Best Oura Alternatives: Rings Without the Monthly Fee
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It never changes what we recommend.
Most people looking for Oura alternatives are not really shopping for a ring. They are trying to escape the monthly fee.
Oura charges $5.99 a month, or $69.99 a year, on top of a ring that starts at $399. The best alternatives charge nothing after you buy them.
Our pick for most people is the RingConn Gen 2 Air at $199, because it has no subscription and RingConn publishes a longer battery life than Oura does.
The cheap pick is the COLMI R02, which my daughter has worn daily for months. It is around $56, and outside of the Oura itself it is the only ring here anyone in my family has lived with day to day.
What you are really paying Oura for
Let us be fair to Oura before we replace it.
The subscription is not a trick. Oura says that without it, “your Oura Ring and Oura App will still function, but the insights, personal health data, and benefits you receive will be much more limited.”
The ring keeps working. You just lose most of what makes it interesting.
And the insights are good. The Oura Ring flagged that my daughter’s body was working harder to fight something off.
She felt fine that day. The next morning she woke up with a cold.
That is the thing you are buying. We wrote up the whole story in our Oura Ring review.
The question is whether that is worth $69.99 every year, forever, on top of the hardware.
The subscription comparison
This is the table the whole decision turns on. Every figure comes from the manufacturer.
| Ring | Price | Subscription | Battery (claimed) | Warranty |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Oura Ring 5 | $399 to $499 | $5.99 monthly or $69.99 yearly | 6 to 9 days | 1 year |
| RingConn Gen 2 Air | $199 | None | Up to 10 days | 1 year |
| RingConn Gen 2 | $299 | None | 10 to 12 days | 1 year |
| RingConn Gen 3 | $349 | None | 11 to 14 days | 1 year |
| Samsung Galaxy Ring | $399.99 | None charged today | Up to 7 days | Not on product page |
| COLMI R02 | Around $56 | None documented | See our note below | 1 year, per its store |
Look at the RingConn Gen 2 Air row. Half of Oura’s price, no yearly fee, and RingConn claims more days per charge.
Best for most people: RingConn Gen 2 Air
Provenance: we have not worn this ring. Everything here is from RingConn’s published specs.
We are not going to pretend otherwise.
At $199 it undercuts Oura’s hardware by $200 and skips the subscription entirely. RingConn’s own marketing line is “No Subscription Required.”
Rated IP68 and 100m water resistance. One year warranty.
RingConn matters more than it used to for a reason nobody mentions. Oura sued the smart ring makers over patents, and RingConn settled.
Oura granted RingConn a multi year license, with RingConn paying royalties.
Both companies confirm this. In plain terms, RingConn is not going to vanish from the US the way a competitor did.
One catch to know before you buy. RingConn’s return window is 14 days, but it requires a valid reason and the ring unopened and unused.
That is not a trial. Oura gives you 30 days “for any reason.”
If you want to try a ring and send it back if you hate it, Oura’s return policy is clearly better.
Best cheap pick: COLMI R02
Provenance: my daughter has worn one every day for 5 to 6 months with no issues. Outside of the Oura, it is the only ring here we have real time on.
It costs around $56. It tracks heart rate, blood oxygen, sleep, and steps through an app called QRing.
There is no subscription.
She recently wore it in the ocean. I told her to take it off.
It survived, though I would not push your luck.
Now the honest part, and it is the reason we would not hand this to everyone.
COLMI’s own two websites contradict each other on the basic specs. Its consumer FAQ says smaller sizes “last about 2 days” and larger ones “about 3 days.” Its business site claims “up to 7 days on a single charge.”
Same ring. Same company.
Wildly different numbers.
The water rating is contradictory too, listed as 5ATM in one place and 3ATM in another.
COLMI’s consumer store does list a one year warranty and a 30 day money back guarantee, and much of the R02’s traffic goes through Amazon and AliExpress listings instead.
So this is a real product that works, sold by a company whose own spec sheets disagree with each other.
At $56 that trade is fine. At $400 it would not be.
Our full COLMI R02 review goes deeper.
If you are on Samsung: Galaxy Ring
Provenance: not tested by us. Published specs only.
It is $399.99, which is Oura money without the Oura fee. Samsung charges nothing for the app today.
Rated 10ATM plus IP68, which on paper is the toughest water rating on this page. Samsung claims up to 7 days.
Two things to know. Samsung does not state a warranty term on the ring’s product page, and it does not publish a “no subscription” promise either.
It just does not charge one right now.
Samsung’s return window is 15 days with a 5 percent restocking fee on rings.
Buy this one if you are deep in Samsung’s ecosystem. Otherwise the RingConn saves you $200 for a similar deal.
Two rings we are not recommending right now
Ultrahuman Ring PRO ($479). Ultrahuman was banned from the US market by an import ruling in October 2025.
Ultrahuman says it reopened US pre orders for the Ring PRO after clearing US Customs and Border Protection.
The ring itself claims impressive battery life. But it is the most expensive option here, it is sold on pre order, and it sells paid software add ons on top.
“No subscription” is doing some work in that pitch.
Circular Ring 2 ($349 to $549). No subscription today.
But its own page lists blood pressure as “a premium feature in late 2026” and glucose as a future premium feature.
It also leaves the water resistance rating off its product page, and gives two conflicting battery figures. Too many unknowns at that price.
Before you assume you need an alternative
Two things worth knowing about Oura itself.
Oura Ring 5 is out. It is the current model, and Oura calls it the world’s smallest smart ring.
The Ring 4 is still sold and now discounted, which makes it a real value if you want Oura’s software for less.
You can often pay with FSA or HSA money. Oura says “most items available on the Oura online store, including taxes and shipping, can be purchased with HSA or FSA funds,” though the protection plans are excluded.
Read that carefully. Oura says most items and adds that “eligibility rules may vary by plan or employer.”
Check with your provider before you count on it.
If you have an FSA at work, pre tax dollars change the math a lot. A $399 ring bought with pre tax money can land closer to the RingConn than the sticker suggests.
How to choose
Short version.
- You want the best insights and do not mind the fee: Oura Ring 5, and use FSA money if you have it.
- You want Oura’s software cheaper: the discounted Oura Ring 4.
- You want a real ring with no fee ever: RingConn Gen 2 Air at $199.
- You want to find out whether you would even wear a ring: COLMI R02 at around $56.
- You live in Samsung’s world: Galaxy Ring.
If you have never worn a ring, spend $56 first and find out whether it stays on your finger.
My daughters own Apple Watches and rings. They wear the rings every day.
That is worth knowing before you spend $400 to find out which one you reach for.
More on that in our guide to the best smart rings our family actually wears.
Frequently asked questions
Is there an Oura alternative with no subscription?
Several. RingConn advertises “No Subscription Required” across its whole line, from the $199 Gen 2 Air to the $349 Gen 3. Samsung does not charge one either.
The COLMI R02 has no subscription documented.
Do cheap smart rings actually work?
The one we know does. My daughter has worn a COLMI R02 daily for 5 to 6 months with no issues. What you give up is documentation you can rely on, not basic function.
Does Apple make a smart ring?
No. We checked Apple’s store directly and there is no Apple ring. The same goes for Google and Fitbit.
Whoop sells a band, not a ring.
Is the Oura subscription required?
Not technically. Oura says the ring and app still function without it, but the insights and health data become “much more limited.” Most of the reason to buy an Oura sits behind that fee.
What happened to Ultrahuman?
It was banned from the US in October 2025 by an import ruling in Oura’s patent case. It came back in March 2026 with the Ring PRO after clearing customs, and now manufactures in Texas. The older Ring AIR is still unavailable in the US.
Which ring lasts longest on a charge?
On published claims, RingConn’s Gen 3 leads at 11 to 14 days against Oura’s 6 to 9. We have not measured either ourselves, so treat those as manufacturer numbers rather than test results.