Best California King Mattresses for 2024

It’s a comfortable, accommodating hybrid mattress that feels soft and springy. I’d compare it to the foam in your favorite comfy couch or like memory foam without that dense, “stuck” feel. It’s available in three firmness levels, making the soft and medium models perfect for side and combination sleepers, while the firm model is ideal for back and stomach sleepers.  

The Layla Hybrid California king mattress consists of layers of gel memory foam, support foam, pocketed coils and a center layer of copper-infused foam. The center foam mattress layer is designed to draw heat away from the sleeper’s body to help cool them off while they sleep, with antimicrobial properties to prevent bacteria buildup in the mattress. I think the memory foam feels light and airy compared to a bed like the Nectar, which feels denser and firmer.

If you sleep with a partner, there will be sufficient space, and the edges will feel properly supportive (for those who sleep next to a bed-hog). This thick memory foam mattress has extra strong, 16-gauge coils around the perimeter to strengthen the edges. The memory foam also does a great job of isolating motion.  

The Saatva Classic hybrid mattress is unique in the direct-to-consumer realm in that it doesn’t arrive in a box (so make sure your doorways and stairs can fit a California king’s dimensions). That means it can be made to order after you select your preference of firmness level as well as your choice of height: 11.5 inches or 14.5 inches. 

Based on my own testing, I found the beds range from medium to firm, depending on the firmness level you choose. Finally, the California king bed mattress reaches new levels of coziness with a three-inch Euro pillow top. All of this also works well for larger mattresses like the Cal king. Read more for our full Saatva mattress review. 

The Nectar Hybrid mattress is 12 inches thick and will suit a range of body types, from petite to plus-size. It’s made with memory foam but feels different from the flagship Nectar model. It’s more of a neutralized memory foam feel in that it doesn’t have that dense, contouring profile that’s slow to respond to pressure. I chalk that up to the pocketed coils in the bottom layer that give it more bounce. It’s still great at isolating motion if you’re looking for the best California king mattress for couples.

I’d rate the Nectar Hybrid around a medium to a medium-firm, so it’s a little softer than the original Nectar and better suited for people who like to sleep on their side. Nectar is known for its reasonable prices and big bundles. If you wait until this Nectar mattress goes on sale (which is pretty often, not just big holidays), you can snag a California king bed for $1,000 or less.

In addition to using organic materials, Avocado sources its wool from its own co-owned Indian wool farm, where more than 200,000 sheep roam freely across 40 organic hectares. If you’d prefer a vegan mattress without wool of any kind, Avocado also makes the same mattress in a vegan variety, which also comes in a California king. The company also grows and processes its own organic Dunlop latex. Each mattress is handcrafted in its California factory, where the company bypasses the use of toxic glues by implementing a traditional hand-tufting technique. If that’s not enough, their mattresses are all tested to ensure low emissions, guaranteeing that they meet air quality standards.

If you need a firm mattress to support a larger or taller body, the Avocado Green in California king size is a great choice. You can also buy the pillow-topper for $500 which softens up the feel to a medium-firm. It’s an ideal firmer mattress for back and stomach sleepers, as well as those with back pain. A little extra space lengthwise gives the healing body plenty of room to do its thing. Read more at our full Avocado mattress review.

As long as the 7-to-8 firmness level rating doesn’t bother you (it’s a medium to firm feel), this mattress is likely to be a superb match. Providing excellent pressure relief, the Helix Plus Cal king mattress offers just enough give to maintain support while letting the sleeper get cozy in the contours of the memory foam. This mattress also offers fantastic motion transfer, so you may not even notice your sleeping partner getting in and out of bed.

The California king size of the Helix Plus contains all the extra support, higher density foam and conveniently low motion transfer of the smaller versions, providing a longer mattress and the width of a spacious king. For any bigger or taller folks who may sleep better with a little more space between them, this size is ideal. 

Read more in our full Helix mattress review.

The Allswell mattress is 10 inches thick and more on the firm side, rated around a six to seven on the firmness scale. I’d say it’s best for back and stomach sleepers, and it’ll be pressure-relieving enough for side sleepers over 230 pounds. Still, it’s a little too firm for strict side sleepers under that weight range. It feels like a neutral foam mattress with added bounce, and you sleep more on top of the bed than you do inside it. This makes it really easy to switch positions, and it doesn’t give that “stuck in the mud” feel that traditional memory foam beds do. Read more about this bed in our full Allswell mattress review.