The best alarm clocks of 2023 | CNN Underscored

An alarm clock may seem outdated, with your smartphone’s endless number of tones and apps to wake you up. But using your phone as your alarm can tempt you to use it before you tuck in, and that can lead to lower-quality sleep. Let’s be honest: Don’t you rely on your phone for enough already? So if you’re looking for deep sleep, rid yourself of the tech temptation, put some distance between your bed and your screen, put an alarm clock on your nightstand and still wake up on time.

To help you replace your phone’s alarm, we put 18 top-rated alarm clocks to the test — from analog tickers to tech-filled wake-up lights. For a whole month, we set alarms, let them ring and snoozed (maybe a bit too often) to find the best of the best. After all our tests, five alarm clocks rose above the others.

Jall Wooden Digital Alarm Clock

Best alarm clock overall

Jall wooden digital alarm clock

Amazon

The Jall Wooden Digital Alarm Clock looks great and has everything you need in an alarm clock. It’s simple to set, read and use, and can wake you dependably with multiple alarms.

From $22 at Amazon

DreamSky Portable Digital Alarm Clock

A runner-up with a highly visible screen

DreamSky portable digital alarm clock

Amazon

An easy-to-use alarm clock without any bells and whistles to get in the way, the DreamSky is simple, durable and highly readable, and will get you out of bed in the morning with a loud beep that isn’t too startling.

$36 at Walmart

Philips Wake-Up Light HF3520

Best sunrise alarm clock (and best with radio)

Philips Wake-Up Light HF3520

Amazon

Able to wake you gently with lights that gradually brighten to mimic the dawn, the Philips Wake-Up Light HF3520 is a great sunrise alarm clock and one of the best all-around alarm clocks we tested, with intuitive programming, a wide range of alarm tones and a radio.

$160 at Amazon

Best alarm clock overall: Jall Wooden Digital Alarm Clock

From $22 at Amazon

Kai Burkhardt/CNN

The Jall Wooden Digital Alarm Clock has everything you need — and more — in an alarm clock. It’s simple to set, easy to read in the dark and has an alarm that is loud but won’t scare you awake. It’s got a polished feel to it, and its wooden design gives it a look unlike any other clocks we tested. Plus, at $25 (or less), the Jall Wooden Alarm Clock is equipped with incredibly useful features, such as the ability to set multiple alarms, humidity and temperature readings and a feature that puts the display to sleep and automatically wakes it back up if it senses movement or sound.

Right out of the box, this clock was easy to use and setup was a breeze. It’s got a 5-foot cord that should reach most outlets comfortably, and comes with a CR2032 battery that backs up your settings (although the small plastic latch that opens the battery door snapped off when we pulled too hard, so be careful when you need to switch the battery). The Jall clock has a panel on the backside that houses all the controls, including three small buttons, four switches and a scrolling wheel. To set the time or alarm, all you have to do is press and hold a button and use the wheel to change the numbers on the screen. Setting the time and alarm took us less than a minute when we first plugged it in, which was refreshingly short compared to other clocks. The scroll wheel was especially useful, allowing you to speed through the numbers for hours and minutes instead of repeatedly pressing a button.

Whenever you set or change your alarm, you have the option to set two other alarms as well, so you can have three different alarms active at once. You can also choose if you want the alarms to go off every day or on weekdays only, which was another pleasant feature that was absent from many of the Jall’s competitors.

Speaking of extra features, this clock can show you the humidity and temperature of your room, which are actually critical factors to getting restful sleep. You can toggle the dimmable display between showing temperature or the date as well as a “Sound Control” mode, which turns off the display and automatically turns it back on when movement or sound is detected.

While there are plenty of fun and helpful features of the Jall, one of the most striking aspects is its design. We tested the “yellow” clock, which looks like a nice pine. But it also comes in three other finishes (black, brown and white), all of which have a clean, almost Japandi look. When the clock isn’t plugged in or the display is off, it looks like a solid wooden block. But when switched on, the time appears in a gentle white light behind the wood. We can imagine one of its colors matching with nearly any interior decor.

The Jall Wooden Digital Alarm Clock looks nice, but we didn’t name it the best alarm clock just because of its looks. First and foremost, the Jall is a solid alarm clock that will comfortably wake you up. It has a tone that isn’t so loud that it makes you jump out of bed, but it also isn’t so quiet that you’ll sleep right through it. The alarm is also adjustable, with five different volume settings, so you can fine-tune the beeps to ensure you roll out of bed every time. And if you want to roll back into bed, you can set the snooze timer for nine minutes by pressing any of the buttons on the back. To turn the alarm fully off, press any button twice.

It didn’t have the best wake-up experience of all the clocks we tested (that title belongs to the sunrise clocks we’ll touch on later), nor did it have a terribly jarring alarm that scared us awake (we’ll talk more about those too). Instead, it was a pretty standard alarm that woke us up without incident, and was easy to turn off even with eyes half open. If you’re the clumsy type (or semiconscious from just waking up) and accidentally knock it off the bedside table, there’s no need to worry, because it made it through our drop test without a scratch, thanks to its sturdy and lightweight build.

The Jall Wooden Digital Alarm Clock rightfully earned its place at the top of our list. Its functionality, simplicity and design really shined.

A runner-up with a highly visible screen: DreamSky Compact Digital Alarm Clock

$36 at Walmart

Kai Burkhardt/CNN

The DreamSky Compact Digital Alarm Clock isn’t quite as full-featured as the Jall Wooden Clock, but it checks all the boxes of a great alarm clock, and those in need of an alarm clock without any extra bells or whistles will be more than happy. Small but with a big display, for $19.99 you get an easy-to-use clock with an adjustable wake-up tone. It’s a solid pick to get you out of bed in the morning.

This clock doesn’t have the additional features the Jall does, instead touting just one alarm and an extra USB port. The DreamSky clock had a simple setup, and with four buttons and two wheels on the back, along with a snooze button on top, it isn’t too difficult to use. Just plug in the clock with its 5-foot, 2-inch cord, pop in two AAA batteries as a backup and set the time. To do this, you press and hold a button to enter the settings mode, then press the plus (“+”) and minus (“-“) buttons to change the time. While you will be mashing some buttons, your fingers won’t get fatigued since you can toggle between the hour and the minutes and go up and down.

The alarm itself is similar to the Jall’s, providing a nice and loud beep that isn’t too startling. The beeps increase in speed and volume the longer the alarm goes, and you can adjust the volume so you never accidentally sleep through until noon. The snooze button isn’t really a button but rather a sensor on the top of the clock that will allow you another nine minutes of zzz’s until it beeps again.

The DreamSky scored extremely well in nearly all of our tests, including durability, appearance and wake-up experience, but what made it one of the top contenders was its big and bright display. The numbers occupy basically the entire display of the DreamSky instead of just being in a small window like some other clocks we tested. It’s easy to tell what time it is with the DreamSky, even if it’s the middle of the night and you’re as blind as a bat. This large screen easily made it one of the most readable clocks, tied only with the Magnasonic Projection Alarm Clock, which can project the time onto your ceiling. While we loved its ultra-visible display, the DreamSky has a dial on the back that allows you to fine-tune its brightness all the way down to a dark screen that won’t bother you at night.

If you’re looking for a solid alarm clock and don’t need the extra features of the Jall, the DreamSky Compact Digital Alarm Clock could be the one for you.

A luxury clock with the best non-sunrise alarm: Loftie

$150 $120 at Loftie

Kai Burkhardt/CNN

If you’re simply looking for a clock to replace your phone, then you’ll be more than happy with the Jall or the DreamSky. However, if you want a device that eases you into your mornings with a gradual alarm and can also help you get to sleep, the Loftie is the perfect clock for you.

Waking up to a gradual alarm is a total game changer. Instead of jolting awake, you’re slowly brought out of slumber, which gives your body time to adjust and actually wake up. Normally, these calming alarms are reserved for sunrise alarm clocks (like our winner, the Philips Wake-Up Light HF3520); however, the Loftie was the one non-sunrise clock we tested that had this critical feature.

Loftie’s alarm is so good, we actually enjoyed it more than the alarms on the sunrise clocks. While the sunrise clocks we tested play the soft sounds of a river or birds chirping and slowly increase the volume, Loftie utilizes a two-tone system. The first tone is a quiet and ambient noise that begins to lift you out of sleep. It then automatically snoozes itself for 30 seconds and waits nine minutes until it plays a louder tone to get you up out of bed. The second tone isn’t sudden or surprising, but it’s faster-paced and louder than the first alarm. However, the Loftie alarm doesn’t have any sort of sunrise light, so while the auditory alarm is great, if you want to mimic the sunrise you should opt for the Philips Wake-Up.

One problem we have with all alarm clocks is that no matter how calming the tone may be on the first morning, after about a week it becomes annoying and you end up getting out of bed grumpy anyway. However, the Loftie has tons of options for both its initial “wake-up sound” and its secondary “get-up sound,” with regular updates that add even more tones.

Besides its amazing alarm system, the Loftie has a minimalist design that looks great on any countertop, an elegant and ambient night light that emanates from the bottom of the clock, a bright screen and a simple interface. Setting multiple alarms was a breeze, and after connecting the clock to an app, the Loftie pulled the exact time from the internet, meaning we didn’t have to set it manually.

On top of one of the best wake-up experiences we tested, the Loftie can help you fall asleep too. It’s got a large library of meditations, soundscapes, white noises and even bedtime stories and sound baths to choose from, with regular updates adding even more content. And if you aren’t a fan of any of those options, you can hook it up to your phone and use it as a Bluetooth speaker so you can fall asleep to your favorite podcast.

Besides the price, the biggest downside of the Loftie for us is its display. While its brightness is adjustable, the numbers are a bit too small to easily see if you’re nearsighted and don’t have your glasses on.

If you’re willing to spend $149 on an alarm clock (or $99 on a refurbished one), the Loftie should be your first pick. It’s got the best wake-up experience of any non-sunrise alarm clock we’ve tested, an elegant night light and a wide array of sounds to help you fall asleep. Plus, its simple design means it will look good wherever you put it in your bedroom. So, if you’re ready for an upgraded alarm clock but don’t want a sunrise clock, Loftie is the one for you.

Best sunrise alarm clock (and best with radio): Philips Wake-Up Light HF3520

$160 at Amazon

Kai Burkhardt/CNN

If you want a more soothing and gradual wake-up experience than the standard beep of an alarm clock, the Philips Wake-Up Light HF3520 is the alarm clock for you. Its bulbous display slowly brightens to mimic the morning sun and then plays gentle noises, such as chirping birds, to ease you awake. This sunrise alarm clock gave us one of the most pleasant mornings out of all the clocks we tested, and at $79.95 (cheaper than other sunrise options we tested), it’s a great balance between luxury and price.

If a normal alarm clock just doesn’t do it for you and any beep is too harsh, then a sunrise alarm clock might be the thing you need. Sunrise alarm clocks can help jump-start your circadian system in the morning and can help improve sleep quality. In fact, 92% of Philips Wake-Up Light users say the lights wake them up pleasantly and make it easier to get out of bed.

To see if we felt a difference and to find out how sunrise clocks compared to more traditional options, we tested five of them, including three of Philips’ famed Wake-Up Lights. After our testing, we found that the best sunrise alarm clock — and one of the best all-around alarm clocks — was the Philips Wake-Up Light HF3520.

To be transparent, the title for best sunrise alarm clock was extremely close between the Philips Wake-Up Light HF3520 and its more expensive sibling, the Philips SmartSleep Connected Sleep and Wake-Up Light. The SmartSleep Connected Light was a fantastic alarm clock and almost took the crown. It has all the features of our winner and more, but during our drop tests, the port where you plug in the power cord broke, making it unusable. Even though it scored higher and offers more benefits than the cheaper Philips light, the fact that it broke, not to mention its lofty $199.95 price, make us believe the Philips Wake-Up Light HF3520 is the smarter and better investment.

So let’s get into why this Philips Wake-Up Light really is so great. First and foremost, the wake-up experience was second to none. We live in an apartment lucky enough to get some morning light, so even though it probably didn’t impact us as much as someone who has blackout curtains, the light still eased us into the morning, and the pleasant natural noises were a gentle alarm that was a much better experience than the other clocks we tested.

The natural sounds were truly our favorite part of this clock, with tones including waves, chirping birds and a calming piano that increase in volume as you wake up. There are five options to choose from, so you can pick your favorite, or you can even tune the clock to the radio if you prefer.

Besides the outstanding morning routine, the Philips Wake-Up Light has tons of features that many other clocks didn’t have, such as radio and wake-up profiles that allow you to choose a different experience for weekdays and weekends. Plus, you can use the light as a standard lamp while you’re winding down or reading during the evening.

The setup was also extremely easy, thanks to the small screen at the bottom of the light that has little touch sensors so you can quickly navigate through the menu and change the time and alarm settings. Programming the alarm was simple and intuitive, even though you have to pick several settings, including your time, brightness, sound and volume.

One aspect of the Philips Wake-Up Light that knocked it down a few points, though, is its sheer size. The face and light itself is about 9 inches in diameter, and the base is quite big at about 4.5 inches, so you’ll have to clear out a bit of space to put it next to your bed. And you’ll want to make sure it’s close to your bed, as Philips suggests placing the light 16 to 20 inches from your head.

Since it is such a big alarm clock, it’s also got some weight to it, which made the drop test extra scary. Smaller clocks, such as the Jall and DreamSky, can probably fall off a bedside table dozens of times before anything happens to them, just because they’re so light and the impact is minimal. The Philips, on the other hand, weighs in at about 2.5 pounds, so the drops had a lot of force behind them, so we could see it breaking after a few more falls.

The Philips Wake-Up Light HF3520 is quite an investment for an alarm clock at $79.95, but for the price, you’re getting the best wake-up experience on the market that will make your mornings brighter and happier.

Best alarm clock for heavy sleepers: Sonic Bomb Dual Extra-Loud Alarm Clock With Bed Shaker

$40 at Walmart

Kai Burkhardt/CNN

We’re not going to lie: We were terrified of the Sonic Bomb Dual Extra-Loud Alarm Clock. Meant for heavy sleepers who aren’t awakened by average alarm clocks, not only is the Sonic Bomb’s alarm tone incredibly loud and unpleasant — it’s one of the most abrasive we tested — but the device drives the point home with a set of flashing red strobes, and it augments this sensory assault with a “bed shaker,” a vibrating puck that you place under your pillow. When we tested the alarm for the first time on a table, we were shocked to see how violent the buzzing bed shaker actually was. And the manufacturer underscores the clock’s seriousness by offering it in a range of intense designs, including a camo version and one adorned with skulls in addition to a more typical palette of sedate and bright colors.

But after weeks of putting off testing, we finally put the Sonic Bomb on our nightstand and woke up with it — and, in reality, the experience wasn’t as bad as we had feared. Plus, the additional features — especially the bed shaker — should awaken those who haven’t been able to find an alarm clock that does the job.

Average sleepers should know that the beeps don’t start on full blast, and if those manage to awaken you, you have a second to brace yourself before the vibrations start. And the strobes aren’t unreasonably bright — not enough to wake you on their own, though bright enough to act as an added incentive. The alarm does increase in volume and speed, and we don’t know what kind of person could sleep through that bed shaker if they put it underneath their pillow. And you can set how long the alarm goes on, from one minute to 59 minutes, so if you really need to you can make it last a long, long time to really make sure you get up. A battery backup keeps the racket going in case of an outage.

So if you have a bad habit of sleeping through multiple alarms and just can’t count on a normal, everyday alarm clock to awaken you, the Sonic Bomb Dual Extra-Loud Alarm Clock should be enough to wake you up. A couple of caveats: The user interface layout is clunky compared to the other clocks we tested, so setting the time and the alarm is more difficult than we’d like. The bed shaker isn’t wireless (it’s attached with a thin wire), so you’ll have to place it so it doesn’t get tangled if you toss and turn in your sleep. Also, the Sonic Bomb is one of the few alarms that broke during our drop tests, so if your reaction to an alarm going off involves throwing it across the room, you may want to look elsewhere.

How we tested

We researched and found top-rated alarm clocks and selected a wide-ranging pool that included 18 digital, analog and sunrise alarm clocks. We opened each alarm clock and set the time and alarm, playing with all the settings and testing out any and all extra features. We listened to the alarms during the day, and woke up to each one to get a genuine wake-up experience. Over the duration of one month, here are all the tests we ran:

Performance

• Readability: We took note of how visible and legible the numbers or analog hands on the clock were, both in light and in the dark.

• Ease of setting alarm: We noted how difficult it was to set the alarm on each clock, and how much time it took.

• Wake-up experience: We tested the alarm and noted the volume, tone, harshness and general experience of waking up to the alarm.

• Dimmability: We tested how dimmable each clock was, testing each one in the light and the dark.

• Snooze: We tested how easy it was to snooze the alarm, and took note if it was customizable and easy to set.

• Power: We noted if the clock needed batteries, a power cord or both. If it needed a power cord, we measured the cord.

Build

• Materials: We felt each alarm clock and judged how nice or cheap it felt, including buttons and dials.

• Durability: We knocked each alarm clock off the same bedside table five times, noting any damage after each drop.

• Appearance: We noted its size and color options, and rated its aesthetics.

X factors

• Extra features: We noted and tested any and all extra features and how useful they were.

Other alarm clocks we tested

$140 $110 at Amazon

The Amazon Halo Rise is, admittedly, an impressive bit of tech. With its non-invasive sensors and stylish design, it combines a sleep tracker, smart alarm, and waking light all in one device — all to capture a great deal of data without the user even thinking about it. But that’s the problem. We should be thinking about what data we’re giving over to large tech corporations, especially health data. Because even if we, as consumers, don’t quite know what to do with the data we’re presented with on our app dashboards, you can bet companies like Amazon do: convince us to purchase more stuff and upsell us to partner companies offering even more subscriptions for meditation services or fitness classes. Amazon pinky-swears the data is private, and it probably is, on paper. But given how much data Amazon already has on us, Rise’s presence on our nightstand was a corporate lookout too near for our tastes.

$180 at Phillips

Like we said earlier, the Philips SmartSleep Connected Sleep and Wake-Up Light is an outstanding alarm clock. The wake-up experience is just as good as our winner for the best sunrise alarm clock — and this light comes with more features, such as a customizable snooze, more alarms you can set, relaxation exercises and more. Plus, since the SmartSleep is a smart alarm clock, you can control it from an app without any fussing with buttons.

However, on the last drop of our durability test, the clock unfortunately broke. We don’t expect people to be dropping their alarm clocks that often, but accidents do happen, and if you pay so much for something, you want it to last. Even if it didn’t break, the extra $100 you’d have to pay over the Philips Wake-Up Light HF3520 is a lot, and compared to other clocks we tested, which have price tags around $20, it was just too high to justify. But if you have the extra money and want to buy a sunrise clock that helps you not only wake up easily but go to sleep faster and help your entire sleep experience, the Philips SmartSleep Connected Wake-Up Light is an amazing device to have in your home.

$50 at Hatch

The Hatch Restore is a great sunrise alarm clock that gives a gentle and gradual wake-up much like our favorite sunrise alarm, the Philips Wake-Up Light. However, the Restore’s light is smaller, which gave a less immersive feeling than the Philips Wake-Up. While the Hatch couldn’t beat out the Philips Wake-Up Light in our testing, it really shines as a white noise machine. In fact, it was our upgrade pick for the best white noise machine.

The Loftie, our luxury pick, is a better alarm clock overall, thanks to its amazing wake-up experience, and while it also has plenty of meditations and soundscapes to fall asleep to, these programs fall short of the Hatch’s automatic wind-down routine that pairs different modes of lighting with sounds to help you get ready for bed. You can program the Hatch to shine a bright white light for 30 minutes so you can read, then it can transition to a darker blue hue while queuing up a meditation, then lower the volume and play rain sounds through the night. In short, the Loftie is better at waking you up, and the Hatch is better at helping you get to bed in the first place.

The only drawback to using Hatch as a white noise machine is that while you can get access to a small portion of Hatch’s library of soundscapes and meditations for free, if you want full access you’ll have to pay for a subscription that costs $49.99 per year. But if you want an all-in-one device that really helps you fall asleep and does a good job of waking you up, the Hatch Restore is second to none.

$30 at Amazon

The Magnasonic alarm clock was a nifty and all-around solid clock that we thoroughly enjoyed testing. It comes with a radio that you can listen to or use as your alarm, an aux cord and a projector that displays the time on your ceiling. While the red digits on the ceiling kind of looked like a doomsday clock at first, it’s actually an extremely useful feature if you tend to get up in the middle of the night and want to know the time. If you like the idea of the projector, definitely consider the Magnasonic alarm clock, as it scored quite well in most of our other tests as well, just not as good as our winners.

$45 at Walmart

This smaller sunrise clock from Philips was nice, but its bigger counterparts really outdid this $49.99 option. This clock doesn’t have the natural sounds, and it’s so light and tall that it can easily be knocked over, especially since you have to tap the top to snooze it. The beeps of the alarm aren’t too harsh, and the alarm-setting process wasn’t terrible, so if you want a sunrise clock but don’t want to spend a ton of money, this could be a great buy.

$16 $14 at Amazon

While this itty-bitty alarm clock didn’t score very high, we think it’s actually a fantastic alarm clock if you travel a lot. It’s so small it can fit in your pocket, plus it unfolds, so you can put it on basically any surface next to your bed. It’s battery-powered, so you can take it anywhere, and it has a standard alarm that’s easy to set. There’s nothing fancy about this clock, but if you need just the bare bones to take with you when you’re traveling or camping, the Travelwey Digital Travel Alarm Clock is a great portable option.

$36 at Walmart

The Homelabs Sunrise Alarm Clock really couldn’t compare with the options from Philips. The numbers on the clock itself were fuzzy and hard to read, and while it’s equipped with natural sounds to wake up to, the audio quality is so bad that it sounds like it’s coming through a tin can. We’d recommend you spend the extra money for one of the nicer options from Philips.

$25 $23 at Amazon

This alarm clock from Sony scored decently well, but none of its features stood out above the pack. It’s got a radio, which is a nice feature, and the design is simple, but the display was hard to see in the dark. Plus, every time you hit the snooze button, the time of the snooze increases, which seems counterintuitive.

$25 $18 at Amazon

This Travelwey alarm clock reminded us of a classic childhood alarm clock, with the bright red numbers and huge snooze button at the top. The snooze button can function as a light, which is a nice feature other digital clocks didn’t have, but setting the time and alarm was a slow and unforgiving experience. You have to hold one button and press another to set the time, and you can only increase the digits. So if you miss your time by one minute, you have to circle around the full 24-hour cycle to get back to your desired time.

$16 $11 at Amazon

Peakeep’s small clock scored the highest out of the analog clocks, which scored lower in general due to their lack of visibility in the dark and other features. This clock is the only analog option we tested to have a snooze button, and it was easy to set the alarm (though not an exact science, since you’re moving an analog hand instead of entering a digit). It has a light, but like other analog options, it’s only on when you hold it.

$20 $17 at Amazon

This large-screened alarm clock is similar to our runner-up, the DreamSky Compact Digital Alarm Clock. The PPLEE has a standard beeping alarm and numbers that aren’t quite as easy to see as the DreamSky’s, so if you’re looking for a simple alarm clock like this we think you’ll be better served by our runner-up.

$10 at RCA

The RCA alarm clock had one of the harshest alarm tones we tested. It rattled the plastic inside the clock and had a screeching sound that had us jumping out of bed to end our ears’ suffering as soon as we could. It wasn’t incredibly easy to set the alarm, and even if you need an extra-loud alarm to wake you up, we wouldn’t recommend this one. If you are an extremely deep sleeper, check out the Sonic Bomb.

$13 at Amazon

The analog clock from Jall was quite a nice contender; however, since analog clocks had a few key features absent, it didn’t score well overall. The Jall looks cute, comes in five different colors and, most importantly, doesn’t tick, making it a solid analog alarm clock if you want something a bit heftier than the tiny Peakeep clock.

$17 $15 at Amazon

The Peakeep Twin Bell Alarm Clock had an alarm so loud and shocking that it frightened us up out of bed from the other room. We put it outside the bedroom in the first place because the second hand ticked. And even though we live in New York City and we hear cars drive by our apartment pretty regularly, we couldn’t stand the sound of a ticking clock. There wasn’t much good from this clock that could outweigh the ticking and the alarm, so if you want an analog clock, we’d recommend the Jall or the smaller Peakeep.