Oura
Oura Ring 4
$349
Released 2024-10
Best Fitness Trackers · head-to-head
Oura Ring 4 vs Garmin Vivosmart 5
A sourced, side-by-side comparison. Garmin Vivosmart 5 is cheaper at $149.99. Every spec and price links to its source.
Garmin
Garmin Vivosmart 5
$149.99Cheaper
Released 2022-04
Which is better: the Oura Ring 4 or Garmin Vivosmart 5?
On the specs we track, they're closely matched. The Garmin Vivosmart 5 is the cheaper at $149.99.
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Full spec sheet
✓ marks the stronger figure where "more" — or "less", for price and weight — is unambiguously better.
| Spec | Oura Ring 4 | Garmin Vivosmart 5 |
|---|---|---|
| US price | $349 | $149.99 US MSRP at launch Apr 20 2022. |
| Brand | Oura | Garmin |
| Released | 2024-10 | 2022-04 |
| Form factor | ring | band |
| Display | — | OLED 0.84in monochrome |
| Battery days | 8 | 7 |
| Gps | No | No |
| Spo2 | Yes | Yes |
| Ecg | No | No |
| Subscription required | Yes | No |
| Water resistance (m) | 100 | 50 |
| Release | 2024 | 2022 |
Sources — Oura Ring 4: support.ouraring.com (verified 2026-06-15). Garmin Vivosmart 5: garmin.com (verified 2026-06-15).
What's the difference between the Oura Ring 4 and Garmin Vivosmart 5?
Where the two actually differ on the specs we track (4 of 8). Matching specs are omitted.
- Form factor: Oura Ring 4 ring vs Garmin Vivosmart 5 band
- Battery days: Oura Ring 4 8 vs Garmin Vivosmart 5 7
- Subscription required: Oura Ring 4 true vs Garmin Vivosmart 5 false
- Water resistance (m): Oura Ring 4 100 vs Garmin Vivosmart 5 50
What reviewers say
Sourced tester consensus for each — the "what people who used it think" layer, not just specs.
Oura Ring 4
Two whitelisted hands-on testers (TechRadar, Engadget) call the Oura Ring 4 the best smart ring, praising comfort, sleep tracking and the redesigned app. Both flag the mandatory $5.99/month subscription that paywalls essential features. In real-world use, TechRadar drained a Size 10 ring in about five and a half days of constant use with workouts, while Engadget regularly got seven days on the same size over two months of lighter use. (Numeric measured values were dropped because the digit forms did not literally appear in the source text; the battery claims survive within verbatim quotes.) (2 sourced reviews, 2 lab-tested.)
Praised: Best-in-class smart ring; comfortable, elegant titanium design; Highly accurate sleep tracking (near-polysomnography); Multi-day battery life in real use (roughly 5.5-7 days on a Size 10).
Flagged: Mandatory $5.99/month subscription paywalls essential features and hurts value; Automatic activity/workout detection is unreliable (false positives).
Garmin Vivosmart 5
Three whitelisted testers (DC Rainmaker, Tom's Guide, TechRadar) field-tested the exact Vivosmart 5. All praise its accurate optical heart rate, ~7-day battery (with all-day SpO2 off), and free no-subscription Garmin Connect data, but flag the dated monochrome screen and missing onboard GPS. DC Rainmaker calls it a rare miss and overpriced versus the $149 Fitbit Charge 5; TechRadar calls it excellent for everyday wellbeing; Tom's Guide rates it a good tracker that falls short without GPS. (3 sourced reviews, 3 lab-tested.)
Praised: Accurate, responsive optical heart rate in workout/interval tests; Long ~7-day battery life (with all-day SpO2 disabled); Deep Garmin Connect data with no subscription paywall (unlike Fitbit).
Flagged: No onboard GPS; relies on phone, causing distance errors on longer routes; Dated monochrome screen, hard to read outdoors/on the move; All-day SpO2 monitoring drains battery drastically (to ~3-4 days).