Oura Ring vs Fitbit Sense 2: All You Need to Know

Fitbit has made fitness its identity. It’s literally in the name. With the focus increasing on wellness and the importance of sleep, the initially intended “fitness trackers” are moving into a more holistic approach with their wearables. Enter- the Fitbit Sense 2.

The Oura Ring, on the other hand, is renowned for its detailed sleep analysis and health monitoring capabilities. With a price tag that goes toe to toe with Oura, is the Fitbit Sense 2 really worth the investment?

With forms as different as night and day, how do these two stack up against each other? Which devices will offer you more bang for your buck depending on your personal health and fitness priorities? Let’s find out.

Oura Ring vs. Fitbit Sense 2: Specifications

Specifications	Oura Gen3 Ring	Fitbit Sense 2
Weight	4-6g	37.65 g
Sizes	8 sizes (6-13)	N/A
Dimensions	7.9mm width, 2.5mm thickness	24.87 x 4.04 x 1.12 cm
Colors	6 colors – Silver, Black, Stealth, Brushed Titanium, Gold, and Rose Gold	3 colors – Shadow Grey / Graphite Aluminum, Lunar White / Platinum Aluminium, and Blue Mist / Soft Gold Aluminium
Battery Sizes	15mAh – 22mAh	‎1 Lithium Polymer battery
Battery Life	Up to 7 days	6 days
Charge Time	80 mins	1-2 hours
Water-Resistance	Up to 100 m	Up to 50m
Operating Temperature	14° to 125°F (-10° to 52°C)	14° to 113° F (-10° to 45° C)
Vibration	No	Yes
Material	Titanium with PVD coating	Band is made of flexible, durable elastomer material
On-Wrist Call Notifications	No	Yes
Call, text, and app notifications	No	Yes
Music Control	No	No
Google Maps	No	Yes
Google Wallet	No	Yes
Google Assistant	No	No
Find My	Yes	Yes
Always-On Display	No	Yes
Do Not Disturb and Sleep Mode	No	Yes
Compatibility	iOS 15 and higher or Android 9.0 and higher	iOS 15 and higher or Android 10.0 and higher
Warranty	1 – 2 years	1 – 2 years
Price	$299 – $549	$249.95
Subscription	First month free, then $5.99/month	First 6 months free, then $9.99/month

It’s a bit of an unfair comparison to pit a smartwatch against a smart ring. The Fitbit Sense 2 packs a more interactive interface powered by a touchscreen and notifications and generally acts as a mini smartphone.

The Oura Ring lacks a display but in today’s day and age of us being glued to our screens, it provides a good relief of being a total health and fitness tracker without the need for an additional screen.

Oura Ring vs. Fitbit Sense 2: Design and Comfort

One of the more notable distinctions in the two devices is how they were meant to be worn. One straps onto the wrist, and the other seamlessly slides onto my finger, causing little to no interruptions.

The Fitbit Sense 2 looks beautiful being one of the more sleek smartwatches I own. The display on the watch is pretty smooth. The UI was lagging a little when I initially wore it, but it got adapted really quickly and I haven’t had any lagging since.

It supports a silicone strap, which is not the most comfortable to wear every day; therefore, I have additional straps that also help me match them with my outfits, and the watch doesn’t look odd with my more formal outfits.

I have never faced this problem with my Oura Ring. It’s sleek, it goes with all my outfits, it doesn’t blatantly look like I’m wearing a gadget, it matches my jewelry seamlessly, and it’s beautiful. It’s a conversation starter, for sure. No complaints whatsoever.

The Oura Ring also comes with a free sizing kit prior to the actual ring, which contains plastic prototypes of the ring along with the sensor bumps, making choosing your perfect size so easy and seamless. If you are in the process of buying the Oura ring and getting confused with the sizing, consider my guide to find your perfect ring size.

Despite being more sleek than the other smartwatches in the market, the Oura tends to be more comfortable, especiallt to sleep in, than the Fitbit Sense 2.

Oura Ring vs. Fitbit Sense 2: Features

Features	Oura Ring	Fitbit Sense 2
Heart Rate Tracking	✅	✅
Active Zone Minutes	❌	✅
Built-in GPS	❌	✅
Daily Readiness Score	✅	✅
VO2 Max	✅	✅
Respiratory Rate	✅	✅
Exercise Modes / Workouts	✅(over 40)	✅(40+)
Automatic Activity Tracking	✅	✅
Steps, Distance & Calories	✅	✅
Heart Zone Training	❌	❌
Blood Oxygen (Sp02)	✅	✅
Skin Temperature	✅	✅
Heart Rate Variability	✅	✅
Resting Heart Rate	✅	✅
Cycle Tracking	✅	✅
Pregnancy Insights	✅	❌
Blood Glucose Tracking (in-app only)	❌	✅
ECG app for AFib Detection	❌	✅
Irregular Heart Rhythm Notifications	❌	✅
Sleep Score	✅	✅
Sleep Tracking and Stages	✅	✅
Smart Wake Alarm	❌	✅
Stress tracking	✅	✅
EDA Scan app for stress management	❌	✅
Guided Breathing	✅	✅
Reflections / Tags	✅	✅

It is noteworthy that not all the metrics recorded by the Sense 2 are available worldwide. Due to certain restrictions and FDA approvals, features like ECG are only available in 30 countries, and irregular heart rhythm notifications in 24 countries.

Oura ring has no such constraints. What you see is what you get, despite the country you’re in.

Stress Tracking and Management

The Fitbit Sense 2 stands out with its on-demand EDA (Electrodermal activity), a dedicated sensor that tracks stress. It’s not a measurement taken continuously and relies on spot-checks; so does the ECG feature.

The Oura Ring estimates stress using key data points such as HR, HRV, motion, and skin temperature. Because it doesn’t have a dedicated sensor for stress, I often found the Oura Ring to miscalculate stress. For example: I was frantically typing on my keyboard the other day at work (not stressed, just busy), and my stress graph peaked like no other.

What I liked about the Fitbit is the dedicated sensor, which, in my opinion, is better at tracking stress than the Oura Ring. It also allows me to log how I’m feeling after it measures stress in order to combine data and help me understand how I felt in the moment. If you’re using the Fitbit to measure stress, I highly recommend not skipping this step as it helps me to truly understand my stressors when i look at the stress graph later on.

These reflections are similar to tags on the Oura Ring but as opposed to adding them for the entire day, Fitbit logs are tailored to when the stress is calculated.

Additionally, both the Fitbit and the Oura provide guided breathing and meditations, Fitbit via the watch itself and Oura Ring via the app.

Activity Tracking

For me, wearing a smartwatch is a conscious act before heading to the gym or for a walk with my dog. I love the fact that putting on the Oura Ring doesn’t have to be an added chore. It’s always there, undemanding attention, yet being so diligent in measuring all metrics.

The Oura Ring tracks certain workouts automatically (over 40) and has over 50+ workouts that can be added via the app. The only drawback is that it needs me to pull out my phone in order to add the workouts manually, and can’t be done with a tap on my wrist.

But I love the fact that I don’t have to consciously put it on in order to record every step because, trust me, every step counts. Having said that, it isn’t my go-to choice for weightlifting. Just like any other jewelry piece, it becomes a hindrance in my workouts, which is where I prefer the Fitbit over the Oura.

The Fitbit came into being as a “fitness tracker.” Therefore, undoubtedly, the activity tracking is where it shines. Automatically, it records 7 activities and has a library of 40+ workouts to add via the watch itself.

Although, the GPS tracking isn’t the most seamless. Yes, I am the person who shamelessly posts an Instagram story of their path after a great run. After connecting with a representative at Fitbit, I got to know that the Sense 2 attempts to connect to the GPS sensors on the phone to preserve battery life.

If the phone isn’t nearby or moving, Sense 2 uses built-in GPS. The built-in GPS is way off when calculating the distance and is much better if it piggybacks off of my phone. What I would want from a smartwatch is to be smart enough to track said path without the need to carry my phone everywhere.

I also needed to set the type of GPS before starting an exercise. I also found the Sense 2 to record a bit more steps than I actually walked. Yes, I counted at random intervals when I thought the step count looked a little exaggerated.

Sleep Tracking

I was pleasantly surprised at the similarities between the Oura Ring and the Sense 2 when it came to my sleep tracking. The Sense 2 breaks down the data and categorizes it in an easy-to-understand format.

It has a sleep score for a quick glance as well as a deep dive into the stages of sleep- light, deep, and REM. The only difference I found was that the Sense 2 shares a ‘sleep profile’ on the first day of each month with an animal that depicts my sleep pattern and behaviors. Not sure how it’s helpful but it’s cute.

Apart from the daily sleep analysis, the monthly sleep profile is a separate section altogether, further tapping into the metrics and patterns over the previous month.

The Fitbit Sense 2, being a smart watch, has a Smart Wake feature, which the Oura inevitably lacks. As much as I hate wearing a watch to bed, this feature did me a solid. Between hitting the snooze on my phone’s alarm multiple times and running late, the Smart Wake woke me with gentle vibrations at the lightest point in my sleep stage, approximately half an hour before I needed to wake up.

I used to think Oura’s sleep tracking is unmatched but the Fitbit Sense 2 has me surprised at the revelations. While both pack great information with ease, the only edge Oura has is comfort. The way I don’t have to toss and turn to find a comfortable position to sleep in makes my Oura Ring a go-to for sleep tracking.

With Oura pouring its focus on sleep and wellness, the sleep metrics and data are excelling undoubtedly. Both platforms offer in-depth insights into sleep latency, movements during sleep, and sleep efficiency.

With the Oura app, I like to head into ‘Trends’ and strive for a consistent bedtime. This has greatly improved in my late 20s, and I am thankful for devices like the Oura ring, which help me strive for a better sleep schedule.

I also love adding ‘tags’ in order to understand what affects my sleep. How do tags help with this? I’ll tell you. So adding tags such as certain drinks before bed, a late night outing, binge-watching a new Netflix show, all are inevitably linked to “bad sleep,” right? Now, what tags have helped me understand about my body is that even dinner after a certain hour has me up for longer, or after a normally stressed out day, even though I hit the bed early, the sleep quality is really bad. Interesting, right?

Oura also has guided meditations and sleep exercises for better sleep.

Cycle Tracking

Fitbit Sense 2 allows me to log my periods, record details, and analyze trends within the Fitbit app. With features allowing me to edit, add, and delete my period dates, it estimates ovulation and fertile window based on the data I enter. However, there is no mention of my cycle stages, which is a big drawback.

The Oura Ring tracks my cycle stages based on temperature fluctuations after setting a baseline temperature after 60 days of wearing the ring. It’s shocking how accurate the cycle stages and predictions are. With integrations with other apps like Natural Cycles, Flo, Clue, and more, Oura’s cycle tracking is chef’s kiss.

Oura Ring vs. Fitbit Sense 2: Accuracy

For a person like me, measuring day-to-day activities and generally trying to lead a healthier lifestyle, both devices are great in their own right. However, for people more serious about their health than I am, here are a few studies and data points I found that when it comes to the accuracy of both:

• When it comes to measuring sleep time, stages, and efficiency, the Oura Ring was found to surpass the Fitbit.
• Oura has been found to be more accurate in distinguishing being asleep and being still while one is awake, thereby improving accuracy in metrics.
• This study finds Fitbit to be more accurate than Oura in distinguishing wakefulness and sleep.

Battery

With a super impressive battery life, the Fitbit lasts me a good 3-6 days, depending on the features I use, as opposed to other smartwatches I own, which need to be charged every other day.

The Oura Ring has set my standard high for all other wearables, with a battery life lasting me a good 6-7 days.

Oura Ring vs. Fitbit Sense 2: Pricing

The Oura Ring starts at $299 and goes up to $549 for the rose gold variant. With an additional subscription fee of $5.99/month (the first month free) for accessing the features, the Oura Ring is expensive but makes up for the cost in terms of the value it provides.

The Fitbit Sense 2 is priced at $249.95, with most of its features being hidden behind a $9.99/month subscription (first six months free). It almost costs double if I were to use my Fitbit for less than 3 years. With certain features not being available in all countries, I don’t think it’s a good bargain.

Final Verdict

Being neck to neck with the Oura Ring in terms of price, I expected more from the Fitbit Sense 2. At the very least the smartwatch features should be seamless. I am able to see text and call notifications but not reply or answer calls from the watch. Beats the purpose of a screen, no?

The fact that I have to manually select the GPS before a workout is also very annoying. In a world of “smart” devices, I expect it to figure it out itself. They have also taken out the integrations with third-party apps and the ability to control music from the watch. Wonder what led to this decision.

Both devices are generally sufficient with their data metrics and general health and wellness tracking. However, Oura has the upper hand with its tiny form for seamless wearability. The data being so easy to navigate, the impeccable cycle tracking and predictions, and the ability to detect an illness right at the onset, the Oura Ring packs it all in a tiny ring form factor.

If Fitbit were to bring back certain features and make them available worldwide, I might give it another shot. For now, Oura wins the race.

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