The Best Sunrise Alarm Clocks: 7 Compared (and One to Skip)

RBE top pick

Philips SmartSleep Sleep & Wake-Up Light HF3650/60

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The Philips SmartSleep handles the entire routine - sunrise, sunset and wind-down - on the device with no app or subscription, which makes it the safest pick for most people. Buy the Lumie Bodyclock Shine 300 instead if a long, finely adjustable sunrise matters more to you than breathing exercises and extras.

A sunrise alarm wakes you with gradually brightening light instead of a jarring buzzer, which can make dark mornings feel less brutal. The catch is that many models are too dim, too fiddly, or lean on an app and a subscription to do their job. We synthesised independent expert testing and long-term owner feedback to sort the wake-up lights worth buying in 2026 from the one that is not.

RBE top pick

Philips

Philips SmartSleep Sleep & Wake-Up Light HF3650/60

Buy it

A complete dusk-to-dawn routine - warm sunrise, sunset wind-down and guided breathing - with no app to babysit.

Best for: People who want a complete, app-free sleep-and-wake routine on the nightstand.

$$$ · premium

Why we like it

• RelaxBreathe wind-down and a genuine sunset program, not just a sunrise
• Self-dimming display that can switch off entirely, plus 25 brightness steps
• Full routine works on-device with no app or subscription

Know before buying

• Bulky disc shape crowds a small nightstand
• Mixed touch and physical controls take a few mornings to learn

Check price on Amazon Read our detailed assessment ↓

Lumie

Lumie Bodyclock Shine 300

Buy it

The purest wake-up light here, with the longest and most adjustable sunrise, run entirely from the unit.

Best for: Those who care most about the light itself and want a long, deeply adjustable sunrise without an app.

$$$ · premium

Why we like it

• Sunrise and sunset adjustable 15-90 min in 5-min steps, independently
• Warm, low-blue LEDs with adjustable maximum brightness
• Runs entirely from the unit and doubles as a dimmable reading lamp

Know before buying

• Button-menu setup is less intuitive than it should be
• Ordinary speaker and no smart or app features

Check price on Amazon Read our detailed assessment ↓

Beurer

WL 50 Wake Up Light

Buy it

A mid-priced, app-free wake-up light with a colour sunrise, a long sunset, FM radio and Bluetooth streaming.

Best for: People who want a full sunrise and sunset routine with radio, without paying premium prices or using an app.

$$ · mid-range

Why we like it

• Beurer's manual lists sunrise lengths of 10, 20 or 30 minutes and a separate sunset of 15, 30 or 60 minutes, with the light moving from red through yellow to white.
• FM radio with 30 memory spaces, two alarm times, Bluetooth and AUX input for your own music, all run from buttons on the unit.
• A rechargeable battery backup and a 3 year guarantee are listed on the spec sheet.

Know before buying

• The bedside lamp has only 3 brightness levels, coarse next to the Philips's 25 steps.
• Only 3 wake-up sounds and 1 sleep melody, so audio leans on the radio or your phone.
• Beurer's own figures for brightness and weight differ between the product page and the data sheet.

Check price on Amazon Read our detailed assessment ↓

Hatch

Hatch Restore 3

It depends

A capable sound machine with a gentle sunrise, held back by an app and a subscription nudge.

Best for: People who want a strong sound machine and flexible, app-scheduled routines and do not mind a subscription nudge.

$$$ · premium

Why we like it

• Loud, clear forward-facing speaker with a large sound library
• Big Button runs your wind-down phone-free, with easy app scheduling for changing wake times

Know before buying

• Light is gentle and glows through the fabric front rather than filling the room
• Full experience nudges you toward the paid Hatch+ subscription, and the app is required to set up

Check price on Amazon Read our detailed assessment ↓

Dreamegg

Sunrise 1

It depends

A budget sound machine with a sunrise alarm on top, run from buttons, with little published about the light.

Best for: Budget buyers who mainly want a white noise machine and would like a gentle light alarm as a bonus.

$ · budget

Why we like it

• 29 sounds including white noise, fan sounds and meditation tracks, with a 5 to 180 minute sleep timer that turns sound and light off together.
• Dreamegg states it needs no app or Wi-Fi, with tactile buttons for sound, light, timer and alarm.
• A dimmable nightlight in 9 colours plus progressive nature wake-up sounds alongside the sunrise.

Know before buying

• No sunrise length, brightness figure or sunset mode is published, only that the sunrise duration can be personalised.
• Dreamegg's comparison chart lists one alarm on this model; more alarms need the app-connected Sunrise 1+.
• No FM radio, and it must stay plugged in.

Check price on Amazon Read our detailed assessment ↓

Loftie

Loftie Lamp

It depends

A designer bedside lamp that does sunrise and sunset, but has no clock and sets alarms only through Wi-Fi and the app.

Best for: People who want one good-looking bedside lamp to handle reading, wind-down and a light-based wake-up, and are happy to use an app.

$$$ · premium

Why we like it

• A full-size lamp, 16 inches tall with shade, that replaces your bedside lamp rather than sitting next to it.
• Sunrise wake-ups, sunset dimming, a night light mode, a reading mode and 50+ colour gradients, with physical buttons for brightness.
• Pairs with the Loftie Clock for combined light and sound wake-ups, with no subscription.

Know before buying

• No clock display, and Loftie's tech specs list no speaker, so it is not a standalone alarm clock.
• Loftie states that 2.4 GHz Wi-Fi and the app are required to set alarms and custom light settings.
• No sunrise length, brightness figure or lumen rating is published, and it costs as much as the Philips.

Check price on Amazon Read our detailed assessment ↓

We'd skip it

Lumie

Lumie Sunrise Alarm

Skip it

Lumie's entry model strips out too much - a coarse, often-too-dim sunrise that leaves you wanting the Shine.

Best for: Only light sleepers on a tight budget who want the gentle-light idea and little else.

$ · budget

Why we like it

• Compact, with a warmer sunrise than harsh generic RGB clocks
• Keeps a basic sunset fade and a nightlight

Know before buying

• Coarse ~10-step sunrise that owners say often is not bright enough to wake heavier sleepers
• No FM radio, only a handful of sounds, and limited sunrise flexibility

See our pick instead Find it on Amazon anyway Read our detailed assessment ↓

How we judged the field

Sunrise alarm clocks all promise the same thing: a light that brightens gradually so you drift awake instead of being jolted by a buzzer. In practice they vary enormously in the one thing that matters most, which is whether the light is actually bright and warm enough to wake you at real bedside distance. We leaned on independent expert testing and long-term owner feedback rather than any single measurement of our own, and weighted four things: how bright and adjustable the sunrise is, whether the sunset wind-down and sounds are genuinely useful, how much you can do without an app or subscription, and whether the build and controls hold up day to day. We deliberately included one popular model we think most people should avoid, because the gap between a good wake-up light and a stripped-down one is easy to miss on a spec sheet.

This is the model we would point most people toward. Its sunrise ramps from a soft red through orange to a warm yellow over roughly half an hour, and it is one of the few units here that pairs that with a proper sunset program that dims light and sound to help you wind down. Two features push it ahead: the RelaxBreathe mode, which paces your breathing with a soft pulsing glow to help you fall asleep, and a display that dims itself to the room and can switch off entirely, so it does not glow at you all night. It also carries 25 brightness steps, nature sounds and FM radio, a midnight nightlight tap, and a USB port for charging a phone.

What we liked more: everything runs on the device itself, with no app to set up and nothing behind a paywall, so the full dusk-to-dawn routine is yours out of the box. What we liked less: the round disc is bulky on a small nightstand, and the mix of touch and physical controls takes a few mornings to learn. It sits at a premium price, and while the light is warm and pleasant, heavier sleepers should not expect it to be blinding.

If you care about the light above all else, this is the stronger pure wake-up light and our runner-up. Its headline advantage is range: you can set the sunrise, and the sunset, anywhere from 15 to 90 minutes in five-minute steps, independently of each other, which no other pick here matches. The LEDs are tuned warm and low-blue, the maximum brightness is adjustable, and a light-sensitive display fades down as the room darkens. It also holds a bank of sleep and wake sounds plus FM radio, and doubles as a dimmable reading lamp.

What we liked more: the long, slow, deeply adjustable sunrise, all controlled from the unit with no phone involved. What we liked less: setting it up means stepping through button menus that are less obvious than they should be, the speaker is ordinary, and there are no smart features if you eventually want them. Like the Philips, it asks a premium price.

The Beurer WL 50 covers most of what the Philips does for a mid-range price. Beurer’s manual lists three sunrise lengths, 10, 20 or 30 minutes, during which the light moves from red to yellow and finally to white, and a separate sunset of 15, 30 or 60 minutes that can play the radio, a sleep melody or your own music before switching off. It wakes you with FM radio (30 memory spaces), an alarm tone or one of two melodies, holds two alarm times, and streams from a phone over Bluetooth or AUX. Everything runs from buttons on the unit, and a rechargeable battery keeps it going through a power cut. The trade-offs are in the finer control. The lamp has only three brightness levels, there are just three wake sounds, and Beurer’s product page and data sheet quote different brightness and weight figures, so treat both as approximate. Buy it if you want a complete app-free routine with radio and do not need the Philips’s 25 brightness steps or breathing guide.

The Restore 3 is the pick if you think of this device as a sound machine first and a light second. Its speaker faces forward and is the loudest and clearest of the group, the sound catalogue is large, and a single Big Button can run your whole wind-down without unlocking your phone. Scheduling is easy in the app, which makes it the most convenient option if your wake time changes often or you work shifts.

What we liked more: the audio and the app-based flexibility, which suit changeable routines better than the button-driven rivals. What we liked less: two things hold it back. The light is gentler than a dedicated wake-up light, glowing through a fabric front rather than filling the room, and the fuller experience nudges you toward the paid Hatch+ subscription. The sunrise, sunset and a set of basic sounds do work without paying, but the marketing leans hard on the membership, and you need the app to get going at all.

The Dreamegg Sunrise 1 is what you get if you start from a white noise machine and add a light alarm. Dreamegg lists 29 sounds, including true white noise, fan sounds and meditation tracks, a sleep timer from 5 to 180 minutes that switches sound and light off together, and a nightlight that dims and comes in 9 colours. The sunrise rises from a faint glow to bright daylight alongside progressive nature sounds, and everything runs from tactile buttons with no app or Wi-Fi. That makes it a cheaper, app-free cousin of the Hatch Restore 3. The weak spot is the light itself. Dreamegg publishes no sunrise length range, no brightness figure and no sunset mode, its own comparison chart lists one alarm on this model, there is no FM radio, and it must stay plugged in. Heavier sleepers who need a strong light should look at the Philips or Lumie Shine. It suits light sleepers on a budget who want sound first and a gentle sunrise as a bonus.

The Loftie Lamp comes at the problem from the other end: it is a bedside lamp first and a wake-up light second. Loftie lists sunrise wake-ups that start with a warm, low glow and build to bright daylight, sunset dimming at night, a night light mode, a reading mode, more than 50 colour gradients and physical buttons for brightness. It stands 16 inches tall with its shade, so it can replace your existing lamp instead of crowding the nightstand. The catches are significant. There is no clock display, the tech specs list no speaker, and Loftie states that 2.4 GHz Wi-Fi and the app are needed to set alarms and custom light settings, so the light-and-sound wake-up it advertises needs the separate Loftie Clock. No sunrise length or brightness figure is published, and it sits at the same premium tier as the Philips. It makes sense for someone who wants one well-designed lamp to do everything and already plans to use an app; anyone wanting a simple alarm clock should look elsewhere.

This is the one to avoid, and it is telling that it comes from the same brand as our runner-up. The Sunrise Alarm is Lumie’s entry model, and it reaches its low price by cutting the things that make a wake-up light work. The main sunrise offers only about ten brightness steps, a coarse range next to the Shine’s fine control, and owners regularly report it is simply not bright enough to wake a heavier sleeper. There is no FM radio, the sound library is down to a handful of options, and the sunrise length is far less flexible.

What we liked more: it is compact, the warm-toned light is still gentler than the harsh multicolour glow of throwaway generic clocks, and it keeps a basic sunset fade and a nightlight. What we liked less: you pay more than a bargain-bin sunrise clock yet get a light that struggles at the core task. For a modest step up in price you can have the Shine 300, which does everything this model does and far more, so we cannot recommend spending money here.

Who should buy which

• Most people who want an app-free routine: the Philips SmartSleep Sleep & Wake-Up Light HF3650/60. Sunrise, sunset, guided breathing and a self-dimming display, all on the device.
• Deep sleepers and dark winter mornings: the Lumie Bodyclock Shine 300. The longest and most adjustable sunrise here, from 15 to 90 minutes.
• Radio listeners on a mid-range budget: the Beurer WL 50 Wake Up Light. A 10 to 30 minute colour sunrise, a sunset of up to an hour, FM radio and Bluetooth for less than the premium picks.
• Sound machine first, tight budget: the Dreamegg Sunrise 1. 29 sounds and a sunrise alarm on simple buttons, if a modest, thinly specified light is enough.
• Sound machine first, flexible schedule: the Hatch Restore 3. Strong audio and easy app scheduling, as long as the subscription nudge does not bother you.
• Design-led bedroom, happy with an app: the Loftie Lamp. A full bedside lamp with sunrise and sunset built in, though alarms need Wi-Fi and there is no clock.

Philips SmartSleep vs Lumie Bodyclock Shine 300: which should you buy?

These two are close, and the decision comes down to what you want the device to do. The Philips is the better all-rounder: alongside a strong sunrise it gives you a sunset program and the RelaxBreathe wind-down, so it manages both ends of the day, and its self-dimming display is a small thing you appreciate every night. The Lumie is the better light in isolation, with a longer and more finely adjustable sunrise that can stretch to a slow 90-minute wake for very deep sleepers or dark winter mornings. If you want one device to guide you to sleep and back out again, choose the Philips. If your priority is the gentlest, longest, most customisable sunrise and you do not need breathing exercises, choose the Lumie.

What to look for

Start with brightness and placement, because they decide whether any of this works. The clock has to sit within arm’s reach and throw light toward your face, so measure your nightstand and be wary of models known to be dim. Next, decide whether you want the sunset and wind-down side of things or only a better way to wake; a full routine points to the Philips or Hatch, a pure light to the Lumie Shine. Then choose your control style: on-device buttons that never depend on a phone, or an app with more flexibility and, in Hatch’s case, an optional subscription. Finally, weigh sound needs, since the Hatch and the Dreamegg are the ones that treat audio as a headline feature. Resist the temptation to save money on a very cheap model whose light cannot do the job.

Our final take

For most people the Philips SmartSleep Sleep & Wake-Up Light is the safest choice, because it handles the whole routine well without an app or ongoing cost. The Lumie Bodyclock Shine 300 is the one to buy if the sunrise itself is what you care about, and the Hatch Restore 3 earns its place for anyone who wants a capable sound machine and does not mind its app. Whatever you pick, spend enough to get a light that is genuinely bright, and skip the entry-level Lumie Sunrise Alarm, which cuts too much to be worth it.

Deciding between the top two? See our head-to-head: Philips SmartSleep Sleep & Wake-Up Light HF3650/60 vs Lumie Bodyclock Shine 300.

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