Mattress Guides

Full vs Queen: Which is Best For You?

While full and queen size mattresses may seem similar in appearance, the queen mattress has a bigger surface area, length, and width compared to the full mattress.

Still, bigger isn’t always better. When weighing mattress size options, consider your bedroom size and any other furniture in the room, because even if you want and can afford a large mattress, it might not fit.

In this article, we compare the queen vs full size mattress to give you a better idea of which bed is best for your home.

Queen vs Full Size Mattress Overview

What’s a Full Mattress?

Full mattresses are also called double beds, especially in Europe. A full mattress measures 54 inches wide and 75 inches long and has an overall surface area of 3975 inches. It’s the same length as a twin size mattress, but 16 inches wider so there’s extra room to stretch out.

A double size mattress is a good choice for growing kids, teenagers, and solo adult sleepers. It also fits better in tighter living spaces, such as a studio apartment, small bedroom, or guest room. Although full mattresses are wider than twin mattresses, they’re not quite wide enough to fit two adult sleepers, so we advise couples to look into larger bed sizes.

A non-standard variation of full size mattresses is a full XL mattress.

Full Mattress Pros

• Excellent choice for teens, children, and single adults
• Lightweight
• More affordable
• Fits in small bedrooms

Full Mattress Cons

• Doesn’t fit couples
• Can be too short for taller sleepers

What’s a Queen Mattress?

Queen mattresses are the most popular mattress size among both single adults and couples for their versatility and length. The queen mattress dimensions are 60 inches wide and 80 inches long with a surface area of 4800 square inches, nearly 1000 more than a full size mattress.

Compared to a full mattress, queen size mattresses are 5 inches longer, making them more suitable for taller sleepers or those who want more room to stretch their arms out. Also, the extra width provides combination sleepers room to shift around throughout the night.

Some non-standard variations of queen size mattresses include Olympic queens, split queens, and queen XLs.

Queen Mattress Pros

• Great for couples and single adults
• Provides extra legroom
• Works well for guest rooms

Queen Mattress Cons

• May be too small for some couples
• More expensive
• Heavy

Recommended Room Size

When buying any mattress size, measure how large your bedroom is before making a purchase to ensure the bed can fit in the room. Don’t forget to account for the bed frame, either, as it can add a few more inches to your bed’s dimensions. Even if you can afford a large bed, if you have limited bedroom space, the bed may not be a possibility for you.

As you’ve likely predicted, full mattresses fit smaller rooms than queen mattresses. A full mattress fits in any bedroom over 10 feet wide and 12 feet long, while you need at least a 10 by 12 feet room to fit a queen mattress.

There should be at least 2 feet of space between your bed and the walls, not including the side of the bed against the wall. This way, there’s enough space for you to walk around and fit any other furniture.

Price

Although both queen and full mattresses are readily available through practically any mattress retailer, queen mattresses will always cost more than full mattresses. This is because queen beds are comparatively much bigger and use more materials than full beds.

Queen mattresses cost between $300 to $5000 depending on the materials a brand uses. You can usually find a high-quality, comfortable queen mattress for around $1500 or less.

On the other hand, full mattresses range between $250 to $5000, however, you can find a nice full mattress for around $1000 or slightly less.

Comfort

Your comfort on either a queen or full bed depends on whether you share a bed and your size.

Full mattresses usually provide enough sleeping space for solo sleepers, both adults and anybody younger. However, they’re too narrow to suit two sleepers.

Consider this: if you share a full bed, which is only 54 inches wide, each sleeper would only get 27 inches of space to themselves. That’s slightly less width than you’d get on a crib mattress for infants and toddlers, as they’re usually between 27¼ to 28 inches wide.

Queen mattresses are suitable for both single sleepers and couples. After all, they’re the most popular mattress size for a reason.

Single sleepers may enjoy having a queen bed all to themselves, especially if they’re the type to toss and turn at night. Taller adults can also comfortably use a queen bed because of the extra leg room compared to a full bed, ensuring their feet won’t poke out.

Queen mattresses are the smallest size we recommend for couples since each person will get a comfortable 30 inches of extra space to themselves. Still, some couples, particularly those who stretch out quite a bit or are plus-size, may find queen mattresses a bit narrow for their needs. In this case, couples should look into a king or California king mattress.

Accessories

Finding pillows, duvets, sheets, and bed frames for both queen and full mattresses should be easy since the bed sizes are incredibly common. The main factor to consider when looking into accessories is the price.

As with mattress sizes, queen mattress accessories will always cost more due to the number of materials needed. You can still find affordable and high-quality bedding and blanket sets for both mattress sizes, but queen size items will always be a couple of dollars more than full size items.

FAQs

Do full size headboard work for queen beds?

No. Full beds and their accessories are much smaller than queen beds and accessories, so a full size headboard would be too narrow for a queen bed. It’s best to get matching accessories for your mattress size.

Do two twins make a queen?

No, two twins pushed together measure 76 inches wide and 75 inches long. This is 5 inches shorter and 16 inches wider than a standard queen size bed. This actually is the width of a king size mattress, but it’s too short to actually be considered a king bed.

While you can push two twins together if you wish, you may struggle to find suitable accessories to cover the two mattresses entirely since this isn’t a standard size.

It’s a better idea to push together two twin XL mattresses, as this is the equivalent of a standard king size or split king bed.

What does full/queen mean?

Some brands label comforters as full/queen that are meant to fit on a full and queen size mattress. Full/queen comforters are roughly 81-88 inches wide and 86-100 inches long and this wide of a range can be confusing.

Some full/queen comforters are too long for full beds, but too short for queen beds. It’s best to just buy the matching comforter size for your mattress to avoid ill-fitting accessories.

What is the best bed size for couples?

Couples should choose a queen mattress or larger. If you have a bigger bedroom or budget, a king mattress (76 by 80 inches) is arguably the best mattress for couples because each person has ample room for themselves. For taller couples or narrow bedrooms, a California king bed (72 by 84 inches) is ideal.

Should I get a full or twin bed?

We recommend twin mattresses for children, teens, or single adult sleepers who have limited living space or don’t tend to stretch out. If you need plenty of space and have a larger bedroom, we recommend getting at least a full bed for adults.

With these recommendations in mind, twin beds are more affordable than full beds, so depending on your budget, a twin bed may be the better option.

Which Mattress Size is Best For You?

For solo adults who have a big enough room, a queen mattress is the best bed size. Solo adult sleepers with a tighter budget, children, and teens should opt for a full size bed instead. While queen mattresses are bigger, they’re not always worth it for the hefty price difference.