Helix Plus Mattress Review 2024 | Expert Tested

Key Takeaways 

• The cost for a Helix Plus mattress ranges from $1,061–$1,874.
• The Helix Plus is a firm hybrid mattress designed to support higher-weight sleepers and couples. 
• While sleep preferences can be highly personal, most people who weigh more than 250 pounds will get the best support and comfort from a firm, hybrid mattress. 
• Helix Plus mattresses come with a 100-night trial period to give you time to get used to your new mattress and return if it doesn’t work for you.

Sleep is crucial for maintaining physical health, cognitive function, and emotional well-being. It can be hard to get good, restful sleep due to factors like chronic pain, decreased mobility, and changes in sleep patterns. 

But choosing the right mattress can significantly enhance your sleep quality, offering comfort and support to promote better rest—ultimately leading to better health overall. That’s why our Reviews Team personally tests all of the most popular mattresses, so we can give you an unbiased view of how these mattresses perform before you invest your money in one. 

Helix designed its medium-firm Plus model to support the needs of higher-weight sleepers who may not get enough support from traditional medium-firm mattresses. For this Helix Plus mattress review, we evaluated factors like pressure relief, edge supportⓘ The bed’s stability along the edges , and firmness.ⓘ Brands rate firmness on a scale from one to 10. One is the softest, and 10 is the firmest. It’s generally accepted that 6.5 is considered medium on this scale.

The Helix Plus is not the only mattress designed to support the physical needs of higher-weight sleepers, though. To help you decide whether this model is right for you or whether you’d like to try a different brand, visit our review of the best mattresses for higher-weight people, and keep reading for our in-depth Helix Plus mattress review.

Our Helix Plus Mattress experience 

Helix Plus

9.4 Excellent

9.4 Excellent

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Key features

• Price: $1,061–$1,874
• Material: Hybrid
• Firmness: Firm
• Trial period: 100 nights
• Shipping: Free
• Warranty: 10 years
• Sizes: Twin, twin XL, full, Queen, King, California King
• Mattress height: 11.5 inches

Pros and cons

Pros Firm, supportive feel Excellent pressure relief Responsive design Great option for back sleepers Cons May not be ideal for mixed-weight couples Motion isolation could be better

The Helix Plus is a hybrid ⓘ Hybrid mattresses combine the features of both innerspring and foam mattresses, with springs surrounded by a thick comfort layer of foam or latex. mattress designed specifically for higher-weight people (more than 250 pounds), with a base layer of steel innerspring coils and multiple layers of supportive memory foam. The bouncy coils offer a mix of support and responsivenessⓘ How much surface bounce a mattress has and how it responds to pressure or the sleeper’s movements, making it easier to move around and change sleeping positions , making it easy for you to change sleep positions in bed. The Plus is made with a breathable knit cover, but if you tend to sleep hot, you can upgrade to a GlacioTex cooling cover for $199 or a GlacioTex cooling cover with a pillow top for $299. 

While Helix rates the firmness of the Plus as medium-firm, our Reviews Team rated the Helix Plus an eight out of 10, putting it in the firm category. Even so, our Reviews Team said the mattress surface was quick to bounce back when standing up from the bed. Its good responsiveness makes it easy to move around on the mattress and change sleeping positions.

“I never felt stuck when changing positions. The mattress was bouncy and helped me move easily from one position to the next.”

– From our tester

Testers said a drawback of the bed’s responsiveness is its average motion isolationⓘ The amount of movement felt on one side of the mattress when a bed partner moves on the other side of the bed . Our testers noted that the bounciness transferred to the other side of the bed as they changed positions and got out of bed, which may bother people who are sharing a bed.

The lightly bouncy and responsive surface of the Helix Plus may suit higher-weight combination sleepersⓘ People who sleep in more than one position throughout the night who tend to move a lot while sleeping, especially side and stomach sleepers. Our testers found the mattress comfortable in a back sleeping position as well, but noted that sleepers who need more lower back contouring might not feel completely supported by the Helix Plus. 

Similarly, some side sleepers—especially lighter-weight (less than 130 pounds) and average-weight (130–250 pounds) people—may find the firm mattress pushes too much on pressure pointsⓘ The parts of the sleeper’s body that are in direct contact with the mattress, such as the backside, shoulder, hips, and rib cage like the shoulders and hips. Side sleepers tend to sleep best on mattresses with more sinkageⓘ Good contouring sinkage can give sleepers the feeling of being “hugged” by their mattress, but too much sink can result in misalignment of the spine, especially for stomach and back sleepers . Our testers found the mattress to be most comfortable when they were in a stomach sleeping position.

Overall, though, our testers agreed that people who weigh less than 250 pounds may find the Helix Plus to be too firm, regardless of their favorite sleeping position.

In our research, we have found that sleeping positions can have a significant effect on sleep quality. Visit our guide to the best sleeping positions to find out if there are adjustments you can make to help improve your sleep.

Helix mattresses are bed-in-a-box mattresses that are delivered to your door compressed in a box. In our testing, it took less than an hour for the unboxed Helix mattress to fully expand to its normal shape. 

Helix provides free shipping, but unlike some brands, such as Saatva, it doesn’t offer free white-glove deliveryⓘ Delivery and in-home setup in the room of your choice . Depending on where you live, you may be able to pay an extra fee for this service. Helix partners with the delivery service LoadUp for new mattress setup and old mattress removal, but LoadUp only delivered to some areas. If you need to have your mattress brought into your home and placed in your bedroom, and your old mattress removed, you may want to check the LoadUp service locator or contact LoadUp to make sure it delivers to your area, or hire someone ahead of time to do the job for you. 

You can also find out whether your address is eligible for delivery on the Helix Plus page (scroll down to “in-home setup and removal services” and enter your ZIP code), and how much LoadUp will charge for delivery when you go through the Helix checkout process. In our mystery shopping experience, our tester was given a LoadUp estimate of $129 for in-home mattress setup only, and $159 for in-home setup and removal of the old mattress. The cost may be different depending on your location.

Our recommendation

Who may love it

• Higher-weight sleepers who need a firmer and more supportive mattress
• Combination sleepers who need a responsive bed
• Stomach sleepers of any weight 
• Hot sleepers who sleep best on breathable materials 

Who may want to avoid it

• Lighter-weight and average-weight sleepers who prefer a softer or medium-firm feel
• Light sleepers who share a bed with a partner and want to reduce motion transfer
• People who would prefer to have in-home setup and removal of their old mattress included in the cost of a new mattress

Helix Plus contact and payment information

Customer service 

You can reach Helix customer service by:

• Phone: 831-777-5976, available Monday through Friday from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. ET
• Text: Texting HELIX to 67069, available Monday through Friday from 12 p.m. to 6 p.m. ET
• Chat: Live chat via the bottom right corner of the website, available seven days a week from 10 a.m. to 10 p.m. ET
• Email: help@helixsleep.com
• Website: Submit a contact form

Helix Plus mattresses come with a 100-night trial period to give you time to get used to your new mattress and return if it doesn’t work out for you, and 10-year warranty that covers defects.

Payment options 

Credit card payment options include Visa, MasterCard, American Express, and Discover. Other options include Shop Pay, Amazon Pay, PayPal, and Google Pay. Helix offers financing through Affirm and Katapult.

The company currently offers 25% off for military members, first responders, students, and teachers. The discount code can’t be combined with other promotional codes.

How firm is the Helix Plus mattress?

Our Reviews Team rated the Helix Plus mattress an eight out of 10, categorizing it as firm. This differs slightly from the Helix description, which categorizes it as medium-firm (6.5 out of 10).

According to our 2024 survey of higher-weight sleepers, firmness was their top priority when selecting a mattress. 

Is the Helix Plus good for higher-weight people?

Its mix of comfortable surface cushioning and firm, supportive inner construction make the Helix Plus a good option for higher-weight people who are looking for a bouncy, responsive sleep surface. This may be especially true for stomach sleepers who need the added support to help maintain proper spinal alignment. 

Milly McEwan, product and design expert and manager at RJ Living in Melbourne, Australia, explained that a too-soft, marshmallow-feeling mattress might sound nice, but it may not provide enough pressure relief for higher weight people. A soft mattress may have too much sinkage for higher-weight people. She added that a medium-firm to firm mattress is best for relieving pressure from the spine and helping to distribute your weight evenly. 

Another advantage of a firm mattress is that they’re often built with many layers of high-density foams that can increase durability, McEwan said. 

Other mattresses from Helix 

Aside from the Plus model, Helix makes three other models that may be suitable for people of higher weights.

• Helix Plus Luxe: This model is two inches thicker (13.5 inches) than the Plus and features a built-in quilted pillow top. It also comes with a 15-year warranty (versus the 10-year warranty that comes with the base model Plus). 
• Helix Plus Elite: The Elite mattress is even thicker at 16 inches. It comes with a GlacioTex cooling cover and a built-in 2-inch quilted topper. It also has a 15-year warranty.
• Helix Midnight: While this mattress isn’t designed specifically for higher-weight people, it may be an option for those who prefer a softer feel. This medium-firm mattress may be a good fit for side sleepers who need more pressure relief than a firm mattress can provide. 

Table 1, Compare Helix Plus against competitors as of 2024

	Helix Plus Visit Site	Plank Firm Visit Site	Titan Plus Visit Site	Brooklyn Bedding Signature Hybrid Visit Site
Price for Queen	$1,499	$1,332	$1,249	$1,332
Firmness	Medium-firm	Firm	Firm	Soft, medium, firm
Mattress type	Hybrid	Foam	Hybrid	Hybrid
White-glove delivery*	No	No	No	No

*Free delivery and setup of new mattress and removal of old mattress

Bottom line

When considering details like pressure relief, support, and comfort, we believe the Helix Plus is a good fit for higher-weight sleepers who weigh 250 pounds or more. 

Our Reviews Team scored the mattress an eight out of 10 for firmness, a 4.25 out of five for pressure relief, and a five out of five for bounce. The Helix Plus also offers better-than-average cooling abilities. 

The Helix Plus may not be the best fit for couples of very different weights, especially if the lighter- to average-weight person sleeps on their side, since the mattress’s firmness does not allow for enough pressure relief for the shoulders and hips. 

While it’s not the best mattress we’ve tested in terms of motion isolation, it may work for higher-weight couples who are looking for a mattress that provides strong support with enough responsiveness for ease of movement while sleeping. Visit our review of the best mattresses for couples to see what our mattress testers learned in the testing lab. 

Looking for more mattress recommendations? Check out our guides to the best mattresses for heavy people and the best mattresses overall. 

Questions? Email us at reviewsteam@ncoa.org.

Sources

1. Brinkman JE, et al. Physiology of Sleep. StatPearls. April 3, 2023. Found on the internet at https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK482512/
2. National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute. Why Is Sleep Important? March 24, 2022. Found on the internet at https://www.nhlbi.nih.gov/health/sleep/why-sleep-important 
3. NCOA Higher Weight Sleepers Survey. 500 respondents. Conducted using Pollfish. Launched June 2024.

Suzanne Gorovoy Medical Reviewer

Suzanne Gorovoy is a clinical psychologist, behavioral sleep medicine specialist, and member of the Sleep and Health Research Program at the University of Arizona College of Medicine. She received her graduate degree in School Psychology from Teachers College at Columbia University, her PhD in Clinical Psychology from Case Western Reserve University, and completed a postdoctoral fellowship in Behavioral Sleep Medicine at the University of Arizona College of Medicine.