than open coil mattresses. Memory foam is a good alternative which offers consistent support. Memory foam also doesn’t gather dust like sprung mattresses. However, some people find that it makes them feel a bit warm in bed.
If you go for the full set of two pocket sprung mattresses and the bed frame, it was about £520 in total when we checked. Of course, you could save a bit of money by getting a decent mattress on top and a cheaper one underneath for occasional use.
The trundle single bed lifts up to the same height as the top bed so you can use it as a (nearly) super king size bed or two singles. It’s got a solid slatted base which gives a firmer support than you get from a sprung base.
Pros: good value, second bed raises to the same height, compact design, long warranty compared to pricier rivals
Cons: relatively unknown brand, second bed frame is less sturdy than the main bedframe
Our Value Rating: ***** (see notes at foot of page)
2. John Lewis & Partners Wilton Trundle Bed – £399 (without mattresses)
This trundle bed from John Lewis & Partners costs a bit more than similar trundles on the market in the UK, but it’s from a trusted name.
It’s made from pine, much like the Birlea Buxton and it is designed for standard single size mattresses. The bed has solid slats, which gives a slightly firmer feel than you get with sprung slats.
One downside with this one is that the lower bed stays on the floor rather than being raised up to created one large bed. That’s a more versatile option which is good if you have a guests of all shapes and sizes turning up.
The one year warranty is also a bit of a disappointment when compared to the five years you get with the Birlea Buxton.
There aren’t a huge number of reviews to go on, but a couple of them say it’s not as robust as they would like.
Pros: well known brand, choice of natural wood or white
Cons: lower bed doesn’t raise to the same height as the main bed, one year guarantee, more expensive than some similar beds, some negative reviews
Our Value Rating: ***
This trundle bed is made from oak
3. Dreams Classic Divan With Trundle – £250 (without mattresses)
This simple trundle divan bed from Dreams doesn’t come with mattresses. However, it’s cheap and it gets very good reviews (4.5/5 from 150+ reviews at the time of writing). It’s a standard single mattress size so you won’t be searching around for unusual sized bedding.
The bottom trundle can fit a mattress which is up to 20cm deep. There are plenty of mattresses on the market under that thickness but don’t assume that any mattress will fit, as some are as deep as 30cm. Silentnight’s 3 Zone memory foam mattress is a cheap mattress (£200) which has won awards and is less than 20cm, but there are plenty of others out there.
The trundle has legs so that you can push the mattresses together and make the equivalent of a super king size mattress. Well, it’s 10cm shorter than a super king but it’s close enough.
It comes in four colours.
Pros: good value, space for a good quality mattress underneath, choice of colours
Cons: no headboard, short warranty length, unexciting!
Our Value Rating: ****
4. Noa and Nani Asana Trundle Bed – £107 (without mattresses)
This Noa and Nano Asana trundle bed must be one the of the cheapest on the UK market. The mattress underneath doesn’t lift up, which presumably is how they’ve managed to make it so cheap.
It takes a standard sized mattress and has bog standard solid slats rather than sprung slats (I prefer sprung slats, but let’s not be greedy).
The main downside is that the trundle underneath the single bed only has enough space for a mattress which is 13cm deep. That is exceptionally shallow and is the sort depth you get on a sofa bed. It will be fine for a few nights, but I wouldn’t want to be on this mattress permanently.
Noa and Nani sell a 10cm deep mattress which is designed to fit underneath. It is called the Ari Trundle.
As you will probably have guessed, it is made from pine. You can have it in any colour you want, as long as it’s white
Pros: very cheap, nice simple design, solid pine
Cons: trundle doesn’t lift up to same level as other bed, only sufficient space for a shallow mattress
Our Value Rating: *****
5. Highgrove Beds Dreamworld Buddy Fabric Trundle Bed – £599
Finally, we’ve included this Highgrove Trundle Bed, which has more of a divan bed look rather than a wooden frame.
The good news is that you get the mattresses included, so you don’t have to faff around with separate orders and hoping that you’ve ordered something that will fit. It looks very neat and fits into a compact space.
It’s also made by a mattress brand that you may have heard of. Highgrove aren’t as well known as Silentnight or Sealy, but they not an unknown brand either. They are based in Yorkshire.
You can choose whether the second bed lifts up or stays on the floor.
There are two less positive things about this Highgrove trundle bed though. They may not be dealbreakers for you, but they are still worth pointing out.
The first is that the lower mattress is narrower than a standard single mattress. The top mattress is 90cm wide (the standard width for single mattresses) but the lower mattress is 75cm wide. This size is known as a small single and is often found in holiday park caravan bedrooms.
My second cautionary note is that both of the mattresses have open coil springs – also known as Bonnell springs or traditional springs. These are considered the B-Grade option when it comes to sprung mattresses. Pocket sprung mattresses are the A-Grade option as they provide more solid support and are less wobbly.
To be honest though, a mattress like this is often used by children, and they are less likely to notice a difference than a great big lumpy adult would.
We give each product a rating from one star to five stars, by considering how the price compares to the product’s design and features as well as how it compares to rival products. Five star products are exceptionally good value, with four stars meaning ‘very good value’ and three stars meaning ‘good value’. Two star and one star products are reasonable value and poor value, but they rarely make it into our guides.