A reliable sleep tracker can hold you accountable around sticking to a consistent sleep schedule, teach you about your sleep health and coach you towards better quality slumber.
Two of the forerunners in the sleep and health tracking market are Withings and Garmin, but you’re probably wondering which is right for you?
I’ve tested both option over a two week period (alongside Oura, Whoop and Apple) to help you decide. For me, there’s a clear winner — but you might choose something different.
Ahead, I’ll explore the key differences between the Withings Sleep Analyzer, a discreet under-mattress tracker, and the Garmin Index Sleep Monitor, a super comfy wearable. Let’s get started…
Withings vs Garmin: Price & availability
Both sleep trackers sit at $169 MSRP in the US. But in the UK, the Withings is slightly cheaper at £129.95 than the Garmin at £149.99. Either way, it is a slightly high price for a single-purpose tracker that only records nighttime health data (you can get all-rounder smartwatches like the Fitbit Inspire 3 for much less, around $80). However, this premium price means accurate metrics and useful sleep analysis.
Withings vs Garmin: Design
Design is perhaps where these two trackers differ the most. While the Withings Sleep Analyzer discreetly slides under your mattress so you won’t know it’s there while you sleep, you wear the Garmin Index Sleep Monitor on your upper arm through the night.
The Withings sleep tracking mat is a fabric mat that sits between your mattress and bed frame at chest level.
On the other hand, the Garmin Index Sleep Monitor is a faceless device that sits in a soft, stretchy fabric band worn on the upper arm.
Sleeping in an armband doesn’t sound particularly comfortable, but I can assure you the light-weight seamless fabric that holds the sleep sensor device is ultra comfy. Honestly, I didn’t notice it was even on my arm through the night. I even got out of bed and carried on with my morning, forgetting I was wearing it on multiple occasions — it’s that subtle.
It’s also worth noting that while the Garmin has an impressive 10-night-plus battery life (and charges fully in two hours), you needn’t worry about charging the Withings at all. It just needs to be plugged into a bedside through the night.
Winner: No matter how comfortable the Garmin wearable is, I do prefer going to bed wearable-free. Therefore, the Withings wins here.
Withings vs Garmin: Sleep tracking
Throughout my testing, sleep data accuracy has been on par between the two trackers. And both trackers cover the usual suspects: sleep duration, sleep cycles, overnight heart rate and HRV and interruptions in your sleep.
A plus-point for Withings is that it offers sleep apnea detection. It is medically-grade in the EU and pending regulatory approval in the US.
Meanwhile Garmin is more focussed on overnight breathing rates, oxygen levels and respiration rates. It is essentially more ‘nerdy’ and geared towards athletic recovery.
In terms of sleep coaching, the Garmin coach is more useful. Withings offers some general sleep tips but they are brief and often repeated from night to night.
However, Garmin’s sleep coach gives you a recommended sleep time for each night based off your recent sleep timings and any sleep debt acquired.
Winner: Garmin takes the win here as it gives more personalized sleep advice.
Withings vs Garmin: The apps
The Garmin Connect app and Withings app are both user-friendly and give a comprehensive analysis of your sleep data and other health metrics with stats and visual, interactive graphs.
The Withings app pairs to Apple Health or Samsung Health and transfers activity data from these platforms so you have all your health, recovery and sleep data in one place to view trends and keep on top of what’s going on in your body.
The Garmin Index Sleep Monitor also integrates your sleep data into the Garmin Connect ecosystem, but it will only show daytime activity metrics if the user wears a Garmin smartwatch by day. If you do, Garmin will evaluate your sleep data alongside your health and fitness activity to give you daily ‘body battery’ scores, which give you an indication of your available energy reserves.
Winner: Pairing with a wider variety of health tracking platforms, Withings is more accessible and useful for more users.
Withings vs Garmin: Final verdict
For me, as a dedicated Garmin-watch wearer (yes it ruins all my outfits), the overall winner is the Garmin Index Sleep Monitor as pairing my activity tracking with my sleep data in one platform is most useful. Thanks to the Garmin sleep coach, I’m able to see if I need any extra sleep after intense workouts or particularly early mornings.
Plus, although I don’t particularly like wearing a watch to bed, I find the armband perfectly comfortable during the night, and it means I can leave my Garmin Forerunner charge overnight when needed.
That said, the Withings is a no brainer if you want to do away with wearables in bed altogether. If you use a non-Garmin smartwatch, or want a non-wearable tracker that focuses on sleep rather than fitness and activity tracking, it will be the better option for you.