Choosing a mattress is one of the most important decisions you can make in any home. This piece of furniture typically accounts for a significant proportion of time spent in the house and getting the right fit can considerably impact your quality of life.
However, finding the perfect mattress is no easy feat. Amidst the hundreds of brand options, many different material constructions, and styling options, narrowing in the best pick can get tight fast. In essence, even factors like mattress sizing, that looks uncomplicated at first glance, can be the root of much indecision.
With choosing a mattress size, the first step is understanding all of the many different sizing options available on the market today.
Mattress Size Chart
While you can sometimes find other atypical mattress sizes—these are often limited to specific regions, most manufacturers adhere strictly to the sizing scheme in the following chart.
However, with most mattresses, you won’t get inch-perfect true-to-standard sizing, as depending on the brand, the actual bed measurements may run short or over the standard by an inch or two.
In most cases, you will be limited to choosing from one of these sizing options.
| Bed Type | Width (inches) | Length (inches) |
| Crib | 27 | 52 |
| Small Single | 30 | 75 |
| Twin | 38 | 75 |
| Twin XL | 38 | 80 |
| Full | 54 | 75 |
| Queen | 60 | 80 |
| Olympic Queen | 66 | 80 |
| King | 76 | 80 |
| California King | 72 | 84 |
However, picking the right size mattress boils down to more than just knowing the bed dimensions, as each mattress size comes with its own set of peculiarities.
Crib
- Dimensions: 27″ by 52″.
- Our minimum room size recommendations: 6 feet by feet
With its meager dimensions of only 27 by 52 inches, a crib-size is aptly named, as it is a good fit only for babies. Furthermore, since this mattress measurement is pretty much the general standard in the U.S., you should have no issues getting a crib-size to fit in any regular crib.
While the major peculiarity of a crib-size bed is its small size, industry regulations also mandate that they do not exceed a 6-inch thickness as well to ensure baby safety and comfort.
Crib mattresses are a perfect fit for most babies until around the time they begin to walk. However, the actual timing may vary from child to child, depending on their starting size and how fast they grow.
Buying Recommendation
Due to their small size, crib mattresses are some of the cheapest on the market, and you can often find affordable options that bring high-end comfort.
One of the best value options you can get for your money is with Moonlight’s Little Dreamer Crib Mattress, a bestselling bed that packs a CertiPUR-US certified high-density foam core in a waterproof, easy-to-clean polyurethane cover.
Small Single
- Dimensions: 30″ by 75″
- Our minimum room size recommendations: 7 feet by 10 feet
At 30 inches by 75 inches, a small single (also known as a narrow twin) offers only a small, incremental increase over the standard crib-size. Consequently, this mattress sizing option provides an excellent next leg up for your growing baby.
Furthermore, when you purchase them as your baby’s first bed, small singles will also last longer than crib-size, as it gives your baby more room to play around and grow into as they age. While small singles bring as much length as a twin, their tiny width of only 30 inches means that they will be more restrictive for older children, especially from around the 7-year mark.
Like crib-size mattresses, small singles are designed to work in cribs, and you will find many longer cribs on the market that fit them.
Buying Recommendation
The Zinus Memory Foam 5 Inch Cot-Size mattress stays true to the brand’s promise of unmatched quality at affordable prices. With this narrow twin, you get a three-layer setup that even includes a pressure-relieving comfort foam layer for less than 60 bucks.
Twin
- Dimensions: 38″ by 75″
- Our minimum room size recommendations: 7 feet by 10 feet
In America, the twin is the unofficial standard fitting for children’s bedroom, and for a good reason. The twin size adds 8 inches to the width of the small single, making it just the right size to fit growing kids throughout their entire childhood.
The small size of twin mattresses also makes them excellent for bunk beds, or for fitting side-by-side in children’s rooms where space can be an issue. For most kids, a twin should serve them sufficiently until they hit the growth spurts of early adolescence, when you may have to upgrade to a twin XL or larger.
With most bed manufactures, the twin, or single, is often the smallest standard mattress size, and typically also the least expensive option.
Buying Recommendation
If you are in the market for a twin mattress for your kid, you can’t go wrong with this 8-Inch Memory Foam Hybrid Mattress from Linenspa. This bed packs a steel coil-memory foam hybrid design that brings plenty of bounce, making it a fun mattress for the kid and a decent performer with all sleeping positions.
Twin XL
- Dimensions: 38″ by 80″
- Our minimum room size recommendations: 9 feet, 5 inches by 10 feet, 5 inches
The next leg up in standard mattress sizing is the Twin XL, an offering that brings a crucial extra 5 inches of length over the regular twin that often makes a world of difference to the comfort level of the sleeper.
This longer bed option typically makes an excellent pick for taller adolescents and teenagers. Furthermore, thanks to its slim profile, despite its adult-sized length, the twin XL is often a favorite in college dorms and other small spaces with minimal flooring.
For smaller kids, twin XLs offer even more room for them to grow into or play around on, reducing the number of mattress changes and significantly reducing cumulative bed costs.
For when you need emergency sleeping space, a twin XL could also serve as temporary sleeping for adults, albeit with some sacrifices in terms of comfort and room to roam.
Related: Twin vs. Twin XL: Which Mattress is Best for You?
Buying Recommendation
If you are settling for a twin XL, this offering from Nectar is one of the best in class. With the Nectar Twin XL, you get a taste of their signature gentle and breathable construction, complete with a balanced firmness level, a 365-night trial period, and a lifetime warranty.
Full
- Dimensions: 54″ by 75″
- Our minimum room size recommendations: 9 feet, 5 inches by 10 feet, 5 inches
A full-size mattress offers a significant jump in available space akin to what you get when moving from a crib-size to a twin. In many spheres, a full-size mattress represents the first real adult-sized bed.
However, while a full-size brings plenty of space for one, if you have some sleeping company like a partner or pet, this dimension may be too constricted for you.
Nevertheless, a full-size mattress is typically a perfect fit for single sleepers, as it brings some superior space and price efficiency while providing sufficient comfort levels for most people. Full beds also make great picks for teenagers who need more room, as well as a handy spare bed for a small guest room.
Related: Full vs Queen: Which Mattress is Best for You?
Buying Recommendation
The Full-size Nolah Original Mattress provides one of the best all-round picks for most single sleepers. This bed is a cool-sleeping medium-firm foam bed that works with all sleeping styles and brings superior pressure relief.
Queen
- Dimensions: 60″ by 80″
- Our minimum room size recommendations: 10 feet by 10 feet, 5 inches
Queen mattresses are the most popular bed size in the United States, by a mile, and it’s not hard to see why. Queen mattresses bring about 5 inches extra on both sides over a full-size, offering the space to fit more and more room to roam.
Consequently, the queen size is a perfect fit for many homes, as it provides enough space to fit a couple comfortably or give maximum comfort to a single sleeper while maintaining a reasonably small footprint.
A queen-size is large enough to fit most sleepers and is ideal for almost everyone—hence, its popularity.
Accessories for queen beds are also some of the easiest to come by, and you can find a wealth of queen size mattress options at almost every price point.
However, when making the jump from full to a queen, the size of your room starts to become a huge factor, as, in compact spaces, the added footprint of a queen may be significant enough to restrict free movement around the bedroom.
Tip: With some U.S. mattress manufacturers, you can get a split queen option with two mattress units that measure around 30″ by 80.” However, this option is quite rare.
Buying Recommendation
For most people upgrading to a queen-size, one of the biggest criteria for selection is comfort level. And nobody does comfiness as well as Puffy.
The Puffy Queen Mattress packs a soft all-foam construction, complete with high-density polyfoam and gel-infused memory foam layers, creating a pressure-relief sleep surface that is akin to sleeping on a cloud.
Olympic Queen
- Dimensions: 66″ by 80″
- Our minimum room size recommendations: 10 feet by 10 feet, 5 inches
Olympic queen mattresses offer a bit more width than your regular queen mattress. The extra 6-inch spread you get with an Olympic queen makes an excellent option for chubby or overweight couples or those who need more room to roam, yet don’t want to make the upgrade to king-size.
Plus, an Olympic queen brings this much needed extra width in a footprint that will fit in most rooms that will take a regular queen.
However, due to its peculiar size, and a significantly lower demand that the standard queen, Olympic queens often cost more and are harder to find. Furthermore, with an Olympic queen bed, you can typically expect to have a tougher time finding matching accessories and expect to pay a premium.
Buying Recommendation
The Gentle Breeze Olympic Mattress is a perfect pick for anyone who needs a bed in this size. This mattress packs a three-layer design that offers localized conformability, pressure relief, and support. Plus, a quilted rayon bamboo cover adds an elegant touch and hypoallergenic properties.
King
- Dimensions: 76″ by 80″
- Our minimum room size recommendations: 12 feet by 12 feet
With a king-size mattress, you are entering into the realm of some true luxury. King mattresses bring an ample 76 by 80 inches of space, packing enough room for couples to lounge comfortably, and even throw a couple of young kids or pets into the mix.
While queen mattresses will work excellently for most households, in some cases, you may need some extra room to roam or fit in more. Here, king-size beds excel.
However, with these mattresses, you will be making a more significant floor space commitment than you would with a queen or full-size mattress. Hence, you should be wary of your room size and possible mobility issues before opting for a king-size.
Tip: King size mattresses are often also available in a split option that places two twin XLs side-by-side to make a king. This option can be great for couples who want different firmness levels or more motion isolation.
Furthermore, split kings are also significantly more portable and maneuverable than regular king mattresses.
King beds are often the largest standard offerings from most U.S. mattress brands, and they make an excellent fit for the master bedroom in large family homes.
Related: King vs Queen Bed: Which One Should You Settle For?
Buying Recommendation
A king-size is a home within the home. With a big, king-size mattress, you want a large mattress that is perfect for sleep, play, or just lounging, and no bed fits this description better than the PlushBeds Botanical Bliss mattress.
Here, you get a bouncy, responsive bed, with an entirely organic, natural latex build that offers localized bounce for superior motion isolation.
California King
- Dimensions: 72″ by 84″
- Our minimum room size recommendations: 12 feet by 12 feet
If you measure 6’3″ or taller, a common complaint you will have with most mattress options is that they do not offer enough legroom. This issue is what California king mattresses aim to eradicate.
With a California king, you lose four inches of width off the dimensions of a regular king-size, and then, you get that 4 inches back as extra length. Consequently, with this mattress size option, you never have to worry about your feet hanging off the edge of the bed, ever again.
While you do lose some width from what the standard king offers, with the California king, you still get more breadth than a queen, which is more than enough space to fit a couple comfortably.
Tip: Like the standard king, California king mattresses often also include a split option.
Buying Recommendation
With the California King, you do lose some width from a regular king, but you don’t have to put up with a sleeping experience that is any less luxurious. The Amerisleep AS5 California king offers a soft, cuddly mattress that brings a cradling embrace and some of the best motion isolation and absorption in its class.
Custom Mattress Sizes
Sometimes, none of these standard sizes will match your needs. For people who have antique—or otherwise peculiar—bed frames, or those who have especially unique space constraints, you may need a custom size mattress.
However, many of the big mattress brand names like Casper and Nectar do not offer custom beds, and you may have to opt for a more niche manufacturer.
In addition to the several brick and mortar bed makers in the U.S., you can also get your custom mattresses from made-to-order online platforms like US-Mattress.com and Custom Mattress Factory.
With these manufacturers, you can customize everything from your bed size, mattress construction and materials, and firmness levels. However, you should expect to pay a significant premium for custom mattresses, and some top tier options can get quite pricey.
Frequently Asked Questions
Q: Is a California king bigger than a king-size mattress?
No, both mattresses add up to the same total surface area, so you are getting the same amount of space with either bed. However, with a California king, you get a longer bed, while the standard king gives you more width instead.
Q: Can a full-size mattress fit a couple?
For most couples, a queen-size bed or larger will be the best pick for maximum comfort levels. However, pairs with two petite partners can often get a full-size bed to work. For taller or heavier folks, however, a full-size mattress will be too cramped.
Q: Are full-size mattresses the same as double beds?
Yes. Full-size beds are often also called doubles because they bring more than twice as much sleeping space as you get with a twin.
Q: What is the largest mattress size available in the U.S?
The largest option you will find from most manufacturers is a king-size or a California king.
However, sometimes, you can also get larger, rarer sizes like the grand king, which adds 4 inches to the width of a regular king, or an Alaskan king, which measures a large 9 feet in both directions.
Furthermore, if you want to go even bigger, a custom mattress offers even more leeway, as there are technically no size limits in this category.
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