TCRThe Comparison Report

Fitness Trackers / WHOOP

WHOOP · 5.0

WHOOP 5.0 (Peak membership)

The best recovery analytics in wearables, rented for $239/year and never owned.

$239.00

Overall score 4.7/10

Check Price at Retailers

Pros

  • + Best-in-class recovery and sleep modelling — the Strain/Recovery framework is still the one everyone else copies
  • + 26Hz sampling and a 7% smaller module make it genuinely comfortable to sleep in
  • + The wireless PowerPack means you never take the band off to charge it
  • + HSA/FSA eligible, which softens the annual cost for some US buyers

Cons

  • There is no purchase price — you cannot own a WHOOP. Stop paying and the band stops collecting, uploading and analysing anything
  • $239/year for Peak means three years costs $717, more than four Fitbit Charge 6s
  • The $199 One tier quietly ships a certified pre-owned band and the old wired charger
  • No screen and no GPS chip: without your phone you get no pace, no route and no way to check anything mid-workout
  • Independent testing consistently finds wrist optical HR unreliable above ~150bpm, which is exactly where Strain is calculated

WHOOP 5.0 (Peak membership) review: what the specs say

The best recovery analytics in wearables, rented for $239/year and never owned. At $239, WHOOP's 2025 model sits at the premium end of the category — the fitness Trackers we compare run from $51.99 to $359. It scores 4.7/10 overall, calculated from published specifications across 8 categories rather than from a subjective impression.

Its strongest showing is Tracking Accuracy at 8.0/10 — how closely steps, heart rate and sleep match reference devices — and how badly the optical sensor falls apart at high intensity.. The weakest is Subscription Freedom at 1.0/10, which is the trade-off to weigh before buying: if that is the specification you care about most, one of the alternatives below will serve you better.

Worth knowing before you buy: there is no purchase price — you cannot own a WHOOP. Stop paying and the band stops collecting, uploading and analysing anything; and $239/year for Peak means three years costs $717, more than four Fitbit Charge 6s. Every specification on this page comes from WHOOP's own documentation or a verified retail listing — where a figure is not published, the table says so rather than estimating it.

Specifications and price last verified . Report an error

Full Specifications

GPSNone — no GPS chip. Route and pace exist only if the phone comes with you
DisplayNone — screenless; the band shows nothing and every metric is app-only
Rated Battery Life4 days
What the Battery Claim AssumesWHOOP claims '4+ days' from the device itself. The advertised '14+ days' is the band PLUS the wireless PowerPack — which the Peak tier includes and the cheapest One tier does not
Subscription ModelMandatory. WHOOP does not sell the hardware at any price — Peak is $239/year and the band comes with it. WHOOP states it stops collecting, uploading and analysing your data once the membership ends
Annual Subscription Cost239 $
Water ResistanceWHOOP markets the band as swim-safe; no ATM or IP figure is published in the 5.0 launch materials
ECG / AFib & FDA StatusNo ECG hardware on 5.0 — the ECG electrodes and the FDA-cleared ECG feature are exclusive to the WHOOP MG. 5.0 gets PPG-based irregular-heart-rhythm notifications
SpO2 SensorYes — blood oxygen, included on the Peak tier
Phone CompatibilityiOS and Android
ChargerWireless PowerPack (Peak and Life tiers). The $199 One tier ships a basic wired charger and a certified pre-owned 5.0 rather than a new one
Data ExportMember data download and a developer API while the membership is active; access to the archive follows the membership
ConnectivityBluetooth
MaterialWoven SuperKnit band with polymer sensor module
Warranty12 months

Compare WHOOP 5.0 (Peak membership) With

Cheaper Alternative

Polar Loop (2025) — $199.99

Premium Alternative

WHOOP MG (Life membership) — $359.00

More from WHOOP