To find the best bed frames, the WIRED Reviews team has put more than 35 to the test over the years. Our top pick is Thuma’s Classic Bed, but we know that a bed frame is a big investment that you’ll use every day, so we’ve also got options for different budgets and preferences. A bed frame can help improve the look of your room, but it’s also a crucial component of sleep hygiene and extending mattress longevity. I’ve rounded up the team’s favorites below, with prices reflecting queen-size frames where applicable.
Be sure to check out our other sleep guides, including the best mattresses, best hybrid mattresses, best Japanese joinery bed frames, best bedsheets, and best sleep gifts for more. And if you don’t want to upgrade your frame just yet, check out this advice on how to fix bed frame problems.
Updated May 2026: We’ve added new bed frames from Saatva, Ikea, Wayfair, and TempurPedic. We’ve also reformatted this guide, removed a few older picks, and checked for accuracy throughout.
Our Top Bed Frames
Thuma Classic Bed Frame
Read more
Thuma Signature Bed
Read more
DreamCloud Bamboo Platform Bed Frame
Read more
AmazonBasics Heavy Duty Bed Frame (18-inch)
Read more
Jump to Section
Best Bed Frame
WIRED
TIRED
- Price may be too high for some
I’ve owned the Thuma Classic Bed for five years, and it feels as good as new. You don’t need a single tool to assemble this solid wood bed frame. The company uses traditional Japanese joinery techniques, and it took me about 15 minutes to put the whole thing together. That means disassembly and reassembly when I had to move was so easy—there are just two thumb screws at the top and bottom edges of the frame, which you can hand-screw in once everything else is in place.
More surprising is how sturdy it is. I’ve gone through so many bed frames before the Thuma, and after a year or two, there’s usually a broken slat or bent metal rod here and there. Or the slats keep falling down, so you have to do that thing where you pull the mattress over your head as you try to shove them back in place (just me?). The Thuma doesn’t creak and never slides around. The foam Pillowboard is an additional expense, but it’s comfy. Thuma has since added a wood headboard, which is pricier, but that’s what I’ll probably upgrade to next, since it completes the look. The only downside is how expensive this whole bed frame is (the price has jumped since I first purchased it), but if it helps, the Thuma is made from repurposed wood, and it’s UL GreenGuard Gold Certified, meaning low chemical emissions. —Julian Chokkattu
Best Upholstered Bed Frame
WIRED
- Easy, tool-free assembly
- Solid and silent
TIRED
- Might be too pricey for some
Thuma made its name with a minimalist wooden bed (our top pick, above) with clean lines and a tool-free assembly process that’s no more complex than snapping together Lego bricks. The Signature was launched in February as the brand’s first fully upholstered bed. The Thuma Signature has the same Japanese wood joinery at its heart for easy assembly, but covers the frame in soft Italian felted wool or performance linen for a decidedly more posh experience. I’ve been testing the wool version for a few months. It took less than five minutes for me to assemble, and it’s very solid and dead silent, with no squeaking whatsoever. The plush headboard upholstery is pillow-soft, and my only problem with it is remembering not to just lay my head directly on it. Best of all, when it’s time to move, this bed pops apart in just a few minutes without any bolts or screws. —Martin Cizmar
Best Thuma Dupe
I really admire Japanese joinery bed frames, not just because of their minimalistic beauty but also their easy, tool-free setup. Trust me, we don’t want my clumsiness around sharp objects. Not all bed frames that follow this blueprint are of the same caliber, with some being far more stable than others, and the price point usually reflects that. DreamCloud’s bamboo Japanese joinery bed frame wasn’t just gorgeous, but outfitted with small details that make a big impact. These include tiny additional rods on each of the boards, located where they are stacked atop each other at the ends. The idea is to keep each of the rails that make up the frame even more secure than just the tension of the overall design. There are included foam blocks if you decide to throw in a headboard, so there’s no banging against the wall, either. Plus, I’ll never argue with the price tag, which is very within my budget. —Julia Forbes
Best Budget Bed Frame
AmazonBasics
Heavy Duty Bed Frame (18-inch)
WIRED
- Simple setup
- Room for storage underneath
TIRED
- Very basic
- No edge support
I was broker than broke when I got my first apartment more than a decade ago, and this cheap bed frame I bought from Amazon is still being circulated among my younger family members. It’s as simple as simple gets, but the steel construction means the frame is durable, and you don’t need to add a box spring. The 18-inch model leaves a cavernous space beneath the bed that can accommodate several tote-style storage containers—which could be a blessing or a curse depending on the usual state of your bedroom floor. Just keep in mind that there is no edge whatsoever. This thing is basically a table for your mattress, but it’ll get the job done.
Best Metal Bed Frame
WIRED
- Easy to move
- Sturdy
- Room for storage
TIRED
After years of building cheap bed frames that were never the same after I broke them down for a move, I switched to the Zinus Abel Metal Platform Bed. There’s a lot I love about this bed frame that I’ve now dragged to three different apartments in Southern California: It breaks down into a pile of metal rods (plus the two rectangle end pieces that don’t come apart), making it super easy to move, and it’s just as sturdy after rebuilding it multiple times. The only thing that didn’t survive the moves was the double-sided tape that held my mattress in place, but I don’t mind pushing the mattress back occasionally. It’s also high enough to have plenty of storage underneath—or cat tunnels, in my case. —Nena Farrell
Best Leather Bed Frame
Photograph: Louryn Strampe
Saatva
Siena Leather Bed Frame
WIRED
- White-glove delivery
- Beautiful
TIRED
- Slides around hardwood floors
- Awkward height
- Visible slats if you look closely
I’ve tested nearly a dozen different bed frames during my time leading this coverage area for the WIRED Reviews team, and the Saatva Siena is probably the prettiest and most elegant I’ve ever tried. The leather upholstery just makes it feel so grown-up. It’s sexy but not straight out of a dark romance dungeon. It’s a statement piece that blends in with my decor. I like the free in-room delivery and the rich smell of leather. However, while the frame itself is exceedingly stable, it does slide around on my hardwood floors (I’m planning on attaching some rubbery grips to the feet to remedy this). My main complaint is that you can see the slats of the frame when you’re close to the mattress. From a distance, it looks OK, but the white slats are so obvious up close, if you’re looking, that it takes away from the whole put-together effect for me. It’s also the perfect awkward height to attract dust bunnies that can be difficult to clean unless you move the bed to sweep or vacuum. Overall, these drawbacks are minor, and I still think this frame is worth your consideration. I’ll just cross my fingers that none of my Hinge dates look too closely.
Best Bed Frame for Kids
WIRED
- Convertible and adjustable
TIRED
- Needs partial disassembly to add legs
When the crib phase ends, this is the bed to get. I upgraded my son from a crib that converted into a toddler bed into this actual kids’ bed, and everyone is sleeping better for it. Nestig originally caught my eye for its adjustable crib, and the Nestig Wave Kids Bed shares similar design elements, with its wooden headboard and side panels. This bed frame can be used as either a Montessori-style floor bed or a standard twin, depending on whether you add the legs. It can accommodate a variety of twin-sized mattresses, and my son loves climbing into his bed each night and demanding I lie down with him while we read. The floor bed aspect is handy since I quietly roll out of the bed and onto the floor to escape his grip, and I like knowing that if my son rolled out of bed, he doesn’t have far to go. When it’s time to add the legs, I’ll have to take the frame apart partially, which is a small con but not a deal-breaker. —Nena Farrell
Best Low-Profile Bed Frame
Small bedroom? Mobility issues? Don’t want to block a window? You might want to consider a low-profile frame. They’re typically under 11 inches high as opposed to around 20 inches for a traditional frame, which means you may not get as much under-bed storage, but for many, the benefits outweigh this drawback. (The Cooper has about 7 inches of clearance off the floor.) I personally have been grappling with not wanting to block a large window with a headboard, and I was curious if a low-profile frame might be the answer. Sure enough, it was—this 38-inch-tall frame hits just 2 inches below the windowsill and looks fantastic. In fact, the minimalist, mid-century-inspired Cooper is practically indistinguishable from similar frames being sold by Pottery Barn and Crate and Barrel, but runs around $500 less.
With its angled legs and rounded corners, the Cooper definitely has Thuma vibes, but does not feature Japanese joinery construction. It requires some assembly; namely, joining the rails together and screwing down the slats. If you’d rather not deal with this, white-glove delivery is available for $199. For my test unit, it took the delivery driver about 20 minutes to assemble, and in the few months I’ve had it, there haven’t been any squeaks, creaks, or loosening hardware. Note that an 8- to 12-inch mattress is recommended. —Kat Merck
Best Platform Bed Frame
WIRED
- Simple assembly
- Slats are attached together
TIRED
If you prefer the look of fabric covers, the Awara Platform frame will be a good fit. It’s simple to assemble, and the pieces are easy to move. The spruce wooden slats are all attached together, so once you have the four frame pieces assembled, simply roll the slats out and they’ll attach via hook-and-loop closures to the frame itself. The frame’s height is nice, too. It’s elevated just enough to make your bed look refined, but not so much that you’ll end up losing things underneath your mattress. Though be aware, I did seem to stub my toes on this bed frame more than others I’ve tested.
Best Adjustable Bed Frame
Photograph: Molly Higgins
WIRED
- Adjustable
- App controls (plus a dedicated remote)
TIRED
This adjustable base is from the makers of one of our favorite mattresses overall and one of our favorite mattresses for side sleepers. It runs on electricity to move the hydraulic-like motors below, which raise both the head and foot area of the bed. It comes with a wireless Bluetooth-enabled remote with buttons to adjust the head and foot portion of the bed up and down, a built-in flashlight, and a button to bring the frame down to a flat level.
The Legget & Platt app can act as a remote as well—a huge sigh of relief for a generally scatterbrained person like myself who’s prone to losing things. In the app, you name your bed, make the adjustments, and save your favorite positions so you can easily go back to them. The bed frame is sleek—not bulky at all—and is around 13 inches off the ground, making extra storage space underneath that I didn’t have before. The legs are virtually invisible, although the zero-clearance design allows the base to be used without the legs if using platform bases.
