Saatva Rx Mattress Review 2024: A Luxury Bed Designed for People With Chronic Health Conditions

If you struggle with back or joint pain pain due to a chronic health condition, getting a comfortable night’s sleep can be challenging. But Saatva has a unique option that may offer the added support you need to sleep more comfortably. The Saatva Rx is a targeted offering specifically designed for those experiencing chronic health conditions such as sciatica, scoliosis and arthritis, which helps to differentiate it from other Saatva products. This can offer meaningful pressure relief but also means it might not suit the average mattress shopper. In this review, we’ll run through the mattress’ specialized design and why it might benefit some sleepers over others. 

Read more: Best Mattresses for Sciatica

First impressions of the Saatva Rx mattress

The Saatva Rx mattress was delivered full-size and expanded, not in a box. This means we didn’t have to go through the usual process of taking the mattress out of the box. Even though unboxing a bed is fun most of the time, not doing so is a welcome change of pace. This also means that if you decide to get one for yourself, you won’t have to deal with the off-gassing process, which is where the bed takes about a day to completely inflate, firm up and dissipate odor. 

The Saatva Rx definitely looks like a Saatva mattress. It has a gold color with an organic cotton cover, and the Saatva Rx has a quilted pillow top — with a similar design to the one found on the Loom & Leaf Memory Foam Mattress — and just looks comfortable and inviting. 

When I first laid down on it, I found it immediately comfortable, and the zoned support design was noticeable right off the bat, which isn’t always the case with other mattresses that have this feature.

Video: Saatva Rx mattress review

Watch me review the Saatva Rx mattress.

Construction and feel

The Saatva Rx mattress has some unique construction elements that we don’t usually see in most beds we test. It has six distinct layers, not counting the cover. 

The bottommost layer is a thin layer of support foam. This layer is pretty inconsequential because you won’t actually feel it while sleeping on the mattress. This layer exists only to provide the 8-inch-thick layer of pocketed coils with a stable foundation. These coils are reinforced around the perimeter of the mattress to improve the edge support, which we’ll cover a bit later. 

The next layer is where the Saata Rx gets interesting. The coils are actually tipped with two additional inches of foam, which Saatva calls the “Rx foam module.” I’ve only encountered one other mattress that uses foam-topped coils like this on the Purple Restore Premier mattress. 

This design element is meant to provide more pinpoint pressure relief and enhance the body contouring quality of the Saatva Rx. 

Above this foam layer is a 1-inch-thick layer of micro coils, which is again something we don’t see often. These coils are much more responsive than foam but also somehow mimic the feel of memory foam with a sink-in, body-conforming quality. When I first started testing the bed, I actually thought it had a memory-foam layer in its construction, but I was really feeling micro coils.

The micro coil layer is then encased with a 2.75-inch-thick layer of “high-density foam,” which essentially functions as the main comfort layer of the mattress. 

Then, in the center third of the mattress, there’s a thin layer of memory foam that acts as a lumbar support layer that strongly contributes to the zoned support design of the mattress.

This bed has some atypical design elements that add up to a somewhat atypical feel. I think it resembles the classic pillow top, innerspring type feel of the Saatva Classic, with a very noticeable hint of memory foam, despite not using any memory foam (aside from the thin layer in the center). 

I think most sleepers will find this bed to be comfortable and accommodating. 

Zoned support design

The Saatva Rx has a zoned support construction, which is what I expected given the intended sleeper Saatva has in mind. It is pretty common in more luxurious mattresses, and the whole idea is that the bed is divided into separate sections with a subtle difference in firmness to provide sleepers with more spinal alignment.

Usually, the center third of the bed is the firmest part in a bed with zoned support, but on the Saatva Rx, it almost feels like the center is softer, like zoned support in reverse. Everyone on the team agreed that the center third felt somewhat soft with a lot of pressure relief, but we also agreed that it felt supportive at the same time. 

Your mileage may vary on the efficacy of the spinal alignment from any zoned support design, but it’s definitely there on the Saatva Rx, and we generally think it’s a nice feature to have.

Saatva Rx firmness and sleeper types

In our testing, we found the Saatva Rx to have roughly a medium firmness rating, leaning toward the softer side of medium or about a 4 or 5 out of 10. 

This means it should work pretty well for all sleeper types: back, stomach, side and combination. Although, the extra softness we noted in the Saatva Rx makes it probably a bit more appropriate for side sleepers, and Saatva even says on its website that this bed is ideal for side sleepers. 

Unlike many of the other beds from Saatva, the Rx mattress comes in only one firmness option as opposed to two or three. This isn’t an issue for most sleepers, only people looking for an especially firm bed. You won’t get that with the Saatva Rx, but you can find firm options with the Saatva Classic, The Loom & Leaf and the Saatva HD.

Saatva Rx performance

Edge support

I mentioned earlier in the construction section that the outer perimeter of the Saatva Rx has reinforced coils. I didn’t feel any roll-off sensation when I put my body weight along the edge of the mattress, which means the edge support is quite good.

Having solid edge support is especially important for couples sharing a mattress because you might end up sleeping near the perimeter of the bed for various reasons.

Motion isolation

If waking up in the middle of the night because your partner tosses and turns a lot, having a mattress that isolates cross-mattress motion well is important.

We found that the motion isolation on the Saatva Rx was quite good for a coil mattress. The micro coil layer and the foam-tipped coils seem to enhance the motion isolation in comparison to other hybrid beds. When compared to mattresses with an all-foam construction; however, it can’t quite compete. 

I think only the lightest of light sleepers would have problems waking up, thanks to their partner tossing and turning on the Saatva Rx.

Temperature regulation

The Saatva Rx doesn’t have any active cooling elements like a phase-change material woven into the cover, but thanks to the nature of the materials, it should help you sleep without warming up too much.

If you sleep hot, it probably has a lot more to do with your sleeping environment than your mattress, but if you want an additional edge to sleep cool, check out our best cooling beds list.

Saatva Rx mattress policies

Free shipping (white glove delivery)

Unlike most online mattresses that are rolled up and packaged tightly in plastic and then shipped to you in a large box, Saatva ships all of its beds fully expanded with in-home setup and removal of your old mattress (if you choose). This is often called “white glove delivery.”

This can be especially nice if you don’t want to deal with unboxing a mattress, which isn’t too difficult, but if you struggle to lift things, it can be a hassle. The bigger hassle is getting rid of your old bed, which can actually cost a bit of money to dispose of a mattress, and with any mattress from Saatva, you won’t have to deal with it.

365-night trial

All Saatva mattresses come with an extra-long trial period of 365 nights in comparison to the usual standard of 100 nights. So you have quite a while to really test it out and see if you like it. A long trial period is especially important for a mattress that is designed to alleviate chronic pain because you can really determine if it helps or not.

Keep in mind that it can take a month or longer for your body to adjust to a new mattress, no matter how well-suited it is to your sleeping preferences. The trial period begins the day the mattress is delivered, not when you actually start sleeping on it.

Return policy

At any point after the first 30 nights post-delivery you decide the Saatva Rx mattress isn’t for you for any reason, you can return it and get a refund. You just contact the company and it will coordinate with a third party to pick up the mattress for you and then the bed is usually donated. 

There’s a $99 fee to return any mattress from Saatva. It used to be one of the only brands that has a return fee, but more and more online brands now have a similar fee.

Warranty

All Saatva mattresses are backed by a Lifetime warranty, which is above and beyond the usual online mattress standard of ten years.

Like pretty much any warranty that lasts longer than 10 years, this warranty is tiered and offers more protection in the first 10 years in comparison to the years after, but a lifetime warranty does mean that Saatva is really confident in its mattresses.

Saatva Rx pricing

There’s no getting around the fact that the Saatva Rx is an expensive mattress. Given its specialized design, this is no surprise. Beds like this are generally at a higher price than regular online beds. Saatva will usually offer some kind of discount on all of their beds throughout the year, and you can expect to save a little bit of money off the retail price. However, even discounted, the Saatva Rx is in the luxurious price tier.

Make sure you check out our mattress deals page for the most up-to-date pricing and discounts on the Spartan or any other bed you are interested in.

Final verdict

The Saatva Rx is a very specialized mattress for a specific type of person. Thanks to its unique design, it’s meant to help people deal with chronic pain, and if you don’t have chronic pain of some kind, then the Saatva Rx probably won’t interest you very much, mostly because of its high price point. If you’re looking for a luxurious and supportive hybrid, I would recommend looking at the Saatva Classic mattress first.

If chronic back or joint pain is something you deal with, then I see the Saatva Rx being a compelling option. It has some of the most noticeable zoned support designs we’ve ever seen, and it’s also endorsed by the Congress of Chiropractic State Association for its ability to help alleviate pain. Plus, the generous set of policies provided by Saatva means you can test it for a very long time to see if it actually helps you, and you don’t have to do any of the heavy lifting to set up the mattress. 

You might like the Saatva Rx mattress if:

• You have chronic back or joint pain and want a mattress that may help
• You have don’t want to deal with unboxing a mattress
• You are interested an accommodating hybrid mattress feel
• You are seeking a hybrid mattress

You might not like the Saatva Rx mattress if:

• You want an especially firm bed
• You want a strict memory-foam feel 
• You are shopping with a strict budget
• You are seeking an all-foam mattress

Other mattresses from Saatva

Saatva Classic: This is one of our all-time favorite mattresses, and we put it on many of our best lists for its comfort, versatility and price. It comes in three different firmness levels that work for most sleepers. It uses two layers of coils (similar to the Saatva Rx), so it is plenty supportive, and it has an accommodating and traditional pillow-top feel. There’s just a lot of things to like about the Saatva Classic.

Loom & Leaf: This is the premium memory-foam mattress option from Saatva. It doesn’t feature any coils, and instead uses dense foam for support and two different layers of memory foam as the primary comfort layers. The luxurious quilted cover is filled with a more responsive type of foam, so it has more of a responsive memory-foam feel overall. Loom & Leaf also comes in two different firmness levels that lean toward the firm end of the spectrum.

Saatva HD: This is essentially a more supportive and more durable version of the Saatva Classic mattress that is specifically designed for the needs of heavier folks. Instead of a second coil layer, the Saatva HD features a layer of natural latex foam, which is breathable, durable and bouncy. 

How does the Saatva Rx mattress compare to similar mattresses?

Saatva Rx vs. Casper Wave Hybrid

The Casper Wave Hybrid features an advanced zoned support design, and has a similar firmness profile and a similar price point when compared to the Saatva Rx. The Casper Wave Hybrid also features optional “Snow Technology” to make it sleep a bit cooler for an additional cost. The primary difference between the two is the Saatva Rx has more of a pillow top feel, and the Casper Wave has a flat, neutral hybrid feel. 

The Saatva Rx also has a much longer trial period, a full year compared with 100 nights, which I think is compelling for a mattress that is specifically designed to alleviate chronic pain.

Saatva Rx vs. Leesa Legend

The Leesa Legend mattress is less explicitly designed to help with chronic pain, but it has quite a few design elements similar to the Saatva Rx. The Leesa Legend used micro coils to achieve its zoned support design, with the coils being on the outer thirds and a firmer foam found in the center third of the bed. These beds also have similar firmness profiles, with the Leesa Legend being slightly softer and geared toward side sleepers.