How we make money

Mattress Unboxed is free to use, and we intend to keep it that way. Our income comes from affiliate commission and a small number of clearly labelled paid placements.

Affiliate commission

Most of our links to retailers are affiliate links. If you click one and go on to buy, the retailer pays us a small commission. It costs you nothing extra: you pay exactly the same price you would have paid arriving at the retailer directly.

These links are marked as sponsored to search engines, and our affiliate relationship is disclosed across the site, not buried in a policy page.

What commission never changes

Our price tables are sorted by price. The cheapest retailer for a mattress is highlighted because it is the cheapest, not because of what it pays us. If a retailer paying us less, or nothing at all, has the best price, that is the price we show you.

Our verdicts and rankings are editorial. They are set by the process described in how we test, before commercial considerations enter the picture. No brand or retailer can buy a verdict or a ranking position.

Our discount judgements use real data. We assess deals against the price history we have recorded ourselves, not against inflated recommended retail prices. If a "half price" sale is the price it sells at all year, we will say so.

No pre-publication access. Brands and retailers do not see, approve or edit our content before it goes live.

Advertising and paid placements

We also carry a small number of clearly labelled paid placements alongside our affiliate income. Anything paid is labelled as such, in line with UK advertising and consumer protection law. Paid placements never appear inside our verdicts or price comparisons, and payment never buys a verdict or a recommendation.

If you are a brand or retailer who wants to work with us on those terms, contact us.

The honest summary

We earn money when you buy a mattress through our links. We earn nothing extra by steering you to the wrong mattress, and a site like ours only works long-term if you can come back and trust it. Our incentive is your good outcome. That alignment is the business model.