I've bought 2 cheap ones from Amazon (do not know the name brands, just picked the 2 cheapest options in the colors I wanted that used affordable filters). Paid about $20 each and they've been going for over 3 years. I completely take apart and scrubs them every 2 weeks and change the filters once a month. The filter part is the biggest cost. I made sure that the fountains both used a size/shape that I could buy in bulk for $20 a year instead of $8 a month.

I had a similar problem. Bought a 4" mattress topper, but I also bought a cheap egg crate style pad and cut it to fit in the "dips" in my bed under the topper (otherwise the topper dips too). As for pillows, MyPillow is the best I've ever owned.