I tried 3 free sleep trackers and compared them to my $499 Oura Ring 5 — this is the winner

(Image credit: Future / Oura Ring)

The Oura Ring 5 sets the standard for sleep tracking — I’ve been wearing it for 6 weeks and its accuracy has blown me away. However, the Oura Ring 5, from $399 at Amazon, is a luxury spend and while it collects a lot of data, I mostly use it for sleep tracking. So it got me thinking: is there a way to get accurate sleep tracking data for free?The Oura Ring is the best sleep tracker on the market, so I appreciate that a free app is unlikely to match its accuracy. But with so many iPhone apps promising precise sleep tracking through sound and movement sensors, I wanted to see if you really have to pay 100s of dollars for sleep tracking.I picked three free sleep tracking apps with the best reviews in the App Store — Sleep Cycle, SleepScore and Sleepwave — and used them overnight. With my trusty Oura Ring 5 on my finger, to compare data. Here's how they measured, plus the one that impressed me so much I’m almost considering giving up my Oura Ring.Key takeaways: Free sleep trackers at a glanceWhile I'm using a $499 Oura Ring 5 as a sleep tracker, there are plenty of free iPhone apps that promise accurate sleep tracking.The Oura Ring uses integrated sensors to measure heart rate, blood oxygen levels, respiration rate, movement and temperature.Most free sleep trackers rely on movement and sound to determine sleep stagesTo accurately compare data, I wore the Oura Ring while using each of three popular sleep tracking apps: Sleep Cycle, SleepScore, and Sleepwave.While SleepScore and Sleep Cycle provide intuitive apps and accessible data, both had glaring accuracy flaws when tracking sleep stages.Sleepwave, however, provided accurate results. Sleepwave's sleep stage data was in the 5-minute accuracy threshold of the Oura Ring, making the Sleepwave app the winner.The gold standard sleep tracker I’m using