Both Casper and Octave are well-known mattress brands. Casper started in 2014 and quickly gained a following thanks to influencers like Kylie Jenner and Ashton Kutcher. Previously known as Novosbed, Octave is a pioneer in the Canadian bed-in-a-box landscape and released its first mattress in 2009. Staying true to its roots of relentless focus on customer satisfaction and product innovation, Octave is set to continue the legacy of Novosbed.

Casper

Casper was founded by five individuals in New York in 2014. They were convinced an online mattress startup could be the next big idea. Casper grew a following amongst younger buyers who posted videos of themselves unboxing their new Casper mattresses on YouTube.

Target Corporation and a handful of celebrities stepped forward to invest in Casper, but in 2020, the company reported significant revenue losses. In 2021, Casper Sleep Inc. announced it had agreed to be acquired by Durational Capital Management. Two years later, in 2023, Sleep Country Canada announced it had completed the acquisition of all Canadian assets of Casper Sleep, Inc.

Octave

Launched in 2023, Octave is the next step in the evolution of the Novosbed mattress. The Vista, Mirage, and Horizon models are designed to enhance the Canadian sleep experience and provide greater cooling, motion isolation, and pressure relief than the popular Novosbed.

The Octave brand is owned by GoodMorning.com. This direct-to-customer mattress company has sold over 350,000 mattresses across the United States and Canada in the last 10 years. GoodMorning.com maintains an “A+” rating on Better Business Bureau and an “Excellent” rating on Trustpilot.

The bed-in-a-box mattress industry has revolutionized how we shop for mattresses. Now, it’s more convenient than ever to order a mattress online and get it delivered to your front door, and you don’t even have to be home to accept it. A bed-in-a-box makes it easy to try out a new mattress in the comfort of your own home and take the time to make sure it’s right for you.

Octave ships in 3–10 business days and uses FedEx to deliver mattresses throughout most parts of Canada. If you live in a remote location, FedEx may transfer your package to a local courier for delivery. Additional shipping costs may apply in this situation.

If you buy Casper Snow directly from the Casper website, they use UPS to deliver mattresses throughout most parts of Canada. Shipping time is 1–6 days. It’s unclear how long it will take to receive a Casper Snow from Sleep Country, as you can only buy in store. It’s worth noting Sleep Country has a “Poor” rating on Trustpilot, with numerous complaints about poor product quality, customer service, and warranty claims.

Compared to Casper’s 100-night sleep trial, Octave offers a generous 365-night sleep trial—almost four times as long as Casper’s. Both Octave and Casper will pick up your mattress and provide a full refund if you return it.

However, if you bought a Casper Snow at Sleep Country, you have to return it to a Sleep Country store yourself. You only get an in-store credit to exchange the mattress, one time, for another one. Sleep Country will also deduct a $65 exchange fee. If you choose a mattress that costs more, you will pay the difference; if you choose a mattress that costs less, you won’t get the difference refunded.

Casper Snow offers an industry-standard 10-year warranty on its mattresses. However, Octave offers a much better 15-year warranty.

Both the Octave and Casper Snow mattresses were delivered to us within the expected timeframe. Octave was protected by heavy-duty plastic layers and shipped in a white cardboard box. Casper was rolled up, sealed in a plastic bag, and compressed in a box.

Keep the information from your shipment, like the sleep trial and return policy. The mattress shipping box can be recycled, but you should save the plastic the mattress was wrapped in in case you want to return it in the future.

Casper Snow

Our mattress was delivered wrapped in a plastic bag, compressed and rolled into a cardboard box. Although it’s somewhat bulky, the box is relatively easy for one person to remove and unpack. Two people will likely be needed to pull it into position.

Octave Horizon

Octave arrives in a recycled cardboard box and is wrapped in two layers of heavy-duty recycled plastic for added protection. Once unrolled, the Octave mattress fully expands in a couple of minutes and is ready to sleep on the same day it’s delivered.

Octave Horizon is a memory foam mattress, and Casper Snow is a hybrid mattress. Both are promoted as cooling mattresses, have five layers, and come in one firmness option.

Casper vs Octave Mattress Layers

Casper Mattress Layers

The 12” Casper Snow is a five-layer hybrid mattress that uses a combination of foam and coils in its construction.

• First layer: This layer is 1″ of perforated polyurethane foam. Trademarked as AirScape® Technology, the foam is drilled with holes to help make it more breathable and dissipate heat. This layer also features phase-change material to help regulate your body’s temperature.
• Second layer: The second layer is 1″ of zoned memory foam, divided into three zones to provide support and spinal alignment. This layer also has HeatDelete™ bands to aid in regulating your body temperature.
• Third layer: The third layer of the Casper Snow mattress is 2″ of unknown foam. It is not described or included in the layer image on the Casper website.
• Fourth layer: This layer of the Casper Snow contains 6.5″ individually pocketed flex coils. This layer provides some extra bounce and durability for the mattress.
• Fifth layer: The bottom layer of the Casper Snow mattress is 1″ of unknown poly foam. This layer provides a foundation for the coils and keeps them from poking out of the bottom of the mattress.

Casper Snow’s mattress cover accounts for the other 0.5” of the mattress’s height.

Octave Mattress Layers

The 14” Octave Horizon is a five-layer memory foam mattress that delivers an exceptional blend of cool, cushioned support.

• First Layer: 2.5” of CopperGel™ memory foam, infused with moisture-wicking PolarMAX® phase-change material. This high-performance layer pulls heat and sweat away from your body for a cooler, more comfortable sleep. As an antimicrobial metal, copper can also help reduce bacteria and maintain the cleanliness of your mattress.
• Second Layer: 1.5” aerated latex foam with hundreds of precision air vents for exceptional support and ventilation. This provides optimal airflow and gives the mattress even better cooling and breathability.
• Third Layer: 2” ecoLuxe® cooling gel foam 8” high-density, ultra-durable motion isolation support foam to help you stay asleep, even with a restless partner. This layer also contains air channels to let warm air escape and fresh air flow through. The cushioning foam contours around your shoulders, back and hips, providing cooling relief for sore muscles and joints.
• Fourth Layer: 2” premium Elastex® foam for a responsive, body-contouring layer that feels like natural latex, minus the allergy. With extra pressure relief and a little bounce, it makes it easier to shift sleep positions or get out of bed more easily.
• Fifth Layer: 6” high-density, motion-isolating support foam with air channels to help you sleep soundly, even with a restless partner. Five pressure-relief zones help with spinal alignment and ergonomic weight distribution. This layer also contains air channels for better ventilation and airflow.

Casper vs Octave Mattress Cover

Casper Mattress Cover

Casper Snow has a white-and-light-grey colour scheme. A dark grey band extends around the foot of the bed. The mattress top features a ridged design, broken up with a pattern of circles. The mattress surface feels cool to the touch. 

Casper Snow’s cover is made with recycled polyester, cotton, rayon, lycra, and cooling yarn. While the mattress has a zipper, Casper does not recommend removing the cover under any circumstances. The cover is not machine-washable and should be spot-cleaned only. In fact, Casper’s website recommends getting your mattress professionally cleaned instead of doing it yourself.

Octave Mattress Cover

Octave Horizon is refreshingly cool to the touch, thanks to CryoFusion™ nanofibres in the top cover. In fact, the cover contains the most cooling nanofibres of all the Octave mattresses. These nanofibre-infused fabrics have excellent breathability and moisture-wicking properties. You can feel the coolness of Horizon through your sheets. 

The cover is made of polyester and polyethylene, and features a swirling, blue-grey pattern that is unique to each mattress on a white background with waterfall edges. Each mattress has a slightly different top cover that showcases the brand’s design aesthetic and personality. The removable, machine-washable cover connects to the navy blue base with a sturdy yet stylish zipper.

In third-party engineer testing (which we commissioned), Casper Snow and Octave Horizon performed very similarly for firmness, edge support, motion isolation, and bounce. However, Horizon provides this near-identical performance for half the price of Casper Snow.

Feel & Firmness

According to the testing conducted by third-party engineers (commissioned by us), the Octave Horizon mattress and the Casper Snow mattress are very similar in feel and firmness:

• Casper Snow is considered a medium-firm mattress, rated at 5.9 / 10 on the firmness scale. Casper Snow does not have excessive sinkage; however, you will experience some “hug” from the top layer of this mattress when you lie down. Zoned memory foam and the coil layer provide additional firmness and encourage spinal alignment.
• Octave Horizon is a medium-firm mattress and is rated at 6.0 / 10 on the firmness scale. It delivers a balanced feel with superior support and pressure-point relief, thanks to the memory foam, latex, and zoned support layers. Medium-firm mattresses are a great choice for most Canadian sleepers, as they tend to suit the widest range of body types and sleep styles.

Edge Support

Hybrid mattresses generally have good edge support, and Casper Snow is above average. However, even as a memory foam mattress, Octave Horizon beats Snow’s rating for edge support. Our third-party engineer testing (commissioned by us) shows that:

• Casper Snow’s edge support is rated at 6.5 / 10. You should be able to sit on the edge of the bed and get out of bed without much difficulty.
• Octave Horizon scored better for edge support with a rating of 6.8 / 10. Sleepers should be able to sit comfortably on the edge of the bed and get up without difficulty.

Motion Isolation

Motion isolation in foam mattresses is usually very good. This is one of the main reasons couples switch from innerspring to memory foam. Our third-party engineer testing (commissioned by us) shows that:

• The Casper Snow has slightly above-average motion isolation at 7.9 / 10. Sleepers should not feel movement from their partner, kids, or pets.
• Octave Horizon also has above-average motion isolation, at 7.6 / 10 on the motion isolation scale. Sleepers shouldn’t notice movement from the other side of the mattress.

Bounce

Because foam mattresses excel at motion isolation, their bounce ratings are generally very low. Hybrid mattresses usually score a little higher due to the metal coils. However, both the Casper Snow and the Octave Horizon have below-average bounce scores, according to the testing conducted by third-party engineers (commissioned by us):

• The Casper Snow is rated at 3.0 / 10 on the bounce scale. This is quite low for a hybrid mattress and may be partly due to the foam layer beneath the coil layer. Considering the slight amount of hug in this mattress, sleepers may find it more difficult to shift sleeping positions.
• The Octave mattress is also rated below average for bounce, at 3.8 / 10 on the bounce scale. However, the layer of springy, responsive latex foam helps you change sleep positions more easily. The same is true for the premium layer of resilient Elastex® foam. Both layers keep you from feeling “stuck” in the mattress and help you get out of bed more easily.

* Octave was named Canada’s Best Cooling Mattress by Best Health Magazine, which has an existing business relationship with GoodMorning.com.