I wore a DL110 ($30 on AliExpress) and an Oura Ring Gen 3 on the same hand for 6 months. Here's the breakdown.
Hardware: closer than you'd think
Both rings use:
- Green LED PPG for continuous heart rate
- Red + IR LEDs for SpO2
- 3-axis accelerometer
- Skin temperature sensor (Oura only — DL110 claims one but it's not reliable)
The DL110 uses the Actions Semiconductor ATS8266 + Goodix GH3018. Oura uses custom silicon. The silicon matters for power management and signal processing, but the fundamental measurement capability is similar.
Build quality is not similar. Oura titanium feels like jewelry. The DL110 feels like a $30 ring.
Data accuracy, head-to-head
Over 60+ paired nights I compared readings:
| Metric | DL110 vs Oura Delta |
|---|---|
| Resting HR | ±2 BPM |
| Sleep duration | ±15 minutes |
| Sleep stages | Broadly agree, specific boundaries fuzzy on DL110 |
| SpO2 overnight | ±1% |
| Steps | Both within 10% of chest-mounted reference |
| HRV | Wildly different — Oura's is smoother, DL110 requires derivation |
| Temperature | Oura only usable feature |
Where the DL110 loses meaningfully: HRV (Oura's calculation is much more stable), skin temperature (DL110 effectively doesn't have it), and the readiness-score ecosystem built on top of those two.
Where the DL110 holds its own: HR, sleep duration, SpO2, steps.
Software: the actual deciding factor
Oura's app is polished, consistent, and has years of iteration behind it. The score system, the cycle tracking, the activity tracking — all tight.
The DL110's stock app (SmartHealth) is the reason most people give up on cheap smart rings. Slow, buggy, ugly.
If you pair the DL110 with a better third-party app (I built one called Ringlo because I was sick of SmartHealth), the experience gap closes dramatically. Clean UI, proper sleep staging, readiness scoring, dark mode, export — all of it.
Subscription economics
- Oura: $299 for the ring + $70/year subscription
- DL110 + Ringlo: $30 for the ring + $30/year subscription ($29.99/yr or $3.99/mo)
Five-year total cost:
- Oura: $299 + $350 = $649
- DL110 + Ringlo: $30 + $150 = $180
Savings: $469 over five years. Enough to buy 15 more DL110s if you lose yours.
When Oura is worth the premium
- You specifically need skin temperature tracking (menstrual cycle work, illness early-warning)
- You want the tightest HRV accuracy
- You value a polished, frictionless experience over saving money
- You want the social proof / community around the Oura ecosystem
- You want built-in meditation / mindfulness features
When the DL110 wins
- You're budget-constrained and couldn't realistically buy an Oura anyway
- You want 75% of the features for 10% of the price
- You resent subscription creep and want a cheaper monthly bill
- You're a data nerd who doesn't mind a third-party app
- You're experimenting and don't want to commit $299 to "do I actually like wearing a ring?"
The honest recommendation
If cost is no object, buy the Oura. It's better.
If cost matters at all — or if you're ring-curious and don't want to drop $299 on an experiment — a DL110 plus a better app gets you surprisingly close. I wore mine every day for 6 months, used the data to make real decisions about sleep and training, and never once thought "I wish I'd spent $269 more."
I'm biased — I built Ringlo, a Flutter app for DL110-class rings. But I wore both rings long before I built anything. This comparison is the one I wanted to read when I was deciding which ring to buy.