---
title: "Mattress Firmness Scale"
description: "What a mattress firmness scale means, why each shop’s 1–10 rating differs, and how weight and position change firmness."
url: "https://bedguide.co.uk/glossary/firmness-scale/"
category: "glossary"
primary_entity: "mattress firmness scale"
date_published: 2026-10-21
date_modified: 2026-10-21
---

# Mattress Firmness Scale

> A mattress firmness scale rates how soft or firm a mattress feels, often from 1 to 10. Shops use their own scales, so a 6 at one shop can feel like a 7 at another. There is no UK standard. Your body weight and sleep position change how firm a mattress feels to you. Compare the build too.

**Definition.** A mattress firmness scale is a shop’s 1–10 rating of how soft or firm a mattress feels. There is no UK standard scale.

Also called: firmness rating, 1–10 firmness scale, mattress firmness chart.

Firmness describes feel, which mostly comes from the comfort layers and spring
tension together.

A topper can make a surface feel softer or firmer, but it cannot fix a worn-out
core.

Full guide: [mattress firmness scale: 1–10
chart](/mattresses/mattress-firmness-scale). Also: [firmness and sleep
position](/mattresses/firmness-and-sleep-position).

---

Source: https://bedguide.co.uk/glossary/firmness-scale/ · BedGuide — independent UK bed guide; paid links are labelled (see /how-we-make-money/). Facts checked against official sources where possible; see https://bedguide.co.uk/editorial-policy. Report an error: https://bedguide.co.uk/corrections.