While elaborate sleep setups like romantic canopy beds are back in style, the most streamlined silhouette for your bedroom will always and forever be one of the best platform beds. The elevated, minimal, often headboard-less look is still very in these days, buoyed by the popularity of Japandi-influenced bed frames like the Instagram-beloved Floyd. More and more brands are putting their spin on the genre these days, offering lots of ways to enhance your bedroom aesthetics plus plenty of storage underneath when closet space is sparse. They’re also ready to pair with your mattress, no box spring required, meaning one less thing to buy.
Our editors and contributors have tested several kinds of platform beds over the years, and have some thoughts on what’s for keeps, and what squeaks enough to do without. Among our top contenders, there are plenty of gorgeous platforms in the mix, from ones made with solid wood to upholstered fabric finishes. Read on to hear more about our favorite platform beds over the years that will raise your bedroom’s profile—along with details on return windows and warranty details should you want to give it the heave-ho after your own round of testing.
Unless otherwise noted, prices reflect queen-size beds. However, most of them are available in additional sizes.
Our Top Picks for the Best Platform Beds:
Browse According to Category:
Best Platform Beds, Overall | More Platform Beds to Check Out | How We Tested These
Best Platform Beds, Overall
- Material: Metal, manufactured wood, solid wood
- Sizes available: Twin, full, queen, king
- Finishes available: Walnut
- Return window: 30 Nights
- Warranty: Five years
For those on the hunt for an affordable bed frame option that doesn’t skimp on style, this model from Wayfair delivers. It’s easy to assemble and unassuming enough that it won’t stick out like a sore thumb in your home. Contributor and tester Yelena Moroz Alpert especially recommends it for anyone who needs a bed for a kid’s room or guest room. “It’s a solid choice for someone on a budget. It looks substantial enough and is not flimsy upon construction,” she said. “When I was sitting up and reading at night, the headboard did not hit against the wall or feel as if I was pushing it back.” She also notes that despite its mixture of real wood and MDF, all the faux wood parts look real enough to pass muster upon inspection.
- Materials: Solid and engineered wood with wood slats for a sturdy foundation
- Sizes available: Twin, full, queen, king
- Finishes available: White, acorn
- Leg Heights: 7″ or 14.7″
- Return window: 30 days
- Warranty: Not available
What this straightforward, traditional bed frame lacks in surprises it makes up for with sturdiness and quality. The solid wood frame is available in white (pictured) or acorn and designed to be paired (if you like) with West Elm headboards. Our tester, contributor Katie Henwood, touted its storage capabilities in our best bed frames round up, saying, “Anyone looking to create more space in their small apartment, this is the bed frame for you. It’s not bulky like some bed frames that come with storage built in, and is simple enough to take with you wherever you go in the future.” Choose from two leg heights, depending on how low to the ground you want your bed to feel.
Best Easy-Assembly Bed: Thuma The Bed
- Material: Handcrafted, repurposed wood bed frame, 100% polyester pebbled linen-weave PillowBoard, recycled plastic slats
- Sizes available: Twin, twin XL, full, queen, king, California king
- Finishes available: Walnut, natural, espresso, gray
- Return window: 100 days
- Warranty: Lifetime
Made of upcycled and repurposed rubber wood, this eco-friendly option from Thuma has a reputation for its Japanese joinery. Pieces easily slide into place so shoppers don’t have to puzzle over an assembly manual. Not only does it come in every size under the sun, you can even order it as a daybed that comes with cushioned, upholstered panels on one of the longer sides, as well. Editor and tester Zoë Sessums reported the bed’s assembly as hassle-free, like building with giant Lincoln Logs, and loved how “hefty” the frame looks. “The Japanese craftsman technique was true to the promise of having a quiet, easy-to-put-together setup,” Zoë said. The only thing she didn’t love about the bed was the repurposed wood materials that make up the bed, which she felt had a lower-quality, MDF-looking appearance.
- Material: Wood
- Sizes available: Twin, full, queen, king
- Finishes available: Oak
- Return window: 30 days
- Warranty: Five years
With a midcentury-modern design that nods to vintage silhouettes thanks to its wood spindle headboard, this frame from Zinus marries affordability with sturdiness according to commerce director Rachel Fletcher. It’s got a high-quality, handsome design that’s easy to put together and all for a super affordable cost. “The style of the Linda is pretty agnostic—it’s a little midcentury, a little Scandinavian—so much so that I can imagine it fitting into a host of home decor aesthetics, from a cozy cabin to something more minimalist or beachy or boho,” Rachel previously explained. “With the Linda, the decor world is your oyster.”
- Materials: Birch wood
- Sizes available: Twin, twin XL, full, full XL, queen, king
- Finishes available: Birch
- Return window: Exchanges accepted within seven days
- Warranty: n/a
After more than a year of hunting high and low for the perfect modern platform bed for her small apartment, our associate commerce director Lori Keong finally chanced upon this Scandi-style option on Etsy from a small woodworking business based in Denver, Colorado. It had less than five reviews at the time, but ended up being a solid, zero-regrets bedding purchase. Everything ships out flat packed, with jigsaw puzzle-like pieces that fit together snugly so you never have to hassle with slats wiggling around and squeaking underneath you. Keong claims that noise has never been an issue for her, either, and that the bed feels as sturdy as the day she put it together (in about 15 minutes, which is a breeze). Another major perk is that the bed is raised nearly a foot off the ground, so she’s been able to squeeze all kinds of storage containers and bags under there. The only downside is that because this is an Etsy purchase, you won’t find traditional warranty options here.
- Material: TSCA Title VI-certified birch veneer and birch plywood, powder-coated steel supports, nylon ratchet straps
- Sizes available: Twin, twin XL, full, full XL, queen, king
- Finishes available: birch or walnut wood, white or black steel supports
- Return window: 30 days
- Warranty: 10 years
There was a time after its release in 2015 when the Floyd bed felt almost ubiquitous. Everyone and their favorite influencer owned or wanted one of these beds. Though their popularity has waned a bit over the years, we’d be remiss to not mention them on this list. Our tester, senior digital editor Zoë Sessums, likes that the Floyd is very customizable, whether or not you want a matching headboard or built-in storage drawers tacked on or not. Assembly and hauling the pieces up the stairs of her fourth-floor walkup was a bigger issue, but once you’ve gotten a hang of the setup the process gets easier: “All you need to do is secure the steel brackets to the frame and then tighten the panel to said brackets. It’s a nice addition if you like to sit up to read in bed,” she noted.
More Stylish Bed Frames to Check Out
Though we haven’t had a chance to conk out on top of any of these bed frames below, we wanted to give you some more stylish options to peruse, along with more affordable options under $1,000.
How We Tested These Bed Frames
Here at AD, we test our bed frames the old fashioned way: measuring how long it takes to set them up in our homes, how much they squeak and creak in the night, and if they have the right support necessary to prop up our massive, modern mattresses. We considered all the factors any other shopper might: ease and cost of shipping and handling, whether there’s a returns and warranty process, along with how they felt to sleep on. Though several beds have passed in and out of our homes, only a select few made this list that we felt combined style chops, sturdiness, and easy assembly to the fullest effect. For more intel on what goes through our minds as we test, read our mega bed frames guide that breaks down the criteria for each option.