Futons, Judged by the Mattress on Top

The Mattress Is the Product, the Frame Is the Cheap Part

A futon is a mattress that folds into a sofa. The frame only holds it at two angles, and it is the part that costs least to make. Listings lead with the frame, the color and the photo of the sofa; the number that decides comfort is the thickness of what you sit and sleep on.

The Frame Costs a Hundred, the Mattress Decides Everything

Bought separately, a bi fold frame costs about $100 to $180 and a real 8 inch futon mattress about $180 to $320. That arithmetic explains the $250 complete futon: most of them carry a 4 to 5 inch foam pad sewn into the upholstery, not a futon mattress. This table publishes the thickness each listing declares and a separate column for whether the mattress is a replaceable standard futon mattress or sewn in.

• Fill: pressed cotton compacts to about two thirds of its thickness in a year, so it suits occasional use. A foam core keeps its thickness and is the only fill for sleeping every night. Innerspring gives the best night but bends least, so it needs a bi fold frame, not a tri fold.
• Seat height: boneless couches and low futons sit 10 to 14 inches off the floor, against 16 to 19 for a normal sofa. For anyone over 50 or with bad knees that is the difference between sitting down and getting back up. The table shows the figure and flags it.

In this table, the one frame sold on its own costs $205; 24 futon mattresses of 8 inches or more sold on their own have a median of $286; of the 5 complete futons at $300 or less, 1 carries 5 inches of mattress or less.

Thickness is the figure each listing declares. Seats under 14 inches from the floor are marked low. A dash means the listing does not give that figure.

Mattress replaceableFrame onlyMattress only

Six, Eight or Ten Inches of Mattress

Six inches is the minimum for a mattress that will be sat on daily and slept on now and then: below that the frame slats show through, first on the fold. Eight inches is the usual choice for a futon that doubles as the main bed, and still folds on most bi fold frames. Ten inches sleeps best but is heavy, folds stiffly and on many frames will not stay upright as a sofa; check the maximum mattress thickness the frame accepts before buying one.

Under 6"6 to 8"Over 8"

Cotton, Foam Core and Innerspring Fill

All cotton is the traditional fill: firm, heavy and cheap, and it packs down. A foam core wraps a slab of foam in cotton or polyester batting, so it keeps its shape and still folds. Innerspring adds coils inside the batting: the closest to a real bed, the heaviest and the least willing to bend. A foam pad is a single layer of foam, usually sewn in, and is what most low priced complete futons carry.

Foam coreInnerspringCottonNightly use

Bi Fold Frames, Tri Fold and the Boneless Floor Couch

A bi fold frame folds the mattress once, lengthwise into seat and back, and opens into a full or queen bed; it takes any standard mattress, innerspring included. A tri fold folds the mattress twice, into a chair or lounger with a twin bed, and needs a thinner, softer mattress. A boneless couch has no frame at all: blocks of foam in a zipped cover that unfold on the floor, light and easy to move, and always low.

Metal frames are lighter and cheaper; wood frames are heavier, quieter and usually the ones that take an 8 to 10 inch mattress.

Bi foldTri foldBoneless floorWoodMetal

Seat Height From the Floor, and Getting Back Up

A dining chair seat is about 18 inches high and a normal sofa 16 to 19. Boneless and floor couches sit 10 to 14 inches off the floor, and so do many low futon frames. Sitting down is easy; getting up from a seat lower than the knee takes the arms and the knees, which is why the table flags anything under 14 inches. For a parent or a guest over 50, filter for 14 inches or more.

Standard, 14 to 18"Low, under 14"

Full, Queen and the Small Space Loveseat

Futon mattresses follow their own sizes: a full is 54 by 75 inches and a queen 60 by 80, so a queen futon is a real queen bed in length, unlike a queen sleeper sofa. A twin futon mattress is 39 by 75 and goes on loveseat and tri fold frames. A full futon is about 80 inches wide as a sofa and a queen about 86; a convertible loveseat stays near 55 to 65 inches and opens to a twin or a short full.

FullQueenTwinConvertible loveseat

Futon or Sofa Bed

Most listings call both things a futon sofa bed, so this table decides by the measurements of each product, not by its title. A listing belongs here if its seat is less than 15 inches from the floor, or if its mattress is a separate futon mattress you can replace. Everything else, upholstered click clack couches, fold down backs and pull outs at normal sofa height with the padding sewn in, is a sofa bed and is compared in the sofa beds measured with the bed open table, where the same rule runs the other way.

Replaceable mattressSeat under 14"

What We Exclude From This Table

Every listing is checked against its Amazon data, not its title: most of this catalog says futon, sofa bed and sleeper in the same line. Left out:

• Sofa beds with a pull out mechanism, and sofas at normal seat height with the padding sewn in: they are in the sofa bed table.
• Japanese floor futons, shikibuton and tatami mats.
• Air beds, folding beds and cots.
• Daybeds, convertible poufs and single chair beds.
• Any listing that does not declare its mattress thickness.
• Covers, protectors, toppers and multi unit lots.