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The six frames here were picked from the brands’ own sites and their Amazon listings, and compared spec by spec with the Thuma Classic. None of them has been tried out for this page.

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• Bed frames like Thuma, but cheaper
• Thuma vs Nectar, FlexiSpot and Silk & Snow
• Is there a Thuma Essential bed dupe?
• What didn’t make the cut
• How to choose a Thuma dupe
• Thuma headboard alternative
• Which Thuma dupes work with an adjustable base?
• Is Thuma actually worth it?
• Questions

Bed frames like Thuma, but cheaper

If we bought a wood frame for our bed, it would be purely for decoration, because our queen Saatva Adjustable Base stands up by itself. It would obviously need to work with our base. But I’d like a clean wooden look, something like the Kana.

A Thuma has that clean wooden look, too, but it costs far more, and that’s before you add a headboard.

Best overallFlexiSpot Kana Bed

Best for: a couple’s main bed.

Same as a Thuma: solid rubberwood, and a lifetime warranty on the frame and slats.

Different from a Thuma: you get 100 days to send it back instead of 30.

If your bed goes against a wall, you’ll love the legs. They’re notched to fit over a baseboard, so the frame sits snug to the wall.

It’s easy to put together and very sturdy, shoppers say.

Specs64.77 W x 84.79 L x 14.03 H in (queen)

Queen size

64.77 W x 84.79 L x 14.03 H in

Under the bed

10.2 in

Holds

1,500 lb

Weighs

86.35 lb

Wood

Solid rubberwood, or acacia

Center support

Two center legs and a cross beam

Headboard

Optional, 39 in from the floor, or a pillowboard

Warranty

Lifetime, frame and slats

Best if you’ll add a headboard laterNectar Bamboo Platform Bed Frame

Best for: a bedroom you’re furnishing a piece at a time.

Same as a Thuma: the low look, with Japanese joinery.

Different from a Thuma: it’s bamboo, where a Thuma is solid rubberwood.

Nectar’s headboard comes in bamboo or upholstered, and the upholstered one would be a great way to soften all that bamboo.

The main weak spot is the middle, where the pegs and legs underneath can crack within weeks or months. The 60-night trial comes only when you buy from Nectar.

DreamCloud sells this very same frame under its own name, if you’d rather order from them.

Specs63.9 W x 84.3 L x 12.3 H in (queen)

Queen size

63.9 W x 84.3 L x 12.3 H in

Under the bed

8.3 in

Weighs

67 lb

Height with headboard

39.3 in

Build time

20 minutes, per Nectar

Material

Bamboo

Finish on the Amazon link

Walnut

Warranty

2 years

Best for a tight budgetFlexiSpot Hako G2 Bed Frame

Best for: a bedroom that’s short on storage.

Same as a Thuma: solid rubberwood.

Different from a Thuma: a 10-year warranty, where a Thuma’s is lifetime.

With 10 inches of clearance, you can slide storage bins right under it.

The version with a headboard even has a hidden storage space inside it!

Specs64.65 W x 84.84 L x 14.17 H in (queen)

Queen size

64.65 W x 84.84 L x 14.17 H in

Under the bed

10 in

Holds

1,500 lb

Weighs

90 lb

Legs

3.6 in thick, square on the frame-only set

Wood

Solid rubberwood

Build

No tools needed

Headboard

On a separate listing, 39 in tall, with hidden storage

Warranty

10 years

Best for choosing your headboardSilk & Snow Wooden Bed Frame

Best for: a main bedroom where you want the frame and headboard in one order.

Same as a Thuma: Japanese joinery that goes together in minutes.

Different from a Thuma: you pay the shipping if you send it back, where Thuma’s return is free.

Once the frame is built, it’s heavy enough to stay right where you put it.

The rattan headboard is gorgeous.

The wood is treated without formaldehyde, which is nice to see in a bedroom.

Specs65 W x 86 L in (queen)

Queen size

65 W x 86 L in

Platform height

13 in

Under the bed

8 in

Holds

1,100 lb on a queen

Slats

2.75 in wide, 3 in apart

Height with a headboard

41, 44 or 46 in, by style

Wood

Solid acacia or rubberwood

Warranty

5 years

Best for a headboard with a shelfSofta Mikor Japanese Joinery Bed Frame

Best for: a small bedroom without space for a nightstand.

Same as a Thuma: solid rubberwood and Japanese joinery, with no tools.

Different from a Thuma: there’s 10.5 inches of room under it, more than the 9 under a Thuma Classic.

Love a robot vacuum? That’s enough space for one to get underneath.

You can skip the headboard and get the frame alone, if you already have nightstands you like.

Specs64.1 W x 84.3 L x 39 H in (queen, with headboard)

Queen with headboard

64.1 W x 84.3 L x 39 H in

Under the bed

10.5 in

Holds

1,500 lb

Legs

3.1 in, solid wood

Slats

2.76 in wide, 3.62 in apart

Wood

Solid rubberwood, low-emission coating

Build

No tools, no metal parts, as little as 30 minutes

Headboard

Optional, solid rubberwood, with a shelf and USB-A and USB-C ports

Warranty

10 years

Best for a one-box deliveryThor Japanese Joinery Bed Frame

Best for: setting up a bed on your own.

Same as a Thuma: a low wood platform held together with Japanese joinery.

Different from a Thuma: the warranty is 1 year, and the slats are plywood.

It’s sold as solid wood, and the slats rest on a solid wood rail down the middle.

The rounded corners are a great touch, since they’re kinder to your shins when you squeeze past the bed in a tight room.

Specs65.74 W x 85.43 L x 14 H in (queen)

Queen size

65.74 W x 85.43 L x 14 H in

Under the bed

10 in

Holds

Up to 800 lb

Weighs

63.9 lb

Materials, as listed

Metal, rubberwood, wood

Slats

Plywood, on a solid wood center rail

Arrives in

One compact box

Build

About 20 minutes, no tools

Warranty

1 year

Thuma vs Nectar, FlexiSpot and Silk & Snow

Nectar vs Thuma bed frame: which is better?

The Thuma is the better-made bed. It’s solid rubberwood with a lifetime warranty. The Nectar is bamboo with a 2-year warranty, and the pegs and legs under its middle can crack.

Still, the Nectar gets you the same low look and the same no-tools build for well under half the price. When the budget decides it, it’s the smarter buy.

Is FlexiSpot better than Thuma?

Not quite, but the gap is small. The FlexiSpot Kana is solid rubberwood with a lifetime warranty, the same as a Thuma, and its trial is longer.

The Hako G2, FlexiSpot’s frame on Amazon, is the same wood for even less, with a shorter 10-year warranty.

The Thuma is still the original design.

Is Silk and Snow as good as Thuma?

Silk & Snow comes close. Its frame is solid acacia or rubberwood, held together with joinery. Add a wood headboard to each, and the Silk & Snow costs hundreds less than the Thuma Classic.

The Thuma still wins on the warranty, lifetime against 5 years, and on returns, since Thuma’s is free and Silk & Snow has you pay the shipping. For a solid wood bed with a headboard, Silk & Snow is a very good value.

Is there a Thuma Essential bed dupe?

Yes, the low wood frames here copy both of Thuma’s wood platform beds, the Classic and the Essential.

The Classic shows its joinery on the outside and stands 13 inches high. The Essential hides its joinery inside a lower, continuous platform, 11 inches high, with fewer pieces and two screws you tighten by hand. It also takes 3 to 4 weeks to ship, which is a long wait for a bed.

Thuma also sells the Signature, an upholstered bed on a rubberwood frame, and the new Essential Storage Bed, whose slats lift for storage underneath. None of the six frames here is upholstered, so none of them copies the Signature.

What didn’t make the cut

The Avocado City Bed Frame is solid North American hardwood, made in Tecate, Mexico, and it goes together without tools. But it’s priced close to a Thuma Classic frame, which defeats the point of a dupe.

The Floyd Bed is made in the US, and its panels strap together without tools, which makes it easy to take apart and move. It’s wood veneer over plywood, and it’s also priced close to a Thuma Classic frame.

The Mellow Naturalista Classic is an affordable pine platform, but it doesn’t copy the Thuma’s look.

Birch is a Helix brand, and the Birch Living Madison and the Helix Madison share the same specs. Both go together easily, but the joints can work loose, so the frame wobbles and squeaks. Neither can take a headboard.

How to choose a Thuma dupe

Start with the wood. A Thuma is solid rubberwood, so look for “solid” in front of the wood’s name, the way the Kana, Hako G2, Softa and Silk & Snow listings put it. Bamboo, like the Nectar’s, and wood veneer over plywood can look the part, but neither is solid wood.

Japanese joinery means the pieces slot together by hand. Look for “no tools” on the listing, because “without excessive screws or cumbersome tools” can still mean a few screws.

Look at what holds up the middle, too. Center legs, a center rail and the slats carry the weight there, and it’s where a lot of the complaints about these frames start. Once it’s built, lift the bed rather than drag it, because dragging can snap those supports.

Then weigh the warranty and the trial together. The Kana gives you the most of both, with a 100-day trial and a lifetime warranty. That’s a lot of peace of mind for a bed you’ve only seen online.

Open every box while you can still send it back. Most of these come in long, heavy boxes, and the Hako G2’s two may not even arrive on the same day.

Thuma headboard alternative: which dupes come with one?

Five of the six frames here come with a headboard option, and the Kana is the one with a pillowboard like Thuma’s.

Our base sits right up against a bare wall, and that’s not something I like. So if I bought a frame, I’d get the headboard too, because without one it just wouldn’t look complete.

Thuma sells the Classic frame on its own, and you can add a Pillowboard or the Classic Headboard later. The Pillowboard isn’t attached to the frame. It sits between the mattress and the wall, lifts right out, and fits both the Classic and the Essential.

The Classic Headboard fits only the Classic and attaches by hand with nothing drilled, and it adds hundreds to the price.

If you’d rather have the bed without a headboard, every pick here comes frame only, the same way Thuma sells the Classic.

Which Thuma dupes work with an adjustable base?

If your mattress sits on an adjustable base, like ours, here’s what each brand says about fitting one.

Saatva’s base can lie right on a platform frame with its legs off. For a frame from another brand, the company tells you to check with that brand first.

For the Kana, a shopper who took the legs off an adjustable base says it fit perfectly.

If your base can lie flat without its legs, though, the Thuma is the one you can order without asking anyone.

Is Thuma actually worth it?

Yes, if you’ll keep a Thuma for years. The Kana matches its wood and warranty, so the extra money mostly buys the design the others copy.

The Thuma is also certified GREENGUARD Gold, which means it gives off almost no chemical fumes in the room you sleep in. The Thuma bed review goes through which of its beds to buy.

Where to go next

Questions

I sold contract-grade furniture from 2016. More about who runs it.