IKEA Morgedal Mattress Review
IKEA's foam mattress and the cheaper alternative to the pocket sprung Hovag, with the limitations that implies.
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Verdict
IKEA's foam mattress and the cheaper alternative to the pocket sprung Hovag. It is a budget foam mattress with the limitations that implies, sold with return terms far better than anything else at the price, in sizes that will not fit your UK bed.
Buy it if
You are buying an IKEA frame too, the budget is very tight, and it is for a spare room or a rental.
Avoid it if
It is going in a main bedroom, or you are replacing a mattress in an existing UK frame.
See the current IKEA offer
IKEA sells direct only. Check current trial and guarantee terms.
No code needed. The discount is applied automatically at checkout. Opening the site in a new tab.
IKEA on Amazon UK
IKEA does not sell through Amazon. Not a route for these.
No code needed. Prices on Amazon change frequently, so check the seller and the returns terms before you buy. Opening in a new tab.
| Specification | Detail |
|---|---|
| Type | Foam |
| Springs | None |
| Sizing | European dimensions, not UK |
| Guarantee | Long by category standards. Check current terms. |
| Foam density | Not published |
| Position | IKEA's budget foam option, below the pocket sprung Hovag |
The scores
Cheap foam with unusually good terms attached, and a sizing trap.
Very cheap, and the Hovag gives you pocket springs for not much more.
Budget foam with no published density and no spring core.
All foam, no named airflow structure.
No perimeter reinforcement.
Foam handles this reasonably, which is its one strength.
Among the most generous terms attached to any cheap mattress in Britain.
European sizes, not UK sizes
Measure before you go
A European king is 160 by 200 centimetres. A UK king is 150 by 200. A European double is 140 by 200 against a UK double at 135 by 190.
A European mattress in a UK frame either will not fit or will leave a gap, UK fitted sheets will be the wrong size, and a future UK replacement will not fit an IKEA frame.
Buy the frame and the mattress together, or do not buy the mattress.
Full dimensions in the UK mattress and bed sizes guide.
Spend the difference on the Hovag
The gap between IKEA's foam and pocket sprung mattresses is small in money and large in construction.
The Hovag is pocket sprung, so the springs respond individually rather than as a linked unit. That matters most if you share a bed, and it matters for durability, because foam develops body impressions in a way steel does not.
Foam density is the best predictor of how long a foam mattress holds its shape, and IKEA does not publish it. Neither does almost anyone else, which is why I treat an unstated density at a low price as a reason for caution rather than an unknown.
If your budget can stretch from the Morgedal to the Hovag, stretch it.
A correction worth making
Commonly repeated, and wrong
Foam mattresses at the cheapest end of the market are sold on depth and layer count, and the specification that actually predicts how long one lasts is foam density, measured in kilograms per cubic metre. Standard memory foam ranges from around 16 to 80, with decent comfort layers between 48 and 72. Almost no mainstream brand publishes it, because foam cost is dominated by density and it is the number that separates a mattress lasting ten years from one developing impressions in three.
Should you buy it?
Only for a spare room or a rental, only if the budget is genuinely very tight, and only if you are buying the frame too.
The Hovag gives you pocket springs for not much more and is the better purchase in almost every case. See the IKEA mattress review for the wider picture.
Questions people ask
What is foam density and why does it matter?
It is measured in kilograms per cubic metre and it is the best predictor of how long a foam mattress holds its shape. Standard memory foam runs from around 16 to 80, with decent comfort layers between 48 and 72. Almost no mainstream brand publishes it.
IKEA Morgedal or Hovag?
The Hovag, in almost every case. It is pocket sprung, so the springs respond individually rather than as a linked unit, which matters if you share a bed and matters for durability, since foam develops body impressions in a way steel does not.