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Last Updated December 30, 2023
You're at the mattress store trying to decide which size bed is best, twin or queen? The salesman (working on a commission basis) comes over to help. Now imagine you are a complete mattress noob, so when the man asks your preferences, you tell him that you are looking for a good night's sleep. With this brief, he steers you towards the most luxurious queen bed - it looks so comfortable that you could fall asleep looking at it!
Key Takeaways:
Hey! Don't fall asleep yet! Are you sure this is how you want to get your mattress - based on a simple suggestion from a stranger who has got to stake in your sleep health? That is like going to the mall to buy apples, but you return with a bunch of lemons. And not the sweet kind.
You see, many factors go into choosing a mattress that is right for you. The bed size, budget, your partner's needs, and the space you have in your bedroom - are all essential considerations when buying a new mattress. So it's your job to know the nitty-gritty of your family's sleep ergonomics, and our job is to help you to do it well.
Since you're here, let's tell you how you can decide between the twin vs. queen mattress.
Here are the factors that should help you decide to narrow down the search for your perfect mattress:
Your height tops the list of points that must influence your decision. So after you are sure of your height, you have to know the length of the mattress and compare the sizes. If the mattress is taller than you, you have a point in the bag and are ready to move on to the next factor.
Nobody likes to sleep with their feet hanging 4 feet above the ground! It is uncomfortable and unhealthy; we'll tell you why. When your feet hang outside the bed frame, they are left to the mercy of gravity which doesn't let blood circulate evenly. As a result, blood pools at the bottom of your feet, and you wake up with swollen joints and feet.
When you sleep, your entire body weight is supported by the mattress and the bed frame; only the mattress is in direct contact with your body. Therefore, when you lie on your back, on your side, or on your stomach, a good mattress will provide your body with adequate support as you move through the night.
Whether you are a lightweight or a heavy-weight person, your joints and muscles deserve good support. Memory foam and foam are good for lightweight sleepers - they have soft to medium firm support. But heavy-weight people need firm yet soft mattresses like latex foams to support their big frames.
Common sense tells us that large mattresses are perfect for big families who sleep together and small mattresses are adequate for single sleepers. But if we look more closely, we have to consider personal preferences.
So, technically a twin mattress works fine for a single sleeper, but if that sleeper likes a lot of sleeping space, then a queen size mattress is a must buy. King size mattresses are great for sleeping comfortably for two adults and two kids.
Firmness means how hard or soft a mattress feels when you lie on it. The materials used in making the product and the manufacturing process decide the firmness a mattress will have.
You need to get a mattress that supports your body weight optimally and you feel comfortable sleeping on it - that's it! Sleeping on a mattress that offers the right firmness to your body type will do wonders for your spinal and joint health.
Room space refers to your available space in a room for a bed frame. If you are living in a micro apartment, your focus will be on space management - so there won't be any dedicated space for a bed.
The available space in a dorm is dedicated to sparse furniture like a chair table, a dorm bed or a bunk bed and a couple of cupboards. Twin and twin XL mattresses are the perfect fit in a dorm room space.
But if you are living in a villa with your family, there will be multiple rooms - so the place will come with dedicated room space of different sizes. In such situations, the biggest room will serve as a medium to big master bedroom that can house bigger mattress sizes like queen and king sizes.
Every person has individual preferences while sleeping - some sleep on their side, some on their stomach, and some maintain that lying on the back is the best sleep posture for them.
Some people need a lot of space to sleep just for the fun of it, while some people need space because they end up exploring the entire surface area of a mattress as they sleep through the night.
Once you identify what your unique sleep habits are, the decision to choose between a twin vs. queen mattress or other variants won't be a hard one.
The twin size mattress is ideal for those looking to save space in their bedroom or needs something that will fit on a smaller budget.
A queen is a perfect size for single sleepers, couples, or children who are not grown enough to have a bed and share sleeping space with their siblings.
But these are simple comparisons; let's dive into the characteristics of each mattress to understand what they can offer.
Mattresses don't abide by one size fits all conditions. The best mattress size depends on your requirements and purpose for buying the mattress.
Here is the dimension chart for the queen and twin mattress:
| PARAMETERS | QUEEN MATTRESS | TWIN MATTRESS |
|---|---|---|
| Length | 80 inches | 75 inches |
| Width | 60 inches | 38 inches |
| Surface Area | 4800 sq. inches | 2850 sq. inches |
| Recommended Room Size | 10 ft × 10 ft | 7 ft x 10 ft |
| Ideal for | Guest rooms / small rooms / master bedrooms | Small rooms / guest rooms / dorms / kid’s rooms |
| Occupancy | 2 adults | 1 adult, child or teenager |
The twin is the smallest size mattress suitable for single adults and children - that's why it is so popular in America. The compact size brings versatility to the mattress - it is long enough for an adult to sleep comfortably and small enough that you can install it in a child's bedroom, fit it in bunk beds and even use it for dorm beds.
The queen size bed is ideal for those who have more space in their bedroom or want to have the ability to sleep with someone else without feeling cramped.
At 60 inches wide and 80 inches long, the queen mattress is ideal for single people who like having the bed to themselves. There is plenty of space on the queen bed for couples as well.
Queen mattresses are the smallest size that is compatible for two sleepers. Beyond the queen, you will find the king size and the California king size mattress - both these mattresses are bigger than queen and are better suited for more than two sleepers.
By now, we know a little about each mattresses - twin and queen. Let us look at characteristics more deeply:
The twin mattress is 75 inches in length and 38 inches wide - the smallest size mattress suitable for an adult. 38 inches width means you cannot share your personal sleeping space with another adult. With a surface area of 2850 square inches - most adults find that the mattress size is right enough when sleeping alone.
The queen size mattress has an area of 4800 square inches and is just big enough for couples - it is 60 inches wide, thus giving each adult a personal sleeping space of 30 inches. So, if you and your partner are cozy and cuddly sleepers, then the queen has extra space to accommodate a pet or a child. Alternatively, each of you can sleep sprawled out without disturbing another's sleeping space.
Queen mattresses are 80 inches long - so tall people of about 6 feet can sleep stretched out on the bed without crouching. However, if you are a taller person, then the queen can become a tad uncomfortable for you - you will sleep with either your legs hanging out of the frame or you'll have to tuck in your knees and sleep.
The twin bed frame is a little bit bigger than the mattress size. Same goes for the queen bed frame. A bed frame is always bigger than a mattress because you have to account for features like a headboard, footboard, and side rails, thereby increasing the length and width of the bed a little more than the mattress's dimensions. However, all beds are not equipped with unique features like headboards and footboards, but they have side rails to tuck in the bedding.
To install a twin bed frame you need to have a minimum room size of 7 feet in length and 7 feet in width. The bed will fit in a tight spot with teensy space to spare on any side - either the foot or the head. The width occupies almost half of the room, leaving little room for spare furniture like a table and a small cupboard. That's why twin bed is great for guest rooms, children's bedrooms and dorm rooms.
To install a queen bed frame, you need a room size of at least 10 feet long by 10 feet wide. Due to its large size and heavy weight, the queen is not moveable easily - so you have to choose a place wisely within the room that manages the available space to its fullest.
The queen bed is best suited for small to big master bedrooms because you have to plan the placement of pieces of furniture around the queen bed - to do that, you need space. It is also practical for guest rooms, in case you have allotted a big room as a guest room and you plan ahead to make provisions for more than one person.
The twin and queen are both available in extra large i.e. xl mattress sizes.
The xl mattress size for the twin is called the twin XL mattress. It has a width of 38 inches, but it is 80 inches long i.e. 5 inches longer than a twin mattress. The twin XL mattresses are the most preferred mattresses for college and school dorms because they consider tall teenagers, young adults sleepers along with regular sleepers.
The queen mattress is available in an XL variant called an Olympic Queen mattress. The Olympic Queen is 6 inches wider than a standard queen mattress at 66 inches. But, the lengths of both the mattresses - standard queen and Olympic queen are 80 inches. Both the mattresses are smaller than the king mattress and the California king mattress.
The queen is also available in a modified variant called the split queen mattress - it is nothing but a queen mattress split in half, such that each half is 30 inches wide and 80 inches long. A split queen mattress is designed so each half can have variable composition like - different firmness, support, and temperature control. They are also adjustable by remote control, such that each partner can adjust the bed depending on their personal sleeping needs.
The twin mattress is suitable for just an adult sleeper - since it is only 38 inches wide. That being said, if you fall asleep on your kid's bed while reading a bedtime story, you can still have a good sleep without pushing each other out of bed. Likewise, if you have a pet at home, they can join you since animals tend to shift their sleeping spaces throughout the night.
A queen is great for a single sleeper - it is like having an entire sleep kingdom to oneself. However, couples can sleep together on a queen mattress comfortably as well.
The standard twin mattress is a budget friendly option - it uses fewer materials than its bigger counterparts like twin XL mattress, queen size, standard king size, and california king size. Thus the twin will always be the less expensive option.
The price of a mattress will depend upon the size, materials used, build of the mattress, i.e. hybrid, innerspring, foam, or latex, quality, and whether it has any special features.
Almost all retail stores have stocks of branded twin and queen mattresses at any given instant since these two variants of mattresses are the most popular ones in America. So you can hop into your nearest retail mattress store and get hold of either a twin mattress or a queen mattress without breaking a sweat. You don't even have to carry it home; sign the papers, and the store will make arrangements to get the mattress delivered to your home.
But if you prefer, you can get the mattresses delivered to your doorstep by ordering online. Many unique brands and vendors operate solely via their online store - you can visit their website, browse from the list of products on display and pay for the twin or the queen mattress, whichever you need. Amazon's online store also has a repository of twin and queen mattresses.
Here are the most common questions we get from our customers who are in the process of choosing between a twin vs. queen mattress:
A twin bed measures 38 inches by 75 inches. Due to the compact size of the twin bed and the narrow width, the twin can accommodate only one adult. Therefore, it suits young adults, teenagers, and children since their rooms are generally smaller than master bedrooms.
Small rooms have space constraints, so installing a small bed like a twin helps to manage the available space while remaining within one's budget.
This is an honest confusion everyone has because twin literally means two. But in this case, twin bed does not mean two beds. The term 'twin' has continued to be associated with a mattress of dimensions 38 inches by 75 inches because of the way it was popularised.
In the 1940s, rooms were equipped with two mattresses of same dimensions pressed together so couples could sleep together but have their well defined personal space. Back then, compact large-size beds were not popular. Instead, beds measuring 38 x 75 inches used to be sold in sets of two or twins, if you will.
People do not buy 'the twins' together anymore, 'twin' has become the name of a mattress of specific dimensions.
A queen size bed measures 60 inches by 80 inches and is wide enough to accommodate two adults comfortably.
For starters, queen beds are almost double the width of twin beds - the queen measures 60 inches by 80 inches while the twin measures 38 inches by 75 inches. As you can see, the queen size mattresses are also 5 inches longer than the twin mattress.
The size difference means the queen has a greater surface area than the twin. This also means that more than one adult can sleep comfortably in a queen bed while a twin is best for just one adult.
The double and full mattresses are one and the same thing - measuring 54 inches by 75 inches. The twin, on the other hand, is a much smaller mattress.
Let's look at the dimensions of both the mattresses - twin vs queen: the twin measures 38 inches by 75 inches while the queen measures 60 inches by 80 inches.
So, if you stack two twins side by side with their widths aligned, they become a mattress that measures 78 inches by 75 inches. The two twin mattresses' combo is much broader than a queen mattress. This creates a bigger space where two adults can comfortably sleep with two kids.
However, in this combination, when two mattresses are pushed against each other, their edges join at the center, creating a narrow but even elevation - this can be incredibly annoying if you are trying to make room for more than two sleepers.
So, two twins make a combination mattress that is wider but not longer than the queen size mattress.
A full mattress measures 54 inches by 75 inches - this is enough space for a single sleeper to be comfortable at night. The mattress size is right for single sleepers as they can also sleep with their child or a pet on a double mattress.
But the space will be too cramped for two adult sleepers.
A single size mattress is the same as a twin mattress - measuring 38 inches by 75 inches. So, if we double up two singles side by side, they will add up to a mattress that is bigger in width than a queen size mattress having a width of 60 inches.
So, two singles do not make a queen mattress, just as two twin mattresses do not make a queen mattress.
The minimum recommended room size for a queen size bed is 10 feet by 10 feet. So, if your room measurements match or you have a bigger space, you can easily install a queen bed.
If you are working with a smaller space, you can try to fit in a queen mattress in a room of 10 feet by 9 feet 6 inches, but be assured that you will face a space crunch when you move on to furnish your bedroom.
Single adults - male or female - fit perfectly in a twin size mattress or a twin XL size mattress if they are taller than 6 feet. However, if the adult needs space to sleep or has a habit of moving around the bed during sleep, then the twin and the twin XL mattresses become risky for such sleepers.
In that case, the next best option is a full size mattress that measures 54 inches in width - so a full is 16 inches wider than a twin mattress and a twin XL mattress. The mattress size is right for single sleepers as they get 16 inches more space to move around the bed.
A twin bed is the best option for a small space. It's perfect for a small room because it doesn't take up much floor space. A bunk bed is another good option to save space, but it can be challenging to decorate around.
If you happen to be tall but have to work with a small space, you can also go for the bigger twin variant, the twin XL mattress.
Related blog posts:
1. Mattress Sizes Chart and Bed Dimensions Guide
2. Full Bed vs Double Bed - Is there a difference
3. Twin Vs Twin XL Mattress Size Comparison
5. Twin vs. Full vs. Queen Mattress Size Comparison
As we close this informative blog, we believe that the contest to find the best among the two mattresses - twin vs queen is a tie. This is because what a good mattress is, depends on your requirement - and we have discussed all the points above that can help you reach your own conclusion. We trust you to make the best decision - happy shopping!
Disclaimer: What is said in this article has been referenced from multiple sources and is intended only for educational and informational purposes. Please note that no content in this article is a substitute for professional advice from a qualified doctor or healthcare provider. Always consult an experienced doctor with any concerns you may have regarding a health condition or treatment, and never disregard any medical suggestions or delay in seeking treatment because of something you read here.
