Oura Ring 5 vs. Oura Ring 4: Slimmer, and still with a subscription

Many smart rings come with a subscription, but few double down on paid memberships as much as Oura rings. The recurring charges, plus the high upfront cost, make Oura Ring wearables tricky to justify. However, Oura has a new smart ring that aims to convince new users to try the form factor and get current users to upgrade — the Oura Ring 5. It's a design marvel, with a size that's around 40% smaller than the Oura Ring 4.

The biggest Oura Ring 5 upgrade is its thinner, lighter profile, which will help the smart ring blend in better on the finger. The design overhaul extends to the health and activity sensors themselves, which now make better contact with your skin for more accurate readings. Overall, the feature set sounds similar to the Oura Ring 4, so which should you buy? Let's break down all the differences and help you find the Oura smart ring that's right for you.

Oura Ring 5 vs. Oura Ring 4: Design, sizes, and materials

The Oura Ring 5 is all about refinement, and that's clear from its design. It's advertised as roughly 40% smaller than the Oura Ring 4, which might actually be underselling it. Looking at the dimensions of each smart ring, the newer model is seriously slim. The Oura Ring 5 only measures 2.28mm thick, down from 2.88mm on the Ring 4. That difference might not seem like much, but it'll make the Oura Ring 5 feel more like a jewelry ring than a clunky smart device on your finger.

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The Oura Ring 5's weight reduction is even more impressive. Like with any smart ring, Oura rings are offered in different sizes, and they each have their own weights. Bigger sizes use more material and offer a higher battery capacity, so they're heavier. What's incredible here is that the lightest Oura Ring 4 size is still heavier than the heaviest Oura Ring 5 size.

The lightest Oura Ring 5 size weighs just two grams, while the heaviest one isn't much heavier at 2.69 grams. Meanwhile, the Oura Ring 4 weighs 3.3 grams at its lightest and 5.2 grams at its heaviest. That means the biggest Oura Ring 5 is almost half as light as the comparable Oura Ring 4. The lightweight and slim build of the Oura Ring 5 will hopefully make it blend in with your fingers with any other rings, so you forget you're wearing it.

One thing to note is that the sizing for the Oura Ring 5 is different from that of the Oura Ring 4, and there are fewer size options available on the newer model. The Oura Ring 4 is available in ring sizes four through 15, while the Oura Ring 5 is available in ring sizes six through 13. If you require larger or smaller sizes, you'll be out of luck with the Oura Ring 5. This also explains why the Ring 5 is so light, even in larger sizes, compared to the Ring 4.

That isn't a knock on the Oura Ring 5's weight reduction claims at all, however. The smaller size is larger this generation, and that Ring 5 variant is still 1.3 grams lighter than the size-four Ring 4 model.

The Oura Ring 4 launched in 2024 in a titanium finish, but Oura refreshed the smart ring in 2025 with a mid-cycle ceramic alternative. The Oura Ring 5 is only launching in a titanium finish for now, and it's possible that it too will see a mid-cycle refresh eventually. You can choose from Silver, Black, Stealth, Brushed Silver, Gold, and Deep Rose finishes for the Oura Ring 5. The first two options are $399, while the latter four are $499.

The Oura Ring 4 is available in Black, Brushed Silver, Gold, Silver, Rose Gold, and Stealth finishes. It starts at $349 for the Silver model, with other finishes available for $399 or $499. However, discounts are starting to hit for the Oura Ring 4 that make the premium finishes more accessible. Meanwhile, the Oura Ring 4 Ceramic is $499, but it's discounted to $399 at the time of publishing.

Oura Ring 5 vs. Oura Ring 4: Hardware and specs

Both the Oura Ring 4 and Oura Ring 5 share similar hardware and specs. They're made out of a "high-performance titanium exterior" and a "seamless titanium interior." Titanium is a lightweight yet durable metal, making it a solid material choice for a smart ring. Certain models, like the Ceramic or Stealth versions, will have differences in materials. The two Oura Ring generations have the same water resistance — up to a depth of 100 meters (328 feet).

The two rings each use a combination of infrared LEDs, a digital temperature sensor, and an accelerometer to process health and activity data. On the Oura Ring 5, these sensors are more accurate thanks to a few changes. The new design helps the Ring 5 make better contact with your finger's skin, and more powerful LEDs emit stronger red, green, and infrared pulses. There are exclusive features tied to the new model, like Blood Pressure Signs.

Battery life could be slightly longer on the Oura Ring 5, with the company touting up to nine days of runtime. The Oura Ring 4 advertises up to eight days of battery life. However, on both models, this will vary based on real-world usage habits and ring size. Charging will take up to 80 minutes to get to full on both ring models.

Unfortunately, you only get a charging base cable in the box with either the Oura Ring 5 or the Oura Ring 4. The charging case for both ring generations is optional and will run you $99 separately. It's a disappointing added cost you might want to tack onto the ring hardware and the perpetual subscription fee.

The Oura Ring 4 and Ring 5 both use Bluetooth Low Energy tech to connect to companion smartphones on either iOS or Android. The rings integrate with Apple Health or Google Health Connect, but these integrations won't help you avoid the Oura Membership fee.

Oura Ring 5 vs. Oura Ring 4: Subscription and features

Smart rings like the Oura Ring 4 and Oura Ring 5 are passive trackers, meaning they record health data in the background, which can be viewed in the Oura app. To view all these insights, you need the $5.99 monthly or $69.99 annual Oura Membership. Without it, your smart ring won't be able to do all the cool things advertised on Oura's website.

The Oura Ring 5 adds a new suite of AI-powered features called Health Radar. It uses AI models and health data from your smart ring to identify biometric trends that could indicate health problems. For instance, Blood Pressure Signs uses sleep data to pick up signs of cardiovascular strain. The Oura Ring 5 also supports live activity tracking in the app, with improvements to Automatic Activity Detection also available.

That said, the Ring 4 is still well-positioned to deliver fitness features and health insights. It provides activity and fitness data, readiness insights, stress analysis, and heart health and women's health information. The Oura Ring 5 does all this too, for what it's worth. Both rings can auto-detect up to 40 different workouts, while the Oura Ring 5 can provide up to 50 different metrics.

Oura Ring 5 vs. Oura Ring 4: Is it worth the upgrade?

The hurdle to buying an Oura smart ring is the subscription. To get all the health insights and features that make an Oura ring great, you need to subscribe to a monthly membership. It costs $5.99 per month or $69.99 per year, and frankly, it's an expensive requirement on top of the $350 or $400 you've already spent on Oura Ring 4 or Oura Ring 5 hardware. If you can get over that hurdle, there's a reason Oura smart rings are so popular.

The app analyzes your vitals and activity data to provide insights you wouldn't have known about otherwise. The Oura Ring 5 is thin and lightweight, making it the best option for new smart ring users. If you already have an Oura Ring 4, sticking with your current smart ring may be the best choice. It's not even two years old yet, and paying $400 to upgrade to an Oura Ring 5 already is difficult to justify.