Key takeaways
- Two very different products share the name. These adjustable air beds are permanent mattresses with internal air chambers you re-pressurize for years, not inflatable guest beds and not powered bases that raise your head and feet. The specs that matter…
Two very different products share the name. These adjustable air beds are permanent mattresses with internal air chambers you re-pressurize for years, not inflatable guest beds and not powered bases that raise your head and feet. The specs that matter are rarely the advertised ones.
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By KK Home Furnishings Editorial Team
How to Choose Adjustable Air Beds
Four things separate these systems: whether each side adjusts independently, how many chambers sit under the surface, what the comfort layers above them are built from, and how long you have to send the bed back. Setting counts are the one number that never compares across brands.
Start With Independent Side or Zone Control
Saatva specifies dual-sided adjustability on the Solaire in Queen and larger, so two sleepers can hold different pressures inside the same mattress. Airpedic builds its 500 and 650 on a six-chamber multi-zone layout, controlled by remote and, on the 650, over a Bluetooth connection.
Verify this at the size you are buying rather than at the model level, because split control usually appears only from Queen upward in this category. For a single sleeper the feature adds cost without adding function, which is the first question to settle before anything else on the spec sheet matters.
Do Not Compare Setting Counts Across Brands
Saatva publishes 50 firmness settings and Airpedic publishes 188 remote settings. Those are two proprietary scales rather than one shared measurement, so neither divides into the other, and 188 is not evidence of nearly four times finer control than 50 at any point across the pressure range that either bed covers.
A count describes the resolution of one company’s controller, and not how the mattress actually supports a body through the night. Pressure range, chamber layout and the foam or latex above the chambers do that work, and those are the fields worth reading instead of the headline figure.
Match the Comfort-Layer Profile to the Feel You Want
Air pressure sets the support underneath, while the layers on top set what you notice first. Airpedic’s 700 is a 12-inch mattress with 5 inches of combined comfort layers, while the 500 sits in the 10-inch class on the same six-chamber family, so the difference between them is the stack above the air.
A deeper comfort stack softens the entry feel without changing the chamber’s range, which is why two beds set to the same number can feel unlike each other. Total height also drives the sheet pocket depth you need and how high the finished bed sits, so add the profile to your frame before deciding.
Trial, Warranty and Service Matter More Here
An air system adds a pump, hoses and a controller to a mattress, and each of those is a serviceable part rather than foam that simply ages in place. Saatva lists a 365-night trial with free delivery and in-home setup, and Airpedic’s support pages state a 120-night sleep trial, so the windows differ by most of a year.
Ask what the warranty covers separately for the chamber, the pump and the cover, and whether individual parts are sold once that warranty expires. At this price class, being able to buy a replacement controller in year seven is worth considerably more than any firmness number printed on the outside of the box.
Top Picks
Pricing in this category swings hard between promotions and configurations, so each pick below is placed by tier and by what its own maker publishes rather than by a sale figure. One model currently shows conflicting prices across its own pages, and its row in the table below says so plainly.
| Product | Best For | Key Spec | Watch Out For |
|---|---|---|---|
| Saatva Solaire | Best Overall | 50 settings; dual-sided in Queen and larger; 365-night trial | Premium tier; promotional and configuration pricing moves between pages |
| Airpedic 500 | Best Value | Multi-zone air system; 10-inch class; 120-night trial | Mid tier; its setting scale cannot be compared with Saatva’s |
| Airpedic 650 | Best for a Medium-Firm Profile | Six-chamber multi-zone; Bluetooth control | Entry tier here; an unusually deep discount means the price is volatile |
| Airpedic 700 | Best for a Plush Profile | 12 in tall; 5 in of combined comfort layers | Premium tier; the product page conflicts with category sale snapshots |
Saatva Solaire: Best Overall
The Solaire takes the slot on verified control rather than on price: 50 firmness settings with dual-sided adjustability specified in Queen and larger, which is the capability this search is actually about. Saatva also includes delivery and in-home setup, which counts for a bed that arrives with a pump.
It is the premium tier of this group, and the live figure shifts with promotion and configuration, so price the exact size you want on the day. The drawback is complexity: a pump, hoses and electronics are additional failure points that a foam mattress at the same tier simply does not carry with it.
Airpedic 500: Best Value
The 500 is the mid-tier route into a multi-zone air system, built on the same six-chamber family as the rest of the line and backed by a 120-night sleep trial. It sits in the 10-inch class, which keeps total bed height close to a conventional mattress and avoids the climb that taller air systems create on a high frame.
Airpedic quotes 188 remote settings, and that is a brand scale with no cross-brand meaning rather than proof of finer control than a rival’s 50. Judge it instead on the chamber layout, the length of the trial window and the service terms attached to the pump, since those are the facts that compare across brands.
Airpedic 650: Best for a Medium-Firm Profile
The 650 keeps the six-chamber multi-zone layout and adds Bluetooth control, landing at the entry end of this category’s pricing. For a couple who want independent zones without the deeper comfort stack of the 700, it is the most direct way into the line, and the zoning itself is not what gets removed.
Price volatility is the catch: the current page shows a very deep cut from its regular figure, so the tier it belongs in can change between visits. Confirm the exact Queen configuration and what the discount actually includes, since a bundled base, cover or pillow set often explains most of the gap between two figures.
Airpedic 700: Best for a Plush Profile
At 12 inches with 5 inches of combined comfort layers, the 700 has the softest surface in this group before any air is added, which suits side sleepers who want pressure relief above a firm chamber. The air system underneath still carries the structural support, so plush here does not mean unsupported.
It is premium tier, and its own product page currently disagrees with cheaper category-level sale listings, so verify the exact configuration you are pricing. The extra height also changes sheet depth and the step up into bed, easy to overlook with 12 inches of mattress on a powered base.
Frequently Asked Questions
Most confusion in this category comes from the name rather than from the product itself. The answers below separate the two things buyers mix up, then handle the numbers brands print on the box, using what each maker publishes for a specific model rather than a general industry rule that may not describe either system.
Are These the Same as Inflatable Guest Beds?
No. A guest airbed is a temporary bladder you inflate for a weekend, while the beds here are permanent sleep systems with sealed chambers under foam or latex comfort layers, sold with multi-year warranties and sleep trials measured in months rather than in nights of occasional use.
They are also not powered adjustable bases. A base changes the bed’s position by raising your head or your feet, while these beds change internal air pressure and therefore the firmness you lie on. The two are frequently bought together as a set, which is where most of the naming confusion starts.
Are 188 Settings Better Than 50?
Not necessarily, no. Those are two proprietary control scales from two different companies, measured against nothing at all in common, so the larger number does not demonstrate finer adjustment, a wider pressure range, or better support at any given setting in the chamber beneath you.
A practical test is whether a single step on the remote produces a change you can actually feel. If it does, the resolution is already past what a sleeper uses night to night. Chamber count, zone independence and the depth of the comfort stack explain far more about how one of these beds sleeps.
Can Each Partner Choose a Different Firmness?
On the Solaire, yes, since Saatva specifies dual-sided control in Queen and larger. On an Airpedic, verify the exact size and configuration, because split control depends on how the chambers are divided in that particular build and size rather than on which model number happens to be printed on the label.
If one partner is substantially heavier, independent sides also change how the bed wears, since each chamber only ever carries its own load. Ask how the two sides meet in the middle as well, because that junction is a construction detail each maker handles in its own way and rarely photographs.
How Long Are the Trials?
Saatva lists 365 nights on the Solaire, while Airpedic’s support pages state a 120-night sleep trial. Both of those are policies rather than product specifications, which means either can be revised without notice, so confirm the current terms and any restocking fee on the page you order from.
Check what a return actually costs before the window closes, since an air system is heavier and far more awkward to send back than a compressed foam mattress. Adjustment periods run longer here too, because the first few weeks go into finding a pressure setting rather than adapting to a fixed surface.
Final Thoughts
One question flips every pick above: are you buying for one sleeper or for two? For a single sleeper, dual-sided control and the premium tier that carries it stop earning their place entirely, and adjustable air beds narrow quickly to chamber layout, comfort profile and the length of the trial.
