Blog: Whoop vs Oura vs Garmin – Comparing Data

Having worn a Whoop, Oura and Garmin for 6 months now I figured it would be cool to compare some of my basic metrics. I didn’t realise it was possible until I stumbled on Habit Dash and it pulled in all my metrics in minutes (and was free). I removed a lot of the non-core metrics so I could just focus on some basics.

If you want to see the data just scroll down.

Please note I am not reviewing the devices nor am I reviewing the extensive data sets they provide. Honestly I could live with any of them individually, I just found myself in a strange place with all 3 of them on my body.

Comparisons;

• Garmin Venu – has been my main health tracking for the past 2 years. Used for fitness and sleep tracking mostly.
• I bought a Whoop because I was obsessed by recovery and HRV. Garmin didn’t have this so was keen to try it.
• I got a Oura because I became fascinated by HRV and wanted to compare the devices.
• Fitness tracking I do on my Peloton Tread + and Bike, with HR data by Wahoo Tickr synced to Strava. So I’m not looking at fitness tracking at all with these devices.

My use case;

• Each device has a LOT more data than I’m showing. In this blog I am really only comparing the data that is most similar; Sleep (Total), HRV, Resting HR, Recovery or Readiness.
• Sleep quality; they all track it, but I don’t go into detail in this. I could I guess. I really don’t look at it to be honest.
• Average HR – unfortunately my data was skewed, because I used to take my Garmin off or Oura off when working out. So I am really only focused on resting HR.

Preferences:

• I’m biased toward Whoop because of HRV and Readiness. It can detect when I feel flat, hungover from a few too many, or lacking sleep. The Readiness is surprisingly good.
• I really haven’t given Oura much of a go. I could, and having seen the data below I probably should.
• I still think if Garmin had HRV I’d probably just as easily go back to this as my primary ‘do it all’ device. I’m really surprised they don’t.

Data Prep

I have exported all my data using Habit Dash. There are gaps in the data, mostly Garmin and Oura because I have been too lazy to charge them at times. My sleep tracking also went dark on Whoop for some reason. Either way I think it’s interesting to see how close they are in terms of tracking. I was expecting it to be a lot more varied.

Sleep

Impressions;

• All devices were VERY spot on for time asleep and awake time. It’s weird because I don’t think I wake up until 6.30 at least but the data says otherwise!
• Total sleep is much higher for Garmin. I have noticed in the data set that Garmin doesn’t pick up when you are awake very accurately.

Time Awake (and Oura Time Asleep)

Impressions;

• As noted above Garmin isn’t picking up time awake. Whoop and Oura are fairly similar given Oura would likely equate time awake to 10%.

Heart Rate

Impressions;

• Firstly it’s nice to see my resting HR trend down from May to Nov as I increased fitness and made a conscious effort to reduce stress. Changing jobs also helped with this.
• Accuracy – it’s fairly good isn’t it across all devices. Oura shows a bigger deviation from average as does Garmin so I assume there is some variability in how it’s tracked.

Why didn’t I include average heart rate? My average heart rate was skewed by the fact that my peak heart rate was MUCH higher on Whoop than Garmin. I suspect I had a habit of taking my watch off to work out but leave my Whoop on. So the data was skewed!

HRV Data

Impressions (n.b Garmin doesn’t track HRV)

• HRV data is really what I care about the most. Which is why it was pretty amazing to me that the data is so close.
• I’m also happy to see an upward trend supporting my increased fitness, reduced stress, and reduction in alcohol!

Recovery

Impressions;

• This one is hard because I wasn’t consistent with wearing the devices when working out. I’ve included it but I wouldn’t read much into this data set at all. I typically only look at Whoop.

Final Thoughts

This was the first time I have tried to compare metrics. Honestly all 3 devices are great if you ask me and it depends what you want them for.

• Garmin is probably the best if you only want one device. Having said that an Apple Watch is probably just as good, but I suspect sleep tracking isn’t that great with Apple.
• The Whoop app is great, and easy to read. Maybe I am just used to it. I religiously check it every single morning so to see my recovery score.
• Oura, I like the least but also because I got it last. It looks cool, and clearly can do fairly accurate data.

Also it’s worth noting again, that I’m not using any of this for tracking fitness. I am doing this separately. I cannot let go of my Garmin for this reason because as soon as I go for a run outside I will need this device.

Hope this helps if you are thinking about getting any of these devices, I think they are all great.