Oura Ring 4 vs Oura Ring 5

Oura announced Ring 5 on 28 May 2026 and kept Ring 4 on sale beside it. The two run the same app, show the same scores and use the same membership, so nothing on your phone changes whichever you pick. What changes is the ring on your finger, and which fingers it fits.

Ring 4 and Ring 5 at a glance

Spec	Oura Ring 4	Oura Ring 5
Announced	Previous generation, still sold	28 May 2026
US price (19 September 2026)	From $349 (Silver, Stealth); Gold $399–$499	From $399 (Silver, Black); $499 Gold, Deep Rose, Stealth, Brushed Silver
Sizes	4–15	6–13, with its own sizing kit
Width	7.9 mm	6.09 mm
Thickness	About 2.88 mm	2.28 mm
Inner sensor dome	Recessed, 0.3 mm	0.7 mm
Weight	3.3–5.2 g by size	From 2 g by size
Shell	Titanium; PVD or DLC by finish	Titanium; superhard PVD on every finish
Battery	Typically 5–8 days	Typically 6–9 days
Charging time	Typically 20–80 minutes	About 80 minutes
Data stored on the ring	Up to 7 days	Up to 3 days
Sensors	Smart Sensing; 3 photodetectors, 2 triple LEDs, temperature, accelerometer	2 triple LEDs, 2 photodetectors, temperature, accelerometer
Water	100 m	100 m and IP68
In the box	Size-specific dock, USB cable	Size-specific charger, USB-C cable
Latest firmware	2.12.0 (17 June 2026)	2.1.3 (10 June 2026), after 2.0.0 (4 June 2026)
Membership	$5.99 a month or $69.99 a year	Same

Ring 5 skips sizes 4, 5, 14 and 15

Ring 5 comes in sizes 6 to 13. Ring 4 still runs from 4 to 15, so if you wear a 4, 5, 14 or 15, the choice is already made: get Ring 4.

If you’re between 6 and 13 and already know your Ring 4 size, don’t assume it carries over. Each generation has its own white sizing kit, and Oura says Ring 5 sizing is slightly different from Ring 4, so size yourself with the Ring 5 kit.

A slimmer ring with a taller sensor bump

Ring 5 is 6.09 millimeters wide and 2.28 thick, against 7.9 and about 2.88 for Ring 4: almost two millimeters narrower and about six-tenths of a millimeter thinner. Oura says Ring 5 has 40 percent less volume overall. Ring 5 starts at 2 grams, but Oura gives only that starting figure, so you can’t tell how a size 13 compares with Ring 4’s 3.3 to 5.2 grams.

The trade is on the inside. Ring 4’s sensors sit in recessed domes 0.3 millimeters high; Ring 5’s sensor dome stands 0.7 millimeters, more than twice as tall. If a low profile against your skin matters to you, that’s a point for Ring 4.

Both are titanium inside and out, with a non-allergenic, BPA-free inner shell. Ring 4 is coated in PVD or DLC depending on the finish; Ring 5 gets superhard PVD on all six finishes. Ring 4 comes in Gold, Silver and Stealth, and Ring 5 adds Black, Brushed Silver and Deep Rose to those three.

Battery, charging and offline storage

Oura rates Ring 5 for typically 6 to 9 days and Ring 4 for 5 to 8, and says your size, settings, activity and the battery’s age all move the number. Ring 5 takes about 80 minutes to charge; Ring 4 takes 20 to 80 minutes, depending on how much charge is left.

Storage is the bigger difference. Ring 5 holds up to three days of data before it needs to sync with your phone; Ring 4 holds up to seven. A four-day trip without your phone fits on Ring 4 but is more than Ring 5 can hold.

Ring 5 ships with a size-specific charger and a USB-C cable but no power adapter. Its optional charging case, sold separately, is a Ring 5 accessory; Ring 4 charges on its own size-specific dock.

Different sensors, the same features

Ring 4 uses what Oura calls Smart Sensing, which Oura says adapts to your finger’s structure, skin tone and activity while managing battery life. It has three photodetectors, two triple LEDs (red, green and infrared), a temperature sensor and an accelerometer, and it reads blood oxygen overnight with the red and infrared light.

Ring 5 has two triple LEDs, two photodetectors, a temperature sensor and an accelerometer, and Oura cites 12 signal pathways. It’s also the ring Oura backs with a 95 percent sleep-staging figure, measured against polysomnography (a lab sleep study) in Oura’s own validation; there’s no matching figure for Ring 4.

The hardware differs, but the features don’t: with membership, both rings get the same list. Ring 5’s store page counts more than 40 activity types and more than 100 app integrations, and Oura gives those counts only for Ring 5. New software such as Health Radar, Counsel Health and GLP-1 Insights comes to Gen3 and newer rings, so Ring 4 gets it too.

One membership for either ring

In the US, Oura Membership is $5.99 a month or $69.99 a year, and the first month is free if you’re new to Oura. It belongs to your Oura account, not the ring, so it follows you from Ring 4 to Ring 5.

Without it, the app shows the three daily scores (Readiness, Activity and Sleep), the ring’s battery, your profile, settings and Explore. You lose detailed sleep, blood oxygen, 24-hour heart rate, Stress, Heart Health and Women’s Health, and the Oura API switches off, though you can still export your own data as a CSV file. If you won’t pay once the free month ends, neither ring is a good buy.

Both work with an iPhone on iOS 16 or later, or an Android phone on Android 11 or later with Google Play, as long as the phone supports Bluetooth 5.0. Ring 5 lists Bluetooth 5.0 and Bluetooth Low Energy; Ring 4 lists Bluetooth Low Energy. Both have Airplane Mode, FCC certification and what Oura calls EMF-safe operation.

Water and temperature limits

Both are water resistant to 100 meters (328 feet), and Ring 5 also lists IP68. Oura’s pages for each model allow saunas and water sports but rule out diving. Its general safety advice is looser: showering, swimming and recreational diving or snorkeling are fine, scuba isn’t, and neither ring should stay underwater for more than 12 hours. Neither is a dive computer.

The model pages give an operating range of minus 10 to 54 degrees Celsius (14 to 129 °F); Oura’s general safety notes say minus 10 to 52 (14 to 125 °F). Charge at room temperature. Oura says the ring isn’t a medical device and isn’t meant to diagnose, treat, cure, monitor or prevent any condition.

What they cost

On Oura’s US store on 19 September 2026, Ring 4 started at $349 in Silver and Stealth, with Gold from $399 to $499. Ring 5 started at $399 in Silver and Black, and Gold, Deep Rose, Stealth and Brushed Silver were $499. Watch the Stealth finish: it’s $349 on Ring 4 and $499 on Ring 5.

Membership comes on top of either one after the free month, $69.99 a year if you pay annually. The store switched between dollars and euros more than once that day, so these are the dollar prices, and Oura said on 18 June 2026 that finishes and sizes depend on current stock. Open the US store and check your size, finish and price before you buy.

Want the zirconia ceramic version instead? That’s a different model; see Oura Ring 4 vs Oura Ring 4 Ceramic.