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Oura Ring
Summary
The Oura ring looks at your sleep levels to give you overall wellness scores to help you monitor your daily health. It has a discrete design and works great in concept, but some customers thought it was too flimsy and featureless for the price.
Pros
- Classy, discrete ring designs at a variety of price points
- Simple app, but lots of data
- Battery should last a week
- Value of insight increases the longer you wear it
Cons
- The ring might be easily scratched
- Not recommended for use at the gym
- Some customer complaints that it stopped working after a few months
- Your daily report might negatively impact your mood and stop you from performing your best
Oura Ring Review: Is It Worth It?
By Lydia Noyes
Updated on: Jun 12, 2020
The Oura ring is a wellness device that claims to track critical signals that your body sends out so that you can make the right decisions for better health.
This sleek ring is embedded with tracking devices that monitor your heart rate overnight and during restful parts of the day to give you insight into your autonomic nervous system activity.
Each morning, the ring summarizes this data into three numbers that are displayed in the accompanying app, which should help you make decisions during the day for better health.
Features
The Oura ring works to measure your resting heart rate while you sleep and during quiet parts of the day. It does so by detecting changes in your Blood Pulse Volume (PPG) through two infrared LEDs that monitor the arteries on the finger.
It also contains NTC temperature sensors, a gyroscope, and an accelerometer that capture continuous measurements like your heart rate, step count, temperature, and more.
The ring works with mobile devices that run iOS 11.0 or later or Android 6.0 or later (see if your device is compatible here). Pairing it with the accompanying app is essential, as there isn’t any other way to monitor your health data.
It’s best to wear the ring while sleeping, at which point it will register your body temperature reading every minute. It tracks your body temperature changes over time to give you a sense of your personal baseline and when you’re deviating from it.
The Oura ring connects to your phone through Bluetooth, though you only need to have it connect when you want a data update. The ring can store data for up to six weeks without syncing with the app.
It is made from lightweight titanium and is water-resistant to 100 meters. You can expect it to last up to a week per charge.
Though the ring’s material is designed for durability, some users noted that it developed light, hairline scratches after a few weeks of use. The sensors should stay safe, as your finger protects them while you wear it.
Even so, Oura recommends against wearing the ring while weight lifting or during other activities that put it in contact with metal that could scratch it.
We talked to Monisha Bhanote, a triple board-certified physician, who had been wearing the Oura ring for about six weeks. She shared with us that she loved the ring’s design and how unobtrusive it was to wear while working, but what sold her on it was the extensive valuable information she received while wearing it.
Specifically, she appreciated how the app’s readiness rating gave her information about how her body was handling stress. It helped her know whether she was putting herself at risk of cardiovascular disease or anxiety and depression and whether she needed to take time to practice mindfulness techniques like meditation.
“I would recommend OURA for personal tracking as it gives you very insightful information,” she shared. “It is a little bit more on the pricier end of trackers, but it also has a very easy to use app, requires no plugging in, and is very simple to use, with lots of data points.”
Understanding Your Daily Scores
Every day, the Oura ring will give you three scores related to your sleep, readiness, and activity. The readiness score will be displayed when you first open the app, and you can swipe to see the other score right after.
Sleep
The Oura ring gives you insight into your sleep quality by sharing data about your deep, REM, and light sleep percentages, as well as how quickly you fell asleep and what your heart rate did over time. These are factored together to give you a sleep score out of 100.
Along with this number, the app will share your total sleep time, the percentage of time you spent asleep after going to bed, whether you were peaceful or restless while sleeping, and how long it took you to fall asleep initially. It will also suggest optimal times for going to bed to improve your rating going forward.
Readiness
The Oura ring will access your sleep, activity, and recovery information to give you a number calculated out of 100 that indicates how hard you can push yourself that day.
It looks at your resting heart rate throughout the night to see if you’re getting in enough recovery, measures your heart rate variability to monitor your stress levels, and assesses how your activity levels over several days have affected your current energy level.
A high number means that it’s a great day to put in a killer workout, while a lower number is an indication that you might want to take it easy.
Activity
Your daily activity ranking looks at your short and long term trends to give you insight on your movement levels.
By monitoring your step account, recovery time, and training frequency, it can provide you with feedback on whether you’re ready to kick things up a notch or if it’s time to take things slower.
Pricing and Return Policy
Oura currently sells two styles of ring, both of which have the same technological capabilities. You can choose between the Balance style, which is a smooth ring with a slight crest at the top, or the Heritage design, which is a smooth ring with a flat top.
Both come in a variety of color options and price points, ranging from $299 for standard models to $999 for a Balance ring inlaid with diamonds.
To ensure you get the right ring fit, Oura suggests that you request a free ring sizing kit. This kit includes eight ring sizers (size 6-13), and you are meant to wear your preferred size for at least 24 hours to ensure it works. It’s your choice which finger you want to use.
Once you know your size, you can order the appropriate ring. Expect to pay about $15 for shipping.
Oura allows you to return any fully functional Oura product within 30 days of receiving it for any reason, though shipping fees won’t be refunded.
Analysis of Customer Reviews
18 customers have left reviews for the Oura Ring on our site, for the average rating of 2.3 stars. The app fairs better on Google Play, where it averages 4.1 stars after close to 1,500 reviews. Below are the main takeaways.
Common Compliments:
- Detailed daily records
- An excellent way to track energy levels
- Customer service was quick to address issues
- Accurate sleep tracking
- Sizing kit made it easy to order the right ring size
- Accurately predicted when some users were getting sick, told them to make it easy a few days beforehand
Common Complaints:
- Some customers never received their orders
- Cheap quality, only worked when paired with a phone
- Some users got locked out of their accounts with password difficulties
- Rings worked okay for six months before breaking
- Some users found the readiness scores discouraging (if they felt great but got a low score, then they felt less motivated to exercise as planned)
Oura Ring vs. Fitbit
If you’re interested in the Oura ring, odds are you’ve considered Fitbit, the most popular wellness tracker on the market.
Fitbit is worn as a watch rather than a ring. The brand offers a variety of designs, but all include a screen that will display basic information at a minimum about your health stats.
Many people like this because it means they don’t need to check the app for data continuously, but it also means that it’s more obvious to everyone else you’re wearing a fitness tracker. And while it’s normal to wear multiple rings, expect to get some strange looks if you wear two watches.
Second, these devices serve slightly different functions. Fitbit emphasizes activity tracking, as most models include multiple activity modes and include GPSs. Oura, in contrast, is focusing on your sleep quality and the way it relates to your overall wellbeing.
While the Oura ring contains more sensors than Fitbit, it’s not as versatile for activity tracking for the simple reason that you shouldn’t wear it for most gym activities like lifting or contact sports. However, the ring can track your body temperature, which is a valuable indicator of your overall wellness level.
Fitbit watches range from $70 to $200. That’s a savings compared to Oura, which starts at $300.
Overall, your decision between these two may come down to data accessibility vs unobtrusiveness. If you want a device you can wear all day or night without thinking about it, Oura will quietly monitor your stats in the background.
If you prefer a device you can interact with in real-time, then a Fitbit will give you all the data you desire right on your wrist.
The Bottom Line
The Oura ring offers a novel approach to wellness tracking with a discrete design, relatively long battery life, and feature-rich app. It can give you lots of insight into your sleep levels and should help you know when it’s time to slow down for your physical and mental health.
However, it’s not without limitations. The ring is more expensive than competitor Fitbit, and it’s comparatively limited in functionality because you can’t use it for all workouts. There are also some user complaints about cheap material and short lifespan.
It’s also important not to read too much into the data you get from wellness trackers. They’re giving you only their best guess on your health and are clearly missing cues that you or your doctor are likely to notice.
If you feel great and want to go hard at the gym, but the ring tells you to take it easy, we suggest going with your gut over this algorithm,
Overall, the Oura ring makes sense for anyone who wants a relatively fashionable way to collect more data about their habits.
Customer Reviews
Posted on May 17, 2017
Amazing technology. A lot of potential!
The technology that they've been able to pack into the small ring is incredible - heart rate, heart wavelength, body temperature, motion. It is so much more accurate than any wrist monitor.
The ring itself is amazing. Where this product is weakest, though, is with the app. Since the product just came out, they have some work to do with the app (it's not even version 1.0 of the app yet). It sounds like they are overhauling it now. Looking forward to seeing what they will do!
Bottom Line: Yes, I would recommend this to a friend
Helpful Review?
4 People Have Voted
Posted on Dec 4, 2017
Great at sleep tracking
I’ve had the ring for 6 months now and find the sleep tracking to be very accurate.
There have been times while watching TV in bed where I was completely still that the ring recorded me as in light sleep, but if you think about the algorithm they use to record sleep, my body was telling the ring it was asleep via the biofeedback.
I lift heavy, and the app does a good job tracking activity if you app your workouts in the activity section.
This is a great product and I ordered the new ring 5 minutes after it went on pre-sale.
Bottom Line: Yes, I would recommend this to a friend
Helpful Review?
2 People Have Voted
Posted on Jan 24, 2018
Best tool yet
I have been using the Oura Ring for about nine months now, and I highly recommend it. It has been amazingly accurate and has provided great insights regarding my sleep quality and readiness for the next day's workout(s).
I found that being able to add activities and intensity has really helped with the accuracy of the day's overall activities.
The HRV data has been one of the best metrics in my mind for readiness, but all the data has been both consistent and useful.
I did have an issue with battery life at one point. I contacted Oura, they looked at my data (that is synced with the Oura Cloud), and they determined that my power consumption was high and promptly sent out a new ring.
I use the ring during cross-training, running, weightlifting (even deadlifting), yoga, rowing, and cycling. I haven't had any issues with cracking, durability or discomfort.
I have already pre-ordered the new style ring and can't wait to get it. It has been by far the best fitness/ self-quantification tool I have tried. And I have tried many of them.
Bottom Line: Yes, I would recommend this to a friend
Helpful Review?
4 People Have Voted
Posted on Nov 2, 2018
Friendly, quick customer service
I had a totally different customer service experience compared with one of the other reviewers here. I sent a note to Oura about an existing order on the weekend and responsiveness was very good (mostly from Mia). I decided to change my ring type (from Heritage Black to Heritage Stealth) but had several back and forth exchanges asking questions first. Below are the date/time stamps from the conversation (US, Central Time).
I am sorry that my fellow Texan in Dallas had a poor experience two quarters ago, but perhaps Oura received the feedback and took action or otherwise is more consistently offering good customer service. I am grateful and very pleased so far and just want to offer this example as another data point for others considering a purchase (I don't usually provide feedback in forums like this, but there was such a contrast in my experience I wanted to help others know that things have turned out well in this case).
Thanks.
- Sunday, October 28, 2018 at 02:42 PM (my initial question).
- Sunday, October 28, 2018 at 02:42 PM (autoresponder indicating someone would get back to me soon and included links to some related frequently asked questions).
- Monday, October 29, 2018 at 06:57 AM (Mia’s response to my question).
- Monday, October 29, 2018 at 07:03 AM (further question from me).
- Monday, October 29, 2018 at 07:16 AM (Mia’s response to my question).
- Monday, October 29, 2018 at 07:27 AM (further question from me).
- Monday, October 29, 2018 at 07:36 AM (Mia’s response to my question).
- Monday, October 29, 2018 at 07:40 AM (further question from me and request to process change/invoice).
- Monday, October 29, 2018 at 7:51 AM (Mia’s response indicating my PayPal invoice process started).
- Monday, October 29, 2018 at 4:11 PM (question from me on expected timing to receive the invoice).
- Tuesday, October 30, 2018 at 6:31 AM (Mia’s response indicating the PayPal invoice was sent).
- Tuesday, October 30, 2018 at 6:32 AM (PayPal invoice received).
- Tuesday, October 30, 2018 at 6:34 AM (PayPal invoice paid).
Bottom Line: Yes, I would recommend this to a friend
Helpful Review?
4 People Have Voted
Posted on Sep 22, 2017
More accurate sleep tracking than the Emfit QS, but useless for activity tracking
I've been using the Oura Ring for about two months. I've found that it has reliably indicated poor deep sleep whenever I'd sleep with my girlfriend. However, I've also seen it and (blogged about it) detect me in light sleep when I was on the phone late at night.
As for activity tracking, it's still a bulky ring, and it makes certain activities difficult (lifting, for example). I swam with it, but I'd take it off for any barbell work. Also, tech support told me that activity tracking plays only a very small role in the app's calculations.
From personal experience, readiness did not always correlate with actual performance in the gym.
Final note: The skin under the ring tends to "marinate" if you keep it on for more than several hours. As a sleep monitor, it can provide good insights. I wouldn't use it as an activity monitor.
Bottom Line: Yes, I would recommend this to a friend
Helpful Review?
1 Person Has Voted
Posted on Feb 25, 2019
Update
After nearly three weeks, customer support finally got back to me with useful information and the Ring is working again. I still love all of the analytics the ring gives, but the long wait for a solution to an apparent widespread problem keeps me from recommending.
Bottom Line: No, I would not recommend this to a friend
Helpful Review?
7 People Have Voted
Posted on May 7, 2017
Activity and sleep data issues
I was a Kickstarter backer of Oura and had high hopes for it. Now that Oura has shut down their forums, there is no place to provide feedback directly to them. The biggest issue with Oura is that the activity intensity is NOT captured accurately; consequently, the Activity and Readiness scores suffer from "garbage in/garbage out."
After a recent firmware update, I pulled my Oura out of the box to see if it had improved its activity monitoring. My data over this two week period with ten intense workouts (averaging one hour on an elliptical with average heart rate of 134 and average max heart rate of 161. I'm a 68-year-old male with a calculated max heart rate of 152) were all recorded as "medium" by Oura.
Walking my dog for 20 minutes was actually rated higher on Oura's activity scale than my elliptical workouts! The Activity and Readiness percent do not appear to bear any correlation to the activities I actually engage in. The Activity percent was actually HIGHER on the four days I did not do my intense workout, and the Readiness percent was unchanged. Go figure. I cannot recommend Oura for anyone whose active workouts are not captured by Oura's accelerometer. It won't capture static activities like bike riding, ellipticals or even yoga. Dog walking it does capture!
Oura fares better on the sleep measures which I compared to the recent sleep data added to Fitbit. Over the same two week period, Oura averaged five hours 35 minutes of sleep and Fitbit averaged 5:42 (I don't need much sleep).
The breakdowns by Deep, REM, Light, and Awake time were another matter. Awake time was pretty equal, averaging 47 minutes with Oura to 45 with Fitbit, and Deep sleep time was not too far off at 26 with Oura, and 46 with Fitbit. The REM and Light sleep times were quite disparate; Oura REM at one hour, 55 minutes average, Fitbit at 1:17, Light sleep time was 3:13 with Oura and 3:39 with Fitbit. So the total REM/Light was pretty close between the two devices at 5:08 Oura and 4:57 with Fitbit. So there is clearly a difference in the algorithms used to track the different sleep categories.
For me, Oura is going back in the box as it simply is a LOUSY activity tracker that gives bad data in its Activity and Readiness measures. And as a Sleep tracker (which was one of the touted features of Oura), it's data is directionally accurate but hard to trust since they don't provide any idea how it is calculated. I will rely on my Fitbit Blaze. It is a cheaper, better activity tracker with sleep data that is similarly directionally accurate.
It's too bad. Oura is a great concept that simply can't deliver due to its inability to track the most important input to its data; the intensity of your activities.
Bottom Line: No, I would not recommend this to a friend
Helpful Review?
12 People Have Voted
Posted on Aug 18, 2017
Doesn't last long
I've had my Ring for four weeks, and it's already cracked. It worked for a few days after I cracked it, then became sporadic and finally quit working within 24 hours. I cracked the Ring doing burpees. I read several in depth reviews online indicating it was the best tracker for fitness training, including CrossFit. I would strongly discourage using this Ring while doing any such activities.
It is waterproof, which is why I bought it, now I wished I'd have waited and saved more money for the Apple Watch Series 2 and the Beddit sleep monitor. I will say I do prefer the inactivity monitor over the Stand rings on the Apple Watch but found the stats on the Readiness Screen of the Oura Ring to be useless. There is no way to delete and download the data, and they supposedly work into the algorithm to calculate your readiness for activity, but I was under the impression I'd be able to monitor body temperature better not just of an average. The labels are so small, and the increments are so close together you can't really decipher any details on the data.
Anyhow, that's my two cents, but you'd have to decide what you really want to use it for. I'm active and use my hands a lot. I don't recommend it for people like me.
Bottom Line: No, I would not recommend this to a friend
Helpful Review?
4 People Have Voted
Posted on Apr 30, 2019
Horrible customer service
My ring stopped syncing with the app. Following the troubleshooting directions, I downloaded the app again. When entering the PW I recalled, I got a "wrong PW" message and taken to a page which says that they will do a PW reset by entering your email. No PW reset email; no response from tech or general support after multiple attempts to reach them.
I am not losing any sleep over this, but if I was, I certainly would not be able to track it with the Oura Ring.
Bottom Line: No, I would not recommend this to a friend
Helpful Review?
6 People Have Voted
Posted on Nov 25, 2021
Non-existing customer service
I bought a ring, and given it did not show the workout stats I was hoping for, I wrote them. They gave me a long answer like what they have on the website and never mentioned in 2 months they would release an upgrade with all the features I was asking about. Now they released Gen3 and want an extra 314 Euros for me to get it (on top of the 314 I already paid!), offering free lifetime membership. I emailed customer service twice and TWICE got a standard email reply answering about how to buy the new ring! It is appalling how little they care for new customers and the non-existing customer service. Other start-ups (see the NOWATCH) are doing a much better job, so stay away from Oura.
Length of Use: Less than 3 months
Bottom Line: No, I would not recommend this to a friend
Pros and Cons
Sleep tracking
Fits on my finger (vs. watches are too big for my tiny wrists)
Good insights and suggestions on improving well-being
Customer service
Ring scratches easily
Battery lasts max 5 days vs. advertised one week
Posted on Apr 22, 2017
Ring showed very thin crack, damaged the skin on my finger!
Sorry, I don't have another way to inform this company that my Oura Ring seriously damaged the skin on my finger. It's been healing since the end of March and still isn't completely healed. Others should be warned about this. I hope I will get an email from Oura to discuss this issue. It's troubling not to have a way to contact the company.
Bottom Line: No, I would not recommend this to a friend
Helpful Review?
6 People Have Voted
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