Abstract In this paper, continuous and discontinuous cases of a contact problem for two elastic layers supported by a Winkler foundation are analyzed using both analytical method and finite element method. In the analyses, it is assumed that all surfaces are frictionless, and only compressive normal tractions can be transmitted through the contact areas. Moreover, body forces are taken into consideration only for layers. Firstly, the problem is solved analytically using theory of elasticity and integral transform techniques. Then, the finite element analysis of the problem is carried out using ANSYS software program. Initial separation distances between layers for continuous contact case and the size of the separation areas for discontinuous contact case are obtained for various dimensionless quantities using both solutions. In addition, the normalized contact pressure distributions are calculated for both cases. The analytical results are verified by comparison with finite element results. Finally, conclusions are presented.