Best Budget Friendly: Sunbeam Restful Quilted Heated Mattress Pad

Most folks know that heated blankets are a good way to keep warm on a cold night—but the secret to staying more toasty is using a heated mattress pad.

Why?

When you heat from below, more heat stays trapped between the person and the blanket. Heated blankets, on the other hand, lose some heat to the room—that makes them less comfortable and efficient.

So what are the best heated mattress pads, king size? Here at the home ranch in Colorado it gets mighty cold. So we tried out several brands. And then we asked our parent readers for their favorites.

For the best budget-friendly heated mattress pad, we like this Sunbeam model. No, it isn’t as plush as other models—but it does the trick (heats up quickly and stays toasty warm), at a price that doesn’t break the bank.

What We Liked

• Quickly warms up.

• Auto shut-off after 10 hours.

• Machine washable.

• Dual controls—dial the heat differently on each side of the pad.

• 10 heat settings.

What Needs Work

• Thin pad so wires may be noticeable. This wasn’t an issue for our tests, but some folks find the wires uncomfortable. 

• Hard to adjust the controls at night in the dark. While the heat setting is lit on the control, the controls themselves are not lighted—as a result, it is hard to adjust the setting in the dark.

• No pre-heat function. If you are willing to spend extra, that’s a nice feature.

Best California King: California King Size Zoned Electric Heated Mattress Pad

If you have a California king-sized bed, you probably realize you need a different sized heated mattress pad—California kings are about 4″ longer than regular King beds . . . and, oddly, they are 4″ narrower. Not every heated mattress pad makers does a California king-size, so we had our work cut out for us when we started the research on this topic.

In the end, we liked this model by Reaks best. Excellent quality with soft, even heat.

What We Liked

• Even heat distribution.

• Timer is super easy to use with auto shut-off from 1-12 hours.

• Backlit controls.

• Super comfy fabric.

What Needs Work

• No pre-heat function.

• Pricey.

• Plug at bottom can be irritating, say taller users.

Best Plush Cover: HYLEORY Heated Mattress Pad King

One of the biggest complaints about heated mattress pads are the heating elements themselves—if the pad is too thin, you can feel the wires when you lie on the pad. Hence, when we looked for the best bets in this category, we mostly gravitated towards pads that had the most, well, padding. This model by Hyleory came out tops in our plushness tests—and it heats quickly.

What We Liked

• Very plush pad.

• Easy to clean.

• Affordable.

• Eight heat settings including preheat.

• Machine washable.

What Needs Work

• Controller cord is too short.

• Controller doesn’t lie flat on bedside table.

Best Tried & True Brand: Degrees of Comfort Dual Control Heated Mattress Pad

When we asked our parent readers for their favorite heated mattress pads, this brand came up time and time again: Degrees of Comfort. And we would agree, this heated mattress pad is smartly designed and super comfortable.

What We Liked

• Long cable cord for controllers.

• Preheat function.

• Plush cover.

• Five heat settings are more than enough.

What Needs Work

• Error codes on controllers can be puzzling.

• Instructions could be more detailed.

About the Authors

Denise & Alan Fields are consumer advocates and best-selling authors. The Fields have authored 12 books with three million copies in print, including the best-selling guide to baby gear, Baby Bargains.

The Fields have been featured and quoted in the New York Times, Wall Street Journal and Los Angeles Times.

As consumer products experts, the Fields have been guests on the NBC Today Show, Good Morning America and ABC’s 20/20.

How We Pick Products To Recommend

We often turn to our readers (3 million strong!) to find products to recommend. We ask our parent readers for their favorites and consider their real-world experiences in our recommendations.

When we test a product, we always purchase it with our own monies. We do not take free samples, as we believe that compromises our independence.

We also fact check manufacturer information with our own measurements. If a maker claims a product weighs X pounds, we will weigh it to make sure. If the battery life is supposed to be six hours, we will see how it stands up in the real world.

In some cases, we will do interviews with experts in the field to get additional feedback on products.

To get hands-on time with products, we regularly meet one-on-one with gear companies and even tour manufacturing facilities. (When we do this, we pay our own travel expenses).

Why Trust Us

We’ve been rating and reviewing products for the home and families since 1994. We do extensive research, evaluating products with an eye toward quality, ease of use and affordability.

We make our living from affiliate commissions, but we always recommend what we think are the best bets for our readers (not the ones that are the most expensive). We are always looking for products that offer the best bang for the buck.

Our independence is a key reason why we have been doing this so long. As we mentioned above, when we purchase a product for hands-on testing, we do so with our own money.

Here’s another key point: we don’t take money from the brands we review. No free samples, no sponsors, no “partnerships.” Our work is 100% reader-supported!