Oura Ring 5 vs Samsung Galaxy Ring

Oura announced Ring 5 in May 2026, with 40 percent less volume than Ring 4. Galaxy Ring is still Samsung’s current model, and Samsung’s US site had no Galaxy Ring 2 as of 19 September 2026. Neither has a screen, so most of what you’ll notice day to day happens in the app on your phone.

The two rings side by side

Spec	Oura Ring 5	Samsung Galaxy Ring
Phone	iOS 16 or later; Android 11 or later with Google Play	Samsung Galaxy phone with a Samsung account
Apps	Oura app	Samsung Health and Galaxy Wearable
Membership	$5.99 a month or $69.99 a year; first month free for new members	None listed
US price, 19 Sep 2026	From $399; $499 for four finishes	$399.99
Sizes	6–13	5–15
Width and thickness	6.09 × 2.28 mm	7 × 2.6 mm
Weight	From 2 g	2.3–3.2 g
Battery	Typically 6–9 days	Up to 6 or 7 days, by size
Full charge	About 80 minutes	About 80 or 90 minutes; Samsung gives both
Charging case	Sold separately	In the box
Data held on the ring	Up to 3 days	Not published
Water	100 m, IP68	10 ATM, IP68
Bluetooth	5.0 and Bluetooth Low Energy	5.4 on a UK size 15 spec; no version on US pages
Sensors	Red, green and infrared LEDs, two photodetectors, temperature, accelerometer	Optical heart rate, skin temperature, accelerometer

Your phone narrows it first

Galaxy Ring pairs only with a Samsung Galaxy phone. Samsung needs a Samsung account registered on that phone, runs the ring through the Samsung Health and Galaxy Wearable apps, and keeps your health data in Samsung Cloud on the same account. It won’t work with an iPhone: Samsung’s UK site says Galaxy Wearable isn’t supported on iOS.

Oura Ring 5 isn’t tied to a phone brand. The Oura app runs on iOS 16 or later, or Android 11 or later with Google Play, and the phone needs Bluetooth 5.0. Oura’s store lists more than 100 integrations, and the ring has an airplane mode.

Galaxy owners get one extra: on One UI 6.1.1 or higher, pinching your fingers together twice can dismiss an alarm or take a photo. If you also wear a Galaxy Watch with its gestures turned on, the watch takes priority.

What you pay after checkout

The ring prices are within a dollar of each other; the running costs aren’t. Oura Membership is $5.99 a month or $69.99 a year in the US, and new members get the first month free, according to Oura’s membership page, updated 8 September 2026. It sits on your Oura account rather than on a particular ring, so an existing plan covers Ring 5 too.

That plan unlocks most of what Ring 5 does: detailed sleep analysis, blood oxygen and the same feature list Oura gives Ring 4. Without it, you’re left with the Readiness, Activity and Sleep scores, along with battery status, your profile, settings and Explore, and API access is switched off. Health Radar, Counsel Health and GLP-1 Insights run on Gen3 and every newer Oura, so they’re no reason to choose Ring 5 over an older Oura.

Samsung lists no membership for Galaxy Ring. Sleep tracking, Energy Score and snore detection all sit in Samsung Health on your phone, with no paywall on Samsung’s US pages. Over the life of the ring, the real price gap is Oura’s $69.99 for every year on the annual plan.

Sizes and fit

Galaxy Ring has the wider range, sizes 5 through 15. Oura Ring 5 runs 6 through 13, so a size 5, 14 or 15 means Galaxy Ring, or Oura Ring 4, which still comes in 4 through 15. Galaxy Ring doesn’t come in a size 4.

Each ring needs its own sizing kit. Oura’s Ring 5 kit uses white sizers, and Oura warns that Ring 5 doesn’t size quite like Ring 4, so don’t assume your old Oura size carries over. Samsung asks you to wear its sample ring for more than 24 hours before you choose. Its own guidance on the kit is mixed: the US video shows nine samples, sizes 5 through 13, while the sizing article says the kit includes every size Samsung sells.

Oura’s is the slimmer ring: 6.09 millimeters wide and 2.28 millimeters thick, with a 0.7 millimeter sensor dome, from 2 grams depending on size. It’s titanium inside and out, with a superhard PVD coating and a non-allergenic inner surface. Galaxy Ring is 7 millimeters wide and 2.6 millimeters thick and weighs 2.3 to 3.2 grams, by Samsung’s US figures; a UK spec for size 15 says 3.3 grams.

Battery and charging

Oura says Ring 5 typically lasts 6 to 9 days, with size, settings, activity and battery age moving the number, and takes about 80 minutes to charge. In the box, Oura includes a charger made for your ring size and a USB-C cable, but not a power adapter. Up to three days of data fit on the ring itself, so a weekend away from your phone doesn’t leave a gap in your sleep record.

Samsung has three US answers for Galaxy Ring, and they don’t line up:

Size	Battery	How to charge says	Galaxy Ring page says
5–7	17mAh	Up to 6 days	Up to 6 days
8–11	18.5mAh	Up to 6 days	Up to 6 days
12–13	22.5mAh	Up to 7 days	Up to 7 days
14–15	22.5mAh	Up to 7 days	Not stated

The third answer, from Samsung’s Introducing article, is up to 7 days with about 80 minutes on the charger, using an 18mAh battery in a size 5 and 23.5mAh in a size 13. How to charge puts a full charge at about 90 minutes. Each company tests its own way, so read Oura’s 6 to 9 days and Samsung’s 6 or 7 as roughly a week either way.

Galaxy Ring’s case comes in the box and is sized to your ring. Charge it over USB-C, on a wireless charger or with Wireless PowerShare, and use only that case. A fully drained ring may need ten minutes on it before it responds. Samsung says a full case refills the ring up to 1.6 times, and its marketing says that stretches use to 14 days away from a wall socket. Samsung doesn’t say how much data the ring keeps while your phone is out of range.

Health tracking

Oura Ring 5 uses two triple LEDs in red, green and infrared, two photodetectors, a digital temperature sensor and an accelerometer, which Oura says gives it 12 signal pathways. Oura’s store puts heart-rate accuracy at 99 percent and sleep staging at 95 percent; both are Oura’s own numbers, not independent tests. The ring recognizes more than 40 activities automatically, and detailed sleep and blood oxygen need membership.

Galaxy Ring lists three sensors: optical heart rate, skin temperature and an accelerometer. Its sleep tracking draws on heart rate, blood oxygen and temperature. Energy Score and snore detection come with no membership, and the ring picks up walks and runs once you turn that on. Samsung adds that its cycle tracking shouldn’t be used for contraception, or by anyone under 18.

Neither replaces a GPS sports watch, and Oura says Ring 5 isn’t a medical device.

Water and heat

Both carry IP68 and a 100-meter rating, with different limits. Samsung’s 10 ATM rating holds to 100 meters for up to 10 minutes, and its IP68 rating to 6 feet for 30 minutes; rinse the ring after salt water or chlorine. Samsung doesn’t mention saunas.

Oura rates Ring 5 to 100 meters (328 feet) and allows showers, swimming, water sports, recreational snorkeling and the sauna, but not diving or scuba, and says not to keep it underwater for more than 12 hours. It gives two operating ranges in different places, −10 to 54 °C and −10 to 52 °C, and says to charge at room temperature.

Prices and stock

On 19 September 2026, Oura sold Ring 5 from $399 in Silver and Black, and for $499 in Gold, Deep Rose, Stealth and Brushed Silver. Its store also flipped to euro prices, from €429, more than once that day.

Samsung listed Galaxy Ring at $399.99 in Black, Silver and Gold, the same price for every finish, and all three were out of stock by that evening. The $150 trade-in credit on Samsung’s page is a promotion, not the price of the ring. Stock and currency can change by the hour, so check both stores before you buy.