Oura and Fitbit are titans of wearables — and the two platforms are a lot closer in terms of the stats on offer than many expect.
Fitbit makes excellent fitness tracking bands and smartwatches, but one thing it doesn’t have in its collection is a smart ring.
Meanwhile, the Oura Ring has gained immense popularity and has been spotted on the digits of royalty and Hollywood A-Listers. But in total contrast to standard wearables, Oura tracks everything from the finger.
And there are good reasons for the rise of smart rings. Not everyone wants to wear tech on the wrist. So while Oura doesn’t exactly blend away, it’s discreet and unobtrusive – and it enables you to wear a nice watch and get all the benefits of a wrist-worn wearable.
The wrist vs finger
It may surprise you, but the finger is a great place to put sensors for health tracking. Heart rate is particularly accurate when measured there – just think about the sensors doctors clip on in medical settings.
Fitbit, on the other hand, is synonymous with the wrist – and it’s a great place to keep up with daily goals, check your progress, and generally blend into the background.
It delivers smartwatch-style features that you just don’t get on the Oura, and there’s a huge array of Fitbit devices, suited to wide range of needs and tastes.
But how does this smart ring shape up in terms of what it can track and compares to the Fitbit wearable family? We’ve compared the two wearable platforms to find out which one might be a better fit for you.
We think it’s fair to say that these two trackers couldn’t look more different. One sits on your wrist, the other sits on your finger. Fitbit also offers the ability to wear its Inspire 3 fitness tracker elsewhere on your body thanks to an additional Midnight Zen clip accessory. Mainly though, it’s designed to be worn in one place.
The Oura Ring 4 has just been released — and it’s more comfortable and sleek to wear, but not smaller. It’s noticeably way bigger than a normal ring. For many people, wrist tracking is more comfortable, and natural and you do of course have a way to view stats away from the companion app.
Oura Ring v Fitbit: Devices
Oura Ring 4
We were slightly disappointed that the Oura Ring 4 wasn’t slimmed down from the Gen 3 — but it’s lighter and comfortable to wear. It’s certainly a little chunkier than a normal ring. We found it a slick-looking wearable overall, but we understand it’s not everyone’s cup of tea.
It doesn’t have a screen, so you’re relying on dipping into the companion app to view your data. It is made from lightweight titanium with a PVD coating and it is water-resistant up to 100 meters.
Unlike the Gen 3 (now technically discontinued although stock is still selling through) there’s only one style — but in six colors: black, stealth (blackish), silver, brushed silver, rose gold and gold.
Before you get your hands on it, you will have to use the sizing kit, which is sent out to you and offers size options from US 5 to US 14 – so there’s a little extra admin involved.
Once you’ve found one that’s comfortable to wear for 24 hours, you’ll be sent the real deal.
Fitbit devices
While there’s only one Oura Ring 3, there are a lot of Fitbit options – but they all live on the wrist. However, there are different-sized fitness bands and smartwatches to choose from in the range.
But under Google, things have changed. So the best Fitbit you can buy now is actually the Google Pixel Watch 3. This smartwatch runs Wear OS, but syncs to the Fitbit app for a full-fat Fitbit experience with all the bells and whistles (but it only works with Android smartphones!)
The most discreet option is the Inspire 3, which is a traditional Fitbit band. It’s basic-looking but surprisingly powerful with SpO2 tracking, a temperature sensor, and a waterproof build. The Fitbit Charge 6 is the bigger, more powerful band with ECG and an EDA stress sensor on board.
You’ll also see the Versa 4 and Sense 2 on sale — but these are essentially being put out to pasture by Google, and weren’t great smartwatches anyway.
Oura Ring v Fitbit: Fitness tracking
Oura fitness tracking
So we’ve established that these two trackers take very different forms, so how do they compare in terms of what they can measure? Well, both capture similar metrics from their PPG sensors, which are used to monitor sleep, activity, stress, and wellness.
Sleep tracking is a big factor of both platforms and here we have two excellent sleep trackers. We’d say Oura has the edge, but Fitbit has always been a top sleep-tracking performer.
Both will monitor blood oxygen, and scan for breathing irregularities — as well as track menstrual cycles with the on-board temperature. And both will also keep tabs on your daily metrics and how they compare to your established baselines.
Both will also keep tabs on workouts, and borrow your iPhone’s GPS to track runs. Fitbit has the added benefit of built-in GPS on its Pixel Watch 3 and Charge 6. Oura suffers from a lack of screen so you won’t get real-time feedback of your workouts, and the ring can get badly scratched if you’re throwing weights around — so think carefully if a smart ring is right for your needs.
Both put an onus on stress tracking. Fitbit will do this via monitoring your HRV and heart rate and the Charge 6/Pixel 3 will also use an EDA sensor to monitor stress from the skin.
Oura also uses HRV to track stress levels, but it adds a stress resistance score, that rates your ability to deal with stress from your sleep and activity levels – and arguably this is the most useful application.
One area in which Fitbit excels is features such as ECG — which are available on Charge 6 and Pixel Watch 3, which can alert you to irregular heart rate rhythms.
Finally, Oura has opened up its platform more than Fitbit. Both will feed into Apple Health and Google Fit, but Oura has over 600 integrations to other services, including Clue, Natural Cycles, Headspace, and more. This enables interesting cross-pollination of data that makes the whole experience richer.
Oura activity metrics:
- Readiness scores
- Sleep scores and chronotypes
- Steps/activity
- Resting heart rate
- Respiratory rate
- Body temperature
- Pregnancy insights/Cycle Insights/Fertility Insights
- Cardio Score/Cardiovascular Age
- Meal tracking with timing insights
- Chronotype and circadian insights
Fitbit fitness tracking
Fitbit activity metrics:
- Steps
- Sleep tracking and chronotype
- Blood oxygen levels (selected devices)
- ECG heart rate monitoring (select devices)
- Skin temperature (select devices)
- Active Zone Minutes
- Calories
- 24/7 heart rate
- Resting heart rate
- VO2 Max (selected devices)
- Stress tracking
Oura Ring v Fitbit: Sleep tracking
One of the strongest features of both Fitbit and Oura is sleep tracking – and both systems are excellent. However, there are quite extreme differences between them.
Both ecosystems do this so well it largely comes back to the device you feel more comfortable wearing. Oura will suit those looking for more data and granular detail.
Oura sleep tracking
Our companion smartphone app
Oura uses its onboard sensors to record a raft of metrics and data. It’ll give you a breakdown of sleep stages (deep, light, and REM). Just like you can on Fitbit’s platform and trackers using a similar method to track sleep.
It will generate an overall sleep score based on a range of metrics including heart rate, breathing, temperature, and blood oxygen levels — and tell you whether it detected significant breathing disturbances (a possible sign of sleep apnea). You’ll see insights into sleep efficiency, and signs of restfulness and record total sleep time and time spent in bed.
This sleep data feeds into another aspect of Oura, which it calls Readiness. This concept also takes into consideration activity to assess whether you’re in good shape for the day – and will be of interest to those looking at recovery from workouts as well as general wellness.
Oura sleep metrics:
- Sleep score
- Sleep stage (Deep, REM, Light sleep)
- Total sleep time
- Sleep efficiency
- Restfulness
- Resting heart rate, blood oxygen
- Breathing regularity
- Sleep and wake time
- Ideal bedtime suggestion
Fitbit sleep tracking
Fitbit sleep tracking data
As far as Fitbit and sleep monitoring is concerned, it’s an aspect we have long praised the wearable maker for as being some of the most reliable and insightful.
Like Oura, Fitbit has participated in a raft of validated sleep studies and has long led the way in terms of accuracy and analysis of sleep from the wrist.
All of Fitbit’s trackers and smartwatches offer automatic sleep monitoring – and those that track heart rate will provide extra layers of data with better accuracy.
All of this data combines so Fitbit can create a single Sleep Score, based on aspects like heart rate and sleep stages.
Fitbit can track sleep duration, the time taken to fall asleep, as well as those key sleep stages of deep, REM, and light sleep. Fitbit also counts the time spent awake or restless periods during that sleep time, so it gives a much harsher assessment of your night’s activity.
And the previously dormant SpO2 offers richer insights and even helps detect signs associated with sleep disorders like sleep apnea. That is delivered via the Estimated Oxygen Variability graph which is found in your sleep analysis if you have a newer Fitbit device like the Charge 5 or Versa 4.
There are also extra features such as Sleep Schedule, which tries to find your optimum bedtime to boost sleep consistency. Fitbit Premium has guided sleep meditations and will offer extra in-depth insights into device data.
Fitbit sleep tracking data:
- Sleep score
- Sleep stage (Deep, REM, Light sleep)
- Total sleep time
- Sleep heart rate
- Restfulness
- Snore and noise detection
- Estimate oxygen variation
- Sleep and wake time
Oura vs Fitbit battery life
When it comes to battery life, most Fitbits offer a week of battery life. When you factor in features like GPS and continuous heart rate monitoring, that does impact that performance. Generally, though, you’re looking at 5-7 days across its range.
The Fitbit Sense 2/Versa 4 also offered around 4-5 days. But these are on the way out, and the new Pixel Watch 3 only lasts a day — two days if you get the XL version.
On paper, the latest Oura Ring should get you up to 8 days of battery life, but if you’re wearing it continuously we’d say to expect around five days. Especially now that the power-hungry SpO2 sensor has been turned on.
In terms of charging, it’ll get you back up to full power within 20-80 minutes.
Oura Ring v Fitbit: Price and battery life
So how much do these trackers cost? If we start with Fitbit, you’re looking at paying $99.99 / £89.99 for its cheapest tracker, the Inspire 3. That can rise to $349/£349 for its Pixel Watch 3.
The Oura Ring 4 comes in at $349/£349 and rises further if you want a gold finish.
But that’s not the end of the payments.
Something you do have to address with the pricing is the apps. While you can use Oura freely with its companion app, you’re highly limited in terms of what you can see beyond Readiness and Sleep scores. You will have to factor in paying the additional $5.99/£4.99 a month subscription service.
In contrast, most of Fitbit’s features are free to use, though some richer insights around sleep, and health along with features like video workouts require a Fitbit Premium subscription. That costs $9.99 /£7.99 a month or $79.99/£79.99 a year.
Essentially, you must have a subscription for Oura, while most Fitbit users won’t need the Premium service. If you do, however, Oura works out cheaper.
Verdict
As hardware, these two wearables couldn’t be any different. If you prefer discreet and unobtrusive tracking, the Oura Ring is absolutely the one to go for. If you’re the kind of person who needs to constantly check on progress, you go for a Fitbit.
There are some strong similarities between the software and tracking side of things and that should be seen as a good thing. Oura is a bit smarter, and the data and hardware is more interesting. But if you’re not keen on a ring, then a Fitbit device is a more than worthy alternative.
Buy an Oura if…You want the smartest and best health insights. As a health companion, it’s untouched, especially for women. The ring form factor isn’t for everyone, but many find it a better alternative to wearing an ugly band/smartwatch on the wrist.
Buy a Fitbit if…This is certainly the most cost-effective option, especially if you choose the capable Inspire 3. At the other end of the scale, the Pixel Watch 3 is a powerful smartwatch, and the health insights are excellent.