Smart Rings / Oura Ring 4 Ceramic (2025) vs Oura Ring 5 (2026)
Oura Ring 4 Ceramic (2025) vs Oura Ring 5 (2026)
Oura Ring 5 (2026)
The best sleep tracking on a finger, rented to you at $5.99 a month forever.
Wins overall by 0.1 points
Quick Verdict
This is close. The Oura Ring 5 (2026) edges ahead by 0.1 points, but that margin is inside the noise — the Oura Ring 4 Ceramic (2025) is a defensible pick on its own terms. A $100 ceramic shell over Ring 4 electronics, and the scratches it will get are not warrantied.
The Oura Ring 4 Ceramic (2025) and Oura Ring 5 (2026) are both closely matched smart Ring models, and they're priced almost identically ($399 vs $399). On Sizing & Fit, the Oura Ring 4 Ceramic (2025) leads (8.5 vs 6.5/10) — how many sizes exist, how good the sizing kit is, and how forgiving the exchange policy is. On Durability, the Oura Ring 5 (2026) leads (8.0 vs 6.5/10) — finish scratch resistance, water rating in practice, and whether the finish is warrantied. On Battery Life, the Oura Ring 5 (2026) leads (7.5 vs 7.0/10) — real days between charges with continuous sensing on, plus what the charging case adds. Overall, the Oura Ring 5 (2026) scores 7.1/10 across our 8 scoring categories versus 7.0/10 for the Oura Ring 4 Ceramic (2025), though the gap is close enough that your specific use case should decide it. Below, we break down the full spec sheet, category-by-category scores, and exactly who should buy which one.
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Spec | Oura Ring 4 Ceramic (2025) | Oura Ring 5 (2026) |
|---|---|---|
| Price | $399.00 | $399.00 |
| Release Year | 2025 | 2026 |
| Battery Life (claimed) (days) | 8 | 9✓ |
| Battery, In Practice | Same 5-8 day claim as the metal Ring 4, with the same caveat that ring size, app settings and activity level move it. 20-80 minutes to charge. | Oura's own claim is a range, 'up to 6-9 days depending on ring size and usage' — the small sizes sit at the bottom of it because the battery is physically smaller. TechCrunch's reviewer was at roughly 25% after five days of continuous wear. Charging takes about 80 minutes. |
| Subscription | Required in practice — $5.99/month or $69.99/year, identical to every other Oura. Paying $100 more for ceramic buys you no membership credit. | Required in practice. $5.99/month or $69.99/year after one free month. Oura's own FAQ: without a membership 'your Oura Ring and Oura App will still function, but the insights, personal health data, and benefits you receive will be much more limited' — you keep the three headline scores and lose the 50+ metrics behind them. |
| 3-Year Cost of Ownership ($) | 608.97 | 608.97 |
| Sizes Offered | US 4-15, no half sizes, matching the metal Ring 4 | US 6-13, no half sizes. Ring 4 covered 4-15; Oura told TechCrunch the smaller form factor is harder to manufacture at the extremes, so small and large fingers lose the option entirely. |
| Sizing Kit | Free plastic sizing kit ships before the ring; 24-hour minimum wear including overnight, adding roughly a week before the ring ships. | Free plastic sizing kit ships before the ring. Oura instructs you to wear the sizer for at least 24 hours including overnight, so the kit round trip adds roughly a week before the ring is even ordered. |
| Returns & Size Exchange | Oura does not publish a return window on its warranty page. The 1-year warranty excludes normal wear and tear; Oura's own product page states that minor scratches from everyday use are expected on the ceramic. | Oura does not publish a return window on its warranty page. The 1-year limited warranty explicitly excludes 'normal wear and tear, such as scratches and dents caused by everyday handling' and lists batteries as a non-covered consumable part. |
| Measured vs Inferred | Identical to the metal Ring 4 — red/IR LEDs for blood oxygen, green/IR for heart rate and HRV, a temperature sensor and an accelerometer. Nothing about the ceramic shell adds a measurement. | Green and infrared LEDs for continuous heart rate and HRV; red and infrared LEDs for blood oxygen, which Oura reports as an overnight figure rather than an all-day continuous trace; NTC skin-temperature sensor; accelerometer. Readiness, Stress, Resilience and Health Radar are derived scores computed from those four signals, not separate measurements. |
| FDA Clearance | None published. General wellness product. | None published for the Ring 5 or its app features — Oura markets the whole product as general wellness. The Blood Pressure Signals feature announced alongside the Ring 5 is not a cuff-equivalent blood-pressure measurement. |
| Water Rating | Water resistant to 100m/328ft | IP68 and water resistant to 100m/328ft; Oura says it is not for scuba diving |
| Phone Support | iOS and Android, full feature parity; Oura lists integrations with 40+ apps | iOS and Android, full feature parity |
| Charger & Data Export | Proprietary size-specific dock plus USB-C cable, and a ceramic polishing pad. Export: not published as a one-click history download; personal-access-token Cloud API only. | Proprietary size-specific dock in the box plus a USB-C cable — a charger made for one ring size does not fit another, so a replacement has to match your ring. Export: not published as a one-click history download; Oura documents a personal-access-token Cloud API that third-party tools use to pull history. |
| Warranty | 12 months | 12 months |
| Colors | Midnight, Cloud, Tide, Petal | Silver, Black, Brushed Silver ($499), Stealth ($499), Gold ($499), Deep Rose ($499) |
Category Scores
Subscription Freedom
The Oura Ring 4 Ceramic (2025) and Oura Ring 5 (2026) are level here, at 2.0/10 each. how much of the ring keeps working with no recurring payment — the category's defining trap is not what separates these two — look to the categories where the scores diverge.
Sleep Tracking
The Oura Ring 5 (2026) is marginally ahead, 9.5 to 9.3. A gap this small rarely decides a purchase on its own, though it counts if sleep staging depth, overnight accuracy and how usable the morning report is is your priority.
Health Sensing
The Oura Ring 5 (2026) is marginally ahead, 8.5 to 8.2. A gap this small rarely decides a purchase on its own, though it counts if what the sensors genuinely measure — heart rate, SpO2, temperature, ECG — rather than infer is your priority.
Battery Life
The Oura Ring 5 (2026) leads clearly here, 7.5 against 7.0 — a 0.5-point margin on real days between charges with continuous sensing on, plus what the charging case adds. If that is what you are buying for, the Oura Ring 4 Ceramic (2025) does not close the gap elsewhere.
Sizing & Fit
The Oura Ring 4 Ceramic (2025) leads clearly here, 8.5 against 6.5 — a 2.0-point margin on how many sizes exist, how good the sizing kit is, and how forgiving the exchange policy is. If that is what you are buying for, the Oura Ring 5 (2026) does not close the gap elsewhere.
App & Data
The Oura Ring 4 Ceramic (2025) and Oura Ring 5 (2026) are level here, at 9.0/10 each. app stability, insight depth, platform parity and whether you can get your history out is not what separates these two — look to the categories where the scores diverge.
Durability
The Oura Ring 5 (2026) leads clearly here, 8.0 against 6.5 — a 1.5-point margin on finish scratch resistance, water rating in practice, and whether the finish is warrantied. If that is what you are buying for, the Oura Ring 4 Ceramic (2025) does not close the gap elsewhere.
Value
The Oura Ring 5 (2026) leads clearly here, 6.0 against 5.5 — a 0.5-point margin on what the ring delivers against its total cost of ownership, not just its sticker price. If that is what you are buying for, the Oura Ring 4 Ceramic (2025) does not close the gap elsewhere.
Best For
Choose the Oura Ring 4 Ceramic (2025) if…
- • Sizing & Fit matters most to you — the Oura Ring 4 Ceramic (2025) scores 8.5/10 here (how many sizes exist, how good the sizing kit is, and how forgiving the exchange policy is).
Choose the Oura Ring 5 (2026) if…
- • Durability matters most to you — the Oura Ring 5 (2026) scores 8.0/10 here (finish scratch resistance, water rating in practice, and whether the finish is warrantied).
- • Battery Life matters most to you — the Oura Ring 5 (2026) scores 7.5/10 here (real days between charges with continuous sensing on, plus what the charging case adds).
- • Value matters most to you — the Oura Ring 5 (2026) scores 6.0/10 here (what the ring delivers against its total cost of ownership, not just its sticker price).
- • Health Sensing matters most to you — the Oura Ring 5 (2026) scores 8.5/10 here (what the sensors genuinely measure — heart rate, SpO2, temperature, ECG — rather than infer).
Pros & Cons
Oura Ring 4 Ceramic (2025)
Pros
- +The only ring here that is not metal-coloured — four ceramic finishes including a genuine pastel
- +Ceramic is harder than titanium and does not pick up the same dull scuffing
- +Same sensors, same app and same 4-15 size range as the metal Ring 4
- +$100 below its $499 list at the time of writing
Cons
- −$100 more than the metal Ring 4 for identical sensing — you are paying for the shell
- −Oura's own page warns that minor scratches from everyday use are expected, and the warranty does not cover them
- −Ceramic chips rather than scuffs: a hard knock on tile is a different failure mode from a scratched titanium ring
- −Three-year cost lands at $608.97, the same as a brand-new Ring 5
- −Still tied to the $5.99/month membership like every other Oura
Oura Ring 5 (2026)
Pros
- +Genuinely the smallest ring here — 40% smaller than Ring 4 and the first Oura that does not read as a gadget on the hand
- +Sleep staging remains the reference the rest of the category is measured against
- +iOS and Android get identical features, which Samsung cannot say
- +100m water rating and a new PVD coating Oura claims is more scratch resistant than Ring 4's
Cons
- −$5.99/month forever: the real three-year price of the base finish is $608.97, more than triple a RingConn Gen 2 Air
- −Sizes 6-13 only — Ring 4 went 4 to 15, so this generation silently dropped the smallest and largest fingers
- −The premium finishes are a $100 tax for the same electronics: Stealth, Brushed Silver, Gold and Deep Rose are all $499
- −Warranty explicitly excludes scratches and dents, and the battery is listed as a non-covered consumable
- −The charger is keyed to your ring size, so it is not a part you can borrow or generically replace
Shop by Need
FAQs
Is the Oura Ring 4 Ceramic (2025) or Oura Ring 5 (2026) better overall?+
Based on our 8-category scoring, the Oura Ring 5 (2026) comes out ahead overall. See the full breakdown in the scores section above — the right pick still depends on which categories matter most for your use case.
Which is better for Sizing & Fit, the Oura Ring 4 Ceramic (2025) or the Oura Ring 5 (2026)?+
The Oura Ring 4 Ceramic (2025) scores higher on Sizing & Fit (8.5/10 vs 6.5/10) — how many sizes exist, how good the sizing kit is, and how forgiving the exchange policy is.
Which is better for Durability, the Oura Ring 4 Ceramic (2025) or the Oura Ring 5 (2026)?+
The Oura Ring 5 (2026) scores higher on Durability (8.0/10 vs 6.5/10) — finish scratch resistance, water rating in practice, and whether the finish is warrantied.
Which is better for Battery Life, the Oura Ring 4 Ceramic (2025) or the Oura Ring 5 (2026)?+
The Oura Ring 5 (2026) scores higher on Battery Life (7.5/10 vs 7.0/10) — real days between charges with continuous sensing on, plus what the charging case adds.
Which is better for Value, the Oura Ring 4 Ceramic (2025) or the Oura Ring 5 (2026)?+
The Oura Ring 5 (2026) scores higher on Value (6.0/10 vs 5.5/10) — what the ring delivers against its total cost of ownership, not just its sticker price.
Is the Oura Ring 4 Ceramic (2025) worth the price difference over the Oura Ring 5 (2026)?+
They're priced the same ($399), so the decision comes down to which specific features and scores matter more to you rather than budget.
What's the warranty on the Oura Ring 4 Ceramic (2025) vs the Oura Ring 5 (2026)?+
The Oura Ring 4 Ceramic (2025) ships with a 12-month warranty; the Oura Ring 5 (2026) ships with a 12-month warranty. Always confirm current terms on the manufacturer's site before buying.
Should I wait for the next model instead of buying either of these?+
If either model is more than two years old, a successor may be close — check the "Latest Model" link on each product page. Otherwise, both are current, well-supported options and there's no strong reason to wait.
Cheaper Option
Circular Ring 2 (2025) — $299.00
Premium Option
Ultrahuman Ring PRO (2026) — $479.00
Specifications and prices for both products last verified . Scores are calculated from published specifications — see how we compare products.