Helix and Saatva are two of the most popular online mattress brands in the game. Though the two companies sell a variety of mattresses, their most popular models are the Helix Midnight and Saatva Classic, respectively. While both of these beds employ pocketed coils for bounce, support, and firmness, they have pretty distinct differences. So, which one is the best bed for you? Read on to find out.
In this Helix vs Saatva mattress comparison, I’ll put these beds through a variety of tests to determine how they perform in categories such as cooling, pressure relief, motion transfer, and more. We’ll also take a peek inside the mattresses and discuss their feel, durability, and brand policies.
I want to note that the Saatva Classic comes in three fitness options: Plush Soft, Luxury Firm, and Firm. In this comparison, I’ll be focusing on the Luxury Firm model.
Short on time? Skip down to my comparison summary.
Helix Midnight vs Saatva Classic
Product
Firmness
Score
Helix Midnight vs Saatva Classic
Product
Helix Midnight MattressFirmness
Medium-firm: 6.5/10Score
As we dive in, here’s a brief overview of the strong points of the Helix Midnight and Saatva Classic, as well as which sleepers are best suited for them.
| Helix Midnight is best for… | Saatva Classic is best for… |
| All sleeping positions | Back sleepers |
| Couples | Innerspring lovers |
| Hot sleepers | Combination sleepers |
Helix vs Saatva: Top Similarities
- Pressure relief: Both mattresses do an excellent job at relieving pressure, and therefore pain, especially in the back.
- Edge support: The Helix Midnight and Saatva both have impressive edge support.
- Firmness: Both beds fall at a 6.5 on the mattress firmness scale, making them medium-firm mattresses.
Helix vs Saatva: Top Differences
- Construction: The Helix Midnight is a hybrid mattress with more foam layers and one coil layer. The Saatva is an innerspring mattress with less foam and two layers of coils.
- Delivery: Both mattresses ship for free, but the Helix Midnight comes compressed in a box, while the Saatva is hand-delivered and set up for you at no additional cost.
- Cooling: Both mattresses are quite breathable and cooling, but I’d say the Helix Midnight is cooler, especially if you purchase the optional GlacioTex cover.
Helix vs Saatva: Construction & Feel Differences
Now that you know the main similarities and differences, let’s jump into how the Helix Midnight and Saatva 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?
As I mentioned above, a mattress’s firmness is subjective and can depend on the sleeper. Because of this, I test mattress firmness with a few of my coworkers (all of whom are Certified Sleep Science Coaches) and we each give the mattress a score. We rate firmness on a scale of 1 to 10 where 1 is the softest and 10 is the firmest. We consider a 6.5 to be the standard for a true medium-firm mattress. I then average our scores to create the final firmness rating.
The Helix Midnight falls at a 6.5 out of 10 on our mattress firmness scale, meaning it’s a medium-firm mattress. Medium-firm mattresses tend to be safe options because they can work for a variety of sleeping positions and body types. The softness of the memory foam layers combines nicely with the individually wrapped coils to create an overall balanced feel.
When I first laid down on the Saatva, I thought it was a bit firmer and rated it a 7 out of 10. However, after some deliberation with my colleagues, we decided that the Luxury Firm Saatva model fell at a 6.5 out of 10, so this is also a medium-firm mattress. The Firm model will likely feel closer to a 7 or an 8 on the mattress firmness scale, and the Plush Soft model will be the softest of the three choices.
What Does Each Mattress Feel Like?
You now know that these mattresses are medium firm, but what does this word mean? What does it feel like to actually lay down on them?
The Helix Midnight has a classic hybrid mattress feel that’s both comforting and supportive. When I laid down on this mattress, I noticed some slight sinkage into the top foam layers. This material has the slow response to pressure that you’d expect from memory foam, and it does a nice job at contouring the body and providing pressure relief at the hips, shoulders, and lower back. The layer of coils helps lift the sleeper up and makes the bed feel stable and supportive. The coils also add a bit of bounce, so it was easy to switch between sleeping positions without feeling trapped within the layers.
The Saatva’s innerspring feel comes from its zoned support memory foam and individually wrapped coils. A zoned support system means the foam is firmer in certain areas of the bed and softer in others. As the name suggests, the firmness fluctuates in zones to provide support and sinkage where your body needs it most. The slight sinkage from the memory foam is balanced by the coils underneath, which gives the foam something to bounce off of and prevents the sleepers from sinking too far into the mattress. I felt comfortable on this mattress, and I could definitely feel the coil layer working to keep my body lifted up and out of the mattress. I also found a decent amount of cushioning from the quilted Euro pillow top.
How Does The Construction Differ?
Helix vs Saatva Per Body Type
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 |
Saatva
| Body Weight | Side | Back | Stomach |
|---|---|---|---|
| Light (under 130lbs) |
unpleasant | good | good |
| Average (130-250lbs) |
good | excellent | excellent |
| Heavy (over 250lbs) |
unpleasant | excellent | unpleasant |
| Body Weight: Light (under 130lbs) | |
|---|---|
| Side Sleeper | unpleasant |
| Back Sleeper | good |
| Stomach Sleeper | good |
| Body Weight: Average (130-150lbs) | |
| Side Sleeper | good |
| Back Sleeper | excellent |
| Stomach Sleeper | excellent |
| Body Weight: Heavy (over 250lbs) | |
| Side Sleeper | unpleasant |
| Back Sleeper | excellent |
| Stomach Sleeper | unpleasant |
Helix vs Saatva Comparing Mattress Performance
Our team of Certified Sleep Science Coaches put every mattress we review through a series of tests to objectively assess how they perform in areas such as cooling, pressure relief, motion isolation, and more. Read on to learn how the Helix Midnight and Saatva performed on our tests.
Temperature
When I assess a mattress’s cooling capabilities, I first consider its construction. All-foam mattresses have a reputation for trapping heat and struggling to stay cool. However, the Helix Midnight is a hybrid mattress, and its coils allow for plenty of air to flow through it. You can also add a GlacioTex cooling cover for an additional cost at checkout. I next used a thermal gun to find out how much the mattress heated up after laying on it for 15 minutes. The Helix Midnight only heated up about 5 degrees, which indicates excellent cooling. I would definitely recommend this mattress to hot sleepers.
Like the Helix Midnight, the Saatva mattress is constructed with coils that promote airflow. However, the Saatva has not one coil layer but two coil layers, which add even more airflow for maximum breathability. I also used the thermal gun on the Saatva after laying on it for 15 minutes and found that its temperature increased 9.3 degrees. This indicates decent cooling, and I did feel pretty cool when sleeping on it, so I would also recommend the Saatva to anyone prone to overheating.
Motion Isolation
If you share the bed with a partner, child, or pet, motion isolation is the name of the game. When a bed has low motion transfer, it’s able to isolate movement on one side of the bed and prevent the person on the other side from feeling it. If your sleeping buddy tends to toss and turn at night, you’ll want a mattress that can isolate motion and prevent you from being disturbed. All-foam beds are typically the best at absorbing motion, while the bounce from the coils in hybrid and innerspring mattresses makes it harder to hide motion. We test motion transfer using three tests: a human test, a wine test, and a seismometer test.
The human test involves laying on the mattress, having a colleague move around on the other side, and seeing if I detect their movement. When testing the Helix Midnight, I could definitely feel my colleague getting in and out of bed and could feel a bit of motion from them moving around. Our wine test involves placing a glass of wine on the other side of the mattress and seeing if the liquid moves when I move. There was a fair amount of liquid moving when performing this test on the Helix Midnight, and I was afraid the glass might tip over. Finally, I dropped a 10-pound steel ball onto the mattress from gradually increasing heights and used a seismometer to measure the disturbance levels. As I suspected, the Helix Midnight had pretty high vibrations, which tells me this bed is just average at isolating motion. You might not have an issue with sleep disturbance on this bed, but especially light sleepers may be woken up.
When I performed the human test on the Saatva, I could definitely feel my colleague moving around on the other side of the mattress, which wasn’t surprising given the two layers of coils inside the bed. During the wine test, the wine splashed around and the glass rocked a bit, but no liquid was spilled. Finally, I performed the seismometer test and saw a lot of spiking on the graph. This indicates high motion transfer, which, again, wasn’t too surprising. Like the Helix Midnight, I’d say the Saatva is pretty average at isolating motion, and those who aren’t sound sleepers may want an all-foam mattress with lower motion transfer.
Edge Support
A mattress with solid edge support is just as strong along its edges as it is in the center. This is great for anyone who likes to spread out and use the entire surface of the mattress, especially couples because it can make the bed feel bigger. Strong edge support can also prevent a mattress from sagging prematurely.
The Helix Midnight has reinforced edges, and I felt really secure when laying and sitting on its edges. I didn’t feel at risk of slipping off, and was overall super satisfied with the edge support here.
The reinforced edge support system in the Saatva combines coils and firm polyfoam, resulting in fantastic edge support. In fact, I’d go as far as to say that the Saatva has the best edge support out of all the beds I’ve tested thus far. The edges sunk less than half an inch when I sat on them and I felt very secure.
Pressure Relief
We test pressure relief using a specialized mat that we roll onto the mattress. We then lay on top of the mat in different sleeping positions, and the mat senses pressure. These results are then translated into a graphic called a pressure map and displays pressure areas via thermal imaging. Areas with blue and green indicate low pressure, and areas with yellow and red indicate high pressure.
As you can see on the Helix Midnight’s pressure map, it’s mostly blue and green. This indicates that the Helix Midnight was able to cushion my body and stop pressure from building up under my weight. There’s a small amount of yellow in the lower back, but I don’t think it’s too concerning considering all the green and blue around it.
Similarly, the Saatva pressure map shows all blue and green, especially in the lower back. The Saatva foams eased me onto the coil layer, and its medium-firm feel helped keep my body lifted and supported without causing too much tension on my sensitive joints.
Pain Relief
If an area of the body has a lot of pressure building when laying on the mattress, you can start to feel pain over time. When there’s low pressure buildup in these areas, it’s a good indication that pain won’t develop.
I think the Helix Midnight could be a great option for anyone experiencing pain in the back, hips, or shoulders. The blue on the pressure map indicates that this mattress can cradle these areas and provide relief for existing pain. Even if you don’t already have pain in these areas, it’s a safe bet that pain there won’t be caused by this mattress.
I think the Saatva is a really nice choice for sleepers experiencing back pain, as the pressure map is all blue in this area. There’s more green at the hips and shoulders, although this isn’t overly concerning. However, if you already have pain or stiffness in these areas, you may want to check out one of our best mattresses for hip pain or shoulder pain.
Durability
When it comes to mattress durability, we can learn a lot by looking at the materials inside and examining their quality. Edge support is also a good indicator of whether the mattress is prone to premature sagging. Lastly, the mattress warranty can provide some insight into the brand’s confidence in the longevity of their product.
Overall, I think the Helix Midnight is a durable mattress. It’s made with high-quality materials, and its strong edge support indicates that it’s unlikely to sag over time. Helix mattresses come with a 10-year warranty, which isn’t a lifetime guarantee but is still pretty solid.
I also think the Saatva is a durable mattress made from very high-quality materials. The two coil layers work to keep the mattress strong, and this is shown through its excellent edge support. Saatva mattresses come with a lifetime warranty, so the brand is confident that their mattresses will last a very long time.
Company Policies
The fine print surrounding a potential mattress could help you determine if it’s right for you. The company’s customer service skills can also play a large role in your buying experience. Check out the Helix and Saatva policies below and how I rated their customer service. Possible scores include stellar, great, satisfactory, and poor.
Helix Policies
- Trial Period – 100-night sleep trial
- Shipping – Ships free, arrives compressed in a box
- Mattress Warranty – 10-year warranty
Saatva Policies
- Trial Period – 365-night sleep trial
- Shipping – Ships free with free white glove delivery and free old mattress removal
- Mattress Warranty – Lifetime 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.
Saatva Sleepopolis Customer Service Rating
- Stellar: Saatva has many channels to access a customer service representative, from immediate online chat to email and phone assistance. I found their customer service reps to be polite, quick to respond, and knowledgeable about Saatva products and policies. Saatva also offers free white glove delivery with each mattress purchase, so a team of workers will arrive at your home and set the mattress up for you.
Comparing Helix vs Saatva Prices
When it comes down to it, your decision between the Helix and Saatva mattresses might very well come down to price. The Helix is more affordable than the Saatva, though I’d still consider them both to be reasonably priced online mattress options. Make sure to visit our Helix coupon page and Saatva coupon page for the latest promotions.
Prices listed are before discount or offer for each size.
| Size | Helix | Saatva |
|---|---|---|
| Twin | $699 | $887 |
| Twin XL | $799 | $1,087 |
| Full | $849 | $1,474 |
| Queen | $1,099 | $1,574 |
| King | $1,449 | $1,974 |
| Cal King | $1,449 | $2,174 |
Helix Midnight vs Saatva Classic
Product
Firmness
Score
Helix Midnight vs Saatva Classic
Product
Helix Midnight MattressFirmness
Medium-firm: 6.5/10Score
Other Helix and Saatva Mattress Comparisons
Helix vs
Saatva vs
- Saatva vs Casper
- Saatva vs Beautyrest
- Saatva vs WinkBeds
- Saatva vs DreamCloud Premier
- Saatva vs Loom & Leaf vs Zenhaven
- Casper vs Leesa vs Tuft & Needle vs Saatva
Comparing Other Mattress Models
Helix and Saatva both offer a variety of mattress models that you may be interested in. Let’s take a quick look at them here.
Helix vs Saatva Frequently Asked Questions
How do the Helix Midnight and Saatva Classic 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 Saatva mattress comes with free white glove delivery, so a team of Saatva workers will come to your home and set up the new mattress for you and dispose of your old one.
Are the Helix Midnight and Saatva Classic mattresses good for hot sleepers?
Both mattresses are constructed with coils, which allow for air to flow through the mattresses and makes them quite breathable. I’d say both mattresses have effective cooling properties.
Is the Saatva firmer than the Helix Midnight?
No, both mattresses fall at a 6.5 out of 10 on our mattress firmness scale, where 1 is the softest and 10 is the firmest. A score of 6.5 marks a true medium-firm mattress.
What are the return policies for the Helix Midnight and Saatva Classic?
You can return the Helix Midnight 30 days after delivery and before the 100-night trial period ends. You can return the Saatva Classic before the 365-night trial period ends, but you will have to pay a $99 processing fee.
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.
Finally, I’d like to call out my favorite things about the Saatva mattress and a few of my 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.
