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The best alarm clocks around are way better than your phone. Allow us to explain: Screen time is on everyone’s minds these days thanks to a wealth of new information about how different colored lights impact sleep. Setting your phone’s alarm every night is directly impacting how well you sleep (plus how quickly you drift off to Sleepy Town), and eschewing the phone alarm clock has become trendier than ever. Couple that with a new wave of smart alarm clocks flooding the market, and it’s no surprise that the OG rise-and-shine machine has moved to the top of everyone’s wish list.
But note: These aren’t those clanking, buzzing alarm clocks of the early ‘80s with a sticky snooze button and anxiety-inducing wake-up siren. No, these are the clocks you’ll want to keep by your bedside, including two superlative GQ Home Award-winning picks. These are sophisticated time devices with as many—or as few frills—as you desire. Experiment with a gentle wake up from the rising sun right in your bedroom no matter what time the alarm goes off, or try out a series of tones and sounds that subtly but surely wake up your whole system sans grogginess.
The Best Alarm Clocks, at a Glance
You’re short on time, and you need an alarm clock right the hell now. Skip all the scrolling and get straight to our picks for the best alarm clocks for every situation.
What to Look for in an Alarm Clock
Set-Up: The process for getting each alarm clock up and ticking ranged greatly depending on the type of clock tested. Not everyone wants a “smart” clock, after all, that requires downloading an app just to program their alarm clock. On the other hand, some would prefer to have all sorts of adjustable settings available on their phone, including add-ons like white noise sounds and meditations. In either case, what’s needed to set up the alarm clock and how easy it is to complete is essential to any new purchase.
Performance: Alarm clocks are are all about function, so performance is key, along with factors like how easy the numbers are to read, how easy and reliably you can set your alarm, plus how loud the alarms are. Other things to keep in mind are whether or not the clock is battery-powered or powers up via cable. The actual wake-up experience will differ greatly between clocks, from dimming options to
Quality: Bringing an alarm clock into any bedroom requires that it fits in with the aesthetic. Cheaply made clocks often have inoperable buttons that stick or break over a short period of time.
Extras: While not everyone needs extra features, they can be really fun to experiment with and ultimately incredibly beneficial to work into your sleep and wake routines. The “smartest” clocks include pre-programmed options for everything from sound baths to tonal wake ups.
How we tested
We researched and scoured through the lists of available options to find the most highly-rated alarm clocks in all categories. While there are a bevy of models out there, we narrowed our list down to eight alarm clocks—including sunrise, digital, and analog—that included a range of highly sought-after features like ascending wake up melodies, subscription services, and even bed shakers. We played the various sounds at different times throughout the day—including versions of morning and evening meditations, pink noise for sleeping and even nap alarms, as well as using them as an actual wake-up device to gauge their overall effectiveness.
For some, the set up was as simple as pressing a few buttons located directly on the alarm, but for other smarter options there were quite a few more steps involved, including downloading an app, setting up WiFi and/or Bluetooth connectivity, plus adjusting light and sound to our liking. After the initial setup, we experimented with features like the alarm volume, any sound and melody libraries, tonal variations, light choices (if any), and how easy it was to smash that snooze button. Without further ado, the best alarm clocks to wake up your sleepy head every morning.
The Best Alarm Clock, Overall: Loftie
Alarm Style: Sound
App Control: Yes
Backup Battery: Yes
Wellness company Loftie, which was founded after a successful Indiegogo campaign in 2020, has since ventured into home design products like lamps, but is most well-known for its handsome alarm clock. The Instagram darling is sleek and compact enough to fit on most night tables. Couple that with an easy-to use interface and a bounty of fun extras beyond your garden variety wake-up features (spanning meditations to sound baths that can help you wind down after a day of non-stop grinding) and you’ll understand why the Loftie has pretty much cornered the market, and now sells everywhere from Ssense to the MoMA Store.
While the setup does include downloading an app, connecting to WiFi, and fiddling with the controls, the set-up process is a no-brainer to follow along with from there. Once you’ve laid your head on the pillow, you’ve got several options to induce relaxation, including guided breathwork to clear your mind, special lessons for kids that teach them some mindfulness 101s, or soothing sounds like crackling campfires and ocean waves. Noise options aren’t just limited to white noise, though: Mix it up with pink, brown, and red variations which sound more or less like drifting off to warm static or a pleasant storm. Everything syncs up to Loftie’s app so you can cycle through settings or cue up alarms directly from your phone before you tuck yourself in.
Unlike other multi-functional alarm clocks that include light functions, which mimic the sunrise to gently wake you up from slumber, it’s all pure sound at Loftie. Waking up with a Loftie involves 30 seconds of gentle melodic tones that subtly ease you out of dreamland, followed by nine minutes of snoozing to introduce wakefulness. That’s all followed by a more lively xylophone-type sound that’s more like a “jostle” than a “gentle nudge” in the audio department. The see-through base even houses a night light for early morning bathroom visits, and the display automatically dims for uninterrupted sleep time. Nothing will initiate a break up with your cellphone more than this infinitely adjustable, super sleek alarm clock for sweet slumber and a gentle wake up. But on the off-chance you absolutely hate it, there’s a 60-day trial period to suss out its bona fides, plus a full one-year warranty in case it loses its steam.
The Best Budget Alarm Clock: Jall Digital Alarm Clock
Alarm Style: Sound
App Control: No
Backup Battery: No
This wallet-friendly clock may also be the most stylish of the bunch. The wooden exterior—which comes in blonde, dark, or white finishes—looks especially fetching on a nightstand and unobtrusively fits into most rooms. For the low price tag of just 22 bones, the clock also includes tons of features like the ability to set up to three alarms at once, five volume settings, as well as weekday modes that mean your alarm won’t default to an ungodly wakeup hour when you’re accustomed to sleeping in on weekends. Everything’s easy enough to operate, even for the littlest members of the family, and LED numbers can be dimmed or brightened at your discretion if you’re sensitive to bright lights.
Other welcome features are the temperature and humidity settings, which can help you ensure the best environment for sleeping under any conditions by keeping you aware of spikes or decreases in temperature and how they correlate with sudden wake-ups or fitful sleep. All in all, for such an affordable clock, you’re getting a bevy of sleek add-ons, adjustable settings, and a dummyproof interface: What’s not to love?
The Best Sunrise Alarm Clock: Philips Wake Up Light
Alarm Style: Light, Sound
App Control: Yes
Backup Battery: Yes
Waking up to the gentle rays of a rising sun has been proven to be a gentle, yet effective method for any morning wake-up routine, and the Philips Wake Up Light functions do far more than just your average alarm clock. Simply program in a 30-minute window for the clock and it will cue up your very own lights show, starting with a glowing red light followed by orange to mimic the sun’s rays. The red light is less intensive and will gradually, and naturally, begin the wake-up process by stimulating consciousness before physical alertness. Bonus features include AmbiTrack sensors that help you monitor temperature, humidity, light, and noise levels so you can calibrate your bedroom to the perfect settings for your finicky self.
Philips’ proprietary app, SleepMapper, is easy to use, too, and great for charting how well you slept last night, and when you jolted awake from that nightmare. The alarm can also be controlled from the device itself by tapping on the touch display. Worried about needing more than just ambient light to wake up? Choose from up to five sounds like bird chirps and waves to get you going, or sync your light with the radio in case you’d prefer to greet the day with some jock jams. The midnight settings—a blue light that mimics the moon’s glow—is lovely, unobtrusive, and can be turned off with a quick double tap. Nighttime wind-down extras include dual light settings there, too, so you can start dimming it down for bed. If snoozing is inevitable, just tap the light once to power it down and drift right off.
The Best Alarm Clock for Heavy Sleepers: Sonic Bomb (Extra Loud)
Alarm Style: Sound, vibration
App Control: No
Backup Battery: Yes
For practically comatose sleepers who could probably snooze through an earthquake, the Sonic Bomb is a genuine gamechanger. At its loudest and most invasive, an extra loud sonic bomb-type alarm—aptly called the “12 volt super shaker”—booms, vibrates, and even strobes (hell yeah) to truly drop a wrecking ball on your sweet slumber. The bright red flashing lights are not fun, and once this thing gets you out of your bed, you’ll wonder if you will ever know peace again. While the alarm can be set for as loud as you need it, it generally starts off on the quieter, more docile side and then dials up the intensity for as long as you stay under the covers. It’s certainly not for the faint of heart, and might not start you off on your day in the best mood, but this straightforward, aggressive little machine certainly understands and executes the assignment: getting you of bed any way it possibly can.
The Best Alarm Clock for Kids: Little Hippo Mella Ready to Rise
Alarm Style: Sound and colored lights
App Control: No
Backup Battery: No
Even kids could use a shakeup in the wake-up department, and Mella is a great compact way to help them establish a bedtime routine. This sweet hippo-shaped clock not only works as an alarm clock, but also includes nifty features like a nap timer and sound machine. Sleep sound options include white noise, lullabies, and ocean waves to help kids fall asleep faster, slumber more soundly, and actually wake up promptly in the morning. Different colored lights pair with adorable facial expressions that kindly ease kids out of dreamland: The ambient yellow glow starts the wake-up process, while the green signals that it’s time to make some moves. Five different night-light color options even give kids the agency to choose their own way to soothe themselves to sleep, and that decision-making is, frankly, very grown-up.
The Best Smart Alarm Clock: Amazon Echo Dot
Alarm Style: Sound
App Control: Yes
Backup Battery: Yes
With the introduction of Amazon’s Echo Dot, it’s easy to wonder if there is anything that Alexa can’t do. This voice-enabled clock functioned well with the basics of setting timers and alarms, which thankfully do not require stretching an arm out to adjust (simply call for help). The LED display utilizes embedded lights to show not just the time but also, when asked, the weather, any song titles currently playing, and more. To snooze, it will make you work for it, though: Just tap the top of the device to procrastinate on your wake-up.
Like other devices from the ‘Zon, the Dot is compatible with many other smart devices in your home, meaning that you can control everything from the television to the temperature sleep settings easily and all in one place. The newest version has pretty great speaker quality for music and meditations, as well as uploadable content to keep things fresh. The compatibility functions make this a no-brainer for anyone who relies on that Amazon Prime account for everything under the sun and wants to control their media usage, temperature controls, wake ups, and more all in one place.
The Best Multi-Hyphenate Alarm Clock: Hatch Restore
Alarm Style: Sound and light
App Control: Yes
Backup Battery: Yes
Sleeping soundly is as much of a practice as it is a necessity, and the Hatch alarm clock aims to help on all fronts, which is why it earned a nod in this year’s GQ Home Awards as the hardest-working nightstand essential. By combining the ever-practical alarm clock with a sunrise alarm, smart light, sound machine, and [checks notes] meditation app, this device does the absolute most in one multi-tasking device. The sunrise alarm comes with up to 10 different sunrise color settings from Morning in Prague (more of a pastel purplish pink color scheme) to a Portland Lighthouse option that transports you to the West Coast, complete with the sound of seagulls and crashing waves.
A variety of ambient tones like pink noise can be used to block out noisy roommates and street traffic, while soothing sounds like birdsong, flutes, bells, or chimes can delicately coax you awake. There are even some retro alarms if you’re feeling nostalgic for the standard rounded alarm clock of yore. Among the music, dreamscapes, and sleep stories offered, the narrative tales about beekeeping and melodic soundscapes that feature underwater sounds from around the world were perfect for enjoying a capital E “Experience” while being lulled to sleep.
One downside here is that while a Hatch alarm clock will get you in the door, the best features are locked within Hatch’s annual sleep subscription of soothing meditations, musical overtures, and curated channels (free for the first six months, then $49). The subscription acts as your daily wind-down partner to help you get to sleep faster, but even if you’re just coasting on the free tools at your disposal, the Hatch Restore has more than enough features to get you up in the morning.
The Best Budget Sunrise Alarm Clock: Homelabs Sunrise Simulator
Alarm Style: Sound and light
App Control: No
Backup Battery: Yes
The most gentle way to start the day is undoubtedly with the light of the rising sun. While not everyone has the luxury of an east-facing window, the Homelabs Sunrise Simulator is a budget-friendly way to simulate more sunlight in your face in the morning via warm LED lights. With eight color settings at your disposal, three brightness levels to beam you up, ambient nature sounds to tuck you in, and even a sunset setting if you’re prone to disco napping in the afternoon, this clock is hard to beat. It’s not as sleek as the Philips alarm clock, and it certainly has fewer features, but it’s a great entry-level model to help you decide if sunrise alarm clocks are even your thing.