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Murphy Beds / Roundup

The Best Murphy Bed Mattresses

This is the one category on the site where the mattress spec is a safety spec. The mechanism is balanced for a weight range, and going outside it has consequences.

A plain mattress on a simple bed frame

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At a glance

What fits the limits

Tap any row to jump to the full write-up. Scores are our own, from the rubric on how we choose — not customer ratings.

#ProductBest forScorePrice
01
A small guest bedroom with a neatly made bed against a pale wallIllustrative

Zinus 8 Inch Green Tea Memory Foam Mattress

Two inches of memory foam, two of comfort foam, four of base — the standard answer for a daybed or trundle that needs a real mattress under 10 inches.

Daybeds and trundles8.0
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02
A single bed dressed in bedding with storage space beneath the frameIllustrative

Linenspa 6 Inch Innerspring Mattress

Six inches of heavy-gauge steel coils under a quilted cover — the budget mattress that fits a trundle drawer without jamming it.

—7.0
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03
A folded block of foam mattress standing on a hard floorIllustrative

Milliard 6-Inch Tri-Fold Memory Foam Mattress

The one that goes in a closet: 75 by 31 inches flat, 31 by 25 by 18 inches folded, with 1.5 inches of memory foam over a 4.5-inch base.

Storing a guest bed in a closet7.8
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How we picked

Selected against the manufacturers' published mechanism limits rather than against comfort rankings, because on a wall bed a mattress outside the stated range is a safety question and not a preference. We have been explicit that two of these are for specific formats — a tri-fold for cabinet beds, a six-inch for thin-cavity frames — rather than universal recommendations.

01Top pickDaybeds and trundles

Zinus 8 Inch Green Tea Memory Foam Mattress

Zinus

A small guest bedroom with a neatly made bed against a pale wallIllustrative — category photo, not this unit

Two inches of memory foam, two of comfort foam, four of base — the standard answer for a daybed or trundle that needs a real mattress under 10 inches.

What it's bad at

The twin is rated to 250 lb where every other size is 500 lb, which matters because twin is exactly the size daybeds take.

Our score — 8.0 / 10

Comfort8
Depth7
Foldability1
Weight6
Value9
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Specifications

Folded footprint
Ships compressed and rolled in a box
Open footprint
Standard mattress sizes, 8 in. deep
Clearance in front
Not applicable — mattress.
Doorway minimum
Ships rolled, so any doorway
Sleep surface
Standard Twin through King
Mattress
8 in.; 2 in. memory foam + 2 in. airflow comfort foam + 4 in. high-density base
Fold mechanism
None — does not fold
Weight capacity
250 lb in Twin; 500 lb in all other sizes
Assembly
None. Expands in a few hours, settles within 48.
Renter-safe?
Yes
Price
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Source: Manufacturer listing, zinus.com, plus the Amazon.com product page, recorded 27 Sep 2026. Any field the listing does not state is marked as such rather than estimated.

02

Linenspa 6 Inch Innerspring Mattress

Linenspa

A single bed dressed in bedding with storage space beneath the frameIllustrative — category photo, not this unit

Six inches of heavy-gauge steel coils under a quilted cover — the budget mattress that fits a trundle drawer without jamming it.

What it's bad at

Firm, and firm is the polite word. It is a guest-frequency mattress, not something to put an adult on five nights a week.

Our score — 7.0 / 10

Comfort5
Depth5
Foldability1
Weight8
Value10
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Specifications

Folded footprint
Ships compressed and rolled
Open footprint
6 in. deep; standard mattress widths (Twin XL listed at 39 x 80 in.)
Clearance in front
Not applicable — mattress.
Doorway minimum
Ships rolled, so any doorway
Sleep surface
Standard sizes
Mattress
6 in.; heavy-gauge steel coils under a quilted cover with a foam comfort layer
Fold mechanism
None — does not fold
Weight capacity
NOT STATED BY MANUFACTURER
Assembly
None. Decompresses over 24 to 72 hours.
Renter-safe?
Yes
Price
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Source: Brand listing via homedepot.com and the Amazon.com product page, recorded 27 Sep 2026. Any field the listing does not state is marked as such rather than estimated.

03Storing a guest bed in a closet

Milliard 6-Inch Tri-Fold Memory Foam Mattress

Milliard

A folded block of foam mattress standing on a hard floorIllustrative — category photo, not this unit

The one that goes in a closet: 75 by 31 inches flat, 31 by 25 by 18 inches folded, with 1.5 inches of memory foam over a 4.5-inch base.

What it's bad at

Cot width. At 31 inches it is narrower than a twin, and the two fold lines are findable through the foam if you sleep on your side.

Our score — 7.8 / 10

Comfort6
Depth6
Foldability10
Weight9
Value8
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Specifications

Folded footprint
31 in. x 25 in. x 18 in. folded
Open footprint
75 in. L x 31 in. W x 6 in. H flat
Clearance in front
Not applicable — floor mattress.
Doorway minimum
Folded section is 31 in. wide, so any standard doorway
Sleep surface
75 x 31 in. — cot size, narrower than a twin
Mattress
6 in.; 1.5 in. of 3 lb memory foam over a 4.5 in. support base
Fold mechanism
Tri-fold
Weight capacity
NOT STATED BY MANUFACTURER
Assembly
None. Removable washable cover with a non-slip bottom.
Renter-safe?
Yes
Price
Check price on Amazon

Source: Manufacturer listing, milliardbrands.com, plus the Amazon.com product page, recorded 27 Sep 2026. Any field the listing does not state is marked as such rather than estimated.

On every other page here the mattress is a comfort decision. On a wall bed it is a mechanism decision first. The lift is balanced for a mattress inside a stated weight range, and the cabinet has a cavity of a stated depth. Outside either, the bed is hard to lift, comes down harder than it should, or does not close.

The published limits are consistent across the brands: Bestar specifies 8 to 12 inches thick, 60 to 90 pounds, 60 by 80 inches, no box spring, and on the sofa model no futons. Lori specifies 12 inches or less and 80 pounds maximum for a queen. Murphy Bed Depot recommends 10 inches or thinner and rates its frame to 600 pounds evenly distributed.

The limits, and why each one exists

Published mattress requirements

Bestar (Cielo, Pur, Orion, Versatile)
8–12 in. thick · 60–90 lb · 60 × 80 in. · no box spring
Bestar Pur with sofa
As above, plus: no futons
Lori queen
12 in. or less · 80 lb maximum
Murphy Bed Depot kit
10 in. recommended, up to 11 in. usable · frame 600 lb
Cabinet beds
The supplied tri-fold, usually 6 in.

The minimum weight matters as much as the maximum. Bestar’s range starts at 60 pounds. A mattress that is too light does not hold the mechanism closed properly, which is counterintuitive and is why the range has two ends.

The depth limit is the cavity. Twelve inches is the cabinet, not a comfort opinion. A 14-inch pillow-top will not let the bed close and there is no workaround.

No box spring, ever. The bed frame is the foundation. A box spring doubles the depth and is not designed to be held vertical.

What actually fits, by format

For a queen wall bed: a conventional 8-to-12-inch foam or hybrid mattress inside the weight range. An eight-inch memory foam queen sits comfortably in the middle of Bestar’s window and is the safest default — the Zinus eight-inch runs two inches of memory foam, two of comfort foam and four of high-density base. Check the actual shipping weight against the 60-to-90-pound range rather than assuming.

For a thin-cavity or DIY frame: six inches. A Linenspa six-inch innerspring is the usual answer and is firm in a way that suits a slatted frame.

For a cabinet bed: the manufacturer’s tri-fold. The Night & Day Cube’s optional mattress is 80 by 63 by 6 inches of gel-infused memory foam; the Arason Creden-ZzZ includes a 53-by-75-inch six-inch tri-fold. The cavity is dimensioned to that mattress, so substituting is rarely straightforward — a tri-fold from elsewhere is included here only as a reference for what the format is.

What does not work, and the reasons

A 14-inch pillow-top. Will not close. Nothing to discuss.

A heavy hybrid. Latex and thick coil hybrids in queen can exceed 100 pounds, which is outside every published range on this page. The bed becomes hard to lift and the mechanism is working against its balance.

A futon mattress. Bestar explicitly excludes futons on the Pur sofa model, and the general reason applies across the range: a futon mattress is built to fold and a wall bed holds a mattress flat and vertical. The two constructions are working against each other.

Anything on a box spring or a topper stack. A three-inch topper on an eleven-inch mattress is a fourteen-inch mattress.

Check the weight, not just the depth

Depth is easy to check and weight is the one people skip. A mattress listing gives a shipping weight; make sure it lands inside 60 to 90 pounds for a Bestar or under 80 for a Lori queen before you order.

Bedding and straps

A wall bed keeps the bedding on the mattress with straps while the bed is up, which is the single most useful practical feature of the format and the reason a wall bed is more pleasant to use than a cabinet bed day to day: nothing has to be stripped or remade.

Two practical notes. Use a fitted sheet with a pocket depth matched to the mattress — deep-pocket sheets on an eight-inch mattress bunch, and bunched bedding is what makes a strapped bed hard to close. And skip a heavy comforter if the mechanism is near the top of its weight window; bedding counts.

Comfort improvements that do not add depth are in how to make a Murphy bed more comfortable.

Answers

Common questions

What kind of mattress do you use in a Murphy bed?
A conventional foam or hybrid mattress inside the manufacturer's stated limits — Bestar specifies 8 to 12 inches thick, 60 to 90 pounds, 60 by 80 inches, with no box spring. An eight-inch memory foam queen sits in the middle of that window and is the safest default.
How thick can a Murphy bed mattress be?
12 inches on Bestar and Lori queen wall beds; the Murphy Bed Depot kit recommends 10 inches, with up to 11 usable. The limit is the cabinet cavity, not a comfort opinion, so there is no workaround for a 14-inch pillow-top.
Is there a weight limit on a Murphy bed mattress?
Yes, and it has a minimum as well as a maximum. Bestar specifies 60 to 90 pounds; Lori specifies 80 pounds maximum for a queen. Too light and the mechanism does not hold closed properly; too heavy and it is working outside its balance range.
Can you use a futon mattress in a Murphy bed?
No. Bestar explicitly excludes futons on its Pur sofa model and the reasoning applies across the category: a futon mattress is built to fold, and a wall bed holds a mattress flat and vertical against straps. The two constructions fight each other.
Do you need a box spring for a Murphy bed?
No, and you must not use one. The bed frame is the foundation. Bestar states no box spring will fit in the cabinet, and a box spring is not designed to be held vertical for hours at a time.

Sources

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