Hi jmfugen,
Post #2 here should help to compare them.
Tuft & Needle uses 1.8 - 2 lb polyfoam while the Dreamfoam 12 in 1 customizable mattress uses 2 lb polyfoam so they are close in terms of the quality of the materials. (ADDED: see this topic for information about Tuft & Needle’s new design).
The Tuft & Needle is a firmer mattress that doesn’t have any options to customize it after a purchase (other than adding a topper) so it would be an “all or nothing” choice but they have a great return policy which allows their customers to try it and then decide whether it’s a good “match” for them in terms of PPP.
A component mattress also has the option to replace just a single layer down the road (softer comfort layers will tend to be less durable than the deeper support layers) instead of replacing the whole mattress.
In “theory” yes but they are designed to be very similar. They would be the best source of information about this since I’ve never felt either of them.
You would be compressing the 5" mattress to a greater percentage of its thickness so once again “in theory” the 10" would probably be just a little more durable although the difference may not be all that meaningful in “real life”.
The 12 in 1 can be customized to fit a wider range of body types, sleeping positions, and preferences so from that perspective it would be a “safer” bet that had a higher chance of finding a configuration that worked well for you. The Tuft and Needle can’t be customized and is an “all or nothing” choice that would be most suitable for those who preferred a firmer polyfoam mattress but if it isn’t a good match for you then it has a great return option so from that perspective it would be a “safer” bet. When you are down to final choices that are between “good and good” it would really depend on your conversations with each of them and on which one you believe would be the best match for you based on of the parts of your personal value equation that are most important to you.
Outside of local options (and I would need to know your city or zip code to link you to the forum list that is closest to you), using a $600 upper limit in queen (mattress only), I took a quick look at the lists that are linked in the tutorial post and while I may have missed some …
Sedona Sleep sells a polyfoam base mattress
www.addable.com/ sells a memory foam mattress.
Nest Bedding has their Love & Sleep mattress.
DouglasBed From site member Novosbed. Canadian-only. Memory foam over polyfoam layer and polyfoam base.
Christeli has one memory foam option
Some of the mattresses from Ikea may also be worth considering (see post #3 here and the posts it links to)
There are also some lower budget latex and latex hybrid options that are listed in posts #3 and #4 here that are in “relatively” lower budget ranges (although some of these may be more than your budget).
Some of the new “simplified choice mattresses” that are also in relatively low budget ranges (from $600 to $1000 queen size) are also listed in post #2 of this topic and may also be worth considering as well although most of them are also more than your budget range.
Phoenix