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If you don’t have a guest room but love to host family and friends overnight, a quality sleeper sofa will save the day (or rather, night). Of course, pull-out couches sometimes get a bad rap, but they don’t have to be synonymous with back spasms, if you pick the right one. To help you choose the best design for your space, we’ve rounded up what we consider to be some of the best sleepers on the market, so your sofa can pull double-duty day and night.
This comfortable twin pull-out sleeper sofa is perfect for hosting guests in a small space. Made with foam-filled cushions, it turns into a very firm bed and back into mid-century modern seating, depending on your needs. We love that this velvet couch is available in eye-catching colors and minimalistic neutrals. With its low price, consider purchasing another one for an extra guest. Shopping tip: This sofa comes from Wayfair, which also made our lists for the best online furniture stores, best sectional sofas, and best mattresses.
This beautiful leather sleeper sofa has a high-density foam mattress for restful sleep. American Leather is known for its well-crafted couches (see our picks for the most comfortable couches for more), and its Lyons Queen Sleeper is no exception. Its sleeping area is over 6 feet long, and the high-density foam mattress is five inches deep. Upgrade to a Tempur-Pedic or Cooling Gel mattress for even greater comfort.
The five-star reviewed Nomad from Burrow made our list for the most comfortable couches, and by adding a Burrow Noma sleep kit, it remains a top sectional contender for a sleeper as well. The kit contains a two-inch memory foam topper, a quilted blanket, a pillow and pillowcase, and an eye mask. It even comes with its own sack, so it can be easily stored and taken out when you have an overnight guest. With nearly three feet of depth, there is room to move around in your sleep, and the sectional seats five, so when morning comes, everyone has room to relax.
The right-sized sleeper sofa can make a small space feel like a guest suite. You don’t have to sacrifice style or comfort when selecting this sleeper sofa bed, which folds out into a 78-inch long twin bed. The mattress is foam, so you might want to add a mattress topper for extra comfort while sleeping. The sleeper includes detachable storage bags and two pillows, as well.
All of our recommendations earn top marks for comfort, but this sofa stands out with its Queen-size memory foam or deluxe innerspring 5.5-inch mattresses. We love that the couch covers are machine washable, too.
If you or your house guests have a bad back, you want to look for a sleeper with a comfortable mattress. This convertible sleeper sofa is easy to retract when you (or your guests) are ready to rest and has a tri-layered (cushioning fiberfill top, memory foam, and dense polyurethane foam) mattress that can help to provide enough support and cushion for a person with back issues. Created with comfort and style in mind, this full-grain, pure-aniline, Italian tanned leather piece comes with bolster pillows and a feather cushion topper. Shopping tip: If you’re shopping for your bedroom and have back issues, read our guide to the best mattresses for back pain.
If you want your sofa bed to really offer up space to stretch out, consider purchasing a king-size sleeper. Harmony sells a good-looking, comfortable sleeper sofa that lays flat to provide a roomy night’s rest when you’re ready for bed.
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This extremely pretty twin sleeper not only offers a single guest a place to lay their head, but comes in a variety of materials to match your living space. We’re partial to the velvet in blush combination, but it also comes in an array of neutrals and modern colors in a range of shades. Thecozy twin sleeper seats and sleeps two adults in comfort. The bedding is a standard box-spring mattress, but for only $100, you can upgrade to memory foam. It also offers three options for its cushion fill: Standard down, double down, or alternative down.
Made by Serta, a leader in sleepers, this is a great choice if you want a foldable sleep couch for a den or home office. A modern-looking and sleek sleeper, this doesn’t resemble any futon we’ve seen. It is a mid-century gray and its armless design, this sleeper is extremely easy to assemble. It folds down into a twin bed and as a two-seater sofa, it won’t overcrowd a small space.
Offering luxury at a relatively affordable price point, we love the Milo sleeper because it’s slightly roomier than a queen-sized bed and comes with a washable mesh mattress cover to protect against any mess. Its elegant and stylish modern design elevates the everyday “pull-out couch” concept.
We like this sleeper because it’s an affordable option in a field of high-priced leather furniture. It pulls out into a bed with an innerspring Queen mattress that fits two adults and comfortably seats three guests. With 13 colors in soft leather and a modern design, this sleeper will look stylish in any space.
The Presidio has it all, with a good-looking seat and the potential to set up a comfortable resting place. Prop yourself up with pillows for a more sofa-like seating experience, and when you or your guest need a nap, use the connected trundle to stretch out. Best of all, choose from 154 fabrics in various colors and patterns. You have to provide your own mattress (here are our top picks for the best places to buy a mattress online), but with so many options to choose from, you can customize your (or your guest’s) sleep experience.
Just like any piece of furniture, you should consider a few factors before purchasing.
Will you use it mainly to sit on and sometimes for guests? Or do you host regularly and will the sleeper mainly play a role at bedtime? If you’re looking for a sofa for your living room and simply want the option of a sleeper, you might look for a design that appeals mainly to your living room aesthetic. If you’re setting up your den to pull double duty as a guest room for family and friends, make sure the sleeper aspect of the pull-out is comfortable and attractive.
Do you host couples, families, or your single sibling? There are sleeper sofas designed as twin, queen, and even a few king-sized options, so make sure your sleeper is the right size for your guests. And of course, the right size for your room: Always measure your room before you investigate a potential sofa, to check that it fits.
If you live in a small home, make sure your sleeper sofa (be aware, they tend to be heavy!) can get around snug corners and tight hallways and through door frames. Some manufacturers, like Albany Park and Burrow, pack their sofas and other furniture into easily moveable boxes. You may also need assistance in setting up your sleeper, especially if it has a heavy pull-out bed.
Unlike, say, buying chairs or coffee tables, a sleeper sofa is more about comfort than style—after all, your guests will be spending 8 hours or more on this piece of furniture. When researching the best sleeper sofas, we took the time to consult with friends and colleagues alike to find out about their experiences with sofa beds. We read through many customer reviews, and researched expert advice about the difference between sofa beds and sleeper sofas. In addition, we reviewed each pick’s design, comfort factor, price and size to make sure we chose the best options for many budgets, styles and spaces.
Most sofa beds do not have a pull-out component with an actual mattress. A sleeper sofa usually has a mechanical hinge that you pull out and contains a mattress and mattress topper. Some sleeper sofas come with a mattress, others do not. Decide if a mattress matters or if you and your guests are okay with a sofa bed that you put bedding on top of.
Pull-out sleeper sofas, day beds, futon couches, foam fold-out sofa beds, and chaise loungers are all different types of sleeper sofas you can try.
A good sleeper sofa with a comfortable mattress can be used every day. Others, depending on the type of mattress, may start to sag over time, especially if used over the weight capacity stated by the manufacturer.
The life of a sleeper sofa depends on a few varying factors, like usage, materials, and design, as well as wear and tear. A quality sleeper could last up to 15 years, if you take care of it.
You can make any sleeper sofa more comfortable by replacing an uncomfortable mattress with a better one, or adding a feather or foam mattress topper or sleeping pad. Adding soft bedding, like a quality sheet set and pillows, will help add to the comfort.
A sleeper sofa has a bed frame (usually made of metal) and a mattress you pull out to make a bed. A sofa bed does not have a bed frame and simply pulls out to make a flat surface that may or may not be cushioned, that you can sleep on.
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