Beds Like Sleep Number (Similar) – and Competition vs. Personal Comfort – 2024 Update

by adjustable beds, mattresses

If you’re looking for beds like Sleep number that are similar but cost less (and are sometimes better), this is absolutely the place to be.

I’ll be your industry insider for the day.

This is what we’ll go over:

  • Beds similar to Sleep Number – the ones that cost less but actually worth every cent
  • Get specific in the Personal Comfort vs. Sleep Number comparison – look at specific models, competition and alternatives
personal comfort bed a8 competition of sleep number i8

Last updated: 2024

Personal Comfort vs. Sleep Number – the backstory of a rivalry

In November 2017, the main Sleep Number competitor, Personal Comfort Beds, have won their second back-to-back lawsuit vs. Sleep Number.

The whole thing and it with Miller’s statement, “We were proud to show the jury and everyone in attendance the true difference in quality manufacturing, and it was great to have jurors approach me after the trial to and say our product was clearly better.”

The company describes their mattresses as “the last mattress you’ll ever need.” In this guide, we’ll analyze and review our top picks in 3 price ranges.

To put it simply, the lawsuit was about Sleep Number claiming that their competition is falsely advertising their beds by saying and they were “preferred over Sleep Number” and “upgraded versions” of the Sleep Number beds.

Craig Miller (President of American National Manufacturing) actually built 2 beds side by side (Personal Comfort A8 and Sleep Number i8) to prove that the advertising claims were not false.

Now, we have zero intention of getting into the whole thing beyond the facts of what happened.

That’s fow two reasons:

  1. Legal stuff
  2. It doesn’t help us choose you a bed today. This is the more important one and our main goal today.

The guide on beds like Sleep Number was long overdue

We had requests to analyze our top picks among Sleep Number competition since we first started reviewing adjustable airbeds (years ago).

So, before we even get to specific products, we’d like to stress 2 things:

  1. We did not receive any free products for this guide
  2. This guide is a result of our readers asking us to recommend beds like Sleep Number, but at a lower price

With that out of the way, let’s get back to our work, list our picks and analyze them top to bottom.

Lower price range
Personal Comfort A2
(Bed similar to Sleep Number C2)

personal comfort bed a2

Fact sheet:

  • dimensions – 80 x 60 inches (Queen)
  • thickness – 8 inches
  • warranty – 25 years
  • weight – 65 LBS
  • made in – USA, FDA registered facility
  • shipping – free

At the time of the last update to this guide, the Personal Comfort A2 was significantly less expensive than the Sleep Number C2.

Even though it’s their basic model, the Personal Comfort A2 features most of the advantages that make the adjustable beds tick.

The number of firmness settings is 45 and all foam used is guaranteed to meet the strictest standards set by CertiPUR-US.

controllers of personal comfort bed a2

Who is it for?

At a lower price range that most classic mattresses these days, the Personal Comfort A2 will be the choice of people who want to enjoy the luxury of an adjustable airbed without breaking the bank.

The C2 is part of the Classic Series. Beds from the series cost anywhere from 2 to 6 times less than those with more bells and whistles (like using your phone to control the firmness of the bed).

The 3 main features one should look for in a good adjustable bed are there:

  1. Two zone firmness technology – you can set the firmness of the two halves of the bed to different levels
  2. High number of firmness presets – 45
  3. Solid warranty – 25 years

Most importantly, even in this price range, Personal Comfort offers a 120 nights of risk-free trial to try out the bed and see if it’s right for you.

You can read what owners are sharing about it & check the current price by clicking one of the buttons below.

 
read more on Amazon here

Bed like Sleep Number in the medium price range
Personal Comfort A5
(similar to Sleep Number P5)

The Personal Comfort A5 is a bed similar to the Sleep Number P5. The price tage is much lower – the difference in prices is between 30 and 50% (at the moment of completing this guide).

It’s part of the Advanced Series.

The mattress is 3 inches thicker than the basic C2 model. As you go up the price scale of the Personal Comfort beds, the A5 is the first model to offer their patented panel cover.

The zippered cover allows you to customize your bed even further by adding or removing layers of foam simply by unzipping it.

personal comfort number bed a5
personal comfort a5 bluetooth controls

It’s one of the few models (A5 to A10) that has a reversible top panel cover as one its prominent feature.

The company calls it “seasonal” because the two sides offer different levels of breathability – more heat retention in the winter & more breathability for the summers.

They also recommend flipping once every six months to minimize the changes of the top surface. It might be worth mentioning that, since it’s removable, you can have it dry cleaned.

The A5 comes in Queen and King size – you can see what owners are saying about the bed by following the links below.

button read more here

On the higher-end of the price scale
Personal Comfort A8
competition to Sleep Number i8

It’s the high-end of the price range where the savings Sleep Number beds are the most significant, not just in the overall cost but in terms of percentages, too.

The A8 comes with pretty much every luxury that makes an adjustable bed special, from the dual control the firmness, customizable padding, adjustable/reversible top panel to the Bluetooth controls (using your phone).

The A8 belongs to the Elegance Series and comes as a Queen, King & and Split King.

The Split King allows you to adjust the positions and inclination of the two parts of the bed. It’s sleep luxury embodied.

You can read owner experiences and compare prices by following the links below.

personal comfort a8 split king competition to sleep number i8
button read more here

Beds like Sleep Number – reference info more details and other competitors

In the section below, we’ll go a bit more in-depth and explain what each of the features of Personal Comfort Beds means for the owners. So, let’s see what the mattresses of the main Sleep Number competition are “made of”.

First of all, the company makes a special point and stresses the fact that they are the only ones in the industry to have their products manufactured by medical device company registered with the FDA and the beds manufactured in the USA.

The hand controller of the Sleep Number competitor

The currently used generation III of hand controllers is based on touch screen technology and interface. The generation III made the firmness control more intuitive since it’s not just numbers but includes actual visualization of the firmness.

Each controller comes in its own protective encasement and allows the user to select two settings (per controller) and memorize them. What this means for the user is that, once you find your sweet spot, you can memorize the settings without meddling with the presets every time.

This typically involves a bit of experimentation on your side, but once you find that sweet spot, it’s all worth it.

controller settings of the bed
Calibration

The air control unit currently used in Personal Comfort beds is also generation III. The advanced calibration makes the adjustments easier and the pressure readouts more accurate.

This might sound complicated but, for the user, it means that the controls adjust to the mattress elevation and size, simplifying the setup process.Two-zone comfort

Each of the Personal Comfort Beds that comes in either Queen King or California King size features two-zone personalization.

To put it simply, this means that all the settings available can be personalized for the two halves of the bed.

Lifetime of interchangeable sections

If you had your Personal Comfort bed for, say, five years and you decide that you want to upgrade or downgrade and interchangeable parts (like the top cover, the center panel, comfort layers or the unit of the air control) you can do so at your convenience.

Replaceable parts

Each component can be replaced, which means that you can “freshen up” your bed over the years by changing some of them (from the foam layers to the sides).

It’s an option you might use if you want to bring back the “feel of a new mattress.”

Going Series up

The beds are designed so that you’re not “stuck” with the one you got.

For example, if you got the Classic Series, you can always upgrade to some of the models that belong to the Elegance Series or even add an adjustable bed base.

layers of personal comfort number bed mattress
Top panel

We already mentioned that the models in the range of A5 to A10 feature a reversible top panel cover patented by the company. Let’s take a moment here to explain what it is.

The two sides are made of different materials – one more suitable for the winter and the other for the summer, which is why they call it a “seasonal cover.”

One of the materials is more breathable while the other traps more of your body temperature, but it’s not just about heat retention.

To maximize the lifespan of the surface, the company recommends flipping it twice a year.

top panel of the number bed
The Poly foam

Any of the models starting from A3 uses some type of high-quality Polyurethane foam (either as one solid piece or convoluted).

The foam has contouring properties, meaning that it adjusts to the body type of the sleeper.

No risk of air leaks

The air chambers are made of vulcanized rubber (24-gauge) and are practically impenetrable.

The memory foam

Memory foam used for the Personal Comfort beds is trademarked by the company as ThermaPhase Gel™.

The main difference compared to other types of memory foam is that the structure is open-cell, which distributes heat much more efficiently.

Combined with the polyurethane foam, it’s designed to minimize any pressure points and improve your circulation.

The foam adheres to the strictest standards of CertiPUR-US® for safety and durability.

The hoses

The hoses that conduct the air from the control unit to the chambers are reinforced to be kink-resistant. It ensures that the air supply is uniform.

This is especially important if you have a split model since the movement of the mattress could compromise the hoses and interfere with the air supply.

The rail system

With all the sections of foam that are reversible and can move, it’s important to have a reliable rail system to keep it all tightly in place.

Starting from A4, each of the beds features “Wrapped Rails” that do just that.

Other Sleep number competitors

Main Sleep number competitors are: Personal Comfort, Saatva, Sealy, and Simmons Bedding.

Final thoughts & future updates

Since we first started our mattress review program, thesleepstudies.com has adhered to a strict objectivity policy. As we mentioned at the beginning, we did not receive any free products for this guide that might cast a shadow over that policy.

This guide was meant to take an objective look at the main Sleep Number competition – Personal Comfort Beds and point out some advantages and shortcomings.

We hope that we did that.

To make the information presented here fresh and relevant at all times, we update this guide on 6-month basis.

You can share any questions or dilemmas in the comment section or by directly emailing us, we respond to all correspondence within 24 hours. If it’s in within our area of expertise, we’ll do our best to help.

The Sleep Studies Team

Author

  • Bob Ozment

    Bob has been testing and writing about all things sleep (and especially blankets, air mattresses and folding beds), for 8+ years now. before that, he worked as a Quality Assurance Manager with one of the bigger names in the sleep industry. He holds a masters degree Statistics, Actuarial & Data Sciences from the central Michigan University at Mount Pleasant. He's one of the people who designs our producing testing and statistical models. He’s a stomach sleeper, but nobody’s perfect.