The Best Pulse Oximeter for Home Use

Oxygen saturation is sometimes referred to as a fifth vital sign (in addition to temperature, pulse rate, blood pressure, and respiration rate). An increasing number of devices—from a phone that can act as a pulse oximeter to a ring that tracks blood oxygen levels during sleep—now promise to tell you if your blood contains a healthy amount of oxygen.
For this guide, we focused on fingertip pulse oximeters. Their main purpose is to estimate blood oxygen levels. Although we did test one pulse oximeter that connects to a smartphone app, we did not test pulse oximeters designed to collect data overnight and monitor symptoms of conditions like sleep apnea. We also did not test smartphones, smartwatches, or other wearables that claim to indirectly calculate blood oxygen levels. (We do, however, have separate reviews of the Oura Ring and Apple Watch, which tout SpO2 and pulse-rate monitoring.) Though connected devices like these may be handy in a pinch, their reliability in pulse oximetry is not fully substantiated. Generally, these devices “are not quite ready for prime time,” said Jason Adams, MD, a pulmonary and critical care medicine physician at UC Davis Health.
The FDA recognizes two main categories of fingertip pulse oximeters.
Medical device pulse oximeters have been used in hospital settings for decades as a way to non-invasively monitor patients’ blood oxygen levels. These pulse oximeters are cleared by the FDA; many of the models we considered for this review have undergone additional independent lab tests. Most cost hundreds of dollars.
Most pulse oximeters sold in pharmacies and in big-box stores, however, are considered useful only for recreational or wellness purposes (you may find references to sports or aviation on their packaging), and they’re not considered medical devices. Although recreational pulse oximeters likely use similar technology, these devices technically do not have to be reviewed by the FDA before they’re sold to individuals. Some device makers still elect to be cleared by the FDA through its 510(k) process.
To determine which devices to test, we combed through reviews and other guides to pulse oximeters. We narrowed our selection by mainly looking for devices that have earned FDA 510(k) clearance; this means the manufacturers have shown that these devices are safe and effective, and that they perform “substantially” as well as a similar device (in this case, another fingertip pulse oximeter that has already undergone FDA review).
We also cross-checked contenders against Open Oximetry, a database of pulse oximeters created by members of the Hypoxia Lab at the University of California San Francisco. This database features a growing list of pulse oximeters that are sold to the public and have been independently tested for accuracy, reviewed by the FDA, or both. We eliminated devices with a poor performance record.
We found that a massive number of devices, variations, and distributors are in the pulse oximeter market—along with plenty of obfuscation of information. “Some of these devices claim they are FDA cleared, and when you look into it, the FDA was never involved. There is a lot of misinformation,” said Hypoxia Lab director Philip Bickler, MD, chief of neuroanesthesia at UCSF.
We tested 10 devices that have either received FDA 510(k) clearance or, as shown in Open Oximetry, have been independently vetted in a lab. Some are both 510(k) cleared and independently vetted.
I first tested eight pulse oximeters on myself and half a dozen other people, including a 2-year-old, a 6-year-old, a 75-year-old, and a 78-year-old, as well as on people with both darker and lighter skin pigmentation. I personally tested the pulse oximeters in various scenarios: in direct sunlight, with nail polish on, after holding a handful of ice, mid-flight on an airplane, and during a week I spent sick with and recovering from COVID-19. Later, a panel of paid testers, who ranged in age, mobility, and skin tones, also tried our top picks.
At minimum, a pulse oximeter should have a display that includes not just SpO2 but also heart rate, which is usually labeled as PR (pulse rate), bpm (beats per minute), or simply with a heart symbol. It should also include something that shows the strength of the signal, such as a pulsating wavelength or bar, Bickler said.
The gold standard for verifying the accuracy of a pulse oximeter is comparing the device’s readings with those of a blood test, called an arterial blood gas test, an invasive clinical procedure that directly quantifies the levels of oxygen and carbon dioxide in the blood, Bickler said. Fingertip pulse oximeters are more often tested in comparison with one another. To earn FDA clearance, device makers must show that a pulse oximeter is substantially equivalent—performs just as well as—an already-cleared device.
We evaluated FDA-cleared and/or lab-tested fingertip pulse oximeters based on two additional factors:
- Display: We looked for displays that were clear and simple to read and understand. We preferred displays that used contrasting colors and large lettering and numbering, making the labels, symbols, and results easy to see and interpret. We also considered whether the results could be accidentally misread.
- Comfort: We considered how comfortable the pulse oximeters felt to wear on the finger, including for a prolonged period of time. We kept them on for about 20 minutes at a time, to gauge comfort.
All of the devices we tested required minimal setup, apart from inserting AAA batteries (or, in the case of one device, charging via USB).