What happens when smart technology meets sleep science? The best smart beds and mattresses are born. These include temperature-regulating mattress covers, adjustable bed bases and sleep tracking mattresses that employ technology to bring you a good night’s sleep.
We’ve slept on our fair share of mattresses while putting together our best mattress 2025 guide. But we’re always blown away by how smart beds from the likes of Eight Sleep, Sleep Number, Tempur-Pedic and Bryte use technology to elevate your at-home sleep experience.
In first place is the Eight Sleep Pod 4, favored by celebrities and sleep editors alike for its water-based climate control system. This is closely followed by the exceptional value Sleep Number i8 smart bed with standout features including adjustable firmness and sleep tracking.
Unsurprisingly, packed with state of the art technology, these smart beds sport a high price tag. But this year’s Memorial Day mattress sales are on the horizon. Your smart bed research should start now so you can snap up the best deal on the right smart bed for you when sales launch next month.
At a glance: Our 3 top picks
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Best smart mattress for cooling
We'll get to the point: our best smart mattress doesn't actually include a mattress. In fact, it's a cover that fits over your existing mattress and is connected to a control hub making up the Eight Sleep Pod 4 smart bed system. But packed into the cover is a whole load of smart tech and water pipes to help both you and your partner sleep well. We tested this smart cooling mattress cover to find out if it is really worth its price tag. While our in-depth review is coming soon, our first impressions were positive.
Temperature is tricky to get right in bed. Sleeping too hot or too cold will wake you up frequently in the night. The Eight Sleep Pod addresses this with dual-zone cooling and heating, where you can set each side of the smart bed to anywhere between 55°F-110°F and create custom heating and cooling schedules. In addition to that, the smart mattress is designed with Smart Temp Autopilot, where ambient sensors measure the room temperature and humidity, with the Pod automatically cooling or heating your bed throughout the night to keep you at the best temperature for sleeping — a dream for hot sleepers.
There's also real-time sleep and health tracking on each side of the bed, with metrics including sleep stages, sleep time and sleep latency, which are collated to give you nightly sleep scores. There’s a Daily Health Check and HRV Monitoring too, with the Pod tracking your respiratory rate, resting heart rate, and heart rate variability as you relax and sleep. It also detects if you snore which can be useful for identifying sleep disorders like sleep apnea.
Sick of your partner waking you up with a blaring alarm? This smart bed uses GentleRise Smart Alarm technology to silently wake you up with a chest-level vibration and gradual warming of the mattress. The Pod 4 is the middle model in Eight Sleep's 3-model catalog and fits over a 10" to 16" mattress like a fitted sheet. You can use it on your existing mattress (it will maintain its comfort) or upgrade with Eight Sleep's 5-layer medium-firm mattress.
Previously, Eight Sleep did sell a version with a mattress included, but it was just a basic mattress with all the tech in the cover. This way, you get to pick your mattress, and you don't have to compromise on the smart features. With a high price and a monthly subscription fee, it's an investment, but semi-regular Eight Sleep deals knock up to $250 off.
Best value for money smart mattress
If you aren’t sleeping well at the moment, then the Sleep Number i8 Smart Bed could change that by making you more comfortable in bed. You can adapt the firmness and comfort on each side of this air mattress – meaning you and your partner can enjoy different levels of firmness – or you can let the i8 automatically adjust its firmness in response to your in-bed movements.
Hot sleepers are in good hands too, as the Sleep Number i8 Smart Bed is covered with a breathable Smart 3D fabric. The mattress absorbs excess heat then releases it as you cool down, keeping your sleep temperature perfectly balanced. Temperature makes a big difference to how well you sleep, so this is an important aspect of the design.
Sleep Number smart beds are well-known for generating a SleepIQ score, made up of metrics that indicate your sleep quality. The sensors also track your breathing and heart rate. Over time, the app will display personalized recommendations to help learn how to sleep better. Upon delivery of your smart mattress, Sleep Number technicians will either connect the bed to your WiFi or you can connect it yourself to the SleepIQ app. Each night the bed will work with the app to generate a unique sleep score, with suggestions for how to create the ideal sleep schedule to improve your quality of shut-eye.
When you pair the i8 Smart Bed with a FlexFit base (from $999), you’ll be able to enjoy a variety of adjustable head and foot positions. Raising your legs reduces pressure on them, while raising your head and upper body can improve digestion and, when you sleep on your side too, can reduce snoring. Sleep Number makes more technologically advanced smart beds, but we think the i8 Smart Bed is one of the best for the price.
Best smart mattress for back pain
The Saatva Solaire isn’t a smart mattress in the same way that the others are, but it still offers 50 firmness settings on each side, controlled via a remote (there’s no companion app here). That makes it the best option for people who have no idea what level of firmness is best for them during sleep, and who don’t fancy the idea of using an app.
It's also an excellent choice for maximum pressure relief, as you can customize it to suit your body, sleep style and health needs. Saatva’s mattress range has earned the Seal of Approval from the Congress of Chiropractic State Associations, so it’s well-suited to people with neck and back pain.
There are six layers to the Saatva Solaire, starting with a 3” pillow top with Lumbar Zone quilting to support your back. It’s also treated with Guardin, a botanical antimicrobial treatment to prevent bacteria, mold and mildew from growing on your mattress. Underneath that lies a 1” layer of five-zone natural latex for pressure relief and lumbar support, followed by a 2” layer of CertiPUR-US certified gel-infused memory foam to dissipate body heat and bolster pressure relief. Vulcanized air chambers handle edge-to-edge support in tandem with a reinforced power edge enclosure. This is where you’ll find the air inflator.
The inflator is designed to be low noise, so it shouldn’t disturb your peace when you’re switching to a new firmness level. The bedside remote control allows you to change the air chamber setting until it reaches your desired firmness, with a memory mode remembering your preferred setting. You can also add a Saatva Adjustable Bed Base (from $1,045), which enables you to raise each side of the mattress individually for various sitting and sleeping positions. For the latest prices, check out our guide to Saatva mattress sales.
Best smart bed with zero gravity technology
The Tempur-Ergo smart base is a smart bed base designed to work with your existing mattress, as long as it in turn can be used with an adjustable bed. The ideal partner would be a Tempur mattress, which is why you’ll see Tempur-Pedic mattress deals giving you hundreds of dollars off both when bought together. Back to the Tempur-Ergo Smart Bed Base…
Outside of the Eight Sleep Pod Pro System, the Tempur-Pedic smart bed has the most diverse range of smart features and adjustable comfort. It’s geared-up to help you get a clearer picture of how you are sleeping, what might be disturbing your sleep, and then to coach you (via the companion app) on how to snooze better. It even has underbed lighting to help you make your way out of a darkened bedroom more easily at night.
Depending on your biggest sleep challenge (if you know what it is), one of the biggest draws with the Tempur-Ergo Smart Bed Base is Snore Reponse. This detects the sound of snoring in the bed, then responds by automatically adjusting the bed to raise your head around 12 degrees, into a position that opens your airways to help reduce or stop snoring. If you or your partner don’t snore, yet you aren’t sleeping well, the bed will work with the Sleeptracker-AI app to track various aspects of your slumber and to pinpoint what could be happening. The AI Sleep Coach will then give you tips and suggestions.
As it’s Alexa and Google-enabled, you can also get your voice assistant of choice to read out your sleep report each morning. As with all sleep trackers, this should be taken as a general insight - if you are concerned about your sleep, speak to a professional.
Relaxing before bed is a potent part of any effective bedtime routine, and Tempur-Pedic’s version here is in-bed head and foot massage. There are three levels of intensity to choose from, and you can experience massage vibrations in two or four zones. We’d use it directly before putting the smart bed base into a Zero Gravity position to simulate weightlessness. This takes all pressure off your back and joints, making it popular among those with neck, back and hip pain.
Best luxury smart bed
Whether you’re struggling to fall asleep or want to learn more about what happens to your body overnight, the Bryte Balance Smart Bed is sure to impress, offering a luxury sleep experience night after night. Complete with sleep tracking, sleep audio, a massage function, responsive support and
Our Bryte Balance tester was impressed with how the smart bed performed in terms of motion isolation and edge support, giving even the best luxury mattresses a run for their money. What’s more, they report drifting off into a peaceful sleep after selecting the Guitar Dreams audio in the Bryte App where you’ll find a library of over 20 sound profiles, including guided meditations, nature sounds, and instrumentals. But what really stood out was how attentive the Bryte Balance is to your comfort throughout the night. The bed adjusts to your movements, recalibrating its air modules to make sure your body, especially your back, is fully supported. These adjustments were so discreet, our tester didn’t even notice them, remaining sound asleep. She says: “Despite not getting enough sleep that evening (my fault, due to the time I got into bed for the night), I still felt rested and pain-free come morning.”
This responsive comfort and active pressure relief allows you to find the right balance between conformance and support. Plus the adjustable firmness feature, which enables you to customize the feel of your bed between firm to medium and soft, makes this a great smart bed for all sleep styles and body weights.
Such luxury doesn’t come cheap. At MSRP, the Bryte Balance starts in a queen size for $3,999 and goes up to a California King at $4,699. These prices are for the mattress alone. For head and foot lifts you will need to add in the Bryte Premium Adjustable Base for an extra $1,199-$1,499.
The only drawback of this smart mattress is its lack of active temperature regulation, meaning hot sleepers are better off investing in the Eight Sleep Pod 4 if you’re looking for a solution to your night sweats. If you like the sound of this $6,000 smart bed system, but can’t fork out on it right now, you can try it at nearly 80 participating hotels and resorts across the United States and Canada.
Best smart beds and mattresses FAQs
What is a smart mattress?
A smart bed, also known as a smart mattress, is designed to track your sleep and various aspects of your health. They're either fully app-controlled or use a mix of manually controlled features, plus further functions available via a companion app (iOS and Android are common platforms).
Smart beds essentially do away with the need for an under-the-mattress or wrist-based sleep tracker because they have baked-in sleep tracking functionality. While the accuracy of sleep tracking functionality differs greatly between smart beds, most aim to track your sleep cycles and how long you spend in each, plus your overall sleep quality (represented by a sleep score), how long you slept for in total, how long it took you to fall asleep, and any interruptions to your sleep that the smart bed picked up on.
Smart mattresses can also monitor your resting heart rate, breathing and temperature during sleep. Some can be programmed to the exact temperature that helps you fall asleep faster and deeper, and Eight Sleep is one of the best brands for this – especially if you want a smart bed with independent heating and cooling.
While some smart mattresses possess the function to gently wake you with vibration, they don't yet have the ability to wake you with light. For that, you'll need to invest in one of the best sunrise alarm clocks.
What is the difference between a smart bed and an AI mattress?
The two terms — smart bed and AI mattress — are used interchangeably, making it difficult to distinguish between the two. Essentially, all AI mattresses are smart beds but not all smart beds boast artificial intelligence (AI). While they share many features, the key difference between the two is the way they are programmed.
AI mattresses work on an algorithm and self-learning to produce personalized sleep reports and adjust firmness, temperature and sleeping position throughout the night. Meanwhile, smart beds that do not use AI (some do) are pre-programmed and operated via a remote control or smart phone app. This means they cannot provide the same depth of sleep analysis and some smart beds’ features are limited to adjustable firmness or temperature control.
How to choose the best smart bed for your sleep needs
Technology is a key aspect of smart mattresses and smart beds, and most work with a companion app, giving you access to greater controls and sleep tracking data. It’s easy to fall down the rabbit hole of endless smarts with these beds, so we’d encourage you to think about what you actually want before you start shopping.
For example, if overheating in bed is your biggest sleep killer, then a smart bed that offers dual-sided cooling (and heating when needed) should be top of your list. You may also like to check out our best cooling mattress guide — they aren’t smart, but they are powerful allies in the fight against hot sleeping.
Dealing with back, neck and joint pain? Then the best smart mattress for you is one that offers tens of hundreds of different firmness levels that you can customize to your body weight via app or remote control. Smart air mattresses are normally top of the tree here, but we’d also recommend looking at a smart bed or bed base with adjustable positioning. The most well-known position for pressure relief is Zero Gravity, as this simulates a feeling of weightlessness. Integrated massage will also ease any pain, so look for either two or four-zone massage too.
How to choose the right smart mattress for your sleep style
Like any mattress purchase, the most important things to consider when buying a smart mattress or bed is comfort and support. Cutting edge technology and features are excellent additional extras, but you need to ensure your basic sleep needs are catered for. This means choosing a mattress that compliments your sleep style, position, and comfort preferences.
If health and sleep tracking is what interests you most about buying a smart mattress, you might be better off buying a smart cover to go over your existing mattress, like the Eight Sleep Pod 4 mattress cover. You should also consider how easy the smart mattress is to navigate, as there’s little point in paying more for features that you have trouble accessing. The Saatva Solitaire Adjustable Mattress comes with 50 different firmness levels on each size, all of which are accessible via a remote as opposed to an app, could be a user-friendly alternative to a traditional smart mattress, especially if you aren’t keen on being on your phone in bed.
While there are some smart beds that contain natural materials such as latex, you won’t find many with fully certified organic materials. So if natural, eco-friendly sleep is important to you, then consider an organic mattress instead. Out of the brands featured in our best smart mattress guide, Saatva is the closest you’ll get to your needs as it uses latex and botanical treatments.
If you have a favorite mattress topper that you’d like to use on your new smart mattress, make sure that it’s compatible and won’t interfere with the design of the smart bed, especially if it’s adjustable. As with standard mattresses, make sure you cover it in the best mattress protector for your budget to keep it safe from spills, stains and germs.
There’s no denying that a smart bed is expensive, so make sure the one you’re considering comes on a trial basis. If you get one on trial, you can test it thoroughly during that period and if it isn’t right for you, you can initiate a return and get a refund. Look for a good warranty too — our guide answering how do mattress warranties work will provide extra guidance.
Are smart beds worth it?
This is a fair question, considering the cost involved with a smart bed. As we explain in our best mattress guide, the quality of mattresses in general is much better now compared to several years ago, so it's entirely possible to get a decent bed for less. However, if you want the very best sleep technology packed into your mattress, plus custom control of heating, cooling and firmness, then there is no better way to get that right now other than with a smart bed.
So if you want to control various aspects of your sleep comfort, then a smart bed is worth the money. They are also ideal for couples with different sleeping preferences in particular, as you can usually control each side of the smart mattress independently to create the perfect sleep oasis for each of you.
We'd recommend keeping an eye out for various big mattress sales throughout the year, as these will deliver some sizeable discounts on smart beds that will help you snag one of these high-tech sleep systems for less.
If you have a much smaller budget or you're just looking to upgrade your guest bed, then take a look at our best budget mattress guide instead.
