Why Pay $300? This $99 Wearable Nails Sleep Tracking Like the Big Names
Sleep is still the best reset your body gets each night. Your brain clears out waste, your muscles recover, and your energy levels get ready for the next day. Miss out and you will notice it quickly in your focus, mood, and performance. The difference today is that you no longer have to guess how well you slept. With smartwatches, fitness trackers, and even smartphone apps, you can get a pretty close picture of your sleep and use that data to improve it.
Until recently, getting comprehensive sleep tracking usually meant spending between $300 and $500 on a wearable device and, in many cases, paying a monthly subscription on top. That price puts it out of reach for many people, and the truth is, most users do not need all the features those premium devices offer.
That is why the Amazfit Helio Strap has been making headlines. It costs 99 dollars, and I picked one up to test alongside the Oura Ring 4 (review) and the Whoop MG (review). I focused on the sleep score feature, which assesses overall sleep quality. After this comparison, it is clear that you can save money and still get the data you need with the Helio Strap.
How each device measures your sleep score
These three wearables may look different, but they work in similar ways. All track heart rate, heart rate variability, and movement to estimate sleep quality, with the main differences in how they use that data.
Oura Ring 4 adds skin temperature trends to detect light, deep, and REM sleep, and uses metrics like total sleep time, efficiency, latency, and restfulness for its score. Whoop MG also measures respiratory rate, skin temperature, and blood oxygen, and combines sleep results with recovery and daily strain data.
Amazfit Helio Strap focuses on duration, consistency, and restfulness. It has a basic skin temperature sensor, but this is not central to its sleep analysis. Its algorithms are regularly updated to improve accuracy. Just today, I received an update aimed at fixing an issue with overly high sleep scores.
The price gap
The price gap between these devices is significant. The Oura Ring 4 starts at $350, plus a $69 annual subscription. The Whoop 5.0/MG comes with a membership fee ranging from $199 to $359 per year, depending on the chosen plan. In contrast, the Amazfit Helio Strap costs just $99 with no subscription fees.
Given these differences, it’s fair to ask: Can Amazfit’s results really hold their own against the more expensive options?
Putting them to the test
I wore all three devices for several nights to compare sleep scores. Oura’s results have historically been close to the Apple Watch, which is considered one of the most accurate consumer devices for sleep tracking. So I recently changed my device of reference for sleeping, from the Apple Watch Series 9 to the Oura Ring 4—and it's also more comfortable. Whoop tends to produce slightly higher scores, while Oura often sits in the middle.
In that context, the Amazfit Helio Strap didn’t really surprise me, because when I tested the Amazfit Balance last year, I felt it closely matched my overall sleep experience. The Helio Strap is extremely light at just 20 grams, has no display to distract you at night, and automatically detects when you’re asleep.
Over multiple nights, its sleep scores were often within just a few points of Oura’s. In fact, when looking at the comparison chart, the trends between Oura and Amazfit were often closer than those between Oura and Whoop.
To be fair, I have more than a year of data logged in Whoop and several months of data in the Oura Ring, so the Amazfit Helio Strap is still learning my sleep routine.
Most importantly, and on a more subjective note, it often described exactly how I felt when I woke up. So, considering the differences between these three devices and focusing only on the general sleep score, the Amazfit appears to be a reliable option, coming very close to both the Oura Ring 4 and the Whoop MG.
Bottom line
Wearables like fitness straps or smart rings are useful tools for keeping track of your nightly rest, but they are not medical devices and cannot match the accuracy of a clinical sleep study. What they can provide is a consistent and actionable snapshot of your sleep quality, helping you track changes over time.
Each brand takes a different approach to measuring and scoring sleep. Whoop’s system links sleep analysis directly to recovery and daily strain, making it a better choice for athletes and performance-focused users. Oura focuses more on sleep duration, stages, and timing, which is ideal for people who want detailed but easy-to-interpret insights.
From my test, the Amazfit Helio Strap delivers results similar to both high-end wearables, offering straightforward and consistent metrics without requiring a subscription. At $99, the Helio Strap produces results close enough to Oura and Whoop for most people to trust, especially when identifying patterns and making adjustments to their sleep routine.
For those on a budget or for casual users who want comfortable and subscription-free sleep tracking, it is a convincing entry-level choice. Athletes who need advanced recovery analysis may prefer Whoop, while those interested in a broader health overview might lean toward Oura.
