- High-quality sofas available online are easy to assemble without help, as attractive as pieces you might pick up at a local brick-and-mortar store, and are comfortable to sit, nap, and lounge on.
- The Campaign Sofa is our top pick because it's available in 17 fabric options, features a durable steel frame backed by a lifetime warranty, and there's plenty of sitting room.
The bed-in-a-box industry has exploded in the last few years. No longer do you have to visit a furniture showroom in order to get a high-quality mattress. And, furniture startups and traditional mainstays have taken notice and are beginning to incorporate bed-in-a-box practices into a "sofa-in-a-box" business plan.
So far, there is only a handful of companies that offer sofas exclusively online, and only a few do it well. As we update this guide, there are sure to be newcomers looking to disrupt the industry. In the meantime, we have compiled a guide to the companies that are doing the best job of delivering sofas to your living room today.
What to look for when shopping for a sofa online
When shopping for a sofa, there are several things to consider.
- What style options are available?
- How easy is it to put together? Will you need help?
- How much room do you have? And, how big of a couch do you want?
- How well do the colors go with your interior?
Your answers to these questions are a good starting point for your sofa search. Of course, you also want to consider comfort, motion transfer (i.e., do you spill your drink when someone plops down next to you?), springiness, and build quality. These are characteristics that you can't really assess firsthand when shopping online. It's even hard to gauge in a furniture showroom.
Instead, the best way to tell if a sofa fits your needs is to try it in your home. That's why many of the best sofa-in-a-box companies have taken a cue from the bed-in-a-box industry and offer trial periods. These trials are much more conservative than what you might get from a bed company, but it does give you the opportunity to see if a sofa is right for you before committing - two weeks should be enough time. In our guide, we make a point of giving you the return policies for each option we recommend.
Whether you are physically unable to put a sofa together or simply don't want to, many companies offer a "white glove" delivery service. Usually, for an additional cost, the couch maker (or a contractor they hire) will bring the sofa into your home, assemble it, put it right where you want it, and remove the packaging.
Cost should not keep you from a comfortable sofa that will serve as the centerpiece of your living room for decades to come. Fortunately, most online stores provide financing options. However, we don't recommend going into debt to buy a sofa. You may have to pay interest, which increases the overall price of your couch. And, there's also a level of risk involved since failure to make payments could damage your credit score and lead to other long-term consequences.
Though we snuck an excellent sectional in, this guide mainly focuses on your standard sofas. Most of the pieces we mentioned in this guide are available as loveseats, sectionals, ottomans, and more. So, follow the included links for other options. You might also be interested in checking out our guide to the overall best sofas and couches, which focuses on more traditional furniture stores.
While researching the best sofas available online, we combed through hundreds of ratings and reviews of dozens of brands from both buyers and experts. Our guide features sofas that have a strong track record of quality, durability, and performance.
Here are the best sofas you can buy online:
- Best online sofa overall: Campaign Sofa
- Best customizable sofa: Burrow Sofa
- Best leather sofa: Joybird Hughes Leather Sofa
- Best affordable sofa: CouchBed
- Best high-end sofa: Crate & Barrel Petrie Leather Midcentury Sofa
Updated on 10/18/2019 by James Brains: Updated selections, pricing, links, and formatting. Also added information on other products we considered.
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Disclosure: This post is brought to you by the Insider Picks team. We highlight products and services you might find interesting. If you buy them, we get a small share of the revenue from the sale from our commerce partners. We frequently receive products free of charge from manufacturers to test. This does not drive our decision as to whether or not a product is featured or recommended. We operate independently from our advertising sales team. We welcome your feedback. Email us at insiderpicks@businessinsider.com.