Casper and Saatva are two modern mattress brands that have gained hundreds of thousands of customers in a relatively short time span due to their value-laden feature set and economic pricing – indeed, online selling brands such as these have even made us question if the really high-end, super-expensive old-school brands are worth it.
The only problem is that there is a huge amount of diversity in these modern luxury offerings – Casper Original and Saatva being an excellent case in point: one is a foam/innerspring hybrid, and the other is an all-foam product, yet both claim to provide superb comfort and support. I’ve done this Saatva vs Casper Original comparison to objectively help you decide which of these mattresses is more suitable for your sleep needs.
Saatva Breakdown
Construction
Cover
The Saatva sports a simple organic cotton cover that is naturally breathable and soft to the touch.
Euro top
A 1.25-inch Euro pillow top is present right beneath the cover, cushioning the immediate impact of your body and at the same time cradling your posture thanks to the memory foam it contains. It is attached to the mattress in a seamless fashion, as opposed to looking like an add-on (a la ordinary pillow tops).
First Layer
A 3/8” layer of memory foam comes next, contouring to the shape of your body while also keeping you from feeling the steel coil-on-coil structure that is present underneath it. Discounting the Euro top, this is the only actual foam layer present in the Saatva, underscoring the clear bias of the mattress towards the innerspring camp.
Second Layer
The first layer of the coil-on-coil core of the mattress is comprised of 4-inch long, 14-gauge thick individually wrapped coils that are able to support your body independently of each other. In other words, they too contour to your posture and offer support in the correct quantity exactly where it is needed.
Their independent nature also prevents them from transferring the impact of your body’s sudden movements to their neighbors, so motion transfer is kept to a minimum. Moreover, their coils are wrapped in special edge support foam to keep you from sinking when you sit on the sides of the bed.
Third Layer
This is the base of the mattress: consisting of 5.5-inch long, 13-gauge thick innersprings that are interconnected to their neighbors through the helical metal wire, resulting in a sturdy, stable structure that gives your body deep support during the night and keeps your spine aligned correctly.
Edge Support Border
Besides the edge support encasement in the pocketed coils, an edge support border is incorporated at the edges of the Saatva so that it offers remarkably solid edge support (even for an innerspring).
Firmness and Feel
Comfort and Support
There are three firmness levels in which the Saatva is available in, and each offers a different blend of comfort and support:
Plush
The Plush firmness variant has an overall ILD rating of 18, which makes it a medium-soft mattress. As such, it offers more cushioning than support meaning that you’ll feel the stiffness of the spring layers the least in this model. The softness also means that the Plush variant offers the greatest motion isolation. On Saatva’s 1 to 10 firmness scale (1 is like quicksand, 10 like a wooden tabletop), this one is rated at 3.
Luxury Firm
The ‘flagship’ model of the Saatva has its overall ILD rating deliberately concealed by the manufacturer to prevent imitation among the competitors. However, on their own 1 to 10 scale, they say it lies on the 5-7 mark, making it a medium firm mattress that offers a moderate mix of pressure relief and deep support geared towards average sleepers.
Firm
The firm model, rated at ILD 30 and with a clear bias towards stiff, springy resilience, offers the least amount of plush contouring and most closely resembles a true innerspring mattress.
Edge Support
Thanks to the two edge support enhancing features I’ve already mentioned above – the foam encasing the pocketed springs and the border running along the coil layers – the Saatva yields superb support at its edges, preventing you from feeling any ‘crunchiness’ that some people complain about when they sit on the side of an innerspring bed. In any case, given its robust coil-on-coil design and the little amount of foam present in the upper layers, the Saatva is decidedly better than the all-foam Casper in this domain.
Cooling
Although the memory foam present in the Euro top and the comfort layer causes some heat to get trapped, the underlying spring layers set up a decent airflow which prevents you from feeling uncomfortably warm in this mattress.
Motion Transfer
While motion transfer is a genuine concern with innerspring mattresses, the Saatva doesn’t suffer from it for two reasons: firstly, the memory foam in the upper layers nullifies the majority of the impacts, and secondly, the pocketed coils react to pressure individually so that the resulting motion is restricted locally. Some extreme movements may, of course, make their way down to the interconnected spring base, but this is rare – and in the vast majority of cases, you won’t be disturbed by a restless partner while sleeping on the Saatva.
Unique Features
Springy, resilient response with a degree of conformity
The Saatva is a hybrid mattress, but because of the dual spring layer it incorporates, it generally resembles an innerspring mattress more than it does a viscoelastic one. While the exact proportion of resilience and contouring will depend on the firmness level you pick, it can be said in a general sense that the Saatva offers a springier, stiffer feel with a dash of contouring thrown into the mix. This description is especially relevant when comparing it to an all-foam mattress which will be inherently softer than a spring mattress.
Seamlessly integrated Euro pillow top
Euro tops are a mark of luxury in a mattress, and they fluff up the surface response of your bed too – by incorporating one, the Saatva is able to yield sumptuous plushness the moment you rest your head on it. Of course, it helps that the pillow top is made of memory foam, in this case, a conforming, pressure relieving material in its own right.
Cotton cover
The Saatva’s cover is made from pure organic cotton, which is soft, breathable, and moisture absorbent. It may be slightly less durable than the Casper’s thick polyester cover but is considerably superior in terms of general comfort – not to mention more skin friendly.
Longer trial period and warranty
The Saatva comes with a 120-night sleep trial and a 15-year warranty, compared to the Casper’s 100-night sleep trial and a 10-year warranty. As far as the trial goes, that’s a considerable difference: you’ll be able to test out the Saatva’s performance for a full 20 days longer to see if it suits your needs or not. While a warranty longer than 10-years doesn’t usually make a practical difference for mattresses (seeing as by the 10-year, the mattress will probably not be in a shape for you to make a claim anyway!), but the Saatva’s 5-year longer warranty may be an indirect indication of the manufacturer’s greater confidence in their product.
Durability
One major advantage of having two steel coil layers embedded into its design is that the Saatva is extremely durable – innerspring coils are one of the most durable bedding materials out there, and it lends the mattress considerable structural integrity so that it is able to provide reliable comfort and support year after year.
Casper Original Breakdown
The Casper Original is an all-foam mattress available in a one-size-fits-all firmness level that attempts to cater to the needs of all kinds of sleepers.
Construction
Cover
The Casper Original has a slightly thick yet snug fitting cover made completely from polyester. It is removable for easy cleaning, and the relatively generous thickness lend it a soft first feel. Despite this, it is reasonably breathable.
First Layer
The first layer of the mattress is comprised of 1.5” of open-celled foam. It quickly relieves the initial pressure of your body while also providing a mild response feedback, somewhat akin to soft natural latex. Since it is open-celled, it transports heat away from the surface by allowing the passage of air and helps you to sleep cool.
Second Layer
The next layer of the mattress is 1.5” of 4 lbs/cu ft viscoelastic foam that slowly adapts itself to the contours of your body, yielding lasting pressure relieving comfort throughout your sleep. The manufacturer wisely places this viscoelastic beneath the response layer to prevent you from feeling too much of the ‘sinking’ sensation generally ascribed to the material. Furthermore, the positioning prevents the memory foam from immediately trapping your body heat at the surface of the bed since the upper open-celled layer already takes it away.
Third Layer
A further 1.5” of 2.5 lbs/cu ft transition foam makes up this layer, acting as a bridge between the softer upper layers and the firm support core underneath. As such, this foam is firmer to keep your body from sinking right through the viscoelastic. In their latest revision of the Casper Original, the manufacturer divided this layer into zones to match the weight of your body. Thus, it is firmer on the part that will be holding your hip and lumbar region and softer on the shoulder. This translates into optimum pain relief and, simultaneously, superb spinal alignment.
Fourth Layer
7 inches of 1.8 lbs/cu ft polyurethane foam make up the base of the mattress: this part is responsible for holding your body in the correct posture by preventing the mattress from sinking under your weight. Given its high-density construction, it should perform this function reliably for many years, night after night.
Firmness and Feel
Comfort and Support
As mentioned above, the Casper Original is only available in a single firmness level, and the manufacturer does not explicitly quantify the level of firmness you’re getting. Based on the general perception among the users though, I’d say it had medium firmness, which is expected of a mattress that is supposed to be relevant to a wider consumer segment as possible.
The two upper layers collectively provide reasonable conformity for any sleeping position, but the first layer also yields some responsiveness, so it isn’t completely a dead response as you would get with a mattress whose comfort layer comprised wholly of memory foam. Moreover, the zoned transition layer keeps your spine in alignment in conjunction with the firm support core, but also minimizes the development of pressure points that can happen in case of a uniformly firm base acting alone. All in all, the Casper Original does a neat job of providing a nice balance of support and comfort.
Edge Support
Some amount of sinkage is to be expected when sitting on the edges of the Casper Original, however, compared to most traditional viscoelastic beds, this mattress holds your weight up quite nicely. The markedly better-than-average performance may be attributed to the HD polyurethane foam base of the mattress, which prevents your body from sinking right through the soft upper layers.
Cooling
Thanks to the open-celled foam used in the topmost layer of the mattress, it is able to conduct heat away from your body quite effectively. The memory foam layer, which would normally be cause for concern in terms of heating, doesn’t have a significant impact since it is positioned after the open-celled layer. Moreover, the polyester cover of the mattress is reasonably breathable (obviously not as good as natural cotton) – it does not impede the heat dissipation capabilities of the Casper Original perceptibly.
Motion Transfer
Being an all-foam mattress with memory foam in one of its comfort layers, the Casper Original is able to muffle out sudden movements quite effectively. Naturally, there is a small amount of bounce because of the latex-like properties exhibited by the uppermost layer, however, this is restricted locally and should not disturb your sleeping partner.
Unique Features
Where memory foam alone would have yielded lots of adaptivity but a very slow response and latex alone may have produced too much bounce, the combination of Casper Original’s proprietary open-celled foam with viscoelastic strikes a balance between the two materials that translates into pressure relieving comfort in a bed that quickly adapts to changes in your posture. The HD support core of the mattress puts the brakes on your body mass at just the right moment to ensure optimal spinal alignment and keeps you from feeling that your sinking into the mattress too much.
One size fits all
The Casper Original is available in just a single firmness level: medium. This degree of firmness is suitable for the majority of sleepers who don’t have an excessive expectation of either plushness or rigidity from their mattress. A single firmness level eliminates the burden of choice so that you don’t second guess after you’ve made a decision and focus more on enjoying a balanced sleep.
Cool for an all-foam mattress
For reasons that I’ve already detailed above, the Casper Original is able to offer significantly improved cooling compared to most other memory foam products in its league.
Removable cover
The top part of Casper Original’s cover is removable, allowing for easy clean up in the event of an accident. Normally, removable covers don’t fit snugly over the mattress because they aren’t seamless anymore, but in this case, the tight fit of the cover is commendable and there definitely isn’t any bunching up to hamper your sleep quality.
Which One To Get?
Saatva
Here are some cases where you might want to go with the Saatva:
- You enjoy sleeping on innerspring mattresses but want better comfort: If you prefer the springy responsiveness of an innerspring mattress but aren’t satisfied with the little pressure relief it offers, a hybrid like Saatva that combines memory foam with a coil-on-coil core will be a good choice. The memory foam Euro top and comfort layer yields better cushioning than conventional innerspring comfort layers (made from polyfoam), while the pocketed coil layer and interconnected spring core ensure a sufficiently resilient, springy supportiveness.
- You want an organic cover: If you cannot deal with synthetic covers, then you should definitely pick the Saatva over the Casper Original – the former has an organic cotton cover that is both soft and breathable, whereas the latter has a polyester cover that may not be exactly unpleasant, but it cannot compete with the simple softness and airiness of natural cotton.
- The idea of a Euro top appeals to you: If you’ve wanted a bedroom that imitates a modern luxury hotel, then the Saatva with its sleek, plush Euro pillow top is the obvious choice: the Euro top gives a highly comfortable initial response and looks aesthetically appealing too.
- You’re a bit overweight: If you’re above the normal weight limit, an all-foam mattress such as the Casper may not be able to provide you with adequate support (even if it does so at first, it will degrade sooner for you than for normal weighted people). On the other hand, the Saatva’s dual innerspring layers will hold your weight just fine, and for quite a long time, because steel is much more durable than the densest of polyfoam. A similar case can be argued for back and stomach sleepers who want a mattress with more pushback.
- A longer trial period is crucial: With a trial period that is 20 days longer than the Casper Original, the Saatva is a smarter choice if you’re not yet completely sold on the idea of dropping close to a grand on a high-end mattress. If you fear that your needs might change, the Saatva gives you a substantially longer period to try it out and decide for yourself whether it justifies the expense or not.
Casper Original
Alternatively, the Casper Original may suit you better in some situations:
- You want a balanced all-foam mattress: No matter how adaptive and accommodating an innerspring mattress may be, some of us are simply not at ease with the slightly ‘floaty’ feel yielded by its surface. For people who are more at ease sleeping ‘in’ their mattress as opposed to ‘on’ it, the Casper Original with its all-foam composition is the obviously better option. The amalgamation of an open-celled latex-like foam with a memory foam layer produces ample contouring while simultaneously maintaining a respectable level of reactivity to changes in your posture, while the support layer does its job of keeping your body in proper alignment. In other words, it is a thoroughly balanced all-foam sleeping experience for normal or light-weight people.
- You don’t want to be bothered with lots of thinking before the purchase: As a one-size-fits-all mattress with a medium firmness level, the Casper Original is ideal for people who don’t have specific sleep requirements beyond a comfortable, pressure-relieving, and supportive bed. For the same reason, its balanced construction should also appeal to couples with somewhat divergent sleep needs who want a bed that they can both sleep on peacefully.
- You want the memory foam experience minus the heat: Barring the initial bounciness exhibited by the open-celled foam in the top layer, the Casper Original offers viscoelastic plushness and contouring that ‘surrounds’ you as you sleep (of course, to a lesser degree than an exclusive memory foam option). The big advantage that the Casper Original has though is that the open-celled foam prevents the accumulation of heat which is typically present in traditional memory foam mattresses. In other words, you’ll be able to sleep cool and enjoy a reasonably viscoelastic response.
I hope you found this comparison between a modern hybrid innerspring mattress and a modern all-foam mattress educational and helpful. If you have any further questions or would like to give feedback, the comments section is open for you. Also, share this post with any friends or family members who are thinking about getting a new mattress!
Saatva vs Casper Original Comparison
| Saatva | Casper Original | |
|---|---|---|
| Layers Used |
|
|
| Height | 11.5 inches / 14.5 inches | 12” |
| Firmness | Soft, Medium-Firm, Firm | Medium |
| Motion Transfer | Minimal | Minimal |
| Breathability | Slightly below average | Above average |
| Trial Period | 120-day | 100-day |
| Warranty | 15-year non-prorated | 10-year |
| Pricing (Queen) | $1,199 | $1,095 |
| Shipping | Free across the US | Free across the US |