Helix and Casper are two of the most popular bed-in-a-box companies in the mattress game. The Helix Midnight is Helix’s most popular mattress model, and today we’ll be comparing it to the Casper Original mattress. Although these beds are similar in terms of firmness, support, and pressure relief, they have some key differences that could help determine which is the best pick for you.
In this comparison, I’ll put these mattresses to the test and evaluate their feel, construction, and durability. I’ll also perform a variety of tests to determine how they perform in categories such as cooling, pressure relief, motion isolation, and more.
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Helix vs Casper
Product
Firmness
Score
Helix vs Casper
Product
Helix Midnight Mattress
Firmness
Medium-firm: 6.5/10
Score
Before we jump in, here’s a quick overview of the strong points of the Helix Midnight and Casper, as well as which type of sleeper is best suited for them.
| Helix Midnight is best for… | Casper is best for… |
| All sleeping positions | Back pain |
| Hot sleepers | Memory foam lovers |
| Joint pain | Couples |
Helix vs Casper Video Review
Helix vs Casper: Top Similarities
- Firmness: Both mattresses have a medium-firm feel, with the Casper being just a touch firmer.
- Policies: Both mattresses ship for free and come compressed in a box. They both come with a 100-night sleep trial and a 10-year warranty.
- Pressure relief: Both mattresses do an excellent job at relieving pressure, and therefore pain, especially in the back.
Helix vs Casper: Top Differences
- Construction: The Helix is a hybrid mattress made with foams and coils. The Casper is an all-foam mattress with layers of memory foam zoned for support.
- Cooling: The Helix Midnight has better cooling abilities than the Casper.
- Motion isolation: The Casper does better at isolating motion and preventing couples from feeling their partner’s tossing and turning.
Helix vs Casper: Construction & Feel Differences
Now that you know the main similarities and differences, let’s jump into how the Helix Midnight and Casper actually feel. To do this, I’ll test these mattresses for different feel factors, such as firmness, pressure relief, bounce, and sinkage.
Before we start, it’s important to note that all of these factors are inherently subjective, and they can change a lot depending on one’s body size, shape, and weight.
What’s the Firmness Difference?
A mattress’s firmness can feel very different to different sleepers. For example, lightweight sleepers are more likely to experience mattresses as firmer since they won’t sink in as much. Because firmness is so subjective, I always test each mattress with a handful of colleagues, all of whom are Certified Sleep Science Coaches. We each score the mattress from 1 to 10, where 1 is the softest and 10 is the firmest. A score of 6.5 out of 10 marks a true medium-firm mattress. I then average our scores to create our overall firmness rating.
The Helix Midnight falls at a 6.5 out of 10 on our mattress firmness scale, meaning it qualifies as a true medium-firm mattress. Medium-firm mattresses are compatible with a variety of sleeping positions and body types due to their balanced feel. The memory foam layers are soft, yet the coils provide stability and support.
We gave the Casper a 7 out of 10 on the mattress firmness scale. While it’s still a medium-firm bed, it leans just a touch firmer. The Casper is an all-foam mattress with three layers of supportive and pressure-relieving foams. The zoned support foam is softer around the shoulder to provide a bit of cushioning, and it’s firmer at the hips to lift the sleeper up.
What Does Each Mattress Feel Like?
Now that you know where these mattresses fall on the firmness scale, let’s dive into how it feels to sleep on them.
As a hybrid mattress, the Helix Midnight combines the comforting feeling of memory foam with a supportive coil system. When I first laid on the mattress, I noticed a bit of sinkage from the top memory foam layers. This foam is slow-moving and has a low response to pressure. I felt some nice body contouring from the top layers, and I could feel some initial pressure relief at my hips, shoulders, and back when I tried different sleeping positions. The layer of coils below give the bed some lift, and I overall felt stable and supported. These coils are a bit bouncy, which helped me easily switch sleeping positions without feeling trapped in the foam layers.
When I first laid down on the Casper, I thought it was quite soft. However, I then felt the foams adjust to my weight and feel a bit firmer once I sunk in. I enjoyed the body contouring these foams provided, yet I still felt lifted and supported. Although this bed contains no coils, it still felt stable, and I didn’t feel like I was sinking in too far. I was impressed by the layer of zoned support foam. It was softer at the shoulders, and I experienced some pressure relief there. The foam was firmer at the lower back, so it helped prop my spine into proper alignment.
How Does The Construction Differ?
Helix vs Casper Per Body Type
As I mentioned before, a mattress feels different to sleepers depending on their body type and preferred sleeping position. Let’s take a look at how the Helix Midnight and Casper may feel for different sleepers.
Helix Midnight
| Body Weight | Side | Back | Stomach |
|---|---|---|---|
| Light (under 130lbs) |
good | excellent | good |
| Average (130-250lbs) |
excellent | excellent | good |
| Heavy (over 250lbs) |
good | good | good |
| Body Weight: Light (under 130lbs) | |
|---|---|
| Side Sleeper | good |
| Back Sleeper | excellent |
| Stomach Sleeper | good |
| Body Weight: Average (130-150lbs) | |
| Side Sleeper | excellent |
| Back Sleeper | excellent |
| Stomach Sleeper | good |
| Body Weight: Heavy (over 250lbs) | |
| Side Sleeper | good |
| Back Sleeper | good |
| Stomach Sleeper | good |
Casper
| Body Weight | Side | Back | Stomach |
|---|---|---|---|
| Light (under 130lbs) |
unpleasant | excellent | excellent |
| Average (130-250lbs) |
excellent | excellent | unpleasant |
| Heavy (over 250lbs) |
good | unpleasant | unpleasant |
| Body Weight: Light (under 130lbs) | |
|---|---|
| Side Sleeper | unpleasant |
| Back Sleeper | excellent |
| Stomach Sleeper | excellent |
| Body Weight: Average (130-150lbs) | |
| Side Sleeper | excellent |
| Back Sleeper | excellent |
| Stomach Sleeper | unpleasant |
| Body Weight: Heavy (over 250lbs) | |
| Side Sleeper | good |
| Back Sleeper | unpleasant |
| Stomach Sleeper | unpleasant |
Helix vs Casper Comparing Mattress Performance
Here at Sleepopolis, our team of Certified Sleep Science Coaches put every mattress we review through a series of tests. These tests help give us an objective view of who these mattresses could be good for, as well as what it’s like to sleep on them every night. Below, I’ll discuss how the Helix Midnight and Casper performed on tests like cooling, motion transfer, edge support, and more.
Temperature
When I evaluate a mattress’s cooling abilities, I first take a look at its construction. Mattresses made entirely of foam tend to trap heat, but the Helix Midnight is a hybrid mattress that includes a layer of breathable coils. The coils add some space to the mattress and allow air to flow through it, which can help keep sleepers cool. When you purchase the Helix Midnight, you can choose to add a GlacioTex cooling cover for an additional cost, which can make the mattress sleep even cooler. I next tested the Helix Midnight using a thermal gun to measure how much the mattress heated up after laying on it for 15 minutes. The Helix Midnight only heated up 5 degrees, which indicates excellent cooling.
As I mentioned above, all-foam mattresses are notorious for heat-trapping, so I had low expectations for the Casper’s cooling abilities. The Casper contains a layer of Airscape foam that has some aerations along its surface that can help release trapped air. When I used the thermal gun on the Casper after 15 minutes of laying on it, it measured a temperature increase of 8.4 degrees. This indicates decent cooling, but I still would not recommend this mattress to sleepers prone to overheating, as it does not contain any additional cooling technology (such as gel-infused foam). Some sleepers may find it cool enough, but especially hot sleepers may want a cooler mattress.
Motion Isolation
If you share your bed with a partner, child, or pet, you may be familiar with sleep disturbance due to their tossing and turning. Co-sleepers may want to look for a mattress with low motion transfer, as these are able to isolate motion on one side of the bed and prevent the sleeper on the other side from feeling it. All-foam mattresses are typically best at isolating motion, while beds with springy coils are prone to high motion transfer. We test motion transfer using three tests: a human test, a wine test, and a seismometer test.
The human test involves having one of my coworkers move around on one side of the mattress and seeing if I can detect their movement while lying on the other side. When performing this test on the Helix Midnight, I could feel my coworker get in and out of bed and could feel a bit of motion when they rolled around. Our wine test involves placing a glass of wine on one side of the mattress and seeing how much the liquid moves if I toss and turn on the other side. I could see the liquid moving a lot in the glass, but it didn’t spill or fall over. The last test, the seismometer test, involves dropping a 10-pound steel ball onto the mattress from gradually increasing heights and using a seismometer to measure the disturbance. The Helix Midnight showed pretty high vibrations, which indicates a lack of motion isolation. If you’re a sound sleeper, you probably won’t be disturbed by your partner’s motion. However, light sleepers may want a mattress with more motion isolation.
When I performed the human test on the Casper, I could feel a bit of motion from my colleague on the other side, but it was very minimal. If I was asleep, I don’t think the movement would have disturbed me. When observing the wine test, I saw a small amount of liquid movement, but no sloshing or concern about the glass tipping over. Finally, the seismometer showed low vibrations, indicating good motion isolation. Overall, I’d say the Casper is a good choice for couples, especially if one or both partners sleep lightly. I don’t think movement will cause major sleep disturbances, and you’ll likely only feel your partner getting in and out of bed.
Edge Support
When we discuss edge support, we’re referring to how strong a mattress is along its perimeter. Ideally, a mattress’s edges will be just as sturdy and supportive as its center. Edge support can be an important factor for couples or anyone who likes to spread out because it allows you to use the entire surface area of the mattress, which can make the bed feel larger. Edge support can also help indicate whether a mattress is prone to sagging over time.
The Helix Midnight has reinforced edges, and I felt super stable and comfortable when laying and sitting on the perimeter. I didn’t feel like I was about to fall off the mattress, and the edges were just as supportive as the center. I think the Helix Midnight has strong edge support, and I don’t see it prematurely sagging.
All-foam mattresses, like the Casper, have a harder time maintaining edge support because there are no coils to provide structural support. However, I was pretty impressed with the edge support on the Casper. When I sat on the edge, I felt it sink quite a lot below my weight, but I felt more stable when just lying on the edge. Although the mattress sank when sitting on it, I never felt like I was at risk of falling off.
Pressure Relief
We test how well a mattress relieves pressure by using a specialized mat. We roll this mat onto the mattress and lay down on it in a variety of sleeping positions. The mat is able to sense pressure and translate the results into a graphic using thermal imaging. Areas displaying blue and green indicate low pressure and areas with red and yellow indicate high pressure.
Looking at the Helix Midnight’s pressure map, we can see mostly blue and green, which is a good sign. This indicates that the Helix did a good job of cushioning my joints and preventing pressure from building under my weight. If you look closely, you can see a bit of yellow at the lower back region, however, I don’t find this concerning considering it’s surrounded by green and blue.
When we take a look at the Casper’s pressure map, we can see a lot of blue and green. I’m really happy with the blue in the lumbar region, which shows almost no pressure building. However, I do see some yellow at the shoulders and hips, which means pressure buildup may be an issue for some folk.
Pain Relief
When evaluating a mattress’s ability to relieve pain, we simply take another look at the pressure map and identify where pressure is relieved. If there’s minimal pressure building in an area, it’s unlikely that you’ll experience pain there. Likewise, you may feel some pain in a specific area if the map indicates high pressure build up there.
I think the Helix Midnight does a nice job of relieving pain in the back, hips, and shoulders. This mattress helps relieve pressure and is able to cradle those sensitive joints without placing too much weight on them. I think this bed could be good for folks with preexisting pain. I also think you’re unlikely to develop new aches and pains when sleeping on the Helix Midnight.
I think the Casper can be a good choice for people with back pain, but I’m concerned about pain at the hips and shoulders. Although most sleepers might sleep pain-free on this mattress, the pressure building here tells me that people with preexisting hip and shoulder pain might be uncomfortable and not find relief. I would recommend one of our best mattresses for hip pain or shoulder pain.
Durability
The quality and construction of a mattress’s materials can tell us a lot about its durability. Edge support can also be a durability factor, as it can help us predict whether or not the mattress may sag over time. Finally, we can take a quick look at the mattress warranty, as this will provide some insight into how long the brand expects the bed to last.
In my opinion, the Helix Midnight is a durable mattress. Its materials are very high-quality, and its excellent edge support reduces the risk of premature sagging. All Helix mattresses come with a 10-year warranty, which isn’t a lifetime guarantee but is still pretty solid.
I think the Casper is also a durable mattress, but it may not be quite as durable as the Helix Midnight. The Casper is made with high-quality and durable materials, but it doesn’t have the strongest edge support. This leads me to believe that this mattress might start sagging over time. Like the Helix, the Casper has a 10-year limited warranty.
Company Policies
Helix Policies
- Trial Period – 100-night sleep trial
- Shipping – Ships free, arrives compressed in a box
- Mattress Warranty – 10-year warranty
Casper Policies
- Trial Period – 100-night sleep trial
- Shipping – Free shipping
- Mattress Warranty – 10-year warranty
Helix Sleepopolis Customer Service Rating
- Great: Helix has a very nice customer service chat feature on its website that’s very user-friendly and easy to navigate. You simply type in your question and a list of detailed and curated FAQs quickly pops up. If you can’t find the answer there, you can easily request a Helix customer service representative and chat live with them. Helix also has an email, call, and text helpline.
Casper Sleepopolis Customer Service Rating
- Great: I was overall happy with Casper’s customer service. I used the chat function on the Casper website and was quickly provided with a response to my question. However, I was sent a link rather than a direct answer, and it would have been nice to chat with a customer service representative. Casper also offers customer support via phone and email.
Comparing Helix vs Casper Price
Pricing is always going to be a factor when choosing any new bed. See the pricing chart below for specifics, and be sure to check out our Helix mattress coupon codes and our Casper mattress coupon codes for additional savings.
Prices listed are before discount or offer on each size.
| Size | Casper | Helix |
|---|---|---|
| Twin | $595 | $699 |
| Twin XL | $695 | $799 |
| Full | $995 | $949 |
| Queen | $1,095 | $1,099 |
| King | $1,295 | $1,449 |
| California King | $1,295 | $1,449 |
Other Helix and Casper Mattress Comparisons
Interested in learning more about these brands? Check out the links below to find some more Casper and Helix mattress comparisons.
Helix
- Helix vs Purple
- Helix vs Leesa
- Helix vs Helix Luxe
- Helix vs Tuft & Needle
- Helix vs GhostBed
- Helix vs Saatva
Casper
- Casper vs Purple
- Casper vs Endy
- Casper vs Layla
- Casper vs Leesa
- Casper vs WinkBeds
- Casper vs DreamCloud
- Casper vs Nectar
- Casper vs Lull
- Casper vs Puffy
- Casper vs Brooklyn Bedding
- Casper vs Saatva
Comparing Other Mattress Models
Both Helix and Casper offer a variety of mattress models. Let’s quickly cover some of the other popular Helix and Casper mattresses on the market.
Helix vs Casper Frequently Asked Questions
How do the Helix and Casper mattresses ship?
The Helix Midnight ships for free and arrives at your door compressed in a box. It may take 24-48 hours for the mattress to completely decompress. The Casper also ships free and arrives compressed in a box at your door.
Are the Helix Midnight and Casper good for hot sleepers?
The Helix Midnight is likely the better choice for hot sleepers due to its breathable coils. This mattress can sleep even cooler if you opt to purchase the GlacioTex cooling cover. The Casper isn’t the coolest mattress on the market, and those prone to overheating may find it too warm.
Is the Casper firmer than the Helix Midnight?
Yes. The Helix Midnight falls at a 6.5 out of 10 on our mattress firmness scale, while the Casper falls at a 7 out of 10. This means they are both medium-firm mattresses, but the Casper is a bit firmer.
What are the return policies for the Helix Midnight and Casper?
You can return the Helix Midnight and the Casper 30 days after delivery and before their 100-night trial period ends.
What is a sleep trial?
A sleep trial is the number of days a company allows you to try out a mattress before returning it. In this case, Helix and Casper both allow customers to sleep on their mattresses for up to 100 nights before becoming ineligible for returns.
As we wrap up this comparison, I’d like to highlight my favorite things about the Nectar mattress as well as some of my complaints.
We’re almost done with this review, so allow me to leave you with a few highlights and complaints.
Our Review Process
Our Sleepopolis reviewers personally test each mattress. We start by unboxing the mattress to figure out how difficult (or easy) it is to get the mattress from the box to the bed. Then, we spend time laying on the bed in different positions, taking time to assess it on our backs, stomachs, and sides. Next, we perform our Sleepopolis tests, using specialized tools to measure qualities like motion transfer, bounce, and pressure relief. Our last step is to open up the mattress and take a look at each layer. These steps allow us to give our final verdict on the mattress. Jump back to our mattress picks.
