The Ten Best Sofa Beds That Will Not Break Your Bank Account

You never know when you will need a sofa bed. Whether your grandparents or grandchildren are in town for a birthday, funeral, wedding or graduation or one of your college friends decided to visit; the best sofa bed is an absolute must if you do not have a guest house or bedroom to accommodate guests.

Sometimes, you may need a sofa bed because your apartment is so small you lack the space for both a bed and couch. Before you buy the most expensive sofa bed on the market thinking it must be the best, learn how to find the best sofa bed for your needs which will match your decor and fit your budget. This is especially important if the sofa bed will double as your sleeping bed.

Product FAQ

1. What Is a Sofa Bed?

A sofa bed is a couch or sofa which hides a metal frame and thin mattress underneath its seating cushions which can be opened up or unfolded to make a bed. This differs from a futon although sofa beds often use futon mattresses.

2. What Should You Consider When Choosing the Best Sofa Bed?

When looking for the best sofa bed, consider the space you have available. If you are living in a small apartment in a large, metropolitan area such as Los Angeles or New York City, the best sofa bed for your needs may be a fold-down sofa bed. Conventional pull-out designs are more comfortable but are not the best sofa bed for tighter living quarters.

3. What Types of Sofa Beds Are There?

Lift and pull sleeper sofas are typically found in futons where you lift the seat up to near vertical, releasing the lock, and pulling it down again to make up the bed. Folding sofa beds are designed for long-term, regular sleep use and come with memory foam or innerspring mattresses which are easily folded out from the base in two motions.

Frame sofa beds require you to pull the lower front panel forward which unfolds its 'A shaped' structure into a flat sleeping surface. It transforms back into the sofa via a cantilever system. The click clack sofa bed is converting by slightly pushing the back forward to unlatch the locking system after which it folds down to convert into a flat-bed. The corner sofa bed has an extra platform which pulls out from underneath the sleeper and pops up in alignment with the ottoman end.

4. Where Can You Buy It?

Local vendors sell different models and brands of sofa beds. You can purchase the best sofa bed from anywhere in the continental United States plus Alaska and Hawaii on Amazon for a lower price than at a big box store.

How We Reviewed

We considered many factors while making the list of the best sofa bed to buy in 2019. We first narrowed down our selection to affordable sofa beds which could be purchased on Amazon. Then, we considered the most likely uses for the best sofa bed. We looked for sofa beds with foam mattresses for those who would normally sit on the couch and air coil, memory foam and innerspring mattresses for those who would primarily use the sofa bed for sleeping.

We looked for universal, aesthetically appealing designs, sofa beds which were easily retracted or folded and considered that pull-out designs usually occupy more space than futons. Finally, we considered price and the durability of the sofa frame and upholstery, giving great weight to easy-to-clean materials with softer textures.

We read through thousands of product descriptions and reviews to determine the 15 best sofa beds. From there, we tested each of them to determine the best sofa bed for various situations.

Overall Price Range of This Product

You can purchase a sofa bed for around $149 or up to $1,800 or more. More expensive sofa beds come in standard mattress sizes so you can easily add a mattress pad if necessary. They are lighter, more portable and made of higher-quality materials such as kiln-dried hardwood frames rather than pine or other pliable woods. It will have smooth rather than sharp or rough edges which can snag, rip or tear blankets or the sofa bed's fabric. Less expensive sofa beds will have spring mattresses rather than memory foam or air-coil mattresses. They will also be much thinner and lie lower to the ground.

What We Reviewed

The Verdict

Not all of us live in the South or Midwest with acres of land and a guest house separate from our own home to accommodate guests. Sometimes, you need a sofa bed to give your guests a place to sleep if they drop by and you do not have a spare bed or mattress for them. Other times, people live in tiny homes or very small apartments and simply do not have the space for both a couch and bed.

The best sofa bed for children is the Milliard Tri-Fold foam folding mattress. It is durable, comfortable and for the price, the quality cannot be beat. We give it 5 out of 5 stars for women and children and 4 out of 5 stars for men as they will find it difficult to get on and off the sofa. Of the two high-end sofas, the Long Horn and the Ashley Furniture Signature Design, Ashley Furniture's line is the clear winner at 4.5 out of 5 stars, compared to the much more expensive Long Horn's 4.2 out of 5 stars.

Long Horn has been making quality furniture for over 45 years, but Ashley Furniture has been a market leader for over 70 years. They provide, durable, quality, comfortable furniture with great value for the price. No matter why you are looking for a sofa bed, rest assured you can find the best sofa bed for your needs on this list.