Ecosa Vs Emma in this mattress showdown, I compare the biggest international brand in our New Zealand market (Ecosa) with the newest mattress in a box to hit our shores (Emma – a hugely popular brand in the UK and Australia). Both are mattresses in a box with a firmer feel (Emma is a bit softer than Ecosa), but that’s about where the similarities end: these mattresses are quite different to each other, and they feel very different to lie on. If you’re looking for a firm mattress in a box, you’ll want to read this comparison to make the right choice for your needs.
Spoiler alert: my favourite of these two is Emma. Get more Emma details here.
All your questions are answered here, along with detailed comparisons of their construction, prices, and feel. Here’s a general overview to get started:
| Ecosa | Emma | |
|---|---|---|
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| Price | $850 - $1550 (Regular Discounts Available) | $779 - $1199 (click on any of my links to see awesome bundle deals from Emma) |
| What Do They Make? | One Mattress Range Of Bedding | One Mattress Pillow Mattress Protector Mattress Topper |
| Construction | 3 Foam Layers, Top Two Are Interchangeable | 2 Foam Layers, Zoned Core |
| Firmness | 7 - 8 Out Of 10, Firmest In The NZ Market | 6 -7: Medium Firm With A Bouncy Feel |
| Sleep Trial | 100 Nights | 100 Nights |
| Warranty | 15 Years | 10 Years |
| New Zealand Owned? | No - Australian | No - German |
| Made In New Zealand? | No - China | No - China |
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Ecosa Vs Emma: Similarities
There are some similarities between Ecosa and Emma, but they’re fewer than you might expect:
- Both are around 25cm high
- Similar price points (Emma is slightly cheaper, and actually wins massively on the value front if you consider their bundle deals that get you pillows, protectors, and toppers with your mattress)
- Both are overseas owned companies, making their mattresses off-shore
- Both offer a 100 night sleep trial and a 10 year warranty
Differences
There are more differences than similarities between these two:
- Ecosa is Australian owned, Emma is German owned
- Ecosa has a “flat” feel while Emma has a “bouncy” feel (in fact, Emma is the bounciest of all the mattress in a box brands I have experienced)
- Ecosa has interchangeable layers inside it’s mattress to adjust the firmness (but they’re all pretty firm no matter what you do). Emma comes in one configuration and the foam composition is totally different (more details below)
- Ecosa has two removable covers. As well as the breathable knit outer, there’s also a waterproof inner cover. Ecosa is the only mattress I’ve seen offering this feature
- Emma has the easier care cover, with the handy zip that allows you to remove the top portion of the cover on its own – which is something I’ve only seen on Tempur mattresses, which are at least three times the price of Emma!
Close-Up On Their Construction
Ecosa:
Ecosa is a 25 cm high mattress with 3 internal layers. This is pretty much standard across many mattresses in boxes,both here and internationally. One of the things that really drew us to the Ecosa mattress when we were deciding what to purchase was the fact that you can adjust the firmness level by changing around the layers inside the mattress. This clever design allows Ecosa to make just the one mattress to suit different people. However, even with the softer layer at the top it’s still pretty firm.
Cover:
As mentioned earlier, Ecosa has two covers on their mattress. Ecosa might be the only brand I’ve researched (both here at home and internationally) that has this.
- Removable outer cover made of breathable stretch knit
- The removable, waterproof and dust mite repelling inner cover (also removable so you can switch the mattress layers around as desired)
Foam Layers:
The first two layers are your comfort foams.The third layer is the support core layer. You can switch around all of the layers and have any one of them at the top of the mattress as your sleep surface. Again, Ecosa is the only mattress I’ve seen with this adjustable design.
- The blue layer is named “G-7”, and is a gel memory foam. Gel memory foam is known for its cooling properties. This layer is 3cm thick. Keep this layer on the top of the mattress for the “softest” feel this mattress can give you (remember, it’s not soft! It’s still very firm to me!). This is how we have our own Ecosa mattress configured.
- The white layer is a memory foam that Ecosa have designed themselves. Called Eco-Tex, this open cell foam is designed to mimic the feel of latex (which is known for it’s cooling, durability, and bounce). This layer is 4cm thick, which means the two comfort layers combined make up 7cm of the 25cm total. Put the white layer on the top of your mattress to give it an even firmer feel!
- The largest section of the mattress is the high density support foam, made from plant based polyurethane. It makes up about 18cm of the mattress height. This layer is what you would put at the top of the mattress if you wanted it to feel like a rock. Ecosa is actually the first company I’ve seen suggesting you sleep directly on this polyfoam layer, but the airflow convolutions make it feasible. The convolutions will also allow further contouring support. (If you want this layer on top, you can’t just flip your Ecosa, you need the convolutions facing up to get the airflow benefits)
Emma:
The Emma mattress is also 25cm high mattress with 2 foam layers, instead of the 3 you get with Napp. Note the zoning in the core which helps target specific body weight points. Napp doesn’t have that. Here’s what the inside of the Emma mattress REALLY looks like compared to the marketing image.
Cover:
This is a pretty standard stretch knit with a softer top and grippy material on the bottom to help it stay fixed to your base. The cool feature of the cover is that the zip enables you to unzip the top part of the cover right off without having to try to manhandle the entire mattress.
This is extremely handy for cleaning as you don’t have to remove the whole cover, simply unzip the top section in one smooth move! I’ve only seen this on Tempur mattresses here in NZ. The other standout feature of the cover is that it has handles. They feel a bit flimsy, but Emma is the only mattress in a box brand that has them in NZ.
Foams:
- The top layer is 5cm of “airgocell” foam. What does that mean? It’s a proprietary foam Emma uses as the comfort layer of their mattress. It’s bouncier and less contouring than a typical memory foam. It’s an open pore foam, which basically means it’s got quite a lot of air in it (50% to be exact), which helps it to be breathable and bouncy. It feels like a nice foam to lie on!
- The base layer is 20cm of HRX high density foam, which is also open pore to help with breathability (why all the fuss about breathability? All foam mattresses need innovations to help air escape, as they don’t have the traditional spring support unit, which allows air to circulate through your “usual” mattresses you’d see in a shop). The really special feature of this support layer is the zones cut into it. These help specifically target and support your body so your spine stays in line and you get the most comfortable sleep possible. I’ve seen many, many brands overseas market this as a luxury feature and charge a heap more for it, but we’re lucky to have Emma offering it to us here in NZ as a standard feature.
Feel And Firmness
As I’ve mentioned earlier in the article, these mattresses have a different feel. In my opinion, Ecosa is the firmest foam mattress in New Zealand, while Emma is more of a medium firm.
Ecosa feels more “flat” to me, while Emma has more bounce through the top as you can see in the kettle bell image. It also offers a bit more pressure relief, from my experience of both of them. This is because the very top layer of Emma is softer, but the firm, high resiliency zoned foam supports it firmly.
So, if you want bit of bounce and a bit more contouring, choose Emma. If you want flatter feeling mattress, choose Ecosa.
I think both of these mattresses are great choices for stomach sleepers (you need a firm mattress), or for back sleepers who want a firmer feel.
Remember, whichever one you choose, you’ve got more than 3 months to try it out at home.
So – Which Is Better?
I don’t think one is better than the other. They are just different!
Ecosa’s big selling point is that you can change around the internal layers of the mattress to adjust the firmness level but after owning and sleeping on an Ecosa for a year and a half myself, I think that it’s pretty firm no matter what way you set it up. If you’re looking for a really firm mattress, choose Ecosa.
Emma’s big selling points are the features of the cover, it’s bouncier feel, and focus on zoning. Also, the medium firm feel of this mattress is going to be suited to a wider range of people. That, combined with the awesome deals Emma offer, makes it the mattress I would choose out of these two.
