Whoop 5.0 vs Oura Ring 4: which no-distraction wearable is best?

Digital Trends

2 days ago

Over the past few weeks I've been wearing the Whoop 5.0 and the Oura Ring 4 to track my sleep and daily activity. Neither have screens, they don't deliver notifications from my phone, and there's no app support. The are both health trackers without the distractions that come with wearing one of the best smartwatches.
If you're trying to choose which one to buy you'll likely want to know how similar they are, whether one will suit you better than the other, and which one does a better job keeping you informed and motivated? I found out.
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Whoop 5.0 vs Oura Ring 4: specs and features
Oura Ring 4 Whoop 5.0/Whoop MG Dimensions 7.9mm wide, 2.88mm thick smart ring 34 x 24 x 10mm fitness band Weight 3.3 grams to 5.5 grams 28 grams for Whoop MG with band Durability 100m water resistance, titanium ring IP68 Sensors Heart rate, blood oxygen, skin temperature, accelerometer Heart rate, blood oxygen, skin temperature, accelerometer, ECG (Whoop MG only), blood pressure monitoring (Whoop MG only) Battery life Five days 14 days Subscription Monthly Annually Price From $350 + $6 per month From $199 annually
Whoop 5.0 vs Oura Ring 4: design
The Whoop 5.0 is a fitness band you wear on your wrist, while the Oura Ring 4 is a smart ring for your finger. This obvious difference makes the Whoop 5.0 easier to buy, as there's no sizing required. It can sometimes be hard to get exactly the right fit with a smart ring, and those who've never worn a ring before may find it takes a while to get used to the feeling. However, once you're used to it, the Oura Ring 4 is unobtrusive and fuss-free.
The Whoop 5.0 is light and the special material used for the bands is really soft and flexible, making it very comfortable for 24-hour wear. However, it's not attractive, and the design belongs in the gym, making it the less stylish choice between the two. It's far more noticeable on your wrist due to the size and thickness of the main module. There's no hiding the Whoop band, and most people will notice and usually question what it is.
Each is water resistant (the Oura Ring to 100 meters, and the Whoop has an IP68 dust and water resistance rating), but the Whoop is definitely going to stay looking its best for longer. The Oura Ring's placement on your finger means it comes into contact with more surfaces, and it really does get scratched easily despite being made of titanium. The Whoop 5.0's band is easily washed or changed, and the module itself is always suitably protected underneath it.
I personally prefer a smart ring over a wrist-worn tracker. It's completely incognito yet still looks great, and it's comfortable enough I forget I'm wearing it. The Whoop 5.0's band is annoying if it gets wet, and I don't really like the way it looks on my wrist. However, this is my own preference, and you may feel differently. The good news is, both are well made and should prove durable long-term.
Whoop 5.0 vs Oura Ring 4: app and connectivity
I've used the Oura Ring 4 and Whoop 5.0 connected to an Apple iPhone 16 Pro Max, but the app is available for Android too. Both apps have been completely reliable and take seconds to connect when syncing. The design of each gives some quick insight into who both wearables are aimed at. The Oura Ring 4's app is softer, friendlier, and less number-focused, while the Whoop's app is filled with information and more reliant on graphs and data.
I love the Oura Ring 4's app. It's so well designed, surfacing key metrics so they're available at a glance, and uses colors to great effect when highlighting outliers in your data. The circles at the top of the screen can be tapped to show more information, but you don't really need to explore if you just want the basics, as your Readiness, Sleep, and Activity scores are easy to interpret.
The Whoop app is very different. It's more information dense, and fills the main page with buttons and options, making it feel overwhelming at first. The problem is, when you dig into many of the options you notice a lot of repeated data. Both apps have an AI assistant, but Whoop's does provide a more useful summary, plus it brings it to the forefront more than the Oura app. There's also a lot more learning to do in the Whoop app, as interpreting its many graphs takes time.
The Oura Ring 4's app suits the product really well, as it promotes a healthier lifestyle rather than pushing you to get out and exercise. You can hide the daily calorie count, if this is something you'd rather avoid, and quickly see how your stats have changed over time, all in a very friendly way. The Whoop app is less about lifestyle, and more about a deeper understanding of your performance. Its long-term data is dense but informative, and more likely to promote change than the Oura's app. Neither are medical devices so advice is quite general, but you'll get more from the Whoop if you're specifically looking for motivation.
Whoop 5.0 vs Oura Ring 4: health tracking
Lets start with sleep tracking. The Oura Ring gives you a Sleep Score, while the Whoop app assigns a percentage to your sleep. Both are equally informative and easy to understand. It's much harder to find sleep details in the Whoop app than it is in the Oura app, which clearly provides your heart rate variability, resting heart rate, and blood oxygen levels. The Whoop app avoids these, concentrating on your consistency, efficiency, and sleep stress.
The Oura Ring is far better at automatically recognizing workouts. It fully tracked a 40-minute walk, while the Whoop only captured 23 minutes of the same activity. It's likely to do with heart rate tracking, but both always return basically the same heart rate readings. Both show accurate maps when you track with GPS too. The major difference between the two is the massive amount of live activities able to be tracked by the Whoop. Oura has improved this area recently, but it's still not as comprehensive as the Whoop app.
There's a Strength Trainer feature in the Whoop app some may enjoy, which opens up a variety of strength workouts. These are partially guided, but it's a complicated process to see examples of each exercise while you're trying to do them. The Oura app has guided breath work and relaxation techniques.
After living with the two wearables, it's clear the Whoop is the better choice if you're really into fitness. From the sheer depth of data available and the way it's presented in graphs, to the option to choose a workout that will boost your Strain or Recovery, it has everything you need to hold yourself accountable and take on quality activities that suit your needs. Tracking exercise on the Oura Ring is acceptable, but it shouldn't be your main motivation in buying the smart ring. I haven't noticed any dramatic accuracy differences between the two, and felt each gave me a solid overview of my health and activity.
Whoop 5.0 vs Oura Ring 4: special features
The Whoop 5.0 is packed with special features, while the Oura Ring relies on some key partnerships to provide extra value to wearers. I really like the Whoop's Healthspan and Pace of Aging feature, which is packed full of actionable data which (hopefully) should make a difference to your overall health over time. Oura is softer in its approach, showing a metric it calls Resilience along with your Cardiovascular Age as guidance on your physical well-being.
The difference is, Oura's data is less informative, and it's harder to know where you should make changes. It's very obvious in Whoop's Healthspan feature, where you can identify whether you need to strength train more or sleep better for example. It's representative of the difference between Oura and Whoop in general, and understanding this will help you make an informed buying decision.
Provided you pay for one of Whoop's higher tier subscriptions you'll get the Whoop MG and access to an electrocardiogram (ECG) feature, irregular heart rate alerts, and blood pressure monitoring. The Oura Ring does not have these features (mostly due to restrictions in the hardware), but it does include integrations with a wide variety of apps, including Natural Cycles, Clue, Headspace, Zero, and Strava.
I also like Oura's Symptom Radar, which uses key data points to warn you if your body is working harder than usual, which may indicate an underlying condition such as sickness or stress. It's surprisingly effective. There's also a Rest Mode, where tracking continues but the Ring doesn't set and measure targets.
Whoop 5.0 vs Oura Ring 4: subscription cost comparison
Whoop's overhauled subscription plans can make the Whoop appear quite good value, but when you closely examine what you get for your money, the base price plan is very limited. The Oura Ring has one subscription plan and you get everything, plus if you stop paying you can still see your basic Readiness, Sleep, and Activity scores. If you stop paying for Whoop, you won't see any data at all.
We covered the features available in the different Whoop subscription plans in our review, but if you want the Healthplan and Pace of Aging you have to select Whoop Peak, and if you want the ECG and blood pressure, you have to select Whoop Life. The basic Whoop One plan is just basic health, sleep, and activity tracking. There's less to think about with the Oura Ring, as there's just one price.
Oura Ring 4 Whoop 5.0 One Whoop Peak Whoop MG Life Hardware cost From $349 N/A N/A N/A One year subscription (total) $72 $199 $239 $359 Two year subscription (total) $144 $299 $399 $599
Whoop 5.0 vs Oura Ring 4: which one should you buy?
Unlike choosing between some of the best smartphones, it's a surprisingly easy to choose between the Whoop 5.0 and the Oura Ring 4. If you're really into sport and fitness, the Whoop 5.0 will be the better choice, while if you're less focused on tracking hardcore activities and value good, clear design and stylish hardware, the Oura Ring 4 will be for you. Both meet battery life estimates provided by the manufacturer, with the Oura Ring 4 lasting around five days on a single charge, and the Whoop 5.0's battery lasting for 14 days.
It's great to see how little difference there was between the two when examining the data, meaning you don't have to choose one because it appears more accurate than the other. However, if you want all the data, the Whoop's app is where you need to go, especially due to the multiple graphs and ways it presents everything for you. If you want to glance at the app and get just the information you need, the Oura Ring's app is superior to the Whoop app.
I've enjoyed wearing the Whoop 5.0 more than I expected, mostly because the app has been reworked enough to appeal to more people, and the depth of data is interesting and useful. The Oura Ring 4's more lifestyle-orientated app suits me better though, and I far prefer wearing a smart ring than a fitness band. In a way, as we come to the end, this is best outcome for any comparison. Both products are great, and provided you know what you want from your new wearable and understand the differences, one is almost certainly going to speak to you more than the other. You're going to be pleased whichever you choose.