Note: Novosbed is no longer available and has been replaced with Octave. Learn more about Octave or purchase your Octave mattress now.

Costco’s Novaform and Novosbed are two of the most well-known mattress brands in Canada, and both brands have built up a loyal Canadian customer base.

Novaform

Novaform has been making mattresses and other sleep-related products since 1997. Sold exclusively in Costco stores throughout North America, Novaform is a brand of Innocor Inc., a specialist foam manufacturer based in New Jersey, USA.  The most popular mattress in Novaform’s line-up, the Serafina Pearl, has been available since 2016 and has helped Costco enter the mattress retail space and provide sleep solutions to millions of shoppers every year.

Novosbed

GoodMorning.com released their first memory foam mattress, Novosbed, in 2009, making them one of the pioneers of the bed-in-a-box mattress industry. Their innovative culture soon went on to create the now universal idea of the ‘Sleep Trial,’ giving online mattress shoppers a way to bypass the traditional mattress store shopping experience and test out their new bed at home for as long as it actually takes to evaluate a mattress properly.

Delivery, Trial, Returns	Novaform (Costco)	Novosbed
Shipping cost:	Free shipping	Free shipping
Shipping time:	15–20 business days	3–10 days
Sleep trial length:	90 nights	120 nights
Return ease:	Return in store or arrange free pickup over the phone	Company picks up
Refund:	Yes, full refund	Yes, full refund
Additional fees:	No	No

Thanks to modern compression methods and the rising popularity of the bed-in-a-box, mattresses can now be shipped far more efficiently and conveniently than ever before. Customers no longer need to take a day off work to accept a delivery. Boxed beds are now delivered with the same convenience as most Amazon orders. Some bed-in-a-box companies even offer same-day delivery to certain areas.

Delivery

2021 update: This model of Novaform Serafina Pearl mattress is currently only available for sale in Canada.

Costco uses the FedEx and UPS Ground shipping service to deliver the Novaform Serafina Pearl mattress directly to customers’ doors across Canada. Shipping is free and takes between 15–20 business days for delivery. Unfortunately, Costco will not deliver mattresses to all remote locations in Canada.

Novosbed uses FedEx to deliver their mattresses directly to customers’ doors, and shipping is free throughout Canada and the United States. Customers can expect their new mattress to arrive within 3 to 10 business days following order confirmation.

Trial Period

Like many mattress companies, Costco and Novosbed both heavily promote their sleep trials. With a 120-night sleep trial, Novosbed has one of the longest sleep trials of all mattress brands. Costco offers a 90-night sleep trial for the Novaform, around one month less than Novosbed.

Returns and Additional Fees

If a customer wishes to return their Novaform or Novosbed mattress within the sleep trial period, each company will arrange to pick up their respective mattress and issue a full refund. There are no additional return or restocking fees for either the Novaform or Novosbed mattress.

Out of the Box	Novaform (Costco)	Novosbed
Delivered in a box:	Yes	Yes
Box dimensions:	20" x 23" x 40"	19" x 19" x 44"
Box opening:	Scissors required	Scissors required
Box/mattress fitting:	Loose	Tight
Protection layers:	5	2
Expansion time:	24 hours	3 minutes

Delivery Times & Opening the Box

Both the Costco Novaform and Novosbed mattresses arrived within the expected delivery times. Each product was well-protected with heavy-duty plastic to keep the mattress in good condition during shipping.

Both boxes were sealed with heavy-duty tape. Customers will definitely need scissors or a knife to open either box. To prevent potential harm to your new mattress, remember to be extra careful when using sharp objects to remove any packaging.

Setting up the Mattress

Once opened, each mattress is easy to remove from the box. We recommend a ‘tip-and-pull’ motion to slowly slide the mattress out from its cardboard container. Simply tip the box from a vertical position down onto its side, and then pull the lightweight box away from the bundled mattress. It’s most efficient to do this process in the room where you intend to use the mattress.

Both mattresses are protected with multiple layers of heavy-duty plastic – an inner layer to compress it in a vacuum seal, and outer layers to keep them rolled tightly in a cylinder shape.

Customers will need to unwrap the first layer in order to unroll the mattress, which will still be in its compressed form. Some helpful advice at this stage is to place the rolled up mattress onto the designated bed frame. Next, like the end of a roll of tape, find and peel back the outer layer of plastic. You can use the momentum of unrolling the compressed mattress along the bed frame to help remove the rest of this layer, which could be up to a few meters long. After completing this process, the mattress will be lying unrolled before you.

Expansion Time

Next, cut the final layer of plastic. The vacuum seal now broken, the mattress will quickly begin to decompress. Remove this final layer of plastic as the mattress expands to its full height. Novosbed reached full expansion in under five minutes, but the Novaform mattress took around a full 24 hours to decompress.

The Novaform Serafina Pearl and Novosbed are both combination foam mattresses. Multiple layers of foam work together to offer comfort and support.

Some of the other major differences between the Novaform and Novosbed mattresses are the different types of foams used for comfort, contouring, and pressure-point relief, not to mention the support layers for motion isolation and edge support. Each mattress contains comfort, transition, and support layers, and these layers vary slightly in height and density.

Also, each mattress also has a unique top cover which showcases the brand’s personality and design aesthetic. Top covers are sometimes removable. In this comparison, only Novosbed has a removable and machine-washable top cover.

Costco Novaform vs Novosbed Mattress Layers

Novaform Mattress Layers

The Novaform Serafina Pearl mattress contains three layers of foam. Like many of the memory foam mattresses on the market today, each layer of foam in the Novaform mattress works with the others to provide an overall level of comfort and support.

• First layer: 3 inches of ComfortLuxe® gel memory foam. This top layer is designed to stay cool enough to help regulate body temperature overnight. Foam density: Unspecified.
• Second layer: 3 inches of convoluted CustomWave™ foam. This “egg carton” transition foam provides an overall balance between the top and bottom layers, allowing hot air a passageway out through the sidewalls of the mattresses.
• Third layer: 8 inches of support foam. This thick bottom layer helps give the mattress its structure.

Of note: Unfortunately, the density information for the layers is not available on either the Costco or Novaform website.

Novosbed Mattress Layers

Novosbed mattress contains three layers of foam.

Novosbed Soft Mattress:

• First layer: 2 inch of premium airflow foam. This top layer allows for additional airflow, keeping heat from getting trapped near the surface. Foam density: 2 lbs/ft³.

• Second layer: 2 inches of plush serene memory foam. This additional comfort layer provides pressure-point relief and reduces motion transfer. Foam density: 2.5 lbs/ft³.

• Third layer: 7 inches of premium support foam. This durable bottom layer further eliminates motion transfer by distributing bodyweight and also helps the mattress maintain its structural integrity.

Novosbed Medium Mattress:

• First layer: 1 inch of premium airflow foam. This top layer allows for additional airflow, keeping heat from getting trapped near the surface. Foam density: 2.5 lbs/ft³.

• Second layer: 2 inches of high-density gel memory foam. This additional comfort layer provides pressure-point relief and reduces motion transfer. Foam density: 4 lbs/ft³.

• Third layer: 7 inches of premium support foam. This durable bottom layer further eliminates motion transfer by distributing bodyweight and also helps the mattress maintain its structural integrity.

Novosbed Firm Mattress:

• First layer: 1 inch of gel memory foam. This top layer allows for additional airflow, keeping heat from getting trapped near the surface. Foam density: 2.5 lbs/ft³.

• Second layer: 3 inches of high-density memory foam. This transition layer provides additional body contouring and pressure point relief. Foam density: 4 lbs/ft³.

• Third layer: 7 inches of premium support foam. This durable bottom layer further eliminates motion transfer by distributing bodyweight and also helps the mattress maintain its structural integrity.

Costco Novaform vs Novosbed Mattress Cover

Novaform Mattress Cover

The Novaform Serafina Pearl mattress has a 100% polyester top cover smartly decorated with quatrefoil patterns and button tufting. A rope border separates the quilted top cover from the grey, diamond-stitched sidewalls. Due likely to the compression process, the sidewall may bunch in certain sections, leaving creases. These creases should mostly disappear after the first few days, though a few may remain, as evidenced by the photos in this review article.

According to the product tag, the mattress cover is a blend of fabrics originating from Canada, but assembled in the United States:

Top cover: 100% polyester.
Side wall: 60% polyester; 40% polypropylene.
Bottom: 39% polyester; 29% rayon; 29% polyester; 3% aramid.

Mattress covers often include zippers for easy removable of the outer fabric. The cover of the Novaform Serafina Pearl is neither removable or machine washable. Therefore, the only option for cleaning this mattress is spot cleaning.

Novosbed Mattress Cover

This distinctive Novosbed cover is an expression of the luxury that lies beneath. The soft sleep surface is woven from a blend of stretch-knit polyester and Tencel®, while the lower side walls are covered with furniture-grade upholstery. This white and chambray-blue exterior is designed not only for an attractive, signature look, but also for functionality.

The top cover is machine washable, with simple cleaning instructions:

1. Zip off the upper portion of the cover;
2. Put in the washing machine on a gentle cycle;
3. Tumble-dry on low, or air dry.

Consumers are becoming more environmentally conscious when making purchases. Retailers both in and out of the mattress industry have been incorporating more eco-friendly and ethical policies when selling products and choosing suppliers. GoodMorning.com Inc. carried out a survey in February 2017, discovering that almost 50% of Canadians are willing to spend more money for more environmentally friendly products. Therefore, in every review on Mattress-Reviews.com, we will highlight each mattress company’s green philosophy, as well as how prominent their policies are on their websites.

Feel & Firmness	Novaform (Costco)	Novosbed
Firmness:	3.4 / 10	Soft: 3.2 / 10 Medium: 3.7 / 10 Firm: 5.1 / 10
Edge Support:	2.7 / 10	Soft: 4.7 / 10 Medium: 3.8 / 10 Firm: 5.8 / 10
Motion Isolation:	8.2 / 10	Soft: 7.3 / 10 Medium: 6.8 / 10 Firm: 6.8 / 10
Bounce:	1.4 / 10	Soft: 2 / 10 Medium: 2.3 / 10 Firm: 2.9 / 10

Feel & Firmness

According to the testing conducted by third-party engineers (commissioned by us), the firmness and feel of the Novaform and three Novosbeds vary significantly:

• The 14″ Novaform Serafina Pearl Medium we tested has a medium feel, bordering on medium-soft. It is rated at 3.4 / 10 on the firmness scale and has a bit of ‘hug.’
• The Novosbed soft mattress is rated at 3.2 / 10 on the firmness scale. The Novosbed soft mattress does have ‘hug.’
• The Novosbed medium mattress is rated at 3.7 / 10 on the firmness scale. The Novosbed medium mattress does have some ‘hug.’
• The Novosbed firm mattress is rated at 5.1 / 10 on the firmness scale. The Novosbed firm mattress does not have ‘hug.’

Edge Support

Foam mattresses are not known for their edge support; in fact, it is often one of the main issues customers have when moving from innerspring mattresses to foam. According to the testing conducted by third-party engineers (commissioned by us), the Novaform mattress and the three Novosbeds have dissimilar edge support ratings:

• The 14″ Novaform Serafina Pearl Medium mattress has below-average edge support. It is rated at 2.7 / 10 on the edge support scale.
• The Novosbed soft mattress has average edge support. It is rated at 4.7 / 10 on the edge support scale.
• The Novosbed medium mattress has average edge support. It is rated at 3.8 / 10 on the edge support scale.
• The Novosbed firm mattress has above-average edge support. It is rated at 5.8 / 10 on the edge support scale.

Motion Isolation

Motion isolation in foam mattresses is usually very good and one of the main reasons couples make the switch from innerspring to memory foam. According to the testing conducted by third-party engineers (commissioned by us), motion isolation scores for the Novaform and Novosbed mattresses are all above average:

• The 14″ Novaform Serafina Pearl Medium mattress has above-average motion isolation. It is rated at 8.2 / 10 on the motion isolation scale.
• The Novosbed soft mattress has above-average motion isolation. It is rated at 7.3 / 10 on the motion isolation scale.
• The Novosbed medium mattress has above-average motion isolation. It is rated at 6.8 / 10 on the motion isolation scale.
• The Novosbed firm mattress has above-average motion isolation. It is rated at 6.8 / 10 on the motion isolation scale.

Bounce

Due to the fact that motion isolation for foam mattresses is generally very good, bounce is generally very low. According to the testing conducted by third-party engineers (commissioned by us), the bounce ratings for the Novaform mattress and the Novosbed mattresses vary as follows:

• The 14″ Novaform Serafina Pearl Medium mattress has below-average bounce. It is rated at 1.4 / 10 on the bounce scale.
• The Novosbed soft mattress has below-average bounce. It is rated at 2 / 10 on the bounce scale.
• The Novosbed medium mattress has below-average bounce. It is rated at 2.3 / 10 on the bounce scale.
• The Novosbed firm mattress has below-average bounce. It is rated at 2.9 / 10 on the bounce scale.

Overview	Novaform (Costco)	Novosbed
Price (Queen):	$1,080 CAD	$999 USD $1,399 CAD
Available in:	Canada	USA, Canada
Made in:	USA	USA or Canada
Trial length:	90 nights	120 nights
Warranty:	20 years	15 years
Mattress height:	14"	11"
Number of layers:	3	3
Cover materials:	Polyester, polypropylene, rayon, aramid	Polyester, Tencel®
Machine washable:	No	Yes
Green policies:	No mention on the website	Zero-waste manufacturing; Tencel® textiles
Firmness	3.4 / 10	Soft: 3.2 / 10 Medium: 3.7 / 10 Firm: 5.1 / 10
Edge support:	2.7 / 10	Soft: 4.7 / 10 Medium: 3.8 / 10 Firm: 5.8 / 10
Motion isolation:	8.2 / 10	Soft: 7.3 / 10 Medium: 6.8 / 10 Firm: 6.8 / 10
Bounce:	1.4 / 10	Soft: 2 / 10 Medium: 2.3 / 10 Firm: 2.9 / 10

Remember, Mattress-Reviews.com is owned, operated, and paid for by GoodMorning.com Inc. and advertises the Octave, Douglas, Juno, Recore, Brunswick, Logan & Cove, Apollo, Cherry, and Podium brands. The following is strictly our competitive opinion:

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There are a few factors that immediately stand out after comparing Costco’s top-selling Novaform model and the three Novosbed mattresses. Each product in this Novaform vs Novosbed mattress review has a few similar features, especially with regards to comfort and support. They also each have a distinctive firmness and feel, level of edge support, level of motion isolation, and bounce.

What really pushes one brand ahead of the other are the multiple firmness options of Novosbed. Novosbed is Mattress-Reviews.com’s Top Pick for Premium Mattress under $1,500 CAD. Customers who choose to purchase a Novosbed over a Novaform mattress will enjoy a lengthier sleep trial.