It’s worth noting that the Oura Ring 4 does require a monthly subscription fee (£5.99) for many of its most useful features. To help you choose the right sleep tracker for your needs, we've tested a selection of the most popular devices. We wore each one for several nights, taking note of its accuracy and exploring its additional features, such as fitness tracking, guided meditations and more.
Who Shouldn’t Use a Sleep Tracker?
Pay more attention to your total sleep time, which it’s relatively good at detecting, not the time in each stage or the overall sleep quality. I’ve found it can easily get confused about my actual heart rate; the numbers will seem low, and then I’ll wiggle the band, and suddenly I’m seeing a 160 heart rate instead of 140. Many people find that the Whoop is good enough, most of the time, but if you need really accurate exercise metrics you’ll probably be happier with a more traditional fitness tracker instead. Where our other buyers’ guides are almost entirely about which smartwatch to pick, the recovery-oriented devices are different.
Sleep tracker 2: Garmin Forerunner 165
Its assessment of my current fitness level was fair, and the workouts it suggested were well-structured. Personally, I prefer the Epix Pro for better readability, but the Fenix 7 Pro is the better choice if this is your first introduction to Garmin’s platform. You’ll get better battery life, the same LED flashlight, all the same training features, and a lower starting price. You should also consider Garmin’s Forerunner 570 and Forerunner 970, which were released in late May for $549.99 and $749.99, respectively.
- You can also earn “sleep stars” (the equivalent of virtual stickers in a kid’s educational video game) bestowed upon them whenever they hit a milestone, such as bedtime consistency.
- The Apple Watch is widely seen as a fairly accurate sleep tracker but it's known to have some limitations.
- The sleep tracker's thinner, more traditional watch look is an added benefit.
- The Galaxy Ring specifically excels when it comes to sleep because of its form factor.
- The Fitbit Inspire 3 is one of the most budget-friendly trackers in Fitbit’s lineup, offering a slim and comfortable design that’s easy to wear all day and night.
- The battery life is sufficient, with us commenting in our review of the Oura Ring 3 that the battery life was around four days.
How to choose a sleep tracker
The 5 Best Fitness Trackers of 2025 offer the tools and insights you need to understand your body and make real improvements. Whether you choose the feature-packed Fitbit Sense 3, the discreet Oura Ring, or the budget-friendly Amazfit Balance, the right device can help you rest better, stress less, and feel more in control of your well-being. Upgrading sooner may be worth it if major new features, like advanced AI insights, become available. In addition to leveraging the Forbes Vetted staff’s testing knowledge, we thoroughly researched all of the products we recommend and pored over consumer reviews. We also consulted with a medical expert to gain their perspective on the best sleep trackers.
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The Samsung Galaxy Ring may have a higher cost upfront than other options, but there’s no monthly subscription to pay for. You get everything from detailed sleep insights and training tools to menstrual cycle tracking and a daily energy score straight out of the box. With full smartwatch capabilities as well as detailed sleep tracking, the Google Pixel Watch 3 is a top choice for Android phone users. You can buy it in two sizes, 41mm or 45mm and with a selection of watch and band colours. The Apple Watch is widely seen as a fairly accurate sleep tracker but it's known to have some limitations.
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Plus, the Withings Sleep also packs extra sensors you don’t typically find in wearables. The pad includes a built-in microphone to detect breathing disturbances and flag signs of sleep apnea. While I didn’t trigger any alerts during my review, I appreciate having a passive monitor watching for potential red flags. Completely screen-free, the WHOOP 4.0 takes a different approach than most wrist-based wearables.
Best mattress cover sleep tracker
Some can sit atop your mattress as an extra layer or on your nightstand as a smart home device, and the right choice comes down to personal needs and preferences. “Sleep trackers are beneficial because they can alert you to issues you may not be aware of,” says Dr. Chelsie Rohrscheib, neuroscientist and the head of sleep at Wesper. It is important to remember that the key to effective sleep tracking is not in setting rigid goals, but in observing patterns over time. “With sleep trackers, we can fall into the trap of trying to beat our own score on a night-by-night basis. In reality, our sleep varies night by night, and the occasional bad night of sleep is nothing to worry about. Instead, look for patterns in your data and identify goals that will improve your sleep health over time,” Cann advised.
Our review
With Garmin sleep coach on your compatible smartwatch, you’ll know how much sleep you’ll need for the upcoming night. Get even more personalized sleep guidance on a compatible smartwatch with sleep alignment, https://www.healthline.com/health/hydration-top-iphone-android-apps-drinking-water which shows how aligned your body is to its inner sleep cycle using circadian rhythm. Plus, sleep consistency provides a look at your average bedtime over the past seven days. I’ve tested dozens of sleep trackers, and Fitbit continues to offer some of the most reliable and actionable sleep data I’ve gotten my hands on.
However, Garmin’s “hidden” OLED display can get washed out in bright lighting, and battery life was significantly shorter than other hybrid analog watches at around five days. Still, if you’d prefer a platform with a focus on fitness rather than wellness, the Vivomove Sport may be the better move over a Withings watch. Compared to some other gadgets, wearables are incredibly personal, which means there are a few extra considerations you’ll have to take into account before reaching for your wallet.
Fitness Tracker Reviews
Designed to be worn as a wristband and powered by a long-lasting battery, the WHOOP 4.0 gathers detailed data about your sleep and works as a high-level fitness tracker. The real benefit to tracking your sleep daily is understanding how it shifts day-to-day and the best ways to fix it. Tracking encourages you to make small adjustments that amount to big changes over time, and most of these sleep trackers will suggest changes you can make. Whether you’re focused on daily recovery or just want a deeper look into your sleep stages, there’s definitely a model we tested that fits your needs. Ultimately, we decided on the models below as our picks for the best sleep trackers worth buying in 2025. It's slimline design means you won't be bothered by it during the night, but this doesn't mean you'll be missing out on features.
This means you’ll financialcontent.com never be without it for long and can even stick it on a quick charge, if it’s running low, before bed. It’s accessible and intuitive for beginners, but it offers enough depth for users who want to dive into historical trends and fine-tune their wellness routines. The long-term behavioral insights, especially around sleep, are what keep me coming back to the ecosystem. There are cheaper Fitbits and there are more fully-featured ones, both of which I discuss below, but for anyone who wants best-in-class sleep tracking in a versatile, affordable package, the Charge 6 is hard to beat. To test sleep trackers, we use a detailed methodology that combines data points from multiple sources.
Best fitness app for strength training
Our sleep experts have also tested the TempurPedic Tempur-Ergo Smart Base, Oxa Breathing Coach, Eight Sleep Pod 4, Apple Watch SE, Garmin Forerunner 45S and the Garmin Forerunner 965. These products didn’t make our list because of poor sleep-tracking performance or because they were beaten out by other models. In the case of Garmin, both watches mentioned have great sleep tracking capabilities but the price and extra features of the Garmin Forerunner 165 topped the other two models. The same can be said for the newest Eight Sleep Pod 4 -- the older Pod 3 version has similar features for a better price.
The best sleep tracker for Fitbit fans
But for endurance athletes who need the most advanced multisport watch on the market, it’s one of the most complete and reliable options available. Whoop doesn't sell the band as a product, exactly; it sells a subscription that runs $30/month or $239/year, and you get the device with a plain black wristband for free. Other colors and styles cost extra, and you get free hardware upgrades when a new model comes out.
Lauren Keary is a NASM-certified nutrition coach and fitness/nutrition writer based in the San Francisco Bay Area. She has nearly a decade of professional journalism experience and has covered topics all across the wellness and lifestyles spaces. The Ozlo Sleepbuds are (surprisingly) earbuds that are actually comfortable to sleep in. Most dig, pop out, or ache by morning, but these are soft, compact, and light enough to disappear into your ear—yes, even when I was laying on my side. Kat has a Master's degree in Psychology from the University of Glasgow, with her dissertation focusing on the impact of mental health and deprivation on connection with urban nature. She also has over 10 years of yoga teaching experience with further training in supporting injured students.
This isn't ideal when having to wear it to bed to gain the sleep data. A good alternative that's a little less bulky is the Ultrahuman Ring AIR. The Polar Unite has the sporty look of a fitness watch, and it can hold up to 20 sport profiles. It was comfortable — its heart-rate sensor is flat, which is a nice touch. Instead of using step counts as the primary stat, the Mio Slice claims to measure all-around activity with a proprietary “personal activity intelligence” based on heart-rate monitoring.
I set mine to dim the lights, adjust the thermostat, and shut off notifications when I get into bed, and it’s made my wind-down process a lot smoother. For a no-fuss, ultra-discreet sleep tracker that still delivers top-tier insights, the Withings Sleep is hands-down the best nonwearable option I’ve tested. Like its more expensive sibling, the Inspire 3 tracks time spent in light, deep, and REM stages, plus periods of wakefulness throughout the night. It also assigns a nightly sleep score, which I found closely aligned with how I felt the next day. During my time with it, I was impressed by how consistently it performed, even while traveling and dealing with irregular sleep schedules.
It walks you through a series of questions about your strength training experience, which muscle groups you'd like to focus on, and more. If she felt crappy in the morning because she couldn’t sleep, the app generally reflected that in its graph and score—which is perhaps the only information you actually need to glean patterns. When Justin tested the feature in 2020, the app recorded his wake ups accurately (though as a very deep sleeper, it was a small sample size). Sleep Cycle relies on a sound-sensing technology to assess your sleep, using the microphone to detect the sounds you make when you move.
Garmin's top fitness-tracking devices also tend to look like smartwatches while our favorite Fitbits are more streamlined for easy-wearing. This means that the former tends to offer more screen real estate while the latter tends to be lighter and less cumbersome. The SE doesn't offer as bright or large a display as the Series 11 and Ultra 3, but unlike previous versions of the watch, it does have an always-on screen option. It's packed with just about every workout mode you could ever need, and it has built-in GPS.