Is Oura’s $399 Ring 5 Worth the Upgrade? Here’s Who Should Buy the Smaller Wearable

Oura’s newest smart ring is dramatically smaller and more health-focused, but whether or not its worth the upgrade depends on how you use the ring most

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The Oura Ring 5 arrives at a moment when the smart ring category feels more relevant than ever. Consumers are gravitating toward screen-free wearables that blend into daily life, and the competition is catching up fast, with cheaper alternatives multiplying by the month. The brand’s latest smart ring answers with a noticeably slimmer design that’s 40% smaller than its predecessor, updated sensors, longer battery life and a health platform that pushes Oura well beyond sleep tracking.

The real question for existing users is whether the upgrade is worth it.

The new ring starts at $399 and requires a subscription ($5.99 per month or $69.99 annually) to get the most out of its tracking features, including more than 50 health metrics such as sleep, activity, hearth health, women’s health, stress and metabolic data. (The Ring 4 is currently on sale starting at $349 on Amazon.)

As longtime Oura wearers, we tested out the latest wearable to compare it against previous models. Keep reading for our honest review the Ring 5 below.

Oura Ring Gen 5 Review: The Bottom Line

If you’re new to the smart ring game, Oura’s Ring 5 is a worthy choice for anyone who wants a wearable that’s comfortable to wear all day (especially at the gym) and is and offers data-driven health insights via the wellness tech company’s app.

Oura Ring Gen 5 Review: Design & Comfortability

Overall, the Ring 5 is much easier to wear than previous models.

Smart rings face a unique design challenge: they need to work during workouts, showers, sleep, and everyday life, ideally while looking like jewelry, not a gadget. Oura Ring 5 clears that bar more convincingly than any previous generation. The slimmer profile lets fingers close naturally, and the smoother interior makes a meaningful difference during sleep, where comfort shapes the data as much as the sensors do.

After three years of wearing an Oura Ring nearly every day, I had to routinely take it off for strength training: it caught on dumbbells and the risk of scratching wasn’t worth it. I wore Oura Ring 5 through every workout: Barry’s, HIIT classes and lifting sessions, and it never got in the way. For anyone trying to track strength training without a wrist wearable, it’s a big breakthrough.

The design also does a much better job of passing as jewelry. Earlier generations looked great, but they were noticeable as fitness tech. Oura Ring 5 comes closer to something that could slip into a normal jewelry rotation.

Oura Ring Gen 5 Review: Sensors & Data Tracking

With the aesthetic upgrades came tinier, more accurate sensors – improvements that I noticed almost immediately. I used to have a lot of incorrect suggestions from Oura: a walk that was actually strength training, or Pilates that was actually a HIIT class. Every single suggestion from Oura Ring 5 has been correct since I started wearing it.

To get here, Oura redesigned the sensing architecture using low-profile sensor domes, more powerful LEDs and stronger signal pathways to maintain accuracy despite the smaller hardware. The company claims the result is more accurate across different finger types and skin tones than previous generations.

Some of Oura’s most interesting updates, however, are currently available on all rings. Features like Health Radar, Health Records, GLP-1 Insights, lab uploads and AI-enabled care through Counsel Health represent a platform shift, from a sleep and recovery tracker toward something more like a continuous health layer. Oura Ring 4 users will get most of these updates through software.

Oura Ring 5 Review: Price & Subscription

Ring 5 starts at $399 and requires a monthly membership ($5.99 per month or $69.99 annually) for full app access, two factors worth weighing before pulling the trigger. It’s $50 more than the Ring 4’s starting price.

For Gen 3 owners, the case is straightforward. The jump in design, battery life, sensing and interior comfort is substantial. For Oura Ring 4 owners, it depends on fit: if your current ring feels bulky or catches during workouts, the upgrade is worth it. If it already fits well and the health insights are what you’re after, there’s less urgency.

For first-time buyers, Oura Ring 5 is the clearest entry point Oura has ever offered.

Oura Ring 5 Review: The Final Verdict

Oura Ring 5 is worth it for first-time buyers, Gen 3 users and anyone who has wanted an Oura Ring but found earlier versions too bulky. For Oura Ring 4 users, the decision is more personal. The new ring is more comfortable and better looking, but the upgrade may not be necessary if the current model already fits well and delivers the insights you want.

For three years, I took my Oura Ring off every time I walked into the gym to do a strength-focused workout. Oura Ring 5‘s 40% size difference is not just aesthetic, but functional, and may make the smart ring more fitness-focused than ever.

Oura Ring 5 Specifications:

• Price: $399+
• Battery life: Up to 9 days
• Charging time: 20-80 minutes
• Subscription price: $5.99/mo. or $69.99/year
• Waterproof rating: Up to 100m
• Dimensions: 6.09mm W x 2.28m thick
• Weight: 2 grams
• Colors: Silver, Brushed Silver, Stealth, Black, Gold, Deep Gold
• Compatibility: iOS, Android
• Warranty: Yes